healthy recipe with chicken Archives

Tag: healthy recipe with chicken

29
Jan
2014

Strawberry Hot Wings (baked)

categories: Appetizers, Dairy Free, Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Main Dishes, Side Dish

In four days Americans will gather to watch the Seahawks and Broncos battle for the coveted Lombardi Trophy and declare themselves World Champions.

For us non-NFL lovers, thankfully Superbowl parties are not just about watching the game. It’s an excuse to hang out with friends and of course eat. Next to Thanksgiving, Super Bowl Sunday is the second highest eating day. On average, 1,200 calories and 50 grams of fat are consumed by fans of pig skin chasing.

Domino’s Pizza has reported they deliver 11 million pizzas on game day.

11 million pounds of chips are consumed, 4 million pounds of pretzels, and 51.7 million cases of beer will be purchased for the day.

Among the more popular, traditional foods are hot wings. More than 1.23 billion wings and drumettes will devoured by cheering fans this Sunday. A successful Superbowl party must have these among the smorgasbord.

As much as I love a spicy, sauced covered wing, I cringe at the nutritional facts. In only five Hooter’s wings, there is 866 calories, 63g of fat, and 25g of carbs. Lord help us. You would have to run 95 minutes, maintaining a 10 minute mile pace the entire time to burn those calories. Not even in moderation would these be beneficial to your waist line.

In my super skinny version of the North American favorite, there is only 172 calories, 7.8g of fat, and 6.1g of carbs for the same serving. A huge savings in your calorie bank.

How did I reduce the calories that dramatically? I removed the fatty skin and I baked them. There is zero butter in the sauce. Instead I replaced it with Melt rich and creamy spread. Melt contains only good fats, like virgin coconut oil, and ghee.

This spicy, sweet, hip friendly version of wings would be a great addition to any Superbowl party. Even if your team loses at least you will have won bragging rights to the best tasting, healthiest dish of the day. You also won’t have remorse for what you ate.

What ever team you are rooting for I hope you have a fun, safe, calorie friendly day! Go Trojans!

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Strawberry Hot Wings

Serves 6 – 3 wings each

30 chicken wings/drumettes, skin removed (half of each)

salt, pepper & chili powder to season

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 flats of strawberries, you need 1 1/2 cups of pureed strawberries

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoons Melt buttery spread

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon mustard

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 tablespoon tabasco (more or less to your desired heat level)

Organic Canola oil in a Misto sprayer (preferred) or store bought non-stick version

green onions, diced (optional for garnish)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Rinse and dry the chicken completely. Sprinkle each side of the wing with a small amount of salt, pepper and chili powder. Set chicken on a wire rack that is resting on a cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper. Spray each piece of chicken lightly on both sides with canola. Bake for 35 – 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and crispy.

When chicken is done remove from oven and baste both sides with sauce. Return back to oven for 1 minute. Remove from oven and baste one more time. Serve hot. Garnish with green onions.

Sauce

Melt the buttery spread in a medium sauce pan over medium low heat. Add in the strawberry puree, garlic powder, garlic, pepper, worcestershire, onion powder, honey, tabasco, mustard, and vinegar. Bring to a simmer. Reduce by half. Remove from heat.

Servings: 6• Size: 5 pieces • Calories: 172• Fat: 7.8g • Carb: 6.1g • Fiber: 1g • Protein: 21.3g • Sugar: 4.9g • Sodium: 239mg • Cholesterol: 0mg

05
Apr
2013

Zucchini Noodles with Asparagus Tips & Portobello

categories: Low Carb, Main Dishes

At the end of a long day of school drops offs, pick ups, housework, volunteering, soccer and tennis, I love entering my kitchen for a bit of stress relief. My reprieve is cooking. Making a delicious, healthy meal is just as fun as eating it. Granted, I’ve been doing it a long time and have my flow going. But, even when I had no clue what braise really meant, I still found the kitchen to be therapeutic.

Kitchen gadgets make cooking even more fun. I recently acquired a new one. It was love at first sight. I first spotted this darling on another food blog. I admired the curves and lines, and kept going back to fawn over the green beauty again and again. I told my husband, “If you ever need a gift idea for me, this is it!”. I showed him where to buy it on Amazon. Then I waited. He didn’t take the hint. The green beauty didn’t arrive on my doorstep. Then, something better happened. Amazon local deals had my beautiful green goddess on sale for half price, for one day! That was it. Within 5 minutes, it was bought and a few days later I had her in my hands. I bet you want to know what it is by now. What I have been gushing over. You will probably think I am strange for obsessing over this tool, but here it is…

If you are looking for the proper wording for this bad boy, it is a vegetable processing device. In simpler terms, it makes veggies into noodles. I have chopped vegetables trying to get them to resemble noodles, only getting an o.k. result. The results you receive with this bad boy are perfect. There are two blades, one for angel hair type noodles, and one for wider noodles. In this recipe I used the angel hair blade, but it really doesn’t matter. I piled my plate as high as I wanted, because everything in this recipe is good for you. So go ahead and stuff yourself silly with this dish.

