Category Archives: Recipes

Happy National Taco Day!

Recipes, , , , , , ,

Hey!  I just found out this morning that it’s National Taco Day…who knew!

In celebration of this momentous occasion, I’m going to share my recipe for chicken tacos…with you!  Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it a recipe.  It’s more like a method.  I only consider something a method if it involves a mixing bowl and lots of measuring.  These are actually pretty easy.

Thanks to Hot Mess Hubby’s work schedule, I eat dinner alone most nights (unless you count the dogs staring at me)…so this “recipe” is a single serving.  Just double it if necessary and you’re good.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A 5 oz. chicken breast
Tone’s Southwestern Chipotle Seasoning
Shredded cheese (I use a Mexican blend)
Fresh herbs (I usually use oregano and thyme)
Jardine’s 7J Ranch Chipotle Salsa
4 Mission Yellow Corn Tortillas
Olive oil

Here are the steps:

1. Put the chicken breast in a plastic zippy bag, grab a meat mallet and bang the ever love’in crap out of it until it’s flat & even.  I find this particularly enjoyable after a bad day.

2.  Liberally season both sides of the chicken breast with Tone’s Southwestern Chipotle Seasoning.

3.  Preheat a nonstick grill pan with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.  (Use medium heat only…you don’t want to bork up that nice nonstick surface!)  Once it’s hot, place the chicken breast in the grill pan.

Mmmm…doesn’t that look tasty?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the chicken is grilling, chop up whatever fresh herbs you plan to use.

Kitchen tip:  if you have a nifty grill press like me, cooking takes a lot less time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flip the chicken after about 10 minutes and continue grilling.  (Be sure to always follow food safety protocols when cooking & handling chicken!)

While the chicken is finishing up in the pan, warm 4 corn tortillas in a nonstick skillet.  I use a small 8 inch skillet and warm them one at a time.  I transfer the warmed tortillas to a Tortilla Warmer.

Once your chicken is grilled to perfection, dice it up into chunks and divide it evenly between the tortillas.  Sprinkle sparingly with the shredded cheese and top with the chopped fresh herbs.  Top with salsa (I always wait till I’m ready to eat so it doesn’t make the tortilla too soggy).

Devour and enjoy.  Yum!!

I will say…the most essential ingredients in this extremely delicious, quick & easy dinner are Tone’s Southwest Chipotle Seasoning and Jardine’s 7J Ranch Chipotle Salsa.  I can’t imagine making these with any other seasoning or salsa…this combination works GREAT for me.  (I get the seasoning at Sam’s Club and the salsa at most grocery stores).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(By the way, I should state in an official bloggy way that I have not been compensated by any of these brands in any way…these are actually the products I use when I make these.  My tastebuds would be pissed if I was ever unable to get these products, so giving them a little unsolicited plug is just my little way of saying thanks for nearly a year of continuous yummy-ness.)

A note about the corn tortillas:  I used to hate using these because they tasted dry and they would break apart…until I learned to heat them up before serving.  Heat ’em up and put ’em in a warmer…you’re good to go!

Oh and while you’re at it…try a mojito with your dinner.  Seriously so yummy.

I’m working on putting printable recipes up on the blog, so that should help as we go along.  Stay tuned!

Happy National Taco Day, y’all!!!!

A Yummy Quicky

Recipes, , , , , , , , ,

Who says you can’t have a decadent dessert and still eat healthy? Not this Princess. Losing all this weight isn’t going to be much fun if I can’t have a little yummy yums once in a while.

It’s been a while since I shared a recipe with y’all! I was playing around in the Hot Mess Kitchen today and I came up with a winner. Just a note: I prefer to make four individual servings of this dish rather than plopping it all in a big bowl. Individual servings help me behave like a lady.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, that’s not really true. I can’t pull that off. You’re talking to a person who used to think it was okay to eat an entire package of Skinny Cows because I was still within my Weight Watchers points for the day. That’s why other people’s weight loss plans don’t work for me:  I’ll find my way to misbehave. Sure, I’ve lost 45 pounds in 6 months and tamed the sugar demons, but there are times when I still can’t trust myself with a serving spoon.

