Chicken and Asparagus

This morning, I finally bit the bullet and went back to Weight Watchers. Since last October, I've been mistakenly telling myself I can maintain my weight without all that pesky points counting and meeting-going. But I was not as good as Sabra, who has now become a Weight Watchers leader (yea, Sabes!). Instead, my shorts got a little too tight. I guess those breakfasts at Cutter's Point and glasses of wine while cooking dinner caught up with me. I sure had fun while gaining ten pounds, but now it's time to take them off again.

Upon my return to the Weight Watchers meeting (where I discovered that all my old pals were returning after a six-month break as well), I received (in addition to the pleasant surprise that I'd gained back only ten pounds) a neat recipe for chicken and asparagus.

At only five points per serving (six if you add a serving of roasted potatoes, which I did), this meal provides protein and vegetables in one pan. And it's actually filling too.

Ingredients:
Olive oil nonstick spray
1/4 cup honey-Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon or 1 tsp dried (I used dried)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 bone-in chicken breasts (3/4 pound each) skinned
1 lb baby carrots
1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed

Because I was feeding my whole family, I doubled this recipe.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with olive oil and nonstick spray. However, if you double the recipe like I did, the 9 x 13 dish won't be big enough. Get a bigger one. I learned that the hard way.

Mix mustard, tarragon, salt, and pepper in medium bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Place chicken, breast side up, in center of baking dish. Add carrots to remaining mustard mixture in bowl. Toss to coat. Place carrots around chicken. Lightly spray chicken and carrots with olive oil nonstick spray and roast 25 minutes (because I doubled the recipe, I roasted for 35 minutes). Add the asparagus to baking dish, stirring to coat. Roast until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes (I didn't believe that was enough time to cook the chicken, so I cooked the chicken a little longer). Discard bones and slice chicken. Serve with vegetables.

I served my chicken with the carrots and asparagus, but I also roasted some potatoes in olive oil and cooked some green beans because if I didn't cook those beans, they'd go bad in the fridge.

Verdict: I was the only one to eat the carrots. Not a big surprise. Lawson said he enjoyed his, but he couldn't eat it all (If it were chocolate chicken, he'd have had no problem). Davis and Stephen said they liked it too, but I couldn't help noticing they covered their chicken with Miss Alma's. Still, they cleaned their plates. I thought the chicken was right tasty on its own. No Miss Alma's for me. And the carrots and asparagus were good too.

So Weight Watcher fans, I think this meal is a keeper. You can add it to your Weight Watcher's e-tools recipe list. I know I will. And maybe in just a few short weeks, I'll be as thin as Jennifer Hudson.