Guilt Free Meatballs

Who doesn't love a meatball? I know I certainly do! Here's what I did to keep out the fat of my meatballs and yet add flavor and keep the moisture!

Guilt Free Chicken Meatballs

1 serving of Fat Free Bagel Chips (look to your package what that is)
Fat Free PLAIN coffee creamer
2 slices of cooked turkey bacon, finely chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed through garlic press
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
salt to taste
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 lb ground chicken
2 Tbsp tomato paste, divided
1 Tbsp calorie free, sugar free ketchup (Walden Farms makes this)
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Crumble up bagel chips and cover with creamer in bowl. Stir and coat and break up with spoon until softened.

Chop up turkey bacon finely and green onions and put in bowl with softened bagel chips. Press garlic and add. Mix. Add salt, pepper, tomato paste, egg substitute and mix again. Add ground chicken.

Mix until incorporated with fork. Use small scooper (the one I use for cookies) to make meatballs onto nonstick foiled cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. In a small custard cup, mix ketchup, tomato paste and Italian Seasoning.

After ten minutes, brush ketchup mixture onto meatballs and bake for another ten minutes.

Absolutely moist and very tasty! Great on spaghetti squash!

Enjoy!

Orange these yummy!!!

K-man loves those orange rolls made by Pillsbury in a can from the refrigerated section in the grocery. Every so often he requests them for breakfast as a treat. But I am not buying them anymore because I found some recipes. Pioneer Woman's site Tasty Kitchen is where many of her fans can submit recipes. Two inspired me.

Orange Rolls (from mamabunny) and also Orange Marmalade Rolls (the site author Ree Drummond, also can be found in her new cookbook). I wasn't in the mood to make dough from scratch so here's what I did....

Orange Sweet Rolls

2 cans of refrigerated pizza dough or 2 can of crescent dough (they make them without perforations now)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 orange zested

Glaze:
2 T melted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
juice from that zested orange

Roll out dough. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with mixture of sugar and orange zest. Roll up from the long side. Cut each roll into 8(making 16 rolls- and I used dental floss as well). Place in greased cake pan either 10 inch or 13X9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 or until lightly browned on top.

For the glaze, in a bowl add the powdered sugar, melted butter and vanilla. GRADUALLY add the orange juice until you get the desired spreadable frosting/glaze you want. Spread over rolls while hot.

K-man really loved these he loved "the little bit of sweet and little bit of the tang" The house smells incredible right now too!

Enjoy!

Schweeetttttt!

We just finished studying Soul Food in my eighth grade classes. For each cuisine they learn about; they do one lab experience (cornbread) and after their mini quiz on Friday they get one more demonstration of another food for them to see the preparation of it and to sample it. I've done grits, hoppin' john, jambalaya, fritters, hoe cakes and I wanted to try something new. I wanted to make sweet potato pie.

Here's the problem I can't make a pie, bake it, chill it and have them eat it all before they leave in 45 minutes. I had to do the TV magic thing and make one before to pull out when I put it in the oven. Then I thought of another thing...ugh...the slicing....the need for forks and plates and cutting one pie into 12 slices, etc. So I thought....why can't I make them into mini sweet potato pies?


And I did....

Here was my recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Mini Sweet Potato Pies

Vanilla Wafers
1 (16 ounce) can mashed sweet potatoes
3/4 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg
Marshmallow Fluff

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line each a 2 muffin tins with 18 muffin papers. Spray lightly with non stick spray. Put a vanilla wafer in each cup.

In a mixing bowl blend sweet potatoes, milk, sugar, corn syrup, eggs, butter, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg and beat with a electric hand mixer until smooth. Scoop filling into muffin cups with an ice cream scoop. Bake for 20 minutes or until set.

While pies are still hot place a dollop of fluff on each pie to melt. Place in refrigerator to chill.

The kids RAVED over these. I didn't like the fact that these looked more like pumpkin pie (being brown) and not orange from the sweet potatoes. When I do these again, I am going to use real sweet potatoes and not the canned ones which tend to be a dark brownish orange. The fluff was a bit sticky to peel off the paper....but most remained on the mini pie. Sadly, I wasn't able to taste them since my "plan" doesn't allow this kinda stuff....but if the kids were happy and begging for more, it worked for me.

Try your own favorite pie recipe filling as a mini version for the holidays!

Enjoy!

Kickin' Chicken

I love chicken and how there is a million ways to prepare them. Here is number 609. Or #608 or #610. Whichever. LOL

Spicy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken

1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes (dried not the ones in oil if you want a FF version), softened in hot water
1/4 cup Chili pepper vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
one portobello mushroom, sliced thinly
1-2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 cup low sodium chicken stock

Grind up tomatoes, onions, garlic and vinegar in a food chopper.

Spray oven proof pan with non stick spray and on medium high heat, cook salted and peppered chicken on both sides until browned. When chicken is browned in pan pour tomato mixture onto chicken and all around. Use chicken broth in chopper container to 'swirl' out the mixture that is stuck inside....so you don't have to use a scraper!

Bake @ 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until chicken is 160 degrees or juiced run clear.

Slice chicken and top with mushrooms from pan, drizzle with sauce on top.

Post Script: Well the good news is that the 'plan' that I've chosen is clearly a good one for I lost 10 lbs last week. Very happy. (yes, yes people, I know that you should only lose 2lbs a week, no lectures plz) LOL. What is most important is that I am not hungry at all during the day (which is frustrating while dieting) and I am really looking forward to my meal at dinner by this time.

I will try to 'pepper' my posts with some things we are making at school amidst these 'healthy' posts. Stay tuned for my new dessert creation I made for the 8th grade this week.


Enjoy!

And the challenge begins....

No beef, no bread....lots of protein and only about 10 veggies are unlimited. This will be a challenge. If anyone finds what I created somewhat interesting or tasty....I will be stunned. LOL

My GINORMOUS turkey burger would have had a top 'bun' of portabello but I felt this was going to be too much as it was....so I shared with K-man.

As you know ground turkey can be very dry and tasteless. I used many herbs and about a 1/2 cup of minced veggies to help moisten it and it WORKED!

Topless Turkey or Faux Turkey Burger

1 lb. ground turkey (I used the 93%- mostly white meat)
1/4 small onion
1/4 cup pepper medley (you know the frozen pepper strips)
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
Portabello Mushrooms (either one per burger for 'topless' or two for a 'faux' burger)
Cheese Slices (of course, fat free)
bagged cabbage mix
Salad dressing of choice

Put ground turkey in a bowl and add seasonings. Grind up onion and peppers in a mini chopper if you have one or a knife will do. Add finely minced onion and peppers to turkey and mix well. Shape into burgers. Cook burgers on griddle or grill with portabello mushrooms. Burgers are done when thermometer reaches 180 degrees.

Put cabbage mix in a bowl and add your salad dressing of choice until coated. I used a dressing mix included in my plan called 'carribean splash'....it was slightly sweet, chili sauced. Definitely needed salt....but sigh...
Lay mushroom on plate place cheese slice and then burger. Add another cheese slice and pile on cabbage mix and add a mushroom topper or eat topless with a fork and knife. This was pretty hearty and flavorful...I was pleasantly surprised. I couldn't finish it all.

K-man had a regular double burger with real cheese on a bun. He added his mayo and ketchup. He also had a side of sweet potato fries and his cabbage had ranch dressing.

By the way...I got the idea for making a burger with portabello 'buns' from a recent Biggest Loser episode. I may be checking out their site for other recipes.

Enjoy!