Pizza-cicle... it has gotten that bad..

That's right... last night we had frozen pizza.. or The Hub did... I mostly had shots of NyQuil..
Don't judge me....

Lighter Side - BBQ Beef...

Still sick... made this cooking light hoisin barbecue sauce and put half of it in the crock pot with a lean cut of beef and a bit of stock to thin it out...
After it cooked on low all day, I removed it, pulled it apart slightly and served it with the remainder of the sauce warmed and poured over it... We had it with roasted red potatoes, because they were easy.
A great BBQ sauce with just a touch of Asian flavor - I am sure I will make it again!

No pics, short and sweet... sorry... the couch and my kleenex are calling.

Lighter Side -Sweet and Spicy chicken

M'kay, I am sick... well really it is more like "I'mmmm Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiccckk" - because it is the kind of nasty funk that deserves a good whine... and a strong hot toddy.. or 5...

But we still have to eat, right? So I am sticking to this week's menus, regardless of the crud, and last night was a chicken recipe I found on Cooking Light - Spicy Honey-brushed chicken thighs.
Sunflower Market had an insane sale on Chicken breast tenders the week before last, and my freezer is lousy with them right now, so I used those instead of thighs....

This recipe is rated "outstanding" on the website, and we VERY much agree... this chicken was SO GOOD!! It was juicy, it was flavorful all the way through, it was sweet and tangy from the honey-vinagar sauce, it was spicy and complex from the spice rub... it was freaking amazing - no lie...

TRY THE CHICKEN!! This will become a classic at our house, and it is a total no-brainer shoe-in for dinner guests in the near future... (So T - maybe you shouldn't make it... because you and J will probably have it soon enough) :)

Now excuse me while I put my head down on my cool, cool desktop and pray the DayQuil kicks in soon...

Stolen Moments - Getting ready for game day..

It looks like The Hub has already accepted an invite to a Super Bowl party, so I won't get the chance to make this... so YOU should!!

Just this once, in honor of the big game, ditch the Velveeta and make queso from scratch - like the always fabulous Homesick Texan does here

Oh yeah....

Lighter Side of Burgers... open-faced patty melts

Sometimes you just need a burger... not exactly diet food, tho, eh?

Well, I used 97% lean ground turkey, "delightful" light wheat bread, and Alexia potato products to make a calorie conscience version of patty-melts for The Hub and myself..

Mine is pictured above, 3oz of the ground turkey (which I seasoned using Worchshire sauce and Garlic Powder) "grilled" on the trusty George Foreman on a piece of toast spread with my "dressing" of mustard, a bit of Worchshire sauce, and diced pickle, with grilled onions on top... Along side is a single serving of Alexia Olive Oil, Garlic, and Rosemary Oven fries...

The Hub got a slightly altered "picky guy" version which omitted the dressing and onions, instead topping the (5 oz for him) burger with some 2% cheddar cheese.. he also got Alexia crinkle cut fries with his...

It worked... It was yummy, the moist flavorful meat and tangy dressing with the grilled onions and crunchy toast made for a very satisfying bite when combined together, and Alexia potatoes are always yummy and easy.. A good dinner for a cold, gray day...

Lighter Side - Chicken Spinach Tostadas

Last night I had some left over chicken breast strips, already cooked and ready to be easily used.
So I toasted some corn tortilla halves under the broiler until they were crispy and piled them with the crumbled up chicken, some chopped jalepenoes, oregano, shredded fresh spinach, and (for The Hub, pictured above) some pepperjack cheese... Under the broiler they went to get everything hot and melty.
I had mine sans cheese, so I put a teaspoon of avocado puree mixed with tomato and onion on each of my two halves...
So quick and SO GOOD!!

Lighter Side- Appie night done light

Bar snacks are a weakness of mine... Anything breaded, fried, cheesey, salty, greasy, saucy, and served up in large quanities is a-ok with me...

