Apricot-Lemon Chicken

This is another recipe I found on Sparkpeople. I did not follow the recipe itself but it inspired me to make something similar. The flavors were so good with the chicken and I made some simple sweet potato rounds to go with it. All in all it made for a really nice meal. This was also a hit with the hubby, he even ate the leftovers the next night which is rare :)

APRICOT-LEMON CHICKEN

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 C apricot preserves
5 or 6 green onions chopped
lemon zest from one lemon
1 t coarse black pepper
1/2 t salt
olive oil for cooking
1 T butter or margarine
4 fresh apricots, halved and pitted

Slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make 4 chicken cutlets.

Heat olive oil in medium to large skillet and add chicken. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Brown on both sides and remove from pan, set aside.

Add butter to same skillet and use a spatula to get up any bits from cooking the chicken. Add the apricots and saute until cooked. Add the green onions, apricot preserves and lemon zest. Stir until it is all smooth and heated through.

Place the breasts back in the pan and cover. Cook on low heat for about 30 min. turning the chicken over a couple of times. Remove from heat and serve.

For the sweet potato rounds I preheated the oven to 400 and peeled a couple of medium size sweet potatoes.

I sliced them into 1/4 in slices. In a large bowl I drizzled some canola oil and added parmesan cheese, cracked pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. I tossed the potato slices in the bowl with the oil and seasonings and then placed them in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

I baked them for about 12 min and then turned them over and baked for an additional 10 min until they were golden brown on each side.

Chiles Rellenos Casserole

I found this recipe in my current issue of Taste of Home and had to try it. Not only was this a super easy dish to make but it tasted SO good. My husband loved it and had two big helpings. It was also really good heated up the next day. I of course lightened it up by using egg substitute in place of the eggs, low fat cheeses and skim milk. Instead of buying 7 of those small 4oz. cans of the whole green chiles I was able to find a large can that was about 27 oz. so I grabbed that even though it had maybe one less chile.

CHILES RELLENOS CASSEROLE

7 cans (4 ounces each) whole green chilies, drained
3/4 pound low fat Monterey Jack cheese, cut into strips
1C (4 ounces) low fat cheddar cheese
1 1/4 C egg substitute
1-1/4 C skim milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Split chilies lengthwise; rinse and remove seeds. Drain on paper towels; pat dry. Stuff chilies with cheese strips. Place half of chilies in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish; sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Repeat layers.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, milk, flour, salt, pepper and pepper sauce until smooth; pour over chilies. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: 8 servings.

High Fiber Blueberry Muffins

I went searching for a high fiber muffin recipe the other day that I could change to suit my tastes. I found a nice recipe from Chef Meg on Sparkpeople that had the basics that I wanted and then I just changed a few things. These came out super moist and had great flavor. A couple of these for Breakfast with a glass of skim milk and I was good to go :)

HIGH FIBER BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

1 T flax meal
1 C fresh blueberries (or thawed frozen blueberries)
1 C quick oats
1 C lowfat buttermilk
1 C 10 Grain Pancake Mix (I use Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake Mix)
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1/4 c egg substitute
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c Splenda
1 t vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Spray the muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray or line them with paper liners.

Wash and dry the blueberries. In a small bowl, combine the oats and buttermilk, and let the mixture stand at room temperature for five minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the pancake mix, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix with a fork to blend and set aside.

In a large bowl and using a hand mixer, beat the egg, applesauce, and Splenda at medium speed for three minutes.

Blend in the oat-buttermilk mixture. Stir in the flour mixture only to combine, try not to overwork the mixture. Fold in the blueberries. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and top with a sprinkle of flax seed.

Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Number of Servings: 12

Chicken Parmesan

I substituted crushed Bran Flakes cereal for the coating instead of regular bread crumbs and then added a bunch of seasonings to give it more flavor. You can add whatever seasonings you like depending on your tastes. I brown my cutlets in a bit of oil before baking but I am sure you could just bake the cutlets in the oven and add a little cooking spray to each side and they would crisp up nicely, then you could add the sauce and cheese the last few minutes. That would certainly cut down on the fat calories. I may try it that way next time I make this.

CHICKEN PARMESAN

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6.5 oz. each)
1 1/4 cups of crushed bran flakes
1/4 cup reduced fat Parmesan cheese
4 T Smart Balance Omega Oil Blend
1/2 cup of egg substitute
3/4 cup of Kraft 2% mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 T cracked pepper
1 T onion powder
1 T garlic powder
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup pasta sauce (I used my own Pasta Sauce)

Preheat oven to 400

Slice chicken breasts lengthwise so you have 4 thin chicken cutlets. Mix egg substitute and water in shallow bowl and set aside. In another shallow bowl combine the bran flakes, Parmesan, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper.

In a large skillet heat the oil. Dip one of the chicken cutlets in the egg mixture, coating thoroughly and place into the bran flakes mixture. Cover the cutlet with the crumbs well while pressing down. When it is well coated place in the skillet. Repeat this with all 4 cutlets.

Cook about 3 to 4 minutes on each side until they look brown and crispy. Remove from oil and place in a shallow casserole dish.

Spoon the pasta sauce evenly over each cutlet and sprinkle each with the mozzarella cheese.

Place in the oven and bake for about 7 to 10 min.

Number of Servings: 4

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 4
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 338.2

• Total Fat: 19.5 g
• Cholesterol: 60.9 mg
• Sodium: 568.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 13.1 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.8 g
• Protein: 29.5 g

NOTE: Please keep in mind the nutritional info is based on the specific brands that I use for each ingredient so they may be different depending on the brand you use.

