Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken

Back when I was in high school my best friend and I would always go to Jack in the Box for what we called "Things" which were actually those jalapeno popper things. We loved them. Needless to say when I found this recipe I went ballistic! Healthy "things"!!! Hooray! This recipe was good but I only put one jalapeno in them not sure if it would be too spicy and it wasn't enough. Next time I will try 2. We also used green onions instead of scallions because they are easier to find and we usually have them on hand. To make this gluten free we used crushed up chex (corn or rice) and put a little italian seasoning in them instead of bread crumbs. See that cheese oozing from the side in the picture? That for me is the best part and makes this recipe a 5 out of 5. Husband on the other hand gave it a 4 because he is not a huge fan of "things". I'll let you make it and decide.

Source: www.skinnytaste.com

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 slices center cut bacon cooked and crumbled
• 3 jalapeños chopped (remove seeds for milder)
• 3 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese softened
• 4 oz reduced fat shredded cheddar jack Sargento
• 2 tbsp chopped scallions
• 8 thin sliced skinless chicken breast cutlets 3 oz each
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 juicy limes juice of
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and fresh pepper
• olive oil non-stick spray

Directions

1. Wash and dry chicken cutlets, season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. Combine cream cheese, cheddar, scallions, jalapeño and bacon crumbles in a medium bowl.
3. Lay chicken cutlets on a working surface and spread 2 tbsp of cream cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one, secure the ends with toothpicks to prevent the cheese from oozing out.
4. Place breadcrumbs in a bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.
5. Dip chicken in lime-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down on a baking dish. Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spray the top of the chicken with oil spray.
6. Bake 22-25 minutes, serve immediately.

Gluten Free substitution: Use crushed rice chex cereal mixed with italian seasoning instead of bread crumbs.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 371
Fat: 17.5g
Sodium: 355.8
Sugar: 0.6g
Carbohydrate: 11g
Fiber: 1.5g
Protein: 42.7g

Fettuccine Alfredo with Bacon

The other day I had a mad craving for Alfredo so, of course, I HAD to find a healthy version. I took to Google and found this gem! Just remember portion control. The bacon makes it almost impossible to stop eating! We used gluten free fettuccine and an all purpose gluten free flour blend (Grandpa's Kitchen brand) to make this meal gluten free. I also skipped the fresh parsley to make it cheaper and didn't notice anything missing. Everyone loved this especially the kiddos! 5 out of 5 stars!

Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated fresh fettuccine
• 2 slices applewood-smoked bacon chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 2/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.
2. While pasta cooks, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 4 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings. Add garlic to drippings in pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Sprinkle flour over garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly; cook 2 minutes or until bubbly and slightly thick, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low. Gradually add cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in salt and reserved 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Add hot pasta to pan; toss well to combine. Sprinkle with bacon, parsley, and pepper.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 339
Fat: 11.7g
Cholesterol: 22mg
Sodium: 833mg
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 17.3g

Loaded Sweet Potato from Biggest Loser

So normally I watch these shows that have weird healthy recipes on them and I refuse to try them. I've watched Biggest Loser for what seems like forever and I do believe this is my first attempt at one of their recipes. That being said, Husband and I were so pleasantly surprised by this recipe! I know the picture looks a little gross but trust me it's good! We ended up splitting one big one because I could not have finished that! All in all 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Source: www.examiner.com

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) sweet potato
• 4 ounces extra-lean ground turkey
• 3/4 teaspoon all-natural salt-free fajita or Southwest seasoning,
• Olive oil spray propellant free
• 1/3 cup fresh salsa drained
• 2 tablespoons jarred all-natural roasted green salsa
• 2 tablespoons fat-free Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Using a fork, poke the potato 5 times on all sides and place it in a microwave-safe bowl or dish. Cover the dish loosely with a paper towel.
2. Microwave it on high for 3 minutes. Carefully flip the potato (it will be very hot) and continue microwaving for 2 to 4 minutes longer, or until cooked and tender.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the turkey and seasoning.
4. Place a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, lightly mist it with the olive oil spray. Cook the turkey for 3 to 4 minutes, or until no longer pink, breaking it into bite-size chunks as you do.
5. Cut an opening in the potato that stretches 1 inch from each end of the potato and deep enough to open the potato completely without cutting it in half.
6. Put it in a medium shallow bowl. Stuff the potato with the fresh salsa, then the turkey, then the green salsa. Top it with the yogurt. Serve immediately.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 342
Fat: 2g
Sodium: 304mg
Carbohydrate: 47g
Fiber: 8g
Protein: 35g

Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

This is one of our go to recipes and, even though he doesn't usually love bell peppers, Husband really enjoys this recipe. We love it because it makes lots of extra stuffing that you can eat with chips or as a taco or something. It is also really good as left overs. Thing 2 loves it and Thing 1 likes the filling on chips. I give this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Source: simplylovefood.com

Course: Main Course

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• 1/2 lb lean ground turkey breast
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 heaping tbsp of homemade taco seasoning or you can use the packaged type if you like
• 2 cups cooked rice any type you like – I like brown
• 3-4 organic bell peppers halved and seeds removed
• 1 can black beans drained & rinsed
• 1/2 cup organic frozen corn
• 1 (15 -16 ounce) jar salsa
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• fresh cilantro
• sour cream
• sliced avocado