I really enjoy these.  They’re the perfect combination of creamy, fruity, and cheesecakey.

Raspberry Cheesecake Trifles

Ingredients:

1 1 oz. package cheesecake flavored instant pudding (prepared w/nonfat milk)
4 tbsp. graham cracker crumbs, divided
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 can spray fat free whipped topping

Directions:

Layer ingredients in four individual trifle bowls in the following order:

graham cracker crumbs
cheesecake flavored pudding
raspberries

Repeat layers one more time.

Top with 3 tbsp of fat free whipped topping, sprinkle with remaining graham cracker crumbs.

Voila!

Makes 4 individual servings.

Enjoy. 🙂 I loved these so much I’m thinking of heading back in the kitchen tomorrow for some more experiments. I’ll keep y’all posted!

Anchor Hocking Presence Mini Trifle Footed Bowl, 8-Pack

Happy National Potato Chip Day

Battle of the Butt, Recipes, , , , , ,

Hey y’all!

Tomorrow…Wednesday, March 14th, is National Potato Chip Day.  🙂

It looks to me like this holiday was conjured up by the corporations that bring you highly processed, super fatty snacky chips…which we’ve all enjoyed at some point in our lives, right?  I certainly have!

Potato chips were one of the vices that I didn’t want to completely do without, so I set about trying to find a healthier way to enjoy them.  I never thought I would find the answer in my microwave, but I did.  Baked potato chips always came out squishy and chewy in the oven.  Oil would have to be involved on the stove top.  So my last ditch effort was the microwave…and it paid off.

I now make crispy, crunch potato chips in my microwave whenever I want…and I can make any flavor I want.  In celebration of National Potato Chip Day, I’d like to share a couple of my seasoning tricks with you.

The recipe for making these chips is already posted here on the blog on the “Recipes” tab – click here to find it.  Simply substitute these seasoning blends for salt and you’ve got a completely different chip!

Rosemary Garlic Chips

Light sprinkle equal amounts of dried rosemary, garlic powder, and fine ground sea salt across your chips before putting them in the microwave.

Garlic & Onion Chips

Lightly sprinkle equal amounts of garlic and onion powder over chips.  Top with fine ground sea salt and put in microwave

Bleu Cheese Garlic Chips

Lightly sprinkle equal amounts of garlic powder and fine ground sea salt on chips, then crisp up in microwave.  Immediately remove warm crispy chips from microwave and place on serving dish.  Sprinkle 3 – 4 table spoons of crumbled bleu cheese across chips.  (You can also crisp up 2 slices of bacon, crumble it, and dump that on top as well…but you’ll spend a longer time on the treadmill if you do it!)

I fully intend on posting some pictures of these for you at a later time, but with my thumb bandaged up from the knife incident yesterday I was a bit skittish about being near any cutting devices today.  LOL.

You absolutely can have tasty, crispy potato chips without any oil.  All you’re getting are the calories from the actual potato.  And one potato makes a crap load of chips, my peeps.  Crunchy, yummy goodness!

Once you’re done making your chips, grab a single serving size of non-fat, plain Greek yogurt from the fridge and a packet of your favorite dip mix.  Mix in just enough and you’ve got a super healthy alternative to chips and dip that won’t take it’s vengeance on your hips.  🙂   You’re welcome!

You don’t need to guzzle the processed crap coming from the chip manufacturers, trust me.  These are just as tasty and infinitely more healthy.  Give it a shot.  In honor of National Potato Chip Day…live a little.  🙂

Dianne’s Guilt Free Potato Chips

Recipes, , , , ,

I’ve finally found a method of making CRISPY potato chips with no oil. Ingredients? A potato. That’s it. No oil. And the real kicker is that they’re made in the microwave. Intrigued? Read on, my fellow warriors…read on…

GUILT FREE POTATO CHIPS

Ingredients:

1 potato, scrubbed (peeling on)
any seasoning of your choosing

That’s it! Now…let’s get started.

