Day 58, February 27th, 2012 Spiced Chipotle Chicken

I finally made this recipe where it wasn't so spicy we couldn't even eat it.  Tonight the spice level was perfect.  I only used about a tablespoon of minced chipotle chili.  I also used butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes.

Spiced Chipotle Chicken

Day 57, February 26th, 2012 Fried Pork Chops

We had dinner at Poppy and GiGi's tonight.  They prepared fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans with sausage, and fried okra!  It was all very tasty and obviously not that healthy!  :)  Thank you P&G for dinner.

Day 56, February 25, 2012 Chicken Enchiladas

We had dinner at some friend's house tonight and she made us her yummy! chicken enchiladas!  Thank you Cale & April!  We also had some spanish rice and a spinach salad.

Here is my favorite recipe for chicken enchiladas:

Creamy Chicken Chiladas

1 cup sour cream

½ cup cilantro finely chopped

1 (16oz) green chili salsa (I use salsa verde)

1 (4oz) chopped green chilies

2 cups chicken shredded

1 yellow onion

12 (6 inch) flour tortillas

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Sour cream mixture:  cilantro, sour cream, and salsa

Chicken mixture:  sauté onion in 1 tbsp oil ~2 min.  Combine chicken, onion, and green chilies. 

Heat tortillas until soft.  Pour part of sour cream mix in bottom 9x12 baking dish.  Place chicken mix in each tortilla.  Place seam side down in dish.  Pour remaining sour cream mix on top.  Top with cheddar cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 min.

Day 55, February 24, 2012 Spaghetti (cooked a different way)

This time I put raw ground turkey in the crock pot with a jar of spaghetti sauce and some extra seasonings.  I let it cook for 4 hours and then turned it to low the rest of the day.  We put it on spaghetti.  It turned into a chili like consistency.  I don't think I will do that again.

Day 54, February 23, 2012 Home-made pizza

J had a men's conference to attend tonight so E and I decided to have pizza.  I made the crust from scratch this time using a package of pizza yeast.  I followed the recipe on the back of the package using wheat flour and adding a little honey to the dough.  It turned out pretty good.  I also cooked up some italian flavored ground turkey to put on the pizza.

Day 53, February 22, 2012 Creamy Rice, Chicken, and Spinach Dish

I used to get a free Kraft recipe magazine in the mail every couple of months and this recipe is one of the keepers I found.  I've made this many times and our family really likes it.

Creamy Rice, Chicken, and Spinach Dinner - Kraft Recipe
I follow the recipe exactly.  I have a tip that ensures the rice comes out cooked through.  After you simmer the rice on medium heat for 5 minutes.  Take the pan off the burner and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before you move to the next step.  Also, if you don't have fresh tomatoes you can used some canned diced tomatoes.

Day 52, February 21, 2012 Chicken Tacos

Life group day so I put 4 chicken breasts in the crock pot and poured Costco salsa over the top.  I cooked it for 5 hours and it fell apart.  I had 1 taco before I rushed out the door.

Day 51, February 20th, 2012 Chicken Asparagus Pasta

We had left over rotisserie chicken and some asparagus I needed to use up.  Pasta just sounded good tonight.

Chicken Asparagus Pasta

This was my inspiration but of course I didn't follow the recipe at all.  I added spinach, a few sun dried tomatoes, and a little nonfat half and half too.  I used multigrain pasta not 100% whole wheat.  

It was really really good!

 

Day 50, February 19th, 2012 Habitation Night - Rotisserie Chicken

We needed something quick and easy for dinner because we had to be at church early and all evening.  We got a Rotisserie chicken from Costco.  I ate a few bites of it before we rushed out the door.  My real dinner was a bowl of cereal when I got home.  Peanut butter multigrain cheerios!

Day 49, February 18th, 2012 Meal with Friends

Thank you to Nathan and Rezarta!  They had us over for dinner and Rez cooked us some authentic Mediterranean food.  It was absolutely delicious!  We had a chicken dish, shrimp dish, grain dish, roasted vegetable dish, salad, and bread!  They also had Italian gelato for dessert!  They have some awesome testimonies and we are blessed to have them as our friends!

Day 48, February 17th, 2012 Cola Chicken

I can't believe I haven't already made Cola Chicken since the new year!  It has been a staple in our home for a few years now.  It isn't quick but it is easy, low fat, and delicious.  We also had a low fat corn casserole, and pan fried green beans.  

