I can’t say this is ultra exciting as a dish, but I like it. I say that I like it because I tend to eat it A LOT. I don’t know if that just makes me boring or smart. Being single, the only person I have to cook for is, well, me. Sometimes, this sucks. Other times, it makes things incredibly easy. So, today, I bring to you, my own version of a grilled chicken salad.

Ingredients:

1 grilled chicken breast (seasoned with black and red pepper)
Baby Romaine Lettuce
Snow peas or sugar snap peas
Bell peppers (can be either green, yellow, or red)
¼ cup 2% Kraft Cheddar Cheese (= 80 calories)
2 tablespoons Reese whole grain Italian Herb Croutons (= 30 calories)
Maple Grove Farms of Vermont Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette 2 tablespoons = 5 calories


Instructions:

While I’m cooking the chicken on the grill, I load my plate up with the lettuce, peas, and peppers. The reason I load up on these things is because as far as calories go, these are “free” foods, which means it takes more calories to burn these foods than it does to eat them. Next, I add my croutons. By this time, my chicken is close to being done. After the chicken is done, I slice it into strips and add it to my salad. Then I add the cheese (so it will melt), and I usually use 3 or 4 servings of dressing.

And that’s it. I know it’s boring, but I like it and well, I think it works. It fills me up and the total calorie count is no more than 500 calories. This all depends on how big the chicken breast is and how much cheese, croutons and salad dressing you use.

Sorry I can't give you more of the nutrition facts, but for over a year now, I've been worried only about calories in versus calories out. It's good though, I promise. And if you decide to add other types of green veggies, great! Remember, green veggies are free foods!!

This week I’m going to try not to stick my foot in my mouth and instead bring you all a real treat. I admit the first time I ever tried this recipe, I wasn’t very sure about it. The thought (and looks) of a few of these ingredients together just seems wrong, but once all is said and done, this is one of the best dishes!! Add some veggies, and you have yourself a very healthy meal! And it’s delicious!

Buffalo Chicken-Blue Cheese Meatloaf (source: The Biggest Loser Families Cookbook)

Ingredients:

Olive oil spray
2/3 cup old fashioned oats
½ cup fat free milk
2 ½ tablespoons of buffalo wing sauce, or more to taste
1 lb extra-lean ground chicken breast
½ cup finely chopped celery
¼ cup shredded carrot
½ cup finely chopped sweet onion
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup crumbled reduced fat blue cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly mist a 9” x 5” x 3” nonstick loaf pan with olive oil spray.

Combine oats and milk in a medium size mixing bowl. Mix well. Let stand for 3 minutes or until oats are softened. Stir in wing sauce until well mixed. Add chicken, celery, carrots, onion, egg whites, and salt. With fork, mix ingredients well. Add blue cheese and gently mix.

Transfer mixture to pan and spread so that top is flat. Bake 35 to 40 mins or until chicken is no longer pink. Cut into 8 slices. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 263 calories per serving, 35g protein, 14g carbohydrates, 6g fat (2g saturated fat), 74mg sodium

Modifications: Sometimes I have a hard time finding ground chicken, so I’ve also used ground turkey. Works fine for me. Also, I’ve only made it for my parents, and they can’t tolerate hot sauce, so I have to reduce the amount of buffalo sauce that I use. I’d love to try it with more than the 2 ½ tablespoons…so who’s coming to dinner so I can try making it HOT??


If you want to play along, post your recipe on your blog, then head on over to Lisa's blog and leave the link to your post in the comment section!

It's again time for Lisa's Tasteful Thursday on her food blog. Why don't you share a recipe with us? Head on over to Lisa's blog and post the link to your recipe in the comments!

Homemade Chicken Salad

Source: My Granny! (not sure where she got it from)

As a kid, I can remember going to visit my grandparents, and when we’d go to “Granny’s house” EVERYONE was excited about Granny’s chicken salad. I also remember peering into the chicken salad container for the very first time and thinking (I probably said it too), “I ain’t eating that!” But as I grew, my taste buds changed and I grew to love Granny’s chicken salad. And now that I’m an adult, I’ve put my own modifications to it.

Ingredients:

1 package of chicken breasts
2 or 3 boiled eggs
3 medium sized sweet pickles
1 stalk of celery
1 cup of mayo

Instructions:

After you cook the chicken, combine all ingredients into food processor (or if you don’t have a food processor, just finely chop all ingredients), and mix well. This makes a spread-like chicken salad (sort of like egg salad). And that’s it. Simple right?

You can either serve on sandwiches or with crackers.

My Modifications:

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my granny’s chicken salad, but I’ve found that I like it better my way! I like a chunkier version. So what I do is shred the chicken and I don’t chop the rest of the ingredients as finely as the food processor would. I also don’t use the celery. I don’t mind celery, but it’s also not my favorite thing in chicken salad. And as I’m sure you’ve guessed I use light mayo rather than regular mayo. One last thing, if you don’t want less mayo, use less mayo, if you want more pickles, use more. It’s all on how you like it.

Note: I think it's a crime against chicken salad to add things such as fruit. If that's your thing, then that's fine, but for me, this is THE chicken salad to have. I'm just sayin'. ;o)

My friend, Lisa is blogging here today and she's started something called Tasteful Thursday, so I'm going to play along and give you my favorite recipe.

Spinach Dip

Source: I first tasted this at a food day at work, and asked the girl for the recipe. I then found that I liked it better if I changed the recipe a bit.

Ingredients:

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed (be sure to squeeze it dry!)
1 c. sour cream
1 c. mayonnaise
1 (4 oz.) pkg. Knorr vegetable soup mix (or any vegetable soup mix will do, but this is my favorite)
1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts, finely chopped (optional)
3 green onions, finely chopped (optional)

Put everything in a bowl and mix it up! Let it chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with your favorite type of crackers or bread. Enjoy!

My modifications:

When you follow the recipe, it tends to make the dip a little more, let's say soupy, than I prefer. So I use 1/2 cup sour cream and mayo to make the dip thicker. I would suggest adding the 1/2 cups and if you decide that's too thick for you, just the rest like the recipe calls for. Also, I don't use water chestnuts or the onions. It's just a personal thing.

Note: To make this a bit healthier, I've started using light mayo and non-fat sour cream. I know some of you may not like these healthier options, but I've found that you really can't taste a difference. I tried this out on a bunch of guys at a tailgate and they didn't even notice. Sneaky, April. ;o)