Sirloin Kabobs

You know the drill – if you’re using the grill, throw out the skewers and use a grill basket instead – it saves time, aggravation and the food turns out even better ! The meat in this dish is sooooo tender from marinating for hours in the tomato and vinegar based sauce.

Sirloin Kabobs
Sirloin Kabobs

4 servings
268 calories per serving

2/3 c chili sauce
½ c beef broth
½ c balsamic vinegar
2 T canola oil
5 t Worcestershire sauce
4 t dried minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
½ t ground mustard
¼ t salt
1 lb. boneless sirloin cut into cubes
16 baby bella mushroom caps, halved
2 medium red onions cut into wedges
2 medium red bell peppers cut into chunks
1 medium yellow bell pepper cut into chunks

Mix the first 9 ingredients and pour half of the mix into a zip loc bag. Add the beef cubes and mix around. Pour the rest of the mix into another bag and add the veggies and mix around. Refrigerate both bags 1-4 hours. Heat a grill pan or basket on the grill and spray with High Heat Pam. Drain the veggies and meat reserving the extra marinate for later basting. Grill 7-10 minutes or to desired doneness stirring and re-basting occasionally.

If you don’t want to grill this, you can preheat the broiler and place all on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam. Broil 5-6 minutes, turning half way through.

Chicken Club Sandwiches

So simple – especially of you plan these for a day after you make chicken the night before – then you are just pulling pre-made cutlets out of the frig and that’s just as easy as pulling out cold cuts. What makes this a club – – well, the BACON, of course 🙂

Chicken Club Sandwiches
Chicken Club Sandwiches

4 servings
307 calories per serving

4 bacon slices
4 4 oz. chicken cutlets
¼ t pepper
8 slices multigrain bread
¼ c light mayonnaise
1 T Dijon mustard
4 green leaf lettuce leaves
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

Cook bacon them remove from pan and reserve 1 T of the drippings. Sprinkle chicken with pepper and place in pan and cook 4 minutes per side. Toast bread and place a mix of mustard and mayo on 4 slices. Top with lettuce and tomato, then the chicken and bacon.

Twice Baked Potatoes

So very good ! You can stuff potatoes with just about anything but this recipe turns out a perfect twice baked potato – the sour cream and mozzarella are just perfect here.

Twice Baked Potatoes
Twice Baked Potatoes

4 servings
172 calories per serving

4 medium baking potatoes
1/3 c low fat sour cream
2 T chopped fresh basil and chives and parsley
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Skim milk
¼ c shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Clean potatoes, dry them and prick them with a fork. Bake one hour. Cut a 1 inch slit in the top and spoon out pulp into a bowl. Do this gently so the skin stays in tact. Use a blender so you get nice whipped consistency and mix together the pulp, sour cream, herbs and parmesan cheese. Add a few tablespoons of milk if the mix is too dry. Stuff the mixture back into the potato skins and sprinkle with mozzarella. Place in a baking dish and bake 20 minutes or refrigerate and then when you bake, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes then uncover and bake another 20 minutes.

To hollow out the potatoes, after you bake them, let them cool and then follow the instructions in this video.

Provolone and Peppers

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This is a great side and also a great quick appetizer. The melted cheese and pesto make such a nice accompaniment to the sweet red pepper.

Provolone and Peppers
Provolone and Peppers

8 servings
65 calories per serving

2 small red bell peppers
1 T oil
2 T basil pesto
2 oz. provolone cheese in 8 slices

Quarter peppers and remove seeds. Brush outsides with oil. Fill insides with pesto and cheese. Heat grill. Grill peppers 5-7 minutes or until cheese is softened. You can also broil these for a few minutes if you do not have a grill.

Mandarin Dessert

Adding some Cool Whip and fruit to yogurt makes it a whole new dessert – the yogurt is so good for you, and the dessert is tasty and totally guilt free. Enjoy !

Mandarin Dessert
Mandarin Dessert

4 servings
113 calories per serving

8 oz. lowfat orange yogurt
1 c Cool Whip Lite, thawed
11 oz. can Mandarin oranges, drained well

Mix yogurt and Cool Whip and then mix in oranges and chill.

