Peanut Butter Balls & Chicken Chilaquiles: Part 2

My daughter takes her lunch to school almost every day, and it's safe to say we are in a bit of a *rut.  I've tried the wraps, she usually hates them. I've tried sending soup in a thermos, that takes more pre-planning than I'm able to muster.  And I'm sure she's definitely sick of the same old granola bars and snack bars.  I'm sure she'd love it if I filled her lunch box with peanut butter cups, so I'd say these are the next best thing.  

Not to imply they taste like a pb cup, but they are pretty darned good.  In fact I'm having a little bit of a hard time right now not scarfing down the remainder of them while she's at school.  I'm not sure it's the absolute healthiest recipe around, but at least you can pronounce everything that's in it.  And it's definitely something the kids can help with.  

Here's the recipe I found at Mommy's Kitchen.

1 cup honey

1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups dry powdered milk

3 cups oatmeal (instant or old fashioned) uncooked

1-2 tbsp wheat germ (I didn't have any but I had some flax seeds so I ground up a couple tablespoons and threw them in)

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips 

or

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

Mix it all together with a hand mixer.  Form balls by hand and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Freeze until firm then store in a large ziploc in the refrigerator. 

I know I just made chicken chilaquiles a few weeks ago and shared them with you, but I made a slightly different version this past week from my new cookbook I keep talking about, the "Food Matters Cookbook".  I think I like this version slightly better because of the bell peppers and fresh poblano in it.  I have to confess I didn't go to all the trouble of deep frying my tortillas,  I just toasted them; and I think bagged tortilla chips would be just fine.  

8 small corn tortillas (stale is ok)

1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (I used 3 breasts)

2 poblano (or other fresh mild chiles) seeded and sliced

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 onion halved and sliced

1 tbsp minced garlic

8 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped (canned are fine, instructions read to strain them but I preferred it with the juices)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

lime wedges

1. Cut tortillas in half then into 1 inch wide strips.  Put the oil in deep skillet over med-high heat.  Fry the strips, turning frequently until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels. 

2.  Pour off all the oil except 2 tbsp.  Add the chicken and cook until done.  (I have to also confess I just boiled the chicken, just seemed easier)  Add the poblanos and bell pepper, onion and garlic.  Cook about 5 to 10 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.  Add tomatoes and simmer for 2-3 minutes. 

3.  When the chicken is cool enough to handle chop and return to the pan with vegetable mixture.  Along with the tortillas.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.  


*Any lunch box advice is very appreciated!

Chicken Chilaquiles

Just a quick post tonight but I wanted to get this up because I think it's highly important that you make this dish as soon as humanly possible.

This is a Martha Stewart recipe and it meets all my criteria for fast, easy, and delicious.  It calls for a rotisserie chicken which makes it all that much quicker, but if you had the time and inclination, you could certainly roast your own.  And I think next time I make it  (and there will be a next time) I'll add a little can of those diced green chili peppers.  Oh, just to satisfy my curiosity I looked up the word "chilaquiles", and it mostly just means a dish served over crispy corn tortillas.  

Here's Martha's Recipe...go forth and make!

Printer-friendly recipe

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, in puree
• 2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo, finely chopped (about 1 heaping tablespoon), plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from same can)
• Coarse salt
• 1 small cooked rotisserie chicken (about 1 3/4 pounds), skinned and shredded (about 4 cups), carcass discarded
• 1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, chopped, plus 4 sprigs for garnish
• 4 cups (about 3 ounces) tortilla chips
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 3/4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)  *I used queso fresco*

Directions

1. Combine oil and garlic in a large (3-to-4-quart) saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and sizzling, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes with their puree (breaking tomatoes up), chipotles and adobo, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; season with salt. Reduce heat and simmer rapidly until lightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until hot, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in chopped cilantro.
4. Divide chips among four shallow bowls; top with chicken mixture and sauce. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, sour cream, and feta. Serve.

