Traci's Skinny Turkey Volcano Balls

Traci's Skinny Turkey Volcano Balls

Servings: 6 turkey balls Serving Size: 1 Turkey Meatball  WW Points+: 4 pts 

I had a craving for spaghetti and meatballs but I didn’t have whole wheat pasta or lean ground beef! Go figure, right?  So I decided to make turkey balls instead! I had read a recipe for a “Meatloaf Volcano” a while back and it looked AMAZINGLY delicious but it was also about 2,938 (over exaggeration!) calories!! Here’s the next best thing!!!!! These little balls of heaven turned out SO good that I didn’t even NEED the pasta to go with them. We ate them by themselves with some steamed broccoli!! YUM YUM YUM!!!

So here’s what you need:

***In addition to the FOOD ingredients, you’ll need a 6 cup muffin pan.

Ingredients:

·         2 pounds of ground turkey breast

·         1  ½ cups of whole wheat breadcrumbs

·         1 ½ cups of tomato sauce divided in half—you’ll use half in the mixture and half as extra sauce  (I used canned tomato sauce, no salt added, but you can use whatever you have in your pantry!)  

·         2 egg whites

·         Pinch of salt

·         Part skim mozzarella cheese cube, cut it into 12 cubes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Combine turkey breast, breadcrumbs, ¾ cup of tomato sauce, egg whites and salt in a large bowl and shape into balls.

Press cheese cube (or handful of shredded cheese) into each ball, sealing meal around the cheese. Put turkey balls into muffin pan and bake for 30 minutes. Heat remaining sauce in microwave or stove top. When turkey balls are ready, top with remaining sauce and serve hot!

Skinny Chicken Enchiladas

Skinny Chicken Enchiladas

Servings: 6 Serving Size: 1 enchilada  WW Points+: 4 pts 

This recipe makes 6 servings—I don’t think I used enough chicken because my mixture was running low after the first few so next time I will use bigger tenderloins. My husband had 2 for dinner, I had one and then we each had the same leftovers for lunch the next day. Let me tell you something about these enchiladas… THEY. ARE. SO. AMAZING. Yes, they are time consuming and yes you have to make the sauce from scratch but they ARE WORTH IT!!!! Every bite makes you question whether or not these are actually LOW-FAT!!!! But, they are! Now when you are buying the whole wheat tortillas, look for LOW CARB options.

I originally got the idea of this recipe from another website, but again I tweaked it. The originally recipe called for chipotle chilies but I am not a huge spice lover (although my husband is) so I omitted them. I also added chicken broth to the sauce whereas the original recipe had something else that I can’t remember right now!  Anyway, here you go!!!

Ingredients: 

**NOTE: The measurements for the spices are APPROXIMATIONS because I don't measure them--I do it to taste!!!***

For the sauce:

·                     2 garlic cloves, minced

·                     1-2 tbsp adobo seasoning

·                     1-1/2 cups tomato sauce

·                     1/2 tsp chili powder

·                     1/2 tsp ground cumin

·                     3/4 cup fat free chicken broth

·                     Salt and pepper (to taste)

For the chicken: 

·                     1 tsp vegetable oil

·                     4 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

·                     2 cloves of fresh garlic (or minced garlic)

·                     salt

·                     1 tsp cumin

·                     1/2 tsp oregano

·                     1 tsp chili powder

·                     1/3 cup chicken broth

·                     1/2 cup tomato sauce

·                     8 whole wheat flour tortillas (try and get the reduced carb ones for fewer points!)

·                     1 cup shredded low fat Mexican cheese

·                     non-stick cooking spray

·                     1/2 cup chopped scallions & Fat free sour cream (optional: for topping & will be extra points –decide if it’s worth it! I love sour cream so I used 2 points worth since ONE enchilada is ONLY 4 points!!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil chicken breasts in ½ water, ½ chicken broth for 25-30 minutes, depending on size of chicken breasts. The first time I made this I used chicken tenderloins and boiled them for 25 minutes. While chicken is boiling, make the sauce.

