Dijon Dressing or Marinade-Phase 2

My mom likes mustard based dressings and this one I created for her.

2 tsp of Sugar-Free Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup of Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 cup of Chicken Stock
1/4 cup freshly chopped Parsley
1 tsp freshly chopped Thyme
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper

For a sweet variation add 1 tsp of Stevia or other Sugar Substitute.

Add to a bowl of spaghetti squash with some chopped bacon and chicken and wilted spinach for a delicious dinner while on phase 3 or 4.

Romaine Tacos- Phase 2

This just came to me one day. I actually was having it as a cold dish and thought, it would probably be good hot.

3.5oz Salsa: 35 cal, 3oz Beef: 115 cal, 3oz Chicken: 141 cal, 3.5oz Romaine: 17 cal
(Meal does not include guacamole like the picture shows)

Food:
1 Lb Extremely Lean Beef Prepared (See Spaghetti Squash Recipe) or 1 Lb Prepared Chicken (See Chicken Recipe)
3.5 oz Romaine Lettuce (If it is the small heads of lettuce it should be about 5-6 pieces, if it is the large type the 3 outer pieces. Just cut the large ones in half)
1 small tomato or sugar-free salsa (optional, remember it counts as a fruit)

Ingredients for Meat:
3TBSP Tomato Paste (sugar-free)
1TBSP of Chili Powder
2tsp Onion Powder
1tsp Cumin
1tsp powdered Oregano (if you don't have powdered oregano use Ground Sage, works just as good)
1tsp Paprika
1tsp Garlic Powder
1tsp Stevia
3/4tsp salt
1/4tsp Red Pepper
Splash Lemon Juice
Splash of Chicken Broth
3/4 cups of Water

BEEF:
Here is a refresher on how to prepare the beef.
4% Fat Ground Beef Round
In a deep skillet at 1lb of beef. Brown unseasoned. When the meat is thoroughly browned and you don't see anymore grease producing strain and rinse with hot water. Wipe out skillet until all oil is gone. Put meat back into the skillet and follow cooking instructions listed below the chicken prep instructions.

CHICKEN:
A refresher on how to cook the chicken. The one thing that we will be doing differently is we will only be using the chicken broth, no spices or other seasonings.
In a deep skillet fill up to a third with chicken stock. Place chicken in skillet and boil on medium for 20-25 minutes. I like to flip them once within the 20 minutes.
Once you are done cooking the chicken, shred with fork.
Empty skillet of chicken stock (I would save it in another bowl or baggy), and place shredded chicken back in the skillet and follow the cooking instructions below.


Add all spices, mix well
Add Lemon Juice, Chicken Broth, Tomato Pasta, and Water. Mix well.
Let the meat soak in the seasons and sauce for 10-15mins on medium to low heat.

Measure out your allotted portion and evenly distribute between your Romaine pieces.
Optional: Top with a spoonful of salsa and it's ready to go.

This would as be good with Precooked Shrimp that is tailless and shell-free
Just think, in phase 3 you can add some cheese :)
Enjoy!!

Next up, Beef & Broccoli Stir-fry

Lettuce Wrap-Phase 2

So if you are looking for a quick, easy, delicious, and satisfying lunch, look no further. These wraps are a delicious way to fill you up.
I eat these like every other day!

3oz Chicken: 141 cal, 1tsp Dijon: 5 cal, 3.5oz Lettuce: 17 cal

What you need:
1 Head of Boston Lettuce or Butter Lettuce
3 Oz Prepared Chicken (Also works well with the Buffalo Chicken Recipe)
Publix Greenwise Tangy Dijon Mustard

I go for the Boston or Butter Lettuce, they are the same thing just named differently depending on the region you are in, because it is sweet and delicious. It's my favorite lettuce! Also, it makes great wraps!

You usually get about 3 or 4 wraps with this.
For the chicken what I like to do is shred it up with my fork. You just kind of scrap it with your fork. It makes a lot more meat then just cutting it up into pieces. It's takes a little more work but it makes you think you get more, even though 3 ounces is 3 ounces whether or not it is shredded or cut but for some reason it just looks like more.

Evenly distribute between your pieces of lettuce.
Add a teaspoon of the dijon to each wrap. Note that 1tsp is 5 calories, so don't forget to count it.

Now if you are like me and love sandwiches, you know the best part of a sandwich is the pickle. What I do is I get baby organic dill pickles that are nothing but cucumbers, salt, vinegar, garlic, water; and I get 1 small pickle and slices it up to top off my wraps. That decision is up to you.

I hope you enjoy your quick and easy lunch!