Ranch Chicken Pizza

I saw this recipe just yesterday at Taste and Tell, and thought, "wow, I need to have that".  And as luck would have it I already had most of the ingredients I needed.  Seemed like it was meant to be.

This dish goes together pretty quickly, perfect for a busy weeknight.  It smelled wonderful coming out of the oven too.  I think we all approved.

Here's Deborah's recipe:

Printer Friendly Recipe

1/3 pound bacon, chopped

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 (1 lb.) store-bought or homemade pizza dough

1/2 cup Ranch salad dressing

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Preheat pizza stone, if using.  If not, grease a pizza pan or medium baking sheet.

Place the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook until crispy.  Remove with a slotted spoon.  Add the chicken pieces and cook until no longer pink in the center.

Roll out the dough to a circle.  Bake the crust for 5-7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until it just begins to turn golden brown.  Remove from oven.

Spread the ranch dressing over the partially baked crust.  Sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese.  Add the chicken, bacon, tomatoes and onions, then top with the cheddar cheese.  Return the pizza to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, 10-15 minutes.

Hungry Girl's Chicken Chipotle Panini

Just popping out of hiding for a minute to share with you a yummy and not too fattening dinner we had last night.  It's a Hungry Girl Recipe Swap for Panera's Frontega Chicken Panini.  As far as I know there's no Panera around here, at least not it my nick of the woods, so I've never tried their sandwich.  But apparently one of theirs has 890 calories and 39 grams of fat.  Which of course means it's delicious, I'm sure.  But if you're recreating it yourself at home, why not whittle that down a bit, right?

I just adored this sandwich, even though it's a messy thing.  And it gave me the chance to use my new panini pan I got at Ikea.  I burned the first one...woops!  But my hubby ate it.  We had these with a little spicy tomato and veggie soup, and I was a happy little clam.  

Here's the recipe from Hungry Girl:

Ingredients:

Sauce

1 1/2 tbsp. fat-free mayonnaise

1/2 tsp. adobo sauce (from canned chipotle peppers) or chipotle hot sauce (like the kind by Tabasco)

2 dashes onion powder 

2 dashes garlic powder 

Sandwich 

One 100-calorie flat sandwich bun (like Arnold Select/Oroweat Sandwich Thins)

2 oz. cooked skinless lean chicken breast, shredded or pulled into pieces

1 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh basil

2 thin slices red onion

2 slices plum tomato

1 stick light string cheese, shredded or pulled into pieces

Directions: 

In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for the sauce and mix well. Set aside.

Split bun in half and lay the halves flat, split sides up. Evenly spread half of the sauce onto the bun halves, leaving half of the sauce in the bowl. Set aside.

To the bowl with the remaining sauce, add chicken and toss to coat. Set aside.

Evenly top one bun half with basil, onion, tomato, saucy chicken, and cheese. Place the other half on top, sauce side down.

Bring a grill pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Place sandwich in the pan. Using a spatula, press down gently but firmly to seal the sandwich. Grill until hot and lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side, flipping carefully and pressing down with the spatula to seal.

Nutrition info:  Calories: 256, Fat: 5, Fiber:  5.5   

I also wanted to mention a fun giveaway win I received not too long ago from Recipes of a Cheapskate.  

I admit, I love the Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper, a lot.  And that foam hand just makes me smile.  Thanks Krystal!

Toasty Times and Trivial Tidbits

Firstly, Merry Christmas to all of you from our newest family member Rinny.

I once worked with a lady who had three daughters, who explained to me you have to keep a baby book for all of your kids so when they turn into little monsters you can look back at the book and remember not to beat them senseless.  I think the same holds true for having cute pictures of your pets...especially Mr. Rundowntheroad dragaroundgarbage chewupremote here.  Anyway....I digress.

Remember I told you I would be reviewing a CSN product that would deliver toasty goodness?  Well here it is...

