Slipping the Veggies in - Turkey and Spinach Meatballs

I love slipping spinach into meatballs. What a great tasting way to get veggies. I make these often enough and everyone enjoys them. It's not really hiding the veggie as much as it is making it a part of the meal but I think it makes it better and of course better for you. And of course I bake, not fry which is even better!

1 lb. ground turkey (I used Nature's Promise brand)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
5 oz or 1/2 package of frozen spinach, defrosted
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

With your hands mix all the ingredients until well-combined. Shape into small to medium sized balls (about 18) and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Thai Chicken Wraps

I've had a recipe sitting in my recipe holder forever for these and then the other day my friend Dana posted about eating thai chicken wraps and I decided I wanted one too! So this is what we had for dinner tonight. Very simple and even my 8 year old stepdaughter Emma ate it so I knew it had to be pretty good.

9-12 oz. skinless, boneless chicken breast strips
Salt & pepper
Cooking spray
1 carrot, julienned (I used my mandolin slicer)
1 cucumber, cut into strips
3 TBSP all natural creamy peanut butter
1.5 TBSP low sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 whole wheat wraps

Salt & pepper the chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add in the carrots and cook another two minutes. Don't let the carrots get soft!

In a small pot whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger and heat. Whisk constantly until creamy and heated through and remove from heat.

Layer a wrap with the chicken and carrots, cucumber and 1-2 tablespoons of sauce. Wrap up and enjoy!

Garden Harvest Muffins

I saw these muffins on Ashlee's blog last week and immediately knew I had to make them this weekend. They are everything I need to continue on my quest for a healthier lifestyle and dropping a few pounds. I look forward to freezing these for future breakfasts. Thanks Ashlee for posting them! I did make a couple changes to them so here's my revised recipe.

4.5 ounces whole wheat flour flour (1 cup)
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup grated peeled Granny Smith apple (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup grated carrot (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup 1% organic milk
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
If you have a scale, weigh the flour as it makes for a more exact measurement. If not, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.
Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.
Add grated apple, grated carrot, shredded zucchini, and raisins to flour mixture; toss well.
Combine canola oil, milk, and eggs in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined.
Spoon batter into 12 muffin tin coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan.
Cool completely on wire rack before storing or freezing.

I'm also submitting these to April's Tasty Tools Blogging Event featuring muffin pans at Joelen's Culinary Adventures

Ricotta-Stuffed Chicken

I'm really trying to find healthier ways to eat but still enjoy the food I'm eating. This meal hit the spot. I love chicken parm but I don't love all the frying and breading and cheese that goes on with it so this is my light version. I served it with 2 oz. whole wheat pasta and a spinach salad. A filling and healthy meal.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 TBSP fat free ricotta
5 sundried tomatoes, not packed in oil, chopped
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp olive oil (or a mist, such as the Williams Sonoma Oil Mister)

Split the chicken 3/4 of the way through. Spread 2 TBSP of ricotta onto each breast, then add the sundried tomatoes to each half. Close up the chicken and seal with a toothpick if necessary. Combine the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese on a plate. Spray both sides with the oil mister or cooking spray, or use a pastry brush to coat with the olive oil. Dredge the chicken in the bread crumb mixture and place in a foil lined pan. Cook at 375 for 20 minutes.

The Best Chicken Salad I've Ever Made

A few weeks ago, the wonderful people at Stonyfield Farm contacted me and sent me a bunch of coupons for their organic Greek yogurt, Oikos. I already eat their yogurt and drink their milk so I was excited to learn they made Greek yogurt too. This morning I was finally able to get to the store and pick some up. I proceeded to make the best chicken salad I've ever made. So delicious and healthy. Thanks Stonyfield for the great idea!


Chicken Salad

1 container Oikos Greek plain yogurt
9 oz. poached chicken
1 celery stalk, diced
1 TBSP mustard (dijon or spicy brown)
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 avocado, chopped
salt & pepper

Poach the chicken, then once cooled, shred it with two forks. In a bowl, combine the yogurt, mustard and lemon juice. Add in the celery, avocado and chicken and mix well. Salt & pepper to taste.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad

This recipe came to me via email from Cooking Light. I'm always looking for a good, make ahead chicken salad and this one looked different and delicious. I did make some changes to their original recipe based on what I had on hand and my likes. So here it is.

• 1 container Fage Total 0%
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken, seasoned with South Seas seasoning
• 1 jar roasted red peppers, chopped (about 1 cup)
  
• 1/4 diced vidalia onion
• 3 TBSP chopped green onion
  
• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Combine the rest of the ingredients in another bowl, then stir in the yogurt mixture. Chill for 2 hours before serving.

Feta-Stuffed Chicken Burgers

I got this recipe from weightwatchers.com. I needed something WW friendly and had some ground chicken to use. We really loved the feta in them and instead of the olives and roasted red pepper I topped it with a couple slices of avocado and barbecue sauce to bring it all together. They were great, filling, and only 5 points. And yes, I did use the whole wheat light roll too.














