Chicken Souvlaki is a classic Greek dish of tender marinated pieces of chicken grilled on a skewer. (Souvlaki is Greek for skewer.) It’s traditionally served with tzatziki sauce, a combination of grated cucumber and Greek yogurt. I found this lightened recipe in an old Cooking Light cookbook that delivers all of the bright, citrusy flavors of authentic Souvlaki with very little fat, calories and WW Points. Let’s face one undeniable fact about chicken: it’s a popular, low-fa

For those of us who managed to avoid cooking during our scorching hot summer, here’s an no-brainer transition into fall cooking. You can’t get more basic than chicken noodle soup, and this recipe from Southern Living eliminates most of the actual cooking! Grab a rotisserie chicken and in about a half hour you have homemade chicken noodle soup that Mom would be proud of. Don’t believe me? Even Mom would tell you to give it a try. After all, it’s chicken noodle soup! It’s good

As Fall descends upon us, it's time to bring out our slow cookers for the soups and stews that warm our souls during the cold weather months (if they ever arrive!). Shredded chicken This recipe from Southern Living contains only 5 ingredients and is the flavorful, healthy basis for multiple meals. You can serve it over rice, or as a filling for tacos. How about taco salad or quesadillas? Tonight we're enjoying leftover salsa chicken on jacket potatoes, the British term for ba

This Mediterranean-inspired recipe hails from the Weight Watchers recipe box. It's crazy low in calories/WW Points and is a longstanding favorite for easy, savory late summer dining. The salad is a mixture of grape tomatoes, Kalamata olives, feta cheese and either mint or basil tossed together with olive oil and lots of lemon juice. If you're not into chicken (or you've eaten so much you're beginning to sprout feathers) why not air fry some salmon instead? Chicken, salmon, s

Chutney is an optional, but delicious condiment. Chicken Country Captain is a beloved Southern chicken stew made with curry, tomatoes and bell peppers. Its origins date back to the early 19th century when British trade ships brought exotic spices from India to the ports at Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. If you’re not from the South, you may not be familiar with this dish but you’ll find it in most Southern Junior League cookbooks. It’s that iconic. Here is a trimmed down v

Back in the day, Weight Watchers used to give out weekly recipe cards to members. This one from 2023 for a roast turkey breast reminded me of my mom. We visited her every year and when we walked in her front door from the airport, there was always a cooked turkey breast sitting on a rack in a roasting pan in the kitchen. She vowed that turkey sandwiches made with freshly roasted turkey breast were infinitely tastier than ones made with deli turkey slices, and she was right. I

From the NYT Cooking section, a recipe for salsa verde chicken that you can prepare either in a slow cooker or the Instant Pot. Directions for both are below. Think of this recipe as a meal-in-a-bowl that you can change up depending on what you have on hand: add 1 cup of frozen or fresh corn or a drained 15-ounce can of black beans or pinto beans. (Add them at the end along with the fresh cilantro and scallions.) You can serve the chicken alone or over rice, or use it as a

In our nationwide heat wave, cooking indoors is out of the question. Time to fire up the grill. One mistake many cooks make when grilling chicken is to douse it with BBQ sauce when it first hits the grill. The sauce burns to a crisp before the chicken is done cooking. The trick to delicious, moist and flavorful chicken is to baste the meat when it's almost done cooking. The BBQ sauce cooks to a beautiful golden brown. I love grilling drumsticks because they can be eaten with

Summer has arrived in the form of intense heat waves all across the U.S. and much of the world. Time to fire up the grill and cook outside (in the shade). Here's one of my favorites: grilled marinated chicken kebabs with colorful vegetables, a recipe I adapted from DinnerattheZoo.com. For those who don't own a grill, there are instructions below for broiling. The marinade contains olive oil, soy sauce and honey. It’s really delicious: sweet/salty and savory, similar to teri