This is the Hamilton Beach 6 Slice Convection Toaster Oven.  My old toaster oven looked like it had been drop-kicked into submission many times over so it seemed like the perfect  time to replace it.  I chose this one because I was interested in the "convection" aspect of the whole thing.  I'm still not sure what that really means, but am anxious to try it out.  This oven has a good sized interior so I'm pretty sure I could bake a chicken in there.  Will probably give it a try soon and see how it works out.

I can definitely say it delivers a nice piece of cheesy toast!

Now, let's talk about Kale Chips, shall we?

I've seen these all over the interwebs and people raving about them like they are the healthy-choice answer to all your crunchy salty cravings. 

Yeah.

To me, it was like being outside in the fall when all the leaves are coming down, picking one up that had been laying there long enough to get crunchy and shoving it in my mouth.  Plus they're kinda bitter.  Let's just say these aren't my cup of tea, but if you think they are yours, this is where I got the recipe.

I've said my peace. 

Also tried another Hungry Girl recipe, Fiber Fried Chicken.  It's saving grace was that I was using it to get the taste of Kale Chips out of my mouth.

Just kidding, it's really not that bad.  You just have to get it out of your head that it's going to be anything like fried chicken, and it's quite doable.

Even the kids ate some, if that tells you anything.  

I imagine these are quite versatile, could add all sorts of flavorings, Hungry Girl even suggests rolling the chicken in some buffalo sauce before rolling it in the cereal for a bit of a hot wing taste.   

Here's HG's recipe if you're interested.  This is just for one serving, so I quadrupled it to feed the family.

Ingredients:

6 oz. Tyson (or another brand**) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (raw); cut lengthwise into 5 strips (I cut mine into only 4 strips)

1/2 cup Fiber One cereal

1/4 cup Egg Beaters, Original

1/4 tsp. Lawry's Garlic Salt

pepper (to taste)



Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One cereal to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Add Garlic Salt and pepper to crumbs. Place crumbs in one small dish and Egg Beaters in another. Next, coat raw chicken strips with egg substitute and then with crumb mixture. Place strips on a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Spray a light mist of nonstick spray on top of strips and place in oven. Cook for 10 minutes, and then turn strips over. Add another light mist of nonstick spray and cook for an additional 8 - 10 minutes (until chicken is fully cooked and Fiber One looks crispy). Enjoy! Serves 1   (nutrition info can be found at Hungry Girl's site)

Lemon Garlic Chicken Kabobs with Homemade Tzatziki Sauce

If Christine from Cooking with Christine sees this, she'll be thinking "hey, she stole my recipe".  To which I would reply "yes, yes I did."  

I loved this dish and it was pretty easy (for me) since my husband did most of the work on the grill.  The marinade for the chicken gives it a kind of subtle flavor which is good to go with the strong flavor of the sauce.

And that sauce is truly wonderful!  Just don't try to pronounce and sprain your tongue like I did.  I also had my husband throw some pitas on the grill, and served this with some tomatoes and cukes...just delish! 

Here's the recipe:

Lemon Garlic Chicken 

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¾-inch pieces

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.

Prepare a medium fire in a grill. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 20 minutes before use.

Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers and discard the excess marinade. Lightly oil the grill grates. Place the kabobs on the grill, cover, and cook until the chicken is opaque throughout, about 8-12 minutes, turning once or twice during cooking. Transfer to a warmed platter and serve immediately.

Tzatziki Sauce

3 cups Greek Yogurt
Juice of one lemon (about 3 T)
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced
about 1 T kosher salt for salting cucumbers
1 T finely chopped fresh dill (can substitute mint leaves for a slightly different version)
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Peel cucumbers, then cut in half lengthwise and take a small spoon and scrape out seeds. Discard seeds. (If you use the small seedless or European cucumbers with few seeds, you can skip this step.) Slice cucumbers, then put in a colander, sprinkle on 1 T salt, and let stand for 30 minutes to draw out water. Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel.

