Bourbon Chicken and Broccoli

Not every recipe has to be a total revamp. I want the recipe to still taste like the original recipe intended... just slightly better for me. When I came across Mel's Bourbon Chicken, it looked delicious and fit into my meal plan perfectly. I just wanted to "health" it up slightly.

As originally posted, Mel's recipe provides:

295 calories
10.9 g fat
14.7 g carbohydrate
0.1 g fiber
35.8 g protein

Not too bad. I reduced the amount of chicken used and replaced it with 2 cups frozen broccoli. I also decreased the oil by half. The result not only effected the macronutrients but micronutrients as well! The addition of broccoli made the Vitamin C content go from 3.4% to 48% BONUS!

Bourbon Chicken and Broccoli

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 Tbsp olive oil
cornstarch for dusting

1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 c. apple juice
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup lite soy sauce
2 cups frozen broccoli florets

Cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces. Dust lightly with cornstarch. Heat oil in wok and cook chicken in batches in batches until lightly browned on all sides. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

In a bowl, combine remaining ingredients except for broccoli. Pour into wok and bring to a boil. Add chicken bits back to the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add broccoli florets. Simmer 2-3 more minutes or until broccoli is thoroughly heated. Serve on fried brown rice, if desired.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving:

222 calories
6.0 g fat
16.3 g carbohydrate
1.0 g fiber
28.0 g protein

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

I think I need to work on my food photography skills....but it sure tastes good!!!

Feeding Finley as been quite the learning experience. She is a *little* independent and has NEVER let us feed her baby food or put utensils up to her mouth. She has wanted to do it all on her own. So the challenge has been to find foods that our toothless darling can eat. We were amazed at the way should could put down steamed broccoli, peas, even grilled chicken without any teeth.

In the last week, two little teeth have just begun to break the surface of her lower gums and it has opened up a whole new world of eating for our little darling. I'm not a big fan of having special foods just for the baby, instead I try to just feed her what we are having for dinner. I was SUPER surprised when she gobbled up this enchilada recipe. The tortillas were a bit too difficult for her to manuver without full teeth but she gobbled up the chicken and black bean filling. Now I know that spicy food is right up her alley (although this dish isn't too spicy, just a little kick from the chiles).

The original recipe is from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I like it because all of the ingredients are things that I typically keep on hand. These enchiladas are jam packed! So I said that it makes 6 servings, which would be 1.5 enchiladas per person. The original recipe would provide:

723 calories
40.5 g fat
55.3 g carbohydrate
6.4 g fiber
35 g protein

I made a few basic changes like using reduced fat cream cheese and sour cream. I also only sprinkled the top with a 1/2 cup cheddar, instead of putting a few tablespoons of Monterey Jack in each enchilada plus cheese on top. I also substituted good old La Tortilla Factory Low Carb tortillas.

This recipe would be great for doubling and freezing or just halving and freezing, depending on your family size. I will definitely be making it again!!!

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
2 (4 oz) cans green chiles
1 pkg reduced fat cream cheese
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp light margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp flour
1/3 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. skim milk
1 can (7 oz) green chile enchilada sauce
1/2 c. reduced fat sour cream
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
8 La Tortilla Factory tortillas

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, combine softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine, set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the margarine over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 2-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute until all the flour is cooked and nutty. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and has thickened. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Spread about 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down on the prepared baking dish.

Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with shredded cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Top with chopped cilantro, if desired.

Makes 6 servings:

620 calories 26 g fat 67 g carbohydrate 15.7 g fiber 37.3 g protein

Paco's Tacos

(Pacos Tacos - all loaded up)

Our honeymoon not only created our love for pico de gallo. It also created our summer favorite - Paco's Tacos!! When we arrived at our all inclusive resort for our honey moon, by the time we got checked in and into our room it was already past dinner time at the dining facilities. EXCEPT for an open-all-night place called Paco's. So we headed there the first time.

OH. MY. GOODNESS. We were in love - with the food. They had authentic Mexican cuisine at its finest. Everything tasted so fresh and delicious. They had tacos and quesadillas and everything else you could imagine. So on our multiple trips to Paco's throughout the week, I tried to figure out how to replicate Paco's Tacos at home. Here's what we came up with:

Paco's tacos filling

Paco's Tacos

2 chicken breasts
Juice of 4 limes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
fresh cracked pepper

2 bell peppers - any color, sliced into strips
1 red onion, sliced into strips

In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, cilantro, garlic cloves, olive oil and pepper. Reserve 1/4 cup of marinade in a tupperware container. Add chicken breasts to larger bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to marinate for at least 2 hours.