But sitting around the bar eating fried dill pickles never did anything GOOD for anyone's waistline, so a happy medium had to be found to satisfy my Happy Hour foods craving this past weekend...



Saturday night I had a hankering (it started after seeing some particularly tasty-looking buffalo wings while grocery shopping, but knowing that wouldn't be calorie-counter friendly)... and an idea to try making a calorie conscience version of an appitizer sampler to share between The Hub and myself...

Tah Dah:

I included a Lean Cuisine peperoni french bread pizza, cut into strips for sharing, some Morningstar Farms veggie corn dogs, and, some boneless buffalo chicken pieces - which I made by breading chunks of chicken breast in the same way I did here, baking them and then drizzled them with two tablespoons of buffalo wing sauce (enough to add yummy buffalo flavor, but not drown them in sauce and calories..)

It really did the trick!! The buffalo chicken chunks were juicy on the inside, crunchy on the outside, and had great buffalo flavor... and the other two things added the variety that sharing appies with friends at a bar offers, but were obviously super-easy to whip up (so we could get down to eating QUICK!!)

Lighter Side: Shredded Beef Tacos

I started out Thursday morning by firing up the old slow cooker... in went two adobo chilies, a spoonful of minced garlic, some red wine vinagar, a palm full of oregano, and some black pepper.. (sorry kids, I don't measure)


I mixed all of that together, and then added beef stock, enough to cover a piece of London Broil most of the way.. here it is all nestled in its little hot tub:

Off to work I went, and 9 hours (at low temp) later, the drained and fork-shredded beef looked like this..

It was slightly spicy (not overbearing) and sooooo tender... I heated up some corn tortillas on the oven rack, mixed up some guac (for me) and my famous (I should say "shameless") spicy taco sauce that everyone loves.. (1 packet or tablespoon of Taco Bell Hot sauce per 1 ounce of plain yogurt and blend well... seriously.. it is freaking good), and set out some lime wedges... for The Hub I added sour cream and cheese to the table... you can see my pre-portioned plate in the front of this pic. That giant pile of meat is only 3 oz!! Talk about a filling meal - I couldn't even eat my second tortilla, I ate the meat with my yummy (and already figured on SparkPeople) toppings...

The Hub pronouced that he would like to see this again soon... I agree whole-heartedly!!!

(and I love walking off the elevator after a long day and knowing that the yummy dinner smell in the hall is coming from MY house... thank you, slow cooker!!)

Lighter Side: Unfried crispy chicken..

The Hub loves his chicken tenders... This cannot be denied - and when a picky eater that you are cooking for loves something, you find a way to use it in your cooking no matter what!

Enter the home made crispy chicken tender....

-To make them I dried pre-cut chicken breast tenders with a paper towel before dusting in flour seasoned heavily with paprika and cayenne pepper. All excess flour was removed...

-Then I dipped each tender into first a wash of egg substitute (again, wiping off the excess) and then breadcrumbs seasoned with seasoning salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.

-After repeating for each tender, I let them hang out on a baking rack while the oven reached 375 degrees, and then dusted them ever-so-lightly with Olive Oil cooking spray and let them bake for about 20 minutes (it was around 24 for me, but if you aren't sure, cut into one after 20 minutes, or use a meat thermometer - you are looking for 160 degrees, assuming it will keep cooking after you pull it out and reach 165).

-I turned them over once, half way through cooking, and sprayed the other side lightly with the Olive oil.

The result, much healthier chicken tenders that The Hub still loved, and said he wants to have again... eat your heart out Banquet pre-fab tenders... :)

Lighter Side - Steakhouse at home...

It wasn't in the plan... a craving for a deliciously juicy, super-rare steak accompanied by a perfectly topped baked potato set in somewhere after lunch yesterday, and by the time I left work I had formulated a plan to make it waistline friendly...
Again with the portion control!!

