Recipes

 

Karen's Baked Chicken Taquitos

cals: 295kcal | fat: 3.41g | carbs: 34.00g | prot: 30.19g
low fat

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dice chicken breast meat. Saute chicken in pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Pour in salsa and cook until heated through. Remove chicken and salsa and shred chicken (I used a food processor to get mine very fine).
  2. Dry cook the tortillas in a small nonstick skillet. I cook each side for about 10 seconds. I just watch the tortilla and as it is done, the edges lay down flat. You can also steam them in the microwave for about 30 seconds wrapped in moist paper towels.
  3. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Lay your tortillas on the cookie sheet. Place approx. 1 Tbsp filling mix in each tortilla. Roll up tightly and place seam down on cookie sheet. DO NOT LET TORTILLAS TOUCH or they will stick together. Spray the tops with nonstick cooking spray.
  4. Bake in oven preheated to 400 degrees for 15 minutes, turning once about 1/2 way through cycle. Serve with salsa, guacamole, light sour cream, and/or refried beans.

Easy Green Chicken Enchiladas

cals: 113kcal | fat: 1.81g | carbs: 11.78g | prot: 12.22g
Wow delicious! In the oven within 20 minutes! Moderate carbs, low fat, high protein!

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Drain chicken and place in skillet or pan with salsa and cook until heated through.
  2. Spray 9" square pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup of geen sauce in bottom of dish to coat bottom to prevent tortillas from sticking. Dry cook the tortillas in small nonstick skillet for approx 7-10 seconds per side just until softened. Place on food prep surface. Fill tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle a small bit of cheese on each tortilla then roll up and place in pan. I had to layer mine since they wouldn't fit, but they still turn out the same. When this is completed for all tortillas, pour sauce over top of all enchiladas. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top of all enchiladas.
  3. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.
Saute Chicken if using fresh chicken until fully cooked
    Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

    Pan Seared Tilapia

    cals: 98kcal | fat: 1.00g | carbs: 0.00g | prot: 21.00g
    low fat, no carbs, high protein. This is our standard dinner for a high carb day. If we have a high carb lunch, we need to have a low carb high protein dinner. Not to mention it is fast easy and delicious.

    Ingredients

    Directions

    1. Marinate fillets in lemon juice for 5 minutes. Sprinkle a dash cajun seasoning and paprika on each fillet. Let set while pan gets hot. Heat nonstick spray in saute pan over medium heat.
    2. Gently place fillets into pan with seasoning side down. Sprinkle seasoning on top side. Sear each side 3-5 minutes or until light crust forms. Do not overflip! This will cause your fillets to start breaking apart. I try not to flip more than one time. After the first flip, I wait approximately 2 minutes then pour the leftover lemon juice in the pan and cover so that the fish gets well done on the inside thick pieces.
    3. Serve with healthy vegetables. Alternative #2: if you don't have time to marinate, pour lemon juice over each piece of fish AFTER it is cooked and plated. Alternative #3: After cooking fish, flake it up. Then serve with dry cooked or steamed corn tortillas and veggies as fish tacos!
    Pan Seared Tilapia with steamed broccoli and carrots

     

    Chicken Parmesean

    cals: 199kcal | fat: 4.52g | carbs: 11.13g | prot: 30.77g
    low fat, high protein, low carb

    Ingredients

    Directions

    1. Fillet breasts if they are too thick, or pound with a mallet. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray. Toast bread in microwave 1-1 1/2 minutes. Place in ziplock bag and press flat to crumble then add parmesean cheese and shake well to mix. Beat egg and milk together in small dish. Dip chicken in eggwash, place in baggie and shake to coat lightly. Lay breasts in shallow glass dish.
    2. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Pour spaghetti sauce over top. Bake an additional 15 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top evenly over each piece of chicken. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
    Chicken Parmesan

     

    Roasted Chicken Breasts and Carrots

    cals: 180kcal | fat: 3.27g | carbs: 9.53g | prot: 27.09g
    low fat, low carb, high protein

    Ingredients

    Directions

    1. Butterfly chicken breasts so they are not so thick. Spray a baking dish with non stick spray. Cut up carrots and bring to boil in the chicken broth until just starting to get tender, pour into pan. Chop onions and peppers. Place in pan. Sprinkle 1/2 seasonings on veggies. Place in pan on top of veggies and sprinkle remaining seasonings on chicken. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until breasts are done and veggies are tender.
    Roasted Chicken Breasts and Carrots

     