When ready to grill, slice up peppers and red onion into strips. Create a pouch of tin foil. Put sliced veggies and reserved 1/4 cup marinade into pouch. Seal up pouch and put on top shelf of preheated grill. Grill chicken breasts for 6-7 minutes on each side until thoroughly cooked. Remove chicken and veggies from grill.

Slice chicken breasts into thin strips. Top tortillas with chicken and veggies then additional toppings as desired.

Enjoy!! Makes 4 servings.

***I did not calculate nutrition facts on this as it depends what you put on your taco.

Hawaiian Baked Chicken

A few nights ago I planned on just having a grab-whatever-you-can-find type of dinner because I had a softball game at 6:15 pm and I wasn't sure if we'd want to eat before or after the game. Basically it was a "good luck" kind of night.

Well when my softball game was canceled because of bad weather, that left us home all evening with no dinner planned. I decided to make chicken but our grill was out of propane so we couldn't grill it. I wanted to bake it but didn't feel like having boring old chicken. I looked in my stock pile to find a few cans of pineapple and some low sodium soy sauce. There must be some kind of "Hawaiian" chicken type recipe out there?!?!

So I found this recipe on allrecipes.com which I LOOSELY based my concoction off of. It turned out really good! The chicken was super tender from the marinade and full of flavor. The husband isn't a big fan of cooked pineapple and is kind of a pineapple snob after eating fresh pineapple on the Road to Hana in Hawaii - but I liked it!

Hawaiian Baked Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup pineapple chunks, reserve juice
1/2 cup juice from pineapple
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place chicken breasts in a shallow pan or 9x13 pan. In a seperate bowl, mix together remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken breasts and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put dish with chicken in marinade in oven for 45 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve chicken with pieces of cooked chicken.

Makes 4 servings.

Chicken Taco Bowls

Honestly, I'm not sure I realized we ate Mexican food this much until I started this blog. I think its a mixture of the facts that both my husband and I like spicy food, Mexican can be thrown together pretty quickly and I usually have all the necessary ingredients on hand.

On this day, I was driving home, planning to make chicken tacos for dinner. I was thinking about everything I had already eaten in the day and realized I needed to go easy on the carbs a bit. I didn't have any La Tortilla Factory tortillas on hand so I would need to limit my traditional tortilla intake. I decided to try to make a taco bowl so I could load up on the protein rich filling, but have less tortillas. It turned out great! And I think you'll like it too :)

Chicken Taco Bowls

6 small flour tortillas
nonstick cooking spray
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 chicken breasts, diced into small pieces
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
3 oz. Pepper jack cheese, shredded
Romaine lettuce, shredded
Reduced fat sour cream to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray the inside of 6 souffle ramikens with nonstick spray. Press one tortilla in each ramican. Spray tortilla with nonstick spray. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat olive oil in skillet. Add chicken and cook on all sides until opaque. Add can of diced tomatoes with chilies and taco seasoning. Stir to thoroughly combine and allow to simmer lightly while tortilla bowls cook.

When bowls are finished, they should be lightly browned along the edges. Remove from oven and spoon chicken mixture evenly among taco bowls. Sprinkle chicken with pepper jack cheese. Return to oven for 1 minute to melt cheese.

Remove from oven and top with shredded lettuce and reduced fat sour cream.

Enjoy!!!

Per bowl:
229 calories
8.5 g fat
20.4 g carbohydrate
1.9 g fiber
16.4 g protein

Homemade Chicken Broth

On New Years Eve this year (I know it was a few months ago!) our friends gathered to ring in the new year. A few minutes before midnight, one of my friends asked the others what their new year's resolutions are.

I resolved to lose the baby weight (boring....)

One friend resolved that she was bringing sexy back. She had a child in the previous year and was now a stay at home mom. She found herself all too often staying in sweats and a ponytail and resolved to put a little more effort into her appearance. I thought this was a great idea.

My friend, Julie, resolved that she and her husband were going to eat intentionally. She elaborated that they were trying to be more aware of where their food came from, what was in it and how they could get better control of their food. We have talked about splitting up a cow for beef so we know where our meat comes from. I know she rocks the bread machine for homemade bread. She also told me that they had made some homemade broth and it pretty much made everything they used it in awesome.

Julie's resolution got me thinking about all the processed foods in my life. Although I'm not willing to give it all up (and I don't think she is either...) I could make some changes in the foods that I am able to make my own. For this reason I thought I'd give homemade broth a try.

I purchased a small little roaster chicken and prepared it based off of the Pioneer Woman's recipe. After serving the chicken, I saved the carcass and remaining meat that was on it for some broth. (recipe below, adapted from here).

When all was said and done, I made 8 cups of super flavorful broth! I packaged them up into 2 cup servings (about the size of a can) and laid them flat in the freezer for future use.



