Day 18: GF Italian Chicken

Today, I had fully intended to make a slow cooker chicken dish that I had repinned from a neighbor, but this morning, I realized that I had forgotten to get the chicken out of the freezer! I didn't want to waste the ingredients that I had planned to use so I tweaked the original recipe by adding some oil and wine for a stove to oven cooking method. This meal only took an hour from start to finish and even with the tweaks, I managed to keep it at 504 calories per serving!

GF Italian Chicken:

2 tbsp saffron oil
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
2 large carrots, cut into ½-inch slices
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (3 oz)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup red wine
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg uncooked GF penne pasta (16oz)
Parmesan cheese, to garnish
Chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 350*. In an ovenproof stockpot heat the saffron oil at medium. Sear the chicken 1-2 minutes on each side and then set aside on a plate. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the carrot, bell pepper and mushrooms and cook another 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. After the vegetables are softened, add the wine and bing o a boil. Let the liquid reduce and add the seasoning, salt and pepper. After 5 minutes, add the crushed tomatoes and combine. Place the chicken back into the pot and cover with the sauce mixture. Cover the pot and place into the hot oven for 25 minutes. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Mix the pasta, sauce and chicken all together. Serve with Parmesan and parsley if desired.

Hitting the Sauce on Day 17: Pad Thai

I've been trying to work a couple of meatless meals in each week so tonight I made Pad Thai. I've never made pad Thai, but have eaten it on a few occasions. I came across a delicious looking recipe on Pinterest that didn't look too complicated! As you can see by the pre cooking picture there are several ingredients, but most go into the sauce. I found all the ingredients at my local grocery store which is how all my recipes are as I don't want to be running all over town looking for a specialty item!

I doubled everything from the original recipe except the chili sauce! I wanted to make sure it wasn't too hot for my boys. My oldest thought it was good, but the 7 year old was praying for a hot dog! He did manage to eat a couple of bites.

Simple Pad Thai(Serves 6; 391 calories per serving)

14 ounces pad Thai noodles
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 eggs
6 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoons sambal oelek (or sriracha)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 tablespoons canola oil
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cup fresh bean sprouts or a 14oz can of sprouts
2 cup cilantro
6 green onions, sliced
1 cup chopped peanuts

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the noodles. Let sit roughly 10 minutes, or until soft. Drain and rinse under cool water. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium. Crack the eggs and scramble until set, 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, sambal oelek, lime juice, canola oil and brown sugar. Whisk until emulsified. Back in the large skillet, combine the noodles, Thai dressing, bean sprouts, scrambled eggs, cilantro and scallions. Toss until combined. Serve garnished with peanuts!

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

Yesterday, my friend Sherry liked this recipe on Facebook and it looked o good I had to try it! I didn't own an ice cream maker so I went out and bought one yesterday afternoon! This recipe only has 3 ingredients!! Blackberry Frozen Yogurt (Serves 12, 197 calories per serving) 3 cups blackberries 3 cups Greek yogurt 1 can sweetened condensed milk In a blender, puree the blackberries with the sweetened condensed milk. In a medium bowl mix the puree with the yogurt cheese. Pour the mixture in to your ice-cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions. Original recipe on Kitchen Corners

Day 15: Sea Scallops with Saffron Sauce

We made it to Day 15 of the 500 Calorie or Under Challenge! Day 13, I was on an overnight mom escape with a friend. yesterday, we had Qdoba for dinner which I figured was a better fast food option. Tonight's meal was quick too! It only took 30 minutes from start to table. I made seared sea scallops with a saffron sauce served over brown rice. Asparagus is in season so that was our vegetable. I just lay the asparagus on a baking sheet and sprinkle with 1-2 tbp of olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Cook for 20 minutes in a 350* oven turning halfway through. The scallops was another recipe that I found on Pinterest! We love the nutty flavor that the saffron sauce brought to the scallops. My husband hasn't been on a scale lately, but says his clothes feel looser and I'm officially down a pound this week for a two week total of 3.5 pounds!

Seared Sea Scallops with Saffron Sauce:
(Serves 4, 278 calories per serving)

12 sea scallops
6 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup cooking sherry or dry white wine
2 tbsp heavy cream
1/4 tsp saffron threads

Into a nonstick pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter and olive oil. Add scallops. Season tops with salt and sear well on both sides. Careful to turn only once {you don't want scallops to tear} Remove scallops from pan and keep warm. Add wine to hot pan and de-glaze pan. Reduce temperature to medium - low and allow wine to reduce by half. Add cream, remaining butter and allow to combine. Once butter has combined, add saffron threads. Stir well to combine. Return scallops to pan. Turn to coat. Serve immediately.

