Asparagus & Chicken Stir Fry

With the spring-like temps here in MN (today it's supposed to hit 70 degrees!!!), I was craving some spring flavors for dinner!  I found this simple stir fry on Skinnytaste and knew this would be perfect to satisfy my craving.  I made a few slight adjustments; I cut back on the garlic and added some extra ginger (I LOVE ginger!). Traditionally stir fry recipes pack in a bunch of different veggies - this one only adds in one in asparagus, but it's quite good!  The combination of fresh ginger, lemon juice and garlic come together nicely in the stir fry sauce.

Servings:  4

Size:  1 1/4 cups stir fry + 1/2 cup white rice

Points Plus: 8pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredient List:

1 ½ lbs. chicken breast, skinless and boneless
Kosher salt
½ cup chicken broth, reduced-sodium
2 Tbsp. soy sauce, reduced-sodium
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
3 tsp. garlic, minced
1 ½ Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Start by prepping the chicken by cutting the chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces.  Sprinkle kosher salt on top to season.  Wash and prep the asparagus by cutting into 1-2 inch pieces.  Combine the chicken broth and soy sauce in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine the cornstarch and water and mix until fully combined.  In a large skillet, heat ½ Tbsp. olive oil.  Add the asparagus pieces and cook for 3-5 minutes or until they are starting to become tender.  Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for an additional minute.  Transfer the cooked asparagus to a bowl; set aside.  Add the other ½ Tbsp. olive oil and add the chicken; cook until browned and all pieces are cooked all the way through (use a tongs for this step to continuously turn over the chicken pieces to cook evenly).  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.  Add the soy sauce mixture to the skillet.  Bring this mixture to a boil and cook for another 2 minutes before adding the cornstarch mixture and lemon juice.  Whisk the sauce to make sure all ingredients are well mixed.  Once combined, allow the sauce to simmer for a few minutes.  Finish the stir fry by adding back in the chicken and asparagus; toss to evenly coat.  Serve immediately over 1/2 cup rice per serving!

Tip:
Rice cookers can change your life!  It is just SO easy to make rice with one of these kitchen tools.  I am still amazed by it!  My rice cooker has seperate buttons for if you are cooking white or brown rice - it automatically adjusts the cook time accordingly.  Go buy one if you don't already own a rice cooker for your kitchen!

XOXO Megan

Kale Chips

Kale is an interesting veggie.  I used to only like it raw, and have yet to find a sautéed recipe that doesn't require a ton of fat.  This recipe however created crispy, crunchy, salty, kale chips by simply roasting them in the oven. Serve these as a side to your lunch or dinner!

Servings: 4
Serving Size: About 2 cups of chips
Point Plus: 2pp
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10-20 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
Kale
1 T Olive oil
Garlic salt
Kosher salt

Instructions
I attempted to make kale chips over the weekend, and will admit, it took me two tries to get the recipe right. The end result however was way worth it!

Simply rip and rinse your kale, dry it off well and the put it into a bowl.  Drizzle in about 1 T of olive oil, a shake of garlic salt and a shake of kosher salt.  Mix kale around until it is shiny, meaning mostly covered in the oil. Cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and lay kale chips out evenly in one layer. Bake for 10-20 minutes, until they are to your desired crunchiness.

Tip
The secret to crispy chips is to not over crowd the pan when baking.  The first time I baked my chips they were sort of in a large heap on the cookie sheet.  The second time around, I used a larger cookie sheet allowing them room to be spread out.  They turned out much crispier!

XOXO - Katie

Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs

This meatball recipe is from my Mom :)  She usually makes them with ground beef, but I wanted to try out turkey instead.  They were so easy to make and they make quite a few so you will likely have leftovers!  I only made enough pasta for 2 servings when I made these, but I adjusted the recipe below to serve 8 and use up all the meatballs.  Just a serving of 3 meatballs with sauce would be 4pp.  