    Tangy Turkey Loaf

    cals: 165kcal | fat: 4.85g | carbs: 9.41g | prot: 20.13g
    low fat, high protein, low carb

    Ingredients

    Directions

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute green peppers and onions in nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray until just softened. Combine first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add ground turkey and sausage and can of drained stewed tomatoes; combine mixture just until blended, using hands. Place mixutre on a baking dish sprayed with non stick cooking spray. Shape into a 10x5 inch loaf.
    2. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour; remove and cover with ketchup and cook an additional 30 minutes.
    3. Picture shows 2 servings of Tangy Turkey Loaf with 2 servings of green beans.
    Tangy Turkey Loaf

    Pineapple Teriyaki Burgers

    cals: 497kcal | fat: 15.75g | carbs: 43.88g | prot: 40.50g

    1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey (93% lean)
    1 packet Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix
    2 Tbsp Teriyaki Marinade Mix
    1 8 oz can pineapple rings (save juice)
    salt and pepper to taste
    4 large sesame seed buns
    onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, etc

    Set up grill for direct cooking over high heat. Oil grate before cooking burgers. Combine ground turkey, soup mix, marinade mix, and 1/4 cup pineapple juice. Form into 4 large patties slightly bigger than the buns. Gently press one pineapple ring into each patty. Season each patty with salt and pepper. Place on grill, pineapple side down to start, and cook for 8 minutes on each side for medium. Do not press burgers down and turn with tongs.

    Note: These can be made without the pineapples and juice. They are then called Teriyaki burgers. The teriyaki mix is found over by the gravy packets and packages sauces. At our wal-mart it is on the top shelf and I actually use Williams Spicy Wing Teriyaki Seasoning Mix. I use this same mix to add flavor to my meat loaf. So when you use the 2 Tbsp, save the rest by folding down the package and use it the next time you make regular burgers or meatloaf. The best pickles to use are the ovals. Try to use the best tomatoes you can find and let them ripen in a window and be at room temperature. Don't skimp on your fixings as these burgers are worth the extra effort. The first time I make them for people I tell them they have 2 burgers each, one with the pineapple ring and one without. No one has ever (after having tasted it) NOT like them. If they don't they can just pull the ring out, no problem, but I like people to try them before they take it off. Let me know how you like them! Oh, also, DO NOT PIERCE THE MEAT. I know I like to make sure my burgers are done, but I have trusted this method and it has never failed, except for the time I didn't have enough coals on the grill because I had run out. So I had to bring them in and finish cooking them in a pan, so always make sure you have plenty of charcoal. Of course if you want your well done, add 2 minutes per side.

      Black Bean and Chicken Chimichangas

    cals: 342kcal | fat: 6.34g | carbs: 34.31g | prot: 37.70g
    low fat, high protein

    Ingredients

    Directions

    1. Saute onions until they are tender in a little non stick cooking spray. Add chicken that has been diced up into bite size pieces. Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Add salsa, drained black beans, cumin, salt, and oregano. Heat through for about 5 minutes. Add chicken to the mixture and heat another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Place 4 tortillas on a pan, spray one side with nonstick spray. Turn them over and fill middles with mixture. Roll up from side 1/2 way, then fold ends in, then continue to roll up. Place seam side down and cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn them all over and cook for another 5-10 minutes until lightly browned and crispy. Serve with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, etc.
    Saute chicken and onion until no longer pink.
    Add salsa and seasonings
    Simmer until heated through. Add black beans (no picture yet, forgot to take it!)
    Place mixture in tortilla, roll up and spray with non stick spray. Play on baking sheet.

    Bake at 350 for 16-20 minutes, flipping once. Serve with salsa, or other condiment!

       

      Karen's Texas Turkey Chili

      cals: 251kcal | fat: 4.69g | carbs: 35.83g | prot: 21.01g
      delish
      1. Saute onions, garlic, celery, and ground turkey (I was out of green pepper this day :-( )
      2. Add rotel, beans, tomato sauce, jalapenos (unless serving kids, then add jalapenos to each bowl), 4 cups of water, and chili mix. Simmer 45 minutes
      3. Pour chili into bowl, top with jalapenos, salsa, fat free cheese, diced onions, fat free sour cream, etc!
       

      Ingredients

      Directions

      1. Brown ground turkey, onion, garlic, celery (with leaves), and bell pepper w/nonstick cooking spray in a large dutch oven until meat is no longer pink. Stir in seasoning mix, tomato sauce, rotel, jalapenos, and beans. Add four cups of water and let simmer 45 mins. to an hour.

