Chayote Chicken Stew

Someone very very special asked me today to write a blog entry for something she could make in her Crockpot, because she had only tried to meals that were prepackaged to be cooked in it. Seeing as how tonight's dinner is simmering in the Crockpot at the moment, I decided to take this opportunity to write about it. It smells delicious, by the way. :)

This particular version of chicken stew (almost a tagine, I guess) is made with chayotes, which are Costa Rican squash. I am fully aware that everyone isn't lucky enough to have a Caribbean produce market down the street from their home, so you can easily substitute the chayote squashes (which are slightly larger than an apple or pear) with another kind of squash, or 2-3 potatoes.

What you need:
2/3 c. vegetable broth (can use chicken or beef broth as well, but this will add a few calories)
2 stalks celery
1/2 yellow onion
2 chayotes (or other squash)
3 large carrots
1-1.5 lbs chicken breast (the nutrition information below is calculated using 1.34 lbs because that's how much I had when I calculated it for my own)
1/2 c. raisins
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. tarragon
2 Tbsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. anise seed
1 Tbsp. oregano
2 Tbsp. basil
2 Tbsp. rosemary

What to do:
Chop celery and onion into fine pieces either by hand or using a chopper. I prefer mine chopped very fine, but if you're doing it by hand, it's okay if they're slightly larger chunks. Peel and chop carrots and squash into bite size pieces. Place vegetables in broth in the slow cooker.

Next, chop your chicken (defrosted) into bite size pieces as well. Combine them with the vegetables in the slow cooker. Add seasonings to the slow cooker, and mix everything together well.

Cook on high for 3 hours, and then low for 1-2 more hours, stirring occasionally.

Nutrition information:
(based on 8 servings of 200g using 1.34 lbs chicken breast)
Calories: 182
Fat: 3g
Saturated Fat: .8g
Cholesterol: 59mg
Sodium: 107mg
Carbs: 16g
Fiber: 3.4g
Sugars: 8.1g
Protein: 24g

Vitamin A: 99% (maybe I should have thrown another carrot in there ;))
Vitamin C: 15%
Calcium: 7%
Iron: 13%

Enjoy!
-Mimi-

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

When I embarked on making homemade chicken nuggets, I thought I was taking loads of calories off the McDonald's version. Sure, they're a bit lower cal... but not much :(

The good news? These babies aren't fried and they actually taste like.... Wait for it...

Chicken.

What you need:
1-1.5 lbs Chicken breast
1/2 c. Fiber One cereal (use about 2/3 cup if you have 1.5 lbs of chicken, as I nearly ran out of breading with 1.35 lbs)
5 Tbsp. panko bread crumbs
1/4 c. egg whites or egg white substitute
1 Tbsp. oregano
1 Tbsp. basil
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

What to do:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Crush the Fiber One cereal, some way, some how. If you have a food processor this will be easy. I tried using my blender, didn't work so much - so I did it the old fashioned way, put em in a plastic bag and used a rolling pin to squish em nice and good. Then pour your crushed cereal into a plastic container with a lid. Add bread crumbs and seasonings. Close the lid and shake it up real good.

Place that container to the side and cut up your chicken breasts into bite size pieces (like the size you would want a chicken nugget to be). Depending on the size of your chickens, you should get between 25 and 40 chunks. Dry any water off your chicken breasts.

Next, coat each piece (about 8 pieces at a time) with egg white and toss em in your crumby mixture... No, not crummy... Bad joke, proceeding... Close the lid, shake it up and then place each piece on a baking sheet or pan. Continue until all pieces have been coated.

Bake for about 20 minutes, stir the chickens around, and bake another 20 minutes.

Nutrition Info:
For 8 medium sized nuggets :)
Calories: 308
Fat: 6.2g
Saturated Fat: 1.7g
Cholesterol: 130mg
Sodium: 227mg
Carbs: 12.4g
Fiber: 3.9g
Protein: 50.8g

In comparison, a 6-piece at McDonalds has 280 cals, 17g of fat, insane amounts of sodium and only 14g of protein. Oh yeah, and they taste like fryer oil... these babies taste like... yes, chicken!

Enjoy!
-Mimi-

Veggie Lovers Beef Stew

Big chunks of delicious fresh vegetables. Chunks of beef. Rich flavors.

No you're not reading an advertisement for Campbell's chunky... They actually copied me. Vegetable and beef stew is just as hearty as it is delicious, and cooking it in a Crock pot makes getting dinner on the table almost hassle free!

What you need:
1/2 a sweet onion
2 stalks of celery
2 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 c. vegetable (or beef) stock
4 carrots
2 yellow squash
2 small potatoes
1 lb. beef stew meat (or some beef that you cut into chunks)
3 Tbsp. basil
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. rosemary
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. tarragon
1/2 tsp. anise seed
1 Tbsp. thyme

What to do:
Chop onions and celery finely in chopper or by hand. Combine with garlic and spices in small frying pan and cook on low heat approximately 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Chop carrots, potatoes and squash into bite size pieces and place in slow cooker. Pour vegetable broth over the vegetables. Add in the beef. Cover with onion/celery mixture and stir. Cook on low heat for about 5 hours, or until beef is done inside, stirring around occasionally (every 45 minutes or so).

Serve alone, over rice, or with bread.

