Southwestern Rice Bowls

(without toppings)

Southwestern Rice Bowls

1 box Zatarain's Spanish Rice

1 can rotel tomatoes

1-2 seasoned chicken breasts(seasoned with taco seasoning, cooked and diced)

1 can refried beans

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained

lettuce, shredded

cheddar cheese, shredded

fresh tomato, diced

sour cream

tortilla chips, crumbled

Chipotle Ranch dressing

1 cup ranch dressing

7-10 shakes tabasco sauce

1/2 tsp cumin

a few drops lime juice

In a medium saucepot, prepare Spanish Rice.  In a different small pot, heat refried beans.  In another pot or pan, heat corn and black beans.  While everything is heating up combine sauce ingredients.  In each bowl (makes 3-4 bowls) layer refried beans, a little cheese, rice, chicken, a few drizzles of chipotle ranch dressing, black beans and corn, a little more cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and tortilla chips or strips.

                                                              

                                                          (With toppings)

As you can probably tell 1/4 of this recipe makes a very big portion.  I would recommend cutting it into 8 servings.  The Weight Watcher points for this at 1/4 serving are very high at 26 points but at 1/8 serving it would be 13 points and thats a pretty good dinner.  This was my first time making this recipe and everyone in my family loved it.  Next time I make it I'm going to look for ways to cut the points some, so if you have any ideas let me know.

White Bean Chicken Chili

I fixed White Bean Chicken Chili for dinner tonight and a couple of my fellow bloggers have asked for the recipe so here it is.

White Bean Chicken Chili
3 cans Great Northern Beans, undrained
3 cans chicken broth
1 tbls olive oil
2 onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can rotel tomatoes with green chilies
4.5 oz can green chilies, diced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano (I left this out only because I didn't have any)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (I used chili powder instead)
8 chicken thighs, cooked and diced (original recipe called for 3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced)

Topping:
sour cream
grated cheese

I boiled my chicken thighs in a pot of water until done then pulled the meat off the bone.  Then I took the 1 tbls of olive oil and sauteed the onion and garlic until translucent.  I used the stock from the pot I boiled the chicken in but you can use store bought chicken stock.  Combine the 3 cans chicken stock with all the other ingredients except the sour cream and grated cheese and simmer for 1-2 hours.  Serve with whatever kind of grated cheese you like and sour cream on top.

Taco Chili

Last night Charlotte from  http://fathairday.blogspot.com/ posted a recipe for taco soup which can be found at this link http://fathairday.blogspot.com/2010/10/theres-taco-in-my-soup.html.  It sounded really yummy and looked just as good but my family isn't really a fan of soups so I decided to adapt the recipe to make chili.  I have to say that it was delicious and I think this will be my standard chili recipe from here on out.  Here is my list of ingredients:

Taco Chili
3 lbs of hamburger
1 large onion
2 packages taco seasoning
2 tbls of cumin
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans black beans
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans rotel tomatoes with green chiles
1 small can tomato sauce

Toppings:
Lite sour cream
Mexican cheese
Tortilla chips

All I did to prepare the chili was brown the hamburger and onion then drain the grease.  Then dump everything else in and heat through.  I added extra cumin because I love the flavor of cumin but you can leave that out depending on your taste.  Charlotte also used a can of corn and Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix but I left those things out.  We topped our taco chili with lite sour cream, mexican cheese and tortilla chips.  Here is what it looked like before I scarved it down.

Newbies

I usually post everything in seperate posts but since its already so late I'm just going to cram it all into one.  This post is about newbies for me......... a new food find, a new experience and a new recipe.

My first newbie tonight is a new gum I found and maybe some of you have already seen or tried it but I had to have some.  Its called Wrigley's Extra Dessert Delights gum.  There are 3 different varieties.....Strawberry Shortcake.....Key Lime Pie.......Mint Chocolate Chip.  I of course had to try the Mint Chocolate Chip because I love that flavor in ice cream.  Its a sugarfree gum with only 5 calories a stick and I have to say it tasted just like Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.  I will definitely be trying the other flavors and when I'm having a sweet craving this will help out.  I couldn't find a picture online of the flavor I bought.

