Just adding some spices to ground beef before grilling it can make SUCH a difference. Don’t think that you need cheese and tons of condiments on a burger for flavor. Instead, try adding some lower cal herbs and spices to the meat and see what great burst of flavor you get !
Yummy Burgers
4 servings
314 calories per serving
¼ c beef broth
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 t chili powder
1 t onion powder
½ t red pepper flakes
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
1 pound lean ground beef
4 burger buns
Combine all the spices with the meat and make 4 patties. Grill burgers 6-8 minutes or until desired doneness. Serve on buns.
The soda really marinates and tenderizes the roast – this has a special flavor, one you’ll find yourself craving ! Pictures of pot roast never do it justice. Believe me, no matter how it looks, you want to make this one because it tastes just great.
12 servings
170 calories per serving
3 lb. beef roast
2 cans low fat cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
32 oz. diet Pepsi or diet Coke
Place meat in crock. Mix together soups and soda and pour over the roast. Cover and cook on high 6 hours.
At the end, put a nice brown on it by broiling for 5 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes, then slice.
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The arugula on this sandwich is the perfect pairing to the creamy brie and the sweet apples – it gives it just the right amount of contrast. This is one of my top 10 sandwiches of all times ! Brie+ turkey+apple+arugula=YUMMY !
Turkey and Brie Sandwich
2 servings
399 calories per serving
4 slices 45 calorie whole wheat bread
Pam
I Can’t Believe it’s not Butter spray
6 oz. thinly sliced turkey breast (deli meat)
3 oz. brie
¾ c baby arugula
1 apple, sliced
Heat brie in microwave 15 seconds or so to soften it and then spread on 2 pieces of bread. Top with turkey, apples and arugula and finish making the sandwich. Spray a heated pan with Pam. Spray outsides of sandwich with a couple spritzes of butter spray and cook 2-3 minutes per side in a hot skillet or a total of 3-4 minutes in a Panini press.
The holidays are a time to splurge…especially when it comes to food. But splurging does not necessarily mean going off the deep end 😉 Here is a suggested meal plan that will give you a complete meal for under 1000 calories. Most SINGLE entrees are that high or more in calories – but here I give you a complete meal !! From soup to nuts, you can have soup, an appetizer, a main meal, 2 sides and 2 desserts for only 992 calories ! You just can’t beat that.
A rich stew with lots of flavor – the dark meat chicken definitely gives this dish extra texture and the olives give it great authenticity. Sofrito is a tomato, pepper, onion and garlic base for many Latin dishes. The mixture of flavors is sooooooo good. Serve with Rice Pilaf for a perfect meal.
Sofrito Chicken Stew
2 servings
238 calories per serving
2 boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts (3 oz. each)
1 T oil
¼ t kosher salt
1/8 t pepper
¼ c diced onions
1 T garlic clove, minced
¼ c diced red bell pepper
¼ c diced yellow bell pepper
¼ c diced green olives
4 T tomato paste
1 c chicken broth
2 T cilantro, chopped
Cut chicken into thin strips. Heat 1 t oil and cook chicken over medium high heat. Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking about 5 minutes, Place on a plate and keep warm. Add rest of oil to pan and sauté onion 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 1 minute. Stir in peppers and olives and cook 1 minute then add chicken back to the pan along with tomato paste and broth. Simmer about 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.
This recipe makes a nice spicy gingerbread packed with tons of classic flavor. Serve it warm or room temperature and enjoy the homey goodness.
Spicy Gingerbread
16 servings
184 calories per serving
2 c flour
1 c light molasses
¾ c buttermilk
½ c Splenda
½ c margarine, at room temperature
¼ c Egg Beaters
2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
½ t ginger
¼ t ground cloves
Pam
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat flour, molasses, buttermilk, Splenda, margarine, eggs, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves on low speed until moistened then beat at medium speed 3 minutes. Spread batter into a 9 inch pan sprayed with Pam and bake one hour. Cool on wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.