Chicken, pineapple and colorful bell peppers combine for a rock-star main dish in this healthy stir fry I adapted from skinnytaste.com. Several of the ingredients--fish sauce and Thai sweet chili sauce--may not be in your pantry now, but you can find them in the Asian section of most supermarkets and they keep for a long time in the fridge. Wondering why this recipe is made up mostly of low fat, low calorie, WW Zero Point foods but has 4 Points per serving? It's the 1/3 cup o

This is the chicken breast recipe for those of us who are becoming tired of healthy, low-fat, diet-friendly (yawn) chicken breasts. Several factors contribute to its success: lemon-pepper seasoning, fresh lemon juice and butter. Yes, you read that right, butter. The recipe, adapted from the NYT Cooking section, calls for 3 Tbsp. of unsalted butter. The butter combines with fresh lemon juice to make a delectable sauce to serve over the chicken. I cut the butter down to 2 Tbsp.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are easy to prepare, but equally easy to overcook. Here's a surefire way to insure that they remain juicy and moist. Marinate them in a lemony/olive oil marinade for several hours and then grill them over a hot fire or cook them in an air fryer. The lemon juice tenderizes the chicken and assures that it remains moist. I suggest preparing more than you think you'll need for one meal, because these thinly sliced breasts are great sliced on sal

Here's the easiest way to enjoy roast chicken : cut out the backbone (aka spatchcock it). The flattened chicken cooks in much less time and both light and dark meat come out equally moist and juicy. Gary, the very nice butcher at my local supermarket, spatchcocks my chickens for me, but you can easily do it yourself. To spatchcock a chicken, turn it over and cut out the backbone on both sides with poultry shears. Remove the backbone, flip the chicken over and crack the breas

Add dollops of nonfat Greek yogurt and serve with lime wedges This sheet pan dinner takes little effort but delivers big flavor. Chicken, squash, black beans and red onion are well seasoned with chili powder and cumin. The black beans and butternut squash add a savory creaminess, and the optional toppings add tang. The recipe, adapted from the NYT Cooking section, suggests using Diamond Crystal kosher salt, a favorite of many chefs and home cooks for its light, pyramid-shaped

Add your favorite toppings: cilantro, pickled jalapeños, avocado, Greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips There is so much to love about this soup. It tastes very much like a traditional beef taco but without the shell. It’s spicy, but not too much so. It’s high in protein, which makes it filling, and it’s low in fat, calories and has only 1 WW Point. The recipe, adapted from the NYT Cooking section, calls for 1/4 cup of olive oil, but I cut that down to 1 Tbsp., plenty

An Air fryer is a countertop convection oven that cooks food by circulating hot air rapidly throughout its interior. Food cooks more quickly, and becomes crispy and golden brown without using a lot of oil. With an air fryer you can make crispy french fries with just a light spray of olive oil. Fried chicken? Same thing. Meatballs are another food that is traditionally fried in oil. I like to make turkey meatballs because they're leaner than typical Italian meatball meat (a co

Despite their healthfulness, I do not like eating main-course salads during the winter, especially not here in the frigid state of Kansas. Soups and stews are more to my liking. This recipe for Tuscan Vegetable Chicken Stew, which I adapted from The Recipe Critic, provides close to a day's worth of hearty vegetables. I suggest cutting the vegetables into slightly larger chunks so they maintain their shape during cooking. It also provides protein from chicken and white beans,

Smitten Kitchen's Deb Perelman adds the works to her tortilla soup. Make this your own with your favorites! I am a big fan of the Smitten Kitchen website, created by a young New York City woman who is married with two kids and has no professional culinary training. She is simply a brilliant cook with three best-selling cookbooks under her belt. I have to cherry-pick Deb's recipes because many of them are calorific. (Yes, it's a word.) In other words, Deb has way more fun cook

In 2022 I posted a recipe from Weight Watchers for White Chicken Chili with Salsa Verde. It was very popular among WW members despite the...

I post a lot of recipes for chicken because it's an economical source of protein that can be served in many ways. In this simple recipe...