Skinny Beef and Bean Chili

The recipe is awesome! I am done as far as the "perfect" chili recipe goes, I've tried them all and I've finally found "the one"! Yea! This chili was adapted from a Weight Watchers chili recipe that just needed a few tasty additions. It is thick and spicy, the perfect blend of seasonings....give it a try, it may help you drop a few pounds! An added bonus, huge portions!

Skinny Beef and Bean Chili

1 spray of EVOO cooking spray
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 package of frozen, chopped yellow, red, and green peppers--pre-grilled. (I used Archer Farms from SuperTarget).
1 large red onion, diced
1 pound uncooked, lean ground beef (93% lean)
14.5 oz can Fire-Roasted diced tomatoes with garlic
1 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
2 tsp chili powder (heaping)
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2- 15oz. cans of pinto beans in med chili sauce, drained.
3 dashes red pepper flakes
10 oz. can diced tomatoes in green chiles (med heat)
2 T. diced green chiles
1 T. garlic powder

Instructions:
Coat a 5.5 qt dutch oven with cooking spray and heat over med-high heat. Add garlic, onion, and frozen bell pepper mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally until veggies have heated through, about 5 minutes. Add beef and cooking another 3-5 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, chili powder, green chiles, red pepper flakes, oregano, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and beans. Cook over high heat, until some of the liquid evaporates and chili thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Simmer mixture on low for 60 minutes, serve. Makes 6 large portions at 6 PointsPlus per serving or 8 smaller portions at 5 PP/serving. Enjoy!

Cheesy Jumbo Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells

Mmmm....nothing says comfort food like Italian Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells! I am NOT a fan of ricotta cheese, but this recipe may have converted me to one. I adapted this recipe from a Weight Watchers recipe that I found online, but my version is supreme. I substituted half of the ricotta for FF cottage cheese (since I don't love ricotta!) and I doubled the spices in some cases and added a slew of others--it's worth digging through the spice shelf for this one! Because it's a light recipe, you need to give it some kick to keep it flavorful. I also used preseasoned chicken breasts that I found in the frozen food aisle, this is not only a time saver but also enhances the overall flavor of the dish. Enjoy my new favorite!

Cheesy Jumbo Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells

12 jumbo, uncooked pasta shells
2 jumbo egg whites
3/4 cup chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess water (squeeze the spinach in the plastic bag as hard as you can...excess moisture can ruin it).
1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp ground oregano
1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 can tomato sauce (I added 1 T garlic, 2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp parmesan chicken seasoning to this...you could also just buy one jar of seasoned tomato sauce instead )
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 jar marinara sauce, prepared, from the grocery store
1 can (12-15 oz) diced tomatoes with garlic and onion or fire roasted tomatoes (either will work, I used the garlic ones...very tasty!).
8 oz. to 12 oz. chicken breast, seasoned with garlic and herbs, cooked, skinless and diced. (I used 2 chicken breasts, but I think three 4 oz. chicken breasts would be ideal....)
1 1/8 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
2/3 cup FF cottage cheese
3/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Cook jumob pasta shells in boiling water according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent them from cooking further. Set aside.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and seasonings to a small pan over med-high heat. Heat through, simmer on low for at least 5 minutes to blend sauce and seasoning.

Coat a 9 x 13-inch pan with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 of sauce evenly over bottom of pan and set aside.

For filling, in a large bowl, stir together egg whites, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, chicken, spinach, garlic powder and other seasonings. Stir in 1/4 cup each of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

To assemble, spoon cheese mixture into shells and place filled shells in a single layer in baking dish. Spread remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses and bake about 25-30 minutes. Yields 2 shells per serving, serves 6.

Lemony Chicken and Orzo Soup

This lemon and chicken flavored soup is full of veggies and orzo, a small pasta. The recipe was adapted slightly from one of Ellie Krieger's recipes in The Food You Crave. It's thick thanks to a mixture of tempered eggs and lemon juice. Give it a try, it's great for cold, winter nights!

