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!

Cilantro Lime Rice

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
1 cup white rice (long grain)
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of one lime

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil over low heat. Add white rice and the juice from 1/2 of the fresh lime, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring mixture to a full boil. Once boiling, cover and turn heat down to low. Simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro and the juice from the other half of the lime. Fluff rice with a fork and serve. 

Makes 4 servings, 5 WW Points Plus per serving.  

The Better-For-You Breakfast Sandwich

I love breakfast sandwiches, but they are usually loaded with fat and calories. This version is low in fat and calories, tastes great, and keeps you full for hours! It's 7 WW Points Plus per serving.




Egg, Cheese, and Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich

1 spray olive oil cooking spray
3 egg whites
1 slice reduced-fat American Cheese
1 slice turkey bacon
1 bagel thin

Spray a medium-sized ramekin with cooking spray (this ensures that the egg forms into a circle to fit bagel), add egg whites. Microwave on high for one minute. Let egg whites rest for a few seconds and microwave another 30 seconds. Flip egg white with a fork to cook other side, microwave on high another 1 minute or until egg whites have cooked. Meanwhile, toast bagel and heat up turkey bacon for 30 seconds in microwave. Place bagel on a plate, top with egg white. Add cheese (the steam from the egg white will melt the cheese), top with turkey bacon and other half of bagel thin. Enjoy!

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

I love enchiladas, and as it turned out, I had corn tortillas, chicken, and cheese in my fridge...and I was not in the mood to go to the grocery store. So, I improvised! I found this easy recipe for Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas on Weight Watchers online site (click for their version) and changed it up, swapping ingredients for what I had on hand and adding more spicey ingredients to give it more flavor. You will love this recipe, try it ASAP! It's easy and cheesy!!! Note: Serve alongside Cilantro Lime Rice! Yum!

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

1 spray olive oil cooking spray  
8 oz Kraft Velveeta Light Reduced-Fat Cheese   
1/2 cup(s) fat-free sour cream  
1/4 cup(s) fat-free evaporated milk  
2/3 cup(s) scallion(s), green part only, minced  
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes  
3 cup(s) chopped chicken breast*  
10 small yellow corn tortilla(s)  
1/4 cup(s) low-fat shredded cheddar cheese, mild or sharp variety  
1 can (10 oz.) of rotel tomatoes, medium heat
¼ cup jalepenos from the jar, chopped + 1 tsp of the juice  
1/4 cup(s) salsa 
2 T. cilantro, chopped for garnish
¼ cup scallions for garnish

Instructions

* Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9x11 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.

* In a microwave-safe bowl, combine Velveeta cheese and sour cream; cover and microwave on high power until cheese melts, about 2 minutes, stirring after 1 min. Remove half of melted cheese to a small bowl and stir in evaporated milk; set aside. Add scallions, red pepper flakes, jalepenos, tomatoes, and chicken to remaining cheese mixture; stir to coat.

* Spoon about 2/3 cup of chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; fold in sides of tortilla to cover filling and place tortillas in a single layer in prepared dish; spoon remaining cheese sauce over top and then sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.

* Bake until cheese topping is bubbly, about 20 to 25 minutes. Top with cilantro and green onion. Serve with salsa. Yields 1 enchilada per serving. You can split it up into 5 servings at 8 WW PointsPlus, but I find this gives very large portions (okay for hubby, but hard to eat at once for me). I split it up into 10 servings at 5 PointsPlus per serving.

Notes

***Use leftover cooked chicken in this recipe. I placed 2-3 chicken breasts in the slow cooker, along with 1 cup salsa, a packet of taco seasoning, and some chicken stock (to keep it moist), cooking it on low for 8 hours. It comes out full of flavor and so moist you can shred it easily with a fork.

Skinny Cinnamon Vanilla French Toast

Nothing says the weekend like the smell of vanilla and cinnamon in the air! These are so good! I made them this morning for my husband because I had some bread to use up, and I always have milk, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla extract on hand. He's a picky eater, but he gobbles these up quickly. They are made with light bread and milk instead of cream, which keeps them light. The cinnamon and vanilla give them great flavor, which makes up for the lack of cream and heavy bread and keeps you fitting into your jeans! Enjoy!

