Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Do you need a quick, go-to recipe for making chicken tacos??  Look no further!  This is a really easy version that using the crockpot to produce perfectly tender shredded chicken that is full of flavor.  My good friend Jessica gave me this recipe; I added in some additional onion and jalapeno.  I'm not sure I will ever go back to making chicken tacos any other way because these are so good!!!  You can customize with whatever your favorite taco toppings happen to be, but look below for my suggestions for this recipe.

Servings:  10

Size:  2 tacos

Points Plus: 6pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time:  4-5 hours

Rating: 5 stars – Excellent!

Ingredient List:
1 16 oz. jar salsa
1 packet of taco seasoning
¾ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup jalapeno, chopped
4 large chicken breasts
20 small flour tortillas

Optional Toppings (these are included in the pp value above):

1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese, reduced-fat

1 can (4 oz.) sliced black olives

½ cup white onion, chopped

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Add the full jar of salsa and taco seasoning to the crockpot; stir until well mixed.  Add in the chopped onion and jalapeno.  Finally, add in the chicken breasts and stir to make sure the salsa mixture is covering the chicken.  Set the crockpot on high for the first 2 hours and then finish on low for the next 2 hours.  Depending on how your crockpot cooks, wait until the chicken is fully cooked before removing to shred with a fork.  Add the shredded chicken back into the crockpot and cook on low or warm for an additional hour.  Serve with your favorite taco fixings and tortillas!  For the tacos above, I used 1 Tbsp. cheese, about 1/4 cup of chicken and just a sprinkle of olives per taco.  You can add as much onion and cilantro as you like! 

Tip:

Frozen chicken breasts work great in the crockpot!  If you haven’t had time to fully thaw out your chicken, not a big deal.  Just toss everything in the crockpot and set to low if you will be gone all day at work.  You will come home to a delicious smelling kitchen!

XOXO Megan

Pesto Chicken Pasta with Brussels sprouts

I love pretty much any dish that incorporates Brussels sprouts... this is a quick and easy pasta recipe that brings sprouts and pesto into the mix!

Servings:  4

Size:  ¼ of pasta dish

Points Plus: 11pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time:  35 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 lb. chicken breast, skinless, boneless

12 oz. pasta, farfalle or orchecchiette (both work well for this recipe)

¹/₃ cup pesto

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a medium bowl, toss Brussels sprouts with 1 Tbsp. olive oil.  Spread evenly on a baking sheet and sprinkle salt and pepper on top.  Roast the sprouts for 20-25 minutes, or until browned and crisp.  While the sprouts are roasting, you can prepare the chicken and get the pasta water started.  Cut the chicken breasts into smaller, bite-sized pieces – cook in a medium skillet with a bit of olive oil.  In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente.  Drain the pasta water, but reserve about ¼ cup to add to the assembled pasta dish for additional moisture if needed.  Add the chicken, pesto, Brussels sprouts to the pasta and mix well.  Serve in bowls and top each serving with a pinch of shredded Parmesan cheese.

Tip:

There are a lot of extras you could add into this recipe – try some sliced almonds, or sun-dried tomatoes!

XOXO Megan

Asian Sloppy Joes

We discovered this recipe from a sample they were handing out at Byerly’s.  Have you ever tried ground chicken?  It’s basically just like ground turkey, but replace the meat with chicken instead.  Ground chicken worked perfectly to lighten up the traditional sloppy joe recipe – and the cilantro and Thai peanut sauce took a new twist on a classic sandwich.

Servings:  6

Size:  1 Asian sloppy joe sandwich

Points Plus: 8pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time:  20 minutes

Rating: 3 stars – Good

Ingredient List:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped bell pepper (red or green)

1 lb. ground chicken

5 oz. Thai peanut sauce

6 whole wheat hamburger buns

2-3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro, optional

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add in the chopped onion, celery and pepper – sauté until the veggies are tender.  Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink, stir frequently to break up the chicken into smaller pieces.  Next, stir in the Thai peanut sauce making sure all the chicken and veggies are evenly coated.  Cover the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes.  Serve on hamburger buns and top each sloppy joe with chopped cilantro.

