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Pam Powered Sesame Street Chicken (Oven Fried)

I found this recipe years ago in the Recipe Exchange section of Cooking Light magazine. I am not sure how old it is, but there was an ad promoting a Jane Fonda video of this torn out page from the magazine, so that give you a bit of an idea of the vintage.

Regardless, it is simple, healthy and provides a nice crunch as a faux fried chicken.

Ingredients

• 4 skinned chicken breast halves
• 2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce/soy sauce/teriyaki:  use whatever marinade you like.
•  3 tbsp. sesame seeds
•  2 tbsp. flour (I use whole wheat)
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• Pam (what else) cooking spray
• 1 tbsp. calorie reduced margarine, melted

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Place the worchestershire sauce in a shallow dish. Add chicken, turning to coat. You could also use soya, teriyaki or other marinades you have on hand. Get creative!
2. Mix the flour, sesame seeds, flour and salt in a shallow dish.
3. Place chicken in the breading mixture and press to coat on both sides.
4. Prepare a shallow oven friendly baking dish with cooking spray.
5. Press more sesame seeds on the chicken if you like.
6. Drizzle the melted margarine over the chicken.
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until done  (thickest part of the chicken reaches 165 degrees  or juices run clear).

Serves 4 or great for a left over sandwich.

223 calories, 30 grams protein, 8 grams fat.

Pamz Guilt Free Oat Berry Muffins

I love the smell of fresh baked muffins in the morning and when I grew out of the "I will just run down to the coffee shop and grab one" phase after I discovered how much fat and refined flours and sugars come along with the "treat", I started a fall routine of making a batch on a Saturday morning and enjoy the fruit of my labour during the week.  A dozen  muffins last a long time and to add variety I will have a few different types of frozen muffins on hand in my freezer to enjoy during the week.   It is a nice feeling to take care of your  future self (or your family if you have one). 

Ingredients

2 cups large flake rolled oats

2 cups buttermilk*

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¾ cup sucralose (white and/or brown mix)

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

1 cup frozen berries

Method

1. Place oats in a small bowl, pour in buttermilk (*make buttermilk by adding a generous squeeze of lemon into your milk.  I use skim milk to keep the fat content down.) Let sit at room temperature until the milk is absorbed into oats ½ -1 hour.
2. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar.  Stir in oat/buttermilk mixture, applesauce and eggs, and mix well.
3. Add your fruit.  I keep frozen berries on hand in my freezer.  Blueberries work well, but if you have the mixed variety with larger berries (i.e. strawberries), cut them into smaller pieces.  I find that using frozen fruit adds a bit more moisture into the muffins as the fruit thaws while baking.
4. Pour into muffin tins.  Chef’s tip: use a large 1/3 cup ice cream scoop which is fast, and gives you consistent measurement.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the muffin comes out clean.
6. Let cool off a bit before transfering to a rack to completely cool.

Be sure to enjoy one while they are still warm!

Healthy Tip: Resist the urge to eat them all by portioning 2 or 4 into freezer bags.  When you get up in the morning you can take one out while you get ready and have it thawed by the time you are ready to eat.

Pam Powered Mennonite Pie Crust

This recipe was passed on to me by an older relative who worked in the mennonite community as a youth.  It makes 5 double crusts so you can "power" through your holiday baking with this recipe.

Not a particulary light and healthy pie crust, but at least there are no preservatives,  and to reduce calories, bake single crust pies, like pumpkin pies or butter tarts, my favorite!

I found this recipe to be fail safe, stores great in the fridge for  a week or so.

 
Ingredients

• 5 ½ cups of all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 lb. vegetable shortening (Crisco)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. vinegar

 Method

1. Sift dry ingredients.
2. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two forks.
3. Put egg and vinegar in a measuring cup and fill to ¾ with cold water.
4. Mix into dry ingredients and make a dough.
5. It isn’t particularly fussy to work with and you will end up with a flaky crust.

The Marketing Life Cycle

Many people who are starting businesses or who occupy different functions with an organization can find marketing confusing.  I often see "marketing" confused with "tactics", not understanding that while the two are connected, smarter marketing strategists use the  right tool for the right job.

Marketing is best understood as a process which evolves and changes with the life cycle of the products and services a company produces.   You use specific tactics to achieve a desired result, based on where your product or service is in the life cycle as demonstrated below.

 
 
Use the right tool at the right time

As a general rule you will achieve greater results in your marketing efforts if you carefully evaluate where you are in the market place and then use the tactics which will help take you to the next level.

Emerging Markets (new offering)

• Advertising - Corporate Themes
• Direct Mail – General Internet (banner ads)

Growth Markets (gaining acceptance)

• Advertising - Industry & Service Themes
• Direct Mail - Targeted
• Industry Oriented Events
• Internet - Targeted Themes & Services

Expansion Markets (everyone wants/needs it)

• Executive / Customer Oriented Events
• Internet - Customer Support & Education
• Newsletters & Whitepapers

Mature Markets (everyone has it/does it)

• Direct Mail - Very Targeted
• Executive & Industry oriented Newsletters

Declining Markets (nobody needs/wants it anymore)

• Research in new/improved service