Cilantro Lime Rice

I made this rice to go with the Chicken Ropa Vieja but now it is my go to rice recipe. I find that rice can be kind of boring but this rice is far from that. Gina, you are my new favorite blogger. I cut this recipe down so I only used 1/3 cup of rice because that was more than enough for the two of us for a side dish.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup extra long grain rice or basmati rice
• 1 tsp lime, juice of
• 2/3 cups chicken broth
  
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.

Makes 2 servings: calories per serving 110

Chicken Ropa Vieja

Miles and I love Cuban and Cuban inspired food. While this recipe is normally made from beef, chicken makes it a lighter version of a classic. I have made this a couple times and every time it is great. Gina's weight loss blog is awesome for dishes that are full of flavor but that don't have the calories of the standard meal.

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breast halves (10-12 ounces)
  
• 1 large red onion, sliced
  
• 1 tomato, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tbsp chicken broth + about a cup extra
  
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tsp cumin, or more to taste (I like a lot)
• garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Grill chicken. Once cooked through place the chicken into a bowl and shred it into strips using a fork; set aside.
2. In a large deep skillet, heat chicken broth over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions, and red peppers. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in chicken, tomato sauce, white wine, and about 3/4 cup of chicken broth to create a nice sauce. Season with cumin, garlic powder salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes more adding more broth and seasoning if needed. Makes 4 cups.

Makes 2 large servings: calories per serving 315

Mini Lemon Cakes

Miles has this great friend from school that makes amazing Flan. She has been making an extra flan for us when she bakes for the last year so it was high time I returned the favor. Her boyfriend said she liked lemon desserts so I was at a loss. As much as I enjoy lemons I am not a big lemon dessert fan. I came across this cake and thought it looked good enough to make and it ended up being good enough to eat as well. This cake also allowed me the opportunity to try out the old soda in bake mix trick...but without the cake mix. There was way to much icing for my liking but my icing was also very thin.

Ingredients:
Cake:

• Cooking spray
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated Splenda
• 1 can diet Sprite
• 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 
  Icing:
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon lemon rind
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• Lemon rind strips (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare cake, coat 8 ramekins with cooking spray.
   
3. Lightly spoon 2 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
4. Add granulated Splenda to flour mixture. Mix in sprite, 2 tablespoons lemon rind and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
5. Pour batter into prepared ramekins; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 32 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.
6. To prepare icing, combine powdered sugar and the remaining ingredients (except lemon rind strips) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread half of icing on top of cake. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining half of icing over top of cake. Garnish with lemon rind strips, if desired. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Makes 3-4 double layer mini cakes - approximately 400 calories per cake.

Chicken Tacos

I wanted to try out the homemade tortillas again because after watching a short youtube video I picked up some tricks I thought would make them better. I didn't change the recipe but I added all of the water this time where as last time I left some of the water out as I didn't think I wanted the tortilla dough to be sticky. I was wrong.

These tacos used TJ chicken that was already seasoned. Other ingredients are listed below.

Ingredients:

• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Onion
• Sour cream
• Avocado
• Tortillas
• Chicken
• Cheese
• Red Pepper

Directions:

1. Make tortillas from the link above - or purchase from a store
2. Grill and shred chicken
3. Grill onions and pepper
4. Slice, chop, to your liking, lettuce, tomato, and avocado
5. Assemble

Banana Carrot Muffins

My fridge is freezing my food. If I turn up the temperature on the fridge then the freezer allows my ice cream to melt. So, I keep the fridge super cold and sometimes I have to deal with frozen produce. This time it was carrots. So with a bunch of frozen carrots and many over ripe bananas in the freezer I decided to make banana carrot "cake" muffins. Using trusty all recipes I knew I would find a recipe I would like and of course I did. This recipe met my needs perfectly. With some tinkering to the ingredients - a standard practice in the Crowder household - I had my banana carrot muffins.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup apple sauce
• 1 cup Splenda
• 1/2 cup egg beaters
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 box raisins

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine apple sauce and sugar. Add egg beaters; mix well. Add bananas, carrots, and raisins. Mix well and allow to sit while preparing step 2.
   
2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and pumpkin pie spice.
   
3. Gradually mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients.
4. Portion equally into a 12 serving muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 servings - calories per serving - 110

Chicken Flautas

Easter Sunday just screams Mexican food doesn't it :). We were telling Elliott about our recent vacation to Cancun and it came up that I have flautas for the first time while were were there. About 6 months ago Elliott said that she would make us flautas but it never happened. So, I decided to try making them myself. I made the filling, the tortillas, everything.

To be honest I didn't roll out the tortillas enough so they were a little thick but they were still yummy. The flautas needed something. I am still not sure what but they were a little bland. I think next time I will use some taco seasoning so spice them up a little. All in all it was a good dinner but not great. Definitely something I will try again with some modifications.

Tortillas Ingredients: Allrecipes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
  
• 3/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the oil with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
2. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla. Place into the hot skillet, and cook until bubbly and golden; flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.

Makes 12 small tortillas - calories per tortilla - 80

Ingredients for Flautas - allrecipes

• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cooked and shredded
• 1/4 (8 ounce) jar picante sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 8 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• cooking spray
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl combine the shredded chicken, picante sauce and ground cumin. Mix together.
3. Spray warm tortillas with cooking spray. Put 1 tablespoon of the chicken mixture in the center of a tortilla and sprinkle some cheese on top. Roll up tortilla and place on a seam side down. Repeat with all of the tortillas until chicken mixture is gone. If there is any cheese left over, sprinkle it over the rolled tortillas.
4. Lightly brush oil over the rolled tortillas. Spray with cooking spray.
   
5. Bake tortillas in the preheated oven for 15 to 25 minutes or until tortillas are a little crispy and golden brown. Check halfway to make sure they tortillas are not drying out too much. If needed add more oil or cooking spray.
   

Makes enough filling for about 8 flautas - calories in filling total - 37s
Calories per flauta with homemade tortillas - 125

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Easter Sunday seemed like the perfect day to make a nice huge brunch. My friend Elliott came over and together we made a fruit salad that was amazing, apple cinnamon muffins - the ones from this blog - scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and these banana oatmeal muffins. I will say that the apple cinnamon muffins are by far my favorite. However, these are nice for something a little different.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup Splenda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tbsp egg beaters
  
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons non fat milk
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons apple sauce
  
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mashed bananas
• Cinnamon

Strudel Topping:

• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp light butter
• 1 tbsp flour

Directions:

1. Combine flour, oats, Spenda, baking powder, soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, apple sauce, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Divide evenly into 6 muffin tins.
3. Mix strudel topping ingredients with a fork. Top the muffins.
   
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 20 minutes.

Makes 6 muffins - calories per muffin - 140