Lemony Chicken and Orzo Soup

4 tsp. olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts diced, 4 oz. each, seasoned with garlic and herbs (If you can't find them preseasoned, you may just salt and pepper them and season them with garlic powder, parsley, oregano or italian seasoning)
1 tsp salt
1 medium onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
6 cups chicken broth (+/- 1/2 c.)
2 tsp chicken soup base (I used "better than bouillian chicken soup base)
1 cup orzo pasta (or you can use ditalini, any small pasta will work!)
2 jumbo eggs (or large)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat half the oil in a medium pot (I used a 5 qt. dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and add it, cooking for about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the rest of the oil to the pot. Add onion, celery, & carrot, stirring over med-high heat until veggies are tender, approximately 5 min. Add 5 c. out of the 6 c. of chicken broth & chicken soup base, bring mixture to a boil, add orzo and simmer until tender for about 8 min. Turn heat down to low to keep the soup hot (do NOT boil it at this point...you will need to temper the eggs and you don't want to scramble them!).

With the last 1 c. of broth, place in a small pot and heat but do not boil. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and add lemon juice. While whisking continuously, slowly add chicken broth (about 1/4 c. at a time) until all of the chicken stock has been incorporated into the egg mixture. Add to soup, stirring until thickened. Do not boil--simmer on low. Add cooked chicken, extra broth if necessary (mine was a little thick and I did thin it with some broth after the picture was taken), & season with salt and pepper.  Serve while hot, makes four 1 1/2 cup servings!

Nutritional info: 280 cal, 10 g fat, 26 g protein, 2 g fiber, 22 g carbs. 7 PointsPlus/serving.

Creamy Potato Soup with Chicken Sausage

This is a soup I got from my husband's aunt. I was in the mood for potato soup, so I got the recipe. I changed it slightly, adding more veggies and using chicken sausage instead of pork sausage (much less fat than RF pork sausage and still tasty!). Give it a try!

Creamy Potato Soup with Chicken Sausage

1 can chicken broth
1/2 lb. smoked chicken sausage
16 oz pkg of simply potatoes diced potatoes with onion
1 large onion, diced.
1 1/2 cups water (+ 1 cup to thin if needed).
1 can 98% FF cream of celery soup
2 cans 98% FF cream of chicken soup
2 cups skim milk
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 can cannelini beans (I did not add this but I would next time, they would be amazing in this soup...and add lots of fiber!).
1 tsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Dice up sausage, cook in 5 qt dutch oven with 1 tsp EVOO.
Add chicken broth, potatoes, onion, carrot, celery, and water. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for 30 min. Add soups and milk. Serve when hot.
Serving size: About 2 cups. WW Points Plus:

What's Cookin'?

Tonight is "cook for the rest of the week + weekend night"! What's on the menu? Well....
1. Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo (I successfully tempered eggs for the first time in this recipe!!! Yea me!).
2. Potato Soup with Chicken Sausage
3. Cheesy Chicken and Spinach Jumbo Shells

Roasted Cinnamon Sugar Apples with Whipped Topping

Roasted Cinnamon Sugar Apples with Whipped Topping

Canola cooking spray
4-5 apples, sliced thin.
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 container of fat-free whipped topping

Instructions:

Place sugar and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl, coating each apple slice with mixture. Spray a sheet pan with canola oil (you may also use a sil-pat like I did), spread apples on sheet. Bake apples at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Let apples cool. Top with whipped topping and cinnamon, if desired.

Skinny Girl Salted Fudge

I LOVE fudge! Nothing is better. I adapted this recipe from Weight Watchers, adding some pure vanilla for flavor and using butter instead of margarine (I HATE MARGARINE). My version substitutes out the high fat cream for fat-free evaporated milk (I'm no longer afraid to use it!) and butter for light butter with canola oil. Marshmallows make it sweet and lighter. Try it, I promise you'll love it!

Skinny Girl Salted Fudge

1 spray canola oil cooking spray
1 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup fat-free evaporated milk
2 Tbsp light butter (made with canola oil)
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
14 large marshmallows
2 tsp. PURE vanilla extract (not imitation)
kosher salt

**NOTE: May top with toasted, chopped pecans or toasted coconut prior to refrigeration (will affect PointsPlus values). Another great twist would be to add orange zest to the fudge prior to refrigerating,
orange and chocolate are a great combo,
I'll try this next time!

Instructions:
Coat an 8x8 inch pan with cooking spray. In a medium saucepan, stir sugar, evaporated milk, and light butter. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and stir constantly for approximately 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, add in chocolate chips and marshmallows and stir until well-combined. Add vanila extract. Stir to combine. Pour mixture into pan and sprinkle with kosher salt. Refrigerate until firm, approximately 2 hours. Cut into 36 pieces (6x6 rows) and serve. Yields 1 piece of fudge per serving at 3 WW Points Plus. May freeze, too. Very tasty!