I Should Be Folding Laundry

Worth Sharing -- Low Fat Chicken Enchiladas

I discovered a low fat recipe that was delicious.  My goal was to find a recipe that was low fat and that my whole family would enjoy.

And I found it.  I can see this recipe becoming a usual meal for us here, it was THAT outstanding.  If you love Mexican food and enjoy a little kick, Aye Caramba!, this recipe is for you.  I found this recipe at 3 Fat Chicks, I decided to try it because every comment left after this recipe was positive.

This recipe calls for shredded chicken.  A few years ago I learned a very easy way to make shredded chicken.  Simply add chicken pieces to boiling, I check the chicken after about 5 minutes and it's always done by nine minutes.  I cut the chicken breast into smaller pieces so it's takes a shorter period of time.  If you do it right, the chicken shreds easily with a fork!

See?

Your Basic Delicious Ingredients.

Before entering the oven.  The recipe called for 15 minutes, I only did 10 or so.

Three Year old Racercar, "thanks for the great food!"

And now the recipe.  I look forward to you trying this.  It's terribly delicious.

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
Serves: 8

recipe ingredients

1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup bottled picante sauce
3 oz. 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 tsp. ground cumin or chili powder
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups bottled green taco sauce

recipe directions
Preheat oven to 350*F. Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat until hot. Add onion, and saute 6 minutes or until tender. Add chicken, 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, picante sauce, cream cheese, and cumin. Cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts. Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla, and roll up. Place enchiladas in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish; drizzle with taco sauce, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. Cover and bake at 350*F for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve enchiladas immediately.

calories	total fat	sat fat	protein	fiber	sodium (mg)	carbs	ww pts
272	8	3	18	2	924	32	6

For more low fat recipes, go here!

Tales from the Scales-recipe swap

Today I am going to share with you one of my favorite snack recipes.  I do have to warn you, it is difficult to eat only one, but they are only one point, so that is OKAY!

Enjoy!  For more low fat snack recipes, go here, why don't you?

HAYSTACKS
Serves - 9
Points - 1

1 Hershey Bar (regular size)
1 cup Fiber One cereal
2 Tbsp peanut butter

 

Instructions

Put the hershey bar and the peanut butter in a pot and put on low heat. Stir constantly until chocolate and p.b. are completely melted. Take off burner and mix in the cereal. Put on a plate covered with wax paper and divide into 9 servings. Put in the refrigerator, and they will quickly harden. These should be kept in the fridge.

Vacation and Twinkies

For some reason I thought I would have soooo much time to blog since I'm vacation.  Whatever.  I had it all wrong.  I completely under estimated the amount of energy it took to lay by the pool and chase the kids around this 4000 square foot beach house, up and down three flights of stairs.  Also, playing games, eating and drinking???  That's tiring, too!  I go to bed at night, intending to blog and read blogs and what not and I wake up the next morning and I'm all like "what the heck happened? who are you?  Where am I?  Where's my nachos?"  Now that is tired.

BUT, I wanted to take a few minutes before steak and cheesecake to share one of my favorite low fat dessert recipes.  And if you'd like more low fat dessert recipes or you'd like to share one, go here.  Okay? 

So, here you go.  The dessert is MOCK TWINKIES.  The taste is DELICIOUS.  I promise.

two points, friends.  Two points.  Here's the recipe, I'll check back soon.  or not.  P.S.  I miss you and I love you.

Serves - 24
Points - 2

1 pkg. Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Flavor cake mix
12 ounces diet lemon-lime soda
2 large egg whites
1 cup Cool Whip Free

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In large bowl, combine cake mix, diet soda and 2 egg whites; beat for 2 minutes until well mixed.

Line two 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners. Fill each liner 2/3 full with cake batter. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Once cupcakes are completely cool, fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with the Cool Whip Free. Insert tip into center of each cupcake and fill with Cool Whip. Refrigerate.

