BBQ Green Chili Chicken

Here is Oregon, we were treated to some pretty good weather over the weekend which gave me the itch for BBQ. I love BBQ, I love the sweet tangy sauce and the act of cooking outdoors. However, BBQ sauce in the traditional sense is full of sugar and salt which is a big no, no on the PINK method. When I got around to it this week, I decided to try to create my own BBQ sauce that is PINK friendly. Unfortunately, by the time I got around to making a BBQ sauce, it was raining again here in Oregon so I had to cook indoors and come up with a Tex-Mex BBQ fusion which turned out great.

PINK Friendly BBQ Sauce (makes about 2 cups)
1/2 sweet onion chopped
3-4 medjool dates
3-4 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 cup water
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
3 tbsp yellow mustard
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2-3 tbsp liquid smoke (I use the Stubb's brand, mesquite flavor)
Salt and Pepper to taste
water to thin the sauce if needed, I ended up adding about 3/4 cup

Method

Add the chopped onions, Medjool dates, garlic and 1/2 cup water to a bowl and microwave for about 3 minutes until the onions and dates soften.

Add the onion and date mixture to the blender and blend until a smooth puree is formed

Add the onion puree, tomato paste, mustard, liquid smoke, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to a sauce pan

Stir to combine, at this point if the sauce is super thick, add more water to it until you get a BBQ sauce consistency, like I said above I added about 3/4 cup of water but only add 1/4 cup at a time because you don't want it to get to soupy. At this point if you like a super sweet BBQ sauce, you could add a few stevia drops, I like mine more tangy so the sweetness from the dates was a perfect sweetness level for me.

Turn heat on medium and cook the sauce until it has thickened slightly and all the flavors have married. Turn off the heat and let cool. At this point you can put it in the refrigerator and save for about a week, using it whenever you BBQ.

BBQ Green Chili Chicken (Serves 5)
5 boneless skinless chicken breasts weighing about 4 ounces each (truth be told mine were about 5 1/2 ounces)
1/2 sweet onion sliced
1 can roasted green chilis
1/2 cup PINK Friendly BBQ sauce

Method

Trim your chicken breasts of any fat and using a knife you are going to cut into the chicken breast as if you were filleting it but do not cut all the way through, you just want to create a pocket to hold the onion and green chili mixture.

When the chicken is prepped, add the onion and green chilies to a saute misted with a little olive oil.

Cook until the onions have softened and browned slightly.

Take the onion/chili mixture and stuff it into the pockets you created in the chicken breasts.

Brown the stuffed chicken breasts in the pan you sauteed the onions in.

Top the chicken breasts with a smear of BBQ sauce

Bake in a 350 degree oven until the chicken has cooked all the way through, about 15 minutes or so depending on how thick your chicken breasts are.

I served mine along side some mashed baked sweet potato, steamed broccoli and carrots.

Enjoy!

Company Worthy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This is one of those meals that sort of came together with the last of the produce hanging out in my refrigerator. For it being bottom of the barrel, use what you got on hand, it was excellent, even company worthy if I do say so myself. I happen to have a few mushrooms, a few mini bell peppers and 1 yellow squash hanging out in the produce bin but use what you have. If you only have a zucchini use that, no bell pepper, try a carrot. I really would have loved onion in this also but I was all out. Do you get what I'm saying, use what you have.

Company Worthy Stuffed Chicken Breasts
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
3 white mushrooms
3-4 mini bell peppers or half of a large one
1/2 yellow squash
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp minced garlic
Dash of Balsamic Vinegar
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper

Method

Start by filleting your chicken breast but stop before you cut all the way through. You want to form a pocket of sorts.

Chop your vegetables in your food processor until fairly fine, it will hold together better if it is a fine chop but you certainly don't want a paste.

Saute your vegetables in a mist of olive oil

When they start to soften add in your thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar and let cook a minute or so longer just so the flavors meld

Take your filling and stuff your chicken where you created your pocket

Fold over your chicken so that the stuffing is sandwiched between your chicken

Return the stuffed chicken breast to the pan and saute until both sides are lightly brown (I totally got busy helping with homework and burned the snot out of my pan but the chicken was saved, just a little more brown than most people like)

Then place in a oven safe dish and finish baking your chicken breast in the oven at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. I also added some brussel sprouts to my pan with a dash of balsamic vinegar and allowed them to roast right along side my chicken.

Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Chicken Yakisoba with Zucchini Noodles

I am a huge fan of Chinese/Japanese food. Come to think of it, I pretty much any type of ethnic food, even better, I just love food. Now you know how I got to where I am with my weight. I am learning however that I don't have to give up the foods I love, I just have to modify them to fit my new lifestyle. Yes, lifestyle. I am in it for the long haul.

I had a brilliant idea last night as I was making zucchini noodle spaghetti that I should try to make Yakisoba with these noodles also. My family loves Yakisoba which really is just another name for chow-mein but who cares.  It worked beautifully and I have figured out how I can yet again modify a meal for the whole family to fit my PINK method eating plan. I use the zucchini noodles, the rest of my family eats the Yakisoba noodles that are usually found in the produce section of the grocery store by the won-ton wrappers and tofu. Where do I get the zucchini noodles you ask? You make them with your Saladacco also known as a spiral slicer or cut them by hand either will work.

Chicken Yakisoba with Zucchini Noodles
4 ounces of chicken
3 cups chopped mixed vegetables (use what you like, I used onions, snap peas, carrots, red bell peppers, mushrooms, and a little purple cabbage)
1 medium size zucchini (you will use this to make your noodles so don't chop it up)
1 clove chopped garlic
1 tbsp Bragg's Amino's or Low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

Method
Brown your chicken in a saute pan, or pull some cooked chicken out of the refrigerator, I always keep a couple portions ready to go in case of a hunger emergency.

Chop your vegetables into bite size pieces

Saute the vegetables and garlic with the chicken until they soften. I often add a little bit of water to the vegetables to help them cook and then let it evaporate, you don't want a lot of water in the pan.

When the vegetables are soft, turn off the heat and add your  zucchini noodles, your Bragg's or soy sauce and your sesame oil and stir until combined.

If you are making for your family, obviously you would use more chicken and vegetables and then take out your portion, add the zucchini noodles to your portion and the Yakisoba noodles to your family's portion. My family then prefers teriyaki sauce mixed into the whole thing but use what your family likes.

Enjoy!

Chicken Fajitas

When I step on the scale every morning, I am amazed that I am seeing the numbers get smaller and smaller. Why? Mostly because I can't believe I can eat as much as I am and still be losing weight. I have never been this excited about a diet before and I have tried lots of them. I'm sure it isn't just the diet, I have changed my attitude regarding diets and wanting to be healthy. I feel great and I want to sing it from the roof tops!

I know that many people are struggling though and I did too the first 3 days so I want to tell you about a few things that have helped me. On PINK you can have all the vegis you want, so I add them to everything. I use them as a filler in everything to make my portion bigger. I like to eat and I want to fill satisfied when I eat don't you? Don't be a slave to the suggested meals in the book, they are just suggestions, you can also follow the blueprint for reset of 1 LP (low calorie protein) + LCV (low calorie vegetable) and come up with so many more satisfying meals that you will be amazed just like I am.

The other secret I will share with you that has helped is I make a double portion of everything so that I don't have to be constantly in the kitchen. When I make dinner I measure out 8 ounces of protein and double whatever it is I am making so that I will have lunch on hand the next day. If it is right at hand, you a less likely to grab something unhealthy. I know kind of a no brainier tip but it helps.

So onto what I had for dinner last night and lunch today.

Chicken Fajitas
Boneless skinless chicken breast
Vegetables and kind you want
   - I used zucchini, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and mixed bell peppers

Salsa (as natural as possible)
   - I use the Trader Joe's brand, ingredients are tomatoes, yellow chile, vinegar, salt, onion and spices)
   - I know it as added salt but I didn't use a whole lot so I didn't worry to much about it.
Head Lettuce/Iceberg Lettuce
   -This is what we will wrap our fajitas in.

Really easy to make saute you chicken in a little Pam. I like to cook my chicken until it has bits of brown on it, it adds so much flavor.

Once the chicken is browned, add in your vegetables and cook until softened and starting to brown.

Add in your salsa, just enough to coat everything and mix together.

Tear off whole leafs of lettuce for your shell and wash.

Fill with your lettuce leaf or leafs with the fajita mixture.

Wrap your lettuce around the filling just as you would a burrito and enjoy.

This can be a family friendly meal. My kids and hubby ate them like you would normal fajitas, flour tortilla, re-fried beans, cheese, sour cream etc. I did however have to just pick out the chicken for the kids. They prefer their vegetables raw. So they had a side of fresh carrots, snap peas and cucumbers.