Roasted Potato

Do you love those delicious crispy edges of fried potatoes? I got the idea for this from another pinterest pin. I am loving this site! The original recipe (here) was alot more food that we needed for our little family dinner. So I scaled it way back and added some different herbs.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4 medium russet potatoes

1/4 onion, thickly sliced 

Coarse salt

Pepper 

1 spring rosemary, chopped

1 sprig thyme, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray two small loaf pans with nonstick spray. Slice potatoes very thinly crosswise, I used my food processor.

2. Arrange potato slices vertically in dish. Wedge onions throughout. Drizzle with olive oil Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 30 minutes.  Add herbs and bake until potatoes are cooked through with a crisp top, about 15 minutes more.

Zucchini and Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breast

Another DELICIOUS recipe from Skinny Taste. You read that right. Mozzarella AND breaded crust for 171 calories a serving! So reasonable you won't feel guilty have more. Moist chicken breast with ooey gooey mozzarella and zucchini inside. I pounded the breasts a little too thin in some spots so there were some holes, but once they're breaded you can't really tell. I think I could have even let them sit under the broiler for a minute or two to really crisp up the breading. I might also try spraying it with cooking spray to see if it crisps it up too.

And here is a neat trick I use often for chopped garlic. Instead of spending time trying to chop garlic, I just use my microplane to grate it right into the pan.



Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1 cutlet • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 4 pts  
Calories: 171.9 • Fat: 6.3 g • Protein: 20.3 g • Carb: 7.9 g • Fiber: 0.9 g • Sugar: 1.3 g Sodium: 280.7 mg (without salt)  


Ingredients: 

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups (1 medium) zucchini, shredded
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Romano cheese (or parmesan)
• 3 oz part skim shredded mozzarella
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 lemon, juice of
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and fresh pepper
• olive oil non-stick spray 

Directions:

Wash and dry cutlets, season with salt and pepper.  Preheat oven to 450°. Lightlyspray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add oil when hot then saute garlic a minute, or until golden. Add zucchini, 1/4 cup Romano cheese, salt and pepper and saute about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool. When cool, addmozzarella cheese and mix to combine.

Lay chicken cutlets down on a working surface and spread 3 tbsp of zucchini-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.

Combine breadcrumbs and grated cheese in one bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper in another bowl.

Dip chicken in lemon-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks needed). Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spraywith oil spray. 

Bake 25 - 30 minutes. Serve immediately. 

Low Calorie Pumpkin and Cream Bread

If you're anything like me, bread doesn't last long in your house. Especially fresh baked bread. I love baking and I love eating bread. The problem is that is doesn't love me back. Pumpkin and Cream Bread to the rescue. This entire loaf is only 500 calories. That's right the ENTIRE loaf. And even better is tastes as great as it looks.

I found this recipe through pinterest on Sunday Baker. I couldn't get mine to double layer as nice as she did, but at only 46 calories per slice, I'll be trying, trying again.

Yield: 2 loaves (14 slices each)

Batter:

1-1/2 c. pureed pumpkin

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 whole egg

3 egg whites

1 c. all-purpose flour

2/3 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. Stevia Cup For Cup sweetener

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

Cream filling

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 T. all-purpose flour

2 egg whites

1 t. vanilla extract

1. For the Batter: With an electric mixer, beat the pumpkin, applesauce, egg, and egg whites on medium speed until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, Stevia, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.

2. For the cream cheese filling: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg whites and flour until creamy and smooth.

3. Grease 2 8x4x2" loaf pans. Divide half of the batter between the two pans. Pour half of the filling in one pan and the other half in the second pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. Top with the remaining batter.

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don't overbake or your bread will be dry on the edges. Cool and remove from pans. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

One serving (2 slices) = about 100 calories

Chew Low Fat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

These are YUM. You wouldn't even guess that these aren't the real deal. I found this recipe on skinnytaste.com. This blog has become a new go to site for recipes. Each recipe is low fat and/or low calorie and all of the nutritional information available. And so far, ALL of the recipes I've made have been absolutely delicious. You can also feel free to mix and match the mix ins!

Low Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes 
Servings: 15 • Serving Size: 2 cookies • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 190 • Fat: 6.3 g • Protein: 2.6 g • Carb: 34.2 g • Fiber: 2.0 g • Sugar: 19.3 g

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups quick oats
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°; line two baking sheets with parchment paper or use a silpat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, with a mixer, cream together the butter and the sugars on medium speed.  

Add the egg, followed by the applesauce and vanilla extract.

Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain; stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop heaping tablespoonfuls (approx 1 tbsp each) of the dough onto prepared baking sheets, flattening each cookie slightly (I forgot to do this). Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until cookies become light brown at the edges.

Let cool on baking sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container so you don't eat them all in one sitting! 

Makes about 30 cookies roughly 1 tbsp each.

Splenda Lovers: Substitute all the brown sugar with 1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar blend, and all the white sugar for 1/4 cup Splenda sugar blend. Points remain the same.

This recipe makes a good sized batched of cookies, I don't know about you, but I would rather not have all those cookies laying around my house. So the leftover went into the fridge. I laid out a long sheet of suran wrap. Then made a row in the middle of the cookie dough. Shape it into a cylinder and wrap tightly with the suran wrap.

Whenever you're ready (which is always!) for warm fresh baked cookies, just slice off however many cookies you want and arrange on a cookie sheet.

They may need an extra minute or two in the oven since they are colder when they go in.

Roasted Chicken with Red Potatoes and Artichoke Hearts

The sounds that escape your mouth as you open the oven door after that kitchen timer goes off may sound inhuman. Between the smell of the aromatic and delicious veggies and the look of the cripsy chicken skin, you'll barely be able to wait long enough to grab a plate.

 This dish from Rachael Ray's Make Ahead Meals is mouth watering. Although I will be making a few slight changes the next time I make it. The red potatoes I used weren't quite finished. So next time I will roast the veggies for 15-20 minutes before adding the chicken and cooking for the recipe time. Also the artichoke hearts were delicious but the flavor could quickly overwhelm the delicate chicken and potatoes. So I'm going to try cutting them into quarters instead of halves and maybe even cutting the amount in half. Still delicious, and I will always crisp up the skin under the broiler from now on. GREAT tip.

Ingredients

4 skin-on, bone-in chicken drumsticks
4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
1 whole skin-on, bone-in chicken breast, quartered (separate the breast and then cut each piece in half crosswise)
EVOO, for liberal drizzling
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes
4 to 5 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
2 small to medium onions, cut into thin wedges with the root ends attached
Handful fresh bay leaves
One 10-ounce box frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, drained and halved, or one 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and halved
1 head garlic, cloves separated and crushed
1 lemon, sliced
1 cup dry white wine
1 bunch black kale or dinosaur kale, stemmed
Freshly grated nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

Drizzle the chicken with EVOO and liberally sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

In a roasting pan or baking dish, combine the potatoes, rosemary, onions, bay leaves, artichokes, garlic and lemons. Drizzle with about 1/4 cup EVOO, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables.

Position the rack on the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Roast the chicken and vegetables for 45 minutes. Turn on the broiler and douse the pan with the wine. Broil until crispy and brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Dress the kale very lightly with about 1 tablespoon EVOO and season with salt, pepper and a few gratings of nutmeg. Spread the kale on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Broil until very crispy, about 10 minutes.

Divide the kale among plates and top with the chicken and vegetables.

Cook's Note: You can prepare the chicken and vegetables ahead of time. Cover and store on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator until ready to roast.