Napa Chicken

21 Mar

This is inspired by the Napa Chicken at Applebees. It’s pretty tasty, and the whole meal (this and the roasted potatoes) together is less than 500 Calories.

Ingredients:

– 12 oz of boneless chicken breasts (3 chicken breasts, 4 oz each)
– Salt, pepper, paprika to taste
– 1 large onion, sliced
– 3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
– 1/2 cup red wine
– 1 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika on both sides. Grill chicken breasts on medium heat until cooked through. You could also bake them i the weather is bad, but I like them grilled.

2. While chicken is grilling, melt butter in a large skillet. Sautee onions until about halfway done. Add mushrooms and stir until mushrooms begin to soften. Add 1/2 cup red wine to skillet, and cook mixture, stirring occasionally, until wine has reduced to just a few tablespoons of liquid.

3. Divide onion and mushroom mixture evenly between 3 plates, and place a chicken breast on top of onions. Pour any remaining “sauce” in the pan over the chicken.

I serve this with roasted potatoes, just like Applebees does, and altogether the whole meal is less than 500 Calories. Enjoy.

3 Servings of Napa Chicken= 309 Calories
Appx 10 weight watchers points plus

3 Servings of Napa Chicken with q cup of Roasted Potatoes= 490 Calories

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Tasty Turkey Burger

19 Mar

So, a while back I posted a link to my buffalo turkey burger, which was really good. But, sometimes you just want a more classic burger. So Here it is. I used a trick my best friend taught me, and added some A1 to the meat for great flavor. Also, I use a steak seasoning that is the “Kroger” grocery store brand. You could probably use McCormick montreal steak grilling seasoning.

Ingredients:

– 3/4 lbs of ground turkey
– 2 tbsp of onion, very finely chopped
– 2 tablespoons of A1 Steak sauce
– 1/4 cup italian bread crumbs
– 1 egg
– 1 tablespoon minced garlic
– 2 tsp “McCormick grill masters Montreal steak seasoning” or “kroger steak seasoning” equivalent

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients, except for steak seasoning, together until well combined.

2. Roll out about 16 inches of plastic wrap, and divide meat into 4 even balls. Space evenly across plastic wrap.

3. Place another sheet of plastic wrap on top of meat, and smush each ball into a patty, between the sheets of plastic wrap.

4. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap, and sprinkle 1 tsp of steak seasoning on top sides of the patties.

5. Recover patties, flip over, and repeat step 4 with the back sides of the patties.

6. Cook patties in a skillet, or on the grill. About 4-5 min on each side, or until center reaches 165.

Makes 4 Patties= burger alone = 180 calories

Appx 5 weight watchers points

With 2% Kraft single and 80 calorie light bun= 305 calories

Approximately 9 weight watchers points

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Rosemary chicken in cream sauce

13 Mar

This was really yummy. I served with mixed grains, and poured the sauce over the grains. Definite repeat.

Ingredients

– (3) 4 oz boneless chicken breasts
– 1/2 an onion, diced
– 1 tbsp minced garlic
– 4 tbsp flour
– 1/2 cup 1% milk
– 1/2 cup chicken broth
– 1 tsp rosemary
– salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Salt and pepper your chicken breasts, then sautéed them in a skillet, using butter flavored nonstick spray.

2. Remove chicken and place it in a baking pan (9×9 would work) sprayed with nonstick spray.

3. Spray same skillet again with spray and sautéed onions and garlic until softened. If you need to you can add 1-2 tbsp of water to keep onions from burning.

4. Stir four into onions and slowly add broth, stirring until smooth, then stir in milk slowly.

5. Bring to a simmer, and then cook on low heat about 2 minutes, stirring constantly until sauce thickens.

6. Pour sauce over chicken. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 25-30 min.

Makes 3 servings= 175 calories per serving

Appx 5 weight watchers points plus

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Butterscotch Bars

10 Mar

These left me on the fence, but after much consideration, i decided that this was a good recipe… but I’m just not a huge fan of butterscotch. Next time i make these, i’m going to use Chocolate pudding, and I’m really looking forward to it. The recipe itself, is a keeper.