Servings:  8 servings (total recipe will make 24 meatballs)

Size:  3 meatballs per servings + 3/4 cup cooked pasta + 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese

Points Plus: 10pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredient List:

1 ½ lbs. ground turkey

½ cup onion, chopped

1 egg, beaten
¾ cup oatmeal
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb. fettuccine pasta
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients (through pepper) and mix well (this works best by mixing with your hands).  In a 9x13 baking dish or stone, spread 1/3 cup of spaghetti sauce on the bottom.  Shape the turkey mixture into 24 meatballs and place on top of the sauce.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Add an additional 1/3 cup of spaghetti sauce to the tops of the meatballs at this point and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until no trace of pink remains.  While the meatballs are baking, cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Serve in pasta bowls.  I suggest 3 meatballs per serving (this matches the pp value above) and a small sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top (about 1 Tbsp. of cheese).

Tip:

A great idea for leftovers with this recipe is to make meatball subs with your leftover meatballs!  

XOXO Megan

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Mayo

Fish tacos, what a delicious dinner for a Friday night.  These tilapia tacos are pan fried, not deep fried, creating a slightly crispy fish with less the fat.  And chipotle mayo - what can be better! I suggest purchasing fish fresh from your local supermarket, and using it the same day for the most tasty results.  These tacos are inspired by this recipe but slightly adjusted.  Enjoy!

Servings: 4
Serving Size: 2 tacos
Points Plus: 6pp
Prep Time: 1 hour plus (includes marinating fish)
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

Tacos

1 pound tilapia fillets, cut in half lengthwise

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 limes, juiced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 corn taco shells

1 cup shredded carrots

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro leaves

 

Chipotle Mayo

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon chipotle pepper sauce

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

2 cloves garlic, pressed

 

Instructions

To make the chipotle mayo, whisk together mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, chipotle paste, lime juice and garlic; put in fridge.  

 

Season tilapia with salt and pepper, to taste.

 

In a shallow bowl, marinate tilapia with lime juice and garlic for at least 1 hour, I marinated for about 4 hours.

 

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add tilapia and cook, flipping once, until golden brown and slightly crispy, about 2-3 minutes per side.

 

To serve, spoon tilapia into the center of each taco shell. Top with carrots, tomatoes and cilantro, drizzled with chipotle mayo.

 

Tip

Cooking with chipotle peppers is really fun.  They come in a can, with both the whole peppers and the pepper sauce.  You can use either the peppers and/or sauce for salad dressing, marinades and sauces.  YUM!

 

XOXO - Katie

Double Chocolate Cookies

I love cookies!  This recipe calls for two types of chocolate chips to make some seriously delicious treats.  The original recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman's blog.  I scaled back the recipe a bit to save some pp – I took out some butter and reduced how many chocolate chips the recipe calls for.  I also made the cookies a bit smaller to add an extra ½ dozen to the total recipe yield. They are still a bit indulgent, but every once in a while it is okay to splurge a bit. Katie and I actually made these together when we got together with our husbands for a dinner party a few months ago!

Servings:  3 ½ dozen or 42 cookies

Size:  1 cookie

Points Plus:  5pp per cookie

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time:  9-11 minutes per batch

Ingredient List:

2 sticks butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

2 large eggs

3 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Lightly spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.  Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add in the eggs, one at a time; make sure they are mixed well.  Add in the vanilla extract.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the dry mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture in multiple batches.  Gently fold in the semi-sweet and white chocolate chips.  Scoop out the cookies (about 1 Tbsp. per cookie) onto cookie sheets.  Bake for approximately 9-11 minutes, until just set in the middle.  Cool on wire baking racks and enjoy!

Tip:

Okay these cookies are delicious!  You can easily cut this recipe in half to only end up with 21 cookies so you don’t go crazy.  Or bring the extras into work and share with your coworkers (and get them out of your house J)!!!

XOXO Megan

Eggplant Parm

I am going to go out on a limb and say that Eggplant is not on the top of your 'favorite foods' list.  And I am also going to go out on a limb and say that most husbands, kids, girlfriends, exc. hate it.  At least that is what my husband said.  But apparently all you have to do is pretend to fry it and eggplant turns in to a family favorite! I have tried eggplant parm many a time, but have never found the correct temperature and cook time until now.  I think the key is slicing your eggplant a tad on the thin side, and having your egg bath and bread crumb mixture ready to go so once the eggplant is cut you can get it into the oven quickly (preventing it from turning brown).

