Recipes: Cowboy Chicken & "Most Amazing Porkchops Ever"

For the crockpot lover in all of us... Still need to calculate smart points in these!

Cowboy Chicken

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar (about 2 cups) of your favorite salsa
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Put chicken in crockpot.  Mix all of the other ingredients together and pour over the chicken.  Cook in crockpot for about 6 hours on low.  Serve over rice.


Most Amazing Porkchops Ever (No, I didn't name them!  They were good but I think "most amazing ever" is a stretch!! LOL)

4-6 porkchops (boneless or bone-in)
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 package onion soup mix
1 package dry pork gravy mix
1 1/2 cups lowfat chicken broth

Put porkchops in crockpot.  Mix remaining ingredients together and pour in crockpot.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with rice or yolk free egg noodles.

Recipe: Baked Portabella Mushrooms

Love me some mushrooms!!!  Only points are in the olive oil...

Baked Portabella Mushrooms

Large portabella mushroom caps
Extra-virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
garlic powder
thyme

Just brush both sides of mushroom caps generously with olive oil and season with the rest of ingredients.  Bake at 400 degrees until heated.  That's all...

Recipes: Rosemary Roasted Potatoes & Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

2 large baking potatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick (I did mine a little thinner)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in large bowl; toss to coat.  Spread potatoes in single layer in shallow baking pan (I used cookie sheet). Bake 15 minutes or until tender, turning once.

*I doubled this recipe, cut them a little thinner and baked a little longer so they were kind of crispy.  Everybody LOVED them!  Kids thought they were like French fries!


Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

4 teaspoons brown sugar (you might want a little more, I didn't measure)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 clove garlic (I used more cause we love garlic!)
2 tablespoons salted butter

Melt butter in a frying pan then brown the garlic in the butter (I used extra garlic and sliced the cloves up in the butter).  Add chicken breasts to butter and garlic and cook thoroughly.  When chicken is fully cooked add brown sugar on top of each breast.  Allow the brown sugar to melt into the chicken (about 5 minutes).

Recipe: Slow Cooker Beef & Mushrooms

Slow Cooker Beef and Mushrooms

1 pound lean beef stew meat
1 can low-fat cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1 packet dry onion soup mix
8 oz. fresh mushrooms (whole or sliced, your preference)

Brown meat in skilled over medium-high heat.  (Recipe says you can skip this step and it'll still be great but I did it anyway).  Place meat in crockpot.  Place mushrooms on top of beef.  Combine soup water and soup mix and pour over mushrooms and beef.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

**I doubled everything EXCEPT the beef because I love mushrooms and my kids like lots of gravy.  I used about 1 1/4 lbs of stew meat.  It turned out great!  Boys probably would have liked more meat so next time I might double that too.  I think that if I hadn't doubled it wouldn't have been enough for our family of 4.

Recipe: Key West Chicken

Another favorite of ours... Will update it with a pic the next time I make it!

Key West Chicken

6 tablespoons soy sauce (I used the low-salt kind)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used canola)
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (I was out of fresh garlic so I used a couple teaspoons of the dried "Garlic, Garlic" from Tastefully Simple...will use fresh next time!)

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

In a shallow container, blend soy sauce, honey, vegetable oil, lime juice and garlic.  Place chicken into the mixture, and turn to coat.  Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes (I did a couple hours). 

Cook on grill!  (It said to lightly oil the grill grate but we forgot!)

Recipe: Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu (5 SP)

Tried another new recipe tonight.  We all loved it!  If you're looking for something different and healthy to try, I would suggest giving this a try.

Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu--Yummy!
One piece of chicken, 1 cup of rice and fresh asparagus= 11 Smart Points.

Disclaimer:  This is not an original recipe.  I found it on smartpointsrecipes.com.

Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu

Makes 4 servings, 5 Smart Points each.

Nutritional Information:  

Calories:  258

Fat:  10 g

Saturated Fat:  3 g

Protein:  37 g

Carbohydrates:  6 g

Fiber:  0 g

Sugar:  1 g

Ingredients:

• 4 thin boneless, skinless cutlets (about 4 oz each)
• salt & pepper
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour (gluten free flour works too!)
• 1/2 tsp. butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
• 2/3 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 4 thin slices low sodium deli ham
• 4 slices light Swiss cheese such as Alpine Lace

Directions:

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Place the flour in a shallow dish and lightly dredge the chicken with flour on both sides, shaking off the excess (keep the remaining flour).
3. In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon juice, dijon mustard and 1 tsp of the reserved flour.  Whisk until smooth.
4. Melt the butter and olive oil in a non stick skillet over medium-high heat and add chicken.
5. Cook 2 minutes (I did much longer!) on each side, until slightly golden, then transfer to a dish.
6. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the chicken broth mixture.
7. Whisk the broth, scraping up any bits stuck to the pan and simmer 2 minutes to reduce slightly.
8. Return the chicken to the skillet, top each piece with a slice of ham and a slice of swiss cheese. Cover the skillet and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the cheese melts.
9. Spoon the remaining sauce over each piece.

This is what I love about Weight Watchers...

The fact that you can eat anything you want as long as you stay within your points!  Last night we were shopping at the outlet mall and there were TWO Auntie Anne's there (That's just mean!)  The entire mall smelled like these delicious pretzels!  My son Connor absolutely can't go to the mall without getting one so when he inevitably asked if we could go there I quickly checked my points and happily indulged him (and me too!).  Fortunately we had a late lunch (grilled chicken salad) so I wasn't really going to be wanting dinner so this could be my dinner points.   FYI, an Auntie Anne's pretzel (with no dips, of course) is 11 points.