Oh and by the way, the price is even lower than what I bought it for on Amazon now. For $6, this —–> beauty can be yours! (click on pic for a direct link).

Now for the recipe:

1 lb boneless chicken thighs, visible fat trimmed, cut into 1 inch strips

1 Portobello mushroom cap, cut into 1 inch strips

1/4 sliced brown onion

6 asparagus spears, snap woody bottom off and cut into 4 pieces

1/2 cup bruschetta (click for recipe)

2 zucchini, cut into pasta like noodles (you can use a knife, it just won’t be uniform)

salt, pepper & garlic powder for seasoning

olive oil

Pre-heat broiler. Cover a cookie sheet with foil. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder and put on cookie sheet. Broil for 7 minutes.

While chicken is broiling, sprinkle mushrooms, asparagus, and onions with salt and pepper and saute in 1 tsp, of olive oil over high heat for 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

Put another 1 tsp. of oilve oil in saute pan and saute zucchini for 3/4 minutes, moving constantly. Add in bruschetta, saute for another 2 minutes. To serve divide the zucchini noodles, veggies, and chicken into to bowls. Serve hot

02
Apr
2013

Simple Bruschetta Chicken

categories: Low Carb, Main Dishes

There are some recipes that are best left untouched. In their purest form they are perfect, pristine almost. Bruschetta chicken is just that. My mouth is watering just thinking about the basil, garlic and tomato melding together in perfect harmony. It can be used in a multitude of applications, but this time it was perched atop a roasted chicken breast. If you are in a hurry to make dinner, still want to impress and eat clean and healthy, this is the dish. It goes from prep to oven within 10 minutes. I served it with a whole wheat spinach pasta and roasted broccolini.

Side note: The bruschetta topping can be used to make a traditional bruschetta (toasted bread with the bruschetta on top), or could be used like a salsa to dip veggies or pita chips in. Or you can toss it with pasta. Any way you use it, you will love it. It’s actually quite addicting.

Warning: Make sure everyone in your house has some. Guaranteed garlic halitosis will invade everyone’s mouth after eating this. BUT, If everyone eats it, the aroma cancels itself out. Pretty cool, huh?

1 container grape tomatoes, washed

2 large garlic cloves

2 tablespoons dried basil

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper (red pepper if you want it spicy, use less first, the garlic has a bite too)

1 lb, boneless chicken breasts, washed and pat dry with paper towels

salt, pepper and garlic powder for seasoning the chicken

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and garlic on both sides. Spray both sides with olive oil (use a misto sprayer). Roast chicken for 20 minutes or until all the juices running out are clear. Internal temp should be 165 degrees.

For the bruschetta:

In a food processor put garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Process till the garlic is finely chopped. Scrape the sides of the processor and push all of the ingredients to the bottom of the bowl. Add the tomatoes in and pulse 4-5 times. They should still be chunky. Set aside.

When the chicken has about 7 minutes left, pull out of the oven and distribute the bruschetta topping evenly among all the breasts. Put back in the oven for the remaining time.

26
Mar
2013

Portobello BBQ Chicken Pizza

categories: Low Carb, Main Dishes, Side Dish

When my husband travels I really don’t like making a huge dinner. But, I still have to feed myself and two voracious boys. The problem lies in the dishes. I despise making a great dinner with every pan in the kitchen and then having to clean it up too. The husband and I have a symbiotic kitchen relationship. I cook, he cleans. It’s a match made in heaven. Every now and then I will get a dirty look when he sees the mess I made, but one bite into dinner I am usually forgiven (I seem to get away with a lot when it comes to food).

Back to the topic at hand, an easy clean up, healthy dinner. The boys and I had just come home from their tennis lessons and it was getting late. As you may have seen I made a ton of shredded chicken the other night. I still had a small amount. Then I saw the portobellas. An idea conjured in my tired head, and boom, portobella bbq chicken pizzas were thrown together in a matter of 5 minutes.

The clean up entailed a chefs knife, cutting board and throwing away the foil that covered the baking sheet. Oh, and if you are wondering if my 4 and 6 year old ate them, the answer is no. I like them to eat carbs at dinner. I popped a frozen, organic, multigrain, 3 cheese pizza into the oven, and roasted some broccolini for them and myself.

