Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Not Too Chili...Again
I posted a recipe for my chili a while back and I hope you've had a chance to try it and enjoyed it as much as we have. But here's a "tweak". I bought some Jennie-O ground turkey breast today at Publix. It's 99% fat free! I used it for my chili tonight and it was really good! I didn't want to add any oil so I coated the pot really well with some Pam cooking spray. Just to make things easier for you, here's a link to the original recipe. Just exchange the turkey for the beef. Oh! And I also added a can of drained and rinsed black beans.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Avocado Salad
Last summer avocados were so expensive I didn't get any. And I love avocados too. It was very sad. But I've already found some for $1.00 each! Yay! Avocados in the house! Bob and I love avocados just cut up with a little lemon juice, salt and pepper. But this salad is great and is a favorite here! This recipe makes quite a bit so you can munch on it for several days.
Avocado Salad
2 ripe avocados
2 tomatoes
extra sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Cut avocados lengthwise all the way around. Twist the two halves and pull apart. You can either spoon out the pit or cut slightly into it with your knife and turn slightly. The pit will come out with the knife. Cut diamonds in the avocado, being careful not to cut through the skin. Insert a kitchen tablespoon and pull out the chunks. Place in a large bowl. Repeat for the second avocado. Cut the tomatoes into large diced pieces and place in bowl with avocados. Add the cubed cheese.
Add two teaspoons fresh lemon juice or two capfuls of lemon juice. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix and chill for about an hour.
2 ripe avocados
2 tomatoes
extra sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Cut avocados lengthwise all the way around. Twist the two halves and pull apart. You can either spoon out the pit or cut slightly into it with your knife and turn slightly. The pit will come out with the knife. Cut diamonds in the avocado, being careful not to cut through the skin. Insert a kitchen tablespoon and pull out the chunks. Place in a large bowl. Repeat for the second avocado. Cut the tomatoes into large diced pieces and place in bowl with avocados. Add the cubed cheese.
Add two teaspoons fresh lemon juice or two capfuls of lemon juice. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix and chill for about an hour.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Baked Ham with Cherry Glaze
Holidays can be difficult. Why do Americans make all holidays to be about food? Easter is coming soon and you will be inundated with baked ham, sweets, potatoes, etc. If you're doing the cooking, no problem. Have baked sweet potatoes, sugar free desserts (find some pies here and a lot more desserts on BariatricEating.com). The baked ham with glaze...good grief...how do you make a baked ham with glaze...and stay wls friendly? Here's a great recipe (AND SUPER EASY TOO!). We like easy here.
Baked Ham
2 to 3 pound pre-cooked ham (canned or vacuum wrapped)
1 jar Smucker's sugar free cherry preserves
Spoon out the cherry preserves into a small sauce pot and cook on medium-low heat just until melted.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Unwrap your ham and take off the netting if present. Cut diamonds about 1 inch deep and place ham on rack in baking pan. If you don't have a rack, that's okay. Just make a few small balls of aluminum foil to raise the ham off of the bottom of the pan. Oh, and here's a tip...spray the baking pan with Pam before cooking. Ask me how I know this. {sigh}
Brush ham with the melted cherry preserves. Be generous. Place ham in oven and cook for about 20 minutes. Brush with melted preserves again. Repeat until ham is done and glaze is cooked. Use all the cherry preserves; you will be using the drippings too. This won't take long since the ham is already cooked. You're really just heating up the ham and cooking the glaze on top.
When done, take out of oven and let it rest for about 20 minutes. Slice and plate. Spoon glaze from the bottom of the baking pan onto the slices. Serve and enjoy!
