grilled chicken pesto pizza

This pizza is so yummy!! It is simple enough to make on a weeknight and special enough for a weekend! :)

Ingredients:
2 large handfuls of fresh basil leaves (or buy the packaged kind at the grocery store- the larger sized packages ( you would need two 3.5 oz. pkgs. )
olive oil (enough to make the pesto the consistency you like)
2 t of minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
your favorite pizza crust (you can get dough from a pizza place or storebought- I used "Mama Mary's" thin crust for this one)
1 - 8 oz. bag of shredded reduced fat mozzarella or other white Italian cheese
1 piece of boneless skinless chicken breast (I butterfly mine and get 2 thin pieces from one thick piece)

1. In a food processor pulse the basil , garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil until desired consistency. Take a few tablespoons of the pesto out of the food processor.
2. Brush the chicken breast with the pesto you removed .
3. Grill the chicken on a grill or grill pan. Let the chicken set for around 5 minutes once cooked to seal in the juices. Then cut into pieces for your pizza.
4. Spread the reserved pesto "sauce"evenly onto the pizza crust. (Do not use the pesto you basted your chicken with!! )
5. Add your favorite cheese (I used shredded Reduced fat 4 cheese Italian- Sargento brand )
6. Top with chicken and bake 7-10 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is melted.
7. Follow directions on your crust for the baking temperature.

For the life of me I cannot figure out how to get the Friday Favorite button on this post. :( so I am putting the site here :) www.theothermama.com (check out Hillary's blog and other Friday Favorites!!)

lemon-raspberry mousse dessert = delish! :)

Sorry, this is not the greatest pic.. It doesn't do the dessert justice! You can see a better pic on the link below.


This is a dessert I found in a Kraft magazine. It is sooo yummy, light and fresh tasting! Give it a try! :) These are my substitutions to make it lighter: I used low fat cream cheese, light cool whip, and reduced fat Nilla wafers. You can also use sugar free Jell-o, and raspberry jam, which I will add to my substitutions next time I make this. Enjoy! :)

Here's the link: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/lemon-raspberry-mousse-squares-115432.aspx#

A Taste of SPRING!

Darn the tuna, OR maybe not... My husband and I have not touched a tuna steak in a few years because we got tired of spending the money and time only to sit down to a tuna steak that is as dry as an eraser!! ;) YUCK! So today I decided to try one of my Cooking Light magazine recipes for tuna steak. We cooked the tuna for 2 1/2 minutes per side and they were perfect! So I guess tuna is back in our good graces ;) .

"These meal tastes like spring! Healthy and lemony fresh!" (These are my hubby's words. He is well known in small circles for his food critiques. Throughout this meal he told me several times that this was one of the best meals he's had. So he was a fan to say the least! ;) LOL )

Here's the recipe link: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1611734

Enjoy! and don't forget to cook the tuna for only 2-2/2 minutes per side on high grill heat! (the recipe does not specify the temp. but high was what we found in another grill cookbook) You also WANT it to be nice and pink in the middle (medium pink like a medium steak or dark pink). If you let the tuna cook until it is white and there is no pink , it will be dry.

chicken quesidillas and guacamole

These are simple enough to make on a weeknight when you are in the mood for some Mexican! While I was making these tonight my husband reminds me (as he does every time I make something with cheese), that he "really likes cheese so when I put on the amt. of  cheese I think is enough... to triple that!!" LOL He says this and he is thin!!! so jealous!! :) Anyway here's the recipe. Quesidillas are very forgiving, so you can add or omit whatever ingredients you like.

Ingredients for chicken quesadillas: (for 2)

2 large pieces of boneless skinless chicken (cooked on the grill, stove or you can even buy it already cooked at the grocery store)
2 burrito size flour tortillas
?? shredded reduced fat cheese (we used cheddar and mozzarella, you can also use goat cheese, ricotta or whatever you like! )
half of a package of sliced mushrooms (around 3/4 cup)
1/2 red onion (chopped)

1. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray.
2. Saute the mushrooms and onions til onions are caramelized and the mushrooms are tender.
3. Remove from the pan and set aside , then add chicken to this mixture.
4. Lay one tortilla in the pan and add around 1/2 cup or so of the chicken mixture on HALF of the tortilla.
5. Sprinkle as much cheese as you like on top of the chicken mixture. 
6. Fold over the tortilla and cook on each side for around 3 minutes or until lightly browned and slightly crispy on both sides.
7. Remove from the pan and cut in half using a pizza cutter.
8. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole (recipe follows) if desired.