        Chicken Parmesean

        cals: 199kcal | fat: 4.52g | carbs: 11.13g | prot: 30.77g
        low fat, high protein, low carb

        Ingredients

        Directions

        1. Fillet breasts if they are too thick, or pound with a mallet. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray. Toast bread in microwave 1-1 1/2 minutes. Place in ziplock bag and press flat to crumble then add parmesean cheese and shake well to mix. Beat egg and milk together in small dish. Dip chicken in eggwash, place in baggie and shake to coat lightly. Lay breasts in shallow glass dish.
        2. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Pour spaghetti sauce over top. Bake an additional 15 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top evenly over each piece of chicken. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

           Whole Wheat Baked Chicken Tenders


          cals: 189kcal | fat: 4.86g | carbs: 9.51g | prot: 25.41g
          low fat healhty chicken tenders

          Ingredients

          Directions

          1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. 3 minutes before ready to begin cooking chicken, preheat cookie sheet in over. Brown 3 slices of whole wheat bread and crush or blend into bread crumbs. Cut chicken into strips according to your liking. Place flour in a shallow dish. Place egg and egg white in another shallow dish, beat together well. In third shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and seasoning. Dip chicken into flour, then egg, then bread crumbs pressing them down to make it stick. Place on a clean plate until all are complete. Remove preheated cookie sheet from oven. Spray generously with nonstick cooking spray. Place all chicken tenders on the sheet and lightly spray with more cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes or until done.

          Simple Shepherd's Pie

          cals: 275kcal | fat: 8.55g | carbs: 22.44g | prot: 24.71g
          easy and quick

          Ingredients

          Directions

          1. Prepare potatoes, gravy, and beef broth according to package directions. Brown ground turkey until no longer pink. Stir in beef broth and frozen peas and carrots. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in gravy, cook another 5 minutes. Pour into casserole dish or iron skillet. Top with potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

           

          Rotel Roast

          cals: 66kcal | fat: 2.51g | carbs: 0.95g | prot: 9.19g
          Very versatile recipe. You can prepare the roast and serve it as roast with sides, with salsa on a tortilla, with BBQ sauce on a bun. Also, any leftovers and be pulled apart, mixed with a brown gravy and rice to make beef tips ans rice. Virtually 4 meals from one roast (buy a big one).

          Ingredients

          Directions

          1. Make a foil packet for roast, so liquids do not escape. Place roast in center of packet. Sprinkle with any seasonings you like. Dump diced tomatoes and green chilies and can of green chilies on top of roast. Spread it around evenly. Close packet tightly around the roast.
          2. Place in lightly sprayed or lined crockpot (for easy cleanup). Cook for 8-10 hours over medium.
          3. Serve as pot roast with other sides, with hot sauce on tortillas, or with BBQ sauce on buns. Any leftovers can be combined with brown gravy and served over rice to make beef tips and rice!
           

           

          Rotel Cream Cheese Dip

          cals: 33kcal | fat: 0.39g | carbs: 2.89g | prot: 4.40g
           
          low fat

          Ingredients

          Directions

          1. Soften cream cheese. Mash with a fork until pretty smooth. Add one can of rotel with liquid and one can of rotel without liquid (drained). Continue incorporating the rotel and cheese until smooth. This could take 30 minutes of mashing, but it is well worth it. Serve with tortilla chips, carrots, celery sticks, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.

           

          Karen's Turkey Patty

          cals: 149kcal | fat: 3.55g | carbs: 2.10g | prot: 26.21g
          low fat, low carb, high protein

          Ingredients

          Directions

          1. Mix meat, onions, and seasonings. Cook in skillet or on grill over medium heat until almost done, flipping once. Pour 2 oz of water in pan and cover with a lid to complete the cooking process. This turns out a moist and delicious burger patty, or just turkey patty to enjoy without the bun! this is also a great meatball recipe. Just form into meatballs and cook the same way.
          TIP: if your meat is too "wet" to form into patties, toast a piece of whole wheat bread and break it into crumbs and use for breadcrumbs to bind the meat together. If you don't tell anyone, no one will know ;-)

           

          Karen's Salmon Patties

          cals: 96kcal | fat: 2.27g | carbs: 7.21g | prot: 11.48g
          healthy fats, high in protein

          Ingredients

          Directions

          1. Drain salmon, reserving 2 Tbsp liquid; flake. Make bread into bread crumbs by toasting then using either a food processor or blender, blend into bread crumbs. Combine all ingredients including the 2 Tbsp reserved liquid. Shape into 12 (2 " wide) 1/2" thick patties or 16 small appetizer size patties. Spray pan with nonstick spray and pan fry on both sides until browned.

