Tuesday, November 22, 2011

5 Spice Pistachios

So, tonight was the first night I made anything for Thanksgiving. I saw this on Eating Well dot com & thought it would be an ideal appetizer. Especially since Im feeding 4 men & myself. In my head, all men love nuts. [Meh heh heh.] This was a very quick prep; pretty much you throw them in the oven & go about your business.

There will be more recipes as I prepare Thanksgiving food. Some will not necessarily be low cal but, I figure that 90% are & any holiday recipes can be helpful.

This is my very first Thanksgiving that Ive prepared all the food myself. Ive taken on quite a task!


Yields 6 cups.
92 calories per 2 tbsp serving.
Recipe from Eating Well dot com.

INGREDIENTS
6 tbsp orange juice
6 tbsp all spice
6 c pistachios

Preheat oven to 350.
Whisk orange juice & all spice together.
Add pistachios & toss to coat.
Divide between 2 rimmed baking sheets; spread in an even layer.
Bake for 45 minutes.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Champion Chicken Salad

I wont lie, when I first saw this recipe I sort of giggled at the name. However, when you sit down and actually read the ingredients, you start to get it. It's a very protein & fiber rich dish, perfect for the lunch hour.

Recipe from my email (the print out doesnt list the source).
Yields 4 servings.
231 calories per serving.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 c low fat yogurt, plain
1/4 c reduced fat ranch dressing
1.5 c chicken, cooked & chopped
.5 c broccoli, chopped
1/4 c carrots, shredded
1/4 c walnuts, chopped
4 whole wheat pitas

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, stir together ranch & yogurt.

In a medium bowl combine chicken, broccoli, carrots, & walnuts.
Pour yogurt mixture over chicken mixture & toss.

Spoon into pitas & enjoy!

Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder

I love easy Sunday dinners in the fall and winter. Throw a bunch of deliciousness in the crockpot & go about your day. I tend to do a lot of my cleaning on Sunday morning and early afternoon. To have the delicious food smells as Im cleaning & getting my place ready for the week.

Recipe from BHG dot com.
Yields 6 servings.
244 calories per serving.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb chicken breasts, cut into .5 in pieces
2 14.5 oz cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 10 oz can corn kernals
3 oz Mexican style cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS
In a slow cooker stir together all ingredients.
Cover and cook on low heat for 4 - 5 hours.



So simple & so delicious. This smelled SO good while it was cooking. It reminded me of my mother's baked mac & cheese.

Red Velvet Cookies

I would consider this to be an indulgence recipe. There was no nutrition information so, Im assuming that they're pretty high in calories. However, I seldom make food like this that's so unhealthy I figured screw it. Why not?

Yields 12 cookies.
Recipe from BHG dot com.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 c flour
1/3 c sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c margarine, cut up
1 tbsp red food dye
3 oz white chocolate chips
1/4 c milk

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325.

In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, & salt.
Cover & process until combined.
Add margarine & food dye until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
Process until mixture is a ball.

Roll into 12 balls & place on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven & let cool.

Meanwhile, place milk & white chocolate in a small saucepan & melt.

Dip one side of cookies in white chocolate & place on wax paper to cool.



These were really tasty but, Im brilliant & used too high of heat so my white chocolate turned a little brown. It still tasted just fine but, it wasnt fantastic for aesthetics.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Cheeseburger Bake

I wanted to make something fast this Sunday because we had a lot going on this past weekend, primarily on Sunday. For me, Sunday dinner is usually a meal that I like to take the time to prepare. I like the idea of a somewhat decadent Sunday dinner as a way to wind down before the week starts on Monday.

Recipe from Betty Crocker.
Yields 2 servings.
210 calories per serving.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 lb 96% lean ground beef
1/4 c onion, chopped
1/3 c reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 c Bisquick Heartsmart mix
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c 1% milk
2 egg whites

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400.
Spray pan with cooking spray.

In a skillet cook beef and onion over medium-high heat for 5 - 7 minutes stirring frequently.
Spread in pan & sprinkle with cheese.

In a small bowl sitr together Bizquick, salt, milk, & egg whites.
Pour into pan.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Oatmeal Toffee Bars

This recipe was originally for oatmeal caramel bars but, I felt that toffee was a little more seasonal. I, personally, associate caramel with Christmas as opposed to Thanksgiving. I usually do my baking on Saturday but, I had so much to get done yesterday that I ended up doing it on Sunday evening. It worked out well because we had a pretty late lunch today.