A typical one cup serving of chicken broth has 754 mg of sodium. That's a quarter of your daily value in just one cup of broth!!! I'm not quite sure how to calculate out the nutrition facts on this but my best guess is that the homemade version has less than 100 mg of sodium per serving. YET has more flavor from all the other goodies.

Homemade Chicken Broth in a slow cooker

Carcass of roaster chicken or rotisserie chicken
1 chopped onion
2-3 stalks celery, chopped into large chunks
3 carrots, chopped into large chunks
3-4 whole garlic cloves
8 cups water
if desired, additional seasonings such as bay leaves, Italian seasoning, etc.

***My roaster chicken still had a bunch of meat on it as well as remaining skin which had a lot of seasoning on from the original cooking process. For this reason, I didn't add a ton of seasoning. You be the judge of what you need.

Put chicken carcass into large crockpot. Add chopped vegetables and seasoning. Add water. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Place a wire strainer over a large tupperware container. Ladle contents of slowcooker into tupperware, allowing the strainer to catch all the solids. Cover tupperware and refrigerate overnight.



The next day, the fat will have risen to the top and solidified. (its ok to gag a little). Scrape the fat layer off the top. Portion out remaining broth into desired servings and freeze until ready to use.

***Original recipe makes a blenderized version utilizing all the scraps in the slow cooker, except the bones. I chose to make more of a clarified version.

Chicken Tacos

The Pioneer Woman is one of those blogger empires... she cooks... she photographs...she homeschools and somehow manages to blog about all of them. I'm not quite sure how it all gets done! All of her recipes look delicious. She uses the real deal ingredients and makes no excuses for how to make a recipe taste awesome. Unfortunately, some her recipes look incredibly sinful!

Although I'm not aspiring to become an awesome photographer and I don't plan on homeschooling my kids, I figured I can still try to healthify her recipe, right? This recipe for Her Brother's Chicken Tacos looked like the perfect specimen. I didn't know how to figure out the nutrition facts since they are deep fried. How do you calculate the amount of oil absorbed by the taco? One thing is for sure... I'm pretty sure they are awesome tasting...but not awesome for you.

I made a couple changes. First I didn't deep fry them. Second, I used La Tortilla Factory High Fiber/Low Carb tortillas (the 50 calorie size). Lastly, I used reduced fat cheese, sour cream and spinach instead of lettuce. They turned out great. My husband asked for a repeat performance - which is an awesome sign.

Chicken Tacos - BETTER

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup salsa
1 Tbsp taco seasoning
6 La Tortilla Factory High Fiber/Low Carb tortillas (50 calorie size)
1/2 cup 2% cheddar cheese
2 cups chopped spinach
1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream

Preheat oven to 425. Heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat in skillet. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Add salsa and taco seasoning, stir well.

Brush remaining olive oil onto a cookie sheet. Put equal amounts of chicken filling in each tortilla. Fold tortilla in half (like a taco) and place one side down on oiled sheet. Brush the up-sides of tortillas with oil. Bake for 13 minutes until tortilla begins to brown. Add remaining ingredients and enjoy!

Makes 3 servings of two tacos each.

Per serving:
346 calories
17.8 g fat
26.1 g carbohydrate
15.1 g fiber
33.6 g protein

Whole Crock Pot Chicken

Sometimes people make traditional meals that I never have made before. I want to try them but I'm afraid. I've never made a pot roast or a turkey or a whole chicken. I decided to break that up by trying a whole chicken when my sister-in-law and her husband were coming up for Sunday dinner.

I found a recipe here for a whole chicken in the crockpot. I thought this looked good since you skinned the chicken first and wouldn't have all that extra fat floating around in the pot.

I have to admit, I'm a little squeamish when it comes to raw chicken. After I gagged about 5 times while ripping the skin off the chicken in the sink, I became mesmerized by the anatomy of the chicken. I kept pointing out things to my husband. "Look at this tendon structure....". Anyway, I got over the gross-ness of it and proceeded on.

The chicken didn't come out how I expected it, but it was delicious anyway. I thought I would be able to pull it out of the crock pot and carve it. Nope. It pretty much fell apart when it was done. So it was almost shredded chicken but it was awesome.

I forgot to take pictures of it on the night it was served but the leftovers made awesome chicken on top of a salad ;)

Rotisserie Style Whole Chicken

1 whole chicken (4-5 pounds), skinned
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 whole garlic cloves
1 yellow onion, quartered

Skin the chicken and make sure the cavity is empty. Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

In a bowl, combine all the dried spices. Rub the spice mixture all over the bird, inside and out. Put the whole garlic cloves and quartered onion inside the bird. Put the bird breast side DOWN in a 6 qt crock pot.

