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!

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!

Chicken Pot Pie for two

  Today was a day to celebrate. Despite what I thought, I got some great news from my doctor. After eight months of series of blood tests, medications, and dozens of appointments we finally got the results we've been working on. I wanted to have a party with my doctor, but it might have been kind of awkward considering his specialty. Instead, I decided I wanted a little treat tonight. Tonight, I would make pot pie from scratch!

LC's Chicken Pot Pie para Dos


2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced.
1 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
Half of a white onion, diced small
2 cups of 99% fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
1 to 1 1/2 cups of 2% milk, to taste
1/4 cup flour + 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 cup peas, can be canned or frozen.
2 tablespoons I Can't Believe It's Not Butter light.  (You can use butter instead, but it will add 120 calories)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 small portion pie crust, half of one of the balls from my previous recipe.

  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. For this recipe I will be using two ramekins as my baking dish. One is 7 oz and I believe the other is at least 12-14 oz. Brown the diced chicken over medium heat in a deep skillet. While it is cooking, dice up all of the vegetables. Once the chicken is done browning and looks cooked through, remove it from the skillet and place on a plate for the time being. Melt one tablespoon of your ICBINB, then dump the carrots, celery and onion on top of it. You will add the peas later! Allow the vegetables to cook until the onion starts to become transparent, this takes about 8 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of flour to the vegetables. Stir so it is well combined. Add the chicken broth, stir. Add the milk, one tablespoon of ICBINB and stir. Allow to cook on medium low for five minutes. It should only boil slightly, if at all. Stir frequently, or it will get a bit clumpy. Once the five minutes has elapsed, add the chicken to the liquid mixture as well as the peas, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well.

  Distribute the soup between the two ramekins. You might have a little extra, but thankfully I had a willing helper that was willing to assist with some taste testing.

 Roll out your dough just so it's large enough to cover the top of your ramekin. My ramekin's do not have much of a lip, so I simply crimped around the sides. If yours do have a lip, I suggest going around the corners with a fork to create a nice seal.. and it looks prettier! Cut a couple of vents into the center of each pot pie, or it will burst and boil over. Place onto a baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes or until the crust is browned.

 An ugly pan is a well loved pan. Pot pie doesn't have to be completely bad for you. Portioning with ramekins makes this a nice treat to have every once in a while, and won't even require those extra big pants tomorrow. This is relatively easy to make, and has become another on the list of repeats here. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Here's the Skinny on King Ranch Casserole

  When I married my husband, I learned a whole new variety of dishes and so did he. I hail from Connecticut, and he is from Texas. One of his favorite dishes is called King Ranch casserole. This delicious, comforting dish is fantastic and easy, but normally can pack a bit of a punch with calories. Instead of breaking my husband's heart and nixing this dish forever once we started being better about eating, I found a way to cut nearly 100 calories per serving!

LC's Skinny King Ranch
Makes four servings
Comes in at 255 calories per serving!


4 skinless, boneless thin cut chicken filets
1 can 98% fat free condensed chicken soup
1 can 98% fat free condensed mushroom soup
1 can of Original Rotel
1/4 cup 2% shredded cheese, Mexican blend
2 50 calorie low carb high fiber tortillas

  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

  Start by cubing the chicken breasts, then browning the meat in a skillet over medium heat. While the meat is browning, prepare the filling for the casserole.

  In a large bowl, combine the cans of cream of mushroom, cream of chicken and the can of Rotel. Combine well, as the consistency of this combination is the base for the whole casserole.

  Take out a casserole dish. Tear up your tortillas into smaller pieces and line the entire bottom of the dish. Don't make the pieces too small, but don't leave them large either as this will make serving difficult later on. Once the chicken is done browning, drain any fat from the pain. Place the chicken inside the lined casserole dish.

  Pour the liquid mixture over the chicken, covering it evenly. Spread with a spatula if necessary to make everything even. Sprinkle with cheese just so it is lightly coated or to taste. Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes.

  When it is done cooking, it should be lightly brown, bubbly and the cheese should be melted.

  This dish is super easy, and very satisfying. It is a nice, thick comforting soup for a cold day or simply when you want a little variation to your meals. Enjoy!

Oven Baked Bacon Ranch Chicken

  Sometimes you are going to judge me. I am totally fine with that. I also have a confession to make.

  Sometimes I beat my meat with a hammer. You should be proud, because prior to the hammer I was using a maglite like a rogue cop. When you can't find a meat hammer, it's amazing what you find that works! I'd just like to think of myself as creative, with a tinge of crazy. Either way, it makes making dinner a little more fun.

  We love chicken in my house, and I probably know how to prepare it in over a dozen ways. Most of those ways are in the skillet, so when I found a recipe to cook it in the oven I was a little curious of what the outcome would be. I find that cooking in the oven leaves you with a breast that is very tender, and cooked more evenly than in the skillet. (Not to knock the skillet, because it is still great!) One of the big things on my journey to eating better is that I did not want to sacrifice taste in my quest to lower calories and eat better. I'm not the type that can survive eating like a rabbit, or even try to pretend I love it. I still have rare encounters with salad, simply because I know there are better options! And what would life be like without bacon? It would definitely be a much sadder place.

Oven Baked Bacon Ranch Chicken
Slight variation of Hungry Girl's Ranch-o Bacon Chicken.
Serves.. as many as you want! This recipe can be made by the breast.
Calories per breast 186!


1 lean chicken breast cutlet
1/2 teaspoon of dry ranch dressing mix
1 tablespoon crumbled real bacon bits. (The type I use is Oscar Meyer. Don't get the fake ones!)


Switch it up!
  If you feel like mixing this recipe up a bit, you can substitute the 1 tablespoon of bacon bits with 1/2 tablespoon of French's Fried Onions and 1/2 tablespoon of bacon bits. The calorie count will remain about the same and give it an extra boost of flavor.

  Start by preheating your oven to 375. Have a cookie sheet prepared with either aluminum foil, or you can just add a little oil to your pan and coat it evenly.

  Now you are going to take your chicken breast and pound it until it is nice, flat and even. I usually do this by placing a sheet of clingwrap on my work surface, placing the chicken in the middle, then draping half of the cling wrap over it so the chicken is completely enfolded. I then beat it with my wonderful hammer until it has spread out a little bit and appears to be even. Unfold the clingwrap and place your chicken breast onto the cookie sheet. Repeat for remaining breasts, if you have any.

  Next you are going to take 1/2 a teaspoon of dry ranch mix and coat the top of the chicken breast with it. I find it spreads better if you almost use a sifting motion with your measuring spoon so it sprinkles onto it, then spread it a bit with your hand so it is evenly coated. Some will collect in the crevices of your chicken, but that is okay!

 
  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of bacon bits over the chicken. Once you have done this, gently press the bacon bits into the breast so they are sticking to it pretty well. Most of the top of your chicken should be covered in bacon at this point. Yum! If you noticed, the second chicken breast in the photo has less bacon, but that's because I added 1/2 tablespoon of French's to switch it up a little. Repeat this for all of the chicken you are cooking.

  Place the cookie sheet into the oven. Allow to cook for 20-25 minutes. For my oven, I leave it in for the full 25. Your house is going to smell amazing within the first five minutes, and make you wish those 20 minutes were over!

  This dish is an excellent example of how you can have something indulgent, without adding a ridiculous amount of calories. Baking in the oven really makes the flavors combine well with the meat, and also helps drain excess fat. I usually pair this with green beans, but I bet a baked potato would be fantastic too. Enjoy!