Poached Chicken with Garlic Herb Sauce

So the Dutchess is finally rubbing off on me, and I think I

have come around to the whole "being healthier" thang.

Since culinary school has added even more to my spare tire,

I can almost start my own tire business.

I hope to find a good mix of still eating food and moving MUCH more.

So hopefully FFF will include a lot more healthy inspiration, 

without resorting to "rabbit food".  After all, our

bodies need fats and carbs too, just not as much as we are used to.

I found this recipe in the Food Network magazine.

I pretty much stayed with the recipe and just plated it differently, which

didn't showcase the fennel or carrots as much as the photo included

with the recipe.

I mise en place'd all the needed ingredients which included:  fennel quarters, 

carrots, green beans, scallions, a head of garlic, basil, parsley and fennel fronds.

First up was blanching the fennel and carrots to soften them.

Remove them and set aside.

In the same pot (on low heat), put boneless, skinless chicken breasts and

scallions, garlic and fennel fronds.  Cook for around 15 minutes until

the chicken is cooked.  Remove the chicken and shock for about 30 seconds

in a salted ice bath.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the scallions, garlic and fronds into a 

blender.  Add the green beans to the still hot water, remove from heat and let

them steep for about 5 minutes while you make the sauce.

To the blender, also add 1/2 cup of the broth from the pot, 1/2 cup evoo, 

basil, parsley and white wine vinegar.  Puree until it looks like

a runny pesto.

I put the fennel and carrots down on the plate, then layered the

chicken (cut into chunks), then added the green beans.

Drizzling the sauce over the top completed this dish.

This was an extremely simple dish to prepare.  I also found it

to be quite filing, and I wasn't even hungry for dessert (which has become 

commonplace at our house).

We loved this simple healthy dish, and even Zachary ate most of

his.  he omitted the fennel and carrots (he only does raw carrots).

Flock was fed a healthy dinner.

Now, it's your turn!