Tip:

Another way to cut out some pp value on this recipe is to turn this into a lettuce wrap instead of serving it on a hamburger bun - check it out!  The pp value would drop to only 5pp if you make lettuce wraps instead. 

XOXO Megan

Mini Pepper Chicken Nachos

Who doesn’t love nachos??  However, they can be high in points and unhealthy.  This recipe attempts to fix that!  Replace the chips (and carbs) with mini bell peppers instead and top with regular nacho ingredients and shredded chicken.  Delicious!!

I found this recipe on the Heat Oven to 350 blog

Servings:  4

Size:  1/4 of the nachos

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  10 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very Good  

Ingredient List:

1 tsp. vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 green onions

1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 tsp. chili powder

1 cup salsa

Salt & pepper to taste

1 pound mini bell peppers

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar-monterey jack blend, reduced-fat

1/4 cup black olives, sliced

1/2 large tomato, diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.  In a large skillet, heat oil and add garlic and green onions, cook for a few minutes.  Add in shredded chicken and chili powder; mix well until the chili powder evenly coats the chicken and onions – cook until the chicken is warmed through.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salsa and season with salt & pepper to taste.  Prepare the pepper nacho chips by cutting off the tops of each pepper and slicing in half lengthwise to form chips.  Place the peppers on a large cookie sheet.  Scoop the chicken mixture onto each mini pepper and then top with shredded cheese and black olives.  Bake the chicken nachos in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Before serving, top the nachos with tomatoes and fresh cilantro.

Tip:

Make the chicken in your crock-pot the night before you want to serve this recipe!  Crock pots are a great tool in making prep for entertaining easy!

XOXO Megan

Greek Pita Pizzas

This is a recipe I found on Pinterest a long time ago and was curious how it would turn out.  We made this for dinner on Friday night and it was a perfect light meal to kick off the weekend.  I wasn't sure if one pita would be satisfying enough, but you will be surprised at how filling these pita pizzas are. The original recipe can be found on this blog.  I made a handful of adaptations when I made my version - mostly using pitas instead of making your own pizza crust.  Either way would be delicious!

Servings:  2

Size:  1 pita pizza

Points Plus: 9pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 pitas
1 cucumber
2 Roma tomatoes
1/2 cup feta cheese

Homemade Tzatziki Sauce:
1 cup Greek yogurt, plain, reduced-fat
1/2 cup shredded cucumber
2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. minced garlic
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat up the olive oil and cook the chicken.  You may want to cut the chicken breasts into smaller strips to speed up the cooking time.  While the chicken is cooking, you can make the homemade Tzatziki sauce and prep the veggies.  For the Tzatziki, combine the Greek yogurt, shredded cucumber, lemon juice, garlic and salt & pepper in a small Pyrex measuring cup.  Whisk together until well mixed.  Wash and prep the Roma tomatoes by dicing and dice the remaining cucumber.  Once the chicken is done cooking, allow to cool for a few minutes before you cut into bite-sized pieces.  Assemble the pizzas by brushing each pita with a little olive oil - then layer veggies (tomato and cucmber), feta and chicken.  Drizzle the Tzatziki sauce over the top of each pita pizza.  Cook in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.  You are really just warming up the pizzas and making sure the pitas crisp up a bit.

Tip:
For the shredded cucumber, using a zester worked well for me.  You will end up with more juice than actual shredded cucumber pieces, but it will help to flavor the Tzatziki just the same.

XOXO Megan

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

Sunday Night Pizza Party!

It has been quite a weekend ya'all! Laying by the pool, celebrating a very special bachelorette, dinner at a few of my FAV restaurants of all time and wine...lots and lots of wine.  I decided, the best way to get back into the swing of things and prep for the full work week ahead was to have a pizza party tonight (just me and my husband mind you)! I had two mini Bobloi crusts in my pantry (so cute!) so created two contrasting pizzas.

Servings: 4
Size: 2 pieces (1/2 mini Boboli crust)
Point Plus: 10pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

White Pizza
1 Boboli 8 inch crust
1/4 cup alfredo sauce, light
Red pepper flakes, to taste
3 oz. chicken breast
3 fresh garlic cloves, chopped
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, part skim

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
1 Boboli 8 inch crust
1/4 pizza sauce
3 oz. chicken breast
1/4 cup Franks buffalo sauce
1/4 c. blue cheese crumbles
2 scallions, white and green, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut chicken (6 oz. total) into small pieces and saute in a non-stick skillet until cooked through, about five minutes. Remove 3 oz. of chicken from pan and set aside.  Add Franks to the remaining chicken in your pan and cook until warmed.

