I had to double the amount of spices to get the coverage I wanted. Here is the amounts I used. If your family doesn't like it spicy, you may want to use less cayenne and garlic. The original recipe calls for 2 T butter AND the 2 T oil. I thought it was over kill so I deleted the butter. ENJOY!

2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Paprika
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp thyme

6 boneless skinless chicken, cut into strips or cubed
2 T olive oil
4 T lime juice
1/2 cup chicken broth

Combine spices and sprinkle on all sides of chicken pieces. In a skillet, heal oil over medium high heat. Saute chicken until golden brown. Remove chicken and add lime juice and broth to the pan, whisking up the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Keep cooking until sauce has reduced slightly. Add chicken back to the pan and thoroughly coat and serve.

I served this chicken with rice and veggies. Nutritional information is only for the chicken. Serves 6. Calories 240, Fat 8.8g, Carbohydrates 2.6g, Protein 33.6g, Weight Watchers = 5.5 pts

Asia meets Mexico for a bang of a dish! This was a new find from my mom's neighborhood/ward cookbook that I stole from her last week. But apparently there is a similar version on Rachel Ray's website at FoodNetwork. It's very spicy, but can be adjusted to your own taste and level of heat desired. We even liked the cashews - and if you know my family well, you'll know we don't usually like nuts. I was hesitant to put the honey & maple syrup in, but I did anyway. In the end I actually didn't notice it, so perhaps next time I'll leave it out to save on the sugar calories. Not sure what that will do to the taste, but I'm willing to try.

2 lbs chicken breasts, cubed
2 T Montreal Steak Grill Seasoning
2 T olive oil
2 T soy sauce
1 c onion, chopped
1 c red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can waterchestnuts, drained and chopped
1 c frozen peas
1 T chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 T cumin
2 T honey
1/4 c maple syrup
1 c cashews
cilantro for garnish
cooked rice

Chop chipotle pepper into a paste. This is less than 1 pepper from a can. You can individually wrap the remaining peppers and freeze for future use. Set aside chipotle pepper. Toss chicken cubes in Montreal seasoning and then brown lightly in large skillet in olive oil. Add soy sauce, onion, red pepper and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Add waterchestnuts and peas. Stir in chipotle pepper and cumin. Drizzle in the honey and maple syrup and stir. Turn off heat and add cashews and chopped cilantro. Serve over cooked rice.

Makes 6 servings. Nutritional information does NOT include the rice. Calories 556, Fat 26.7g, Saturated Fat 5.8g, Carbohydrates 29.9g, Dietary Fiber 3.0g, Protein 49.6g. Weight Watchers = 12pts

If you take out the honey, syrup, and cashews, and then grill the chicken with a light pan spray instead of olive oil, it helps in reducing the calories and fat. The new nutritional information would be as follows: Calories 329, Fat 11.6g, Carbohydrates 7.8g, Dietary Fiber 2.3g, Protein 46.0g, Weight Watchers = 7pts

1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 lbs chicken pieces (breasts cut into pieces, thighs, or drumsticks)
1/2 cup chicken broth

In a small bowl, combine spices. Sprinkle over chicken pieces and rub all over to fully cover chicken. Pour broth in the slow cooker and add chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Makes 8 servings. Serve over rice. Weight Watcher Points: 2 pts. Rice nutritional information not included in analysis.

Question #1: Have you ever found yourself up to your elbows in a project and suddenly think "how did I get in this mess?"

Question #2: Have you ever been searching for a particular spice, KNOWING you have it, but never able to find it?

This is what happened to me on Thursday. I was trying to throw a meal in the crockpot before I had to leave for a few hours, but I could not find the turmeric. I knew it was in there somewhere since I had recently bought it for this specific recipe. It was driving me crazy. I looked three times in the "spice cabinet" but I have so many spices and other baking supplies that it couldn't be found. Suddenly I snapped! I was pulling out spices and sugar's like a maniac! I didn't care where they were landing, they were coming out. Before I knew it, the entire cabinet was empty and I was washing the shelves down. I didn't really have time for a cabinet-reorganization project. But I couldn't take it any more.


I was able to find the turmeric and everything else I needed to finish the recipe. So it all got dumped in the crock pot and I left the kitchen a mess. When I came back, I just laughed at how many spices I have. I don't mind having a great variety (which I do), but rather how many duplicates there were. I think I had 3 dry mustard, 4 thyme, and a ridiculous amount of lemon pepper. I also had 6 opened bags of powdered sugar that were only half full (twixits FTW).


My mom taught me to alphabetize my spices, which I do. Do other people do that? It doesn't stay in order for very long, but it helps. I feel so much better with my spice cabinet clean and orderly. I'll post the recipe I was making, it turned out really yummy!