Tex-Mex Chicken & White Cheddar Spaghetti

Thank goodness for Thur-Fridays! Even though this week went by pretty quickly, I was still so happy that this was my last day of work this week. This weekend is going to be busy but fun. It all starts tomorrow with my hair appointment with Jimmy. It's amazing how good getting your hair cut and colored will make you feel. Then we're going to do some shopping and hang out with my sister and her family for a little while. After that, we'll be coming home, get some packing done and some brownies baked. Tomorrow evening, we are going to a graduation party for our neighbor. Saturday morning, we'll be heading to Charlotte as soon as the little one's feet hit the ground. We're going to a birthday party up there for my cousin's son. We'll be coming back home on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to my parents getting back into town on Sunday evening, too. Even though we just saw them a week and a half ago, it's nice to have them close by. Like I said, it's going to be a busy weekend!

I've really been looking forward to making this meal. I've had the recipe ingredients for a week or so and have been waiting for the right night to have this meal. It's kind of pointy in my opinion, so I needed a day that I kept my eating under control. I will admit that this meal is well worth the 12 points though! The original recipe called for jalapenos and cilantro, but I'm not a fan of either of those, so I substituted green chiles and parsley. Here's the recipe:

TEX-MEX CHICKEN & WHITE CHEDDAR SPAGHETTI
adapted from Lauren’s Latest
Points+: 12
Servings: 4



3/4 lb. thin spaghetti
1 T. light butter
1 c. diced yellow onion
2 T. all purpose flour
1 c. chicken stock
1 c. milk
8 oz. reduced fat sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
1 T. chopped green chiles + 1/2 tablespoon juice
1/2 t. cumin
salt & pepper, to taste
2 c. cooked, shredded chicken
3 T. chopped parsleyfo

Bring large pot of water to boil. Cook spaghetti to al dente and drain. Remove hot pot to burner. Melt butter and saute onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken broth and milk to prevent lumps. Increase heat to thicken sauce. Sprinkle in grated cheese and stir continuously to melt into sauce evenly. Stir in cumin, salt, pepper, green chiles, green chiles juice, chicken, cooked spaghetti and parsley. Toss to coat everything evenly in sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings. Enjoy!



EXERCISE
I got a bonus workout in tonight. I was going to take Addison for a walk while TC mowed the grass, but decided to try to jog a little bit instead. About 40 minutes and 400 burned calories later, we made it back home. I was torn between doing Ripped in 30 or Yoga Meltdown but since I got the extra workout in, Yoga Meltdown it is!

So long for today...

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Happy National Running Day! How did you celebrate? Did you go for a run? Hopefully, you were able to at least get some kind of activity in. If you live in the South, you still would have been dodging raindrops for most of the day! But the good news is that I think the rest of the week is supposed to be beautiful!

I was having a great day in points this morning. I was being good for lunch and I met some friends at Subway. Well, for some reason, instead of getting my usual roasted chicken salad, I decided I wanted a sub. So I got the Subway Club on wheat bread. Pretty good. Right? Well, I also added avocado and some light mayo. With that, I had a bag of the Baked Lays chips. When you add it all up, including the cheese I got on the sandwich, it comes out to 15 points. Ouch! What was I thinking? I should have just stuck to what I knew worked. So obviously, the 12 point dinner that I had planned for tonight wasn't going to work. Luckily, I already had some shredded chicken in the fridge to use. So I went online and looked through a couple of recipes and came up with this. Here's the recipe:

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
Servings: 4
Points+: 4



1 can Campbell’s 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Campbell’s Fiesta Cheese Soup
2 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t. cumin
1 t. fajita seasoning
1 1/2 c. chicken breast, cooked & shredded

Spray medium pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add reminaing ingredients. Bring to a boil, then allow to simmer for 30 - 60 minutes. You can serve this with baked tortilla strips, baked tortilla strips or even just crackers.



EXERCISE:
Well, my plans changed today. I was going to start Level 4 of Ripped in 30, but when I found out that it was a national holiday, I decided to go for a run in order to celebrate. Since I started running, I felt that it was my duty to get this run in. Plus, since I didn't do so great with my eating today, I thought maybe I should do the exercise that gets the higher calorie burn. So it looks like I'm going to have to decide whether to start Level 4 tomorrow or stick to the planned Yoga. Hmm. Decisions, decisions!

So long for today...

Salted Caramel Brownies

Oh my! I need to warn you. If you don't want to get addicted to these, you might not want to make them. Yes, they're that good! I've been looking for a recipe for homemade brownies. Now, I have used boxed brownie mix in the past. I might even have a box sitting on my kitchen counter at this very moment. However, I have really been making an effort to do more things from scratch. I like to get away from using things that have a lot of perservatives and processed ingredients in them. I don't like to use things that I can't pronounce all the ingredients in them.

