Thursday, September 15, 2011

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos**

1/3 C (3oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4t granulated garlic (I didn't know exactly what this was so I used garlic salt and it was fine)
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions (I accidentally left these out and it was also fine)

2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 sec so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice(I just cut a lime in half and squeezed it), cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic salt. Stir to combine then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese, combine well.

Work with a few tortillas at a time-heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking (I did about 5-8 tortillas at a time for 1 minute wrapped in a paper towel to hold in the moisture).

Place 2-3T of chicken mixture on the lower third of the tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 in from the edges. Then roll it up tight, leaving the seam side down on the baking sheet.(make sure they aren't touching each other so they don't get stuck and rip when you try to separate them) Spray the tops lightly with the cooking spray and sprinkle the kosher salt on top.

Cook for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends and the ends start to turn brown.

Dip 'em in salsa, sour cream or the yummy guac recipe listed above.

(this recipe was taken from ourbestbites.com)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Death by Chocolate Brownies-Gluten FREE too!!!!

Found this great recipe in "Living Without" magazine-a magazine for people with gluten, egg, and dairy allergies, and they didn't even have the "Gluten-Free" dense texture!!!

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate squares, broken up
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter or dairy-free buttery spread, cut into pieces
5 large eggs or 3/4 cup dairy-free yogurt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend of choice
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (or powder gold as I like to call it-that stuff is PRICEY!!!)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups coarsley chopped nuts (optional)
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I added a little more :)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 in pan with aluminum foil and coat with vegetable spray or omit foil and lightly oil pan (I used the foil and was able to lift the whole thing out once the brownies were cooled-I wasn't left chiseling brownie crust out of the corners of the pan-it was awesome!)

2. in a microwaveable dish, combine chocolate squares with butter. Heat on med-high setting until butter is melted, about 2 mins. Stir until mixture is smooth. Repeat, heating for 20 second intervals until the chocolate is melted. (make sure not to over heat-chocolate will become lumpy)

3. Beat eggs with sugar until light yellow and doubled in volume (5-7 minutes). Add vanilla and beat to combine

4. add melted chocolate to egg mixture, beating on low speed just to combine, about 1 min.

5. In a separate bowl, blend flour with xanthan gum and salt. Fold flour blend, nuts and chocolate chips in to egg-chocolate mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

6. Set in middle of preheated oven. LOWER TEMPERATURE TO 350 degrees (I almost overlooked this part-that would have been BAD!) bake for 30 mins (35-40 mins if using yogurt instead of eggs). Cool in pan and freeze for 1 hour (I actually didn't do this part and they were just fine)

7. Lift brownies by edges of foil and set on cutting board. If not using foil, pry (That word sounds bad) contents out of pan in one piece and turn onto cutting board. Cut up (makes appx. 20 squares)

Enjoy!

Friday, March 4, 2011

lemon chicken with broccoli WW pointsplus=4

Number of Servings=4
Points per serving=4

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp table salt, divided
1/4 tsp black pepper
12 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup(s) fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 tsp minced garlic
2 1/2 cup(s) broccoli, small florets
2 tsp lemon zest, or more to taste
2 Tbsp parsley, fresh, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
























  • On a plate, combine 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper; add chicken and turn to coat.

  • Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning as needed, until lightly browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes; remove to a plate.

  • Put 1 cup of broth and garlic in same skillet; bring to a boil over high heat, scrapping up browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Add broccoli; cover and cook 1 minute.

  • In a small cup, stir together remaining 1/2 cup of broth, 1/2 tablespoon of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt; add to skillet and bring to a simmer over low heat.

  • Cover and cook until broccoli is crisp-tender and sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in chicken and lemon zest; heat through.

  • Remove skillet from heat and stir in parsley and lemon juice; toss to coat. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
Great with rice or angel hair pasta.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Kitchen Boss

You know Buddy? The Cake Boss? Well, he now has a new show called the Kitchen Boss. The other day I was watching it and he made these two things and ever since then I've been dying to try them, they looked SO tasty! Roasted potatoes and Chicken Piccata. The chicken has capers on it-never tried them, but it looked good!

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/chicken-piccata.htm

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/buddys-favorite-roasted-potatoes.htm

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Turkey chili

Here's what I'm going to try for dinner tonight since it's SOOOO frigid out. Haven't tried it yet, but I think it's gonna be tasty! I'll probably pair it with baked potatoes and have a perfect meal!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/02/turkey-chili-taco-soup.html#more


Monday, January 17, 2011

Skinny Taste

I just saw this website, www.skinnytaste.com, posted in a comment on my sister's facebook page and decided to check it out. She has SOOO many recipes, I don't even know how many, and they are all healthy, low fat things. And they look tasty. I got through the first few pages and then realized there are just way too many to look through right now. So I copied a few links to a couple of the recipes that I really want to try out. I haven't tried any of them yet so I can't offer any opinion on them other than the look REALLY tasty. Check out the website for some that you might like or check out these below:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/04/barbacoa-beef.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/07/spaghetti-squash-pesto-with-tomatoes.html#more

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/01/quick-and-deliciouso-cuban-style-black.html#more

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/12/pork-chops-with-mushrooms-and-shallots.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/03/white-bean-turkey-chili-4-pts.html

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Weight Watchers Baked Ziti 7 pts

pointsplus value 7 makes 12 servings and is DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

3 spray(s) cooking spray
1 pound(s) uncooked pasta, rigatoni or penne
3/4 pound(s) part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese, divided
4 cup(s) marinara sauce, store-bought, divided
1/2 pound(s) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheeses
1/4 cup(s) basil, cut into ribbons, for garnish

Instructions:
  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat bottom and sides of a lasagna pan with cooking spray.

  • Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse with cool water and drain.

  • While pasta is cooking, in a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, red pepper flakes, 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup marinara sauce.

  • To assemble ziti, spoon 1/2 cup sauce on bottom of prepared pan; top with half of pasta in an even layer. Evenly spread pasta with ricotta mixture; cover with half of remaining sauce. Top with remaining pasta and spoon remaining sauce over top; sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining tablespoon Parmesan. Bake until cheese melts and is browned, about 20 to 30 minutes. Allow ziti to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into 12 pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.