Skinny Cinnamon Vanilla French Toast

2 eggs
couple splashes of milk, 1% or skim (maybe a 1/4 of a cup...I eyeball it.)
couple heavy dashes of cinnamon (2 tsp or so)
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 pieces of Wheat or Multigrain bread, preferrably reduced calorie
Light syrup

Preheat flat top grill to 350 degrees. Whisk eggs together with milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Dunk each slice of bread into the egg mixture, making sure to coat both sides. Do not let it soak, the bread will fall apart...just dunk it in enough to coat both sides. Place each piece on the grill, top with a tiny bit more of cinnamon if you like (I do). Cook for 3-4 minutes until golden on one side and no raw egg remains, flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from grill onto plate and top with light syrup (2 T or so). You can also top that off with some confectioner's sugar if you like, but that will obviously add calories.

Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I got this recipe from Cooking Light magazine and tweaked it slightly, as I didn't have dark chocolate on hand. They are so chewy and delicious, I love them! These are a lightened version of chocolate chunk cookies and the coconut adds an entirely different dimension. And at just 88 calories and 3.8 grams of fat (2 PointsPlus) per cookie, who can resist? Soooo good! Here's the recipe:

Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 c. sweetened coconut flakes
1 c. flour (all-purpose)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/4 cup chocolate chunks, chopped into small pieces (you can use chocolate chips if you want, but I like the texture of the chunks).
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place coconut flakes on a baking sheet and toasted in oven for 5-7 minutes, stirring once to evenly toast (be careful so that it does not burn--all ovens are different!). Set aside to cool. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a med bowl, stir with whisk.

In another bowl, cream together sugar and butter (use a hand mixer to get it thoroughly mixed...this is an important part!). Add vanilla and egg, beat well to incorporate. Add flour mixture in 2-3 parts, mixing to incorporate before adding more of the flour mixture, being careful not to overmix. Stir in toasted coconut and chocolate pieces.

Drop cookies (I used a cooking dough scoop) by the tablespoon, making sure to keep them to even amounts. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will still be light in color, but bottoms will have browned. Remove from oven and cool. Makes 25 cookies.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

 I found this recipe on Food.com and changed just a few things to make it more "point friendly." It's surprisingly light and tasty! Mmmm....


Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 T. EVOO
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
large onion, diced
1 T. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
A few cranks of freshly ground black pepper
4 (14 oz) cans chicken broth + 1/3 c. for shredded chicken
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
2 (15 oz.) cans tomatoes with green chiles (mild or medium work well).
2 (1 1/4 oz.) packets taco seasoning.
10 small corn tortillas
1 lb. chicken breasts
2/3 cup thick and chunky salsa
1/2 cup reduced-fat mexican cheese
1 cup 1% milk
corn tortilla chips, broken into small pieces

To make shredded chicken: Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. Add 1/3 c. chicken broth, 2/3 cup thick salsa, and taco seasoning packet. Cook on low for 6 hours, then shred easily with fork.

Saute carrots, celery, and onion in EVOO until tender. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil. Add tomatoes, taco seasoning packet, and chicken.

Stack tortillas, one on top of the other. Cut stack in half, then slice thin strips (about 1/4 inch
wide). Add to broth mixture. Boil 20 minutes until tortillas are well incorporated, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, add cheese. Simmer another 10 min. Add milk, continue to simmer another 10 min. Top with shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips.

Lemon Pie

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes! I love the tart flavor of lemon, especially the flavor from the zest in this pie. I adapted this from a Weight Watchers recipe. Once you try it, you'll be hooked! Here's the recipe:

Lemon Pie

6 whole reduced fat graham crackers (use cinnamon graham crackers for more flavor)
2 T. butter
1 (14 oz) can of fat-free sweetened condensed milk (use Bordens)
2 large or jumbo eggs
Juice of 2 lemons
zest of 3 small lemons (if you don't want it to be as tart, cut it down to 2 T....I like all 3 lemons zested!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a food processor to process the graham crackers to crumbs, add butter and pulse a few times to combine butter with crumbs. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom of 9" pie pan, put pan in refrigerator while making the filling.