Day 12 of the Under 500 Calorie Challenge: Herb Roasted Flank Steak

Yesterday was Day 12 of my challenge, Day 11 was a splurge day! I had a ranch bacon burger with fries when we ate out. My husband had a club sandwich and all the bread and mayo did not sit well with him so last night, I went back to my basic formula of meat, veggie, starch. I had a beautiful piece of flank steak in the freezer, but instead of grilling it, I seared it on the stove top and finished it off in the oven. The recipe that was my springboard was from Cooking Light and is only 167 calories per 3oz serving! I was a little worried because I usually do flank steak in an overnight marinade to tenderize it, but this meat was very tender too! I didn't have beef broth or garlic cloves so I improvised with chicken broth and garlic powder with little effect on the overall taste. The rest of the meal was sugar snap peas which are 40 calories per 2/3 cup serving and mashed potatoes which were 130 calories per serving for a total of 337 calories for our dinner last night!

Herb Roasted Flank Steak:
(Serves 6)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoon parsley flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (1 1/2-pound) flank steak, trimmed
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
Sprinkle salt and pepper over steak. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray ( I used a cast iron skillet so I didn't coat with spray). Add steak to pan; cook 3 minute on each side or until browned. Add wine and broth; cook 1 minute. Spread herb mixture over steak; place pan in oven. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes for rare or until desired degree of doneness (I cooked the steak for 15 minutes) Let stand 10 minutes before cutting steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve with pan sauce. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs, if desired.

Nutritional Information:
Amount per serving
Calories: 167
Calories from fat: 38%
Fat: 7g
Protein: 23.9g
Carbohydrate: 0.5g
Fiber: 0.1g
Cholesterol: 37mg
Iron: 1.6mg
Sodium: 266mg
Calcium: 21mg

Day 10 of the Under 500 Calorie Challenge: Spaghetti with Meatballs

An exciting thing happened in our household this afternoon, we had a freezer delivered! I've been wanting one for several years as the one in our side-by-side is really narrow and you can't fit much in it. The new freezer is a 16 cubic foot upright which I think is plenty for the size of our family, but I may rethink that when the boys reach their teens! To try out the new freezer, I made a batch of marinara with half going to our dinner tonight. I tried some Quinoa spaghetti noodles which we really liked! They were much less dense than the rice flour noodles and more like wheat flour noodles. I threw in some pre-cooked turkey meatballs from Target, I just throw the frozen meatballs directly into the sauce. Lastly, I made garlic toast using a GF, casein and egg free baguette by Schar. The calories for this meal were 513. If I had eliminated the garlic butter, it would have made it under the wire as you can see from the breakdown.

1/4 cup Marinara - 93 calories
1 tsp Garlic Butter - 35 calories
2 oz Quinoa Spaghetti - 210 calories
3 meatballs - 65 calories
1 serving GF Baguette - 110 calories

I've posted my marinara sauce back in September, but I'll repost here so you don't have to scroll.

Marinara Sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil
4 29oz cans of tomato sauce ( I use Hunt's)
1 8 oz can of tomato paste
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1/2 small onion diced fine
4 cloves of garlic
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp each of basil, oregano and thyme
3 tbsp sugar


Heat olive oil in a large sauce pot over low-med heat. Add the diced onion and cook until translucent. Add diced garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add the spices and cook another minute to start releasing the flavors. Add the cans of sauce, paste and diced tomatoes. Stir gently to combine. Add sugar stirring again. Turn heat to low and simmer for 1-2 hours. Stirring occasionally. Taste after 1 hour and add spices and/or sugar to taste.

Day 9 of the Under 500 Calorie Challenge: GF Macaroni and Cheese withLil Smokies

Tuesday night is scout night for my boys and husband so I need to do a quick meal. We usually do sandwiches and chips. I wanted to try something a little more filling. I thought about what I had on hand and remembered my snowbird parents brought over two large packages of cocktail sausages and a block of cheddar cheese last week when they mptied their refridge before flying off to their winter retreat! I had a bag of GF spiral pasta in the pantry so I thought I could pull it all together to slim down one of my boys' favorite meals, mac&cheese with hotdogs. This meal took about 40 minutes from start to table.

GF Macaroni and Cheese with Lil Smokies:
(Serves 6; 493 calories per serving)
8oz gluten free noodles, cooked and drained
4 tbsp Butter, divided
2 tbsp Almond Meal Flour
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
2 cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded and divided
1/4 cup Corn Flake Crumbs
1/8 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
10 Lil Smokies, cut in thirds

Preheat oven to 350* and prepare a 2qt casserole dish by lightly greasing with nonstick spray. Melt 2 tbsp butter over low heat in a medium sauce pan. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes while whisking continuously. The mixture will turn a rich amber color. Turn up the heat to medium and whisk in the cream. Cook for 5 minutes, whisking periodically until the sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in the mustard and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Keep whisking until all ingredients are well blended. Fold in the cooked noodles and Lil smokies. Spoon into the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese. In a microwaveable bowl, melt the other 2 tbsp of butter and then mix the corn flake crumbs and Parmesan into the bowl. Place crumb mixture over the noodles and cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.