Enter these brownies. I saw these on Pinterest - shocker, I know. I figured since they were from Cooking Light, they couldn't be all bad, right? I should also explain that my cousin has an addiction to brownies. Since we are headed up there this weekend, I decided to feed his addiction and take some brownies. In all honesty, I very rarely show up at their house without brownies. So, I needed to test these on the guinea pigs at work to see how they were. Needless to say, they were delicious! Here's the recipe:

SALTED CARAMEL BROWNIES
adapted from I Can Cook That
Servings: 16
Points+: 6



Brownies:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cooking spray

Topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons evaporated fat-free milk, divided
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 ounce dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
1/8 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through baking powder) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Combine 6 tablespoons butter, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; stir to combine. Scrape batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 19 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.



To prepare topping, melt 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons milk; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and powdered sugar; stir with a whisk until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over cooled brownies. Let stand 20 minutes or until set.

Combine 2 tablespoons milk and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH for 45 seconds or until melted, stirring after 20 seconds. Stir just until smooth; drizzle over caramel. Sprinkle with sea salt; let stand until set. Cut into squares.



EXERCISE:
One more night! I'm going to do Level 3 of Jillian's Ripped in 30 workout for one more night. Then tomorrow I will start Level 4. Yikes! I have to admit something though. I love being sore after I workout...within reason. I still want to be able to walk. I just like to feel it in my muscles. It lets me know that I worked my muscles in a way that they're not used to. It lets me know that I'm actually working them out! It's a great feeling. Yes, I know. I might be a little crazy. But it's ok :)

So long for today...

Microwave Basic White Sauce

Happy Monday everyone! It was a rainy and dreary day this morning. It didn't make for a very happy Monday, but since we had such a beautiful weekend, I'm not going to complain too much. I can handle the rain much better during the week than on the weekend. They say it's supposed to rain for a couple more days and then clear out for the weekend. Like I said, definitely not complaining!

So let's talk about your basic white sauce. White sauce is such a versatile thing! You can add some cheese to it and make a delicious macaroni and cheese. That's what I do here. Or you can add some sweetness to it and use it as a sauce for Chicken Divan. That recipe will be coming soon. There are so many options. Just go ahead and Google it! It will make your head spin.

For this recipe, you make it in the microwave which makes it so easy, too! So my goal was to make it light. It was really easy to do. I just used light butter and low fat milk. I used 1%, but you could use skim or 2% if you want to. Just adjust the points accordingly. I was actually surpised that the points ended up being so low for this. Here's the recipe:

MICROWAVE BASIC WHITE SAUCE
adapted from Fannie Farmer Cookbook
Servings: 4
Points+: 2



2 T. light butter
2 T. flour
1 c. low fat milk
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in 1 qt. microwave safe bowl about 15 - 30 seconds. Add flour and stir until blended and smooth. Stir in the milk and salt and pepper.

Microwave on high for about 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir. Return to microwave and heat for additional 1 - 2 minutes or until mixture is thickened.



EXERCISE
Tonight's exercise will be Level 3 of Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30. I think I might do Level 3 for a few more days since I didn't start it until late last week. It's still kind of hard for me to do. I like to do it until my muscles are used to the moves before I move on to the next level! I'm definitely feeling last night's yoga today! But it feels good!

So long for today...

Light Lemon-Blueberry Doughnuts

What a beautiful day today! It was a rare South Carolina summer day where the temps were in the mid 80's and the humidity was relatively low. I love days like this! To take advantage, we headed out to the lake with my sister and niece. We spent a few hours out there enjoying the sun and the sand before we had to head back home for naptime. I will take as many more days like this as Mother Nature wants to give us!

Before we headed to the lake, I had promised my sister that I would make her some blueberry doughnuts with the fresh blueberries that I got last week. So while the girls sat at the counter, my sister gave me moral support in the kitchen while I made some lemon-blueberry doughnuts. They were pretty good, although I think they would be better with all white flour and maybe some vanilla extract. If I make them again, I will try to change a couple of things up and let you know. Here is the recipe:

LIGHT LEMON-BLUEBERRY DOUGHNUTS
adapted from Shape.com
Servings: 12
Points+: 3

1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt


1 egg

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1 tablespoon canola oil

zest of one lemon, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cups fresh blueberries


1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 T. lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a doughnut pan with nonstick cooking spray. If you're using an electric doughnut maker, make sure to read the manufacturer's directions. 

Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Combine all wet ingredients except for blueberries into a separate mixing bowl. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry just until combined, then gently fold in the blueberries. 

For mini doughnuts, drop one tablespoon of batter into each doughnut form. Use two tablespoons for traditional-size doughnuts. 
Bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown.

