Chicken Shish Kebobs

I could seriously eat this all the time! I love grilled veggies! These are so super easy and they turn out perfect every time.

1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken, cut into cubes
2 bell peppers of your choice (my favorite is red)
1 large onion
1 fresh pineapple
(You could also use zucchini, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes)
salt
fresh ground pepper
olive oil

If you are using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes so they don't start on fire while on the grill.

Cut vegetables into large chunks and put in a bowl. Toss with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper.

Cut chicken into large chunks and put in separate bowl from veggies. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper.

Cut up pineapple into bit-sized chunks.

Put veggies, chicken and pineapple on skewers and grill until chicken is no longer pink.

Great over rice or with potatoes. I also LOVE eating these with fresh corn on the cob and watermelon, but they aren't really in season yet. Cannot wait!

Each shish kebob is 4 points+ with 3 ounces of chicken.

:::Emily:::

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I love crockpot recipes.  They are so easy and usually so good!  I love that I can throw a few ingredients in it in the morning and forget about it until dinner time.

2 lb boneless sirloin pork roast
1 can diet root beer
1 cup your favorite BBQ sauce (My favorite is K.C. Masterpiece Honey BBQ sauce.)
1 small onion, quartered
1 clove garlic, minced

In a crockot, combine pork, diet soda,1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce, quartered onion and clove of garlic. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Drain and discard the onion and garlic. Shred pork by pulling apart with two forks and remove the fat.  Return to crockpot and add the other 1/2 of BBQ sauce.  Mix and let cook for an additional 1 to 2 hours on warm. 

Serve on hamburger bun or roll.

3 ounces of BBQ Pork is 5 points+.

Points+ value of the sandwich as a whole will vary depending on what you serve it on.

:::Emily:::

Garlic Bread

This is really easy and how we usually do garlic bread because I think the kind you buy has a ridiculous amount of butter and garlic on it.

Take a loaf of french bread and cut into 1 1/2 inch slices.  Lightly butter each slice.  (Or you could spray with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray instead.)  Sprinkle a little garlic salt on each slice.

Place on a baking sheet.

Cook in a 400 degree oven until bread is golden brown and crispy.  I think it usually takes about 7 minutes.  But keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.

1 slice is 3 points+ with butter, or 2 points+ with butter spray.

:::Emily:::

Basil Chicken Pasta

I found this recipe quite a while ago and kind of made it my own.  It's really light and yummy! I can't wait to try this when I have garden fresh tomatoes!

8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups freshly diced tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil
salt & pepper to taste
penne pasta

Preheat a large skillet to medium heat.  Cook chicken breasts in 1 teaspoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until golden brown.  Set aside.

Using the same skillet, add 1 teaspoon olive oil, minced garlic and finely chopped onion. Saute until garlic looked golden, be careful not to burn.  Add in diced tomatoes.  Make sure to use fresh ones, it makes a big difference in taste.  I usually use Roma tomatoes, but any kind would work I am sure.  I can't wait until we have garden fresh tomatoes to use.  Generously salt the tomatoes.  If you don't, it's going to very bland!  I also ground black pepper at this time too.  Then chiffonade the basil. To do this, stack up the leaves, roll them tightly and thinly slice. Add to the mixture. Add back in the chicken. Turn heat down to medium and cover skillet.  Stir frequently, until mixture is hot and tomatoes are soft.  About five minutes.

Toss sauce over penne pasta.

Makes 4 servings.  Each serving is  9 points+ (1/4 of the sauce and 1 cup penne.)

:::Emily:::

Taco Soup

This is one our of new favorite meals.  I seriously cannot get enough of it. I always liked taco soup, but felt like it was missing something, so, I changed around a few of the ingredients in a couple of different batches until it was perfect.  It's really filling because it's full of veggies and the  best part is it is really low in points+ values.  Although it tastes as though it should be high in them.