Ingredients:
– Graham crackers (15 squares, or 30 little rectangles)
– 4 tbsp melted butter
– 2 8 oz blocks of fat free cream cheese, softened.
– 3 cups of 1% milk
– 1/4 cup Splenda
– 3 tbsp sugar
– 2 small boxes of sugar free, instant butterscotch pudding
– 1 container of lite cool whip
– 1/2 tsp rum extract.

Directions:

1. place graham crackers in food processor, and chop until finely crushed. Mix in a small bowl with melted butter. Press mixture evenly along the bottom of a 9×13 glass pan.

2. Mix cream cheese, 1/4 cup of milk, splenda, and sugar. Mix until smooth, and then spread evenly over graham cracker crust.

3. Mix remaining milk with packages of pudding, mixing until pudding begins to set. Spread pudding over the cream cheese layer.

4. In a clean bowl, mix coolwhip and rum extract until well blended. Spread cool whip mixture over top of pudding.

5. It is important to refrigerate this for at least 4 hours before serving. If you can afford to refrigerate overnight, that’s even better. The layers need to “set” and also, the rum extract needs a chance to marry with the cool whip. Otherwise, it tastes very strong.

6. Cut into 15 squares= 163 calories per serving

Approximately 4 weight watchers points per serving

*You can omit the sugar altogether with pretty good results. if you do, your calories will be 153 per serving. pp remain the same.

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Classic crock pot pork loin

7 Mar

This is as simple as it comes, but it’s so yummy. Make the gravy to go with it for an extra rich flavor.

Ingredients

– 2 lb pork loin
– 2/3 cup water
– 1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix

Directions

1. Place frozen or thawed pork loin in crockpot.

2. Add water, and sprinkle onion soup evenly over top of pork and also around the pork, into the water.

3. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

To make gravy:

After cooking pork, remove liquid to a small saucepan.

In a separate cup mix 3 tbsp water with 1 tbsp corn starch and stir until smooth.

Stir this mixture into liquid in saucepan, and heat over medium heat, stirring until gravy thickens.

5 servings without gravy= 220 calories

5 servings with gravy= 234 calories

With gravy, appx 6 weight watchers points plus

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Sam- meatball bandit!

4 Mar

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This guy stole the meatballs and ate them, turning what I intended to be a “turkey meatball and marinara pasta” recipe into a “homemade marinara” recipe. Scoundrel. But, how could I stay mad at that face!? *sigh*

To see that marinara recipe, click here!

https://mommysonadiet.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/homemade-marinara-sauce/

Homemade Marinara Sauce

3 Mar

So, I love Italian Food, as you probably have noticed if you follow this blog. I also love to make my own sauce. Jarred sauce has so much sugar in it, it’s hard to find a good one that’s low calorie, plus I think the homemade stuff is so much better. Plus, it’s easy to make. Although, to get it right, you should let it simmer at least an hour or so. You can double, or triple, the batch and make it on low all day in a crock pot. The leftovers freeze well in a regular ziplock freezer bag.

Fun fact: this was originally going to be a post about turkey meatballs and marinara, but while I was multi-tasking, my dog ate my meatballs!

On a side note, if you’re going to opt for a jarred sauce, Prego “Smart Light” has almost half the calories of any other jar sauce I’ve seen, and it’s pretty good. That’s the only one I buy these days.

Ingredients:

– 29 oz can of crushed tomatoes
– 1/2 an onion, chopped
– 2 tbsp minced garlic
– 1 tbsp dried oregano
– 1 tsp dried basil
– 1 packet splenda no calorie sweetener
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms (optional)

Directions:

1. Saute onion in a medium size pot, with non stick spray, until they begin to soften. Add garlic and stir over heat until well incorporated, but be careful not to burn garlic.

