Skinny Cordon Bleu

  My whole weight loss journey really started when I grasped the concept that you can eat well, without eating a lot of calories. There are ways to make things you enjoy healthier for you. There are virtually dozens of ways you can substitute or simply portion control in the case of my awful sweet tooth. Once this dawned upon me, changing my lifestyle really wasn't difficult and the weight followed suit. One of my biggest vices? I love cheese. Cheese and fried things. Cheese and fried things do not like my stomach or thighs. Thankfully, there are ways to turn old favorites into new ones.

Skinny Cordon Bleu
slightly adapted from Hungry Girl
250 calories per breast!


1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 wedge of Laughing Cow Lite Swiss Spreadable Cheese
3 slices of ham (I used black forest ham, but you can use whatever you wish)
Salt & Pepper to taste
toothpicks for assembly

  Pre-heat oven to 350.

   Start by laying out your chicken breasts on the counter on top of a sheet of cling wrap. If you remember my earlier recipe for Bacon Ranch Chicken, I will be using the same method to even out the chicken breast. Doing this is important, especially if you have smaller pieces of chicken. This will give you more surface to work with!

  Spread one wedge of Laughing Cow per chicken breast. I found I actually use a little less than the whole wedge, but it isn't a significant amount.

  Depending on the shape of your chicken, arrange your ham so it fits within the chicken.

  Next you are going to roll your chicken up. I usually start rolling on the smaller end of the breast, that way when I finish rolling it the larger side creates a nicer seam. When you have rolled this, tuck the ends in and seal shut with toothpicks. It's alright if they are open a little bit! Place into a oven safe casserole dish. Add a few dashes of salt and pepper to taste. Place foil over the top of the casserole dish, and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the foil and continue baking for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

  This dish is surprisingly easy to make, has a great presentation and is delicious. When you cut into it, it almost looks more like a roulade. Enjoy!

LC's mini pumpkin cheesecakes

  I love Autumn. There is something about the crispness to the air, the deeper shade of blue the sky turns, the colors of the foliage and smelling wood stoves starting up for the long winter ahead. I might not experience these things anymore because I moved, but in my heart I am always going to be a New Englander. Another thing I look forward to that goes hand in hand with Autumn? Pumpkin. Not just pumpkin pumpkin, but pumpkin everything. I love pumpkin coffee, pumpkin butter, pumpkin bread. You name it, I bet I love it. A few years ago when I didn't really care about how many calories I ate, I fell in love with this fabulous pumpkin cheesecake created by the legendary Paula Deen. A few years ago I also lived with a few other people who had a fondness for cheesecake and pumpkin, so at least I didn't have to eat it alone. The husband does not like pumpkin anything. He does not like cheesecake anything either. This leaves me in quite the conundrum. Woe is me, might I have to eat a whole cheesecake alone? What a terrible concept. Unfortunately, my thighs don't agree. Instead, I converted the recipe to be lower calorie and into a mini version that not only helps with portion control, but makes it easy to freeze or store left overs. A win win all around!

LC's mini pumpkin cheesecakes
Adapted from Paula Deen's pumpkin cheesecake
Creates 12 mini cheesecakes


Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon sugar (or splenda)
a few dashes of cinnamon

Filling
1 package low-fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon low-fat sour cream
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoons flour
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 tablespoons of pumpkin
A few dashes of nutmeg and clove

  Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with a bit of Pam.

 Using a mixer, combine the cream cheese and sugar. Once this is mixed well, add an egg. Mix for another minute.

  Add all remaining ingredients for the filling and mix well. Set aside to prepare the crust.

 In a separate bowl, combine a cup of graham cracker crumbs, a tablespoon of sugar, a few dashes of cinnamon and melted butter. Stir so everything is evenly distributed. The mixture will seem crumbly. That is totally okay.

  Here is a big tip for this recipe! Cut 12 strips of parchment paper and set them into each well. This will help make removing the mini cheesecakes very easy and will help assist with not breaking them. The tips might be annoying and flop in, but this will be fixed once you set the crust into the bottom of the well. Distribute the crust mixture between all of the wells, pushing down until it becomes solid. If you leave it too crumbly, the cheesecake will not only not have a firm base, but the crumbs will ruin the texture of the cheesecake during the baking process. Once the crust is pushed in firmly, the parchment strips should be held pretty well in place.

 
 Add the filling to each well. Start by adding only a small amount, that way you will ensure that each well will be even with the others. Smooth it out with a spatula. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and is firm to the touch.

  These little bad boys make a great addition to a Thanksgiving meal. Miniatures give you the option of making a variety of things, having it all, and not having to feel so bad afterwards. If you want to remove even more calories, replace the sugar with splenda. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

The bread that keeps you coming back: Outback Steakhouse Bushman Bread

  A few restaurants can lure me in with their free pre-meal appetizers. The two I look forward to most are Red Lobster and Outback. I have taken the adventure to recreate Red Lobster's awesome Cheddar Garlic biscuits before, but had never been brave enough to make bread from scratch. My husband always looks forward to going to Outback, so I thought for a special treat I would make him the bread along with a massive steak.

