Dukan Diet

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and I was reminded of this lovely chicken dish when a follower on Twitter told me yesterday about how much she had enjoyed it.  If you're not growing French Tarragon, this recipe is a good reason to plant some because this simple dish of sauteed chicken breasts with a sauce featuring Dijon mustard and finely-chopped French tarragon makes a great dinner!)

In 2008 I planted French Tarragon for the first time in my herb garden, and it was the beginning of a huge love affair with the flavor of tarragon. I tried lots of different recipes using fresh tarragon, and loved them all. Now it's herb-planting time again at a new house, and this year I'll be planting some French Tarragon among my flowers and praying that the deer don't like Tarragon! And I'm looking forward to trying even more recipes with tarragon.

(Updated with improved photos and step-by-step instructions, November 2012.)  I know some people are still looking for leftover turkey recipes, but if your turkey is gone and you're looking for something comforting but still pretty healthy to make in the slow cooker this weekend, this Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce makes great leftovers too.  I love those two-in-a-pack chuck roasts they sell at Costco, and this recipe from 2007 is one of my favorite ways to use them.  The sauce is a little chunky, but if you'd like a smoother sauce use onion powder instead of the chopped onion.  Here's How to Make Pot Roast in the Crockpot which you might want to read before you make this.

Just make the barbecue sauce with all Stevia or Splenda and you can enjoy this pulled pork for Phase One!

(I'm afraid that breaking my arm three weeks ago put a crimp in any plans I had for a special round-up of Superbowl Recipes, but I decided I should at least end our A Month of Daily Phase One Recipes with some Phase One ideas that would work for Superbowl parties.  And as long as you skip the optional brown sugar in this low-sugar barbecue sauce and make it with all Stevia granulated sweetener or Splenda,  this pulled pork is perfectly legal for Phase One.)

When I mentioned on Facebook that I was making a version of pulled pork with low-sugar barbecue sauce, I had people asking me to post the recipe. That didn't surprise me, since this is a classic American dish, but I do want to start by saying that one reason I decided to tackle this was because I find most barbecue sauce recipes to be too sweet, without enough complex flavor undertones. I wanted to see if I could come up with a version that would suit my preference for more savory flavors, so if you try this recipe, be prepared for a sauce with plenty of mustard flavor, smokiness, and spice, and just the barest touch of sweetness.

(Updated October 2013 with better photos and step-by-step instructions.)  Back in 2008 I read on Madeline's blog Everything Rachel Ray about using whole wheat spaghetti to make spicy sesame noodles, and I knew I would love this dish.  Since then I've made it quite a few times, and I finally managed to take some better photos, although I decided that noodles are not all that photogenic.  This type of quick dinner is one of my favorite things to make with the wonderful Garofalo Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti that I buy at Costco, and if you think whole wheat pasta isn't that exciting, I guarantee this whole wheat spaghetti from Italy will change your mind.