Cola Chicken

                                         2-4 skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 c. ketchup

12 oz. can diet cola

Put chicken in non - stick skillet. Pour catsup and diet cola over top. Bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and cook for 45 minutes. Uncover, turn up heat and continue to cook until sauce thickens and sticks to chicken.

Corn Casserole

I double the amount of regular corn.  I still use one can cream of corn.  I use the jiffy mix.  I use low fat sour cream (I would use fat free too).  *I add an egg which the recipe doesn't call for.*  I use 1/4 cup butter (and this time I used a combo of healthy choice butter, low fat butter, and regular butter.  I had to use up some scraps.)  And I sprinkle the top with a little low fat cheese.  I bake the same.  It is so good!

E ate chicken and some corn casserole and some left over mac and cheese.

Day 47, February 16th, 2012 White Bean Chicken Chili

White Bean Chicken Chili

I adapted this recipe to use in the crockpot.  I put the chicken in first and covered it with a jar of salsa verde and let it cook for 4 hours.  Then I poured in some chicken broth, a can of fire roasted tomatoes, 2 cans of white beans, and the seasonings called for in the recipe.  I also shredded the chicken at this point.  Before I served it I added about 1/3 cup of fat free half and half to make it more of a creamy consistency.  Because I added too much chicken broth (because I don't like to measure) it was more like a soup.  

E ate white beans with chicken and cheese.  And then a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  And then a banana cut up into slices with peanut butter on each slice.  Oh yea, and a bowl a popcorn!

Day 46, February 15th, 2012 Caramelized Chipotle Chicken

It's good to be back cooking!  We had this chicken and it was tasty.  I also made some roasted brussels and cauliflower with balsamic vinegar.

Caramelized Chipotle Chicken

I followed the recipe and grilled the chicken on the stovetop.

Day 45, February 14th, 2012 Joe T. Garcia's

Happy Love Day!
We have a tradition of going to my favorite mexican food restaurant, Joe T. Garcia's.  If you've never made the trek to Cow Town for some awesome mexican food you truly are missing out!

Day 44, February 13th, 2012 Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Repeat of Day 27 except we had pan fried green beans.  I made this so we would have left overs for Poppy and GiGi the next day!

Day 43, February 12th, 2012 Chicken Tacos

We had a dinner meeting at someone's house tonight and so we had a surprise meal.  It was a mexican themed spread.  I ate a salad and one chicken taco.  It was yummy and I'm so thankful for another meal provided for us!  :)

Day 42, February 11th, 2012 Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

This meal was so easy and delicious.  I will be keeping this recipe for sure.  It would be easy to make for a dinner party or play date.  

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

I liked this recipe because it didn't use Ro-Tel but instead used a can of diced tomatoes and a can of chopped green chilies.  I followed the recipe except I used canola oil instead of vegetable oil.

Everett ate a chicken cheese quesadilla.  

Day 41, February 10th, 2012 Home-made Pizza

We had a marriage conference to go to tonight...Jimmy Evans, Marriage on The Rock.

I made a home-made pizza using italian flavored ground turkey.  It was really good. 

Day 40, February 9th, 2012 Grilled Rosemary Lemon Chicken and Roasted Cauliflower

I actually cooked this night!  I've had a pretty busy week this week.  I cooked dinner and scarfed it down and then headed to go see a movie with one of my friends.  The movie was a sneak preview of a movie coming out in March.  It's called October Baby.  I highly recommend seeing this movie when it comes out in March.  It was soooo good!  You will cry!  But a good cry!
Here's a link to see a trailer:  October Baby

Grilled Rosemary Lemon Chicken
I put a link to day 9 for this recipe.

Roasted Cauliflower
I put a link all the way back to day 3 for this recipe.

Day 38, February 8th, 2012 Chipotle

We decided last minute to drive all the way over to Plano for a rally one of the presidential candidates was having this night.  Because of that we didn't have time for dinner.  We decided after the rally to go by Chipotle and have a salad.  In the past I would have never done that because I love to get chips with my bowl and eat it like a dip.  But this night I was proud of myself.  I got a salad, brown rice, black beans, and no cheese or sour cream!  That's definitely a first for me!  I didn't take a picture because I didn't want to make you jealous!

Day 38, February 7th, 2012 Salad and Baked Potato with 2 new recipes!