DO NOT ADD WATER.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8 hours (I did low for 8 hours and that was plenty!!!). The meat is done when it is fully cooked and has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender the meat.

High Fiber Enchiladas

Do you ever plan something for dinner but then when you're about to make it you realize you don't have a key ingredient? Since I started menu planning this doesn't happen to me very often but it does still occasionally occur. Much to my dismay, it happened last week. As I was driving home from work I did an assessment of the ingredients available in our house.

I figured we'd have something Mexican as I knew we had some tortillas. Have you ever had La Tortilla Factory tortillas? I STRONGLY recommend finding these in your area. They are half the calories and carbs of traditional tortillas with more fiber and protein. And still quite tasty!

This is an original recipe that I just created from ingredients in the house. They ended up being pretty low calorie yet high in fiber and protein. Each serving provides two enchiladas and the whole recipe makes 3 servings.

High Fiber Enchiladas

6 La Tortilla Factory Low Carb/High Fiber tortillas (Original size, 50 calories each)
8 oz chicken, pre cooked and shredded
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 cup salsa, divided
1 Tbsp taco seasoning
1 cup 2% cheddar cheese, divided
1 small onion, diced small

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a small 8x11 pan with nonstick spray.

Mix together chicken, black beans, sour cream, 1/2 cup salsa, taco seasoning, 1/2 cup cheddar and onion. Evenly scoop chicken mixture into six tortillas. Wrap up and place seam side down on prepared pan.

Spread remaining salsa over top of enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serve with lettuce, salsa and sour cream if desired.

Makes 3 servings of 2 enchiladas. Each serving provides:
381 calories
12.8 g fat
38.1 g carbohydrate
18.3 g fiber
41.7 g protein

Chicken Parmesan with vegetables

Before I was married, I lived alone from the time I was 19 until I got married at 26. I loved living alone. I was in charge of my own stuff, my own place and my own meals. I still cooked just for one and would have leftovers for lunches and dinners in the upcoming days. I've never been that big of a meat eater and could live off of cheese and beans for my main source of protein. When I got married, that changed. I soon learned that I needed to have a good protein source at every meal, whether it be eggs, chicken, beef, turkey, etc. There are only a few meals that I know my husband truly enjoys that are vegetarian. (This minestrone being one of his favorites!)

In the last month as I've been trying to increase my own protein intake, I've been trying to come up with meals that not only have protein sources that my husband enjoys, but that I enjoy as well. I decided to revamp a basic chicken and pasta recipe to serve both of our taste preferences.

Chicken Parmesan with Vegetables

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
12 oz chicken (four 3 oz breasts or two large breasts cut in half)
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups cooked whole wheat spaghetti

Drizzle olive oil in a nonstick pan. Cook the chicken breast over medium heat until lightly browned on both sides. Add the vegetables. Stir and cook until tender-crisp.

Sprinkle with oregano. Add the spaghetti sauce and cook until heated through, approximately 5 minutes.

Put 1/2 cup of cooked whole wheat spaghetti on a plate. Top with a piece of chicken and generous ladle of veggies and sauce. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese over each serving. Makes 4 servings.

Per serving (chicken, veggies and pasta!)
345 calories
10.9 g fat
36.8 g carbohydrate
6.9 g fiber
26.3 g protein

Setting Yourself Up for Success

My husband is home from his two week trip... and so is my camera! Woo hoo! So hopefully I'll have some posts with pics of real food this week ;)

In the meantime, lets talk chicken. Chicken is one of those foods that can provide you with some muscle-building protein without a whole lot of fat or work, for that matter. I've been trying to incorporate more protein in my diet and chicken is my new best friend. BUT I'm a busy lady and I don't have time to be cooking up chicken every night. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to give you some ideas of how to cook chicken ahead of time. I buy frozen chicken breasts at GFS so I always have good uniform sized chicken breasts ready to go.

BAKED CHICKEN
Thaw chicken breasts and add Italian dressing for marinade. After marinading in the fridge for 2-3 hours, place chicken breasts in a single layer on a 9x13 pan. Grind fresh pepper and sprinkle garlic powder lightly over top of chicken breasts. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

GRILLED CHICKEN
Thaw chicken breasts and add Italian dressing for marinade. After marinading in the fridge for 2-3 hours, heat grill to medium heat. Brush grill grate with olive oil to prevent sticking. Place chicken breasts on grate in a single layer. Cook for 4-5 minutes then flip. Cook on second side for 3-4 minutes or until heated through.

CROCK POT
Place frozen chicken breasts in crock pot with 1/4 cup water. Grind fresh black pepper over the top. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Place lid on crock pot and cook on low 4-6 hours or high 3-4 hours.