1 lb. ground chicken
1 TBSP fresh oregano (I used a teaspoon of dried)
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
7 TBSP of feta cheese
4 light rolls
1/2 avocado, sliced
1 TBSP BBQ sauce

Combine the chicken, spices and feta and form into patties. Grill on each side 7-8 minutes. Serve with the avocado or toppings of your choice and enjoy!

Crock Pot Chicken Parisienne - WW friendly

After a week of being out of commission from bronchitis, I'm back! Yesterday I was able to run home on lunch and throw dinner in the crockpot. There's a Weight Watchers friendly blog I often turn to for ideas, LaaLoosh, and I had starred this recipe in my google reader and so yesterday was a great day to make it. It came out great and my husband and I both loved it. I served it over whole wheat egg noodles and a side of steamed broccoli. I highly recommend this blog and I look forward to making a lot more recipes from it.

Chicken Pot Pie

This lighter version of chicken pot pie caught my eye in this months Real Simple magazine. Amy, I think you saw it too! No butter, no cream, it's just what I need to make an old favorite healthier than the original. I love a lot of veggies in my pot pie so I did make some changes to the original recipe. Here is my version. By the way, my husband said this is the best chicken pot pie he's ever had.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced and cooked (I flavored mine with a garlic/rosemary spice mixture
1 TBSP olive oil
3 shallots, diced
2 carrots, sliced thinly
1 small head of broccoli, chopped
4-5 baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 package (10 oz.) frozen peas
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 cups of 1% milk
3 TBSP flour
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 9-inch store bought pie crust (I used Pillsbury, the store brand never seems to stay together for me)
1 egg, beaten














Heat the olive oil in a large pan and when hot, saute the shallots, carrots, broccoli and mushrooms until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and cook until it is absorbed. Add in the milk and simmer until it thickens. Once it has thickened, stir in the peas and chicken and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into a shallow 2 quart baking dish (I used a pie dish). Sprinkle the cheese onto the mixture. Lay the pie crust on top, pressing to seal. Cut about 6 vent holes into the top. Brush the beaten egg over the crust to achieve a nice brown crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Crockpot Chicken Divan

I had a recipe for chicken divan sitting on my counter over the past few days and yesterday it dawned on me, what about crockpot chicken divan. It has to be possible. So I googled it and found a few recipes but all had different ingredients and ways to do it so going off of that and knowing what I had at home, I made my own up. I actually went home and assembled this on my lunch hour and when I got home from the gym at 6:30, dinner was ready. All we had to do was make the stuffing (instant) for the top. I truly do love my crockpot. I wish I used it more. I did make this pretty WW-friendly as well. For 4 servings, which is definitely plenty, it is 7 points














Ingredients

12 oz, skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
1 can Healthy Request Cream of Chicken soup
1 can 98% fat free broccoli cheese soup
2 TBSP light mayonnaise
1/4 cup of low sodium chicken broth
1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, slightly defrosted
6 oz. baby bella mushrooms
1 carrot, sliced
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup chicken flavored stuffing, prepared according to the box

Combine the soups and mayo into a bowl. Place the chicken on the bottom of the crockpot. Then layer the broccoli, mushrooms and carrots on top. Pour the chicken broth over it and then top with the soup mixture. Cook on low for 6 hours. Top with the prepared stuffing.

Beefaroni

It must be these frigid temperatures because all I want lately is comfort food. I'm back on Weight Watcher though so my meals must all be friendly. This one definitely passed the test. It's easy and filling too.














10 oz. 93% lean ground turkey
1 clove of garlic, diced finely
2 cans (8 oz. each) of low sodium tomato sauce
7 oz. Ronzoni Smart Taste elbows
1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Cook the pasta according to the box directions. Meanwhile, saute the garlic about 1 minute in a pan coated with cooking spray. Add in the ground turkey and cook until meat is browned. Add in the tomato sauce, still well and remove from the heat. Place the cooked noodles into an 8x8 pan spray with cooking spray. Mix in the turkey and sauce. Top with the cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Serves 4.
8 WW points per serving

Told you it was easy!

Breakfast Burrito

I'm trying to eat better this holiday because I know what all the parties and celebrating entail and I need to try and keep some semblance of health in my life! This morning I really wanted a "bad" breakfast but I reined myself in and made a delicious breakfast wrap with probably 1/2 the calories of my husband's pork roll, egg and cheese sandwich.














1 whole wheat wrap
2 slices of turkey bacon, cooked and chopped into pieces
1/4 cup eggbeaters
1 slice of Alpine Lace reduced fat American Cheese

Spicy Chicken Sandwiches

I read through my new Cooking Light really fast this week and the section on healthy pan frying really caught my eye. Tonight I tried their recipe for Spicy Chicken Sandwiches. We loved them! I did make a few minor changes... I had no tortilla chips so I used panko, making them healthier and we didn't make the mayo they included and instead topped them with a little blue cheese and ketchup. Delicious dinner! We ate them with some broiled asparagus and the mashed potato pancakes.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Sorry it's been so long! We were away in Seattle for 4 days and we have a very empty fridge but with what we did have, I was able to make a WW-friendly, warm, delicious meal tonight.















