This turns out a dish much like pork carnitas, but with a bit more juice so you can enjoy it as a stew. Serve it piping hot and enjoy !

Mexican Pork Stew (Crock Pot)

8 servings
252 calories per serving

3 lb. pork loin
1 1/2 c salsa verde
1 3/4 c chicken broth
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 t ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained well
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro, divided
1/2 c low fat sour cream

Trim meat and cut into 2 inch chunks and place in crock pot; sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a saucepan mix salsa, broth, onion, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a boil then pour it into the crock pot. Add tomatoes and mix. Cover and cool 6-7 hours or until meat is very tender. Transfer meat to a bowl and keep warm. Pour the sauce an veggies into a skillet and cook for 15-20 minutes to thicken sauce. Add in pork and ¼ c cilantro and heat through. Garnish each dish with sour cream and cilantro.

To make this without a crock pot, preheat oven to 350 degrees and place pork, salsa, broth, onion, cumin, salt, pepper, tomatoes and ¼ c cilantro in a large baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake 2 ½ hours. Uncover and bake 15 minutes. Garnish with sour cream and cilantro.

This recipe makes up a wonderfully flavorful sauce – anything with bacon is good in my book !

Spaghetti Carbonara

2 servings
300 calories per serving

4 ounces uncooked FiberGourmet spaghetti
1/2 cup skim milk
3 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Pam
1/3 c chopped pancetta or thick cut bacon (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large egg

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain reserving ¼ c of the cooking water. Mix milk, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Heat a skillet and spray with Pam then sauté pancetta 3 minutes. Add onions and garlic and continue cooking another 5 minutes until onion is browned. Reduce heat to medium low and add milk mix and spaghetti to the pan. Whisk egg in a bowl and add the reserved cooking liquid stirring constantly so egg does not start to cook. Gradually add to pan stirring constantly and cook 4 minutes on low until sauce is thick.

Try serving this with Cinnamon Tortilla Crisps. This has such a flavor explosion already then you add the kick from the jalapeno and this is a dessert or snack that is near perfection ! Be sure to chop everything very small and very uniform – that is part of what makes this as special as it is.

Fruit Salsa

Makes 3 cups
1 T = 44 calories

1 c finely chopped strawberries
1 orange, peeled and finely chopped
3 small kiwi, peeled and finely chopped
8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained
¼ c finely chopped yellow bell pepper
1 T lime juice
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

Fruit Salsa

Combine all ingredients and cover and chill at least 6 hours.

This recipe was really interesting. Usually when you think of pulled pork, you expect a spicy Southwest flavor. But this one has an awesome Chinese sauce that is mellow and mild and is perfect with pulled pork.

Chinese Pulled Pork

8 servings
227 calories per serving

1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c hoisin sauce
3 T ketchup
3 T honey
2 t minced garlic
2 t grated fresh ginger
1 t dark sesame oil
1/2 t five-spice powder
2 lb. boneless pork roast, trimmed
1/2 c chicken broth

Mix soy, Hoisin, ketchup, honey, garlic, ginger, oil and five spice and place in a zip loc bag. Add roast and mush it around so the spice adheres to the roast. Place in refrigerator for 3 – 24 hours. When ready to cook, place in crock and cook on low 8 hours. Remove roast and cover to keep warm. Place broth in croc, re-cover and cook another 1./2 hour or until sauce thickens. Shred pork and serve with extra sauce.

If you do not have Chinese 5 spice, here’s a quick recipe so you can make it yourself:

Mix all of this in a spice grinder and then use the appropriate amount in your recipe:

1 T peppercorns
1 T cloves
1 t anise seed or 1 T star anise
1 T fennel seeds
1 T cinnamon

Sometimes a sandwich just hits the spots and this one is not your boring old sandwich ! Chicken in fajita seasoning combined with a tangy sauce and arugula is taste treat you’ll be craving after you sample this one !

Chicken and Arugula Sandwich

4 servings
303 calories per serving

2 t oil
6 oz. chicken tenders (Perdue Shortcuts work great here)
1 T fajita seasoning
¼ c light mayonnaise
3 T chopped cilantro
1 t grated lime zest
1 T lime juice
4 Arnold Bagel Thins (110 calories each) or Arnold Select Thins
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 ½ c baby arugula

Sprinkle chicken with fajita seasoning and cook 3 minutes per side or until done. Cut into thin slices. Mix mayo, cilantro, lime zest and lime juice and spread on cut sides of bread. Place chicken on bread and add tomato and arugula then cover with the top of the bread and cut into 4 wedges.

What a perfect meal – breakfast in a cup ! These cook up perfectly and are a satisfying NON DIET breakfast for only 175 calories each. Bacon just makes everything better !

Bacon and Egg Cups

8 servings
175 calories per serving

Butter flavored Pam
ICBINB Spray (I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)
8 slices whole wheat bread
8 slices bacon
8 large eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray regular size cupcake pan with Pam. Slightly flatten bread with a rolling pin or by pressing out by hand and then cut into 8 4 ¼ inch rounds. Place the rounds in the cups. Make sure the bread comes up the edges to form a cup. Spray each cup with 5 or so sprays of ICBINB Spray. Cook bacon until almost crisp (or use precooked bacon right out of the package). Lay 1 slice in each cup letting it dangle over the edges of the cup. Crack 1 egg over each cup. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake 20 minutes or until egg whites are set.

Feel free to mix this up as much as you want – use only one type of Chex if you only like one….don’t like peanuts, leave them out and put in more pretzels – - make it your own and make it often !

Homemade Chex Party Mix (Crock Pot)

24 servings
155 calories per serving

6 T butter, melted
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t garlic powder
1 ½ t Lawry’s seasoned salt
3 c Corn Chex cereal
3 c Rice Chex cereal
3 c Wheat Chex cereal
1 c peanuts
1 c mini pretzels
1 c bagel chips broken into small pieces (or melba toasts)

Mix butter, Worcestershire, garlic, and salt. Gradually stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix well to evenly coat. Cook uncovered on low 3-4 hours stirring every 30 minutes.

If you don’t have a crock pot, you can bake these at 275 degrees for 1 hour, turning and stirring every 15 minutes.

Shake and Bake fans will love this one. Both the fish and the potatoes get a coating so the meal is crisp, the fish stays nice and moist, and the potatoes (‘chips’) are just a little different. This is crunchy goodness !

Baked Fish and Chips

4 servings
280 calories per serving

2 large baking potatoes cut into 8 wedges each
1/4 c light zesty Italian dressing
1 pack extra crispy Shake n’ Bake
1 lb. tilapia filets (or any other white fish)
1/4 c light mayo
Pam

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix potatoes with dressing and dust with ¼ c of the Shake n’ Bake. Spray a baking sheet with Pam and add the potatoes and bake 25 minutes. Spread mayo on fish and then dredge in the rest of the Shake n’ Bake to coat them evenly. Place fish in a wire rack sprayed with Pam and place that in the oven and bake 15 minutes or until done.