Creamy Chicken Pockets

I found this recipe through Pinterest and it came from http://penniesonaplatter.com/2011/02/16/creamy-chicken-pockets-2/.

I did a few things differently, so here it is! and oh my goodness was it yummy!!!!!

Creamy Chicken Pockets

Ingredients:

* Olive oil spray

* 2 small chicken breasts, diced

* 1/2 cup minced onion

* 2 cloves garlic, minced (if you are using jarred, its 1 tsp.)

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 1/2 Garlic and Herb seasoning

* 1 tablespoon butter, softened

* 3 ounces fat free or reduced fat cream cheese, softened

* 1 tablespoon rice milk

* 1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls

(((* 1 tablespoon butter, melted, optional

* 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs, optional)))

Directions:

1. Spray a skillet with olive oil and cook chicken, onions, and garlic.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine cream cheese with butter.

3. Stir in chicken, onions and garlic.

4. Add seasonings.

5. Separate the crescent roll dough into the eight triangles. Dollop a tablespoon of filling into the center of each triangle and fold the corners up to seal. Place on ungreased baking sheet or

stone and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

6. (OPTIONAL) Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with the bread crumbs.

7. Bake at 375 for 11 – 13 minutes, or until golden brown.

8. ENJOY!

Easy and Yummy Chicken Salad

So I was looking for ways to make my husband's lunch a bit better than just a bologna sandwich when I decided on this! He loves chicken salad (and I do too) but its annoying when you go out and buy it because its never just right..this recipe was a God-send! It came from Cooks.com, but I added in a little of my own. This salad would best be enjoyed on a croissant! MMmm!

Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

* 2 cups cubed cooked chicken

* 2 cups chicken breast from a can in water

* 3/4 cup slivered roasted almonds

* 1 cup sliced celery

* 1 1/4 cup sliced red grapes

* ~1/4 cup chopped onion

* 3/4 cup Olive Oil Mayo

* 1/4 cup Reduced Fat Sour Cream

* 2 tsp. lemon juice

* Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Combine chicken, almonds, celery, grapes and onion in the bowl you will store this in.

2. In a separate bowl, mix Mayo, Sour Cream, Lemon Juice and Salt.

3. Mix in dressing with chicken.

4. Enjoy!

Lizzy's Mock Melting Pot dinner

So everyone loves the Melting Pot, right? If you have no idea what I am talking about, find the nearest Melting Pot to your location, and go eat there! It is a fondue meal that is ammmmmazing!! The only downside is that it is VERY pricey! So last night was the bachelorette finale, and I have a fondue pot, so we thought, why not go all out? I got a fondue pot a few years ago, used it a couple times, and since then it has been sitting in a box. It was time to bust it out..so after some online research and some lower fat swaps, here is what I came up with...

1st course--CHEESE!

For the cheese I found a recipe online that was supposed to be similar to the Melting Pot tradition Cheese recipe:

Ingredients:

* 4oz. Beer

* 1 tsp. Garlic

* 3 shakes mustard powder (I left this out because I didn't have it)

* 8 oz. Cheese (I used sharp cheddar)

* Pepper, to taste

* 3-4 shakes Worcestershire sauce (I forgot this)

1. Heat beer in pot.

2. Add garlic and mustard powder.

3. Add cheese, a little bit at a time. Mix, let melt, then add more. Continue until all cheese has been added.

4. Add pepper and sauce. Fold in.

5. DIP! --We used italian bread, Hawaiian bread, carrots, celery, pretzels, and apples.

Next course, MAIN course

I used 3 different marinades and 2 meats since this was a first try. I also made 3 of the melting pot famous sauces (all from recipes I found online). First I will list marinades (Reisling marinade, Margarita, then Teriyaki), followed by dips (Curry, Green Goddess, then Teriyaki), then fondue (Coq Au Vin).

Reisling Marinade (I did this with chicken)

This recipe actually came from a cookbook,

Margarita Marinade

You may have seen this recipe in my blog before, here. I used chicken with this one as well.

Ingredients:

* Garlic

* Cilantro

* Juice of lime

Directions:
1. Mix ingredients, then mix with meat. Marinade 2-4 hours (no more though because of the citrus acid).

Teriyaki Marinade

I found this recipe online as well and used it on steak. Mmmm. It was my favorite!

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup Soy Sauce (I used lite)

* 3 Tbsp. Honey

* 3 Tbsp. Wine Vinegar (I used rice)

* 3/4 cup Vegetable Oil (I LEFT THIS OUT, who needs that much oil?!?)

* 1 tsp. Ground or fresh grated ginger (ground works fine)

* 1 tsp. garlic powder or 1 Tbsp. fresh garlic (I used both)

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients and pour over meat. Marinade 4-6 hours. (I did 2 hours)

Curry Dip

This is my favorite dip at the melting pot, so I was excited to try it out. I got the recipe here, but couldn't find Mango Chutney, so I left it out. It was SOOO good!