Nutrition Information:
98 Cal., 2 g. fat, 0 g. fiber

Cottage Style Potatoes

Cottage style potatoes are very good. Lightly spray your frying pan with an olive oil cooking spray and spray butter, season with onion and garlic salt, salt and pepper and lay out your potatoes in your frying pan. Cover and cook for awhile. I also flip and lightly respray. One large potato is 3 points. You can dip them into low fatsour cream or ketchup. It's a great side for the potato lovers out there. 

For more low-fat side dishes, go here, okay?

A yummy, sorta summery, sorta low fat recipe

Chili Dogs, Baby

No, that is not their official name.  

I pick this recipe because
A. It's good. (and easy!)
B.  It's easy to substitute non fat free hot dogs for the kids and
C. It's different from the typical low fat menu.  Do I realize hot dogs aren't particularly healthy?  Of course.  But we all need a little break without heading to our nearest Pizza Hut to fulfill that need for something different, don't you think?

8 points per dog with bun with chili with cheese.

So, here you go.  Enjoy.

INGREDIENTS

• 4  average fat-free beef and pork hot dog(s)
• 4  roll reduced-calorie hot dog bun
• 15  oz canned low-fat chili
• 1/4 cup red onion(s), minced
• 1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
• 1  sprays olive oil cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Place hot dogs in buns; top each with about 1/4 cup of chili, 1 tablespoon of onion and 2 tablespoons of cheese. Lightly coat cheese with cooking spray.
• Wrap hot dogs in foil; cook until warmed through and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.

For more main dish recipe ideas, go here!

Recipe Review

Well, I made my goal.  I've shared 3 new recipes in the month of January.  How very kind of me.  I made Parmesan-Crusted Chicken last night.  Unfortunately, I have no idea how it tasted because I can not taste or smell anything.  The fact that I even made dinner was out of complete devotion to all of you.  I love you, you know?  Oh, and I love my husband, too.  I love that he wanted to know if I wanted to take a picture of the food before cleaning up dinner.  I did not, because, I didn't care.  Because I'm sick.  bleh
Here's a stock photo for you, though, and the recipe.  Brian gave it 3 stars.  I can grade it on how easy it was to prepare...it was easy.  HOWEVER, I must tell you that I did not make the cream sauce because I did not have another can of chicken broth.  I was pretty disappointed, but got over it quickly.  (oh and I only buy Whole Grain Ritz, and they worked just fine.)

PARMESAN-CRUSTED CHICKEN WITH CREAM SAUCE
(this is a light recipe, by Kraft Foods Healthy Living, one serving is 9 points with the rice, not bad.)

2 cups MINUTE Brown Rice, uncooked

1 can (14 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided

6 RITZ Crackers, finely crushed

2 Tbsp. KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)

2 tsp. oil

1/3 cup PHILADELPHIA Chive & Onion Light Cream Cheese Spread

3/4 lb. asparagus spears, trimmed, steamed

COOK rice as directed on package, using 1-1/4 cups of the broth and 1/2 cup water.

MEANWHILE, mix cracker crumbs and Parmesan cheese on plate. Rinse chicken with cold water; gently shake off excess water. Dip chicken in crumb mixture, turning over to evenly coat both sides of each chicken breast with the crumb mixture.

HEAT oil in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook 5 to 6 min. on each side or until golden brown on both sides and cooked through (170°F). Place chicken on serving plate; cover to keep warm. Add remaining 1/2 cup broth and the cream cheese spread to same skillet. Cook on medium heat until mixture just comes to boil, stirring constantly. Simmer 3 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring frequently. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with the rice.

Simply Lasagna

As promised, once again.  A new recipe for you!  This is not a Weight Watcher friendly recipe...but it is DELICIOUS and very easy!  We had company over last night and we ALL gave it five stars! As far as lasagna goes, it was quite easy to make!