           

          Karen's Mean Beans

          cals: 161kcal | fat: 1.68g | carbs: 29.86g | prot: 6.91g
          High Protein Low in Fat

          Ingredients

          Directions

          1. Rinse, remove the bad beans and rocks, cover with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let sit overnight. Drain, rinse and pour into crockpot. Cover with water plus one inch and cook for 8 hours (low). When fully cooked, remove 3 cups of the juice from the beans to use in step 2.
          2. Heat oil in skillet; add meat, onions, garlic, and celery. Saute until onions are clear. Add rotel, ketchup, cajun seasoning, bean juice, sugar and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add rice and 1 rotel can of water. Simmer for 45 minutes.
          3. To crockpot with beans, add sea salt, onion salt, chili powder, and paprika to taste. Pour chili mixture into crockpot after it is done cooking. Stir well and serve with cornbread!

           


          Easy Turkey Enchiladas

          cals: 131kcal | fat: 3.26g | carbs: 12.59g | prot: 11.56g
          low fat

          Ingredients

          Directions

          1. Brown turkey in skillet with cumin, garlic salt, garlic powder and onion until no longer pink. Drain off any fat. Pour in 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce into meat mixture, bring to boil.
          2. Pour 1/4 cup enchilada sauce into casserole dish, and spread it out to cover bottom to prevent tortillas from sticking. Dry heat each tortilla in small nonstick skillet without oil. You can use nonstick spray, but just a hot skillet will do fine. Heat the tortillas on each side just until softened. Remove from heat, fill with 2 Tbsp of meat mixture. Sprinkle a little cheese on each one, then roll up and place in a casserole dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
          3. Pour remainig enchilada sauce over top of all enchiladas, then top with remaining cheese. BAke at 350 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes or sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted. Serve with fat free refried beans!

           

          Pork Loin with Red Wine Gravy

          serves 4, cals: 394kcal | fat: 8.26g | carbs: 6.74g | prot: 48.36gTasty pork loin that's good with either rice or pasta and green beans.

          Ingredients

          • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
          • 1 dash black pepper
          • 1 dash salt
          • 3/4 oz dry brown gravy
          • 2 lbs pork loin
          • 1 stalk small celery
          • 1/2 slice, thin onion
          • 16 fl oz red wine

          Directions

          1. Pre-heat oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
          2. Place pork in a 9x13" baking dish, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
          3. Top with onion and celery, and pour wine over all.
          4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
          5. When done baking, remove meat from baking dish and place on a serving platter.
          6. Pour gravy packet mix into baking dish with wine and cooking juices, and stir until thickened.
          7. Slice meat, and cover with gravy
          I added fresh mushrooms to this recipe when I added the onions and celery and everyone LOVED it!

             

            Tex-Mex Pork Chops

            cals: 150kcal | fat: 4.55g | carbs: 4.15g | prot: 23.15g
            low calorie, low fat, low carb, high protein

            Ingredients

            • 6 4 oz pork loin chops
            • 8 servings salsa
            • non stick cooking spray
            • 4 oz can green chiles
            • 1/2 tsp cumin
            • 1/4 tsp pepper
            • 1 small onion diced

            Directions

            1. In a large skillet coated with sooking spray, saute' onion until tender. Add pork chops; cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Combine salsa, chiles, cumin, and pepper; pour over pork chops. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until heated through.

             

            Skillet Pork Loin Chops

            4 servings (4 pork chops) cals: 130kcal | fat: 4.50g | carbs: 0.00g | prot: 23.00g
            low fat, high protein

            Ingredients

            • 4 4 oz pork loin chop
            • 1 tsp servings cajun seasoning
            • non stick cooking spray

            Directions

            1. Spray skillet with non stick cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp cajun seasoning on each pork chop. Place in hot skillet. Cook 4-5 minutes per side until done. you may have to add a little water to keep it from burning. Serve with a healthy vegetable!