BOIL (not my favorite, but fast)
Boil water. Add thawed chicken breasts for 8-10 minutes or until heated through.

Last night we had baked chicken (option #1) for dinner. Instead of cooking up 2 or 3 breasts I cooked 6. I put the remaining chicken breasts in a tupperware container in the fridge for future use.


Here are some ways to use your precooked chicken breasts:

• Cut up on top of a salad or bed of spinach for lunch.
• Chop and make chicken salad.
• Cut up and use in a wrap.
• Shred to use as a filling in enchiladas or tacos.

How would you use precooked chicken?

Oat and Walnut Crusted Chicken

I have made oven baked chicken fingers a bazillion different ways. And each time I am typically disappointed that the coating is crispy enough or it all sticks to the pan and comes off when you cut the chicken. It is typically a kitchen fail... yet I try and try again.

I came across this recipe for Oatmeal Pecan Crusted Chicken from Sweet Treats and More. I thought I would give it a shot. It looked pretty healthy so I didn't make any intentional healthy changes. I did make a few changes thought...

A. I used walnuts instead of pecans. This was strictly a financial decision. Pecans were $8.99/lb. Walnuts were $4.99/lb. Not a tough decision.

B. I have altered the recipe to decrease the amount of topping prepared. When I made this originally, there was a TON of topping left over and I wouldn't want all of that going to waste!

Nuts have nutritional benefits that make it a great staple to incorporate into all kinds of ways in your diet. Walnuts, for example, are a great source of omega 3s which can help keep your heart, brain and joints healthy. They are also a good source of vitamin E which is a powerful antioxidant helping to strengthen cell membranes and fight free radicals. So obviously, adding walnuts to your chicken fingers is a great choices!!!

Overall, this chicken was pretty much awesome! It was moist and flavorful yet the crust was crunchy and held up it's texture. Plus it stuck to the chicken well and didn't fall all over my plate when I cut my chicken. Definitely a winner and will make a repeat appearance on our table :)

Oatmeal Walnut Crusted Chicken

2/3 c. dry old fashioned oats
1/3 c. walnuts
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme + 1 tsp oregano + 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
16 oz. chicken breast tenderloins

In a food processor (or blender, like I did) grind oats and walnuts. Dump into a bowl and stir in seasonings. Spray each chicken tender with nonstick cooking spray then roll into the oat/nut mixture.

Place on a greased baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes at 450 degrees. Rotate while cooking.

Makes 4 servings. Each serving provides:
242.9 calories
8.9 g fat
10.6 g carbohydrate
2.5 g fiber
29.9 g protein

Creamy Crockpot Chicken

I don't have a picture of this one as the camera has resided at my husband's office for the last couple days. Instead I'll give you a random picture.

View from my front porch in winter time.

This is one of those many recipes that I see all over the blog world and I was never introduced to until recently. I'm not a fan of alfredo and this is as close as I get to it. It's super easy and perfect for taking a dish to pass at a function. The recipe that I originally used is from The Girl Who Ate Everything. As originally posted, this provides (Just the topping, not the pasta):

305.5 calories
20 g fat
8.3 g carbohydrate
0.0 g fiber
22.7 g protein

I make just a few changes. First I use reduced fat cream cheese and a little bit less than the original recipe. Second, I add a bag of frozen vegetables. I like it with broccoli best but often make it with green beans since the husband isn't a huge broccoli fan. Adding vegetables to pasta dishes can help decrease the portion of pasta that you use and add extra vitamins and minerals.

Overall, this is a regular staple on our meal plan. Give it a try!


Creamy Crockpot Chicken - BETTER

four 4 oz chicken breasts
1 packet dressing mix, I like Good Seasons' Garlic & Herb
6 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
10 oz bag frozen broccoli or green beans

Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle dressing packet over it. Cover with cream of chicken soups and cream cheese. Cook on low for at least 4 hours. About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve, take out chicken breasts and shred. Put back into the crock pot and give the sauce a good stir. Add frozen vegetables. Cook for additional 3o minutes.

Serve over whole wheat pasta or spaghetti squash.

Makes 6 servings, each serving provides:

261 calories
13.6 g fat
10.6 g carbohydrate
1.4 g fiber
24.1 g protein

Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

Do you ever come across a website and you think to yourself.... Really? Am I just now finding out about this website? How have I survived this long without knowing about it?!?!?!

That's how I felt when I came across Gina's Skinny Recipes at www.skinnytaste.com . Honestly, there are some awesome recipes on here with lots of flavor but not a lot of fat and calories. Expect to see many variations of Gina's recipes on GBFMB in the future.