Oven Fries

Steaming these first gives them a nice texture and with the added garlic cloves to eat with the potatoes, this is a heavenly side dish. The egg wash makes them brown up nicely, so don’t skip this step.

Oven Fries
Oven Fries

4 servings
155 calories per serving

2 large russet potatoes sliced into strips
1 egg white, lightly beaten
¼ t paprika
10 garlic cloves, whole
Salt and pepper to taste
Pam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with Pam. Steam the potatoes and garlic 10 minutes to soften some. Then place all on the baking sheet and brush the egg whites and sprinkle with paprika. Bake 20 minutes then season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Southwest Spinach Salad

What a symphony of flavors ! Your mouth doesn’t know what to be the happiest about – is it the pine nut accent? Or the spicy pepperjack cheese? Or the creamy avocados? Or the smoky chipotle dressing? This is one of THE BEST salads I’ve ever made.

Southwest Spinach Salad
Southwest Spinach Salad

4 servings
300 calories per serving

8 c fresh baby spinach
1/2 c corn with sweet peppers
1/3 c halved black pitted olives
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 oz. diced pepper jack cheese
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered
1 ripe avocado cut into 16 slices
3 T lime juice
2 T oil
1 t chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1/8 t salt
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T toasted pine nuts
A few extra squirts of lime juice if you like your salad nice and ‘wet’

Combine spinach, corn, olives, cilantro and cheese. Place 2 c worth on each plate. Arrange tomato, egg and avocado slices atop the spinach. Combine lime juice, oil, chopped chipotle, salt and garlic. Whisk well and pour over salads. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

Chimichurri Chicken and Green Beans

Chimichurri sauce just makes everything better ! It’s a great mix of parsley, vinegar, garlic and lemon and is much like the Italian gremolata. Serve with some coucous for a great complete meal !

Chimichurri Chicken and Green Beans
Chimichurri Chicken and Green Beans

4 servings
280 calories per serving

3 T oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1.25 lb.)
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
12 oz. fresh green beans
1 T water
¾ c parsley
1 T cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, halved
¼ t red pepper flakes
Zest of 1 lemon

Brush chicken with 1 T oil and sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. Heat grill and cook chicken 12-15 minutes or until done. While the chicken is cooking place beans and water in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap and microwave 3 minutes. In a food processor combine 2 T oil, the rest of the salt and pepper, parsley, vinegar, garlic and red pepper and process until almost smooth. Place chicken on bed of beans, with sauce and lemon zest on top. Squeeze extra lemon juice over top and user lemon slices as garnish.

Strawberry Tea

Cool, fruity and refreshing – this is a nice mix of fruit and tea. And when you add a little rum, then it is just heaven !

Strawberry Tea
Strawberry Tea

8 servings
62 calories per serving

1 c orange juice
¼ c Splenda (skip this if you use pre-sweetened tea)
1/3 c iced tea mix
10 oz. frozen strawberries, thawed
4 c water
2 c crushed ice

Blend orange juice, Splenda, tea and berries until smooth. Pour into a pitcher and add water and ice.

Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas

This is so savory and flavorful…and filling ! You can also cut these into smaller servings and make as a snack or appetizer.

Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas
Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas

4 servings
348 calories per serving

2 c shredded cooked chicken breast (Perdue Shortcuts work great here!)
2/3 c salsa verde
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 80 calorie tortilla wraps
1 c shredded low fat Mexican four cheese blend
Pam
Extra salsa verde for dipping
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix chicken, 1/3 c salsa, salt and pepper. If chicken is cold, you may want to heat it a couple minutes in the microwave – this way the quesadilla comes to heat quicker. Combine beans with the rest of the salsa and mash slightly to break up some of the beans. Spread 1/3 bean mix over half a tortilla and then top with ½ of the chicken mix and ¼ c cheese. Fold in half and spray the outsides of the tortillas with Pam. Heat a skillet and cook each quesadilla a couple of minutes each side. Cut into wedges and serve.

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