Outback Steakhouse Bushman Bread
Makes about 5 small loaves
Adapated from Food.com.


1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons butter, softened (I actually used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter light spread)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups bread flour
1 2/3 cups wheat flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (This should be just one packet of quick yeast)
cornmeal, for dusting

  I'm going to go ahead and apologize, but I don't have any in process shots of making this bread. I was running around and the time it took was perfect between doctor appointments. When I make this again I will update it with a guide.

 In a medium bowl combine a packet of yeast and 1 1/2 cups of warm water. Stir so the yeast is evenly distributed, then allow it to rest for five minutes. While the yeast is proofing, in a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients except  the cornmeal. Once the five minutes has passed, pour the yeast mixture into the bowl with the remaining ingredients. I used my favorite kneading tool, my hands. If you have a bread hook for your stand mixer, you can use that as well. There is just something special about getting your hands into it. Start by mixing the dry ingredients into the yeast mixture slowly until it's combined a bit. Now knead until the texture is smooth and all of the flour has been combined into the dough (about ten minutes). It might seem a bit sticky, but that is okay! Cover the bowl with a hand towel and place it into the oven to rise for an hour.

  Once an hour has passed, remove the bowl from the oven. Take out a few cookie sheets, because now you will be forming the dough into smaller loaves. Before forming the loaves, punch the dough down a little bit. I made about five small loaves from the dough, but you could alternatively form buns or one giant loaf. Coat each loaf in cornmeal and place onto the cookie sheet. Once you are done with this process, cover the cookie sheet with cling wrap. If the cling wrap does not have a good hold, place either a hand towel on top or cover with aluminum foil and make sure the edges are secured. Place back into the oven and allow to rise for another hour.

 Now comes the fun part. Baking! Remove the cookie sheets from the oven. Pre-heat the oven to 350. Remove everything you used to cover the bread. Place in the oven in the center rack. Allow to cook for 20-23 minutes or until the crust achieves your desired firmness.

I think this recipe is actually pretty spot on. I'm pretty pleased with how it came out, and I definitely didn't hear any complaints! Enjoy!

 

It's time for a fiesta: Salsa Chicken

  Sometimes you have leftovers, or are just in an incredible funk and don't have any clue what you want to make. Sometimes you change your mind or realize last minute for the millionth time you are missing an ingredient for a recipe (my biggest major oopsie) and then have defrosted chicken sitting there, staring you in the face. Yes, I find myself here from time to time, and surprisingly a few of these recipes become keepers.

LC's Salsa Chicken
160 calories per breast!


Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons of either 2% shredded Mexican Blend cheese or 2% shredded Cheddar cheese per breast
2 heaping large spoons of chunky salsa of your choice per breast

Optional:
1 tablespoon Real Bacon Bits

 
  Start by heating a large skillet to medium. My skillets and pans are non-stick so I do not need to use oil. If you choose, you can use a bit so the chicken does not stick to your skillet. Brown the chicken on both sides until it is cooked all the way through.

  Once your chicken has browned, drain all excess fat from the pan. Return the breasts to their position and leave the heat on medium. Evenly distribute the two tablespoons of your 2% cheese of choice. You can add more or less depending on your taste. Place the cover onto the skillet, allowing the steam to melt the cheese.

  Once the cheese has melted, place two spoonfuls of salsa across each breast. Salsa is very low in calories, so don't feel guilty if you want to pile a little bit more on there! Recover the skillet so the steam warms the salsa. This is especially important if you store your salsa in the refrigerator. It will only take a minute to complete this.

  Magic. A great low-calorie alternative to the regular plain chicken breast. This recipe goes very well with my Spanish Rice. If you want a little extra flavor, add a tablespoon of bacon bits when you are placing the cheese. Real Bacon Bits are a great way to get a strong bacon flavor without the calories. Enjoy!

Super Easy Spanish Rice

  The husband loves all things rice, but normally my rice fluctuates between watery or hard. Once upon a time, when I lived in Connecticut, I used to be able to make perfect rice. It just doesn't seem possible here, and there really isn't a good explanation for that. Sometimes the husband goes out and buys me a few new toys for the kitchen. The newest additions are a rice cooker/steamer and a beautiful rolling pin. I didn't venture to think too much about making variations of rice before I had the cooker, but suddenly it struck me that there are a million possibilities. My previous recipe for stuffed peppers calls for instant Spanish rice. Why not do one better budgetwise and qualitywise, and make it yourself?

LC's Super Easy Spanish Rice
Makes two cups of rice


1 cup uncooked rice, whichever type you prefer
2 cups water
2 tablespoons of ketchup
1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon salt

  This recipe has no prep pictures, because it's really just that easy. This is possible to make without the rice cooker, but I am going to provide the recipe as if you are using it. Dump your rice into the bowl of the rice cooker. Add water until the first water line, or alternatively add about two cups of water. Add in all remaining ingredients, stir to combine. Place the lid on the rice cooker and hit the switch to cook. This will take about 30 minutes to cook. You don't even need to use this in the stuffed peppers, as it is fantastic entirely on it's own. Enjoy!