Have no fear, brussel sprouts are here...

I've never tried brussel sprouts until very recently at Thanksgiving when my sister-in-law brought them over. I somehow think in my mind a kid saying, "EWW not brussel sprouts!" But, since I'm no longer a child and I like to try new foods I was very curious and extremely satisfied with them. This was my first attempt at the recipe, but I changed it up just slightly and they turned out great...unfortunately my husband won't eat them, but who cares more for me!

Ingredients:
6 brussel sprouts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Mrs. Dash (or equivalent seasoning)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Rinse off brussel sprouts and cut off the bottoms.
3) In a small bowl combine brussel sprouts, olive oil and Mrs. Dash and gently mix together.
4) Place this on a foil lined cooking sheet and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.
5) Serve hot as a great side dish.

Grilled Shrimp + Risotto

This is an easy dish to make and it's filled with yummy flavors. The risotto is Trader Joe's brand Mushroom & Herb Risotto, and it was my first time making it. It was okay, but I wasn't crazy about it. You can have the shrimp and veggies with any rice of your liking of course.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb shrimp pre-cooked
1 red bell pepper
1/2 red onion
10 button mushrooms
1 cup shredded carrots

Directions:
1) Ready your BBQ grill with charcoal.
2) Rinse the shrimp and take off the shell. Chop bell pepper and onions into 1 inch pieces. Slice the mushrooms. I like to place these in a grill basket, but you can use skewers for the same effect.
3) Let this grill for about 20 minutes.
4) While shrimp and veggies are grilling, start your risotto (or rice) according to the box directions. When you're about 1/2 way done cooking the risotto place the shredded carrots into the sauce pan and stir together.
5) Serve risotto on a plate and top with grilled shrimp and veggies.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I made this in the slow cooker a week ago. Great results!

Sweet and Sour Chicken
4 servings

Ingredients:
1/4c chicken broth
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp Kikkoman Garlic Herb Marinate
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tbsp black pepper
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1" pieces
2 tbsp flour
1 package of Uncle Ben's brown rice

Directions:
1) Combine broth, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic and pepper in a bowl. Stir to mix well.
2) Add chicken cut into 1" pieces, stir and coat well. Add to the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 2.5-3.5 hours.
3) Remove chicken with slotted spoon and keep warm. Combine flour with the cooking liquid and add to slow cooker for about 2 minutes on HIGH.
3) Serve chicken and sauce over rice with carrots, broccoli and pea pods.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I made a casserole like this earlier, but didn't know the calorie count per serving. I tried my very best to count how much a serving would be and made this a lot healthier!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Servings 8
Per Serving: 312 calories, 8.4g fat

Ingredients:
15 oz chicken (500 cal, 10g fat)
2oz cheddar cheese (220 cal, 18g fat)
1 whole red bell pepper (40 cal, 0 g fat)
1 can sliced black olives (175 cal,17.5g fat)
1 can Rosarita spicy refried beans ( 360 cal, 7.5g fat)
1 can Las Palmas salsa verde (225 cal, 13.5 g fat)
1 1/2c Albertsons Fat Free Shredded mozzarella ( 240 cal, 0g fat)
5 Trader Joe's whole wheat tortillas (700 cal, 1g fat)
1/4 c corn (33 cal, 0 g fat)

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) Place 1 tortilla and a 1/2 on the bottom of the casserole dish. Coat the tortillas with the entire can of beans in an even layer. Layer next 1/3 salsa verde, bell pepper, 1/2 chicken, and 1/2 cheese.
3) Add another layer of tortillas, add 1/3 salsa verde, black olives, remaining chicken and cheese.
4) Last layer with remaining tortillas and coat with the last of the salsa verde. Decorate the top with 1/2c mozzarella, a few bell peppers and the corn.
5) Bake in the oven for 40 minutes

Chicken & Black Bean Corn Salad Pita

Leftovers always make a great lunch!

Chicken & Black Bean Corn Salad Pita
Serving Size 1
Approx: 222 calories, 3.7g fat

Ingredients:
2oz of Tyson Chicken Breast previously cooked (55 cal, 1.2 g fat)
(BBQ is the best with a little bit of worchestire)
1/2 c Black Bean Corn Salad (83 cal, 1.5g fat) - See recipe in last post
1/2 c Romain Lettuce (4 cal, 0g fat)
1/2 Whole Wheat Pita, Trader Joe's Brand (80 cal, 1g fat)

Directions:
1) Heat up left over chicken in microwave on each side for 1 minute on power level 7
2) Heat up pita bread in microwave for 30 seconds at power level 7
3) Cut up the chicken into bite size pieces, add to the pita along with lettuce and black bean corn salad

Black Bean & Corn Salad

I whipped up this salad to go as a side for some chicken my husband BBQed. With the new year already upon us I've started eating healthier and I've been watching my portion sizes and counting calories. I'd like to share the calories with you as well so you know about how many calories are in each dish.