Nutrition info:
I've found that this recipe makes about seven 1-cup servings. The nutrition information below is for a 1-cup serving.
Calories: 215
Fat: 4.6g
Saturated fat: 1.7g
Cholesterol: 58mg
Sodium: 523mg
Carbs: 20g
Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 4.2g
Protein: 23.4g

Of course, you don't have to use the same vegetables if they're not available.

Enjoy!
-Mimi-

Low-Cal Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

Frozen chocolate covered bananas are one of my summer time favorites, but you don't have to wait for the county fair to enjoy that delicious flavor. This recipe is simple, inexpensive, and surprisingly low-cal. You'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

What you need:
1 package sugar free chocolate pudding mix
1 package sugar free banana pudding mix (I've only seen this flavor as Jell-o brand)
2 1/2 cups milk
Optional ingredients:
Sugar free Hershey's syrup (or the sugary one, whatever ;))
Cool Whip Lite
(and a pie crust if you prefer)

What to do:
Empty contents of both pudding mixes into a big round storage container bowl. Close the lid and shake them up so the chocolate and banana are evenly mixed. Pour in cold milk and stir to get the pudding from the bottom mixed in. Close the lid again and shake vigorously for 45 seconds - 1 minute. Drizzle a bit of chocolate syrup on top. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

If you prefer your pie to have a crust, pour the mixture into a pie crust before refrigerating. You could also enjoy it in scoops over graham crackers or Oreo crisps. The possibilities are endless. I prefer it alone on a plate with a little Cool Whip Lite on top.

Nutrition Info:
Prepared with skim milk and sugar free Hershey's syrup, and cut into 6 "pieces", each "piece" has about 80 calories.

Enjoy!
-Mimi-

Kefta Kebab

Beef - it's what's for dinner! We've all heard that phrase a million times, but what to do, what to do. There are a million ground beef recipes on the net, but for some reason they all seem like a rehashing of hamburgers to me. I love lean ground beef because it's delicious and full of protein to give me energy! Kefta kebab is definitely a weekly meal here.

If you don't like onions or peppers, try it without. I've also experimented with adding in some chopped parsley with delicious results. Celery also substitutes very well for onion in this recipe (I've done the celery thing when I didn't have any onions and it worked out well; use about 2 stalks finely chopped instead of onions.)

What you need:
1 lb. lean ground beef (93/7)
1/2 sweet onion
1 red pepper (can use green or just completely nix this)
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. basil
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. rosemary
1 Tbsp. thyme
a pinch of safron if it's available

What to do:
Chop vegetables as fine as possible (I usually use my chopper.) In bowl (I think the one I use is 1 qt., but I'm not sure... Just use a bowl that will be big enough to add all the meat), anyway, in the bowl, mix together the chopped vegetables with seasonings until well mixed.

If your meat is bloody, drain as much of the blood out as possible. I've found that when I forget this step, it becomes way too wet and hard to stick together. Slowly begin adding meat to vegetable/seasoning mixture about 1/4 pound at a time until it is well mixed.

Coat a frying pan with cooking spray like Pam's Olive Oil cooking spray (I love this stuff!) and heat to a medium-low setting. When pan is hot, begin rolling small chunks (meatball size) of meat into sausage like shapes (or balls if that's what floats your boat) and place in pan. Cook covered for about 10-15 minutes or until cooked inside.

Usually I can't fit everything in the pan at once (maybe I need a bigger pan ;)), so it may take 2 times to get all the meat cooked. Depending on how big I roll, this makes 16-20 pieces.

Nutrition Info:
(based on a serving size of 4 pieces when I make 16, or 5 when I make 20)
Calories: 250
Fat: 7.3g
Saturated Fat: 2.8g
Cholesterol: 101mg
Sodium: 659mg
Carbs: 5.2g
Fiber: 1.7g
Sugars: 1.9g
Protein: 35.3g

Enjoy!
-Mimi-

White Hot Mint Mocha Cocoa

Ok, so winter is over... at least down here in Florida, but that doesn't mean we should throw out the hot cocoa mix or even stop drinking warm tasty beverages. I actually find this recipe on Hungry Girl, but it sounds so incredibly delicious that I had to share! This is a low-cal version so if you're not too worried about those, feel free to use what you have rather than the low-cal versions... And for all you non-coffee drinkers *cough*Mom*cough* I'm sure it tastes just as good sans instant coffee.

What you need:
2 packets Swiss Miss Diet hot cocoa mix
1 tsp. instant coffee
2 tsp. Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer
2 no-calorie sweetener packets (like Splenda)
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
1/3 peppermint candy cane (standard size), crushed
2 tbsp. Fat Free Reddi-wip

What to do:
Empty contents of cocoa packets into a tall mug or glass. Add instant coffee and powdered creamer. Slowly pour in 12 ounces of hot water, stirring until cocoa and creamer have completely dissolved. Stir in the peppermint extract and sweetener.

If your drink is extra-hot, let it cool for a minute or so. Top your drink off with the Reddi-wip, and then sprinkle the crushed candy cane pieces over the whipped topping.

Nutrition Info:

Serving size: 12 oz.
Calories: 105
Fat: 2g
Sodium: 313mg
Carbs: 17g
Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 10g
Protein: 4g

Enjoy!
-Mimi-