Directions

1. Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat the peppers with olive oil and roast in a baking dish about 20-25 minutes just until cooked thru. Remove the peppers from the oven and allow to cool until you can handle them.
2. *****Note – make sure you cook your turkey ahead of time that way you do not have to worry about it later. Also, I sauteed the onions until cooked thru, I then added in my cooked rice, black beans and corn.
3. In a bowl add the taco seasoning, cooked ground turkey, chopped onions, black beans, corn and rice. Add in the jar of salsa and mix well.
4. Carefully spoon the turkey mixture into each half of the bell peppers and place back into the baking dish. Cook the peppers for another 15-20 minutes or until the peppers are cooked all the way thru. Before removing from the oven sprinkle the tops of each pepper with shredded cheddar cheese. Place back into the oven just until the cheese has melted.
5. Remove from the oven and top with fresh cilantro, avocado slices and/or sour cream just before serving.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 185
Fat: 4
Carbohydrate: 32
Protein: 9

Lasagna Soup

A lot has happened since our last post but the most noteworthy is that Thing 2 and I have gone gluten free! I've lived gluten free before but it has been slightly difficult getting back into the swing of things plus adding a 2 year old's palette to the mix. So my point is all of the recipes I will post will now either be gluten free or can be made gluten free. This soup is no exception. Husband really liked this soup and I enjoyed it more and more the stuffier my nose got. It was SPICY! I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that we used cut up Italian sausages rather than turkey sausage since that is what we had on hand but I think I will cut back on the crushed red pepper next time. We used brown rice lasagna noodles and left off the bread sticks to make this gluten free. It was good and hit the spot with the freezing cold weather outside. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Source: thedeenbros.com

Course: Soup

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 pound Italian turkey sausage casings removed
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 4 ounces broken whole-wheat lasagna noodles about 4 noodles
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8 Whole-wheat breadsticks or grissini, optional

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick saucepot or Dutch oven. Add the sausage, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is crumbled and browned, 8 – 10 minutes.
2. Add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Add the noodles; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly and the noodles are tender, 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in mozzarella, basil, and the Parmesan. Serve with the breadsticks, if using. (whole-wheat lasagna noodles take a little longer to cook.)

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 225
Fat: 7g
Cholesterol: 53mg
Sodium: 826mg
Sugar: 4g
Carbohydrate: 17g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 23g

Pork Carnitas (Take 2)

We found this recipe in Cooking Light and decided to give it a try. We have a Pork Carnitas that we love from Skinny Taste but wanted to see if it could improve. We decided... no. The other one is better. If we had never tasted the other one this one would be a 5 but since we were comparing this one gets a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Similar flavors just not quite as all around good. Husband said he could really taste the citrus which I could not taste at all. Oh well. It was really good and now we have 2 ways to make it!

Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 1 (3-pound) boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed
• 10 garlic cloves sliced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 chipotle chiles canned in adobo sauce drained and chopped
• 20 (6-inch) flour or corn tortillas, warmed,
• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 2/3 cup bottled salsa
• 2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 10 lime wedges

Directions

1. Make 1/2-inch-deep slits on outside of roast; stuff with garlic. Combine cumin and next 3 ingredients (through black pepper) in a small bowl. Place roast in a 3 1/2-quart electric slow cooker. Sprinkle pork on all sides with spice mixture.
2. Combine juices and chipotle chiles. Pour juice mixture over pork. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or until pork is tender.
3. Remove pork from slow cooker; shred with 2 forks. Skim fat from cooking liquid. Combine shredded pork and 1/2 cup cooking liquid; toss well.
4. Spoon 1 1/2 ounces pork mixture onto each tortilla; top each with 1 1/2 teaspoons onion, 1 1/2 teaspoons salsa, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 334
Fat: 12.6g
Cholesterol: 87mg
Sodium: 424mg
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 29.4g

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

*UPDATED*

 So the picture really does not do this recipe justice. I wish you could smell what I smelled when I walked through the door after work. Actually, you can. Make this. The only changes that Husband made were that he converted it to 8 servings instead of 6 so he could use 2 lbs of ground beef and make more left overs and he didn't want to buy horse radish for this one recipe so he added a little more dijon. I think the horse radish would have made this even better but even so it was great! This can be made gluten free just by substituting crushed rice chex for the bread crumbs and I promise you can't even notice a difference. Thing 1 literally devoured his and asked for another "huge" one. When I asked him how many stars he said 100 so I think we will give this one 5 out of 5 stars. We will definitely make it again.

Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 ounce fresh breadcrumbs about 1/2 cup
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1/2 cup ketchup divided
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 ounces white cheddar cheese diced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
• 1 large egg lightly beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs; cook 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently.
3. While breadcrumbs cook, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Combine onion mixture, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup ketchup, and remaining ingredients. Shape into 6 (4 x 2-inch) loaves on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; spread 2 teaspoons ketchup over each. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until done.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 254
Fat: 11.4g
Cholesterol: 112mg
Sodium: 607mg
Fiber: 0.9g
Protein: 28.3g