2. Add all other ingredients, and simmer on low for 1 hour or so, stirring occasionally.

3. Serve with meatballs, over spaghetti or other noodles, or with spaghetti squash. Delicious!

Makes 5 Servings, 1/2 cup each= 65 Calories per serving
1/2 cup= 1 weight watchers point plus

When served with 3 oz of Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta, and 1/2 cup of sauce= 350 Calories (appx 9 weight watchers points plus)

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Lemon Cake Bars

3 Mar

This is a light, lemony treat. It doesn’t have the texture of a traditional “lemon bar.” Meaning, it doesn’t have that sugary-creamy texture. Instead, it’s light and cake-y (it’s totally a word!). I love how low in calories this is, and also how totally simple it is to make. I’m thinking about making it this summer and topping with a can of light blueberry pie filling. yum. Anyway, for now, it’s simple and lemony, and delicious. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

– 1 box of angel food cake mix
– 1 (17.5 oz) can of lemon pie filling
– 1 tbsp of lemon juice
– 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar.

Directions:

1. Mix cake mix, pie filling, and lemon juice.

2. Pour into a 9×13 pan, sprayed with nonstick spray.

3. Bake for 30 min at 350.

4. Remove from oven and allow to cool about 3-5 minutes before cutting into 15 bars. Sprinkle with Powdered sugar and refrigerate for 30 min or longer.

Enjoy.

makes 15 squares

1 square= 155 Calories

1 square= appx 4 weight watchers points plus

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Buffalo turkey burgers

2 Mar

So, I made these tonight, and I liked them pretty well. Now, you should know something about me. I’m really not a burger girl. If given 5 options on a menu, a burger would be in the bottom 2 choices nearly every time. But, for the sake of trying new things, and keeping my (burger eating) family happy, I tried this one today. In my approximation, it wasn’t bad. My husband really seemed to like it (he’s a burger guy). I will say this. Serve it with a soft cheese. I used goat cheese, which added a lot of flavor and went well with the hot burger. I imagine blue cheese would work well too, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Ingredients:

– 1 lb ground turkey
– 1 1/2 tbsp franks hot sauce
– 2 tbsp minced garlic
– 2 teaspoons ground cumin
– 2 tsp chili powder
– salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix turkey, hot sauce, garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper together. Mix well.

2. Separate meat into 4 equal sections.

3. Form 4 patties. I like to roll out a sheet of plastic wrap, lie my meat balls down, cover with another sheet of plastic, and smoosh them out that way. It’s less messy.

4. Heat a non-stick skillet on the stove, and spray with nonstick spray.

5. Cook patties about 4 1/2 minutes on each side, or until meat reaches 165* in center.

Makes 4 Servings: 1 Patty Only= 160 calories

TOP IT:

For me, the most important thing with this burger, is how you top it! I used 90 calorie buns. I sprayed them with fat free spray butter and grilled them to toast the edges. Then I topped each burger as follows:

Bottom bun: 1 tbsp goat cheese, 1 tbsp chopped onion, 1 tsp franks red hot sauce
Top bun: Romaine lettuce, 1 tsp light ranch dressing

1 Burger topped as listed above: 284 Calories

Patty alone= appx. 4 weight watchers points plus
topped as mine= appx 7 weight watchers points plus

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Ham and cheese Stromboli

1 Mar

This one was a big hit with the husband. I’m excited to try it again with turkey pepperoni too.

Ingredients

– 1 roll of pillsbury French bread
– 1/4 lb sliced deli ham
– 1 cup shredded mozzarella
– 1/2 tbsp melted butter
– 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
– garlic powder to taste
– 1/4 cup flour

Directions

1. Sprinkle flour in a clean, flat surface.

2. Roll bread dough flat into a 12×16 rectangle. If you look carefully you can find a seam in the dough which will allow you to simply separate the layers to “unroll” inflat.

3. Sprinkle cheese evenly over dough. Top with Italian seasoning, and sprinkle with garlic powder.

4. Place a layer of ham on top of cheese.

5. Rolling longways, begin to roll the dough and ingredients into a tight roll.

6. Place roll seam side down on a baking sheet, which has ben coated with nonstick spray.

7. Brush melted butter generously over top of roll and sprinkle with garlic powder.

8. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Makes 4 servings- 293 calories per serving

Appx 8 weight watchers points plus per serving

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