My second newbie would be a feeling I experienced tonight that I don't know if I've ever had before.  I was eating my dinner which consisted of frozen lasagna and a slice of garlic bread when I realized just how much I was enjoying each and every bite.  I have always been such a fast eater that I've never really even tasted my food no less enjoyed it.  Tonight I found myself taking small bites and chewing and paying attention to the texture and taste.  I think maybe its because instead of having my plate loaded down with so much food I only had a small piece of lasagna and my piece of bread and I wanted to slow down and enjoy it.  I will be focusing on this more in my future meals, it was a great feeling.

Now for my last newbie.  Tonight I made myself and my kids a banana pudding milkshake.  I followed the same recipe that I used a few nights ago which can be found at this link http://nevertheskinnygirl.blogspot.com/2010/10/lets-shake-it-up-baby.html but I decided to make it a banana pudding milkshake instead of chocolate.  Again I want to thank Charlotte at  http://fathairday.blogspot.com/ for the original recipe and there are so many different flavors I have yet to try.  Here is the recipe I used tonight:

1 cup skim milk

8 ice cubes

2 tbls fat-free sugar-free instant vanilla pudding
2 tbls fat-free cool whip
1 banana diced
9 vanilla wafers, crushed

Place milk, ice cubes, vanilla pudding and cool whip in a blender and blend for 3-4 minutes.  Add in diced banana and pulse to break up, then add in crushed vanilla wafers and pulse once to combine.  Pour into a glass and enjoy or you can place in freezer for 4-5 minutes to thicken and chill.

This milkshake tasted pretty close to banana pudding and would satisfy my sweet tooth if that is what I was craving.  I did manage to take a picture before we ate it all, I tried topping it with 2 banana slices but they sunk before I could snap the shot.

This recipe made 28 oz of shake and I did figure up the nutritional information for the whole recipe.

Calories         415

Fat                 4g

Sodium          866mg

Carbs             83g

Fiber              3g

Sugar             41g

Protein           10g

Cauliflower Crust Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Update: At the time I posted this recipe I had no idea who came up with it but I got an email from Jamie VanEaton, National Low Carb Examiner at http://blog.yourlighterside.com/ who created the recipe back in 2008 and I just wanted to give her proper credit for it. You can find her recipe for this pizza on her blog here http://blog.yourlighterside.com/2008/02/i-cant-believe-its-cauliflower-pizza.html and in her national column here http://www.examiner.com/low-carb-in-national/cauliflower-pizza-crust-worth-its-wow-gold . Check it out she has a wonderful blog with lots of other awesome recipes.


Yesterday I posted about a recipe for a Cauliflower Crust Pizza that Deb from http://debwillbethin.blogspot.com/ told me about and I tried and loved it.  Actually I loved it so much that I made a new version of it for dinner tonight.  You can find the original recipe that I used at this link http://nevertheskinnygirl.blogspot.com/2010/10/cauliflower-crust-veggie-pizza.html and you can find Deb's version at  http://debwillbethin.blogspot.com/2010/06/pizza-pizza-pizza-no-wait-veggies.html  and she also has another post on questions she was asked about this recipe at this link  http://debwillbethin.blogspot.com/2010/06/pizza-questins-answered-here.html.  Here is the list of ingredients for the Chicken Alfredo version I made tonight.

Crust
2 cups steamed cauliflower, mashed
2 cups reduced fat mozzarella cheese
3 egg whites
Italian seasoning, sprinkled over crust before baking

Mix cauliflower, eggs and mozzarella cheese and press evenly on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkle with italian seasoning. Bake crust at 450 degrees for 15- 20 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven and top with ingredients.

Toppings
1/2 cup alfredo sauce
1 medium onion, sliced into chunks and sauteed
1/2 red pepper, diced and sauteed
1 jar of mushrooms, sauteed
2 rotisserie chicken breasts, diced
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Here is my pizza after baking the crust and topping with the ingredients and before I baked it:

(click to enlarge)

The recipe said to put the pizza under the broiler but I just continued to bake it at 450 degrees until the cheese was melted and browned. Remove from oven and enjoy.

Here is my finished pizza:

(click to enlarge)

Again I loved this pizza and 2 out of 3 of my kids gave it a thumbs up.  I also took a piece next door to my mom and dad and both of them loved it.  My dad even said he wanted me to give my mom the recipe so she could make him one.  I would say this is a keeper also and I will be making it again.

