Hello, Neighbor!

The big news in my area is that a (very) minor celebrity has arrived this week to serve time at the local federal prison.

Yes, it is table-flipping Teresa Giudice from The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Which brings us to #3 of my 98 cookbooks.

I will admit to watching the show, but I plead the fifth as to why I own this cookbook. I would blame it on the alcohol, but I don't drink. I really am not sure what the heck I was thinking when I bought this back in 2010. It probably had something to do with liking the show and being on a diet. Who knows? Maybe I was all hopped up on carbs when I ordered it.

Teresa has sat on my shelf for years now without a passing thought. With all of the attention she's been getting in the local news, I thought I would take her down and try her out.

Being a "healthy" cookbook, it was easy to find a few choices that fit into the 17 Day Diet. I had to bypass the pastas and beans because there's none of that in Cycle 1, but I found some chicken that was compliant. Best of all, I didn't have to go to the grocery store for any ingredients since I had them all in the kitchen already.

I was all set to try out Chicken Breasts with Lemony Thyme Marinade.

It was easy enough to prep...

1/1 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

4 9-ounce chicken breasts halves with bones (skin removed) -- *I just used cutlets

Just mix everything together and pour it over the chicken:

I let it sit in the fridge while we went to swim team practice...at least two hours.

When I came home I threw it into a grill pan. Teresa cooks hers in the oven under the broiler but I just didn't want to play around with that. I have bad luck with broiling.

It looks pretty good, right?

Well, I'll tell ya.

It was just meh.

Aside from the fact that I smoked out the kitchen with burning marinade residue in the grill pan, the chicken couldn't compare to the almighty Balsamic Chicken or the scrumptious Chicken Souvlaki that I've made before.

Edible. Acceptable. Passable. Those are the words that come to mind after making and eating this chicken. The kiddo ate two pieces without complaint, and I had two cut up into a salad for dinner. I can't say I would ever make it again. Or anything else from the book, really.

So much like Teresa Guidice in real life, I am sending Skinny Italian up the river.....

Arrivederci!