Balsamic Pulled Chicken Sandwiches & Chopped Salad

This all started with boneless skinless chicken thighs which were on sale at the grocery store for $1.29/lb. Of course the smallest package was almost 2 pounds - so I divided it into two ziploc bags with marinade. One had a dill/lemon/honey and one was balsamic and herbs. I also had left over brioche rolls (surprisingly I didn't eat them all since Sunday night!) - Yes! Balsamic pulled chicken sandwiches! And all those fresh veggies I picked up at the store would make an awesome chopped salad.

Balsamic Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 rolls
Salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil

Marinate chicken in the vinegar and spices overnight or for a day or two. Grill until cooked through and slice while hot to get the pulled effect. Pile on rolls and top with cheese, sliced tomato, bbq sauce or any other condiments you'd like.

Chopped Salad

1/2 head of romaine lettuce

1/2 cup grape tomatoes sliced in half

1/3 green pepper

2 stalks celery

Choice of dressing

Chop all of the veggies into 1/2 inch pieces and toss to combine so it looks like one uniform salad with lots of colors. Add any toppings you'd like - sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, etc.

Sunday Night Cheesesteaks

It was Sunday night and we literally had no food in the house. Since we were near a Trader Joe's we popped in to pick up enough essentials to make dinner. I was scouring the meat section and noticed "Shaved Beef for Sandwiches" for $4.99/lb - a ha! Cheesesteaks!! This would be an easy meal combined with a salad made from the last of the baby spinach, dried cranberries and gorgonzola cheese. All we needed was cheese and rolls. I found a 6 pack of brioche rolls ($2.49) and some mild cheddar cheese ($2.09) - nice, easy and cheap!

Cheesesteaks
1 lb of shaved sandwich beef - or any really thin sliced beef
2 rolls
Sliced cheese
8 pieces jarred green peppers
Salt, ground black pepper, red pepper flake, parsley

Season and grill the beef until cooked through. I of coursed used the Foreman, but you could grill on whatever type of grill you have. If you choose to saute / broil, just drain the meat on some paper towel before adding to the rolls. Add the cheese to the top of the meat so it gets melty. Add to the roll and top with peppers. Makes 3 sandwiches.

Cost: $7.02

Calories in 1 sandwich: 542


I had every intention in diving straight into one (or 2) of these rolls - until I turned over the package and looked at the label. 160 calories in one roll. I had a perfectly good light hotdog roll that had 4 grams of fiber and only 80 calories. Yes, bringing the calories in my sandwich down to 462. A lot easier to swallow than almost 550.

Spicy Honey Chicken

I scored some chicken drumsticks at the grocery store today for only $1.52 for 5 drumsticks. I had previously made chicken with mustard and herbs and wanted to switch it up. Looking in the spice cabinet I spotted the cayenne pepper and honey - perfect. I served this chicken with greenbeans and carrots and baked potatoes. You could use boneless skinless chicken breasts also.

Spicy Honey Chicken
1 lb chicken drumsticks
2-3 tsps honey
Salt, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, parsley

Rinse and trim chicken. Coat with spices on all sides. Grill until half-way done, flipping twice. Drizzle each drumstick with honey and let grill. On the George Foreman, this becomes a nice glaze. Do this a few more times, rotating the drumsticks and basting/drizzling with honey until done. Serve with your favorite vegetable and starch.

Better than ______ Brownies

This recipe is a sure-hit for any party, bbq or baking contest. Its won numerous awards (including a contest I created myself, ha ha). One word of caution, if these brownies are left unattended (ie if you "make them for home") they will be gone in one night. For me, these brownies are better than watching The Bachelorette with a bowl of icecream and sweatpants!

Better than _____ Brownies
1 Box of chocolate cake mix - not Devil's Food, preferably the "Triple Chocolate Fudge" from Betty Crocker
1 Egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 bag plus 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk and 1 cup chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl and microwave for 1 minute. In a separate large bowl, mix together oil and egg. Add cake mix and stir until crumbly - mixture will be dryish but should clump together well. Add rest of the chocolate chips to the cake mixture. Press half of the cake mix and chocolate chips into a 9x13 inch baking pan. Stir together the milk and chocolate chips into a fudgy consistency. Pour this on top of the cake mix pressed in the pan. Now its time to get your hands dirty - crumble the rest of the cake mix on top of the fudgy stuff. Essentially this is a layered bar. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until bubbly in the middle and the cake mix parts look crisp. Try to let cool before you cut into 16-20 bars.

I highly recommend this brownie recipe for the next function you have to bring something to. You can also make alternate versions using different flavored chips in the cake mix part, or adding chopped nuts.

Cost = $8.17

Calories = you don't want to know

Penne with Turkey Parmesan Meatballs & Spicy Pepper Tomato Sauce

I don't think I've made pasta in about 18 months - its just not my favorite food. But, combined with ground turkey meatballs and an awesome sauce and you've got yourself a meal! I have always made my own tomato sauce, its pretty simple and cuts out the sugars and fats in jarred sauce.