A few weeks ago we were having a babysitter come to watch our daughter so we could go for a night out. I wanted to have dinner ready for the sitter but didn't want to have to be slaving over the stove up until she got there. So I decided some sort of chicken and roasted vegetables would be the winner. I could prep everything ahead of time, throw it in the oven and have it be ready shortly after we leave. I searched the internet and fount this recipe on Gina's Skinny Recipes. I didn't have those exact vegetables on hand and I used four 4 oz. chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs, but the idea is the same.

The end result was awesome! I had leftovers for lunch a couple days after the original meal and it was so tasty. The chicken was very tender and all the vegetables were very flavorful. Great way to use up some extra vegetables in the winter time.
Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

four 4 oz chicken breasts
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1" cubes
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2" slices
3 celery stalks, chopped into large chunks
1 large onion, chopped into large chunks
1 bell pepper (color of choice) cut into large chunks
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 Tbsp dried oregano

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry the chicken well with paper towels. Combine all the ingredients together and using your hands, arrange in a very large roasting pan. (I arranged the vegetables in a 9x13 pan and the chicken in an 8x8). The vegetables should not touch the chicken or it will steam. All ingredients should be spread out in a single layer. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving:
309.8 calories
8.5 g fat
29.2 g carbohydrate
3.9 g fiber
29.1 g protein

Chicken and Black Bean Tacos on Flatbread

I love my husband with all my heart. But I truly believe that couples are brought together to complement each others' strengths and weaknesses. Thankfully, I enjoy cooking us dinner as my husband's culinary skills are....um....limited.

I like to stick to my mealplan as much as possible. Last week I thought that my husband was going to be late in the evening so I didn't plan anything for dinner. Much to my surprise, I found out late the night before that he would indeed be home for dinner. So I told him that I would figure out something for dinner and let him know via email so he could throw something in the crock pot before he left at 2:00pm. This might sound like the perfect plan but I was trying to keep it as simple as possible. So I sent him with the following recipe:
Chicken and Black Beans Taco filling

4 small chicken breasts, frozen
1 16 oz jar your favorite salsa
1 Tbsp taco seasoning
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

Combine chicken breasts, salsa and taco seasoning in crock pot. Cook on high for 3 hours.

Shred chicken with two forks. Add drained black beans to crock pot. Continue to cook on low for 1 hour.

Use as filling for tacos, quesadillas, on top of a salad, etc.

Makes about 8 servings. Each serving provides:
128.4 calories
1.1 g fat
12.4 g carbohydrate
3.8 g fiber
17.3 g protein

With this chicken concoction, I decided to try a variation of a recipe that I saw on Real Mom Kitchen. Instead of tortillas, she made "flatbread" out of refrigerator biscuits. I used the same method and came up with my own variation of flatbread tacos.
Flatbread tacos - BETTER

1 package reduced fat refrigerator biscuits (I used Grand's)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 cup 2% shredded Cheddar cheese

Roll each biscuit into a 6-inch circle. In a dry skillet over medium heat, cook each biscuit for 30-60 seconds on each side until browned. Keep warm in a tortilla warmer.

Spread each flatbread with a Tbsp of sour cream. Pile chicken/blackbean filling on top. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp shredded cheese.

Enjoy!

As prepared, each flatbread taco provides:
343 calories
9.9 g fat
39.4 g carbohydrate
4.8 g fiber
21.2 g protein.

Poppy Seed Chicken

I have a love for anything with a good crust, any good casserole and anything that can be made ahead or frozen. I feel like I'm always bringing a meal to someone who just had a baby and I find it easiest just to make a big batch of what we're having for dinner and split it up so I have some for the new momma as well.

One of my coworkers had a baby a few weeks ago and I wanted to make some good old comfort food (i.e. an awesome casserole). I've made poppy seed chicken before and assumed I could make it ahead of time and freeze it before baking. So over the weekend, I made up a batch of the awesome casserole - put half of it in an 8x8 for Paul and myself and put the other half in a foil 8x8 for my coworker. The day before I brought it over to her, I cooked up a big batch of brown rice to split between the two of us and picked up an extra bag of broccoli Steamers. Voila -instant comfort meal.

Poppy seed chicken is one of those recipes that you see all over the blogosphere. I decided to go with The Girl Who Ate Everything's rendition. I like that she provides a bunch of different ways to kick it up a notch. I added Worcestershire sauce and celery seed. I've made it with cheddar cheese before too (although that definitely doesn't help the healthful factor).