Now for the nutritional info for this pizza:

    (1/6 Pizza)

Calories 322

Fat         19g

Sodium   969mg

Carbs     16g

Fiber      1.6g

Sugar      2g

Protein    35g

I'm still working out the bugs with these kind of pizzas.  They are definitely healthier than eating a traditional pizza but they are still high in calories, fat and sodium.  I did substitute egg yolks in place of the whole eggs and I did use 2 cups of reduced fat mozzarella and 1 cup full fat mozzarella because thats what I had on hand.  Looking at the ingredients I used I see that the jarred mushrooms had alot of sodium in them so next time I will use fresh mushrooms to eliminate that.  Also the alfredo sauce contained alot of sodium but I'm not sure how to change that since there isn't a low sodium version of alfredo sauce.  I used a rotisserie chicken which also contained alot of sodium in it so next time I will cook my own chicken breasts so I can control that.  The cheese is also high in sodium and I did see a low sodium cheese but that means its still full fat but low in sodium, so I have to give up one thing for another.  Any suggestions for improving this recipe would be appreciated.

Cauliflower Crust Veggie Pizza

Update: At the time I posted this recipe I had no idea who came up with it but I got an email from Jamie VanEaton, National Low Carb Examiner at http://blog.yourlighterside.com/ who created the recipe back in 2008 and I just wanted to give her proper credit for it. You can find her recipe for this pizza on her blog here http://blog.yourlighterside.com/2008/02/i-cant-believe-its-cauliflower-pizza.html and in her national column here http://www.examiner.com/low-carb-in-national/cauliflower-pizza-crust-worth-its-wow-gold . Check it out she has a wonderful blog with lots of other awesome recipes.


Earlier today I asked for healthier versions of foods that aren't so healthy.  Well Deb from http://debwillbethin.blogspot.com/ left me a comment about a Cauliflower Crust Veggie Pizza.  Well I just couldn't wait to make it so I looked up a version of it online at http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/entrees-phase-1/168163-cauliflower-pizza-crust.html.  I ran to the grocery store and got all the ingredients needed to make it plus what I wanted to top it with.  Here is what I used:

Crust
2 cups steamed cauliflower, mashed
2 eggs
2 cups mozzarella cheese
Italian seasoning, sprinkle over crust before baking

Mix cauliflower, eggs and mozzarella cheese and press evenly on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkle with italian seasoning.  Bake crust at 450 degrees for 15- 20 minutes or until browned.  Remove from oven and top with ingredients.

Topping

1/2 jar of pizza sauce

1 medium onion, sauteed
1 red pepper, sauteed

1 jar of sliced mushrooms, sauteed

16 turkey pepperoni
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Here is my pizza after baking the crust and topping with the ingredients and before I baked it:

(click to enlarge)

The recipe said to put the pizza under the broiler but I just continued to bake it at 450 degrees until the cheese was melted and browned.  Remove from oven and enjoy.

Here is my finished pizza:

(click to enlarge)

I have to say this was one of the best pizzas I've ever had, even my kids loved it.  I took a slice next door to my mom and dad and both of them loved it to so I have converted alot of people with this recipe.  Once I had enjoyed my pizza I returned to my blog where I found that Deb had left me comment letting me know where to find her posts on how to make this pizza.  Her posts can be found at the following links http://debwillbethin.blogspot.com/2010/06/pizza-pizza-pizza-no-wait-veggies.html and http://debwillbethin.blogspot.com/2010/06/pizza-questins-answered-here.html.   I have to say a big thanks to Deb for telling me about this pizza and I will never make my unhealthy version again. 

I also figured out the nutritional information on this pizza but I do have to say its kind of high because the grocery store that I went to didn't have lowfat cheese so I had to get the full fat kind.

Here is the nutritional info compared to a restaurant vegetarian pizza.

              Vegetarian Pizza(1/8 pizza)    Cauliflower crust pizza(1/6 pizza)

Calories              270                                             226

Fat                      4.5g                                            14g

Sodium               530mg                                        441mg

Carbs                  32g                                              9g

Fiber                    2g                                               2g

Sugar                   4g                                               3g

Protein                 13g                                             19g

The fat would have been alot lower if I had used a lower fat cheese which I will make sure I use next time.  Give this recipe a try you will not be sorry I can promise you.