Spray oil in a medium saucepan and sauté the garlic. Then add the adobo seasoning, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. (I know it seems like a lot of ingredients but the sauce is AMAZING) Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Let the sauce simmer for about 7 minutes. Taste it….If you like spicier sauce, add some more chili powder. Turn the heat down to low and keep it warm until you’re ready to use it. Now your chicken should be ready or close to it. Depending on how much time you have (I am very impatient, especially when I’m hungry), you can choose to let the chicken sit and cool. I, however, chose to run the chicken under cold water until I could shred it without burning my hand! With that being said, however you choose to do it, shred the chicken breasts in tiny pieces. I read somewhere to use two forks to separate them easier but I found that using my hands worked a lot quicker!

Now that you've shredded the chicken, heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté onions and garlic for about 2-3 minutes. Add shredded chicken salt, cumin, oregano, chili powder, tomato sauce and chicken broth and cook for 5 minutes. Taste it..if you like it spicier, add more chili powder. Remove chicken from heat and set aside.

Get your baking dish out (I used an aluminum one and I THINK it was a 13x9). Put a spoonful of chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it up placing in SEAM SIDE DOWN in the dish. Top with sauce and then with cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.

I added low fat sour cream and scallions on top for extra flavor! (don’t forget to add the 2 points for sour cream if you use it!)

I served this dish with fat free refried beans topped with feta cheese! YUM!!!!!!!!!!!

**PICTURES TO COME SOON!***

Skinny Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms

Pizza-Stuffed Mushrooms

Entire recipe (6 stuffed mushrooms): 87 calories, 3g fat, 229mg sodium, 7g carbs, 1g fiber, 3.5g sugars, 9.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 2* 

I CAN NOT TAKE CREDIT FOR THIS RECIPE--BUT I HAD TO SHARE!!!! 

This recipe can be found on http://www.hungry-girl.com   

Pizza topped with mushrooms is great, so it only makes sense that mushrooms topped with pizza goodness are excellent as well! These guilt-free bites are almost too easy to make...

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes


Ingredients:
6 medium baby bella mushrooms (each about 2 inches wide), stems removed and reserved
2 tbsp. canned crushed tomatoes
1 piece Mini Babybel Light cheese, finely chopped
Seasonings: garlic powder, dried basil, onion powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. 



Place mushroom caps on the sheet, rounded sides down. Bake until tender, 8 - 10 minutes. Leave oven on.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, generously season crushed tomatoes. Finely chop half of the mushroom stems (save the rest for another use or discard), and stir into tomatoes.

Blot away excess moisture from mushroom caps. Evenly distribute sauce mixture among the mushroom caps, and sprinkle with finely chopped cheese. Bake until sauce is hot and cheese has melted, about 3 minutes. 



MAKES 1 SERVING

Skinny Chicken Francese

Chicken Francese

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts or cutlets
• 1/4 cup flour (I used Whole Wheat Flour, but you can use White if you’d like)
• 1/2 cup egg whites, beaten
• 1 large lemon (If you are using lemon juice, it's about 3 tbs or more, to taste (I just kept adding little squirts until it tasted right)
• 1/2 lemon sliced thin (this is purely for garnish and added lemon flavor so it's not necessary)
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 15 oz low sodium chicken broth
• cooking spray
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp butter

Directions:

*Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper

*Place the flour in a bowl, and the beaten egg whites in another bowl. The trick to making this chicken so yummy is to do the double egg wash. Dip the chicken in the egg, then the flour, then the egg AGAIN, then the flour AGAIN. I know, it's a lot, but I promise it's worth it!

*Heat a non stick pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. ( You can use butter, but when I made this, I made it WW friendly)

*Saute chicken 2-3 minutes on each side. When cooked, transfer onto a plate and place in microwave to keep warm. Spray the pan again and repeat until all chicken has been cooked.