Baked Ham
2 to 3 pound pre-cooked ham (canned or vacuum wrapped)
1 jar Smucker's sugar free cherry preserves
Spoon out the cherry preserves into a small sauce pot and cook on medium-low heat just until melted.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Unwrap your ham and take off the netting if present. Cut diamonds about 1 inch deep and place ham on rack in baking pan. If you don't have a rack, that's okay. Just make a few small balls of aluminum foil to raise the ham off of the bottom of the pan. Oh, and here's a tip...spray the baking pan with Pam before cooking. Ask me how I know this. {sigh}
Brush ham with the melted cherry preserves. Be generous. Place ham in oven and cook for about 20 minutes. Brush with melted preserves again. Repeat until ham is done and glaze is cooked. Use all the cherry preserves; you will be using the drippings too. This won't take long since the ham is already cooked. You're really just heating up the ham and cooking the glaze on top.
When done, take out of oven and let it rest for about 20 minutes. Slice and plate. Spoon glaze from the bottom of the baking pan onto the slices. Serve and enjoy!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Chicken Fajita
I love fajitas. Yummy yummy yummy! But if you get them at a restaurant they are loaded with fat, calories, and sodium. So let's make our own and eat great fajitas the healthy way!
Chicken Fajita
2 chicken tenderloins (defrosted if frozen)
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
1 Flatout Flatbread
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons salsa
1 tablespoon taco sauce
2 teaspoons olive oil
Mrs. Dash Southwest Sweet 'n Spicy Seasoning
Preheat oven to 400F. Lay the flatbread on a cookie sheet or flat griddle. Place in the oven and warm for about 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil on medium low to medium in a skillet and start cooking the chicken. Sprinkle Mrs. Dash seasoning on the chicken, add the bell pepper, onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder and garlic and continue cooking. You can sprinkle some more Mrs. Dash if you want to. Continue cooking until the onion and bell peppers are soft.
While the chicken mixture is cooking, mix the sour cream, salsa, and taco sauce. You can change the ratios to make it thicker or thinner, add some Mrs. Dash, etc.; it's all up to you.
When everything is ready, place the flatbread on your plate and spread the chicken mixture on it. Drizzle the sour cream mixture over the chicken. Roll up the flatbread, cut in half and enjoy!
Note: If you want to eat this with a fork, drizzle some of your sour cream mixture over the top for even more flavor!
Chicken Fajita
2 chicken tenderloins (defrosted if frozen)
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
1 Flatout Flatbread
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons salsa
1 tablespoon taco sauce
2 teaspoons olive oil
Mrs. Dash Southwest Sweet 'n Spicy Seasoning
Preheat oven to 400F. Lay the flatbread on a cookie sheet or flat griddle. Place in the oven and warm for about 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil on medium low to medium in a skillet and start cooking the chicken. Sprinkle Mrs. Dash seasoning on the chicken, add the bell pepper, onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder and garlic and continue cooking. You can sprinkle some more Mrs. Dash if you want to. Continue cooking until the onion and bell peppers are soft.
While the chicken mixture is cooking, mix the sour cream, salsa, and taco sauce. You can change the ratios to make it thicker or thinner, add some Mrs. Dash, etc.; it's all up to you.
When everything is ready, place the flatbread on your plate and spread the chicken mixture on it. Drizzle the sour cream mixture over the chicken. Roll up the flatbread, cut in half and enjoy!
Note: If you want to eat this with a fork, drizzle some of your sour cream mixture over the top for even more flavor!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Cookbook Review - The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook
Bob and I have been watching past seasons of The Biggest Loser on Netflix streaming and really enjoying it. Every so often they show a recipe so I looked at the library and found that they have several cookbooks. I checked this one out and am so glad I did! I have marked a bunch of recipes to try and have already tried two. And a third one is in the oven now! I highly recommend this cookbook...many of the recipes are already wls friendly. And if they're not, with a little imagination, can be tweaked so that they suit our needs. Bob has already said that it looks like I'm going to have to buy this cookbook. Little does he know it's already on my Amazon wish list! LOL!!!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Sometimes you want something Italian and a few spoons of spaghetti sauce for dinner just won't cut it. I give to you...Baked Eggplant Parmesan! So yummy delicious it will put an end to all your Italian cravings!