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Plain Greek)

* 1/2 cup Real Mayo (do u think I really did? NO! I used RF Olive Oil Mayo)

* 1/2 cup Mango Chutney (like I said, I couldn't find this)

* 2 tsp. minced red onion (I used vidallia)

* 2 tsp. curry powder

* 1 tsp fresh lime juice

* 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (careful!)

Directions:
1. Process all ingredients in food processor/blender.

2. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

3. Suggested use: Meat/fondue, or warm and put on chicken.

Green Goddess

This is also a crowd pleaser from Melting Pot and is a top dip in my opinion as well! This is a lighter version because, hello, who really needs full fat cream cheese?!?

Ingredients:

* 8oz. Cream Cheese (Fat Free)

* 1/2 cup milk (Rice Milk)

* 1/4 cup sour cream (Light)

* 2 Tbsp. finely chopped onion

* 2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

* 2 Tbsp. sliced chives (I used about 1/2 T. dried)

Directions:

1. In a microwave-safe container, microwave cream cheese and milk for 2 to 4 minutes, whisking after each minute, until cream cheese melts and mixture is smooth.

2. Stir in sour cream, onion, parsley and chives.

3. Refrigerate until cold (2-4 hours).

4. Suggested use: Really anything, but great in fondue-d mushroom caps.

Teriyaki Sauce

So this recipe actually came out too watery. I think it would be better to make the marinade and use it for a sauce.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup soy sauce (light)

* 1/4 cup sugar

* ginger (ground)

* garlic

* 1/4 cup green onions

* pinch of salt/pepper

Directions:

1. Mix soy and sugar.

2. Press garlic and ginger into sauce.

3. Add green onions and salt/pepper.

4. Chill.

Coq Au Vin

This is a melting pot thing too. Found it here..Very good, but mine didn't have as much flavor as I would've liked, but I didn't have Burgundy Wine or green onions, or enough garlic...

Ingredients:

* 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock

* 1/2 cup Burgundy Wine

* 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

* 1 Tbsp. Minced garlic

* 2 green onions sliced

Directions:

1. Heat veggie stock in pot until it begins to simmer.

2. Add all other ingredients and bring to simmer.

3. Cook food!

And the last course, Dessert!

I decided to go tradition for a first try at the dessert fondue. I found the recipe here and it sounded great, but not half as great as it was once we added a heaping spoonful of crunchy peanut butter!! mmmmmmmMMMMMMM GOOD!

Ingredients:

* 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

* 2 Tbsp. butter (I used 1)

* 1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free)

* 2 Tbsp. water

* 1 tsp. vanilla (I left this out)

* 1 heaping spoonful of crunchy peanut butter (I added this halfway through so I was able to get the best of both worlds!)

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate chips with butter. Halfway melted, stir in condensed milk and water until thickened. About 5 minutes.

2. Normally you would add vanilla after heat is lowered, but I forgot about it.

3. Stir in peanut butter until smooth, if you choose this step.

4. Suggested dippers: strawberries, bananas, pretzels, rice krispies, and marshmellows. Cheesecake is also good!

What an amazingly awesome dinner!!!!!!! Can't wait to do it all again!!!

Blueberry-Lemon Chess Squares

I found this recipe somewhere online several years ago when we went to a blueberry farm and came home with oodles of blueberries. It was the best thing we ever ate, so I tried to modify it to make it WW friendly!

Liz-i-fied Blueberry Lemon Chess Squares

Ingredients:

* 2 cup fresh/frozen blueberries

* 1 packet Truvia

* 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

* zest of 1 lemon, divided

* 1 box yellow or lemon cake mix

* 4 egg whites divided (3 T. is usually 1 egg white)

* 1/2 cup lite butter

* 2 3/4 cup. confectioners sugar

1 (8oz.) tub Fat Free cream cheese

Directions:

1. Combine blueberries with truvia, lemon juice and half of lemon zest. Set aside.

2. Mix cake mix with 1 egg white, soft butter and rest of zest.

3.Pat cake mix into buttered and floured 9x13 pan.

4. Beat sugar, cream cheese and 3 egg whites until smooth.

5. Gently stir in blueberry mix and pour over cake. Bake at 325 for 45-55 minutes or browned.

6. Let cool and Chill..ENJOY!

Breakdown:

1/24 of cake= 4WWPP

Shrimp and Scallops in Wine Sauce

This recipe came from the Betty Crocker website. I tweaked it a bit to meet my own needs!

Shrimp and Scallops in Wine Sauce

Ingredients

	* 2 Tablespoons olive oil
	* 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
	* 2 Tablespoon sweet onion, chopped finely
	*1 box whole mushrooms, quartered
	*1 Tablespoon italian seasoning
	*1 pound uncooked peeled deveined medium shrimp, thawed if frozen and tails peeled
	*1 pound sea scallops, cut in half
	*1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth (I used reisling)
	*1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
	*1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions:
1. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic, onions, mushrooms and italian seasoning in oil about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion and shrooms are cooked thoroughly.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until shrimp are pink and firm and scallops are white.