Servings: 4
Serving Size: 4 slices
Points Plus: 6pp
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
1 medium egg plant
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 egg whites
A sprinkle of garlic salt, garlic powder, onion salt, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup maranera sauce
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Cooking spray
Salt + Pepper


Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350. Crack two egg whites into a shallow dish and whip them until they are frothy.  Pour your breadcrumbs, garlic salt, garlic powder, onion salt, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes into a similar size dish. Both should be big enough to dunk your eggplant slices.  Spray a cookie sheet and set aside. Peel and cut your eggplant into 16 equal slices, about 1/2 inch thick.  Dunk each eggplant slice into the egg mixture, than the crumb mixture, then set on your cookie sheet.  Spray the top of the eggplants with cookie spray and put in the oven for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. 

While your eggplants are cooking make the sauce!  Spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray and add your onion.  Sautee until soft, about five minutes.  Add your canned diced tomatoes and marinara sauce to the skillet and let simmer on low until your eggplants are done cooking.

After your eggplants are golden brown remove them from the oven and give them a flip!  Top each with a small spoonful (about 1-2 T, as much as will fit on top) of your sauce mixture, then give each a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.  Return them to the oven and cook until cheese is golden brown, about 5-10 minutes.

Tip:
This is a very simple red sauce recipe, and the longer it simmers the better it tastes (and the less it tastes like canned tomatoes).  If you have a favorite red sauce recipe, send it to us we want to try it!!! And, feel free to use that for this recipe!

XOXO - Katie

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Okay, you might be thinking mac and cheese??  Are they crazy? How can that be healthy?  Well... this is the perfect recipe to play on others for an April Fool's Day joke! :)

Seriously, here is a lightened up version of delicious mac & cheese!  Similar to Katie's version of Cauliflower Mac & Cheese a few weeks ago... disguise some veggies into the mac and cheese to make a healthier, lightened up version of this traditional comfort food.  Butternut squash is a creamy, perfect add to a cheese sauce for this dish! I found this recipe on the Two Peas and Their Pod blog.  My husband said he couldn't even taste the squash in this recipe.  Sooo this would be the perfect meal to try and fool your husband/wife or kids with.  Don't tell them about the butternut squash and see if they notice!

Servings:  8

Size:  1/8 of the baking dish

Points Plus: 8pp

Level of Difficulty:  Medium

Prep Time: 30-40 minutes

Bake Time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredient List:

1/2 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
2 1/2 cups skim milk, divided
2 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup aged white cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and reduced-fat
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°. On a large baking sheet, mix the cubed butternut squash with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Roast the squash for 20-30 minutes or until the pieces are soft and tender.  You will want to stir one or twice during the roasting time to make sure all pieces evenly roast.  Cook the macaroni according to the package directions, drain once your pasta is al dente. In a food processor, place the roasted butternut squash and 1/2 cup of skim milk.  Pulse until the squash is pureed and smooth.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat; add the butter. Wait for the butter to melt and add in the flour and nutmeg, while you whisk constantly.  Slowly add the remaining 2 cups of milk and keep whisking until the mixture is smooth (about 2-4 minutes).  Increase the heat to high and bring the sauce to a boil (keep whisking constantly!).  Your sauce will begin to thicken. Once it is thick, add in the butternut squash mixture and fresh rosemary and whisk until well combined.  Place the cooked macaroni in a large bowl and pour the butternut sauce over the noodles, stir until everything is well coated.  Sprinkle in some additional salt and pepper for seasoning.  In a 9x13 casserole dish (coated with cooking spray), dish out 1/2 of the macaroni mixture.  Top with 1/2 cup aged white cheddar and 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese.  Repeat with the remaining noodles and remaining shredded cheese.  Finally, sprinkle the 1/2 cup breadcrumbs over the top of the mac & cheese.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top begins to brown.  Serve immediately!

Tip:

Since mac & cheese is already high in carbs, serve this with a veggie side!  You could even roast the other half of the butternut squash with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper.  Or, throw in some Brussels sprouts to roast with the squash.

XOXO Megan