In food processor with steel blade, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir this mixture into the yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend. (This resting time is very important.)

This will keep for a few days or more in the refrigerator, but you will need to drain off any water and stir each time you use it.
 

 And just because it's fun, I'm giving away a few more little cookbooks.  I'm going to drag this out a bit so I glean any recipes out of here first so everyone who wants to has a chance to play.

 

 I'll leave it open until September 3rd, and all you have to do to enter is use the codeword "platypus" in your comment.  I loved the use of "fluffy" that you all came up with in my blogaversary giveaway, so I can't wait to see what you do with platypus :)

 P.S.  I put a couple pictures up of my lunch on my facebook page at one of the places Guy Fieri has visited for "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives"  right here in Glendale AZ.  Check it out!

Two For One

I've got two yummy meals to share with you.  

The first one is Crispy Orange Chicken and I first saw it at Dunkin Cooking the Semi-Homemade way.

I think this is going to become one of my personal favorites.  It was quick to prepare, and we scarfed all down so it must be good!  The only thing I did different was add a big spoonful of orange marmalade to the sauce.  The kids really liked the chicken prepared this way just straight up plain.  I lost count how many times my daughter said how good it was!

Here's the recipe:

 

3 - Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (cut into cubes)
1 - Egg (beaten)
1 1/2 Tsp. - Salt
1/4 Tsp. - Ground Pepper
1 Tbs. - Vegetable Oil
1 C. - Flour
1 Tsp. - Cornstarch

Glaze:

1 Tsp. - Minced Garlic
1 C. - Orange Juice
1/2 C. - Hoisin Sauce
1/4 C. - Sugar
1 Tbs. - Sesame Seeds
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

Place the chicken into a bowl along with the egg and oil, stir to combine. In another bowl mix the flour and cornstarch together. Dredge the chicken in small batches in the flour mixture until evenly coated, then cook in a deep fryer set at 375 degrees for 4 minutes then drain on paper towel, continue cooking the chicken until all pieces are fried. While you are cooking the batches of chicken make the sauce, in a sauce pan add a little more oil and sauté the garlic over medium heat just until tender, be careful not to burn it. Add the remaining items and bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, then turn down to simmer and let reduce until thick, make sure to keep an eye on it and stir constantly so it does not burn. Serve over rice and drizzle sauce over top.

 Secondly, tonight I prepared Alton Brown's version of Chicken Fried Steak. 

 I've been wanting to try to make chicken fried steak for a while because my husband really likes it.  I'm always a little leery though, I think because of the gravy.  But I really liked this gravy...it's not overly thick and milky, probably because it has a lot of chicken broth in it.   

I personally really liked this version of chicken fried steak, and my husband said it was "good" but didn't really rave about it.  

Here's Alton's Recipe, from the Food Network:

Ingredients
2 pounds beef bottom round, trimmed of excess fat
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 whole eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Cut the meat with the grain into 1/2-inch thick slices. Season each piece on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the flour into a pie pan. Place the eggs into a separate pie pan. Dredge the meat on both sides in the flour. Tenderize the meat, using a needling device, until each slice is 1/4-inch thick.(I don't own a needling device, so I just pounded it) Once tenderized, dredge the meat again in the flour, followed by the egg and finally in the flour again. Repeat with all the pieces of meat. Place the meat onto a plate and allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking.

Place enough of the vegetable oil to cover the bottom of a 12-inch slope-sided skillet and set over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the meat in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook each piece on both sides until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes per side. Remove the steaks to a wire rack set in a half sheet pan and place into the oven. Repeat until all of the meat is browned.

Add the remaining vegetable oil, or at least 1 tablespoon, to the pan. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of the flour left over from the dredging. Add the chicken broth and deglaze the pan. Whisk until the gravy comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Add the milk and thyme and whisk until the gravy coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste, with more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve the gravy over the steaks.
 

