Tuesday 28 October 2014

Baked Buffalo Chicken Nuggets

Healthy baked chicken nuggets with a touch of heat!

I took my Healthy Baked Chicken Nugget recipe and and added a touch of spice!

We eat a lot of homemade Baked Chicken Nuggets for lunch in my house. Madison loves them, I love them and they're so easy to make. Every now and then I take my standard recipe and change it up. This week I thought why not try it with hot sauce – we loved them! Not overly spicy, but enough to know it's there. You could of course kick it up a notch by using tabsaco sauce and adding some ground cayenne pepper to the seasoning.


Serve them with celery and carrots if you wish, and my homemade Low Fat Blue Cheese Dressing.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Monday 27 October 2014

Mini Turkey Meatball Vegetable Soup


This family friendly soup is perfect to warm up to on a chilly autumn night. It's made with mini turkey meatballs, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, spinach and my secret ingredient for the best tasting soup – a parmesan cheese rind. I always keep the rinds in my freezer just for making soup, so don't throw them out!


It also makes great leftovers and can be frozen if you want to make this ahead for the month. Enjoy!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Prosciutto, Pears and Brie


Roasted stuffed chicken breast is the perfect Fall dish, filled with a savory-sweet stuffing of prosciutto, pears, sage, brie and arugula. It's delicious with a salad on the side, but also can be served with roasted butternut squash or brussels sprouts to make it a meal. It also happens to be naturally gluten-free and low-carb.

I've teamed up with Harry & David with the launch of The Skinnytaste Cookbook, and have some fabulous things planned, so stay tuned! This recipe was created with their Royal Riviera pears exclusively for their blog Field Notes. Please head on over to their blog to see the full recipe.



Stuffed Chicken Breast with Pears and Brie
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 4 • Size: 1/2 stuffed breast • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 6 pts
Calories: 233 • Fat: 9 g • Carb: 6 g • Fiber: 1 g • Protein: 31 g • Sugar: 4 g
Sodium: 316 mg • Cholesterol: 97 mg

Ingredients:

  • 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (16 oz total)
  • Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 2 slices prosciutto, chopped
  • 2 sage leaves, chopped
  • 1 Royal Riviera® Pear, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 oz Brie, skin removed, divided
  • 1/4 cup baby arugula
  • cooking spray
  • cooking twine
Directions:



Click here for the full recipe....

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Fig Balsamic Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Lean pork tenderloin with a sweet and tangy glaze, and super easy to make!

This is a great, quick and easy pork tenderloin recipe topped with a sweet & tangy glaze. It's super simple to make with just a few ingredients which is perfect for weeknight cooking.

I'm pretty obsessed with Trader Joe's Fig Butter and combined it with some balsamic vinegar to create this glaze. Then I roasted it in the oven for about 25 minutes and served it with these awesome brussels sprouts. If you can't find fig butter, any fruit butter such as apple butter would work great.


Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Sunday 19 October 2014

Gluten-Free Lightened Up Banana Nut Bread

This banana bread is moist and delicious, you can't tell it's light or gluten-free!

Low-fat, gluten-free banana nut bread made two-ways! My family went bananas for this!!

My aunt recently started following a gluten-free diet, and my close friend has Celiac, so lately I've been dabbling more with gluten-free baking. I had a large bunch of over-ripe bananas sitting on my counter and decided to experiment taking my favorite Low-fat Banana Nut Bread Recipe and making it gluten-free. Since the recipe makes two loafs (yes you can halve it if you wish) I thought why not use two different gluten-free flours to see which yields the best results. Not having a ton of experience baking gluten-free, and seeing how much fat is usually used in gluten-free baked goods, I wasn't sure how this would turn out, but the results were EXCELLENT!


This was easier than I thought it would be, I was fully prepared to test this a few times but it worked on the first shot, and they were both equally delicious. The bread on the above left photo was made with brown rice flour instead of wheat flour; the bread on the above right photo I swapped the wheat flour for Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour.