             

            Braised Pork Loin

            serves 6, cals: 277kcal | fat: 13.99g | carbs: 9.74g | prot: 25.03g
            easy, but cooks for a long time

            Ingredients

            Directions

            1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Pat the pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
            2. In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, and working in batches brown the meat on all sides until a golden crust forms. Transfer the pork to a plate. To the pan add the onion, celery, and carrot and sweat until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat another 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes to cook off the raw flavor and caramelize it. Sprinkle with the flour and cook another 2 minutes to cook off its raw flavor. Whisk in the wine and reduce it by half. Return the pork to the Dutch oven, then stir in the beef stock, parsley stems, and bay leaves (leave whole--I couldn't put in whole as there was not that option!). Add the water if liquid does not come up to the top of the pork. Do not cover the pork with liquid. Cover the pan and place it in the oven to braise until the meat is fork tender, about 3 hours. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if needed.

             

            Baked Dill Salmon

              cals: 102kcal | fat: 2.53g | carbs: 0.56g | prot: 19.06g
            delicious and nutritious

            Ingredients

            Directions

            1. Completely thaw salmon filets. On cookie sheet, line with foil and spray with non stick cooking spray. Place each filet on the foil. Sprinkle each of the seasonings on the filets evenly (except the lemon juice). Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Pour 2 Tbsp of lemon juice evenly over the 4 filets. Place back in oven and cook until done, which will be 2-5 minutes.

             

            Karen's Lemon Chicken

             4 servings, cals: 169kcal | fat: 6.74g | carbs: 2.94g | prot: 23.22g

            low fat quick easy

            Ingredients

            Directions

            1. Fillet breasts and cut into smaller bite size pieces or leave in fillets, however you prefer to eat them. In a large saute' pan, spray nonstick spray into pan and add olive oil. Bring to medium heat. Add chicken breasts to pan and cook 4-5 minutes or until juices run clear. Turn chicken over once during cooking. Remove chicken to a plate.
            2. Stir cornstarch into lemon juice. Pour into saute' pan with the drippings from chicken. Whisk in broth. Heat to boiling. Boil 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Return chicken to pan and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow chicken and sauce to set for 5 minutes so sauce can thicken more. Serve chicken and lemon sauce over a bed of brown rice. Nutritional values for the brown rice are not included in those shown here.

             

            Pan Seared Tilapia


            1 serving, cals: 98kcal | fat: 1.00g | carbs: 0.00g | prot: 21.00g 
            low fat, no carbs, high protein. This is our standard dinner for a high carb day. If we have a high carb lunch, we need to have a low carb high protein dinner. Not to mention it is fast easy and delicious.

            Ingredients

            Directions

            1. Marinate fillets in lemon juice for 5 minutes. Sprinkle a dash cajun seasoning and paprika on each fillet. Let set while pan gets hot. Heat nonstick spray in saute pan over medium heat.
            2. Gently place fillets into pan with seasoning side down. Sprinkle seasoning on top side. Sear each side 3-5 minutes or until light crust forms. Do not overflip! This will cause your fillets to start breaking apart. I try not to flip more than one time. After the first flip, I wait approximately 2 minutes then pour the leftover lemon juice in the pan and cover so that the fish gets well done on the inside thick pieces.
            3. Serve with healthy vegetables. Alternative #2: if you don't have time to marinate, pour lemon juice over each piece of fish AFTER it is cooked and plated. Alternative #3: After cooking fish, flake it up. Then serve with dry cooked or steamed corn tortillas and veggies as fish tacos!

            Crockpot Chicken and Veggies

            6 servings,cals: 228kcal | fat: 5.80g | carbs: 14.54g | prot: 28.88g
            low fat, low carb, high protein

            Ingredients

            Directions

            1. Chop carrots, dice peppers and onion. Place in bottom of crockpot. Pour chicken broth over the veggies. Sprinkle 1/2 seasonings over veggies. Place whole or cut up chicken on top. Sprinkle other 1/2 seasonings over chicken. Cover and cook for 4 hours (3 1/2 if using chicken pieces or cut up chicken). Reserve leftover chicken for Taco Ministrone!
            This is my Crockpot Chicken Frozen Meal~
            I defrosted it and dumped it in the crockpot!
            3 1/2 hours later........wallah! Dinner is served!


              Taco Minestrone

              8 servings, cals: 92kcal | fat: 1.28g | carbs: 11.75g | prot: 7.35g

              low fat, high protein

              Ingredients

              Directions

              1. I use chicken meat from a roasted chicken. We eat the dark meat with the meal and save the white meat for this recipe. OTHERWISE, boil, bake, or roast your chicken meat however you like it. Shred with forks or dice with a knife. In a medium pot, add all ingredients and heat over medium for 30 minutes. This is perfect with a grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread!


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