1 package of frozen broccoli, defrosted
2 cans of Healthy Request Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup reduced fat mayo (optional)
12 oz. diced chicken breasts, cooked
2 oz. dry stuffing mix
1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together the soups and mayo in a bowl. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 dish with the broccoli. Layer it with the cooked chicken and then top with the soup mixture. Spread the stuffing mix on top and sprinkle the cheese on that. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Light Sesame Chicken

Another weight watchers friendly meal. It's definitely not as tasty as the real stuff but there's a reason I need to be on weight watchers and it's not because I was eating light! Anyway, this was a recipe I got a while ago and never made but now that I'm sticking to the plan it fit right in. Thanks Brooke for the recipe! P.S. Yay for my 100th post!!!!

1 bag of brown rice (like Success Brown Rice)
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed with a garlic press
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch chunks
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower *omitted, I used cooking spray
4 scallions, thinly sliced *omitted
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into large florets, stems peeled and thinly sliced

Directions
In a small bowl, combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and cornstarch. Add chicken; season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, heat the pan over medium-high. Add half the chicken; cook, turning occasionally, until golden and opaque throughout, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and chicken. Return all the chicken to skillet; add reserved sauce and scallions, and toss to coat.
As the rice cooks, place the broccoli in a steamer basket over the boiling water and steam the broccoli until desired tenderness. Add the steamed broccoli to the chicken and sauce and mix.
Serve sesame chicken over the rice and enjoy.

Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss

Dinner tonight was quick and easy thanks to Rachael Ray's cookbook. I was able to cook the chicken and chop the onion and garlic on lunch so that it made the nighttime prep almost non-existent. I amended it to fit my Weight Watchers diet and each serving was 9 points. After a hard exercise day, 30 Day Shred and running, I really needed some good food with carbs and protein. I added asparagus for some greens, which really topped it off. And my husband really liked it and that counts for a lot!















1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Cooking spray
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into chunk
Lemon pepper seasoning
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 bunch of asparagus, chopped (about 2 cups)
1/2 pound whole wheat rotini or fusilli

Heat a deep nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with the lemon pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add a teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, the garlic, and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in the asparagus and chicken and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve.

Chicken Marsala

My friend over at A Taste of Home Cooking made chicken marsala recently and it looked so good I had to copy her and make it for dinner too. I looked it up online and found the basis for my recipe here at Cooking Light and I made a few very minor changes. I added sundried tomatoes and a shallot along with the mushrooms and upped the quantity of broth and marsala wine to 2/3 a cup because I had 6 chicken breasts (yay for leftovers!) I paired it with my broccoli salad and mashed potatoes which gave us a very wonderful dinner for this rainy day.

Zucchini Bread, the Healthy Way

We're sitting here watching National Treasure 2 and all of a sudden I realized I had zucchini I needed to use. So up I go to make a zucchini bread. Why let it go to waste right? And so, I referred to my handy dandy binder where my precious healthy zucchini bread recipes lives. Given to me a few years ago by a coworker at the time, I cherish it. No butter, no egg (yolks anyway), whole wheat flour and wait... it still tastes GOOD! So, here I will share it with you. Trust me, it's good!
















2 cups whole wheat flour
2-1/4 tsp of baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large egg whites
3/4 cup raw cane sugar or Splenda (I use the Splenda)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or prune puree or nonfat plain yogurt (I used the yogurt)
1 cup grated zucchini

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly coat a 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray and dust with flour.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, combine the egg whites, Splenda, and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture stirring until well combined but do not overmix. Fold in the zucchini. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick comes clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Serves 14.

Per slice:
Cal: 110
Protein: 3g
Total fat: 0g
Saturate fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 25g
Fiber: 3g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 260 mg

Turkey Ricotta Meatballs

These are in my latest issue of Cooking Light and I couldn't wait to try them. What caught my eye was the ricotta in them! I had some ricotta to use up and these meatballs were the perfect thing. I am freezing them for Wednesday nights dinner. God I love Cooking Light!

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/2 cup fresh chopped basil

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl and shape into meatballs. The recipe says to make 18, but I came out with 17 so it was close. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and bring to room temperature. To freeze, place the meatballs on a cookie sheet, not touching each other, and place them in the freezer for one hour. After the hour is up, place the hardened meatballs into an airtight container and return to the freezer.

Mmmm. Fruit Salad.

So simple, I sometimes forget to make it but since we got lots of yummy fruit at the farmer's market, I finally remembered.... Fruit Salad! Slice strawberries, grapes, blueberries, bananas (2) and sliced kiwis (2) and a little sugar mixed in, I can't wait to top this with a little Cool Whip Light and have it for dessert. I love the fruits of summer!