Now I don't know how else to demonstrate what a difference it makes, other than to show you how dinner stacked up for me last night... (BTW, I didn't even finish my steak, so this number is actually a little high)

Here is a list from my Sparkpeople log, calories listed after each food:

Beef, round steak, 4 oz- 150
Baked Potato, with skin, 0.85 medium (2-1/4" to 3-1/4" dia.) - 136
Daisy Light Sour Cream, 2 tbsp -40
Kraft 2% Shredded Cheddar Cheese, 0.25 cup -80
Louis Rich Turkey Bacon, 1 serving -35
Onions, raw, 2 tbsp chopped-8

Now, for those of you counting, that is 449 calories total... and yes I measured everything out, and yes the toppings for the potato were PLENTY... actually I did not finish all of my steak or potato, so this is a bit high - but still a number I am very comfortable with (actually my total calories for the day were 1098 - which is a bit low for me, but I ate plenty, so I am not worried about one day)

And I got to control all of the ingredients... I knew no one was slathering butter (tho that is tasty) on my steak.. a simple balsamic drizzle 1/2 hour before cooking, and some cracked black pepper before going on the hot broiler pan was plenty of flavor... and the steak was a reasonable size... and so was The Hub's (although larger than mine) which is important since he tends to be a "clean plater" and would eat more if it was there...

Anyhoo.. no recipes today, just some food for thought I guess...

Lighter Side - W W Pasta and Vodka Sauce with Chicken Apple Sausage

A lot of the calorie issue with pasta is portion size... when it comes to pasta we tend to pile up huge bowls or mound giant plates full of the stuff... and it is usually enriched white pasta...



But Pasta is easy and cheap - both things that are very, very good for a working wife looking to keep the grocery bill in check...

Whole Wheat pasta is a good compromise... why? Here's an explination I like... The thing that really seals the deal for me is the idea of feeling full longer... you want your dinner to stick with you a while!!

So I made two portions - The Hub's was a cup cooked, mine was a little shy of 3/4 cup cooked, and served it with Newman's Own Vodka sauce (I would like to make my own in the future, but I liked the nutrition and ingredient info that I saw on Newman's Own, so I just resolved to watch my portion sizes...)

Reason number bajillion-two hundred and four why I love Sunflower market? All of their amazing sausages available at the deli counter!! I grabbed one of the Chicken Apple sausages, split the casing and browned it before adding it to a cup of the Vodka sauce - two half cup servings... mixed with the pasta it was quick, filling and guilt free... The sweetness Chicken Apple sausage was really good with the sweet vodka sauce - they didn't compete but complimented, and hours later I wasn't rummaging for a snack!! More importantly, The Hub wasn't either - portion control wins again...

Missed the Mark - Chicken Veggie Stew

::sigh::
OK, I admit it - last night's attempt at a Lighter Side dinner missed the mark. But I know why..

I made a chicken stew with lots of veggies by heating some chicken stock, and letting veggies simmer in the stock with a palmful of herbs de provence before thickening the stew a bit with some cornstarch (I know I know, that isn't very diet friendly) and adding in browned chunks of chicken breast... all of this sounds a-ok, right?

Here's what I did wrong that made a great idea go bad:

1. I added the veggies too early - they ended up overcooked by the time I got the stew together

2. I should have pureed to add thickness (this is just because of the health issue, but it was lazy of me)

3. I needed to check seasoning after thickening... I should have added some fresh herbs, it was kind of bland...

It is a simple stew and should have been flavorful hearty, healthy, and delicious... a few small mistakes made it way less than stellar... my bad... I will try it again tho...

:::pouting:::

Lighter Side - Grill Night!

The Hub loves him some meat and potatoes... hell I do too... a lot...
So last night was a new twist on one of his faves, Flat Iron Steak and Fries, which is actually a version of a dish from one of our favorite restaurants... It is good, but dripping in compound butter and placed on a mound of fries, it isn't exactly waist-line friendly...

