Recipe: Oven Fried Pork Chops

We had these for dinner tonight.  Very quick and easy to make and everyone liked them.  I served them with baby potatoes and broccoli.  Mmmm...

Oven Fried Pork Chops

Marinated Baked Pork Chops

These egg rolls are yummy and only 3 points each!!!
Since the pork chops have an Asian taste these were perfect with them!

Recipe: Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole

Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole

I decided to try this in my 9x13 crockpot and it worked out great.  Cooked it on low all day.  :)  The only change I will make next time is to use regular rice instead of instant if I do it in the crockpot again.  I think cooking all day in the crockpot made the instant rice a little mushy.  It was still very good though and we will be making it again.

Also, I omitted the cheddar cheese.  It was delicious without it and why add extra calories?

Recipe: Hamburger Stew

Hamburger Stew

We all loved this.  Super easy and so good!  I served it with beer bread.

Recipe: Crockpot Lasagna Soup

Crockpot Lasagna Soup

**I made a couple changes.  I used the oven ready lasagna noodles (not wheat) and I used a few extra!  I also omitted the mozzarella cheese and basil.  I just added some parmesan in at the end before serving.  DELICIOUS!!

Crockpot Lasagna Soup:  Recipe from Simple Nourished Living

RECIPE: Crockpot Italian Chicken

This could not be easier!!

Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (Mine were huge so more like 6 equivalent)
1 cup light Italian salad dressing (I used Olive Garden Light Italian)
8 oz fat free cream cheese

Put chicken in crockpot and pour Italian dressing over it.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours depending on your crockpot.  Or do it on high for like 4 hours.  When you are about 30 minutes from when you want to eat turn the crockpot up to high and cube the cream cheese and add it.  After it softens you can mix it in with a spoon or wisk to make a creamy sauce.

Serve over egg noodles or rice.  As you will see in the picture below I had mine over riced cauliflower.

Enjoy!

Italian Crockpot Chicken

Recipe: Lightened Up Version of Alice Springs Chicken from Outback Steakhouse

This was dinner tonight!  Everyone liked it but I left the mushrooms off of the boys chicken.  Silly boys, mushrooms are delicious....and point free!

As I prepared the recipe (see my modifications) it was 6 points per serving.  But I made changes and divided the sauce among 5 pieces of chicken.

Lightened Up Alice Springs Chicken

Alice Springs Chicken (Lightened Up)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2" thick (I used 5 that totaled 1 pound)
seasoning salt or regular salt
4 slices bacon (I used chicken bacon)
1/4 cup yellow or spicy brown mustard (I used spicy brown, they say not to use the dijon though)
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise (I used Hellmann's)
2 tablespoons non-fat plain yogurt (I used Fage brand Greek)
1/2 tablespoon dried onion flakes or 1 tablespoons chopped scallions (I used scallions but more than the recipe called for)
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil (I omitted this completely and saved a point or more per serving)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded (I used fat free--doesn't melt as well but less points)

Instructions:

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Line a microwave safe plate with several paper towels.  Place bacon on top and cover with more paper towels.  Cook for about 4 minutes until bacon is crisp.  Blot well, cool slightly and crumble.  Set aside.
3. Add mushrooms to a small bowl and cook in the microwave for 1 minute to soften.  Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, mix together mustard, honey, mayonnaise, yogurt, and dried onions or scallions.  Set aside.
5. Coat a large non-stick pan with cooking spray.  Add oil and heat. (Works fine without the oil though) Place chicken in pan and sauté over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes per side until browned.  Move chicken to a baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray.
6. Spread most of the honey mustard sauce over each chicken breast, then layer each piece with mushrooms, top with the remaining sauce, sprinkle each with crumbled bacon.  Finally, top each with 1 tablespoon shredded cheese.
7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and chicken is done.  I topped with a few more of the green scallions when it was done.

Recipe: Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

We ate this twice--once over rice and then had the leftovers on tortillas with a little cheese on top.  Mmmmm!

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

Ingredients

• 24 oz (1 1/2 lbs.) chicken breast (I used 2 lbs.)
• 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies (I used plain diced tomatoes and tossed in a small can of diced mild green chilies
• 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 oz frozen corn (I used a bit more)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
• 3 scallions, chopped (I didn't have any so I didn't t use)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt to taste

Combine all ingredients except chicken in crockpot and stir .  Season chicken with salt and lay on top.

Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours.  A half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred.  Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in.  (I didn't even remove it, I just shredded it in the crockpot) Serve over rice or tortillas with your favorite toppings.

Santa Fe Chicken

I served it over rice

Recipe: Chicken Francese

Chicken French is my favorite!!  I hated the idea of having to give it up except for special occasions so when I came across this recipe on skinnytaste.com I was excited to try it!  It didn't disappoint and it will become a regular in my house!!

Chicken Francese

Ingredients:

• 4 large chicken breasts, thinly sliced (I just used 1 lb of really thin cut breasts)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup egg whites, beaten
• juice from 1 large lemon (about 3 tablespoons, to taste)
• 1/2 lemon sliced thin
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 15 oz. low sodium chicken broth
• cooking spray
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon butter

Season the chicken with the salt & pepper.  Place the flour in a bowl and the egg whites in a separate bowl.

Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat.  When hot, spray with cooking spray to lightly coat the bottom.

Lightly flour chicken, then dip in eggs and add to hot pan.  Saute chicken 2-3 minutes on each side (I am a freak about chicken being well done so I did it longer!).  When cooked, transfer onto a plate.  

Place the chicken broth in the bowl with 1 tablespoon of flour and whisk.  Add to the pan along with the juice of the lemon, white wine, lemon slices, parsley and butter and simmer over medium heat for about 2 minutes so it reduces slightly and thickens.  Return the chicken to the pan with the sauce.  Serve immediately.

Healthy chicken French--sooo good!!

I served with white rice and asparagus.  We spooned a bit of the sauce over our rice.

5 Point Breakfast

I am one who LOVED (I am saying it in past tense!) to go through McDonald's drive thru or Dunkin Donuts and get one of those yummy, greasy breakfast sandwiches to start my day.  Sigh!  I admit I will still occasionally go there....only now I get the Egg White Delight McMuffin (8 points) at McD's or the veggie flatbread (10 points) at Dunkin.

So I've had to get creative at home so that I could still enjoy a yummy breakfast!  Here is what I made today--and for ONLY 5 POINTS!!

Breakfast sandwich at home--5 points!

I must say, it was quite yummy!  It is made from some egg beaters egg whites (0 points for 1/4 cup), 2 slices of chicken bacon (1 point), a slice of fat free cheese (1 point) and a light multigrain English muffin (3 points).  Oh, and a little spray butter on the muffin (0 points).  Happy breakfast!!

I seriously love this chicken bacon!  2 slices for 1 point and it's pre-cooked
 so you only have to heat it in the microwave.  Definitely check it out!

Another version of a healthy breakfast sandwich--bagel thin (4 points),
egg beaters egg whites (0 points) and 1 slice of fat free cheese (1 point).

Recipe: Creamy Crockpot Chicken with Stuffing and Green Beans

Lots of new recipes this week!!   This was another winner--super easy and everyone in my house liked it!  Didn't even get any complaints about the fact that there was green beans in it!!  Evan went back for seconds! :)

Creamy Crockpot Chicken with Stuffing and Green Beans

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 4 large breasts)
1 (6 oz.) box of stuffing mix
1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken condensed soup (I used the 98% fat free)
3/4 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
1/3 cup water
10 oz bag frozen green beans
salt & pepper to taste

Spray crockpot with non-stick spray.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in the bottom of crockpot.

Top chicken with 1 box stuffing mix.

In a separate bowl, mix together condensed soup, sour cream and water.  Spread mixture over stuffing.

Place green beans on top.  Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.  If you need a longer cooking time you can do low for 6 hours.

**I doubled all ingredients except for the chicken.  My kids love stuffing and they even ate the beans!!

Creamy crockpot chicken with stuffing and green beans

Apple Stuffed Pork Loin

I'm on a roll this week....lots of new recipes!!  I kept seeing a video of this recipe on Facebook and it looked so simple and so yummy that I just had to try it.  It did NOT disappoint--couldn't have been easier and was so delicious!!  Plus the apples and cinnamon made my house smell wonderful!

For those doing Weight Watchers, the only things in it with points are the pork itself and the honey which is a small amount.  I estimated what I ate at 6 Smart Points--4 for the pork and 2 for the honey.

Apple stuffed pork loin

Served with mini potatoes & a salad.