To assemble - put crusts on a cookie sheet and add respected sauce to each.  Layer toppings in the order listed above. Bake for 10 minutes, until tops of pizza are browned!

Tip:
Using a small pizza crust is perfect for creating more variety!

XOXO Katie

Buffalo Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Stuffed chicken breasts are a fun spin on chicken.  These use traditional buffalo wing flavors of hot sauce, celery, carrot and blue cheese.  This recipe is from Skinnytaste with some slight adaptations – I chose to cut out the shredded cheddar in the stuffing mixture, used sour cream instead of mayo for breading the chicken and slightly increased the size of each chicken breast.

Note: If you buy thicker chicken breasts, have the butcher at the grocery store slice them in half length-wise to end up with 4 thinner chicken breasts which will work great for stuffing!

Servings:  4

Size:  1 stuffed chicken breast
Points Plus: 6pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredient List:

4 thin chicken breasts (4 oz. each)

⅓ cup carrot, minced

⅓ cup celery, minced

⅓ cup green onions, chopped

4 wedges Laughing Cow blue cheese

Salt and pepper

15 Ritz crackers, reduced fat

1 Tbsp. light sour cream

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Frank’s hot sauce

Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Use cooking spray to lightly grease a baking dish.  In a small bowl, mix together the carrot, celery, green onions and Laughing Cow cheese.  Divide this mixture evenly between the 4 thin chicken breasts, then roll-up each cutlet to make a stuffed chicken breast.  Crush the Ritz crackers in a ziplock bag to make a crumb mixture for your chicken breading.  In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, lemon juice and 1-2 Tbsp. of hot sauce based on your preference.  Set up an assembly line for breading your stuffed chicken breasts.  First roll each in the hot sauce mixture, then the cracker crumbs, making sure the crumbs evenly coat the chicken.  Lay the chicken in a baking dish, seam side down so they don’t open up.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  Drizzle the top with additional hot sauce for more buffalo flavor.

Tip:

An easy side dish to serve with this meal that doesn’t require many extra ingredients is a side salad of cucumbers, celery and carrot with light blue cheese dresses.  We had it just as an all veggie salad, but you could serve it over romaine lettuce too.

XOXO Megan

Sweet & Sour Chicken

You will not believe this sweet and sour chicken is homemade!  It honestly is exactly the same as the breaded kind you would get in a restaurant  but waaaaaay more healthy.  There are several radical and unique things about this chicken.

1) You make your own sweet and sour sauce, which is actually very easy.

2) This chicken looks breaded.  This chicken TASTES breaded.  But this chicken isn't breaded!  The breaded effect is made by dipping the chicken cubes in cornstarch and egg, and then frying them slightly before baking them slowly with the sauce.  This slow bake + the sticky and sweat sauce + the egg is a truly amazing process to watch in the oven, so turn on the light! This will easily become a weekly favorite. I adapted the below recipe from here.

Servings: 4

Size: About 1 cup

Points Plus: 7pp

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Prep Time: 15 minutes if chicken is defrosted

Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes, this includes frying and baking

Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients

Chicken

1 lb boneless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup cornstarch (you should have about 1/2 cup leftover)

2 eggs, beaten

Cooking spray or MISTO with EVOO

Sauce

1/3 cup sugar

2 T. ketchup

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 t. soy sauce

1/2 t. garlic salt

Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rinse chicken and cut into 1 inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Prepare one bowl of egg and one bowl of cornstarch. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the egg.  Spray a non-stick skillet and cook chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a baking dish. Wisk together sauce and evenly pour over chicken. This would be especially helpful. Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Don't feel like you have to serve with an Asian inspired side.  I have paired with any steamed veggie, TJ's Harvest Grains Blend or even on it's own!

Tip:

When sauteing the chicken don't crowd it.  Fry it in batches so that the chicken pieces don't touch, this will make the browning process a lot smoother!