So last night I made him a marinaded flank steak (cut to about 6oz - not tiny but not the giant portion you would get at Steuben's either..) in this marinade for about 2 hours (could go longer) after slashing some hatch marks across each side of the meat to get the marinade down into the beef a bit more quickly...
Then I broiled it (along with 4 oz of Salmon seasoned with Old Bay for me - seen in picture above) for about 5 minutes on each side, and served it on top of a roasted mixture of potatoes and broccoli (heavier on the potatoes for him, heavier on the broccoli for me) seasoned with red pepper flakes and s&p for a little kick that he might have missed not having the chimichurri butter...

Big thumbs up from The Hub - I begged a tiny bite of the meat from him just to check my handy work, and it was a flavorful and tender alternative... (and this way when we do go to Steuben's, the real thing will be a special treat!)
My Salmon was delicious (broiled on each side for 4 minutes) - but I could eat a simply prepared Salmon every day of the week, so I guess that isn't exactly breaking culinary news... :)

Lighter Side - Quick Roasted Chicken and Veggies

Yesterday morning consisted of my usual Sunday morning Food Network view-a-thon - but in anticpation of Barefoot Contessa's new season, they were showing a bunch of her episodes... and the one that got my mouth watering was, of all things, the all chicken episode... My favorite thing in the world used to be roasting a good old-fashioned herb seasoned chicken in the oven with some veggies... haven't done it in years..

The Hub is not a fan of chicken on the bone (don't get me started, he won't listen to arguements from me about how much more flavorful or juicy meat on the bone is...it is a battle I can't win) and I didn't feel like breaking down a whole chicken yesterday, so I improvised and used some chicken breast tenders, maranading them in a mix of lemon juice, olive oil, basil, oregano, and s&p in the fridge for 3 hours...

Then they got wrapped in foil and went in the oven on the wrack above a big pan of brussel sprouts, carrots, broccoli florrets, green peppers, yellow squash and onions tossed in a drizzle of olive oil and plenty of s&p... it all cooked at 350 (I flipped the chicken packet and gave the veggies a shimmy mid-way through) for 30 minutes, and rested out of the oven for 5 minutes before I dipped up heaping plates of the veggies (everything for me, and just the veggies The Hub likes for him) and then scooped a few tenders on top of each pile... The maranaded chicken was really flavorful, and the roasted veggies still had a bit of crunch... perfect...
Even The Hub said (some what dismayed at liking something so healthy) "hey, that was actually REALLY good)..

Nothing like getting back to basics...

Lighter Side - Chicken Enchilada Soup...

I have to pat myself on the back for this one, because it was 100% my idea, and it turned out just the way I wanted it too... I have been trying to come up with ways to give The Hub and I the flavor and satisfaction of foods we love, but in ways that might keep us from ballooning into weeble look-a-likes... Mexican food is something we both love - and so I came up with this:



-brown one med chicken breast in the bottom of a dutch oven

-add 1 can of tomato soup made to directions on the can

-add one can Ranch style beans

-add one small can corn



heat mixture until simmering, then add 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon adobo paste (depending on how spicy you would like it) and remove soup from heat.



Serve bowls with garnish of 1 tablespoon 2% grated cheese and a dollop of yogurt sauce (mix zest of one lime with a 1/4 cup plain lowfat yogurt)



I skipped the cheese and just had the yogurt sauce (which cooled down the spicy soup)...

The Hub ended up eating some tortilla chips with his, but that was his call... He liked the soup, I loved the soup - and it really did taste like an enchilada...



TRY THE SOUP!!!





One other mention - last Friday I made bison sliders - I pressed out a thin layer of ground bison and used my round cookie cutter to make perfect little patties... then seasoned each with garlic salt and pepper before cooking on the indoor grill. I put The Hub's on dinner rolls, but ate mine plain with roasted veggies... they were a yummy way to bring happy hour home and would be fun to make for game day or something similar...



aren't they cute?