Chicken Satay with Shirataki Noodles & Garlic Green Beans

Quick, simple, delicious & nutritious! With yummy Asian flavors to boot!

Ingredients:
Chicken Breast Tenders
Shirataki Angel Hair
Green Beans
Mung Beans
Minced Garlic (I use fresh pre-minced)
Olive Oil Spary (Love my Misto!)
Peanut Satay Sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste

The Full Circle Sauce was better, IMO.

I used 2 of these packages

Nutrion Info

Here are some of the brands I used.








Directions:

First set a pot of water to boil so it's ready when you are.

Grill the chicken tenders over med heat (I use my stovetop grill sprayed with plenty of olive oil)
Remove to a platter and cover with foil.

The following steps overlap:

• Steam green beans in the Microwave for 3 mins
• Add the Shirataki Angel Hair to the water and prepare according to package directions.
• Spray the grill with more oil and add the green beans with garlic, salt & pepper to taste and toss around for 1-2 mins. Toss the mung beans in there for the last 30 seconds. Remove to a serving dish.

Once noodles are drained and dry toss with peanut satay sauce to taste.

Serve:

Put a few chicken tenders on each plate and drizzle with satay sauce. Place a small mound of noodles next to them, top with green beans and mung beans as a nice crunchy garnish and another drizzle of sauce.  Keep more sauce on hand for dipping the chicken.

ENJOY!!!

Easy Baked Manicotti

This is one of my favorite traditional Italian meals.  I've Never actually made it myself, but with this recipe I may just give it a try.

Ingredients:

2 cups pasta sauce, divided

1-3/4 cups reduced fat Ricotta Cheese

1-1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1/2 cup  Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup  pesto (optional)

12 manicotti shells, cooked, rinsed in cold wate

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F.

Spread 3/4 cup pasta sauce onto bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. 

Mix cheeses, egg and pesto (if using) until well blended; spoon into resealable plastic bag. Use scissors to cut small corner from bottom of bag.

Fill manicotti shells by squeezing cheese mixture into both sides of each shell; place in baking dish. Top with remaining pasta sauce.

Bake 40 min. covered or until heated through.

Size-wise

Enjoy your favorite foods on occasion, but keep portion size in mind. This recipe makes enough to serve 6.

Variation

If you prefer a more traditional style manicotti, simply omit the pesto.

Cavatappi Alla Caprese

Like a caprese salad but without the balsamic vinegar. Although I suspect that this would pair in a most excellent fashion alongside grilled chicken drizzled with a balsamic reduction glaze. Mmm!
Still, quite lovely just as it is, a simple vegetarian dish.

Ingredients
(Serves 6)
1 lb.  pasta
1 pint  grape tomatoes, quartered
2 tbs.  olive oil
1/2 tbs.  minced garlic
1/4 cup  fresh basil, chopped
1/4 pasta sauce
8 oz  part skim mozzarella, diced

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Add a small amount of oil to the pot to prevent sticking. Drain and set aside.
While pasta cooks, mince garlic, dice tomatoes & mozzarella and chop the basil.
Use the same pot to soften garlic in the olive oil over med-low heat.
Toss pasta and all ingredients except cheese and mix until heated. Add salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Toss in cheese, mix and serve.
A small amount of grated cheese sprinkled on each serving is a nice last touch


Read more: http://caloriecount.about.com/cavatappi-alla-caprese-recipe-r732875#ixzz1UgCv3Mf1

Desirée’s Dinner Menu

Week of February 27, 2011

Mini Meatball Calzones, served with garden salad.

Pizza crust loaded with chunky tomato sauce, meatballs and mozzarella cheese.

Tomato Basil Pasta with fresh mozzarella, served with sweet Italian sausage & garden salad.

A light and chunky tomato sauce with fresh chopped basil & chucks of fresh mozzarella served over cavatappi.

Mediterranean Pork Chops, served with couscous.

Simmered with fresh oregano, garlic, olive oil, summer squash, zucchini, green beans, diced tomatoes and sliced black olives.

Tacos Done Light, served with whole wheat tortillas, Spanish rice & fire-roasted corn.

A mix of seasoned ground beef and pork for a little less fat. Also served with classic taco fixin’s:  shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, sliced olives & salsa.

Asian Meatballs, served with Asian noodles & stir-fried vegetables.

Pork meatballs made with ginger, sesame oil and other Asian flavors for a far-east twist on a Mediterranean classic.

If you are what you eat...

then I must be crap! 
For whatever reason(s), in recent years, I've developed a very unhealthy relationship with food, but I'm trying to change that. I read an eye-opening article the other day about food myths and other good-to-know facts.  The part that stuck out most in my mind is this little tid-bit for you to chew on...

For a healthy and well balanced diet your plate should be half fruits &/or veggies (yes that's right I said HALF!), one quarter lean protein and one quarter complex carbs.  That is like a complete 180 for my family, and Americans in general.  I mean, I knew we needed to eat more fruits and veggies, but I didn't fully understand just how far off the mark we were.
STOP!....
...and think about this for a minute! When you go out to eat that is not the way your plate looks at all!!! It's more like half meat/half carbs (both of which are equal to two servings or more and likely not lean or complex to boot) and then an extra 1/8 - 1/4 veggies as an after thought. The vegetable is more like a garnish! Unless, or course, you order a vegetarian dish or a salad and even then there's probably ten times the amount of fat (dressing) you should eat.

So I am making a vow to meet this goal for my family as often as possible.

I have to say that I did this for myself yesterday and felt better than I have in a  l  o  n  g  time. I eat a bunch of fruits & veggies at each meal and for snacks. Though it was my lost calorie day (other than the day I had a stomach flu and didn't eat at all) I felt fuller longer all day. I was never starving. I felt the way I am supposed to feel and it felt good!

Wish us luck and I hope you and yours have the same success in healthy eating. ;D

Skillet BBQ Pork Chops

This is a classic from my childhood and oh so good! It's one of the first recipes I put in my recipe box when I moved out of the house; one of the first dishes I learned to prepare. It's pretty simple.  I'm not really sure why it's been so long since I last made it? Anyway, it was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The kids protested at first but once they had a taste of the sweet & tangy sauce they ate it up without complaint. Andrew loved it, but then he's the best eater in this house anyway. ;-)

Ingredients:
6 Pork Chops (I use boneless)
1 Tbs. Oil
1/3 C. Celery, chopped
2 Tbs. Brown Sugar
2 Tbs. Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
salt & pepper to taste
2 cans Tomato sauce (8oz. each)

1 can Diced Tomatoes (15oz) optional, see tips below.

How To:
Brown chops in the oil over med heat for about 3-5 minutes per side. Set aside and add remaining ingredients to pan, stir to mix and return chops to the pan. Bring to a light boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hr. stirring occasionally.

Serve over whole wheat egg noodles or brown rice alongside your favorite veggie. My kids like steamed broccoli, green beans or baby carrots.

Tips:
Brown rice is a great choice as it takes almost as long to simmer.  Also, I love this sauce so much that I usually make 1.5 - 2 times the recipe and I like to add a can of diced tomatoes for a bit more texture but the main recipe listed above is the way my mother always made it.