Don't worry, we bought 4 so the whole family had dinner! :)

Was it worth it?  Hell yeah!

Traveling is tough!!

So I am away this weekend (over the border in Canada) for the first time since I started this lifestyle change.  And I've learned one thing...traveling is tough!!  There are so many temptations around you when you are eating all of your meals in restaurants!  I have managed to do pretty well but I am looking forward to being home tomorrow where it is easier to keep things under control!

Last night we went out to my favorite Canadian restaurant--The Keg Steakhouse.  My mouth waters just thinking about it!  It's hard to calculate points but according to my tracking I came in exactly at my points limit for the day.  Phew!

My absolutely delicious dinner!
Filet Mignon, mushrooms and LOTS
of fresh veggies instead of a potato!  Notice I snuck
a glass of Merlot (4 points) in there too!

Breakfast on the road is a lot easier.  I usually go with a veggie omelet made with egg substitute or egg whites and no cheese.  Almost point free! (Though I add in some because I figure it was still cooked with a bit of vegetable oil).  And fresh fruit is always great for breakfast.  Two pieces of wheat toast are 4 points without butter or margarine.

I packed some snacks--apples, grapefruits and pre-packaged Weight Watchers snacks (2 points each). However, being in close proximity to my two teenage boys who are eating candy and potato chips is hard!  But I didn't give in to temptation.  :)

Dinner tonight was the toughest.  My meal was from the "lighter fare" part of the menu--Chimichurri Chicken--Skinless breast and thigh basted in chimichurri sauce, served with lime cilantro rice and sauteed vegetables.  I ate most of the chicken and rice but only part of the vegetables as they had quite a bit of oil on them from the sautéing process. Why do they have to make vegetables unhealthy with so much grease??  The tough part?  The complimentary chips & salsa they placed on the table right in front of me!  I have to admit that I indulged.  And they were fabulous!  The salsa is zero points but the chips are terrible!  I ended up estimating that I ate about 15 points worth of those yummy chips.  I did go over my points for the day but I still had all of my weekly points left so it was ok.  (They are there so you can have a little splurge each week)  I hadn't used any of my weekly points since I started the program so I felt a little guilty....but it passed quickly!  I don't think it would have bothered me at all if I hadn't had such a small loss last week.  But we were out with friends, having fun, and I am determined not to let this new lifestyle rule my life--so I ate the freakin' chips!  And I asked myself the question "was it worth it?" and the answer was "YES!"  

In a couple of weeks we are going to Las Vegas for 8 days.  It's gonna be tough.  I am hoping that this little weekend adventure helped me to understand what I am going to be facing when we are traveling for that long.  On the plus side, we are staying in a suite with a full kitchen so we can eat some meals there and that will really help.  And I will be doing a LOT of walking!  If anyone has any tips for traveling and eating healthy I would love to hear them!

Weigh-In: Week 8

Let's get right to it...

This week's loss:  -0.8 
Total Loss to Date: -28

Sigh.  I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed in that.  I wish I could explain it but I did everything right this week and it just wasn't the loss I'd hoped.  I know I am going to have weeks like this but...it still sucks! :(  I do think it may be related to my monthly cycle so I am hoping I will bounce back next week.  Sorry if that is TMI...

No worries...I am NOT giving up.  :)  It was just a little reality check.  Things had been going too well and I should expect bumps along the way.  Hey, I'm still down 28 pounds in less than 2 months, right?

Recipe: Lemon & Dill Chicken (4 SP)

When I make a new recipe I like to see what it is *supposed* to look like.  So I am going to try and add pictures here when I add a new recipe.  But I must say, I am NOT a food photographer and you may find my presentation somewhat lacking.  Yes, that is a paper plate....don't judge me!  What can I say?  I had a meeting last night at 6:30 and had to rush out the door right after dinner and had no time to do dishes...and believe me, *I* am the only one in my house who seems to be able to load the dishwasher!

Anyway, last night I made Lemon & Dill chicken. (Insert the sound of my children's voices here--"Why are we having chicken again?")  It was easy and good...but most importantly, it was healthy!  I served it over No Yokes egg noodles.  The chicken and sauce was 4 smart points, the egg noodles 6 points, and zero points for the beans, bringing the total for my meal to 10 points.  :)

DISCLAIMER:  This is NOT an original recipe.  I found this on SkinnyPoints.com.  :)


Lemon & Dill Chicken (4 SP)

Ingredients:
     4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 to 1 1/4 pounds)
     Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
     3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
     1/4 cup finely chopped onion
     3 cloves garlic, minced (I used pre-minced garlic)
     1 cup chicken broth
     2 teaspoons flour
     2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, divided
     1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skilled over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and sear until well browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side (I cooked a bit longer--I have issues with making sure that chicken is DONE!).  Transfer chicken to a plate and tent with foil.
2. Reduce heat to medium.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to the pan.  Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.  Whisk broth, flour, 1 tablespoon dill and lemon juice in a measuring cup and add to pan.  Cook, whisking, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
3. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan; reduce heat to low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes.  Season sauce with salt and pepper and spoon over chicken to serve.  Garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh dill.

Nutritional Information:

     Makes 4 servings

     Per Serving:  173 calories, 2.7 g fat, 64 mg cholesterol, 3 g carbs, 24 g protein, 0 g fiber.