Apple Stuffed Pork Loin

1 pork loin (about 3 pounds)
1 large apple, cored & sliced into thin wedges
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
honey

Place pork loin in crockpot.  Cut slices 1/2-2/3 of the way through and about 3/4 of an inch apart.  Fill the cuts with the apple wedges (use the whole apple).  Place the onions in the crockpot. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon salt on the roast.  Drizzle honey over the roast--no set amount but don't go too crazy!  I probably used about 1/4 cup I'm guessing.

The original recipe said to cook on low for 3 hours but I put mine on low for 6-7 and it was perfect!  I'm not sure if it would have been done in 3 hours.  Plus I like it well done and so it kind of falls apart.  Guarantee you will love this!

Recipe: Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce

This was our dinner tonight.  We all liked it.  I served it with rice (I had riced cauliflower instead), asparagus and mushrooms.  Mmmm...

Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce 
(5 SmartPoints, 166.5 calories, 9.2 g fat, 2.6g carbs, 16.4g protein)

1 tsp butter (I used olive oil)
4 pork chops (I used boneless)
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
3 TBSP chopped onion
3/4 cup fat free chicken stock
1 TBSP dijon mustard
2 TBSP chopped, fresh herbs (I used parsley and rosemary)

In a large frying pan heat the butter (or olive oil) over moderately low heat.  Season pork with salt and pepper.  Raise heat to medium and add the chops to the pan and saute for a few minutes until chops are browned and done (160 degrees).  Remove the chops and put in a warm spot.

Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add the chicken stock and boil until it reduces to 1/2 cup, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the mustard, herbs and 1/8 tsp pepper.  Put the chops on a platter and pour the space over the meat.

**I increased the chicken stock, herbs, onions and mustard to have a bit more sauce.

Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce

Served with riced cauliflower, asparagus and mushrooms.

Recipe: Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Made this for dinner a couple nights ago and loved it!  My kids don't like cooked peppers but they both ate the filling.  Hubby said it was great and worthy of the "do over" list!

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

1 lb. 93% lean ground turkey (I used 95% lean)
1 garlic clove, minced (we love garlic so I used more!)
1/4 onion, minced (again, I used more)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or cilantro (I used parsley, not a big fan of cilantro)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
3 large sweet bell peppers, washed (I used 4 medium size)
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato sauce (I used 1/2 cup or a little more)
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (I used one of those packets you can microwave in 90 seconds, said it was about 2 cups and I used the whole thing)
Olive oil spray
6 tablespoons part skim cheddar cheese (I used Kraft fat free cheddar)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly spray olive oil on a skillet and heat over medium heat.  Add minced garlic, onion and parsley and sauté for a couple of minutes.  Add turkey, garlic powder, cumin and salt and cook until meat is completely cooked through.  Add tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of chicken broth and simmer on low for about 5 minutes.  Add rice and mix.  Cut peppers lengthwise and clean out.  Fill pepper halves with the meat/rice mixture and place in a 9"x13" baking dish.   Top each with 1 tablespoon cheese.  Pour the remainder of the chicken broth in the bottom of the baking dish.  Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 45 minutes.  Serve right away.

**I made this in advance and just baked it later in the day.  It was delicious!

Here are my photos...  It might not be pretty but it was yummy!

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

I just served it with a salad...Mmmm! 

Recipe: Corn Muffins

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought it was good but lacking something.  It needed a little sweet so I added some honey and now it's just perfect!!

Don't be jealous of my beautiful china!

Corn Muffins

1 cup self-rising corn meal mix (I used Gold Medal brand)
2 egg whites
1 can cream corn
3 tablespoons honey

Just mix everything together and pour in a muffin pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Makes 12 muffins that are just 3 Smartpoints each.  (If you omit the honey they are just 2 SP each)

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Recipe & walking in the rain....

I made this really yummy salad at home last night.  Thought I'd share...

It was a southwest type salad with chicken.  I used the Perdue precooked chicken strips and shook them in Frank's Red Hot powder (not too much).  Used shredded lettuce, tomatoes, corn, black beans, banana peppers, fat free cheddar and some crushed up baked tortilla chips.  And the dressing in the pic is from Panera--Thai Chili Lime and it's good!  2 points for 2 tablespoons.  I figured that the whole salad with 3 tablespoons of dressing was 9 points.  Very filling and very yummy!