Breakdown:
I estimated about 5 WWPP per cup and half

1 Serving (1/4 recipe)

• Calories 185
• (Calories from Fat 65),

• Total Fat 7g
• (Saturated Fat 1g,
• Cholesterol 125mg;
• Sodium 350mg;
• Total Carbohydrate 6g
• (Dietary Fiber 1g,
• Protein 25g;

Percent Daily Value*:

• Iron 20.00%;

Exchanges:

• 1 Vegetable;
• 3 Lean Meat;

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Fresh Zucchini Muffins

This recipe comes from my favorite low carb/diabetes cookbook, Eat What You Love by Marlene Koch. We got to go to the farmer's market last week and we had some zucchinis leftover, so I thought, why not try out this recipe AND my new grater that the fabulous Emily G. got me! :-) Thanks again for the b-day present, it worked great!! So here's the recipe!

Fresh Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

* 1 cup grated zucchini

* 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

* 1 large egg

* 1 large egg white (3 T. of liquid egg white works)

* 1 tsp. vanilla extract

* 1 cup all-purpose flour

* 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

* 2/3 cup Splenda granulated sweetener

* 2 T. light brown sugar

* 1 tsp. baking soda

*2 tsp. baking powder

* 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

* 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (I used pumpkin pie spice)

* 1/4 cup shortening

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray 12 muffin cups lined with muffin liners.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the zucchini, buttermilk, egg and egg white, and vanilla extract.

3. In a large bowl, combine both flours, splenda, brown sugar, baking soda and powder, cinnamon and nutmeg (or pumpkin pie spice). Using your fingers or knives, cut shorting into mixture until thoroughly incorporated. Make a well in the center.

4. Pour in zucchini mixture and stir until the dry ingredients are moistened.

5. Spoon batter evenly into muffin tins, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake 12-15 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched. Cool 5 minutes before removing to wire rack.

6. ENJOY

Breakdown:

120 calories

16 carbs

2 sugars

5g fat

1.5 saturated fat

3g protein

1g fiber

20mg cholesterol

210 mg sodium

***3 WWPP***

Hungry Girl Nacho-Riffic Stuffed Chicken

Ok, so this recipe is pretty much AWESOMENESS! I know I say that about a lot of HG's recipes, but this one is a win with anyone! Who would've thought to put Laughing Cow into chicken! omg. Amazing! And this was a hit with my fiance AND friends..Shout out to Jordan who got my butt to finally post this! haha. If you have her books, this one can be found in her newest book, 300 Under 300, on page 204.

Hungry Girl Nacho-Riffic Stuffed Chicken

(Please note, I made my own changes (italicized) to the recipe as noted below)

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup fat-free refried beans (I used my Black Beans)

* 1/4 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese (I completely skip this step, the laughing cow is plenty!)

* 4 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese

* 1/2 cup Fiber One bran cereal (again, I have left this out in the past)

* 8 low-fat baked tortilla chips (Guiltless Gourmet), crushed (Note: Hint of lime are tasty too!)

* 1 tsp. dry taco seasoning mix

* 2 dashes cayenne pepper, or more to taste (Ok to leave out)

* Four 5-oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast cutlets, pounded to 1/3-inch thickness (I don't pound, I stuff)

* 1/4 cup taco sauce

Optional toppings: fat-free sour cream and/or salsa

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

2. To make the filling, combine beans, shredded cheese, and cheese wedges in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and set aside. (In my case, I just mix my black beans and laughing cow)

3. Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One cereal to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Remove blender from base, and add crushed chips, taco seasoning, and cayenne pepper. With the lid on, give it a good shake to mix. Transfer crumb mixture to a plate and set aside. (All I do is grind the chips, add the seasonings and set aside).

4. Lay cutlets flat on a clean, dry surface. Spoon filling onto the centers of the cutlets, evenly dividing it among them. Carefully roll each cutlet up over the filling (which may ooze a little, but don't worry!) and secure with toothpicks. (I cut a slit in one end of the chicken and slice through the middle WITHOUT breaking through the chicken. I then stuff the cheesy mixture into each chicken. This way you do NOT need to roll)

5. Cover each stuffed cutlet with 1 tbsp. taco sauce, using the back of the spoon or your fingers to coat. Carefully roll each cutlet in the crumb mixture, making sure to coat all sides-- use a spoon or your fingers, if needed. Gently transfer to the baking pan. (I roll each cutlet in the taco sauce, then in the chips, then place on my baking pan).

6. Cover the pan with foil, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil, and bake in the oven for another 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and outsides are crispy.

7. Let cool slightly and, if you like, serve with sour cream and/or salsa. Enjoy! SOO yummy

Breakdown:

PER SERVING (1/4th of recipe, 1 stuffed chicken cutlet):

267 calories

4.25g fat

717mg sodium

17g carbs

5g fiber

1.5g sugars

40g protein

WWPP value: 6