Making these was a trip to aroma heaven. These could go for either breakfast or dessert. Yum. I intend to serve them for dessert with Sunday dinner this evening.

Recipe from BHG dot com.
Yields 60 bars.
120 calories per bar.

INGREDIENTS
1 c margarine, softened
2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2.5 c flour
3 c rolled oats
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c walnuts, chopped
3 tbsp toffee bits
3 tbsp 1% milk

DIRECTIONS
In large mixing bowl beat margarine with an electric mixer for 30 seconds until whipped.
Add brown sugar & beat well until combined.
Add eggs, vanilla, & baking soda.
Beat mixture until combined.
Beat in flour & then oats.

Press 2/3 of the oat mixture into the bottom of an ungreased baking pan.
Sprinkle chocolate chips & nuts on top.

Preheat oven to 350.
In a medium saucepan combine toffee & milk.
Cook over low heat until toffee has melted.
Drizzle toffee mixture over chocolates & nuts.
Drop remaining 1/3 of oat mixture by tsps over top.

Bake for 30 minutes.



Im so anxious to try these out. They smell so delicious & the perfect autumn treat!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Parmesan Chicken Salad

I havent tried this yet. I made this tonight to have for lunch the rest of the week. It sounds delicious & Im anxious to see justc how filling this will be.

Recipes from BHG dot com.
Yields 6 servings.
194 calories per serving.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c low fat mayonnaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp basil
2.5 c cooked chicken, chopped
1/4 c parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 c green onions, thinly sliced
Salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, lemon juice, & basil; set aside.

In a medium bowl combine chicken, parmesan, & green onions.
Pour mayonnaise mixture over chicken mixture & toss.
Season with salt & pepper.

Brownie Cookies

Im a huge brownie fan. I stored these in the freezer after we ate them for dessert last night. I find that they're just as great re-heated. The other wonderful thing about this recipe is that you get regular sized cookies for under 100 calories a pop.

Recipe from BHG dot com.
Yields 24 cookies.
73 calories per cookie.

INGREDIENTS
1 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 c margarine
2/3 c sugar
1/3 c cocoa powder
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c 1% milk
1 tsp vanilla
Cooking spray
1 tbsp powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS
Mix flour and baking soda & set aside.

In a medium saucepan melt margarine; remove from heat.
Stir in sugar, cocoa powder, & brown sugar.
Stir in milk & vanilla.
Pour into flour mixture & stir until just combined.
Cover & chill for an hour. (Dough will be stiff.)

Preheat oven to 350.
Lightly coat cookie sheet with cooking spray.
Drop chilled dough onto baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes.
When cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Hearty Beef Chili

It's started to get cold outside so, I decided that chili was an excellent idea.

Recipe from Diabetic Living dot com.
Yields 10 servings.
224 calories per serving.

INGREDIENTS
28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
10 oz can chopped tomatoes & green chile peppers, undrained
2 c tomato juice
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1 in cubes
2 c onion, chopped
1.5 c celery, chopped
1 c green pepper, chopped
2 15 oz cans black beans
cheddar cheese & sour cream to top

DIRECTIONS
In a crockpot combine undrained tomatoes, tomato juice, chili powder, cumin, oregano, & garlic.
Stir in the meat, onion, celery, & green pepper.

Cover & cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.

Add beans 30 minutes before serving.

Spoon into a bowl & top with a little sour cream & cheddar cheese.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

BLT Wrap

This is something that I made for lunch during the week. When I first started doing all of this cooking, ideally I wanted to have 2 separate dishes for lunch during the work week. Im finding that I have leftovers from either the previous week or from Sunday dinner so food was starting to go to waste. Therefore, I started making one lunch a week & eating the leftovers from the week before. This still gives me variation for my lunches at work, which keeps me from eating crappily.

I havent actually tried this dish yet but, Im packing it in my lunch for tomorrow. Also the reason why the photo shows it with the lettuce wrapping as one would eat it.

Yields 2 wraps.
160.7 calories per 2 wraps.
Recipe from Skinny Taste dot com.

INGREDIENTS
4 slices of bacon
1 medium tomato, diced
1 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 large iceberg lettuce leaf, shredded, plus 2 more to wrap salad in
pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients, except 2 leaves of lettuce.
Spoon half of the mixture onto a lettuce leaf & wrap.



Very fast!