Simply Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef

2-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1 container (15 oz.) POLLY-O Natural Part Skim Ricotta Cheese

1/2 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 cup water

12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix 1-1/4 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the parsley and egg until well blended; set aside.

DRAIN meat; return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Pour water into empty sauce jar; cover and shake well. Add to skillet; stir until well blended.

SPREAD 1 cup of the meat sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup of the meat sauce. Repeat layers two more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles and the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1-1/4 cups mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover tightly with greased foil.

BAKE 45 min.  Remove foil; continue baking 15 min. or until heated through.  Let stand 15 min. before cutting to serve.

As promised...

A new recipe, just for you.

I discovered this recipe on the Weight Watcher's website.  It caught my eye for 3 reasons:
1.  It's a mexican dish, which I love
2.  It has black beans in it, which I love
3.  It's in a series called "Cook Once, Eat All Week" which I like

The recipe said the prep time was 20 minutes, it took longer than that, so we ate late, which was irritating.  Using the ingredients below, it's 6 pts/serving.  I added a little more cheese on top than the cup they told me use.  (about 1.5 cups)

I give it 3 out of 5 stars. 

Layered Mexican Chicken
1 spray olive oil cooking spray
2 lbs uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
30 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups fat-free sour cream
2 cups shredded reduced fat Monterey Jack Cheese or mexican style blend
8 oz chopped green chilies (2 4 oz cans)
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 medium corn tortillas, cut into 2 inch strips
1 cup salsa, mild, medium or hot

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a lasagna pan with cooking spray.

Place chicken in medium saucepan and fill with enough cold water just to cover chicken.  Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes; drain.  When chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into 1 inch pieces.

Transfer chicken to a large bowl, add beans, sour cream, 1 cup of shredded cheese, chilies, cumin and pepper; mix well and set aside.

Arrange half of tortillas in bottom of prepared lasagna pan, overlapping pieces to cover surface.  Top tortillas with half of chicken mixture, layer with remaining tortillas and then top with remaining chicken mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese.

Bake until filling is bubbly and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before slicing in 12 pieces.  Serve with salsa on the side.

Works for Me Wednesday

This "Works for Me Wednesday" is brought to you by Shannon at "Rocks in my Dryer."  This weeks WFMW is all about healthy dinner recipes!  Check out her site to see all of the tried and true healthy recipes out there!

Here's my recipe, I created this recipe when I was actively losing weight.  It's a family favorite, even for those not dieting! I love it and it's low in fat!

Mexican Tostadas

1 box of Ortega Tostadas (these are the lowest in fat)
1 lb extra lean ground beef (90% lean)
1 pkg of taco seasoning (you can use half of the pkg, if you do not like real spicy food)
3/4 cup of salsa
1/2 of a 10 oz can of Campbell's Fiesta cheese
1 can Fat Free Refried Beans
Kraft 2% Mexican Shredded Cheese
Shredded lettuce
Diced tomatoes

Brown ground beef and drain well.  Follow instructions on taco seasoning packet.  Add salsa and fiesta cheese, stir, cook until hot and well blended.  Simmer and cover.  Place refried beans in a saucepot or microwave, if microwaving, heat for 1 minute, stir, then heat an additional 1 minute.  Bake tostadas in the oven.  (4-5 minutes/per instructions on the box)  On top of one tostada, spead a layer of refried beans, add 1/3 cup of meat mixture, top with 2 tablespoon of cheese.  Add shredded lettuce and top with tomatoes, if desired!
It's SO easy AND SO SO yummy!  This is what I call a "realistic recipe."  It's lower in fat, it contains alot of fiber and everyone in your family will LOVE IT!
ENJOY!