Let's shake it up baby

For the last few days I have really been craving a milkshake, my favorite of course is just a plain ole chocolate milkshake.  Knowing how cravings can turn into trouble I asked some of my fellow bloggers for suggestions.  I got quite a few replies but one really sounded yummy so I decided to give it a try.  This recipe came from Charlotte at http://fathairday.blogspot.com/ and I have to say a big thank you to her.  Its very simple as you will see and it makes about a 16 oz milkshake.  Here is the recipe:

1 cup skim milk
8 ice cubes
2 tbls fat-free sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbls fat-free cool whip

Place everything in a blender and blend for 3-4 minutes.  Pour into a glass and enjoy or you can place in freezer for 4-5 minutes to thicken and chill.

I didn't use the vanilla in mine only because I forgot to buy any but it was still delicious and definitely filled my craving.  I also didn't chill mine in the freezer because honestly once I seen that thick, creamy, chocolatey shake sitting there my mind completely forgot about that part.  I wish I had taken a picture just so you could have seen that it looked just like the real thing. 

Charlotte also said "you can use any flavor of pudding mix you like, and you can change up the flavoring extract as well to create your own versions of this recipe. Try it. The pudding mix helps it thicken up more than with just milk. It's yummy and cold and can help with that craving".   She was absolutely right!!!

I also decided to list the nutritonal information for a regular shake and this lighter version.

                  Regular Chocolate Shake(16 oz)        Lighter Version(16 oz)
Calories                  650                                                180
Fat                          16g                                                  0g
Sodium                  530mg                                           760mg
Carbs                     119g                                               33g
Fiber                        0g                                                  0g
Sugar                      103g                                               14g
Protein                     12g                                                 8g

So as you can see Charlotte's version is definitely a much better alternative except for the sodium but I can live with that to have my chocolate shake on rare occassions.  I also plain on trying a cheesecake shake and whatever other flavors of pudding I can find at the store. 

This got me to thinking I'm wondering if I can make a shake the same way but use jello mix instead so I could have all kinds of fruity shakes to.  Do you think it would work?

Black Bean Cookies

I posted a recipe the other day for black bean brownies and everyone in my house loves them.  When I first heard of putting black beans in brownie mix I decided to experiment with other recipes to see how it worked and I came up with these.

Black Bean Cookies

Ingredients:
1 pack Double Chocolate chip cookie mix
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
3/4 cup water

Drain and rinse black beans and puree beans and water together.  Add pureed mixture to cookie mix and stir until combined.  Spoon onto baking sheet.  Bake as directed on box.  I thought they were just as good as the original recipe.

Black Bean Brownies

Yes I said black bean brownies, it may sound weird but they are so yummy.  My kids prefer these brownies to regular brownies because they are more fudgy.  With a few subsitutions you have a brownie that is lower in fat and higher in fiber and protein.  Remember there is still alot of sugar in these brownies so no you can't eat the whole pan....lol

Black Bean Brownies

Ingredients:
1- 15.5 oz can black beans
1 large box of brownie mix
nonstick cooking spray to coat pan

Instructions:
Spray 9x9 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Open the can of black beans and drain out the liquid then rinse off the black beans.  Put the black beans back in the can and finish filling the can with water.  Dump the black beans and water into a blender and puree.  In a mixing bowl combine brownie mix and pureed beans, stir just until combined then pour into pan.  Bake as directed on box. 

I have these baking right now and I thought I would take this time to give you the nutritional information on both normal brownies and black bean brownies so you can see for yourself the difference.  The following information is for the whole batch, you can use this to decide whatever serving size you want by dividing each amount by the number of servings.

Normal Brownies                   Black Bean Brownies
3400 calories                                2620 calories
160g fat                                          40g fat
0g fiber                                           21g fat
480g carbs                                    537g carbs
340g sugar                                    320g sugar
40g protein                                    48g protein
2100mg sodium                            3265mg sodium

As you can see we cut the fat by 75% and increased the fiber from 0g to 21g.  The carbs did go up alittle and so did the protein but as far the significant increase in sodium I'm not sure if thats an accurate measure or not because we did dump the liquid out of the black beans and rinse them off so I would think that would have decreased the sodium alot.  I still would chose the black bean brownies over normal brownies anytime.  I've tried other recipes with yogurt and applesauce and none have turned out as fudgy and chocolatey as these.  And if you are worried about tasting the black beans in the actually brownies, you don't, they just add to the fudginess.  If I can get a good picture of the brownies once they are cooled and cut I will post that later just so you can see how good they look.  Here is the picture I promised even though its not that good, can't wait until I get a better digital camera.