A word about slicing the potato: the slices must be uniform…and thin. I highly, highly, highly recommend getting a mandolin slicer if you don’t have one. They are AWESOME!!! But…if you use one, I would like to state the obvious: please use the gripper thing that comes with it…not your hand…to shove food towards the blade. Don’t end up like me. I actually cut my fingertip off back when I was still experimenting with this recipe.

Losing weight through healthy eating is awesome.

Losing weight through cutting off fingertips is…well…painful! PLEASE be careful!

So…the first thing you need to do when you start cooking is to gather all your equipment together as pictured below:

Given my prowess at slicing & dicing, my kitchen equipment list always includes Bactine, gauze pads, and medical tape.

Okay, just kidding. Onward!

Using the thinnest setting on your mandolin slicer, slice a whole potato. If you don’t have a mandolin slicer, use a food processor or a good old fashioned knife…but be CAREFUL!!! The potato slices should be about this thin (notice how you can just see through the slices):

Tear off a sheet of parchment paper that will just fit over the turntable in your microwave. If your microwave doesn’t have a turntable, awesome…just fit the parchment sheet to the bottom of the microwave.

Arrange potato slices on parchment paper, being careful not to overlap:

Season the potato slices with whatever seasoning you like. (I use plain sea salt…or if I want a little more flavor, I use “Uncle Bob’s Tater Tweaker” or “Mesquite ‘n Spicy Cowboy Rub”. Yum!)

Put the potatoes in the microwave and nuke ’em on HIGH for 5 minutes. Watch them carefully. Depending on your microwave and the thickness of the potato slices, the cooking time may vary. You’ve been warned!

After 5 minutes, your chips have started to cook nicely and the edges are starting to curl like real bagged FRIED chips you get in the grocery store:

But they’re not done yet! Continue cooking chips on HIGH in 3 minute increments…watching them carefully. If this is your first time with this recipe, I recommend testing the texture of one chip with your fingertip when you think they might be done. Continue to cook the chips until your desired texture is reached…then enjoy your crispy, warm, salty, awesome potato chips!!!

(If you’re not into parchment paper and want a greener alternative, Pampered Chef carries an awesome silicone chip maker. No BPA, dishwasher safe. Their Simple Slicer is also a GREAT mandoline and less pricey than others.)

Kick Ass Crepes

Recipes, , , , , ,

This is so simple and yet soooooooooo very yummy. This doesn’t taste low cal at all. It’s definitely a dessert I can live with!

Here’s what you need:

INGREDIENTS:

1 9-inch Melissa’s French Crepes (or other store bought crepe…look in the produce section or ask the manager!)
1 handful of raspberries or other fruit
2 tbsp. low fat cream cheese
1 – 3 tsp honey
2 tbsp. Fat Free Reddi-Whip dairy topping (the squirty kind in the can)

DIRECTIONS:

Put crepe on a microwave safe plate
Drop fruit all along center of crepe
Drop cream cheese by spoonfuls in dotted line down center of crepe
Drizzle honey on top of fruit and cream cheese

Fold sides of crepe over fruit and cream cheese, roll so it sits seam side down
Heat in microwave 10 – 25 seconds
Squirt two squirties of Reddi-Whip on top

Again, I’m not a great photographer…but this dessert is quite yummy. ENJOY!

Here is the calorie breakdown:

Melissa’s Crepe: 51 calories
Raspberries: 5 calories
Cream Cheese: 40 calories
Honey: 20 calories (per teaspoon)
Reddi-whip: 5 calories (for 2 tbsp)
TOTAL: 117 calories of sheer Heaven!!!

There are a million different versions of this that you can create yourself. Try bananas…yummo!

One last bit of input from me: if you’re going to create this delectable culinary wonder, may I gently remind you to CHECK YOUR PORTIONS, people! I am just as guilty of it as the rest of you, but mark my words…you can’t get on the scale expecting to see great results if you’re hosing down the crepe with Reddi-whip and only logging 2 tablespoons in your food journal. You know what I mean!!! Stick to the recipe…it’s wonderful…trust me!