Asian Turkey Burgers

I actually grilled these myself last night since Chris was working out and I was getting hungry. He's usually the griller around here :) They turned out pretty tasty, (if I do say so myself!) Haha!

Sorry I didn't get a picture, but here's what I used:

1.25 pounds ground turkey breast

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce

1 egg

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/2 cup plain oats

Mix all ingredients with your hands in a bowl and make patties. Grill for about 6-7 minutes per side. Enjoy!

Recipes from "Now Eat This!" by Chef Rocco DiSpirito

The other day, I was watching The Doctors TV Show and the chef, Rocco DiSpirito made the two recipes listed below on there. Everyone that tasted them on the show seemed very convincing that they both tasted great. So I thought I would give them a try, especially since I am trying to eat healthy.

The first one I made were these brownies. They said the secret ingredient in them were black beans and everyone seemed to act like you couldn't taste them in there at all. Well, I definitely could. Maybe it's just my sensitive taste buds, I don't know. Chris thought the same thing when he ate them too. But they weren't half bad with a little drizzle of chocolate syrup and sugar-free Cool Whip on top! :-) I did like that they were sugar-free and had no flour.

The next one I tried were these cauliflower mashed "potatoes."

These I definitely thought were pretty good! Chris wasn't a huge fan, but I actually enjoyed them. They are definitely a nice alternative to all of the starch and carbs in real mashed potatoes. The Greek yogurt adds a very nice creaminess and tang to the dish. They would have been a lot smoother if I actually owned a food processor. I had to use a hand blender thingy to try to mash them.

Anyway, let me know any of you try these. I'd like to hear your thoughts! :)

Random Thought...

Ummmm.....

Can you tell Chris and I enjoy roasted zucchini and rice much??? Hahaha, just noticed it's in at least half of these pictures on here. It's so easy to make those two as your sides and they compliment so many different proteins, so I guess why not, if you like it? Right?!

Chicken and Bean Tortilla Soup

I made this the other night and I basically just threw it together with what I had in the pantry.

1/2 cup verde salsa

1 - 32 oz. box chicken broth

3 whole boneless chicken breasts

1 can black beans, undrained

2 cans cannellini beans, undrained

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 packet taco seasoning

Let these ingredients cook for about 4 hours on high in your crockpot (or on low in mine since it is so hot!) During the last hour or so, add about 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn. Take out chicken breasts, shred and return to crockpot. Garnish with low-fat sour cream and shredded cheddar, if desired. Enjoy!

Five-Spice Grilled Chicken with Blackberry Glaze

I made this last night and we both really enjoyed it. I made several changes to it. Here's what I did:

I used chicken breasts instead of thighs.

I just sauteed them on the stove instead of grilling them.

I used an all-fruit blackberry preserve (seedless) instead of jam.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1896114

We enjoyed the sweet blackberry glaze a lot and it was a nice change from your typical savory chicken dishes!

Delectable Marinated Chicken

I saw this on allrecipes and after reading the title, I just had to try it. I didn't have molasses so I substituted honey for that. Chris and I both really enjoyed this chicken. I only marinated it in the fridge for four hours and it was perfect! It had the right amount of sweet versus savory ingredients in the marinade. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of the thighs they called for.

We'll be making this again throughout the spring and summer, I'm sure!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Delectable-Marinated-Chicken/Detail.aspx

Healthified Oatmeal Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

This is another recipe I saw on Eat Better America. These cookies are so dense and filling. I was really surprised by just how filling they were. You really could eat one for breakfast and not be hungry for a while. I used half raisins and half cranberries in mine since I like both. They turned out very moist and did not dry out even after a couple of days. Definitely a keeper!

http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/recipes/healthified/healthified-oatmeal-peanut-butter-breakfast-cookies.aspx?WT.dcsvid=NTMxMDQ4NjcyMgS2&rvrin=85656AAF-05C4-4739-966E-B1B4D9429E11&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_EBA_2010_03_10

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

This is a recipe I used to make a lot but have not made in a while until last week. It's so easy and the stew meat always turns out very tender. I omit the onion and add fresh baby portobello mushrooms instead. I also use low-fat cream cheese and you cannot tell the difference at all. I cook the egg noodles on the stove at the last minute and then just throw them in the crockpot and mix it up. So good!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Beef-Stroganoff-I/Detail.aspx

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

I made these for dinner last night along with some scrambled eggs and they were delicious! Sorry I didn't get a photo of them, but I thought they turned out very well. Just wanted to post the link and recommend these. Since they use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose, they are definitely healthier for you. The fresh blueberries are great in them too! :)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Whole-Wheat-Blueberry-Pancakes/Detail.aspx

Foil Packet Tilapia

This dish was very flavorful and tender! You can't hardly see it on the white plate but we really enjoyed it. The recipe is for a crockpot but I decided just to put it in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. I wrapped it in foil just like the original recipe though. The sauce is what makes it especially good. I used a new mayo by Kraft that uses olive oil and is supposed to be half the calories as regular mayo. Also, I really love this boil-in-bag brown rice by Uncle Ben's! So easy and doesn't require measuring.

I will definitely make this again!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/02/foil-packet-tilapia-crockpot-recipe.html

Chocolate Cherry Upside Down Cake

I made this with Splenda instead of sugar and the recipe is already egg-free, so it was relatively healthy. The only sugar in it was in the cherry pie filling. The cake is very dense in texture and is very good with a glass of milk. I added some melted chocolate chips and drizzled that on top, as you can see. Definitely added some extra chocolate taste. I forgot to take the picture before I snuck a piece out of it-- oops!! :)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Cherry-Upside-Down-Cake/Detail.aspx

Lemon-Apricot Glazed Chicken

I've made this twice in the past few weeks and really like the flavor of the sauce. I change it up a bit from the original recipe. I use panko bread crumbs, garlic powder, S & P on the outside of the chicken. The combo of the lemon juice and apricot preserves is very good! I used the all-fruit type of spread in order to lower the sugar. I'll definitely make this again in the future!

The zucchini in the picture is a very simple and tasty side dish that I made periodically. It's just roasted in the oven with a bit of olive oil, lemon pepper and garlic salt. Roast at 375 for about 30 min.

http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/Recipes/dinner/chicken-turkey/lemon-apricot-chicken-cooking-for-2.aspx

Carnitas

I got so much use out of this pork recipe. The meat can be used in so many different recipes. It was very tender and juicy. I used it in quesadillas and just ate it plain heated up later too. Very good!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2010/02/slow-cooker-carnitas-recipe.html

Chicken Marsala

I used the recipe below and used chicken instead of veal. This was very tender but a bit on the plain side. I think restaurants use a lot of butter in their marsala recipes and so I think that was the big difference. But this one is much healthier.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/02/crockpot-veal-marsala-recipe.html

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I made these for my step dad, Don's birthday last month. They are his favorite type of cookie and I think I'm going to try to make these for him each year from now on since he was so excited to receive them :) This was a very simple cookie recipe!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Oatmeal-Raisin-Cookies-IX/Detail.aspx

Raspberry Whole Grain French Toast

This is really simple but I thought I'd put it on here because it was so good and very quick to make. And I served it with turkey bacon, as you can see to add some protein.

http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/recipes/30-minutes-or-less/whole-grain-raspberry-french-toast.aspx