Peanut Noodles and Veggies

I am always looking to try something new and now that I have the wonderful PB2 peanut butter I can have more peanut foods without all the calories. 2 tbs of PB2 amounts just 45 calories compared to 190 calories in Jif.

So I went looking for something peanuty for dinner and I found this gem. Now this recipe doesn't have any vegetables so I just added what I thought would be good. I also doubled the sauce to make enough for the noodles and the veggies.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons ginger
  
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1-1/2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 pound Udon noodles
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 4 cups broccoli
• 1.5 cups snow peas
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup onions (sliced)
• 1 chicken breast

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until tender according to package directions. Drain.
2. In a large skillet cook chicken. Remove from pan and cut into little pieces.
   
3. Into the large skillet combine the veggies and saute until just cooked. Add the chicken and cook for another minute.
   
4. Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, ginger, soy sauce, peanut butter, and garlic in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until peanut butter melts and is heated through. Add to veggies, add noodles, and toss to coat.

Baked Tostones

Yum, Yum, Yum. I love plantains but until recently wasn't brave enough to make them and didn't want the calories from frying them. Lucky Gina came to the rescue again with this recipe. Made to serve with Chicken Ropa Vieja but these go well with any Cuban, Mexican, or Latin dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium green plantains
• Zero Calorie Spray Butter
  
• salt
• Pam spray

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
2. Peel plantains and slice into 1/2 thick slices. Arrange slices on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Coat with spray butter and sprinkle on salt.Remove from oven and using a heavy glass flatten to about 1/4 inch thickness.
   
3. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip plantains, add a little more oil spray on top and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes until golden brown and crispy..
   
4. Remove from oven.

Makes 2 servings. Calories vary depending on the size of the plantain. Approximately 120 calories per serving.

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