 Hope y'all have a great weekend!

BBQ Chicken and Cheddar Sandwiches

I saw this recipe at Recipe Shoebox not long ago and knew I wanted to try it right away.  In fact I think she just posted it on Tuesday!  

These were really easy to put together, and were just delicious on the onion rolls.  I just adore those.  

I seasoned the chicken before cooking with some of this Maple Smokehouse seasoning I bought a little while ago, and it smelled awesome cooking.  Can't wait to try it on something grilled outside.

Here is Lara's recipe.

The ingredients:
4 strips bacon, halved crosswise
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1-1/2 lbs)
salt and pepper
1 cup favorite BBQ sauce
1/2 chipotle pepper, minced (optional)  (I guess I was feeling saucy, I used 3!)
1/4 cup water
4 large onion rolls, split (we used onion hamburger buns)
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Fry bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 4 minutes.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat.  Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Cook chicken in bacon fat until browned on one side, about 4 minutes.  Flip chicken and add barbecue sauce, chipotle pepper (if desired), and water.

Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce is slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. 

Remove chicken from skillet and slice into bite size pieces.  Arrange onion rolls cut side up on baking sheet.  Divide chicken among bottom haves of rolls and top with sauce, cheese, and bacon. 

Bake open-faced sandwiches in oven until cheese melts and rolls are golden brown, about 4 minutes.  Top each sandwich with toasted roll top. 

Just something funny/sad I noticed a few days ago.  I was putting some laundry away and noticed a hole in my son's shirt.  Remembering it was the same shirt he wore on his birthday back in November, I pulled up the pictures from that day, and sure enough...

He's probably worn that shirt a million times since then too.  Way to go, mom!

Apricot Chicken

This recipe also comes from the cookbook included in my fantabulously cool giveaway that is still going on through Thursday night.  Click now and enter if you haven't already!

Don't worry, you're not going blind. That's one fuzzy picture.  I was pretty hungry, and ready to dive in.  Couldn't be bothered with "proper lighting" and all that jazz.

This recipe is just about as easy as it gets, and it's done in the crockpot. But I'm sure it could be oven baked if you'd rather.

Ingredients:

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

12 oz jar apricot preserves

8 oz catalina dressing

1 package onion soup mix ( I would recommend only using 1/2 the package, I found it a little overpowering)

Directions:

Place chicken breasts in crock pot that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray.

Mix next three ingredients together and pour over chicken.  

Cook on high heat about 4  hours until chicken is done all the way through.

Crispy Mexican Chicken

Saw this recipe at Amanda's Cookin' and thought it was such a great idea.  It's like getting hash browns right on top of your chicken with very little fuss.  

This was super easy to put together and we all seemed to like it.  

Here's  her recipe:

1 8-oz baking potato, peeled and shredded

1/4 cup nonfat buttermilk  (I used regular milk since I didn't have buttermilk)

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

4 6-oz skinned chicken breast halves

cooking spray

1 tsp vegetable oil

Place shredded potato in ice water, let stand 5 minutes.

Combine buttermilk and next four ingredients. Brush mixture over both sides of the chicken. Line a baking sheet with foil, coat foil with cooking spray. Place chicken pieces on pan.

Drain potato, pat dry with paper towel. Place in small bowl, add oil, toss gently. Spoon 1/3 cup potato mixture over each chicken breast half, spread evenly.

Bake at 425 F for 35-40 minutes (mine baked longer, about 50 minutes, use an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast, done at 165 F).

Earlier in the week I got a fun freebie from Post Cereals.  Along with Raisin Bran, I got all these little containers of different kinds of fiber to compare.  I had no idea that polydextrose and maltodextrin were fibers.  They're both pretty powdery compared to the others.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Tonight's dinner was lacking in photographic-ness, but made up for it in ease and yumminess.

