Salad for One! (chicken, veggies, cottage cheese and evoo)

Sometimes salads sound so blaaaaaa.  Sometimes all you need though, is a new mix of salad ingredients to reinvigorate your salad love.  Example - one day my weight watchers leader said 'I love to mix cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, feta, evoo and salt'! I went home, made that salad, and then ate it practically every day for weeks!  Here is an easy salad that I made in an effort to use up some CSA veggies. Also, I am a quantity eater, and I love that this salad is huge, filled my WHOLE plate and made me full. It is packed with protein and made for a great dinner for one!

Servings: 1

Size: 1 salad!

Points Plus: 9 pp (keep in mind this salad is HUGE and could be split in 1/2)

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List: 

1 handful of mixed greens

4 oz. rotisserie chicken

1/2 cup sliced cucumber

1/2 tomato

2 T. fat free feta

1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese

4 basil leaves, chopped

1 t. olive oil

Kosher salt

Directions:

Mix first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Add olive oil and salt, then toss.  Put on a plate and enjoy!

Tip:

1. I love using cottage cheese as salad dressing, try it! 2. There is something about tossing your salad together at home that makes it feel fancier, try it!

Mint, Cucumber and Bubbly Vodkas

This is a light, summery drink that is oh so good!  My friend Jessica made this as our signature cocktail for my bachelorette party last weekend.  I love any cocktail that involves a simple syrup and I especially love ones with champagne.  I LOVE champagne!! 

*This recipe came from the MN Monthly magazine.

Servings: 1

Size: 6 oz.

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty: Medium (just because of the simple syrup) 

Prep Time: Syrup - 25 minutes; Cocktail - 2 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients:

Ingredients for 1 drink:

1 1/2 oz. Prairie Vodka

3 oz. honey-mint-cucumber simple syrup

2 oz. champagne

Simple Syrup:

1 cup honey

2 cup water

Handful of mint leaves

1 6-inch cucmber, grated
Pinch of sea salt

Directions:
Prepare the simply syrup by simmering the honey with water and mint leaves until reduced by half or about 20 minutes.  In a small bowl, grate the cucumber and add the pinch of sea salt; let stand.  When the syrup is reduced, pour over the grated cucumber.  Cool to room temperature, then strain into a jar and chill.
Note: The simple syrup will last you through multiple cocktails. The pp value above is for just one drink. 

To prepare one cocktail, add the drink ingredients into a chilled glass.  We chose to use stemless wine glasses.

Tip:
The lemon zester I mentioned in this post would work GREAT for grating the cucumber for the simple syrup - test it out when you make this summer drink!

XOXO Megan

Caprese Salad

Everyone loves a caprese salad, especially during the summer months when fresh tomatoes are EVERYWHERE!  A caprese salad can be an appetizer, side dish or even sometimes a full meal.  I served this as the first course to a multiple course Italian feast, and it was the perfect size to get things rolling.

Servings: 4
Size: 1 caprese stack
Points Plus: 3pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
1 Heirloom tomato
4 t. olive oil
5 basil leaves
4 oz. fresh mozzarella
Kosher salt and pepper

Directions: 
Slice your tomato into four thick pieces horizontally, saving the top and bottom piece for personal consumption (0pp)! Slice your mozzarella ball into 4 1 oz slices horizontally.  Clean your basil leaves.  Layer on each serving plate 1 tomato slice, 1 basil leaf and 1 mozzarella slice. Drizzle each serving with 1 t. olive oil and then salt and pepper to taste.

Tip:
This is hands down the BEST cheese knife ever.  It works best for soft cheese, and makes cutting nice and clean.  The knife is a little pricey but for sure worth the investment!

XOXO - Katie

Jerk Chicken Salad with Grilled Pineapple

This is an old Pampered Chef recipe for a good summery salad.  If you haven’t tried grilling pineapple before, it’s really fun!  You need a good grill pan to help get the caramelization of sugars from the pineapple.

Servings:  6

Size:  Main course salad

Points Plus:

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time:  10 minutes

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List:

Salad:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. Jamaican Jerk seasoning
1 pound chicken breast, cut into strips
1 medium pineapple, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 green onions
1 large head of chopped romaine
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
6 slices of turkey bacon

Dressing:
2 limes
1/3 cup mayo, reduced-fat
2 Tbsp. pineapple preserves

Directions:

Wash and chop up head of lettuce.  In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and Jamaican Jerk seasoning.  Add the chicken pieces and mix well so the seasoning evenly coats the chicken similar to a marinade.  Cut the pineapple up into ¼ inch slices or wedges.  Using a grill pan over medium heat, grill the chicken strips cooking each side about 3-5 minutes.  Cut the chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces for the salad.  After you are done cooking the chicken, add the pineapple to the pan.  Cook for 1 minute per side, flipping the pineapple wedges over once.  Wash and prep the bell pepper and green onions.  Drain and rinse the black beans.  Cook the turkey bacon according to the directions on the package.  Make the dressing in a small glass measuring cup.  Use the zest of one lime and the juice from both limes along with the mayo and pineapple preserves – whisk together to make the dressing.  Assemble the salad by layering the beans, bell pepper, chicken, pineapple, bacon and green onions and drizzle the dressing over the salad before serving.