*Once all chicken is cooked, place the chicken broth in the bowl with 1 tablespoon of flour and whisk. It will start to thicken up like a sauce.

*Add chicken broth, juice of the lemon, white wine, lemon slices (if you have them), parsley and butter and simmer over medium heat for about 2 minutes or so, until the sauce reduces slightly and thickens.

*Add the chicken to the pan and combine it with the sauce! YUMMY!!!!

  

(WW Points Plus: 6) 

**I served this with broccoli & whole wheat penne pasta**

Traci Lea's Skinny Gwumpkies (Polish Cabbage Rolls)

Growing up in a Polish/Irish/Italian family, Mom always made the most amazing meals for us! One of my favorites, was a recipe originally made by my dad's mom, Grandma Judy (who passed before I was born). GWUMPKIES (pronounced exactly how it is spelled lol) are originally made with ground beef and white rice, but since I am eating healthier these days and mostly all of my recipes are WW friendly, I put a WW spin on the original recipe. So here it is!


Ingredients:

• 1 head (medium size) cooked green cabbage
• 12 oz of ground turkey (you can substitute ground beef or pork if you don't like turkey)
• 1/2 cup of uncooked onions
• 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice
• 1 large egg ( I used egg whites) 
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
• salt & pepper
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 can of tomato sauce, no salt added
• toothpicks (may need to hold the leaves together)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325
• Boil cabbage in large pot with enough water to cover the whole head, for 10-12 minutes (or until leaves are soft enough to pull off); Drain
• When leaves are cool enough to touch, gently pull 8-10 leaves off the head (making sure to keep the entire leaf in one piece)
• Combine turkey, onion, rice, egg, garlic powder, salt & pepper in a large bowl
• Place a small amount of turkey mixture (enough to fit in the palm of your hand) and place in the center of the cabbage leaf; fold in sides of leaf and roll up tightly from one end to the other, making sure filling is fully covered by the leaf (use toothpicks to hold leaves together if needed)
• Combine diced tomatoes & tomato sauce in a large bowl
• Place cabbage rolls in a large pan ( I use a disposable aluminum foil pan) and cover with tomato mixture
• Bake on 325 for 45-50 minutes

WW Points Plus: 6 points per gwumpkie :)
:)

Skinny Cucumber & Avocado Salad

Cucumber & Avocado Salad! SO good!!! (WW Friendly)

I usually make my cucumber salads with red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. Ths yogurt gives it a creamy taste so that there is really no need for a dressing!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cucumber (diced)
• 1/2 cup of tomatos (diced)
• 1/4 cup onion (diced) (this is optional--I love onions so I add it to everything!)
• 1/4 cup avocado (chopped)
• pinch of salt & pinch of black pepper

145 calories

5g of fat

14g carbs

4g fiber

14g protein

WW points plus: 3 points per serving

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip

"Skinny" Buffalo Chicken Dip

For those  Sunday's where hubby wants to pig out and watch the Heat game :) This way, I can enjoy the dip too!!

Ingredients:

• 4 oz cream cheese (softened)
• 1 cup of fat free sour cream
• 1/2 cup of Footy's Hot Wing Sauce (or any other sauce you like--Frank's is also an option!)
• 1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles
• 1 tsp of white wine vinegar
• 2 cups of cooked chicken (shredded)

Directions:

• Mix the first 5 ingredients until smooth. Then add the cooked shredded chicken and put in the crock pot on LOW for 3-4 hours. Serve WARM :)

**To do this on the stove, simmer for 30 minutes.
**To do this in the oven, preheat oven to 350 and bake for 20 minutes.

This recipe makes 9 servings. Serving size is 1/3 cup.

Calories: 108~Fat: 5g ~ Carbs: 5g~ Protein:10g

WW Points Plus: 3 points per serving!!!!! :) :) :)