Barbecue Chicken Salad

Today was a hot one, and my husband had his first night of school so I decided to make a nice hearty salad for dinner.  This one is so easy.  I tend to buy a cooked rotisserie chicken for this recipe when it is on sale.

1 bag of hearts of romaine
Pulled chicken for two
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (I love Sweet Baby Rays for this)
1 cup cooked corn
1 cup of black beans (drained)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 of a red onion diced
Low fat ranch dressing

Toss barbecue sauce and chicken together. Place in bowl all ingredients except chicken, toss all ingredients together.  Divide ingredients by 2 and put on a plate or in a bowl, and top each plate with chicken. Enjoy!

Buffalo Wings, love them, not the carbs and fat!

I love to eat Buffalo Wings, but know that most recipes call for them, breaded, deep fried, and tossed in a buttload of butter and hot sauce. I found this recipe and took it to a Superbowl party this year, it was a huge hit, and noone knew it was a healthier version.
1 spray of olive oil or butter spray on cookie sheet lined with foil
12 oz of chicken wings or chicken tenders (for boneless recipes)
1 1/4 oz of Old El Paso Taco Seasoning (use hot if you like it spicy)
2 TBSP of fat free milk
1/4 cup of fat free sour cream
1/4 cup of low fat crumbled bleu cheese
3 celery stalks, cleaned

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
Place chicken wings in a zip-close plastic bag, add taco seasoning, seal bag and shake to coat. Transfer wings to prepared baking sheet and bake until cooked through, about 18 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, to prepare dip, whisk together sour cream, blue cheese and milk.
Serve wings with dip and celery on the side. Yields about 3 wings, 3 tablespoons of dip and 1 celery stalk per serving.

Chipolte Turkey Burgers

I love burgers with flavor, and especially summertime when I can make them on the grill.  Use some low carb buns, to keep this burger carb friendly.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 slices low fat mozzarella cheese
• 4 hamburger buns, split and toasted (healthy life buns)

Directions

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil grate. Place the ground turkey, onion, cilantro, chipotle chile pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, and black pepper in a mixing bowl; mix well. Form into 4 patties.
2. Cook the hamburgers on the preheated grill until the turkey is no longer pink in the center, about 4 minutes per side. Place the mozzarella slices on the patties 2 minutes before they are ready. Serve on the toasted buns.

Lighter side of grilling....

This weekend I celebrated the birthdays of two good friends.  The weather last week was so hot, I wanted something nice but not heavy.  A couple of weeks ago I had seen this recipe on Hungry Girl and as usual added my own twist to it, needless to say, it was defintiely a hit!

Serves 4

1 lb of medium uncooked shrimp (41-60 count)
2 5 oz. pieces of salmon
1 zucchini, sliced into wedges
3 TBS of lemon olive oil
1 TBS of Old Bay Seasoning
2 TBS of Vidalia Onion barbecue sauce
8 skewers, which have been soaked in water for at least a 1/2 hr

1. Clean shrimp by removing tails and shells.  Toss into mixing bowl.
2. Cut salmon into small chunks and toss into bowl with shrimp
3. Add sliced zucchini to bowl
4. Mix olive oil, and old bay seasoning together and pour over shrimp, salmon and zucchini.
5. Place fish and zucchini on soaked skewers, alternating, shrimp, salmon and zucchini.
6. Put skewers on heated grill and brush with vidalia onion barbecue sauce, flip skewers after 4-5 minutes, brush this side of skewers with barbecue sacue, cook until shrimp and salmon are pink. (another 4 minutes)

Can't stop eating this one....

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time.  It's hard to believe that it's healthy for you but it is.  It's originally a Weight Watchers Recipe, but I add my own twist to it.

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp  sea salt 1/2 tsp of Montreal Chicken Seasoning 1/2 tsp black pepper 4 chicken breasts 2 tsp of olive oil 1 vidalia onion, thinly sliced 3/4 cup of reduced sodium chicken broth 1/4 cup of white wine 2 TBSP of Balsamic Vinegar T TBSP of fresh or dried thyme 2 tsp of I Can't Believe it's not Butter 1 TBSP of sugar substitute

Instructions

• On a plate, combine flour, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and montreal chicken seasoning. Dredge chicken in flour mixture and turn to coat; shake off any excess.
  
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, flipping once, until golden and cooked through, about 7 minutes; remove to a serving plate and cover to keep warm.
  
• Add onion to skillet; sauté over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add broth, wine, vinegar, thyme, and sugar substitute and remaining 1⁄4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring often, until onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
  
• Remove skillet from heat and stir in butter until melted; spoon sauce over chicken. Yields 1 chicken breast and about 1/4 cup onion sauce per serving.

The best Grilled Sea Bass I have ever eaten....

For years I have seen Sea Bass on menus and never tried it.  Last year over Labor Day weekend, my husband and I spent the weekend in Milwaukee.  While there, it was suggested that we try a restaurant by the name of Moe's Steakhouse.  I saw the Sea Bass and decided I was finally trying it.  Unfortunately for me, I fell in love with Sea Bass and knew I could not afford to order this new love every time I went out to eat.  I decided to try my hand at it at home, and found a recipe I liked and added a few of my own touches.

 

Ingredients

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• lemon Juice of 1 lemon
• pepper to taste
• sea salt to taste
• 2 pounds sea bass
• 3 tablespoons I can't believe it's not butter
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I like to substitute butter olive oil)

Directions

1. Preheat grill for high heat.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, lemon, pepper, and sea salt. Sprinkle seasonings onto the fish.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the garlic and parsley. Remove from heat when the butter has melted, and set aside.
4. Lightly oil grill grate. Grill fish for 7 minutes, then turn and drizzle with butter. Continue cooking for 7 minutes, or until easily flaked with a fork. Drizzle with olive oil before serving.

Fish and Chips, a healthier way!

Yesterday, Pat and I attended a barbecue at a friends house.  Everyone was talking about the "old" days and things they missed, and someone said they missed "Arthur Treacher's Fish N Chips".  Well immediately it got me to thinking I wanted fish and chips! So I decided to cook us up a healthy version for dinner tonight, including a homemade, low fat tartar sauce.

Serves 4

Chips:
3 white potatoes
2 TBS of olive oil
1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of red pepper
Salt to season

Fish:
2 lbs of cod, cut into 8 smaller pieces
1/2 cup of Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup of Corn flake crumbs
1/2 cup of Shake and Bake
1 Tbs of Old Bay seasoning
1 Tbs of Garlic Powder
1 Tbs of Onion Powder
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of red pepper
3 TBS of Lemon Olive Oil

Tartar Sauce:
1 cup of light mayonnaise
2 TBS of sweet relish
2 Tsp of lemon juice
1 Tsp of onion powder

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Cover baking sheets (2) with foil and spray with non stick spray.
2. Slice potatoes into french fries. Place potatoes into plastic bag, pour ingredients into bag, seal and shake till all potatoes are covered. Place on sprayed cookie sheet and put in oven and cook until crisp, flip 1/2 way through, total cook time, approx 45 minutes.
3. Mix all ingredients except for fish and lemon olive oil, in a bowl. Brush both sides of each piece of fish with lemon olive oil.  Put ingredients from bowl into sealed plastic bag, add fish, one piece at a time, and shake until both sides are coated, place each piece on sprayed cookie sheet.  Place cookie sheet in oven, 30 minutes after french fries have cooked.
4. While food is cooking, mix together all ingredients for tartar sauce, keep in refrigerator until you serve dinner. (the longer it chills, the better the flavor.
5. Remove fish and chips from oven, sprinkle sea salt over french fries and serve hot.
6. Enjoy!