Been trying to keep with the walking as much as I can.  The other day I was obsessed with having to get my walk in so hubby and I headed out despite the fact that it looked like rain.  We were about a 1/2 mile from our house when the downpour began!  We huddled under a tree for a while but finally decided that it wasn't going to let up!  As we're walking back to our house a car stops and rolls down the window.  The guy says he's from the local newspaper and asks if he can take a picture of our dripping wet selves for the paper!  Ummm.....NO!!  Must have been a slow news day!!

The view from under the tree!!

Recipe: Pineapple Angel Food Cake (7 SP)

Tonight we had my in-laws over for dinner so I thought I should have a dessert of some kind.  I have seen this recipe a few times online so tonight we gave it a try.  It was really yummy!!!  Everyone loved it--even 3 teenage boys!  And this is the easiest recipe you will ever make!

Pineapple Angel Food Cake

1 box Angel Food Cake Mix (I used one from Aldi's)
1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple in juice

All you do is mix the cake mix and the can of pineapple (do NOT drain it!).  I put it in an bundt pan (un-greased) and bake it according to the package instructions.  I baked mine for about 50 minutes at 350 degrees.  When it was done I let it cool in the pan upside down (put it on a bottle to hang upside down).  When it was cool I ran a knife around the outside of the pan to loosen it and then it came out.

We just ate it plain but it would be good with ice cream or whipped topping.  Definitely doesn't need anything though.  Mmmmmm!!

For anyone doing Weight Watchers, this is 7 Smart Points for 1/12 of the cake.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake....after we ate half of it!!  Delicious!

Recipe: Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls (3 SP)

Another new recipe tonight!    The only thing in this that really has points is the ground beef!

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

2 lbs lean ground beef (I used 96% lean beef)
1 large onion (chopped)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 small cabbage (chopped)
2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 oz cans)
1/2 cup water
16 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. In large skillet or pot brown the ground beef with onions.
2. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.
3. Add cabbage, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt and pepper.
4. Stir and bring to a boil.
5. Cover and simmer until cabbage is tender (about 30 minutes).

Serves 6-8

Recipe: Zucchini Tots (3 SP)

Tried another new recipe tonight.  Good way to get kids to eat their veggies!  And only 3 SP for 5 tots.

Zucchini Tots

**Recipe originally from Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

     Non-stick cooking spray

     1 packed cup shredded zucchini (squeeze as much water out as you can)

     1 large egg

     1/4 medium onion, minced

     1/4 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

     1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

     1/4 tsp salt

     1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray.
2. Grate the zucchini until you have 1 cup packed and squeeze water out.
3. Combine zucchini with remaining ingredients.
4. Put on baking sheet after making into egg shapes of about 1 tablespoon each.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping half way through.

108 calories

3 Smart Points

4.3 grams fat

6.8 grams protein

11.5 grams carbs

1.8 grams fiber

2 grams sugar

Zucchini Tots before baking

Zucchini Tots after baking

Recipe: Healthy Pizza (4 SP)

My family has been missing having pizza for dinner occasionally so I was excited to find a way to have it and keep within my daily points.  When I was at Trader Joe's this week I found some pre-made whole wheat pizza dough and thought I'd give it a try.  I also bought a regular pizza dough to make a separate one for the kids.

For our pizza I used:

Pre-made Trader Giotto's whole wheat pizza dough

Prego pizza sauce (1/2 jar)

Hormel turkey pepperoni (34 slices)

1 3/4 cups fat free mozzarella cheese

canned sliced mushrooms

I made the mistake of putting the cheese on top and I would rearrange ingredients the next time so the pepperoni was on top but it was DELICIOUS!!

I put all of the ingredients and amounts into the Weight Watchers recipe calculator and if you cut the pizza into 8 slices they are just 4 Smart Points each!!  Wow!!  I had 2 slices and a salad with fat free dressing and my whole dinner was just 9 points.  And it was soooo good!  It totally satisfied my pizza craving and I was able to enjoy pizza with my family.  My hubby and I ate the "healthy" pizza and I made a different one with regular crust and full-fat pepperoni and cheese!  The kids liked their pizza too.

Whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe's 

Whole wheat pizza before baking

Fresh from the oven

Sooooo delicious!!  I recommend you try it!