Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Lemon Garlic Tuna Burgers

2 cans solid white tuna, drained
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 T sour cream
1/2 cup wheat panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 green onions, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in bowl with hands. Form 4 patties onto greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until browned on outside.


Toast wheat English muffin for bun and add lettuce and sliced tomato. Add little extra sour cream on bun if desired.



French Onion Soup

This is a perfect chili weekday night meal as you can make it in the crock pot that morning.

5 yellow onions, chopped and/or sliced
1/2 stick butter
1 cup water
32 oz. beef broth
1/2 white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste

Whole wheat baguette
Olive oil
Mozzarella cheese

Melt butter in large pan. Add water and onions. Cook on low until caramelized. Add beef broth and let simmer on low for about an hour. Add wine, salt, pepper, and chili powder and let simmer for about another 15-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven 350 degrees. Slice baguette and lay on pan, sprinkle with salt and olive oil. Bake until toasted and lightly browned.

Add baguette pieces and mozzarella cheese on top of soup.

***************
For crock pot cooking- add all ingredients into crock pot and turn on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4.

Easy-peasy.. Enjoy:)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Honey Mustard Walnut Chicken

I whipped this little concoction at work today. I part time at a coffee shop and all they have are bagels, cookies, and muffins so I need to get creative sometimes.
Tonight my creative juices were flowing..

Honey Mustard Walnut Chicken

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup honey mustard dressing
1 tbsp honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In three different bowls place flour in one, chopped walnuts in another, and the honey mustard and honey in the last one.
3. Dip each chicken in flour, then honey mustard, then walnuts.
4. Bake chicken for 45 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Extra honey mustard for dipping.

So to make the carbs real low on this recipe, omit the flour and honey. Dip chicken in honey mustard then walnuts.
The flour I think makes it a little juicier but will still taste great!

I'm also a big fan of sweet and spicy so if I made this at home with all the seasonings I'd add a tsp of chili powder to the walnuts.

Monday, February 13, 2012

4 Ingredient Coconut Chocolate Cake

Don't get too excited.. This recipe is loaded with carbs and is very bad for you. I had t. Post though because Robbie said it was delicious and it was SO easy. Nice and simple Valentine's treat for your sweetie:)

For the crust:
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
11 ounces (about 6 cups) sweetened coconut flakes

For the filling:
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together butter and 2 cups of the coconut flakes in food processor. about 2 minutes
3. Pour into bowl and combine rest of coconut lightly into butter mix.
4. Lightly grease 9inch pan.
5. Pour coconut into pan and press down crust to bottom of pan. Lightly press sides so it stays fluffy.
6. Cook crust until edges are browned. About 10-15 minutes. Keep checking it to make sure it doesn't burn.
7. Take out of oven and let cool completely.


For the filling:
1. Boil heavy cream in small sauce pan.
2. Add chocolate chips into bowl.
3. Pour heavy cream over chocolate chips and stir until smooth.
4. Let sit 10 minutes.
5. Pour chocolate into cooled crust.
6. Let cool in fridge for 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Sprinkle with confection sugar or top with whipped cream using rest of heavy cream to make whipped cream!

Coconut Chicken Strips

Well, I made it back from Florida safely and had an unbelievable time. I cheated big time. I eat so many carbs and drank so much beer. It was well worth it, you need to indulge once and awhile. I managed to loose 13lbs before the trip so I felt like I deserved a little indulgence. Right??

With that said, it should be time for me to get back on that healthy train, but.. It is valentines day for me and my boy and he wanted coconut chicken and coconut chocolate cake and I gotta give me what he wants right? I did good though and just had a couple prices and haven't tried the cake.. Yet..

With that said, the chicken actually isn't very bad for you minus the flour and coconut milk.

Coconut Chicken Recipe

2lbs boneless, skinless chicken
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chipotle panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup olive oil

(if you can't find chipotle flavor, add 1tsp chili powder)

1. Cut chicken into thin strips
2. You need three different bowls. In first bowl beat eggs and coconut milk. Second combine flour and salt. In third, mix panko bread crumbs and coconut flakes.
3. Dip chicken into each bowl, starting with egg mixture, flour mixture, then coconut flakes.
4. Add thin layer of oil to medium pan and let heat up.
5. Lay chicken flat into pan and cool thoroughly on both sides. About 5 min on each side.
6. Do this for all chicken, keep adding more oil as needed.
7. Transfer chicken onto paper towel covered plate to remove excess oil.