Turkey Parmesan Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey - 93% lean
1/4 cup bread crumbs - unseasoned
1 egg white
1/4 parmesan cheese
2 tsps tomato sauce
Salt, ground black pepper, basil, oregano & parsley

Mix together all ingredients and form into 1 1/2 inch balls. Grill on the George Foreman for about 8 minutes or until cooked through. Alternatively, cook in a medium sized skillet browning on each side. Once cooked, drain well on a plate covered with paper towels. Makes about 18 meatballs.


Spicy Pepper Tomato Sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
20 slices of hot cherry peppers
Salt, ground black pepper, basil, red pepper flake

Cook all ingredients together in a medium sized sauce pan for 40 minutes or until thickened.


Serve together over penne cooked according to directions on the package - 10-12 minutes in boiling water.

Tuscan Steak Cobb Salad

My favorite cut of beef is a london broil steak. Its often on sale for under $3/lb and its really low in fat. With this recipe, I wanted to use up some of the vegetables that were a couple of days shy of landing in the trash. As I pulled out the avocado, tomato, spinach and gorgonzola cheese - it started to look like a cobb salad!

Tuscan Steak
1 lb London Broil cut of beef
Balsalmic vinegar
Rosemary, red pepper flake, salt and fresh ground black pepper

Season the steak with spices on both sides. Grill until about half-way done and then pour some vinegar over. On the George Foreman this becomes a nice glaze. Add more vinegar two more times before its finished. Total grilling time for medium rare is about 8 minutes

Cobb Salad
2 cups of baby spinach leaves
1 avocado
1 green pepper
1 medium sized tomato
1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese
2 tbs of low-fat balsalmic vinegarette

Wash and roughly chop the avocado, pepper and tomato into large chunks. Arrange on plates with sliced steak with spinach in the middle of the plate and then sections of vegetables, beef and cheese around.

Chicken Tacos with Homemade Salsa

I've never bought ground chicken breast before, but heck it was on sale so I figured I would try it! So on sale, that I got a pound of 99% fat free for only $2.40. We love spicy food and hadn't had tacos in a while - so I thought this would be a great foray into using ground chicken. Ground chicken tacos! Well, once I got home from the grocery store I realized that I hadn't purchased any salsa - usually a staple on the list - but I had purchased tomatoes and green peppers! I guess it was time for another first - homemade salsa!

Chicken Tacos
4 whole wheat healthy small tortillas - I used South Beach's Snack-Size Wraps (only 90 Calories each) http://www.southbeachdiet.com/santafe/products/snack.html
1 lb of ground chicken - look for the 99% fat free kind
Chili powder, salt and ground black pepper
Toppings: Avocado, lettuce, salsa, cheddar cheese

Brown the chicken in a non-stick pan stirring often. Add the spices and cook at least 10 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from pan and transfer onto a paper plate lined with paper towel to absorb the excess fat - yes that 1% will make a difference! Add meat to wrap and top with fresh avocado, lettuce and salsa.


Homemade Salsa
1/4 cup frozen corn (thawed)
1 tomato finely chopped
1/2 green pepper finely chopped
7 slices of hot cherry peppers chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt, pepper, cumin, cilantro, oregano, parsley, and hot pepper flake to taste

Mix the vegetables with the lemon juice and spices. Let rest in the refridgerator for 1/2 hour before serving.

Herb-y Turkey Burgers

I love ground turkey and actually prefer it to ground beef. Usually I buy the package of Purdue 93% lean ground turkey for about $2.24. I make everything from meatloaf to meatballs to burgers and chili. This is a new combo for the turkey burgers. I really wanted to pump up the flavors to create a deep, complicated and rich taste. I like making my own burgers because I can easily separate out a portion for myself and then make the bf's larger! Taking control of your burger....

Herb-y Turkey Burgers
1 lb of ground turkey (93% lean)
1 tbs whole grain dijon mustard
1 tbs honey
1/4 of red onion finely chopped
Spices: thyme, rosemary, parsley, salt & pepper
3 English Muffins toasted
4 slices of Brie cheese

Combine the turkey, mustard, onion and spices until well blended. Be generous with the spices. Portion off into 3 burgers - 1 small and 2 large. Mold each large burger around one slice of brie. Grill for about 10 minutes or until done. Take the burgers off the grill. Drizzle with honey. Add extra cheese to the two larger burgers. Serve on english muffins with your choice of condiments - barbeque sauce, pickles or roasted red peppers are good choices.

Chicken Sausage with Roasted Tomatoes & Corn

I bought a couple of packages of chicken sausage on sale (2 for $5!) and threw them in the freezer for a good back up meal. So, I started defrosting the jalapeno kind in the microwave and looked for other ingredients in the fridge. I had picked up a large container of grape tomatoes which needed to be finished. But what to do with the tomatoes? Too many for salad and quite frankly I was tired of raw tomatoes. Ah ha! Time to roast them in the pan. This meal is really seasonal - the corn, basil and tomatoes are all very summer-y flavors - just mixed up to create a new taste.