XOXO Katie

Roasted Chicken Salsa Verde Tostada

Hola! In my opinion, corn tortillas do not taste good. at. all. BUT they are many fewer points than the flour alternative.  I have been experimenting with corn totillas and the broiler a lot lately, and have found that it is possible to create a whole new flavor AND texture that is a crunchy, salty, delicious mix.  I made these tostadas with store bought rotisserie chicken which was a real time saver and will be great for leftovers!

Servings: 2
Size: Two tostadas
Points Plus: 9pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes (including removing the meat from the bones)
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List: 
4 corn tortillas
10 oz. rotisserie chicken
1/2 tomato, diced
1/2 cup shredded, reduced fat cheddar
2 Tbsp. light sour cream
4 Tbsp. salsa verde (I like the Target brand)
Chopped chives
Salsa (it is free, go wild!)

Directions: 
Clean your rotisserie chicken. Measure out 10 oz. and put the rest in your fridge. Set your oven to broil, and broil corn tortillas for four minutes with the rack set closest to the top of the oven. At this point they should be slightly crispy. Remove from the oven and top with chicken, tomato, salsa verde and shredded cheddar, splitting evenly among the four tostadas.  Move oven shelf down one level and broil for an additional 2 minutes.  Watch your tostadas so they don't burn!!!!!!  When they are cooked to your desired crispness. Remove from oven and add 1/2 Tbsp. sour cream to each. Add some chopped chives and salsa!

Tip:
I have a food scale and LOVE it!  I don't use it often, but it really comes in handy when trying to get accurate measurements for things that are hard to measure (ie: soup). It worked very well for this recipe.

XOXO Katie

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I love buffalo chicken!  It’s such a great flavor profile.  Depending on how much you like buffalo, this recipe allows you to add just the right amount to get to your desired level of hotness.  This makes for a hearty, satisfying salad and is easy to pull together for a quick weeknight dinner.

Servings:  2

Size:  Main course salad

Points Plus: 10 pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time:  n/a

Rating: 4 stars – Very good
* Recipe from www.siriouslydelicious.blogspot.com

Ingredient List:

6 oz. rotisserie chicken

Frank’s hot sauce – buffalo flavor

Chopped romaine

1 cup tomato, diced

2 oz. blue cheese crumbles

1 avocado, diced

12 blue tortilla chips

2 Tbsp. Greek yogurt, plain, fat free

Directions:

Shred the rotisserie chicken with a fork.  Add Frank’s hot sauce to your chicken and stir until the chicken is evenly coated with buffalo sauce.  Chop up hearts of romaine and plate out portions for two main course salads.  Dice the tomato and avocado.  Assemble your salads by adding the shredded chicken (about 3 oz. per serving), tomato, avocado and crumbled blue cheese (1 oz. of cheese per salad).  Crush 6 blue tortilla chips on top of each salad.  For dressing, use a generous spoonful of plain Greek yogurt.

Tip:

Do you struggle with cutting an avocado?  Here’s a quick and easy way to make easy work of it.  Slice the avocado in half length-wise.  Use your knife to lightly puncture the pit, this will allow you to easily pull out the pit using the blade of the knife.  With the avocado still in its rind, make cuts in both directions which would result in diced pieces.  Use a large spoon to scoop out each side of the already pre-diced avocado pieces and add to your salad (or whatever else you are making with diced avocado!).

XOXO Megan

Pesto Chicken

Pesto, mozzarella and tomato is such a great flavor combination!  It combines classic Italian flavors to add something extra to baked chicken.  This is a quick and easy weeknight dinner.  Pair it with a veggie (I chose frozen peas because we didn't have anythign else on hand) or a side salad.  The original recipe comes from Skinnytaste - her version includes a recipe for making your own pesto.  I don't have a food processor so I went with a store-bought pesto, but I would love to try out making my own some day!

Servings: 4

Size: 1 piece of chicken

Points Plus: 6 pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 5 minutes 

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (16 oz total)

Salt and pepper to taste

4 tsp. pesto

1 medium tomato, sliced

6 Tbsp. shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice the chicken breasts horizontally in half to get 4 thinner chicken cutlets. Season each cutlet with salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with foil (this saves a TON of time when cleaning up/doing dishes later!). Put the chicken cutlets on the baking sheet. Spread 1 tsp. of pesto on each cutlet. Bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Remove from oven to add tomatoes slices and mozzarella cheese. Bake for an additional 5 minutes to make sure the cheese is melted. 