Tip:

One of the first things I learned at WW when I joined 7+ years for the first time was a handy little tip to control how much salad dressing you use.  Instead of drizzling dressing over your salad, keep the dressing on the side and just dip you fork into the dressing before you take a bite.  This will really cut down on how much dressing you use and keep the pp value low for the dressing so you can spend more pp on other foods!

XOXO Megan

White Wine Spritzer

What could be better than double the drink for half the points plus?!  Introducing my favorite summer beverage...white wine spritzer! I first was introduced to this gem on a hot summer day about a year ago.  It is so easy and low in pp, it also takes a while to drink! So grab a bottle of white wine and drink up!

Servings: 1
Size: 10oz.
Points Plus: 4pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 1 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 5 stars - Excellent

Photo from foodnetwork.com

Ingredient List: 
4 oz. white wine (I like dry)
6 oz. club soda
Ice

Directions: 
Fill glass with ice, add wine and soda, stir!

Tip:
You could also make this with red wine.  I LOVE adding ice and serving this drink in a wine glass to feel more fancy!

XOXO - Katie

Veggie Stuffed Tortillas

My mom told me about this recipe that she found in this summer’s Penzey’s spice recipe book.  It was a good light, vegetarian dinner recipe I made on Monday night.  I had a weekend full of eating, so this dinner was a good way to get back on track – the beans help to make for a satisfying meal that will keep you full and its relatively low in points!
 

Servings:  8

Size:  2 stuffed tortillas

Points Plus: 6pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time:  5-10 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very Good

 

Ingredient List:

2 Tbsp. EVOO

½ tsp. minced garlic

1 large onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium zucchini or squash, sliced and quartered

½ cup chicken broth

1 15 oz. can corn, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 ½ tsp. Arizona Dreaming (this is a specific spice blend from Penzey’s)

3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

1 cup shredded cheese, reduced-fat

Salsa

16 corn tortillas

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat up 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic, onion, pepper, zucchini and ¼ cup of chicken broth to the pan.  Sauté the veggies until they are tender.  Add the drained and rinsed corn and beans to the pan and the remaining ¼ cup chicken broth (the liquid will cook down).  Next add in the spices – cumin, Arizona Dreaming and salt and pepper.  Make sure to stir well so the spices are mixed throughout the veggies.  Stir in fresh cilantro.  Total cooking time for the tortilla stuffing is about 10-12 minutes.  In a small skillet, heat up the remaining olive oil.  Place one tortilla in the pan and cook until the bottom is lightly browned.  Sprinkle some shredded cheese on one ½ of the tortilla and then scoop about ¼ cup of the vegetable filling onto the tortilla.  Fold the tortilla in half and press down with a spatula so it resembles the look of a quesadilla.  Heat the tortilla for about a minute before moving on to the next stuffed tortilla.  Serve with salsa and additional cheese on top if you prefer!

Tip:

The first one or two tortillas might be difficult to get perefectly browned or to fold in half easily - keep at it and you should be able to get it right.  Try adjusting the heat either up or down too to achieve lightly browned tortillas.

XOXO Megan

Cous Cous with Peas & Summer Squash

Here is a delish one pot meal (or side dish) for you! This recipe is a slight mortification of this one, using what I had on hand. The last thing I want to do when it is hot is clean, and clean the kitchen especially.  So I loved that this recipe only required a pot (with a lid), cutting board and knife. Simple!  It also came together really fast, from start to finish probably 10 minutes!

Servings: 4
Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 7pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
1 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup uncooked cous cous
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup onion, raw
1/2 cup peas, raw
1 cup summer squash, raw
2 oz. soft goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 
Heat 1 T. olive oil in a dutch oven.  Add onion and garlic and sautee for about 2 minutes.  Add squash and cook for an additional 3 minutes.  Add peas and chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Add cous cous and cover for five minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle each serving with 1/2 oz. soft goat cheese.

Tip:
This might sound totally nasty, but I have the tried and true way to prevent tears when cutting onions.  Simply place a piece of raw bread in your mouth while cutting.  It gets a bit soggy but this REALLY works!