2 cups grape tomatoes
2/3 cups frozen or fresh corn
1 package chicken sausage
Basil, salt and ground pepper

Heat a medium sized skillet (I used my regular one, not the non-stick) over medium high heat. Spray with cooking spray and add in the tomatoes. If the corn is frozen, defrost in the microwave for 90 seconds. Let the tomatoes roast in the pan for 3 minutes, add in the spices. Next, slice the chicken sausages length wise but leaving butterflied. Place the sausages face down in the pan with the tomatoes. Cover and just let this roll for about 3 minutes. Flip the sausages over and add the corn. Turn off the heat and leave covered.


Cost:
$4.70

Calories in 1 sausage and 1/2 tomatoes:
251

Steak Pinwheels & Cheesy Baked Potatoes

I love cooking steak (even on the George Foreman), but its hard to find steak in small enough packages - I usually look for less than 1 pound of steak for two of us. At the grocery I noticed .75 lbs of "Brasciole" cut steak, it looked really lean and was less than $4! Not sure what brasciole is, but it looked like two large thin sliced steaks, I figured I could work with that so I grabbed two packages. I already had cheese and baby spinach in the grocery cart - yes, I could make pinwheels that I used to buy pre-made at Stew Leonard's!



Steak Pinwheels
2 Brasciole cut Steaks (or other 1/2 inch thick cut steaks)
1/4 cup feta cheese
1 cup fresh baby spinach
20 slices cherry peppers
Dried oregano, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flake


Spread out one steak on a plate, top with half of the spinach first, then cheese, peppers and spices. Take one end and fold about 1/4 of the way to the other end. Proceed to roll the steak gently and place on the grill. Repeat same process for second steak. Cook about 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Cut each steak in half so it stays folded and serve with the pinwheel up for a lovely presentation.



Cheesy Baked Potatoes
1 large potato
1 small potato
3 pieces of cheese
Spray butter
Dried parsley, salt and pepper


Bake the potatoes in the microwave about 6 minutes on high. Cut each in half. Spray some spray butter, sprinkle with spices. Put a piece of cheese in each potato (2 pieces in the large potato for him) and close the hot potato around the cheese. The cheese melts and makes it really delish - you'll be surprised at how hot the potato gets and how fast the cheese melts.




Meal Cost:
$7.07


Calories in 1/2 steak pinwheel and small cheesy potato:
372.5

His & Her's Sunday Scramble

I really love making breakfast at home on the weekends - its relaxing, rejuvenating and tons healthier and cheaper than eating at a diner. I usually make breakfast sandwiches, but since it was a holiday weekend, I thought I would make something a bit more decadent. This recipe calls for making two separate dishes - one for him and one for her. I would normally suggest just eating a smaller portion, but you can get the same taste with a lot less calories by making a separate egg white version for her.



His Scramble
3 eggs
1 medium potato
2 slices of cheese - or about 1.5 oz of your favorite cheese
10 slices of jarred hot cherry peppers

4 frozen breakfast sausages (thawed and chopped)
Salt
Ground black pepper
Parsley
Crushed red pepper flake

Microwave the potatos for 5 minutes on high. Meanwhile heat a skillet over medium high heat. Scramble the eggs with the spices. Spray the skillet with non-stick spray. Once the potato is done, chop and add to the skillet with the peppers and sausages. Let this saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg mixture to the pan and cook about half-way and add the cheese. Turn the burner off and let cook until done.


Her Scramble
3 Egg whites
1/2 potato
6 slices hot cherry peppers
Salt
Ground black pepper
Parsley
Crushed red pepper flake

Cook the potato with the other potato. Heat the skillet over medium high heat. Scramble the egg whites with the spices. Spray the pan with non-stick spray. Chop the potato and add to the pan with the peppers. Let this saute for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites to the pan and cook until done, stirring occasionally.


His Scramble Calories = 610

Her Scramble Calories = 136

Party Kabobs!

So I was invited to a 4th of July party / barbeque, and I started to stress about what to bring. I usually make a salad, but wanted to switch things up. The last time I made a pasta salad it cost me about $12 in ingredients, so my goal was to make something super healthy and a lot less expensive. Here's my recipe for kabobs - if you can't find some ingredients fresh or on sale, just substitute.

Party Kabobs
1 small eggplant
3 not-too-ripe plum tomatoes
2 green peppers
1 small vidalia onion
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
fresh ground pepper
red pepper flake
parsley

Soak about 14 bamboo skewers in water. Chop all the vegetables into one inch cubes and add to a large mixing bowl. Toss the veggies with the olive oil and spices. Use a generous amount of spices to coat the veggies. Skewer the veggies on the bamboo sticks and place in a rubbermaid container for easy transport. Make sure to put the veggies on the grill before the meats - they usually take about 10-15 minutes to cook. Makes about 12-14 skewers.

Cost: $4.86

The Essentials Shopping List

Here are a few things I always have on hand and the best places to buy them!

Trader Joe's:
Balsalmic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Black pepper corns
Dried Herbs - oregano, cumin, basil, parsley, dill, chili powder - just buy all the herbs and spices here
Honey
Quinoa
Rice Noodles
Whole Wheat Couscous
Frozen veggies
Cheeses
Dried fruits and nuts

Grocery Store:
Lemon Juice - buy the store brand from concentrate in the big bottle
Meats
Fresh Veggies
Breads, etc

Happy shopping!