Chicken Piccata

I always asked my parents to make this dish when I was younger. There is just something about the combination of the tartness of the lemon juice and the saltiness of the capers that makes me love this dish. Now that I have found a recipe that makes it lighter without losing ANY of the flavor I feel like I should send a thank you to Emily Bites. She has not only made this dish flavorful and healthy but fairly simple and unintimidating to cook.

Nutritional Information (calculated on myfitnesspal.com): 5 weight watchers points plus. 188 calories, 6g carbs, 6g fat, 27g protein.

Ingredients

• 3 T Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 t Salt
• 1/4 t Black Pepper
• 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Halves (1 lb total)
• 1 T Olive Oil
• 1 T Light Butter
• 1/2 c Low Sodium Fat Free Chicken Broth
• 3 T Lemon Juice (fresh is better)
• 1 Garlic Clove, Minced
• 1/4 c Capers, Drained and Rinsed

Directions

1. Mix Flour, Salt and Pepper in a resealable bag. Add Chicken and shake to coat.

Skinny Tzatziki

I have made many different versions of this sauce but most were not very successful. Once I found out the secret was in straining not only the yogurt but also the cucumber this created a nice thick sauce to put on my Chicken Gyro which I will post tomorrow!

Nutritional Information (calculated on myfitnesspal.com): 0 weight watchers points plus. 21 calories, 3g carbs, 0g fat, 3g protein.

8 Servings

Ingredients

8 oz Fat Free Greek Yogurt

1 Small Cucumber

2 Garlic Cloves

Juice of 1 Lemon

1/2 t Dried Dill

1 T Chives, Chopped

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions

1. Peel and seed the Cucumber.
2. Grate the Cucumber on the large holes of a box grater.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Sometimes I get a taste for specific types of food and can't get it out of my head. I had a taste for some Mediterranean flavors a while back and wasn't finding anything that sounded good to me. I decided to create my own recipe, over the rest of the day I kept jotting down ingredients to see what might match. That night I looked at what I had jotted down and what I had in the cabinets and this recipe was born! I liked it so much that I have not even tweaked it. Even better this makes about 8 servings for only 5 points plus per serving!

Ingredients

1 lemon, juiced

4 T Olive Oil

1 T Dried Oregano

1 T Dried Rosemary

3 Garlic Cloves, Crushed or Minced

2 lbs Pork Tenderloin

1 Medium Onion, Cut into 1" Pieces

1 Green Pepper, Cut into 1" Pieces

2 T Grated Parmesan

2 T Fresh Parsley, Chopped Finely

1/4 t Salt

1/4 t Pepper

1/3 c Sun Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil, Drained, Dried and Minced
Toothpicks

Directions

1. Slice the Pork Tenderloin lengthwise but not all the way through.

Greek Grilled Chicken

I love grilling and when I saw this recipe on Laaloosh I knew I had to make it! The marindae alone would make for a great chicken dish but combine it with the topping of tomatos, feta, kalamata olives and fresh mint and this is an outstanding dish. At only 5 points plus per serving, the flavors are a perfect blend and the mint give it a very fresh taste!

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts, Cut into 6 Fillets

1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes, Cut into Halves

3/4 c Fat Free Feta Cheese

1/2 c Mint Leaves, Chopped

1 T Olive Oil

1/2 c Kalamata Olives, Pitted

1/4 c Red Wine Vinegar

Juice From 1 Lemon

4 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1 t Dijon Mustard

1 T Dried Oregano

Salt and Pepper, to Taste

Directions

1. Combine Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Garlic, Dijon Mustard, Oregano, Salt and Pepper in a small bowl.

Broccoli and Feta Pasta Sauce

Make sure to have your blender and your appetite ready for this amazing pasta sauce. The feta balances the broccoli in a way that I could have never imagined. This was found on Laaloosh and was intrigued since I have not had anything that I have not liked from her site.

We taught my Giuliana to sign to tell us if she wanted more food or milk. When she tried this she kept signing for more.

This sauce is only 3 points plus per cup of sauce so enjoy!

Ingredients

16 oz Package of Broccoli Florets

1 c Fat Free Feta Cheese

2 T Light Butter

1 Small Onion Finely, Chopped

3 Garlic Cloves, Minced

1 T Olive Oil

1/3 c Water

Juice of 1 Lemon

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Steam Broccoli until tender

Chipotle Chicken and Avocado Wrap

Another inspiration from Skinny Taste that will go great with the Cold Corn Soup. When this recipe was originally posted it had lobster but since I have a slight allergy to shellfish I substituted chicken. It still creates a great wrap! The originally recipe was 6 points plus per wrap.

Ingredients

1 lb Chicken Breast, Cooked and Chopped

3 T Light Mayo

2 T Fat Free Greek Yogurt

1 T Chopped Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce

1 Green Onion, Finely Chopped

1 T Lemon Juice

1 T Minced Cilantro

1 Medium Avocado, Diced

8 Medium Romaine Lettuce Leaves

4 - 8" Tortillas

Directions

1. In a medium bowl combine Mayo, Yogurt, Chipotle Pepper, Green Onion, and Cilantro.

Ditalini Pasta Salad with Lemon, Green Beans and Tomatoes

We have been "World Travelers" the past few weeks. We have been to Memphis, TN, Sheboygan, WI and DISNEY WORLD! My parents built a house down in Memphis while my dad works down there for a few years and Tammy, Giuliana, Karen (my Mother-In-Law), Dan (my Father-In-Law), Travis (my Brother) and Lauren (his Friend/Co-Worker) all went down to visit. We all had a great time and while we were down there we all cooked together (whenever we were not eating out.) At about 4 Points Plus per 1 cup serving this is a GREAT side dish! For this meal we made the Sausages with the Honey Mustard Slaw and a recipe I adapted from Skinny Taste. There was really only 2 changes:

1. She used asparagus and that is a flavor I do not enjoy so I replaced them with green beans
2. The store we were at in Memphis did not have pearl couscous so I substituted ditalini

You will see pictures of some of my family I on this post as many of them helped because the only thing I enjoy more than cooking for a crowd is cooking with a crowd. :-)

Ingredients

6 oz Ditalini Pasta

3/4 lb Green Beans, Trimmed to 1 Inch Pieces

1-1/2 c Grape Tomatoes, Quartered

1/4 c Red Onion, Minced

1-1/2 Lemons, Juiced

1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 T Fresh Parsley, Minced

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the green beans cook about three minutes to cooked but still crisp.
2. Remove from pot of water and place green beans in an ice bath.
3. Cook the Ditalini in the same water until desired doneness.
4. Drain the Ditalini and place into a bowl and add green beans to same bowl..
5. Add Tomatoes, Onion, Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, and Parsley to the bowl and mix well.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Enjoy immediately.

 Travis was really proud to show himself starting up the grill.

 Lauren quartering the tomatoes.

 Expertly quartered tomatoes by Lauren.

 Mom B cutting the green beans into perfect pieces before blanching.

 Boiling the water isn't that a beautiful stove!?

 Mom R mincing the parsley. See how careful she is?

 Travis cutting the sausages.

 Apparently cutting the sausages was hard work!

 This is the final product for the pasta salad.

 The sausages expertly grilled by Travis Dad R and Dad B.

 Travis modeling a perfect plate!

 Dad B, Dad R, Mom B and Tammy all following Travis' lead.

 Tammy Showing how to open a bun.

I swear my parents house is not crooked just the photographer. :-)