For glaze: combine powdered sugar and lemon juice and whisk until all the lumps are gone. Dip each doughnut in the glaze. Allow to dry for a few minutes to allow glaze to set. If you want, you can make additional glaze and dip again. Enjoy!

EXERCISE:
This morning, after having some eggs and toast for breakfast, I got a nice 3.5 mile run in. It was the perfect morning for a run. The skies were blue, the sun was out, the humidity was low and the temperatures were actually kind of cool. I could have run longer, but we had to get to the lake. I also got in my Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown - Level 2 tonight. I realized that it had been 2 weeks since I did yoga. It felt so nice to stretch my muscles again! It's back to the circuit work tomorrow though!

So long for today...

Light Blueberry Crisps

The other day at work, someone told me that someone was selling freshly picked blueberries. I LOVE blueberries. Almost as much as my sister, but not quite. I have been eating them in my yogurt parfaits every morning, so I knew I could use them for that instead of the frozen ones that I have been using. But I also love to cook and bake with them. Since I bought 2 quarts of the berries in blue, I started looking for some recipes that I could try and post for your reading pleasure. I was looking through so many that I started to see blue! So I decided that maybe I could come up with one on my own. And that's exactly what I did!

I love anything that is pre-portioned for me. I decided to make these individual blueberry crisps. If you didn't want to do that, you could do make one large crisp. Just pour it into a large baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and bake for about 30 - 45 minutes. I'm not sure yet what I'll do for you tomorrow. Maybe doughnuts or a cake. We'll just have to wait and see...Here's my recipe:

LIGHT BLUEBERRY CRISPS
Servings: 3
Points+: 4

2 c. fresh or thawed frozen blueberries
1 t. cornstarch
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. lemon juice

1/2 c. quick oats
1 T. brown sugar
1/3 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. salt
1 t. flour
2 t. unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 375 degree. In medium bowl, combine blueberries, cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice. Stir until juices start to come out of the blueberries and all the cornstarch and sugar are dissolved. Set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients and stir until applesauce is thoroughly incorporated into mixture.

Spray three ramekins with non-stick cooking spray. Evenly distribute the blueberry mixture among the ramekins. Top the blueberry mixture with the cinnamon oat mixture. Place on shallow baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Enjoy!

EXERCISE
I was happy to get my run in today. It was a beautiful and sunny day here today. Unfortunately, I didn't get to run until around 1:00 in the afternoon. June in South Carolina can be pretty hot at that time of day and today was no exception! I did manage to make it for 3 miles, but I was pretty hot by the end of the run. I really should have hydrated more since I was running so late in the day, but you live and you learn. I plan to get up and run first thing tomorrow morning when it's still relatively cool.

So long for today...

Italian Chicken Sausage Gyros

So my friend Tracy has been talking about these chicken sausages that she has been eating and just loves. I swear she has these things a couple times a week! She told me the brand name was Al Fresco. Well, I searched my local grocery stores and I couldn't find them. Then I thought to check in the fresh meat department instead of the deli meat area. This is where I found them. Of course, I was so excited, I took a picture and sent it to Tracy right away.

Then I had to figure out how I was going to cook them. I had so many ideas running through my head. I finally decided to make them into a gyro type sandwich. Since they already had the italian seasonings in them, I didn't want to add an additional seasonings, so I kept it simple. I just cooked the sausages in a skillet on the stove and added the peppers and onions to them.

My kitchen smelled like the County Fair last night. So good! Tracy sure knew what she was talking about with these. I'm definitely going to make them again! I added a little bit of homemade tzatziki sauce to it as a final touch. I tried it, and YUM! It was so good! I could have eaten two, but resisted the urge. Since it's summer, you could also grill these up, too and they would taste just as good, maybe even better. Here's the recipe:

ITALIAN CHICKEN SAUSAGE GYROS
Servings: 5
Points+: 6

1 package Sweet Italian Style Chicken Sausage (I like Al Fresco brand)
1 large green pepper, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
5 Fat Free taco sized tortillas (I like La Banderita brand)
light tzatziki sauce

Heat skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken sausages and cook until well done. Add peppers and onions and cook until tender, adding more cooking spray if needed.

Add 1 sausage and some peppers and onions to one tortilla. Add 1 - 2 tablespoons of tzatziki sauce. Tuck one end of the tortilla in and roll. Enjoy.

EXERCISE
Well, I am not ashamed to say that I didn't exercise last night. I did do my plank hold, but that was it. I had fallen asleep with Addison and when I woke up, it was almost 9:30. Since my bedtime is around 10:00, I didn't want to be just finishing a workout at this time. Plus, for some reason, I was extremely tired, so I called it a night and went to bed early. A day of rest is good here and there. And I think this one definitely did my body good! But don't worry, I'll get back to it tonight!

So long for today...