Toasted Pita & Bean Salad

I've been trying to eat clean since starting to work out.  This salad is the perfect fit for my new lifestyle.  I hope you enjoy it too.

2 6-inch whole-wheat pita breads, cut or torn into bite-size pieces
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons ground cumin
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cups cooked pinto beans, well drained and slightly warmed (see Tip)
1 cup diced plum tomatoes or 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 cup sliced romaine lettuce
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley*
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint*

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Spread pita pieces out on a large baking sheet. Bake until crisp and beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool on the pan.

3. Mash garlic and salt with the back of a chef’s knife to form a paste. Transfer to a bowl, add lemon juice and ground cumin and whisk to blend. Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking continually. Season with pepper.

4. Place beans, tomatoes and cucumber in a serving bowl. Add the toasted pita, lettuce, feta, parsley, mint and the dressing; toss to mix. Season with more pepper. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving: 442 calories; 21 g fat (7 g sat, 10 g mono); 33 mg cholesterol; 47 g carbohydrates; 18 g protein; 13 g fiber; 697 mg sodium; 658 mg potassium.

*I sometimes forget to put the parsley and mint on the salad and it still tastes just as good..

Stir Fry

I've tried a lot of different recipes for stir-fry before finding this one.
In fact, Granny introduced me to this recipe. She used a "secret" ingredient that she wouldn't tell me about, (but it was only because she thought I wouldn't eat it if she did)

The secret to this yummy stir-fry is Oyster sauce.
Now all you non-seafood eaters like me, do not fret. It is so yummy and you can't even tell it's in there except to make it delicious.

Now the quantities will vary depending on how many you are feeding.

  I just make enough for the 4 of us so if you want more, just double the amounts :) 

Stir- Fry

2 Chicken Breasts (cut into bite size pieces)

Stir-fry vegetables (cut into bite size pieces) (use whatever you have on hand or your favorites)

  red & green peppers

  broccoli

  carrots

  snow peas

   green onions

  zucchini

  water chestnuts

   etc... (really anything goes here)

Chicken broth

corn starch

soy sauce

Oyster sauce

Start by cooking the chicken pieces in olive oil. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add in about 1/2 cup chicken broth to pan and all vegetables (ok, so granny never gave me exact measurements so I'm just making this up as I go along :)
Cover pan and simmer until vegies are almost finished stirring occasionally
Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup chicken broth in small bowl, add 3 Tbs (or so) of corn starch and a lot of shakes of soy sauce and 2 Tbs of oyster sauce (again, not exact measurements, just guessing)

Stir cornstarch mix in with vegies and simmer until thickens.
mix chicken back in with vegies to re-reat.
Serve over rice.

See, super easy and soooo yummy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Oh my goodness this is heavenly.  Just enough spice and soo full of flavor.  Super easy to put together and just delicious.  I hope you like it too.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 15 oz cans of black beans, undrained
2 15 oz cans of Mexican stewed tomatoes or Rotel tomatoes, undrained
1 cup low sodium salsa (mild, medium, or hot, whichever you prefer)
4 oz can chopped green chilies, undrained
14 1/2 oz can low sodium tomato sauce
1 Tbsp  cumin (we add this just for some added mexican flair) 
baked tortilla chips
2 cups grated fat-free cheese


Combine all ingredients except chips and cheese in a large slow cooker.

Cover. Cook on low for 8 hours

Just before serving, remove chicken breasts and slice into bite-sized pieces. Stir into soup.

To serve, put a handful of chips in each individual soup bowl.  Ladle soup over chips. Top with cheese. 

Balsamic Spinach sauce

I saw this recipe in a magazine and it just jumped out at me and I just had to try it!
We grilled some sirloin steak and I prepared the sauce to go over the top. It was a big hit with our family and I will certainly try it again soon.
Balsamic Spinach Sauce

1 Tbs olive oil
1 lg onion - chopped
1 red pepper - chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs fresh rosemary chopped
7oz bag fresh baby spinach

Heat oil in skillet.
Add onion, pepper and garlic and cook until vegies are tender-crisp, stirring often.
Stir soup, water, vinegar and rosemary in skillet and heat to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium, and stir in spinach
Cover and cook 2 minutes or until desired doneness.