Serve with sweet chili sauce. Enjoy:)

Monday, January 23, 2012

Sweet & Spicy Pulled Chicken Slow-Cooker

My favorite food combination- sweet&spicy! I've been craving something sweet for the past couple days so after many long nights dreaming about chocolate and cheesecakes and ice cream, and I don't even like ice cream (ya its bad) I've decided to add it into my dinner and hopefully kick that nighttime sweet tooth craving.
Saturday night was a big snow storm so I stayed put on the couch all night with my mom. Usually I'd be indulging in wine or winter sam adams all night with her on those cold nights but I stuck to the no drinking after much contemplating. I even sent a couple texts to my boyfriend asking if he thinks just one glass would be ok. He encouraged me that I've been doing so good so I sat back down and continued drinking tea.
Around 10pm I started craving sweets and searched on Pinterest for no carb desserts. It got really bad but I ended up making these little oatmeal cookies and they were delish! ..if you like cookies with no chocolate, flour, or sugar.
So.. In the end, I went to bed still craving sweets. I woke up today with a new approach to kick this craving. I'm going to add sweetness to my dinner tonight and hopefully 10pm comes around and I'm ...delightfully full:)

No more rambling.. This is one of my own recipes..
Sweet & Spicy Pulled Chicken Slow Cooker Creation

1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 green pepper, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 container sliced mushrooms
1 can chunk pineapple, in pineapple juice, no sugar added
1 bottle of your favorite teriyaki sauce or BBQ sauce**
1 clove minced garlic
1 tbsp red chili flakes
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp black ground pepper

Add all ingredients into slow cooker (croc-pot?). INCLUDE pineapple juice into slow cooker. no need to cut chicken before, it'll pull apart as it cooks.
Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Chicken will easily pull apart when it is done.

**read carb label on BBQ bottles, some are very high. I bought a spicy mango one and it was delicious! 3g carbs.

Enjoy:)


Thursday, January 19, 2012

Game day snacks

I just booked a VACATION to Florida for February.. 19 days away!!! Ahh I have no time to prepare for this so my meals might become a little less adventurous as I try to squeeze into my summer clothes in 2 weeks.

I am trying out a few different snacks this weekend since the Patriot's are playing and I'll have to skip the beers and nachos sadly..

I loooove jalapeño poppers and chips and salsa. Those are both two great snacks.. Trying to come up with new healthy ideas for those were tough but I managed to find some recipes.

I went as far as buying the ingredients but I have not made yet. Ill update how they were once eaten!

Baked, Not Fried Jalapeño Poppers

Makes 18 poppers

9 fresh jalapeños
1 8oz pkg light cream cheese
2 cups grated white cheddar cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp chili powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice jalapeños in half lengthwise. Scoop out all the insides. In a bowl, mix cream cheese, 1 cup of shredded cheese, garlic, and chili powder. Spoon the mixture into jalapeño peppers. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of peppers. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

**you can make these ahead of time and refrigerate for up to 24hrs.


The next recipe I'll share today are baked Zucchini Chips.

3 zucchinis, shredded.
2 eggs
2 cups mexican blend cheese
Spices- either black pepper or chili powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Grease 2 baking sheets, or line with parchment paper.
Shred zucchini with either a cheese grater or in a food processor.. Not too much or it'll get mushy. Ring out all excess water as they do hold a lot of moisture.
Mix zucchini in a bowl with cheese and eggs.
Make 6-8" rounds on cookie sheets. (very thin)
Cook 12 min, flip over and cook another 5 min.
With pizza cutter, slice rounds to triangles, about 6 for each round.
VERY IMPORTANT-
Let cool on a rack in a cool oven for 6-8 hours.
After chips have dried all the way, sprinkle with spices of your desire.

I think it's best to do overnight so you won't freeze up your oven for the day.

Good luck.. I know the chips take awhile but do the night before and it's definitely worth it to have the crunch of chips. I do miss chips. Dip in guacamole or salsa!

Email or comment with any questions..
Pictures to follow.