Black Bean & Corn Salad ~ 167 cal, 3g fat
Serving size 1 cup, you can double or quadruple the recipe!

Ingredients:
1/4 c black beans (57 cal, 0.2g fat)
1/4 c yellow corn (33 cal, 0.5g fat)
1/4 c red bell pepper diced (7 cal, 0g fat)
1/4 c green bell pepper diced (7 cal, 0g fat)
1/2 tomato diced (18 cal, 0g fat)
1 tbsp anaheim green chile (4 cal, 0g fat)
2 tbsp reduced fat feta cheese (45 cal, 2g fat)

Directions:
1) Drain the canned black beans and yellow corn then add to a bowl.
2) Dice up the peppers and tomatoes. Finely chop the anaheim chile. Add to bowl.
3) Top with 2 tbsp of feta cheese


Some good additions might be garbanzo beans, kidney beans, or black olives.


All calorie counts are approximate from the packaging labels.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

These are great to make then give to a friend as a gift or put them on a tray with cookies to fill up more space. So easy to make, but it can take a while so i suggest making these with someone while watching a good movie :)

Ingredients
1 large bag of small twisty Pretzels
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (or white chips)
1 large container of round sprinkles (holiday colors)
1 cookie sheet
parchment/wax paper

Directions
1) In a microwave safe bowl add 1 cup of chocolate chips, place in microwave on high for 60 seconds. Stir with a metal spoon, then place back in the microwave for 30 seconds on high, take out a stir again. Keep putting it back in for 30 seconds only and stir until it's warm and creamy.
2) On a cookie sheet, or platter (which ever you have) place a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Dip pretzel into the chocolate, let excess drip off then put the dipped pretzel over a bowl and lightly coat with the sprinkles. Place this on the wax paper.
3) Continue this process and space them out evenly. If the room is cool enough then will start to harden at room temp, but if you want to make the process a little quicker after filling up an entire sheet place it in the refrigerator for a good 5 minutes.
4) Because the dipped pretzels are on wax paper they pop right off with no mess after they are cooled.
5) Place them in a festive bowl with some nuts and popcorn, or wrap them up in a cellophane bag and tie with a red ribbon. Mix white chocolate covered pretzels and regular chocolate covered pretzels for a variety.

Christmas Cookies

My mom and I had a cookie bake-a-thon yesterday to make Christmas goodies for our co-workers. We made snowball cookies, fudge, peanut butter cookies, M&M chip cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, sugar cookies and brownies. I think they all turned out great. Here are some pictures from the day....

Pasta Salad

I love pasta salad and was tired of getting the boxed kind at the store, or getting the pre-made kind in the deli (which is usually to oily anyway). So, I finally got the chance to experiment and make up my own salad which has less oil. You could add more ingredients to your liking such as bell peppers, broccoli or mushrooms, but this is a good base.

Ingredients:
1 box tri-colored pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
3 oz can of sliced black olives
1/3 c feta cheese
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 tbsp Mrs. Dash
1/2 tbsp garlic powder

Directions:
1) Cook pasta according to the directions on the box. Usually about 8-9 minutes for al dente, stir often.
2) Drain pasta in strainer, then run cold water on it.
3) Place pasta in a large bowl and add all ingredients. Mix together then set in the fridge to cool even more, serve after being in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Ideas:
Have this as a side to your sandwich instead of potato chips, or add some barbecue chicken to it.

Black Bean & Feta Wrap

This is a tasty wrap for lunch instead of having a sandwich.

Ingredients:
1 Spinach Tortilla Wrap (or Tomato)
1/2 can black beans
1/4 yellow bell pepper
1/4 red bell pepper
1 tbsp ranch dressing
3 tbsp feta cheese
1/4 c sliced olives

Directions:
1. Take 1 tbsp ranch dressing and spread over the tortilla wrap.
2. Drain the black beans and cut bell peppers into thin strips.
3. Add all the rest of the ingridents to the wrap. Fold the top and bottom over, then roll it up to eat.