Our family went out to Olive Garden for lunch today. I ordered the Stuffed Chicken Siena... it was very good. I just ditched the pasta... I came home and retrieved the recipe from the Olive Garden website... Well it turned out to be 33 carbs a serving... on the high side ... gotta behave the rest of the day

The recipe uses lots of tomatoes... dried, whole-canned and puree... How can I modify this to be more LC?

I have the recipe at hand and can post if anyone wants to look at it...

Anyone help?

Thanks,
Kay in Carlisle

Start: 1/4/2004
Atkins
321/315/120-140

kay,

Recipe questions really belong in teh cooking forum. I'm going to move it there.

Can you please give us the link, so we can see it??

Blessings!
Sharron
Author of "Low Carb Cooking at Sharron's Place," and "Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine," available where ever books are sold.

www.thelowcarbcook.com

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart." Colossians 2:2

Thanks Sharron,
I didn't realize that there was a forum just for recipes...
The link on the Olive Garden Page has a botched recipe ingredients...
Thanks,
Kay in Carlisle

Link on the Olive Garden page...
http://www.olivegarden.com/ourpassio...content=search

Here is the text of the file.
* Exported from MasterCook *

Stuffed Chicken Siena

Recipe By : Olive Garden
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
24 Ounces Chicken Breast -- 4 6-8 oz each, butterfly cut
**For Cheese Filling/Chicken:
3 oz Mozzarella Cheese -- shredded
1 oz Parmesan Cheese -- grated
3 oz Gouda Cheese -- smoked, chopped
2 oz Fontina cheese -- shredded
2 Ounces sun-dried tomatoes -- chopped
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 Tbsp green onions -- chopped
1 tsp garlic -- minced
2 Tbsp Parsley -- fresh, chopped
1 egg
2 Tbsp heavy cream
**For Siena Sauce/Pasta:
1 oz extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp garlic -- chopped
1/2 Cup Kalamata Olives -- pitted and chopped
1/2 Cup Green Olives -- chopped
1 Tablespoon Capers -- small, rinsed
1/2 Cup Red Wine
1 Cup Tomatoes -- diced
29 Ounces Tomato Puree
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
2 Medium Red Bell Peppers -- cut in 1-inch pieces
1 Tbsp Splenda
2 Tbsp Basil -- fresh, chopped

Preparation for Chicken:

- Place chicken on a cutting board and split to open. Spread cheese evenly on both sides.

- Fold one side over to the other and repeat with other breasts.

-Place in baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Preparation for Siena Sauce:

- Heat olive oil in a small sauce pot; add garlic and saute for one minute (do not brown).

- Add olives and capers and stir. Add red wine and bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients except basil.

- Bring to a boil and reduce to medium heat for five to seven minutes.

- Add basil to sauce and stir well; remove Siena sauce from heat.

- Place one chicken breast and 6 oz of hot, cooked pasta on each plate.
**Ditch the pasta**
- Evenly distribute Siena sauce over chicken and pasta. Garnish with chopped parsley

Description:
"Olive Garden Recipe"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 845 Calories; 52g Fat (55.1% calories from fat); 53g Protein; 42g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; 209mg Cholesterol; 2659mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 6 1/2 Lean Meat; 4 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 6 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Start: 1/4/2004
Atkins
321/315/120-140

Hi, Kay.

My suggestion to carb shave it (in addition to <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> **Ditch the pasta** <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> LOL! would be:

In the Filling, replace the sundried tomatoes with 1 TB tomato paste and 4 or 5 chopped cherry tomatoes.

In the Sauce, replace the 29 oz can of tomato puree with 1/4 cup tomato paste and 1 can of chicken broth. (The reduction in total liquid volume should make up for the slight decrease in viscosity.)

By USDA, this will take about 100 or more carbs off the whole recipe. I don't have master chef, so if you run this through, I'd like to see the numbers.

HTH.

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160+)
Maintaining nicely (110 +/-)
~~ Redhead until further notice!



[This message was edited by Maggie on 01-25-04 at 06:23 PM.]

Hello Maggie,
I modified it as you said..
- sun dried tomatoes
+ 1 TB Tomato paste
+ 4 cherry tomatoes
- can of tomato puree
+ 1/4 cup tomato paste
+ 1 can chicken broth
and the numbers went down to per serving
22net(27c - 5f)
Looks good!!!
Kay in Carlisle

Start: 1/4/2004
Atkins
321/315/120-140

Still kind of high, Kay (for someone like me, anyway. I'm in maintenance but I'm also a "held in remission" diabetic.)

I'd just cut everything except the chicken and cheese down a little bit more - specially the tomatoes. Also less wine, a hair less basil, a few fewer olives, a little less red pepper, and like that until I got it down to about 10 net per serving.

But that's just me!

I'm sure most people in maintenance can do higher carbs per meal than I can.

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160+)
Maintaining nicely (110 +/-)
~~ Redhead until further notice!