Lasagna Roll Ups

There isn't much to say about this recipe. I have been making these for years but when I made it this time I tried to lighten it up a bit by using whole wheat lasagna noodles and lean ground turkey. I found that the whole wheat lasagna noodles are a little bit harder to work with so you might want to make extra.

For the pasta sauce I used my own recipe.



LASAGNA ROLL UPS

3 cups part skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoon parmesan, reduced fat
12 oz lean ground turkey
1 1/2 cups low sodium mozzarella; shredded
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/2 cup onion; chopped
1 cup fresh spinach; chopped
2 cups pasta sauce My own recipe
1 clove garlic; minced
9 - 10 whole wheat lasagna noodles (you might want to make extra)
1 tablespoon smart balance oil
1/4 cup egg substitute

Preheat oven to 375°F

Cook noodles according to package. You make want to make a few extra because I found that the wheat noodles tend to break easier.

In a medium bowl mix together the ricotta, parmesan, egg substitute, 1 cup of the mozzarella and italian seasoning. Mix well and put aside.

In a large skillet heat the oil and saute the onions and garlic. Add the turkey and cook while breaking it up into very small crumbles. Add the chopped spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted and the turkey is cooked through. Remove from heat.

Spray a 2 1/2 quart shallow casserole dish with cooking spray.

Add 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of the pan.

Take one of the lasagna noodles and spread a layer of the ricotta cheese mixture down the entire noodle. Take about 1 1/2 Tbls of the turkey meat and sprinkle it evenly over the cheese layer and press it lightly into the cheese. Starting at one end roll up the lasagna noodle being careful to keep the cheese and meat from falling out the sides.

Place it seam side down in the casserole dish. Repeat this until you have filled all the noodles or until you run out of filler.

Pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the roll ups and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake in the oven for about 20 - 30 min. Remove from the oven and let sit about 10 minutes.

Barbi's Pasta Sauce (low sodium)

I wanted to make a large batch of pasta sauce that I could use with several recipes and freeze the rest for future use. I basically just made this one up as I went along using ideas I got from several recipes I saw on the internet. For my tomato base I tried to use as many "no salt added" products as I could find. The only one I could not get in the low sodium version was the crushed tomatoes but I think spread out over the whole recipe it still had little impact.

After adding all the vegetables I found that they did not seem like all that much once all the sauces were added so if you like a chunkier sauce then I would increase amounts of veggies. This is also a very low fat sauce in comparison to store bought brands.

If you are not a Diabetic or don't mind a few extra calories from sugar then you can replace the Splenda with regular sugar.

As always, every taste is different so you can use this as a base and then just add or subtract from there to make it suit your tastes.

BARBI'S PASTA SAUCE (low sodium)

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
5 8 oz cans tomato sauce, no salt added
2 6 oz. cans Tomato paste, no salt added
2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, no salt added
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoon Splenda
1 carrot; chopped
1 medium onion; chopped
1 medium zucchini; chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms; chopped
2 clove garlic; minced
2 tablespoon Smart Balance Omega Oil

Heat oil in large skillet. Saute the onion, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and garlic until tender.

While that is cooking in a large crockpot (6 qt) add the crushed tomatoes plus one can of water, then add the tomato sauce, tomato paste and the diced tomatoes. Stir until blended well. Add the basil, bay leaves, Italian seasoning and Splenda. Stir until everything is well mixed and turn the crockpot on high.

When the vegetables are done add to the sauce and blend. Cover the crockpot and cook on high for one hour.

Stir sauce and taste to see if it needs anything then turn heat down to low.

Simmer on low for 4 to 5 hours stirring occasionally.

Use over your favorite pasta or to make lasagna.

You can also divide it up and freeze it for later use, just be sure to let it cool completely first.

Makes about 17 cups

Number of Servings: 17

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 17
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 83.7

• Total Fat: 1.7 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 137.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 10.4 g
• Dietary Fiber: 4.7 g
• Protein: 2.1 g

NOTE: Please keep in mind the nutritional info is based on the specific brands that I use for each ingredient so they may be different depending on the brand you use.

Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas - Revamped!

I actually posted this recipe a while ago on my blog but besides the fact that it had a crappy picture I also managed to tweak it a bit to make it healthier. Part of the reason for it being healthier is my wonderful discovery of LaTortilla Factory tortillas. LaTortilla Factory makes a delicious line of healthy high fiber tortillas that come in many flavors.

The only problem I found with these tortillas is they were a little large for this recipe so I ended up putting the filling across 2/3 of the tortilla, rolling it up and then cutting about 2 inches off the end with no filling. I know that seems wasteful but until I can find a smaller size this is what I have to do. On the plus side it means that the nutritional info listed below is actually higher than what you are really eating.

I will warn you though that while these have less fat and carbs and more fiber they are still quite high in sodium so if you are on a strict low sodium diet you may want to avoid these.

FIESTA CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 med to lg. chicken breasts;
1 1/4 cup thick 'n chunky salsa, divided
8 oz. light cream cheese, cubed
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 tbsp. taco seasoning
1 cup shredded light cheddar cheese, divided
10 flour low carb tortillas (I use LaTortilla Factory 100 Calorie Tortillas)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F.
Dice chicken into 1/4 inch chunks.

Heat large skillet and add butter on medium heat. Add chicken and cook through. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 2 min. Add 1/4 cup of the salsa, cream cheese and cilantro; mix well. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese; mix well.

SPOON about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam-side down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining 1 cup salsa and remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.

BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until heated through.

Number of Servings: 10

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 10
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 294.6

• Total Fat: 10.2 g
• Cholesterol: 62.1 mg
• Sodium: 818.4 mg
• Total Carbs: 29.4 g
• Dietary Fiber: 8.8 g
• Protein: 20.4 g