Chopped Salad

The idea of a chopped salad is to get all the ingredients chopped uniformly and small – otherwise, it is just not a chopped salad ! And to me, prepping things in this fashion DOES make a difference in the flavor of the salad. There is something about getting a bunch of the ingredients in your mouth at the same time – it just makes for a flavor explosion !

Chopped Salad
Chopped Salad

6 servings
200 calories per serving

1/2 c white balsamic vinegar
3 stalks celery, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 large peach, diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
2 c coarsely chopped arugula or spring mix or any other crisp greens
1 c thinly sliced napa cabbage
3 T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 oz. crumbed low fat goat cheese
½ c slivered almonds or pine nuts, toasted
1 large hard boiled egg, sliced
Smoked paprika

Mix together all the veggies with oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and then add in cheese and almonds. Top with eggs and sprinkle with paprika.

To toast the almonds, simply place in a hot skillet and sauté until toasty and starting to brown.

Rice and Sausage

What a great quick and easy meal for a weeknight ! It’s kinda like having sausage and peppers over rice – definitely a great flavor !

Rice and Sausage
Rice and Sausage

4 servings
397 calories per serving

Pam
10 oz. low fat andouille sausage or kielbasa, cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 c cooked brown rice

Heat skillet and spray with Pam and cook sausage until crispy, about 10 minutes. Add onion, garlic, red pepper, celery, salt and pepper and cook 8-10 minutes then add tomatoes and cook another 4 minutes. Serve with brown rice.

Couscous with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Take what is typically a dry dish when served plain (couscous), add some love, and you get a couscous dish to rave about ! The sun dried tomatoes and portobellos are just the perfect addition to couscous.

Couscous with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Mushrooms
Couscous with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Mushrooms


4 servings
178 calories per serving

1 c dehydrated sun dried tomatoes
½ c plus 2 T raw couscous
1 t oil
3 cloves garlic, minced fine
2 scallions, chopped
1/3 c chopped basil
¼ c chopped cilantro
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
4 oz. portobello mushroom caps, chopped

Soak tomatoes with 1 c hot water for ½ hour then drain, but reserve the water. Chop tomatoes. Combine reserved water with enough more water to make 1 ½ c and bring to a boil then stir in the couscous and oil, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes then fluff with a fork. Spray the skillet with Pam then stir in the tomatoes, garlic and onions and cook 5-6 minutes. If it starts to get too dry, add a tablespoon or more of hot water during the cooking process, then add the fresh herbs, juice, salt and pepper and the mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Combine all in a bowl and mix well.

Citrus Salad

Great served hot – and equally as good served chilled. This side salad has a great taste and is very easy to prepare!

Citrus Salad
Citrus Salad

4 servings
280 calories per serving

2 c Minute brown rice, uncooked
6 oz. baby spinach leaves
11 oz. can mandarin oranges
½ c light Catalina dressing

Cook rice according to package instructions. Place in a bowl and add spinach and oranges then toss with dressing t coat.

Rice Krispie Treat with Chocolate and Peanut Butter

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One would think you could not improve on the perfectly edible Rice Krispie Treat. But when you introduce peanut butter and chocolate you end up with a divine dessert that satisfies with richness, just the right amount of sweetness, and good old ‘snap, krackle and pop’. This is Rice Krispie treats for the adult crowd !

Rice Krispie Treat with Chocolate and Peanut Butter
Rice Krispie Treat with Chocolate and Peanut Butter

16 servings
247 calories per serving

3 T plus 1 t unsalted butter
4 c mini marshmallows
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
½ t kosher salt
6 c Rice Krispies
Pam
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips, melted
¼ c chopped roasted, salted peanuts

Butter an 8×8 baking dish with 1 t of the butter (insert your hand into a baggy and use that as a glove to get good coverage). Mix marshmallows, peanut butter, butter and salt and cook on medium heat until all is melted then add cereal. Spray a spoon with Pam so the contents don’t stick to it and use it to press HALF of the mix into the buttered pan. Spread half the chocolate over the mix and then repeat the 2 layers. Finally sprinkle with peanuts.

Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki give the chicken a great glaze that then gets nice and crispy when you put it on the grill. The flavor is simple and that means this dish pairs up well with a myriad of different sides.

Teriyaki Chicken
Teriyaki Chicken

4 servings
160 calories per serving

4 4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 c teriyaki sauce
¼ c lemon juice
2 t minced garlic
¼ t pepper
2 t sesame oil

Marinate chicken in all the mixed ingredients in a zip loc bag in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Heat grill and cook the chicken 6 minutes each side or until done.

Grilled Tomatillos

Tomatillos are spicy little green fruits in the tomato family – you have probably eaten them in some salsas (salsa verde which translates to green salsa) and tomatillo sauces. Grilling them brings out a nice sweet flavor. This is a nice spicy addition to a meal that may be a bit on the blander side.

I served it aside Broiled Cod with Chili Powder – it was a great double whammy of flavor 🙂

Grilled Tomatillos
Grilled Tomatillos

4 servings
154 calories per serving

¼ c basil leaves
1 clove garlic
1 T lemon juice
6 tomatillos cut into 1/2″ thick slices
1 T oil

Heat grill and oil grates or a grill pan. In a food processor mix the basil, garlic and lemon juice until smooth (adding 1-2 t water if needed). Brush tomatillo slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until lightly charred and then serve with basil sauce.

CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT

It’s that season ! We’re done with BBQ’s and cookouts and focusing on fall flavors and rich comfort foods. Plentiful Pantry is sponsoring 3 great prizes and you’ll find the contest information exclusively here on 400 Calories or Less.

Stay tuned over the next weeks for information on how you can win some great comfort foods mixes so you can quickly whip up Roasted Tomato Parmesan Bisque Soup, Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, and Pumpkin Cobbler.

Beginning 9-20-10 and running for 3 weeks, each Monday I will be putting up a review of one of the above mentioned products and will announce a contest where you can win that product. You don’t want to miss your chance – these products are fantastic. The dishes taste completely homemade, yet they are quick and easy. All you do is add a few ingredients from home and you end up with authentically awesome dishes.

So mark your calendars and be on the lookout for three weeks of contests with prizes from Plentiful Pantry. As well, we will have a special checkout code available for you that gives you a 25% DISCOUNT for any shopping you do over at Plentiful Pantry !!

(contests open only to US residents)

Artichoke Salad

Simple yet fancy. Light yet filling. This is a great side salad. If you are making it as a main salad instead of a side, add some grilled leftover chicken.

Artichoke Salad
Artichoke Salad

8 servings
140 calories per serving

2 c grape tomatoes
11 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and cut into chunks
10 oz. spring mix salad
1 c low fat shredded cheddar cheese
½ c low fat balsamic vinaigrette

Mix salad ingredients and then combine with dressing.

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