Guacamole:

Ingredients-
3  diced  ripe avacadoes- (make sure they are slightly soft when you push on them)
2 teasp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tblsp. chopped red onion
2 Tblsp. chopped cilantro
salt and pepper
minced garlic (1 clove)

Mix all ingredients together with a fork to help give the avacadoes a nice consistency.
Serve with your favorite tortilla chips

 Tip: Keep one of the avacado pits in the guacamole in case you have left overs. This will keep the guacamole from turning brown. You can also cover with a piece of plastic wrap making sure the wrap touches the guacamole all across the top of it. This prevents the air from getting to it and keeps it green. 
Enjoy!

"Chicken Saltimboca"

I put this recipe title in quotes bc it is actually NOT chicken saltimboca!!  LOL ;) My husband and I call it this bc the first time I made this  creation, I was in fact setting out to make chicken saltimboca. When I started making the recipe I realized it did not sound like something my hubby and I would like so as I was making it, I changed the recipe to something I thought we would like. I was right! :) So the chicken actually starts out by making a roll up with chicken, cheese and prociutto just like you would for the CS but that is where the similarities end. This is now one of my husband's favorite dishes and it is pretty simple to make too! Don't let the length of the recipe intimidate you, it really is quite simple to make. :)

Ingredients: (4 servings)
4 boneless skinless pieces of chicken (cut in hald like you are butterflying it but actually cut it in half to make 2 thinner pieces out of one thick piece)
8 slices of think prociutto (get from the deli)
8 slices of provolone cheese (sliced medium) - you can get low fat in the packaged lunchmeat and cheese section)
1/2 cup seasoned panko or regular breadcrumbs
1/3 cup parmesean cheese (the sprinkle kind)
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon of water

1. Prepare the egg by beating one egg and add a little water together.
2. Prepare the breadcrumb mixture by mixing the breadcrumbs, parm. cheese and salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. After cutting chicken into 8 thin pieces pound out to make a little thinner (if you'd like or leave it how it is)
4. Layer the prociutto and cheese on each piece of chicken.
5. Roll each piece long ways so that they look like thick roll ups (add a toothpick to keep together while you are rolling the rest)
6. (optional) you can throw in the freezer for around 15-20 minutes or so to make the chicken roll ups easier to cut into thin roll slices (kind of like you would cut a pumpkin roll or cinnamon rolls).  If you don't put in freezer it will still work just fine but they won't look as pretty (mine were not put in the freezer- that's why they look like shrimp LOL  but they still taste just as good).
7. Use a sharp knife to cut each roll up into thin roll ups (each piece of chicken should give you around 4 roll ups,  and if you used toothpicks take them out on this step.
8. Dip each roll up into egg, then into the breadcrumb mixture. Be sure to coat both sides.
9. Bake in a baking pan or pyrex dish for around 30 minutes or until lightly browned and chicken is cooked through.
10. Enjoy! :)

Simple weeknight meal- pork tenderloin with homemade sweet potato fries

Short on time?? Some nights you just don't feel like doing a lot of fancy cooking, and on nights like this I like to make part of the meal and use the K.I.S.S.  (KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID) method for the rest! ;) I went to one of my favorite stops (Trader Joes) and bought a roasted garlic and peppercorn pork tenderloin, and some of their fancy frozen veggies. I grilled the pork (takes about 20 min.), threw the green bean mixture on the stove and made the sweet potato fries. Here's the recipe for the sweet potatoes.  TIP: Make sure you let the tenderloin rest around 10 minutes before slicing or you will lose all of your juiciness and that just wouldn't be good ;) (keep it covered in foil so it doesn't get cold while it is resting)

 Ingredients for sweet potato fries:

2 sweet potatoes - peeled and cut into"fries"
olive oil- a few swirls
salt and pepper to taste

Recipe:

Toss the potatoes in the olive oil
Add salt and pepper
bake at 450 degrees for around 40 minutes or until browned a little.
Enjoy!

Rachael sandwiches

I had this "deliciousness" in a restaurant one time and they called it a "Rachael". If you've never heard of them, they are basically a Ruben except with turkey instead of the corned beef and cole slaw instead of the saur kraut. I LOVE these!! The great thing is I made them low-fat!! Here's the recipe...

Ingredients for 1 Rachael

2 slices of Rye bread

low fat spray butter

your favorite cole slaw ( I just bought summer slaw from the deli)

Fat free thousand island dressing

turkey lunchmeat (I use around 5 thin slices)

low fat swiss cheese (sliced)

1. Make a sandwich of the turkey and cheese on the rye bread.

2. Spray the outside of the sandwich with the butter.

3. Grill until golden brown on both sides.

4. Remove from the pan and open the sandwich.

5. Add the cole slaw and salad dressing.

Enjoy!