1 pound extra lean ground beef (5% fat or less)
2 medium onions, diced
2 red bell peppers, diced
1 1/2 packages taco seasoning
2 cans condensed tomato soup
2 cans seasoned black beans (drained)
2 cans corn (drained) {sometimes I use 1 bag of frozen corn.}
2 cans diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 cups chicken broth
1 to 2 tsp cumin

 Brown hamburger in pan with onions and red bell peppers.  [The nice thing about using the red bell peppers is that if you don't tell your kids that they are pepper, they'll probably think they are tomatoes and not complain about eating them.]  After it's cooked add in the taco seasoning and water. 

When it's done cooking through in a crockpot with the black beans, corn, tomatoes, chicken broth, salsa and cumin.

Set your crockpot on low and let simmer for 4-6 hours. I've found the longer you let it simmer the better the flavor is. 

Top with cheese, avocados, fat free sour cream, and tortilla chips, or anything else you'd like.

1 cup soup without any toppings is 4 points+ or 2 cups of soup is 7 points+.

:::Emily:::

Green Monster Smoothies

I love these smoothies.  They are so good and they are so healthy too!  They are super low in points+ value, but are so filling.  The spinach seemed so weird to me at first, but you can't taste it at all.  I like that it gets me an extra serving of vegetables without feeling like I am eating them.

1/2 large banana
1 cup spinach.  (Has to be fresh.  It will make a nasty chewy smoothie if you use frozen.)
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup fat free yogurt.  I usually use plain, but you could use vanilla flavored as well.
As much frozen fruit as you'd like. I usually do 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries and 1/2 cup raspberries. Derek likes 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup mangoes, and 1/2 cup pineapple.  The  more fruit you use the thicker the smoothie will be.  I like mine to be the consistency of a shake.  It makes it feel more like a treat and feels my craving for ice cream.

A Weight Watchers leader suggested putting in 2 teaspoons of healthy oil in with it to hit your healthy oil check for the day.  I do this a lot because I have no other idea on how to fit it into my day.

Blend together until smooth.

One serving is 2 points+ without oil, 4 points+ with oil.

:::Emily:::

Oven Fries

I love potatoes, especially french fries.  I've found that they are a lot less greasy baked in the oven and actually taste better too!

Take one small potato per person you're feeding and slice them up.

I like them on the thin side so they crisp up, but you can cut them to the whichever thickness you prefer. I also like to leave the skins on, but if you're family doesn't like that, you can peel them beforehand.

Spread out fries evenly on a baking sheet, I like to line mine with tinfoil so that it's easier clean up, but you don't have to.  I also coat it with olive oil.  Salt the fries to taste.  I like to use Season All seasoned salt, but sea salt works great as well.

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (450 degrees if sliced thick.)

Bake fries until golden brown.  Turning once.  (About 20 mintues.)

One serving is 5 points+.  

:::Emily:::

Fajita Quesadillas

I love fajitas and I love quesdadillas. This recipe was inspired by the fajita quesadillas that Chili's used to have. You can make them with chicken or steak.  This time I made them with steak.

You start out by grilling your meat.  For fajitas I like to spray a little olive oil on my meat and then season with salt and pepper, but you could season it however you like.

Dice up an onion and bell pepper (we like red bell peppers the best, but you could use any kind you like.)  Then spray it with a little oil and sautee in a pan over medium heat until veggies are tender.  You could use just onions or just peppers if you aren't a big fan of one or the other. 

When your meat is done cooking, let it rest for at least five minutes.  Afterward slice it up in small strips.  I would normally leave it this way for regular fajitas, but since I was making quesadillas, I wanted to make them bite size pieces.

Preheat a pan on medium heat, then assemble your quesadillas.  I like to use the fajita size tortillas, but you could use any kind you like.  I start by putting on half of the cheese. (this time I used low-fat mozzarella because it's what I had on hand, and it's low in points+ value, but you could use any cheese.)  Add the veggies, then the meat then the rest of the cheese and top with another tortilla.

Put in pan and cook until tortillas are crispy and cheese is melted.  About 3 1/2 minutes per side.

Cut into four triangles and enjoy!  You could serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole and lettuce if you'd like.

One quesadilla is 11 points+.  (If using Mission fajita size tortillas, 2 ounces of meat trimmed of fat, 1 ounce low-fat mozzarella, and 1 teaspoon oil.)


:::Emily:::