Nearly Guiltless Nachos

I can't be perfect all the time. As much as I hate to admit it, I could eat nachos as a meal three times a day, everyday. They are perfect for me and I love them.

What you'll need:

• Whole grain tortilla chips
• Fat free cheddar cheese
• Fat free pepper jack cheese
• 5 Grape tomatoes
• Romaine lettuce
• 1/2 Fresh jalepeno
• Fat free sour cream
• Salsa

Make it:
It's amazing how something sooo simple can be soooo amazing.

Start by placing your cheeses in a microwave safe bowl, add a dollop of some of the sour cream and stir it all in. Microwave until the cheese melts for about 1 1/2 minutea and stir after every 30 seconds. If your cheese isn't melting in the microwave correctly, bake the chips with the cheese until it's all melted and then follow the steps below.

Chop up your veggies into bite size pieces that will sit comfortably on a chip!

Lay out your chips on a large plate and then pour the cheese over the tortilla chips. Top with the jalepeno slices, chopped tomato, and shredded romaine lettuce.

Either on the side, or plopped in the center, add your salsa and sour cream.

Optional: You can always add guacamole, black olives, avocado, grilled chicken or ground turkey

PS. Corn tortilla chips are in the photo above, because they were on sale and whole grain wasn't. waaa

California Chicken Salad

Can I just say that I LOVE this chicken salad, and so does everyone who puts it in their mouths. I was in San Diego and ordered it as a side dish...for breakfast...don't judge me...and tried to replicate it as soon as I got home. I turned mine into a SAMMICH!

My preferred way to enjoy is by making it on a whole wheat bun with sliced tomato and fresh romaine lettuce.

What you'll need:

• Chicken tenderloins
• 1/2 cup Light Sour Cream
• 1 tblsp Light Mayo
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Dried Dill
• Salt 
• Pepper
• 2 Garlic cloves

Make it:

Boil a medium size pot of water. Add salt, pepper, and the two sliced cloves of garlic. Bring it to a boil and add the chicken. Let this cook until done, approximately 10-15 minutes. Boiling the chicken will keep it juicy and the salt, pepper, and garlic will inject flavor.

In the mixing bowl:

We will use 1/2 of the cucumber. Peel it and then de-seed it. To de-seed: cut it long ways and then take a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Dice up the peeled and de-seeded cucumber into tiny cubes. 

Chop up 1 stalk of celery into fine cubes as well

Add 1/2 cup of light sour cream along with the light mayo

Add a large pinch of dried dill seasoning. I tried this recipe with fresh dill and actually liked it less than I did when using dried dill seasoning. 

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mix this all up and let it chill in the refrigerator while we work on cutting up all this chicken.

Once the chicken is cooked, drain it and chop it up into small cubes, or shred it. However you prefer. Let it cool slightly before adding to the mixing bowl. 

Mix everything together and taste test until the salt/pepper/dill ratio is right and then its ready to be chilled. 

Served chilled and enjoy :)

Other options: Add craisins! Also, I learned through forum content by some gracious users that greek yogurt could replace the mayo.  SUCH a great idea! I'll update when I find out for myself!

Fantastic Southern Style Sweet Tea!!

Say it with me now: "Sweet Tea"
Again, with a Southern accent now!

Gooooood (I think...)

For roughly under a dollar, you can sip on 8 cups of a delicious beverage that you would normally spend several dollars a cup on. 'Impossible' you say?? I think not!

So here's what you'll:

                                                                

(Yeah, That's it..)

• 1 C. Sugar
• 6 C. of Cold water (Doesn't need to be ice cold...)
• 2 C. of boiling water.
• 3 Tea Bags
• Water holding device...

Now, I've seen, read, heard, and what have you about adding a dash of baking soda to the sweet tea. I've done it both ways and taste no difference so just save your baking soda for another time.

Now- In a small pot bring 2 cups of water to a boil along with 1 cup of sugar. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, add the tea bags until they start brewing. Allow to cool to room temperature (as to not break whatever your pouring into.) Then pour sugar water, and tea bags into the cold water.... Allow to sit for several hours to so the flavors can get to know each other, and get nice and ice cold. Then Enjoy!

 That simple!!

Extra goodies:
Want to impress a few friends? Garnish an ice cold glass with a lemon and enjoy.

Jesse's Favorite Chicken

Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum. No story here, just whipped this up with what I usually have in the refrigerator and it turned out awesome.

What you'll need:

• Chicken Breast
• Grape Tomato
• Baby Spinach
• Goat Cheese
• Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs
• Garlic
• White Wine/White Cooking Wine
• Lemon
• Egg
• Skim Milk
• Salt
• Pepper

Make It:


Beat 1 egg with 1/4 cup skim milk in a small bowl. On a seperate plate, place 2 cups breadcrumbs.
Cut the chicken breast in half so its a shortened version on itself. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and dreadge over the breadcrumbs. Sautee in a med-high pan with the white wine and a tsp of butter. Crisp lightly on both sides but do not cook through.

In a seperate pan, on low heat, add white cooking wine with two diced cloves of garlic and about 7 sliced grape tomatoes. Let warm and then add the spinach. Continue to cook on low heat until the spinach completely wilts. Squeeze in the citrus and stir in. I tried it with red grapefruit when I didn't have lemons and it was awesome too. At this point, remove from heat.

On a seperate plate, take the crisped chicken and smear the top with the goat cheese. Add enough to cover the chicken thickly. Then add the spinach and tomato mixture to the top.

Bake this on 350 degree for about 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

In the photo post above I made this two way, one way is to stuff the chicken and the other is to place everything on top. I like it better with everything placed on top. Also, I've made it before by rolling the spinach mix into thinly sliced chicken and it's GREAT that way too. I'm just not always on point enough for that technique! And it's prettier!