They devoured their entire pizza and tiny trees, while I inhaled mine. Showers were taken, books read, kisses given and lights out. For them at least. A mommy’s day doesn’t end till she gets to watch her Real Housewives of _________. Wait, I don’t watch that nonsense. I meant, not until I finish reading the latest epic novel pertaining to global warming. Yeah. That’s it.

Makes 1, but can be doubled easily

1 large portobello mushroom, cleaned and stem removed

1 tablespoon of bbq sauce

1/4 cup shredded chicken

a few thinly sliced red onions

1 heaping tablespoon reduced fat mozzarella cheese

1/2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

dash of red pepper flakes (optional as garnish)

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray the bottom of the mushroom cap (the round part) with olive oil (preferably with a misto*, not the chemical laden non-stick sprays). Turn over the mushroom cap so that the bottom side is up. Sprinkle a little sea salt over the mushroom. Spread the bbq sauce on the inside of the cap. Then add the chicken, then the onions, then the cheese. Bake the mushroom till the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Take out of the oven and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve immediately.

25
Mar
2013

Red Chili Chicken (Crock Pot Recipe)

categories: Crock Pot Recipes, Main Dishes

My favorite type of recipe is a healthy, fast, versatile one. By versatile, I mean, one that has ingredients that can be used in many different meals during the week. Taking the time to figure out recipes that are symbiotic, is worth the time it takes to plan.

This recipe starts with lean chicken breasts that are cooked via crock pot in a delicious red chili sauce. The chicken is then shredded and can be used for a multitude of dinners and lunches. Really, the delicious possibilities are endless. Pictured at the left, is a mouth-watering chicken tostada. The shell is spritzed with a fine mist of olive oil, then baked at 350 for 10 minutes, flipping once. I layered it with 1 tablespoon of a clean (no chemicals added) store-bought guacamole, the featured chicken, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of cheddar jack cheese and pickled red onions. Seriously, you HAVE to try pickled red onions if you haven’t. Not only are they extremely easy to make, they are D-LISH-US! AND you can reuse them later in the week on a chicken lime cilantro burger.

This recipe makes a lot. So be prepared to use it in several meals, or freeze a portion for a later date.

(adapted from a Bon Appetit braised pork recipe)

3 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 large new mexican dried chilis

2 tablespoons agave

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 large onion, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, chopped coarsely

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 can Tecate beer

Place chilis in a medium bowl. Add enough boiling water to cover, and set something on top of the chilis to weigh them down in the water. Keep submerged for 30 minutes or until softened. Drain chilis and puree in blender with 1 cup of the soaking liquid. Put all the ingredients, including the red chili mixture, in the crock pot, except chicken. Mix well and then add chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until the chicken will shred easily. Shred with two forks and add back the cooking liquid till the chicken is moist again.

Use the shredded chicken to make the tostadas above, or chicken lettuce tacos, chicken taquitos, pulled chicken sandwiches, quesadillas on wheat tortillas, inside of an omelet, I could seriously go on and on. If you think of another great use put it in the comments below!

12
Mar
2013

Italian Meat Loaf

categories: Main Dishes

I’ve always had a love for meat loaf. Making it for someone else can be a bit scary though. In my experience, most people love their mom’s meat loaf and have a wall up guarding their taste buds from liking another. My husband is no exception. He likes my food, but none of my variations of loafed meat have even come in a close second, till this one. So, if you have a person in your life suffering from, “I like my mommy’s meatloaf” syndrome, give this one a try. Their taste buds might have room for two meat loaves to love. Then, after their third helping you can say it was good for them too.

1 lb ground Italian turkey sausage

1 lb ground turkey

1 zucchini, peeled, and diced

4 oz. button mushrooms, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 red onion, diced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup steel cut oats

1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Saute the zucchini, onion and mushrooms in 1/2 tablespoon olive oil for five minutes or until soft. Add garlic and saute for one minute. Mix in dried basil and season with salt and pepper. Let cool.

Beat the egg in a large mixing bowl with tomato paste, salt, pepper, garlic powder and Worcestershire. By hand, mix in the oats, turkey and sausage.

Put mixture in a meatloaf* or bread pan, bake until the juices run clear and the top is browned, 45-60 minutes. If desired, top with marinara sauce and bake another 5 minutes.

This little beauty also freezes nicely. So feel free to make a ton.

*On a side note, I use a special meat loaf pan to reduce the amount of fat the meat may have. The pan is similar to the one pictured below. The fat drains into a resevoir below the meat. The pan is non-stick, so clean up is easy!