Balsamic peppers and roasted chicken

How many of us have already broken our New Years promises to eat healthier and exercise??? Well keep trying if you have. And to help you out on the healthier eating part I will be posting lighter and healthier choices to the blog. Soooo here is the first of many. This recipe is an adaptation from a "Cooking Light" magazine.

I changed some flavors to fit my family but nothing that would change the calorie or fat content. I hope you enjoy.

5/8 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
2 cups thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 cup thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Brush chicken with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil; sprinkle spice rub over chicken. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 1 minute. Arrange chicken in an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until done.

3. Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers sauté 3 minutes. Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve bell pepper mixture over chicken.

Nutrition:
1 breast half and 1/2 cup of peppers
Calories: 292
Fat: 9.3g

Homemade Vietnamese Phó

We love phó....so I decided to take the challenge and make some homemade. The task seemed daunting to me because first I've had this in restaurants and it seems like something that can't be hurried AND my biggest critic/phó liver is my husband....ahhhhh is what my brain was doing. So I decided lets do it I can do it. Having gone to culinary school and have eaten phó I knew the flavors and also some basics. So here is my recipe...Enjoy!!!


Ingredients:
10 cups rich beef stock
5 limes
2 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce
1 package (13 ounce size) Thai Rice sticks
1 1/2 cup bean sprouts
6 green onions
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 pound beef sirloin
2 jalapenos
OR
Sriracha or other Asian chili sauce

Directions:
Bring beef stock to a boil in a large stock pot with the juice of 3 of the limes, and fish sauce. Let stock boil for 15 minutes.

In a separate pot, bring water to a boil and cook rice sticks according to package directions. Drain rice sticks. While noodles are cooking and stock is heating, prep the condiments. Slice green onions on a long diagonal. Roughly chop cilantro. Slice beef into a thin a slice as possible with a very sharp knife. Slice remaining limes and arrange next to basil on serving platter. Thinly slice chilies and arrange in bowls. I served all sides in bowls.

When noodles are cooked and drained, divide among six bowls. On top of noodles, divide evenly the bean sprouts, sliced green onions and cilantro. Top herbs with rare beef divided evenly between bowls. Ladle hot stock over each bowl of noodles and beef. You should see beef cook with addition of stock. Serve immediately.

Allow each person to season bowl to taste with additional lime juice, basil, sliced chilies, fish sauce and chili sauce.

Oatmeal craisin cookies

It's Christmas and its all about family, presents and parties....lots of parties, class parties, office parties, and family parties. But what to bring to these get together a if necessary?!? Well I was thinking about just that when I remembered at 7pm that I had a party to go to 11am tomorrow.......so what to make?

I looked in the pantry and it was like two spotlights were shining on the oatmeal and craisins, so I thought I love craisins and one of my favorite cookies is oatmeal raisin......BOOM.....it hit oatmeal craisin cookies!!!

So here it is. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!!

1 cup of butter/margarine softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups of uncooked oats
2 cups of craisins

Preheat oven to 375*.

Cream butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Sift flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon together and then add to butter sugar mix. Add oats and craisins. Mix well.

Drop teaspoons of dough onto greased cookie sheets bake 10-12 minutes.

Stuffed Grilled Chicken Greek Style

So in Louisiana my favorite Greek/Lebanese restaurant is in the small city of Zachary named Cafe Phoenicia. It is a life changer with every bite you slip further into Mt. Olympus. The only bad thing about it is that it has got to be a gagillion calories so I have to dial it down a bit. So I decided to take ALL the flavors that I know to be in Cafe Phoenicia's food and stuff them into a chicken breast.

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food." -George Bernard Shaw


Ingredients

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
1 5 oz container fat free feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato, chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon rosemarie
1/2 teaspoon dried sundried tomatoes

Preheat grill to medium. Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemarie, dried sundried tomatoes and oregano in a small bowl. Mix well. Sprinkle seasonings over both sides of chicken breasts.

Combine feta cheese, onion, Italian parsley, sun-dried tomato, kalamata olives and garlic in a medium bowl. Mix well. Spoon mixture into each chicken breast, and fold over top half of breast.

Grill breast over medium heat for 25 - 30 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. Cook 15 mins on each side.

Crawfish Pie

Ok so the first time I ever had this savory pie I thought I heard Angels.....from that day on I have decided that I was going to recreate this fantastic dish. And at $13 a slice it was a more economical choice for my addiction to make it myself and spend around $20 for the whole pie!!!

So I offer you this wonderful gift to the culinary world!!! Be ready to be the star chef of your Casa!!!!!

Ingredients

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped canned tomatoes
2 pound crawfish tails
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cup water
Store bought refrigerated Pie Crust

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, salt, cayenne, and black pepper. Saute for about 8 minutes, or until golden and wilted. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the crawfish tails and parsley. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes. Dissolve the flour in the water and add to the pan. Stir for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat. Let cool for at least 30 minutes. Place the crust in the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan and crimp the edges. Pour the crawfish mixture into the pie crust. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the edges of the pie crust are golden. Cool for several minutes. Cut and ENJOY!!

Lemon cream cheese bars

One of my favorite flavors is lemon.....do here's a super lemony dessert bar! And at only 88 cals/serving* with 2.5g of fat*...it makes eating them better!!!!

16 servings****

Ingredients
1 box supreme lemon cake mix(Duncan Hines)
1/3 cup low fat butter or margarine - softened
1 egg
8 ounces fat free cream cheese - softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 lemon - grated
2 tablespoons lemon juice or 1/2 fresh squeezed lemon
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
9x13 pan

In a mixing bowl, blend dry cake mix, butter, and 1 egg.

Press into a 9 x 13 pan, ungreased.
Beat the cream cheese until smooth.
Gradually blend in the powdered sugar.
Stir in lemon peel and lemon juice until smooth.Reserve 1/2 cup of this mixture and refrigerate it for later use.

Beat the remaining 2 eggs, add the vanilla, and then beat this mixture into the remaining cream cheese mixture until well blended.

Spread over the cake mixture.
Bake at 350° until set, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.Cool completely.

Spread the reserved cream cheese mixture onto the bars.Refrigerate until firm; then cut into squares and serve.

****this is how many I got****
*yours will be differ if you use different ingredients*

Tortellini Salad with Parsley and Tomato Vinaigrette

Here's something fresh and delicious!! Impress your friends and family with this simple recipe!! Serve with thin slices of steak and you've got yourself a little fancy lunch....all you need is friends to enjoy with!!

Ingredients
2 pounds packaged tortellini
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 1/4 cups
4 cups freshly diced roma tomato
2 tablespoons minced parsley leaves
6 tablespoons lemon juice
Fresh mozzarella balls marinated in olive oil and herbd(found in deli)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the tortellini according to the package instructions. When fully cooked, drain and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and allow to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, in a plastic mixing bowl, combine the diced tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice, and remaining 1 1/4 cups olive oil. Mix to combine and season with kosher salt and pepper to combine. Cut mozzarella balls into quarters. When the tortellini have cooled to room temperature toss with the vinaigrette, then add mozzarella. Enjoy!!