Roll With It

I can't remember if it was Ginger or mom who first introduced me to Hungry Girl.  Well, I'm so glad she did.  I found these little gems on the website Hungry Girl and have now become a staple in my mealtime planning.  I hope you'll try and love them too!


Exploding Taquitos

8 small (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas

One 9.75-oz. (or 10-oz.) can 98% fat-free chunk white chicken breast in water, drained well

1/2 cup salsa

1/3 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

1/4 tsp. dry taco seasoning mix

Optional: red enchilada sauce, additional salsa, fat-free sour cream, for dipping

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and salsa, and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes. 

Remove chicken mixture from the fridge, and drain any excess liquid. Add cheese and taco seasoning, and mix to combine. This is your filling. Set aside.

Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with nonstick spray, and set it aside.

Dampen two paper towels, and place tortillas between them. Microwave for about 1 minute, until tortillas are warm and pliable.

Take one tortilla (keep the rest between the paper towels), spray both sides lightly with nonstick spray, and lay it flat on a clean dry surface. Spoon about 2 heaping tbsp. of filling onto the tortilla. Spread it evenly across the entire surface, and roll tortilla up tightly, so that you have a cigar-shaped tube. Secure with toothpicks and place seam-side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.

Bake for 14 - 16 minutes, until crispy. Allow taquitos to cool for 5 minutes. If you like, dunk in enchilada sauce, salsa, or sour cream!

MAKES 4 SERVINGS          

           

Serving Size: 2 taquitos

Calories: 197

Fat: 2.5g

Sodium: 594mg

Carbs: 22.5g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 2g

Protein: 20.5g

POINTS® value 4*

Apple Bars

I was flipping through a new Fall Magazine and saw this recipe that looked sooo yummy! I didn't really want the entire magazine so I just copied down the recipe :) (is that stealing?)
I was super anxious to try it so decided to make it right away. They were super simple and so yummy!
I think I might try making them into mini muffins next time.

Apple Bars

3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 c. oil
2 c. flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3 c. chopped apples (do not peel)
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 tsp vanilla

Combine eggs & salt and beat until frothy (about 1 min)
Mix in sugar and oil until blended
Mix together flour, soda and cinnamon and add to wet mixture
Fold in apples, walnuts & vanilla until well blended

Spray 14 x 10 " Jelly roll pan with pam with flour and spread batter in bottom.
Bake 350 degrees for 30 - 35 min or until golden brown
While cooling prepare glaze

Glaze
1 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbs softened butter
2-3 Tbs milk

Spread glaze over top and let set.
Cut into squares and enjoy!!

Crockpot Lasagna

With it being so hot this summer, Amy and I decided to use the crockpot more often as to not have the oven heat up the kitchen. Luckily we had on hand the Fix it and Forget it Lightly cookbook. This was the first recipe we tried out of the book and it was mighty tasty.


CrockPot Lasagna

This makes 8 serviings
(Ideal slower-cooker size: 4 or 5 quart)

4/12 cups fat-free, low sodium meatless spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup water
1 pound ground turkey
16 oz container fat-free ricotta cheese (I could only find a 15 oz...it worked fine)
2 cups shredded park -skim mozzarella cheese, divided
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 egg
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning (I didn't have this so I mixed oregano, basil, onion powder and parsley together)
8 oz. box no-cook lasagna noodles

1. Brown ground turkey
2. Mix spaghetti sauce, 1/2 cup water and browned ground turkey together in a bowl
3. In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, egg, garlic and italian seasoning.
4. Spread 1/4 of the sauce mixture in botton of slow cooker. Top with 1/3 of the noodles, breaking if needed to fit (yes...you will need to break them)
5. Spread with 1/2 of the cheese mixture, making sure noodles are covered.
6. Repeat layers twice more. (we did 5 layers and we still had noodles left over)
7. Spread top with remaining sauce.
8. Cover. Cook on low for 5 hours.
9. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover. Let stand 10 minutes to allow cheese to melt. (I let it cook for 20 minutes with the cheese so that it would get a little brown)

For those of you who need the breakdown here it is:

Per Serving: 360 calories (90 calories from fat), 10g total fat (4.5 saturated, no trans fat) 40 mg Cholesterol, 870 mg sodium, 39g total Carbohydrate (6g fiber, 10g sugar), 25 g protein.