Tip:
Slicing the chicken breasts in half can be a kind of difficult task.  I made my fiance do it. :)  Another great option is to ask the butcher at your local grocer to cut them for you.  These are people who are much more experienced at cutting meat, so why not ask for the favor and save yourself some time?

XOXO - Megan

Chicken Gyros (Yee-Roh)

NEWSFLASH! Chicken gyros are just as good as regular normal delicious wonderful lamb gyros.  Ok, this might not be 100% true (coming from a major gyro lover), but they are a good, healthier substitute! I think this was the first time I actually ate a chicken gyros, and slightly altered this recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything (good blog). You begin by mixing up a Greek inspired marinade AND your own Tzatziki! I served this with a basic Greek chop salad of cucumber, tomato, feta and red onion.  Made me feel like I was in Greece! (jk)

Servings:  2

Size:  Ingredients below split in half, 5 oz of chicken

Points Plus: 10 pp

Level of Difficulty:  Medium

Prep Time: 1 hour 10 mins, including marinade time

Cook Time:  10 mins

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredients:

Tzatziki sauce:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

For the chicken:

2 tsp. minced garlic

Juice of 1 lemon (2-3 Tbsp.)

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 heaping Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt

1 Tbsp. dried oregano

Salt and pepper

1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

To assemble:

Pita bread, one split in 1/2

Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced

Red onion, sliced thin

Directions:

Shred the cucumber and wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Don't over salt! Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Spray a non-stick pan and sauté chicken until cooked through. Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Broil pitas. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, and sliced onions. Serve immediately. Also feel free to add chopped romaine and diced tomatoes if you have them, which I didn't!

Tip: Marinades such as this are a great way to spice up (not literally) your boring run-of-the mill chicken.  You could use this marinade without the pita and serve with a salad and veggie side OR use to top a simple Greek salad of tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and feta.

XOXO - Katie

Spring Stir Fry with Chicken, Sugar Snap Peas & Carrots

Stir-fry is such an easy weeknight dinner.  If you’re pressed for time, this is a great meal that can really come together quickly.  I saw this recipe on Skinnytaste and was anxious to try it out.  I LOVE Skinnytaste – she has some really great recipes.  This one did not disappoint!

Servings:  4

Size:  Just under 1 cup

Points Plus: 5 pts

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time:  15-20 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

Sauce –

1 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 Tbps. Water

1 tsp. cornstarch

Stir Fry –

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into small pieces

Salt to taste

1 Tbsp. canola oil

2 tsp. fresh garlic, minced

1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated

1 c. sugar snap peas

1 c. carrots, sliced diagonally

Scallions for garnish

Directions:

Combine the soy sauce, lime juice, water and cornstarch in a small bowl, set aside.  Cut the chicken into small pieces and season with salt.  Heat half the oil in a large frying pan or wok over high heat.  Add the chicken, stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through and browned (about 5 minutes).  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a plate.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining oil, along with the garlic and ginger.  Add in the sugar snap peas and carrots, stirring until the veggies are tender, but still crisp (about 5 minutes).  Return the chicken to the pan, pour the soy-sauce/lime mixture over the chicken and mix well.  Cook for another minute.   Serve immediately – either alone or over a starch (my favorite is brown rice for stir-fry).  Top each serving with fresh scallions.

Tip:

It’s not worth struggling to get rice to turn out on the stove-top… just go buy yourself a rice cooker!  They aren’t that expensive.  The past few times I’ve made rice, it hasn’t turned out.  It’s pretty frustrating to start your brown rice cooking and 45+ minutes later open a pot filled with chicken broth and ½ cooked rice.  My rice didn’t turn out when I made this recipe earlier this week, so we ate our stir fry without a starch.  One way to make it healthier I suppose!  For our leftovers, I had a great solution!  I called in an order of brown rice to our local Asian take out place and we picked it up on our way home from work – so easy.

XOXO - Megan