Combine condensed milk and eggs into a bowl, mix. Add lemon juice and zest, stir. Pour mixture into pan over crust. Bake for 15 minutes, cool. Serve pie chilled. You may freeze this for up to 2 weeks before serving. I actually like the texture of the pie better when frozen, so I keep mine in the freezer and let it thaw for a few minutes before eating a piece. Cut into 10 pieces, 4 WW pointsplus values/serving.

Tasty Grape Dessert

I'll admit, the picture doesn't look very good! Honestly though, grapes in a sugary cream cheese and yogurt sauce topped with sugar and nuts!! You need to try this recipe, I promise it's fabulous! I found this dessert on Gina's website, Skinnytaste.com. She has a great collection of WW friendly recipes and I've made a few in the last week. They have turned out very well. This one is extremely tasty and very light and clean. I did modify it a little because I found there were a few extra calories hidden that could be eliminated. Here it is, enjoy!

Tasty Grape Dessert

1 lb. green seedless grapes, washed and dried.
1 lb. red seedless grapes, washed and dried.
8 oz. fat free vanilla Chiobani greek yogurt (I had to use a container and a half of the individual ones).
4 oz. neufhatel cheese (1/3 less fat than cream cheese!)
1/4 c. sugar (probably could use less)
1 tsp. PURE vanilla extract (don't use imitation, it's gross).

To make topping:
2 T. brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Place yogurt, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a med sized bowl; beat with mixer until no lumps remain. Stire in grapes and pour into a large serving dish (I used an 8x8" pan). Combine brown sugar and chopped pecans. Sprinkle over top of grapes and chill until ready to serve.

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

This is another one of my husband's childhood favorites. My mother-in-law gave me the recipe and I've changed it up a bit to make it lighter. Try it, you won't regret it! NOTE: I think next time I would chop up some onion, green or red bell peppers, and mushrooms to the mixture to bulk up the veggies in the filling and lessen the points plus value.

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

1 lb. of ground beef, 93% lean
1 (15 oz) can + 1/2 cup pizza sauce
1 (11-oz) tube of refrigerated thin crust pizza dough
1 1/2 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 pkg. turkey pepperoni
1/3 to 1/2 c. green olives
1 (14 oz.) can of diced tomatoes (Diced tomatoes with green chiles like "Rotel" would be better...but I didn't have any on hand. Tomatoes help increase the volume of the filling without changing the taste).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cook meat in a nonstick pan; drain. Return meat to skillet and add green olives, tomatoes, and 1/4 of the pkg of turkey pepperonis. Add pizza sauce and cook until heated through.

Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Place pizza crust dough into bottom of pan and half way up sides of pan. Place pan of pizza dough into oven and bake for 5 minutes to precook crust (crust will not bake thoroughly if you do not do this). Remove from oven and top bottom of pizza crust with meat mixture. Bake casserole, uncovered, at 425 for another 10-15 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is melted.

Serves 6= 10 WW PointsPlus if 8 servings, 8 points plus.

What's Cookin'?

Tonight I'm making some healthy recipes:
1. Chicken Tortilla Soup (low cal, low fat...4 WW PointsPlus)
2. Chicken n' Cheese Quesadillas...for later in the week
3. Pizza Casserole

I'll post 2 of them tonight!

A little side note: I'm cooking chicken in the crock pot today for supper. The chicken is doing double duty: it's cooking in chicken stock, salsa, and taco seasoning. This will 1. season the chicken for the quesadillas and 2. make a flavorful broth for the base of my chicken tortilla soup. I made 4 chicken breasts, 2 for the soup and 2 for the quesadillas. This makes 2 meals for the week soooooo much easier!!