Malaysian Chicken Pizza!

I made this today for the Planter's House Party that I had - and it was a hit!  We loved it!  You can find the recipe HERE.

cook the chicken

mix together the sauce ingredients

mix the sauce and chicken together and simmer.

pre-bake the crust

put it together!

done!

 I'll definitely be making this again!  Fantastic flavor with a little bit of spice!

Barbecued Chicken Drumsticks

I picked up this 3 1/2 lb. package of chicken drumsticks the other day at the grocery store for $3.63 on clearance.  I had found this recipe on allrecipes and thought it looked simple and flavorful and figured it would be a great dinner for us this evening!  I've been baking in the kitchen all day, and welcome something so quick!

Following the recipe HERE, I rinsed the chicken drumsticks and placed them in a gallon size ziplock bag.  I mixed together the marinade ingredients and poured that into the bag with the chicken, making sure to get each drumstick evenly covered - and placed it in the fridge until dinner time!

It's time to cook!  Pull the chicken out of the fridge and place it on a foil lined cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Brush on some of the reserved BBQ sauce - I'm using Weber Buzz'N Honey BBQ Sauce on these.  Pop them in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

 Remove from oven, brush again with the BBQ sauce, flip over, and stick them back in for 15 more minutes - do this 3 times. So easy and it has wonderful flavor! I had homemade mashed potatoes from earlier in the week that I mixed with some shredded parmesan cheese and made into potato cakes, and served them with the chicken and  a salad.  Mmmmm!

Ham, Spinach and Red Pepper Quiche

We had roasted a ham earlier in the week for an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner.  So now I'm on a mission to use up all of the ham and turn it into some freezer meals for the coming months!  Today I made a simple quiche (original recipe Here) and it turned out quite nicely!  I used fresh spinach instead of frozen, and of course the roasted ham as opposed to lunch meat.  Can't wait to try it - it smells wonderful!

 The crescent Rolls rolled out and in the pie pan.  Poked with a fork.

 

I cooked the diced red pepper until it was tender, then added in the fresh spinach to sweat it out.

 

 Chopped ham roast in the bottom of the quiche.

 

On top of the ham went the pepper and spinach mixture.

 

 

Cheese on top, with the egg/milk mix poured over.

All done and cooling off!  Once it is cool, I will wrap it in foil, and then wrap it in freezer paper to protect it from freezer burn.  When I want to serve this for dinner, I will thaw it in the refrigerator for 24 hours and put in a preheated oven at 325 for approximately 20 minutes until hot!

Dirty Brown Rice with Shrimp

We really enjoyed this lightened up version of Dirty Rice - especially the addition of shrimp!  You can find the recipe HERE at Skinny Taste.  I served it along side of a fruit salad consisting of mandarin oranges, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple tidbits.  What a great spring meal!  Enjoy!

 

5 Servings - 1 1/3 cups each.
Calories 346, Fat 5.9 g, Protein 27g, Carb 44, Fiber 2.5
 

Beef and Black Bean Crockpot Chili & Tex-Mex Quinoa Cakes

Our kiddo hasn't been feeling the best lately, and I know chili is one things she will generally always eat.  Not to mention it covers a few of the major food groups all in one dish, so I figured this would be good to make for her tonight as she hasn't eaten much the last few days. 

1 pound lean ground beef (cooked and browned)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cans Del Monte Zesty Chili tomatoes
2 Tablespoons honey
2-3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 cup beef broth
4 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounce can diced green chiles
1 teaspoon cumin

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot ( I used my 3 qt. and it was full to the top!).  Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.  Makes 6 servings.

Calories 290, Carbs 46, Fat 8g, Protein 21g

 

 

 

 

 

Steaming hot Beef and Black Bean Chili!

I saw the recipe for these Tex-Mex Quinoa Patties on Pinterest tonight and thought they would go well with the chili - I was right!  They are really good!  You can find the recipe HERE for them.  Quick and easy, and very tasty.  I dipped them in my chili.  The recipe makes 12 cakes, 2 cakes per serving. 

Tex-Mex Quinoa Bites

Calories 130, Carbs 4, Fat 4, Protein 7g

Chicken & Cous Cous Salad

This salad makes me yearn for summer and all of the fresh veggies that will come out of our garden!  The 2 adults in this family LOVED it!  The child however, wouldn't touch it.  I'll chalk that up to her not feeling so well because this type of food is right up her alley.    Here is the recipe I used. 
The things I changed:
I added about a Tablespoon of chopped fresh Cilantro.
I added 2 Teaspoons of white sugar to the dressing mix to cut the cumin flavor a little bit.  I tasted the dressing before it went on the salad and I was very worried I was going to "ruin" the couscous/chicken mixture with it because I wasn't such a fan - but it turned out fantastic when put together!
I didn't use any radishes - the store I last shopped at didn't have any!

 

We LOVED this recipe, and will be making it again in the future.  The possibilities are endless!

This serves 4 people at 1 1/2 cups per serving.