I guessed that each 9x13 pan would provide about 8 servings of the casserole. Each serving of the original recipe would provide:

511 calories
29.1 g fat
17.1 g carbohydrate
0.1 g fiber
44.9 g protein

I made a few substitutions that you could easily do at home. First, I used fat free sour cream instead of full fat sour cream. I don't really care for fat free sour cream as a topping, but in recipes its usually a pretty good substitute. Next, I used reduced fat Ritz crackers. Lastly, I only used 2 Tbsp of melted butter, instead of 1/2 a cup. I sprayed the top with nonstick spray to ensure that it browned nicely. Overall - pretty AWESOME.

Poppy Seed Chicken - BETTER

5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 cup fat free sour cream
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups crushed reduced fat Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls)
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
nonstick spray

Additional ingredients to make it fancier (and not included in the nutrition facts):
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper

Boil raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper until done. I usually do this in a crockpot with frozen chicken breasts and a 1/4 cup of water on high for a few hours. Let chicken cool and cut into one inch cubes. Place cubed chicken in a 9x13 casserole dish. (If splitting, use two 8x8 pans).

Stir together condensed soup and sour cream. IF you wish to add the additional flavorings, add them in now. Stir well and pour over the chicken.

In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce. Evenly spray with nonstick spray.

Cover with foil and place in freezer if keeping for later. When ready to bake, thaw completely in the fridge. Uncover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over brown rice.

Makes 8 servings. Per serving:
393 calories
12.4 g fat
21.6 g carbohydrate
0.1 g fiber
45.4 g protein

On another note.... I'm hosting 15 people over at my house on Sunday and want to make something in the crockpot that will be ready after church... any suggestions?

Product Review - Good Earth Herb Crusted Chicken with Wild Mushroom Risotto

I don't normally buy packaged meals. I usually feel that they are pretty salty and full of preservatives. Plus, after making them, I usually feel like I could have made it homemade, just as easily.

I am a coupon fanatic. I clip coupons, I organize them in my coupon binder, I match up my deals of the week with coupons and stock up my pantry. A few weeks ago there was a good bargain on General Mill's new Good Earth packaged dinner kits. I think they are usually $4 a box and were on sale for 2/$4 and I had $1 off coupon. I think I got it for around a dollar. Even though this isn't my usual thing, I thought I'd give it a try.

I planned on making this on one of the nights that I get home from work late and try to whip up a dinner in 30 minutes or less. I had the chicken thawed and ready to go.

The risotto was easy to put together. I didn't tell Paul that the brown bits were mushrooms and he didn't comment on them either. So that's a plus!

The chicken was to be breaded and sauteed. I don't remember how much oil the recipe called for but I only used about 2 Tbsp olive oil, just enough to coat the pan.

Overall, paired with some steamed broccoli - the Good Earth Herb Crusted Chicken and Wild Mushroom Risotto was a pretty good meal. It took about 30 minutes to prepare and all I had to do was add a vegetable to round out the meal.

The box did say it would prepare about 5 servings. I'm pretty sure 4 would be more accurate. It was also a little saltier than I prefer my food. Overall, if it was on sale and I had a coupon again - I'd buy it. Would I pay full price for it? No. But then again, I wouldn't pay full price for many things :)

As I prepared it, each serving (4 servings) provides:
334 calories
9.4 g fat
30 g carbohydrate
0 g fiber
29.9 g protein

This review was completed on my own and without input or compensation from General Mills.

Chicken a la King

Sometimes when I surf the blog food world I feel like there are recipes that everyone else have been eating their whole lives and for some reason I've missed out on it since I've never heard of it. Chicken a la King is one of those recipes. A few weeks ago I put this on my "To make" list and since that time I have seen variations of Chicken a la King on several different food blogs. Ultimately, I ended up choosing the recipe posted by Real Mom Kitchen.

As posted, this recipe provides:
412 calories
21.0 g fat
11.8 g carbohydrate
1.4 g fiber
43.1 g protein
(Just the chicken topping, not including whatever you serve it on)

Unfortunately this recipe calls for mushrooms which are a no-go for the husband. So I substituted carrots for mushrooms. (I know this is not an equal substitution but I was just trying to use up some of the crisper drawer). I will post the recipe with mushrooms, however.

There were two big substitutions that I made. I substituted 2 Tbsp olive oil for the 1/2 cup of butter. a.) olive oil is made from monounsaturated fats which are heart healthy fats vs. butter which is full of saturated fats or artery clogging fats and b.) 1/2 cup of butter seemed like a WHOLE HECK OF A LOT of butter to saute and I felt I could get the job done with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. I may have missed out on the richness in taste but I think my heart thanked me. I also substituted skim milk for half-and-half. This obviously cuts out on a ton of fat and calories. Another substitution would be to buy fat free half-and-half. It would make it a little more creamy like the original recipe.