I then had my aunt, friends, daughter and husband help me taste test them to see which was better and the results were mixed. My favorite was the Bob's Red Mill, to me it tasted closest to my original recipe. But some of my friends liked the brown rice one better because they liked that it had a cakier texture, something that is difficult to achieve with gluten-free baking. My 4-year old daughter loved them both! So I'll let you decide which way you want to make it, and if you want the original wheat version, here's the link. I gave you the nutritional info for both, with and without the nuts!



Gluten-Free Banana Nut Bread (Bob's Red Mill GF All-Purpose Flour)
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 26 (2 loaves) • Serving Size: 1 slice • Old Pts: 3 • Weight Watchers Points+: 4
Calories: 130 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 24 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 3 g • Sugar: 12 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg • Sodium: 106 mg

Without the Nuts - Old Points: 2 • Weight Watchers Points+: 3
Calories: 109 • Fat: 2 g • Carb: 24 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 2 g • Sugar: 12 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg • Sodium: 106 mg


Gluten-Free Banana Nut Bread (Bob's Red Mill Brown Rice Flour)
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 26 (2 loaves) • Serving Size: 1 slice • Old Pts: 3 • Weight Watchers Points+: 4
Calories: 145 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 28 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 2 g • Sugar: 12 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg • Sodium: 108 mg

Without the Nuts – Old Points: 2 • Weight Watchers Points+: 3
Calories: 124 • Fat: 2 g • Carb: 27 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 2 g • Sugar: 12 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg • Sodium: 108 mg


Ingredients:

    • 7 ripe medium bananas, mashed
    • 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
    • 2-1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour (all purpose or brown rice)
    • 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 4 tbsp butter, softened
    • 1 cup light brown sugar (unpacked)
    • 4 large egg whites
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 3 oz (3/4 cup) chopped walnuts
    • baking spray



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 8x5 inch nonstick loaf pans with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, apple sauce and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Add flour mixture and walnuts (if using), then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into loaf pans and bake on the center rack for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes to bring it to room temperature before slicing.

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Spicy Whole Wheat Linguini with Sausage and Roasted Peppers

A hearty, delicious pasta dish – ready in 30 minutes.

If only you could taste how good this dish is! But since you can't, you're going to have to take my word for it. It's everything I love in a meal and it's all ready in about 30 minutes. 


I love using spicy chicken sausage to give it a little kick, but if you want to make this mild for your family, simply swap it for sweet Italian.


I don't know about you, but for years I tried to like whole wheat pasta and never found a brand that my family would eat. Then last year I discovered DeLallo organic whole wheat pasta and it changed my life. My Italian husband who is pretty picky about his pasta also loves it, and now it's the only brand of whole wheat I will ever use. Their gluten-free pasta is also AMAZING so if you can't eat gluten, you can easily swap it out.

A few weeks ago, a few bloggers including myself got a chance to visit the Delallo Italian Marketplace in Jeanette, PA which was established back in 1954 as a small market and has grown into a large marketplace complete with the largest antipasti bar I've ever seen!


The DeLallo family visits Italy and works closely with the BEST of the best which allows them to import the highest quality pasta, tomatoes, olive oil, etc. If you are ever in that area, you must stop and visit – I was in DeLallo heaven!! Luckily, many of their products can be found in supermarkets across the country and you can also order their products online.


We stayed up the road in their home and cooked together, ate together and of course laughed together. They even made this fun video of our pasta making and some Q & A's – check it out!



Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Baked Pears with Walnuts and Honey

A simple, delcious Fall dessert.

Baked pears with cinnamon, honey and walnuts – it doesn't get simpler that this!


I had some beautiful ripe Royal Riviera pears on my counter from Harry & David and didn't want to waste them, so I cut them in half, cored them and baked them in the oven this morning. While they baked my kitchen smelled heavenly! They turned out even better than I hoped – I had one for breakfast with a little yogurt, but this would also make a wonderful dessert.


Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Monday 13 October 2014

No Bean Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili


A quick and easy chili made with ground turkey, sweet potatoes and spices – the perfect weeknight meal. It has just the right amount of spice to compliment the sweet potatoes without being too spicy for those of you who prefer a milder chili (you can of course bump up the heat if you wish).