Calories 334, Fat 10.9g, Protein 20.9g,  Carbs 35.8

Crock Pot Shrimp Stir-Fry

The thing I love most about my crock pot is it's intended purpose - set it and forget it.  This recipe uses the crock pot, but we're only talking a maximum of 3 hours of set it and forget it!  I started this when I got home from shopping later this afternoon, and it was ready just in time for dinner.  Good flavor and low in calories, I will be making this again for my family.  You can find the recipe I used HERE.  I did make a few changes-
1. After removing the shells and de-veining the shrimp, I precooked them in a skillet with a little seasoned salt and fresh ground black pepper, just to ensure they were cooked through. 
2.  I didn't have any oyster sauce, so at a friend's suggestion, I used  worcestershire sauce.
3.  I added a small sliced onion into the crockpot at the beginning stages.
4.  I added the cooked shrimp 20 minutes before done time as the recipe suggests. 
5.  I did not add bamboo shoots, as no one in my family particularly cares for them.
6. I completely forgot to add the snow peas!  I had every intention, and will definitely put them in next time, as I think they will be a great addition. 
7.  I used an orange pepper instead of a red one.

I did the nutritional values based on the original recipe, and NOT including the rice.
Serves 6
Per Serving: Calories 133, Carbs 11, Fat 2g, Protein 18g

Chicken & Pepper Soft Tacos

Talk about Easy!  I tossed these ingredients in the crock pot at about 10am this morning and we had a fantastic meal at 6pm!  Can't get any easier than that!

3-5 chicken breasts depending on size.  Mine were roughly 7oz. each and I used 3.  I even put them in frozen!

2 bell peppers, any color, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
dash salt
2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Place the chicken breasts on the bottom of your crock pot, followed by the onions and peppers. Drizzle the lemon juice over chicken.  Mix the spices/salt into the 1/2 cup of chicken broth and pour over chicken.  Set on low and cook for 6-8 hours.  I shredded the chicken at about hour 5 and let it continue to cook until we ate!

We topped ours with my family's FAVORITE salsa - Jack's Special Salsa by Garden Fresh Gourmet.  If you haven't had it - you must try it!  We also used shredded 4 blend cheese and low fat sour cream.  Yum!

Serves 4 (2 tacos each)  These values do not include toppings or tortilla.
130 calories, 10 carbs, 2g fat, 20g protein

Adapted from a recipe found here .

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Today I made Stuffed Pepper soup in the crock pot - My house smelled amazing ALL DAY!  I also made a loaf of bread to go along side of the soup.  HERE is the recipe I used to make the soup.  I used ground turkey instead of the ground beef, and I think the next time I make this I will not make this substitution as it lacked  a flavor that I think the beef would have added.  I added in some crushed red pepper, garlic powder, 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup, and freshly ground black pepper.  I also used 1 entire red bell pepper, and 1 entire yellow bell pepper - both were more than 1/2 a cup as the recipe calls for.  After cooking the ground turkey, I put all of the ingredients (minus the rice) into the crock pot, set on Low for about 7 hours.  I steamed the rice and added it into the crockpot about 10 minutes before serving.  Tasted great along with the crusty bread!

Makes 6 GOOD sized portions.
(After my alterations my nutritional values were slightly different than that of the original poster.)

339 calories per 1 1/3 cup.  48 carb, 3g fat, 20g protein

Ranch Turkey Burgers

First off, let me say, WE LOVE THESE.  So incredibly simple, and low in calories.  It will make 4 servings.

1 lb. ground turkey
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Mix powder

Mix the Ranch mix into the ground turkey.  I use my kitchen aid mixer to do this step, but it's completely not necessary.  Grill or cook in a pan on the stove (I did stove tonight) until cooked through.  You won't believe the flavor!  I chose to eat mine without the bun to save calories (the flavor is so good, there's really no need for a bun - I promise!).  I topped it with ketchup, mustard, pickles and onions.  Hit the spot!  Of course, my husband loaded his up on a bun and smothered in cheese.  Must be nice.....!

Per Serving:
Calories 196, Carbs 6, Fat 8g, Protein 21g

Shrimp Enchiladas

 I had very high hopes for these Shrimp Enchiladas - ingredients we all love, and it smelled fantastic while putting it together.  Unfortunately the corn tortillas (mainly the bottom ones) turned to complete mush throughout the whole casserole creating a very unpleasant texture.  The flavor was good though, and once I got past the tortilla mess, I enjoyed everything else.  I plan on making this again, only using a tortilla as a wrap instead of turning it into a casserole.  Would be good served over lettuce or rice as well.

Here is the link  Shrimp Enchiladas to the website the recipe originated from. 

PER SERVING: 277 calories; 5 g fat ; 34 g carbohydrates; 27 g protein; 8 g fiber

Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers

 First off, let me say - I DON'T LIKE GREEN PEPPERS!  But I ate over half of one of these!  Apparently cooking them into submission really lessens the flavor to a more tolerable state (for me).  I will definitely make these again, but for once, I will agree with my husband - they were a bit bland.  Nothing that a little hot sauce won't fix.  Maybe some additional spices or some fresh chopped cilantro.  I really liked the use of the couscous (LOVE couscous) as opposed to the typical rice.  The overall texture of the meat mixture was fantastic.   One pepper was plenty large enough for a main dish serving.  We also had a baked potato with low fat sour cream and cheese on the side.  Enjoy!


Nutrition Information:
Calories 300, Carbs 43 g, Fat 9 g, Fiber 6 g, Protein 17 g

You can find the recipe for Crockpot Stuffed Peppers here.