Feng Shui me, Baby

We spent our weekend cleaning.  Rather, Saturday, we spend the day setting up our tree and making the rest of our house a complete and total disaster area and Sunday we cleaned.  My bedroom is the catch all for all things, if you walk into my house, you walk into my living room and my bedroom is directly to the left--everything seems to land in there.  On Sunday morning our bedroom held boxes of Christmas decorations, boxes of decorations I had taken down to make room for Christmas decorations, baskets of laundry, boxes of clothes from our basement cleaning project (2 boxes), our coffee table and all the rest of our shit that normally makes our bedroom just plain ol' messy. DISASTER.  I spent the day thoroughly cleaning my room and the rest of the house.  Brian was very helpful.  We even took a van full of items to Goodwill last night.  I woke up this morning and felt...well...calm.  I guess the word "harmony" comes to mind.  I actually stayed in my jammies until 10am.  I kept my glasses on until 10am.   I sat at my computer this morning. (rather than standing at my computer)   I played with the kids.  It was blissful.  Truly!  I worked throughout the day to make my house even more harmonious, which was challenging considering I swear someone is paying my children to makes messes, but it has worked out okay.    Today I did laundry.  Lots of it.  Every article.  I'm fairly caught up so it only took me 4-5 loads to catch up.  I even hand washed my bras.  While I was hanging one to dry it got me to thinking...my $42 bra from Victoria's Secret must be hand washed and hung to dry.  If you dare wash it, it will fall apart.  If you dare dry it, it will fall apart.  Believe me, I've had bras fall apart.  Once I returned one to the store after it fell apart and she said "are you hand washing it" and I said "yes" with my fingers crossed behind me.  She told me that many people put them in the wasing machine and they fall apart, mainly the underwires come out and poke you.  What the hell?  My confusion comes here, my sister, has owned the same damn bra for 12 years.  No lie.    She wears it very often, maybe even every day.  She washes it very frequently and dries it and it's still in tact.  She may have paid $12 for it.   What is wrong with this picture? Enough of my rant! okay, I'm a liar.  One more rant. I'm calling FOUL PLAY on Walmart.com.  FOUL PLAY BITCHES.  So, on Friday  I was doing some on-line shopping for the chickens.  They both happen to want this particular item.  Yes, we are getting one for each of them.    Well, it was on sale last week for $28.44, it was a promotional price through the end of day Friday.  Everywhere else, and I mean everywhere it was $39.99 and that is IF it was in stock.  So, I had the toys in my cart and I proceed to check out and I even selected my payment method when I decided to check on one more item.  I left my cart (apparently unattended) and returned 30 seconds later.  Literally.  Lo and behold, there is a problem with my order quantity.  They are now suddenly sold out.  I was hot friends, hot.  But, I also understand "you snooze, you lose."  (Although I don't really see myself as snoozing, but whatever)  9 hours later, the very next morning, I go to Wal-Mart.com and they are no longer OUT OF STOCK, but now they are $39.99... Interesting, no? I'm ranted out.

I made a new recipe tonight, it was a Weight Watcher recipe called Chicken Parmigiana, it was good, very good.  Only 5 points for the chicken parm, I served it with a side of whole wheat rotini and veggies.  The best part of the recipe, is that nothing is fat free, so as a family, we all enjoyed the same meal, which is my goal in life!  Here's the recipe for those interested!

Ingredients                                                                                          

 

1  pound   uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly pounded (four 4-oz pieces) 2  large   egg white(s), lightly beaten 1/2 cup   dried bread crumbs 1  Tbsp   Italian seasoning 1  tsp   olive oil 1 1/2 cup   canned tomato sauce 1/2 cup   part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded 1  Tbsp   grated Parmesan cheese                            

 

                                                                                                                                   

Instructions

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.
2. Dip chicken in egg whites, and turn to coat. Then mix bread crumbs with Italian seasoning and dip chicken in bread-crumb mixture; turn to coat thoroughly.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet; add chicken. Cook until lightly browned and no longer pink in center, about 4 minutes per side; place on paper towels to drain.
4. Pour 1/2 cup of sauce into prepared baking dish; place chicken in dish and pour remaining sauce evenly over chicken. Sprinkle with cheeses and bake until bubbly, about 25 minutes.