This is one of my favorite chili recipes which I came up with last year. Since it's chili weather now I thought I'd revive it from the archives.


I served this with some sweet potato chips which I found in the grocery store and set out some chopped cilantro, scallions, sour cream and cheddar on the side as optional toppings. Because this has no beans, it's perfect for picky eaters (my youngest daughter is not a fan) and it's also gluten-free and Paleo-friendly. This will be a part of my regular rotation, I highly recommend this one… enjoy!!
Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Saturday 11 October 2014

Quinoa Fiesta Enchilada Bake

Because I'm enchilada obsessed this is my favorite way to eat quinoa!

Quinoa, black beans, corn, cilantro and green chiles covered with a quick homemade enchilada sauce and baked in the oven with cheesy goodness topped with avocado, cilantro and scallions.

Perhaps because I'm enchilada obsessed, this is my FAVORITE way to eat quinoa – perfect for Meatless Mondays!! You can make this ahead, then bake when ready to eat, and leftovers (without the avocado) are just as good as the day you made it which is perfect to pack for lunch. Plus, this is protein packed – over 17 grams per serving!


To make this freezer friendly, assemble up to topping with the cheese. You can put this in the oven frozen, bake until hot in the center and the cheese is melted about 35 to 40 minutes.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Crock Pot Maple Dijon Chicken Drumsticks

An EASY chicken dish the whole family will LOVE!

This is an EASY slow cooker chicken dish made with only 6 ingredients, including the salt and pepper! Kid-friendly and delicious – the chicken literally falls off the bone!


It's great having friends who love to cook. I get the best ideas from them, and this recipe is the perfect example. My girlfriend Nalini is an excellent cook, and she was telling me about this chicken recipe she made in the oven for her family. Me of course changed the recipe (I just can't help myself) I removed the skin from the drumsticks, modified the ingredients and adapted the recipe for my slow cooker. Results – AMAZING! Kids, husband, everyone loved it!! I served this with Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Proscuitto from The Skinnytaste Cookbook (which my 4 year old loves) and everyone was happy.

And since so many are asking, I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set 'n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker. I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it's done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This crock pot is so great, I actually own two!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Monday 6 October 2014

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash


A simple Fall side dish, made with just 3 ingredients (butternut, pure maple syrup and oil) plus s + p!

My aunt LOVES butternut squash and shared this recipe with me. I personally an not a huge fan of sweet food (I prefer my butternut squash savory) but since many of you might enjoy this, I thought I would share. It's too easy not to!

The hardest thing about making this is peeling and cutting the squash, but the good news is you can buy it pre-cut, so if you want to do that, I say by all means, go for it!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Thursday 2 October 2014

Stuffed Turkey Breasts with Butternut Squash and Figs

These stuffed turkey breasts hav wonderful Fall flavors – a meal in one!

A wonderful Fall dish – turkey tenderloins are stuffed with sauteed butternut squash, spinach and figs, a meal in one with savory and sweet flavors. Figs are seasonal, so if you can't find them, you could use another fruit such as pears or even apples.


Covering the skillet while it roasts in the oven prevents the turkey from drying out, and also gives you some pan juices to spoon on top just before serving.


Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Caramelized Apple Onion Soup


This soup tastes like Fall in a bowl! Apples and caramelized onions are simmered with cider and broth, and blended with a touch of cream. The flavor is the perfect balance of savory and sweet. One bowl filled me up and made my tummy very happy!


Last Fall while visiting Harry and David in Oregon, I had lunch at a quaint bistro called Deja Vu Bistro that had this incredible soup.

I was dying to make this at home and I emailed the chef for the recipe. He was kind enough to send it to me and I've made it several times with slight adaptions to his original to lighten it up. In place of 1 cup of heavy cream I used 1/2 cup light cream. I also cut back on the butter and used slightly less cider since I was using less cream. Although it takes some time for the onions to caramelize, I think it's worth it. It also happens to be vegetarian and gluten-free. Enjoy!


Click Here To See The Full Recipe...