Chicken Paprikash over Sweet Potatoes

This is a great, slightly spicy little dish that is quick, simple, fun and healthy. This recipe was found in my Cooking Light book and the original recipe is linked at the end of this post. I made a few edits to make it just a little more healthy and a little more flavorful.

What You'll Need:

• 4 Sweet Potatoes
• Chicken Tenderloins
• 2 tblsp whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 Red Onion
• 2 Portabello Mushroom
• 1/2 cup fat free/low sodium Chicken Broth
• 1/4 Cup Light Sour Cream
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• Butter
• salt
• pepper

Cook your Sweet Potatoes in the microwave until soft..about 15-18 minutes. Before you put them in there, stab them a few times all around first to let the heat in.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, dice up the chicken tenderloins into bit sized pieces. In a mixing bowl, add the chicken, and all dry ingredients and mix well.

In a large frying pan melt about 1 tablespoon butter on med-high heat. Once it starts melting, add the coated chicken along with the mushroom (which should be cored, cleaned up, scraped, and chopped into cubes) and saute for about 5 minutes, or until the veggies become tender and the chicken is cooked through.
Next, stir in the chicken broth and cook until the sauce thickens for about another 5 minutes. Once everything is married and in love in the pan, remove it from the heat.
While off the heat, add the sour cream and mix well.

Arrange the sweet potatoes on a plate and make a small slice in the center leaving the ends uncut so it looks like you poked a pocket into the potato. Take a fork a fluff the inside of the potato as well as you can, but no need to go overboard and be gentle. We don't want to destroy the skin.

Add the chicken mixture into the potatoes by spooning it in, so the sweet potatoes become the bowl. Spoon on some extra sauce.

Serve just like this and eat until stuffed.

Infused Water

Here is a ridiculously simple way to flavor water. This is a perfect recipe for backyard barbecues with the family and to bring a fun non-alcoholic beverage to the party. Its totally refreshing, cheap, and really pretty.

What you need

• Cucumber
• Lemons
• Your favorite pitcher
• Water

Make it:

This will take all of 2 minutes. Peel off the skin of the cucumber. Cut slices that are about 1/4 inch thick. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be perfect! Next, do the same with the lemon, but you can keep the skin on. 

Depending how much citrus flavor you like, and how much cucumber flavor you like, add accordingly. I would suggest a third of a cucumber and one whole lemon. 

Add all the ingredients into the pitcher and add the water. Let this refriderate for about an hour and stir gently once or twice.

To get extra fancy, add a few mint leaves!

This is super refreshing and perfect for all ages. 

I read on the news yesterday that 15 states are still in a heat wave with no end in sight...cool yourself down with this treat!

*I clearly didn't invent this recipe and do not claim to. Image courtesy of Visual Photos.

1 Stir fry of Many!!

Here's the deal. I absolutely love making stir fry's, I mean I make them at least once a week.. But I swear, I'm not addicted!! I can stop whenever I want, I just don't feel like it right now.

Here's what you'll need for this stir fry:

• Ginger (No more than 2 tbls)
• Garlic (Word of the wise, you can never have too much garlic!!)
• 1 can Baby Corn
• 1 Can Water Chestnuts
• Broccoli
• Onions
• Mushrooms
• Carrots
• Few pieces of Chicken
• 1 c Rice! 
• 2 c Water
•  Pineapple!! (Cubes, optional)
• If you have it, oyster sauce, or a sauce along the lines of that..

Rice / Broccoli
First thing is first, bring a medium pot with 2 cups of water to a boil. Once its boiling throw a cut up crown or 2 of broccoli into the water for 3 minutes allow to get bright green. Once it it bright green remove from water (but don't drain the water!) and shock it in cold water to stop the cooking process. The broccoli should be nice and soft now. Once all the broccoli is removed, return to a boil and throw the cup of rice in and allow to boil again. Once it boils again put as low as possible COVERED! and check it every-now-and-then to stir. You rice should be finished roughly 10-15 minutes (when no longer hard and all water is gone).

Everything Else
For the chicken, first start by cleaning the chicken (and not using the same knife/cutting board for everything.. if you do wash it before you touch veggies..) Cut the chicken into relatively same sized pieces and throw into the oil and allow to cook through. Once fully cooked, remove chicken from the oil. Once you have everything peeled start of by cutting the carrots into relatively same sized pieces and place in a LARGE pan with oil and allow to get tender (nobody likes a crunchy hot carrot :-( ..) This will turn your oil slightly orange, don't worry I see that as extra flavor! While the carrots are softening, get your numb of ginger and mince that as much as possible, along with roughly 2 cloves of garlic. Before you throw this into the pan, cut up the onions and mushrooms as well, it tends to go fast  Once the carrots are soft add the ginger, and garlic and allow mix around for maybe 30 secs. Then add the onions, and mushrooms and let them get soft too. Once those are soft get the drained can of baby carrots and cut them in half and throw those in along with water chestnuts. Heat through and then add the broccoli. Add the cooked chicken and allow to get hot again (if its cold) Finish off the stir fry by turning the heat all the way up and throwing as much soy sauce in as desired.

Once the stir fry is finished, put the vegetables over a bed of fluffy white rice along with the chicken and enjoy!!!

Extra Goodies!
If you like spicy, maybe add some crushed red pepper flakes.
Here's where that optional pineapple comes in. Once you top off the veggies with the soy sauce, throw the pineapple in and allow to get hot. The pineapple adds a sweet element to a salty food. If you don't want warm pineapple in the food, try throwing a bit of the pineapple water in. (It's good, trust me!)