I served this on reduced fat Grands biscuits but you could also cut down on calories/fat by serving on whole wheat toast or other low fat/high fiber carb.

Chicken a la King - BETTER

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced celery
1 cup fresh mushrooms
2 cups diced onion
5-6 Tbsp flour
3 1/4 cup chicken broth
1 (4oz) jar diced pimento
2 cups skim milk (or fat free half-and-half)
3 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken breasts
puff pastry shells, toast points, biscuits, rice or noodles to serve over

Saute celery, mushrooms, and onion in olive oil over medium-low heat to reach desired tenderness.

Gradually add 5-6 tbsp flour, stirring constantly to incorporate.

Turn up heat. As mixture thickens, add chicken stock and milk.

Then stir in chicken and pimento. Spoon chicken mixture into puff pastry shells or over toast points, biscuits, rice or noodles to serve. Makes 8 servings.

Per serving (not including whatever you serve it over):
283 calories
6.0 g fat
12.2 g carbohydrate
1.4 g fiber
43.3 g protein

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Chicken

In the summer, we grill A LOT of chicken. In fact, one summer we ate grilled chicken sprinkled with Montreal Steak seasoning with grilled green peppers, onions and potatoes probably 3 or 4 nights a week and we called it "summer meal". Since that summer, I've tried to be a little more creative with my grilled chicken.

My meal plan for the week called for grilled chicken with potatoes and vegetables one night so off I went in search of a great grilled chicken recipe. I found this recipe on Real Mom Kitchen for Sweet and Spicy Grilled Chicken and thought I'd give it a try.

To be honest, I made no nutritional changes to this recipe! The rub itself is pretty healthy and plain old chicken breast can't really be made healthier. The recipe does, however, call for a 6 oz chicken breast per person. Traditionally I recommend 3-4 oz protein portions at meals. I had a pretty hard work out after work on this day and ate the full 6 oz portion myself.... so I can't judge if you do too!

I did make one small change to the recipe. I didn't grill the chicken. See, we live in Michigan and we have this thing called CRAZY winters that last forever. And since it was December, I kind of forgot that we had moved the grill to the storage area since winter grilling on our deck is out of the questions as it is freezing and crazy windy all the time. So I seared this chicken in a dry frying pan instead.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each... or I used chicken tenders)

Combine the first five ingredients; rub over chicken. Coat grill rack with cooking spray for grills or brush with olive oil before starting the grill. (Or just put it in a dry nonstick pan, like me). Grill chicken, covered, for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.

Makes 5 servings, per serving:

209 calories
2.4 g fat
6.5 g carbohydrate
0.7 g fiber
39.6 g protein

Chicken Spaghetti

I recommend putting a baking sheet under this as mine OBVIOUSLY bubbled over :)

I work a weird schedule. I alternate between working 6am-2pm one day to 10 am - 6pm the next. On the days I get out at 2 pm, I try to make ahead a meal for the following day when I get out at 6pm so we can actually eat at a decent hour, instead of 9 pm. I am always looking for meals that can be made ahead or frozen. When reading the Pioneer Woman's post for Chicken Spaghetti, she talked about it freezing well, so I assumed I could just make it a day ahead as well.

I was right! My inlaws were watching the little munchkin one day and I wanted to have a home cooked meal to thank them for watching her.... but I wouldn't be there to bake it! So I made it the day ahead and left my mother-in-law instructions for getting it in the oven. It turned out great! I even made a special little dish of it for my father-in-law who doesn't like onions or peppers (although I wouldn't RECOMMEND that, as that takes out a lot of the vitamins and minerals of the dish!).

As prepared by the Pioneer Woman, this recipe provides:
391 calories
19.5 g fat
27.2 g carbohydrate
1.6 g fiber
26.2 g protein

I made just a few little changes to the recipe. First, I substituted whole wheat thin spaghetti for the regular spaghetti. Second, I doubled the amount of green pepper and onion to make it a little more vegetable-heavy. Lastly, I substituted 2% cheddar cheese for the full fat version, and only put 1 cup in the dish, with an additional 1 cup on top.

It was awesome! It also reheated really well. I had it for lunch the following two days after we had it for dinner.

Chicken Spaghetti - BETTER
2 cups cooked chicken breasts
3 cups dry whole wheat spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken, or both!)
1 cup shredded 2% cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely diced green pepper
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 jar (4 oz) diced pimentos, drained
2 cups reserved chicken broth from pot
1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup additional shredded 2% cheddar cheese

Boil chicken breasts in water. Shred the chicken breasts. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. Reserve 2 cups of broth. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup cheese.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until bubble. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

Makes 8 servings, per serving:
269 calories
7 g fat
29.0 g carbohydrate
3 g fiber
22.2 g protein