I first saw this idea at Home Sweet Home, and thought "why didn't I think of that?"  Just throw however many boneless chicken breasts you want into the crock pot, (I used 6), add half a bottle of hot wing sauce.  I only had Frank's Red Hot, so I toned it down by adding a little ketchup and a bit of butter.

Leave in the crock pot on low about 7-8 hours, and dinner is ready. I suppose you could serve them whole or shredded.  Whatever makes you happy.  The chicken comes out completely moist and tender, and was really yummy with pickles, red onion, and ranch dressing.

Speaking of Disney, we got to go see Disney on Ice last night!  (well, the voices in my head were speaking of Disney, as usual)

The cool part was it was totally free courtesy of a giveaway I won at The Good Deal Gal.  Which is a really cool website...Rachael scours the universe to find all sorts of deals, discounts, and coupons, and shares all her info with us!

I think the family had a really nice time, even held the boy child's attention.  We had really great seats too, I was expecting the nosebleed section, but we were on the 7th row.  

Cool collage thing made at Photovisi.

My Chicken Stir Fry

There are thousands of ways to make stir-fry, but I think the absolute best way is to take whatever sounds good to you at the moment and throw it in the proverbial wok.  

I was a single girl for a long time (hard to believe, I know) and I would often make a variation of this for myself with just the chicken, canned mushrooms, and onion.  That's not a bad way to go, but my kids frown upon the 'shrooms, and I felt like I needed some color today.

And of course there's a ton of sauces and seasonings out there, but today this was the trifecta, along with some garlic and a little extra soy.  Which might make it a cinco-fecta, but I don't really think that's a word.

I'm really liking this Veri Veri Teriyaki.  I'm not sure where all it's sold, I found mine at a Fresh and Easy.

So this is kinda how my stir fry method goes:

Start with a package of chicken breasts (I used tenders and slightly froze it to make it easier to cut into bite size chunks)

I drizzled just a bit of the sesame seed oil over the chicken; about a tablespoon, and also added some of the teriyaki; about 1/3 cup.  Then added about 2 tbsp of minced garlic, mixed the whole thing together and let it sit in the fridge about an hour.

In the meantime I chopped up the veggies I was wanting to use:

Red bell pepper

1/2 Onion

Small broccoli head

Snow peas (not chopped of course)

With my skillet over med-high heat, I sprayed it with cooking spray (since I've already got oil in with the chicken) .

Then added the chicken to the pan with its marinating sauce, and cooked until done. 

Then added all the veggies, with a little extra terikayi and garlic, and about a tsp of that hot chili sauce (I'm a weenie) and cooked it for just about 2-3 minutes more.  If you like your veggies a little more done than that, feel free.

Served it up over a bed of rice and dinner is ready.

My daughter even felt that broccoli is slightly edible when prepared in this fashion.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken

As promised/warned, I'm trying to lighten things up with my cooking, and this was my first attempt.  I found this recipe at Gina's WW Recipes. (you can click there for her recipe and nutrition info)

It seemed to have potential with the mixture of ricotta, feta, spinach, parsley, garlic, and green onions, but mine seemed to be lacking something.  Maybe more garlic, or more salt.  I'm just not sure.

And in the interest of simplicity, if I had it to do over, I would just bake the spinach filling separately and serve it along side the chicken.  It smelled really good while it was baking!

Can we talk about maltitol for a minute?  

I have eaten products that contained this sugar alcohol before, and was aware of their possible side effects.  

So yesterday I bought a bag of cookies which will go unnamed Joseph's to help dampen my cookie craving without so much sugar.  Then proceeded to eat what was a regular serving of cookies according to the package.  

In about 2 hours, I was feeling a lot like this dog.

Like I said, I was aware of the GI disturbances that this product could bring on, but I was floored by the severity of it. And oh my stinking heck, the headache!  I had no idea about that little bonus.  Apparently the headache happens more often if you consume maltitol on an empty stomach.  

Oh well, live and learn. And in this case, I literally tossed my cookies, into the trash!