This is a great recipe to use up leftover rice from the Chinese food take out order. Just place it in a colander and place the colander over a pot of steaming water for 5-6 minutes. That brings it back to life nicely 🙂 The veggies look like little jewels in a sea of rice. It’s a very pretty side dish !
Jeweled Rice
6 servings
183 calories
1 c basmati rice (stickier than regular long grain rice)
2 c water
1/4 c roasted peanuts
1 shallot, sliced
2 T water
1 t minced fresh ginger root
3/4 c grated carrots
½ c corn
Salt to taste
¼ t cayenne pepper (double this if you like it spicy !)
3 T chopped cilantro
Add rice to water and bring to a boil on high heat then lower to a simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes or until water is absorbed (or use steamed leftover rice as mentioned above). Mash peanuts finely or puree in a blender. Heat a skillet and sauté shallots in a couple of tablespoons of hot water. Saute 5 minutes. Add more water if needed to keep them moist. Then add ginger, carrots, corn and salt. Turn to low and cook 5 minutes then stir in rice, pepper, cilantro and peanuts.
Pot Roast is just a special dish – it is so homey and so inviting. I love the way the meat gets so super, super tender. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can cook this stove top in Dutch Oven for 2 hours at a low simmer. But if you have a pressure cooker, then definitely try this recipe in there – the pressure cooker method adds even more flavor to an already fantastic dish.
Pot Roast
4 servings
310 calories per serving
1 lb. beef round steak ½ inch thick (thin London broil), cut into 4 pieces
2 T oil
6 large carrots, in 2 inch pieces
6 small new potatoes, halved
1 large onion, peeled and cut into wedges
1 t rosemary flakes
1 t thyme flakes
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
½ t garlic powder
¾ c fat free beef broth
2 T flour
¼ c water
Heat oil in pressure cooker and brown meat on both sides. Remove and set aside. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add carrots, potatoes, herbs, salt and pepper and then add the beef back. Pour the broth over the mix. Lock lid, bring to pressure and cook ½ hour. Quick release the pressure and remove meat and veggies to a platter and keep warm. Mix flour and water and stir into broth and cook until thickened and serve over meat.
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, do this stove top in a dutch oven and for the final cooking period, cook 2 hours on a low simmer.
Looking for something a little different for lunch? Instead of regular old pasta salad, how about some Hawaiian pasta salad? Plentiful Pantry makes it so easy and it is such a refreshing change of pace.
Hawaiian Pasta Salad
8 servings
180 calories per serving
Their mix basically handles the noodles and the dressing spices – you just add some cooked chicken (I used leftover Thanksgiving turkey and it was great !), pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges, onion and avocado. The mixture of noodles (colors and shapes) makes for such a fun salad! And their poppy seed dressing is so special – sweet without being too sweet and just a little tart with the mustard in the dressing and the vinegar bite. Just whisk up the dressing and pout over the fruits, meat and cooked pasta. Chill a bit and presto…LUNCH IS SERVED !
Hawaiian Pasta Salad
Plentiful Pantry does such a great job of getting you out of the kitchen fast providing mixes that are tasty and easy to put together. I have tried several of their products and I find them all to turn out very good food.
Check out our reviews of other Plentiful Pantry products:
If you don’t like the way the cookie crumbles, then this is not a recipe for you. But if you like crunchy little cookie bits like me, then these are heavenly ! And you get the added benefit of eating your MUFA since these have semisweet chocolate and nuts.
Cookie Brittle
48 pieces
60 calories per serving
½ c margarine
2 t vanilla
3 T water
1 t salt
4 T Splenda
1 c flour
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c walnuts, chopped very finely
Combine margarine, vanilla, water, salt and Splenda and beat until smooth. Stir in flour, chips and nuts and press into an ungreased 9×13 baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees 25 minutes. Remove from oven and score into pieces. Cool completely then break into pieces.