We had a life group social tonight.  We decided to stick with the healthy theme and had a baked potato and salad bar.  Everyone brought different food items and I think it turned out great.  I had a baked potato with low fat sour cream, a tiny bit of cheese, and a little bit of margarine.  I also had a salad with black bean corn salsa and cilantro-lime ranch dressing.
Here are the recipes for the dressing and salsa I made:
Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing - I used low fat mayo and it turned out great.
Black Bean and Corn Salad 

Day 37, February 6th, 2012 Brisket

We had a dinner meeting tonight and so we were pleasantly surprised with dinner. We had brisket, baked beans, and potatoes. No picture again. We are having a social at life group tomorrow night so I will try to remember the picture!

Day 36, February 5th, 2012 NY Strip Steak

We had dinner over at Poppy & GiGi's tonight. They know we are trying to eat healthy so the kept that in mind. Dinner was great. We had NY Strip steaks with homemade steak fries and Lima beans. I forgot to take a picture.

Day 35, February 4th, 2012 Spiced Chipotle Honey Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

This is a repeat of Day 20 except I didn't bake it but instead I cooked it in the crockpot.  I like the baked version better which is what the recipe says to do.  I also made it too spicy this time.  We had to rinse the potatoes off!  Those chipotle chili's are hot hot hot!!

E ate peas and a pb&j sandwich.  It was too spicy for his little tongue.  

Day 35, February 4th, 2012 Part 1 - No Bake Energy Bites

I've seen these on Pinterest for awhile and thought I would give them a try.  I'm glad I did!  They are great.  I can't get E to agree just yet but I know he will like them one day....maybe tomorrow.  

No Bake Energy Bites

Followed the recipe!  

Day 34, February 3rd, 2012 Pistachio Crusted Chicken

My cousin Abby was telling me about a recipe where you crust chicken in pistachio's.  (Thanks Abby!) That took me on a recipe search and I finally settled for one off of www.AllRecipes.com.  We also had an asparagus couscous.  The chicken was a keeper!

Pistachio Crusted Chicken

I followed the recipe except I didn't cut the chicken into strips but just pounded them to even thickness.  I also only used one piece of bread that I ground in my food processor with the pistachio's instead of 1/2 cup of bread crumbs.  I will make this again.  

Asparagus Couscous

I didn't have a recipe.  I roasted some asparagus and then cut it into pieces.  I cooked a box of parmesan flavored couscous and added the asparagus to it.  I bought some plain couscous at Sprout's later that night that I'm going to experiment with.

E ate the couscous because I told him it was mac and cheese!  He gave it a 'mmmm'.  He also ate some of the chicken.  

Day 33, February 2nd, 2012 Fuddrucker's

We had a birthday party today at Fuddrucker's. (Happy Birthday T-man and G-man!)  I did my research before going and I think we ended up with a healthy meal in the end.  I had a grilled chicken sandwich with cajun seasoning.  I didn't get any cheese and I chose a wheat bun and asked for no butter or oil on my bun.  I didn't put any mayo on it and loaded it up with tomatoes, pico de gallo, and lettuce.  Jeremy and I split an order of sweet potato fries.  I didn't eat a cupcake which looked amazing and I just walked past the rice krispies that were calling my name!
I finally got my sense of smell back a little so that's a good thing!!

Day 32, February 1st, 2012 Chicken Enchiladas

Today I used the left over chicken from last night and made some chicken enchiladas.  I still didn't have any sense of smell so I couldn't taste anything.  J said they were good.  

Chicken Enchiladas

I used the chicken, 1 can of sauce, and maybe 1/3 cup of cheese.  I only made 4 enchiladas and added onions.

E ate a chicken cheese quesadilla and black beans.  

Day 31, January 31st, 2012 Cafe Rio Chicken Tacos

I broke down and went to the doctor today after being sick for two weeks.  I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and I am now on antibiotics.  The worst thing about all of this is that I can't TASTE anything today!!!  Nothing!  It is life group night so I needed something easy so I decided to do the Cafe Rio Chicken again.  See day 13 for the recipe.

It is really pointless to cook tasty food when you can't taste it.  I have no idea how it turned out and I didn't really eat any of it so I forgot to take a picture.  I'm so ready to be well!

E ate avocado, black beans, and chicken and cheese.

Day 30, January 30th, 2012 Super Salad

I've been pretty sick and worn out so when J came home from work and offered Super Salad I said Yes! Please!  :)  I had a big salad full of yummy veggie's.  I also had a baked potato with chili on it.  I didn't eat very much of it.

Thank you, J!  I love you soooooo much!

Day 29, January 29th, 2012 Pizza and salad

We had a meeting this night and dinner was provided.  I had salad, grapes, and 1 slice of Papa John's pizza.  I didn't eat the crust and I tried to find a piece that had more veggie's on it.  I forgot to take a picture.