Chicken paprikash is an old time Hungarian stew - rich in flavor, beautiful in color, and easy to make.  It’s a great weeknight meal, and if you make enough, you can have leftovers for another meal.  I like to serve it over rice, but the traditional way is to serve it over egg noodles.  Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS

1 cut up chicken

1 sliced onion

1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon paprika

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 thinly sliced red bell pepper

1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce) with juices

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Brown the chicken skin side down about 4-5 minutes.  Turn over for another 3 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.

3. Drain most of the fat from the Dutch oven.  Cook the onion and bell pepper for 2 minutes.  Add the broth and stir, cook for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes and paprika.  Bring to a simmer.

4. Put the chicken back in the pot and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

5. Serve over rice, noodles, or polenta.

Not actually DO gardening, it’s still too cold, the risk of snow and inclement weather is still too great.  But it’s a good time to start thinking about your garden, and considering what to do this year that’s new, different, or just the good ol’ same.

I started my gardening reading with an inspiring story about the Leopoldo Urban Vegetable Garden.  It’s a small, flat-pack recyclable steel structure which makes garden easy and fun.   What makes this small gardening space so inspirational is that it is starting to be used as a therapeutic tool in hospitals and clinics.   You can read all about it at Treehugger.com.

And start dreaming about your fresh tomatoes and herbs.  It’s never too early.

Quick to make, delicious to eat….and so good for you and your sweetie!

HEART HEALTHY SALAD

I love brussel sprouts, but sometimes i just want to do something different with them.  I’ve roasted, baked, fried, sauteed, and steamed them in water, butter, beer (extra yummy!), but tonight, I took the cute little leaves off each sprout and I made Brussel Sprout Chips.

It was totally worth the effort.  Just rub a bit of rice bran oil on them and put in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.  Shake the pan periodically.  Then take them out, put in a bowl, sprinkle with some sea salt and voila!

(waste not want not….i saved the little middles and will chop them up to put in veggie soup tomorrow!)

We’re one full month into 2010, and for many of us, that new years resolution to keep the stress to a minimum is slowly spinning out of control - again.

ivillage.com wants to share some great tips to lower your stress now.  Here are the headlines:

1. Give yourself breathing lessons - breathe deep and slow several times a day.

2. Take a tea break - black tea can lower levels of stress hormones.

3. Seize control over what you can - a small to do list of small tasks is a great way to start.

4. Ban the Word from your Vocabulary - stops saying “stressful” and being negative

5. Use Good Scents - dab a bit of rose oil on your wrists.

6. Reinvent your daily grind - stop going through life on auto pilot, and take a relaxation break while you’re working on your daily chores.

7. Pour your heart out - on paper - get rid of your angst by writing it down.

8. Give you work space a makeover - create visual resting spots.