Baked Eggplant Parmesan
1 medium to large eggplant, pared and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 cups tomato-herb sauce (I used Hunt's Mushroom pasta sauce)
3/4 cup Italian seasoned dried bread crumbs
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Spray a baking sheet with Pam. Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, until tender. (Note: If you think eggplant has a bitter taste, place them in a colander, salt well and let them sit for about 15 minutes. Rinse, pat dry, then bake as above.)
Spray an 8 inch baking dish with Pam. Spread about 1/4 of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Place eggplant slices, then bread crumbs, then cheese. Repeat layers, ending with sauce. Cover and bake for 40 minutes, until cooked through and bubbling.
Increase oven temperature to 400F. Uncover dish, sprinkle a little more cheese then the Parmesan cheese. Baked, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, until the top is nicely golden brown and crisp.
Baked Eggplant Parmesan
1 medium to large eggplant, pared and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 cups tomato-herb sauce (I used Hunt's Mushroom pasta sauce)
3/4 cup Italian seasoned dried bread crumbs
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Spray a baking sheet with Pam. Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, until tender. (Note: If you think eggplant has a bitter taste, place them in a colander, salt well and let them sit for about 15 minutes. Rinse, pat dry, then bake as above.)
Spray an 8 inch baking dish with Pam. Spread about 1/4 of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Place eggplant slices, then bread crumbs, then cheese. Repeat layers, ending with sauce. Cover and bake for 40 minutes, until cooked through and bubbling.
Increase oven temperature to 400F. Uncover dish, sprinkle a little more cheese then the Parmesan cheese. Baked, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, until the top is nicely golden brown and crisp.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Butternut Chicken Marinara
Bob and I have been watching The Biggest Loser from the beginning of the series on Netflix streaming. Mark Kruger from season 5 prepared this dish for his family after he was sent home. I tweaked it just a bit to suit our tastes and made it for dinner tonight. Bob, who's not that big a fan of squash, loved it!
Butternut Chicken Marinara
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into small/medium chunks
8 chicken tenderloins, cut into pieces
1 large purple onion, sliced
salt and pepper
Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon olive oil
Pam spray
1 jar/can marinara sauce (I use cheapo Hunt's Traditional spaghetti sauce)
Spray Pam in a large skillet. Add chicken, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cover and cook on medium heat until almost done. Uncover and finish cooking the chicken. When chicken is done, take out of the skillet and set aside.
Spray more Pam into the skillet. Add onions and squash. (You will probably not use all the squash...just save and freeze or cook tomorrow) Add the olive oil, cover and cook on medium-low heat. Add a little water if needed to help the squash cook. When the squash is cooked, uncover and let it saute a bit. Add the chicken back into the skillet and let everything cook together for a couple of minutes. Pour in the marinara sauce and stir. Add Italian seasoning, cover and cook until sauce is cooked.
Note: I tasted this before I added the marinara sauce and it was amazing! If you want to eat it like this, let the chicken and squash mixture saute a little longer.
Butternut Chicken Marinara
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into small/medium chunks
8 chicken tenderloins, cut into pieces
1 large purple onion, sliced
salt and pepper
Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon olive oil
Pam spray
1 jar/can marinara sauce (I use cheapo Hunt's Traditional spaghetti sauce)
Spray Pam in a large skillet. Add chicken, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cover and cook on medium heat until almost done. Uncover and finish cooking the chicken. When chicken is done, take out of the skillet and set aside.
Spray more Pam into the skillet. Add onions and squash. (You will probably not use all the squash...just save and freeze or cook tomorrow) Add the olive oil, cover and cook on medium-low heat. Add a little water if needed to help the squash cook. When the squash is cooked, uncover and let it saute a bit. Add the chicken back into the skillet and let everything cook together for a couple of minutes. Pour in the marinara sauce and stir. Add Italian seasoning, cover and cook until sauce is cooked.
Note: I tasted this before I added the marinara sauce and it was amazing! If you want to eat it like this, let the chicken and squash mixture saute a little longer.
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