I'm thinking it's probably time for a dessert recipe, are you with me on that?
Next is my YUMMY Apple Crisp!!!

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Tenderloins- Phase 2

This is the family's favorite lunch, Spicy buffalo chicken with some celery. The best part about this is it's not too spicy that you feel the need to have ranch or blue cheese dipping sauce. Paring it with the celery is a great way to relieve your mouth from some of that spice. This is also great over a salad and when you get into Phase 3 you can add some milk dressing and cheese, yum!!!

3oz Chicken: 141 Cal, 3.5oz Celery: 4 cal

Materials:
1 Gallon Size Zip-lock bag (option b)
or
1 Pint Size Zip-lock bag (option A)

Now there are 2 ways to make this dish. The first, a smaller portion; and second, if you are like me and cooking a whole bag for the week. Lets start with Option A first.
 Option A Recipe:
5 Cooked Tenderloins
2TBSP Hot Sauce (Now be aware that when picking out a hot sauce that you look at the ingredients, most don't have sugar or oil but a select few do. I prefer Texas Pete, no sugar, no oil, and milder in heat.)
2TSP Chicken Stock (Yes that says TEASPOON, not tablespoon.) (In the previous blog I mentioned the type that I use that is low sodium, low fat, no MSG, Free Range, Organic. I get it from Kroger and it taste amazing.)
1TSP of Lemon Juice

Now if you are preparing a whole bag I just Multiply all the ingredients by 4. So you would have 8TBSP Hot Sauce, 8TSP of Chicken Stock, and 4TSP of Lemon Juice.
Even if you are going for Option B, listed just above, I still don't like to put more that 5-7 Tenderloins in the bag at a time. This will help them to be evenly coated by the sauce.

HOW:
In your Zip-lock bag add your measured Hot Sauce, Chicken Stock, and Lemon Juice. Then add 5-7 Chicken Tenderloins, let it set in the marinade for about 20 mins for maximum flavor. What I like to do is while I am cooking my chicken in the chicken stock recipe that I mentioned before, every time I am done with a batch of chicken I put it in the buffalo marinade and when another batch is done, I take out my buffalo chicken and place in a pan waiting to be cooked, then repeat.

So when you get to the last batch marinating in the buffalo mixture, Preheat your oven for 400F. Place all the buffalo chicken tenderloins on a baking sheet and cover with the remaining buffalo mixture that's left in your Zip-lock bag.

Now if you are following along and cooking this at the same time you might be freaking out saying, "This is going to be too hot to eat!!" If you are using the Texas Pete, it won't be. If you are really concerned about the heat don't add the remaining mixture over the chicken.

Cook for 10 mins, weigh, bag, and you are ready to go!


Next up Dijon Herb Sauce, yum!!!

Herby Chicken cooked in broth-Phase 2

Good morning,

This recipe is my basic base chicken recipe. I use this for EVERYTHING chicken. It makes it so tender and juicy, it will change your mind about fried chicken. This makes great chicken to top off salads, to make your buffalo chicken (recipe next on the docket), anything. I start out each week with a large bag of tenderloins and cook up the whole bag. Onto the recipe.

3oz Chicken: 141 cal.

Spices to gather:
Sea Salt
Lemon Zest or Lemon Peel
Garlic Powder
Dried or Fresh Rosemary
Dried or Fresh Parsley
Dried or Fresh Marjoram
Dried or Fresh Basil (I love fresh basil on just about everything)
Red Chili Pepper Flakes
Pepper

Other Ingredients:
Organic, Low Sodium, MSG-Free, Low Fat Chicken Broth
Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Red Wine Vinegar
Lemon Juice

How to:
Take a large, deep skillet and fill up about a 3rd of the pan with your Chicken Broth
(Now sometimes I like to add the spices and other ingredients to the stock before putting in the Chicken and sometimes after I put in the Chicken, it really just depends on how much Chicken I am cooking.So this part is up to you.)
Lightly sprinkle each spice over your chicken or into the broth. I don't use a lot of each spice but use as much as you would like. And don't use a lot of salt, the broth has it's own salt in it, so use sparingly.
After you have added your spices and add about 1TBSP of Lemon Juice, 2TBSP of Red Wine Vinegar, and 1-2 TBSP of the Liquid Aminos (it has a salty flavor too, another reason why we use the salt sparingly).

Add you chicken if you haven't already done so and cook on medium heat for about 20-25mins.

After you are done cooking, grab a large Zip-lock bag and save your chicken stock.

After my chicken has cooled, I like to go ahead measure out all my portions and bag it up for the week.

Coming up next I will share with you a great way to take this dish and transform it into Buffalo Chicken Snackers!

Photos of some of the products: