Traci's "Skinny" Chili Chicken Tortilla Soup

Okay ladies, so this recipe was made during "Tropical Storm Issac". I had the day off of work due to the storm, and I was stuck inside all day! My hubby was catching up on some sleep and I decided to cook! So, whats better on a rainy day than a HOT bowl of chili?? So I began making chili...as I was looking for some yummy ingredients to add to the chili, I spotted left over tortilla chips from a party I had Friday night. Then I got a strange craving for tortilla soup... and it turned out AMAZZZINGGG! Hubby loved it, Bella loved it, and I loved it!! So here you go!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tbs olive oil
• Chicken (I used 6 chicken cutlets for mine, but use as much as you'll need for the amount of people you are serving)
• Pinch of Adobo seasoning, with pepper (to season the chicken)
• 12-14 ounces of low sodium chicken broth
• 1 can of spicy chili beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles (this adds extra spice, so if you don't like your chili too spicy, then just use regular diced tomatoes) 
• Red peppers (I had a jar of sweet red peppers and I used 3 of them. I cut them in small pieces)
• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Paprika
• Oregano
• Salt & Pepper
• Whole grain tortilla chips
• Whole wheat rotelli pasta noodles
• Cheddar cheese
• Scallions 
• Cilantro
• Red 

It's hard to believe that I had all these ingredients in my house already, but I did! You can substitute or omit things as you desire!

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a small pan
• Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and season with Adobo seasoning
• Cook the chicken in the pan with the oil until no longer pink
• While the chicken in cooking, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large pot (this is the pot you will cook the soup in)
• Add chopped onion and garlic to the oil and heat until onion and garlic are cooked throughly 
• By this time, chicken should be done so go ahead and add the chicken to the onion and garlic mixture
• Start boiling the water for the pasta and cook pasta according to the box 
• Pour chili beans, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth into the onion, garlic, and chicken mixture
• Add cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, oregano, and chili powder (add these to taste; I put a little and tasted it, and then kept adding until it tasted just right) 
• Add the red peppers
• Bring soup/chili to a boil and cover. Simmer on medium low heat for 15 minutes
• Preheat oven to 350 for the tortilla chips
• Crush the tortilla chips and bake in oven for 5-7 minutes or until warm
• Cut up scallions and cilantro (use what you'd like for topping)

Serve chili/soup over the pasta noodles, add crushed tortilla chips and cheese, and top with scallions and cilantro!

ENJOY!!!!!

Looks so yummy while it's cooking. Feel free to sneak in a few tastes :)

Garnish with cilantro and green onions! YUMMY!! 

WW Points Plus: 7

*Weight Watchers® and Points® are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. The number of Points provided here were calculated by using the Points calculator published Weight Watchers International, Inc. information and do not imply sponsorship or endorsement of such number of Points, or the above product by Weight Watchers International, Inc.

"Skinny" Feta, Cucumber, Tomato Salad with Red Wine Vinegar Dressing

I could eat this salad every day of my life and be completely satisfied and full!!!!

To make the salad:

• Iceberg lettuce
• reduced fat feta cheese
• grape tomatoes
• croutons
• cucumbers

*The only two things you need to factor the point value for are the feta cheese & croutons. I use a generous amount of feta because I love it, but I use 2 points worth. As for the croutons, I have to have them on my salad and I put 10 fat free croutons in a bag and bring it to work so I won't be tempted to add more. That's another 2 points. SO that's 4 points for this portion of the salad.


To make the dressing:

• 1 Good Seasons carafe
• Red wine vinegar
• PURE olive oil
• Nakano original rice wine vinegar
• 1 packet of good seasons dressing (I have used both Italian & Garlic and Herb and they both taste amazing) 

Fill line to "v" with red wine vinegar. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil,1/3 cup of rice vinegar and add good seasons packet and shake! BE CAREFUL with olive oil, as this is really where your points can go UP. 

For 1/4 cup of the dressing, it's 2 points. That's NOT bad if you think about ALL the other dressings out there.

Entire recipe including dressing: 6 points--you can omit the feta and the croutons and get away with a 2 point salad!


*Weight Watchers® and Points® are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. The number of Points provided here were calculated by using the Points calculator published Weight Watchers International, Inc. information and do not imply sponsorship or endorsement of such number of Points, or the above product by Weight Watchers International, Inc.

ENJOY!

Weight Watchers Friendly: CSP (Chinelly Sister Pasta)

Ok, so I'm sure we aren't the creators of this, but my sister and I make this all the time and we love it and so do her kids, so we called it CSP!

• 1 lb of thin whole wheat spaghetti
• 2 tbs garlic
• 1 tbs butter
• 2 1/2 tbs olive oil
• 1 can diced tomatoes

Prepare spaghetti according to package. While pasta is cooking, put diced tomatoes in a separate pot and cook until warm. Drain pasta. While pasta is in the strainer, add garlic, butter, and olive oil to the pot the pasta was cooked in, and cook the garlic for 2 minutes. Add the pasta to the garlic/butter/olive oil mixture and poor diced tomatoes on top. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Okay so orignally this recipe was NOT WW friendly, but since it has become a lifestyle change for me, I created a WW version. The only points you need to factor in here--pasta, olive oil and butter.

For a small bowl of this dish, it's 6 WW points!


*Weight Watchers® and Points® are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. The number of Points provided here were calculated by using the Points calculator published Weight Watchers International, Inc. information and do not imply sponsorship or endorsement of such number of Points, or the above product by Weight Watchers International, Inc.

"Skinny" Red Wine Vinegar Chicken

This one is a WW friendly recipe I found that I tweaked a little because I don't really eat mushrooms and leaves and that's what was originally in it (lol) so I added tomatoes and thyme!

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp diced garlic (or 2 cloves of garlic-diced)
• 1 small onion- diced
• 4 chicken tenderloins or cutlets
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 cups diced tomatoes (I recommend the pre-diced tomatoes Publix sells--not because I work there, but because for some reason, they are SO much better, I swear. You'll taste the difference!)
• 2 tsp fresh thyme (or thyme leaves)
• tsp salt
• tsp pepper

Spray a skillet with cooking spray and add garlic, onions, and chicken.
Cook for 12 minutes over medium heat, turning after about 6 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. Reduce the heat to low. *continue cooking 5-7 min longer chicken if using breasts
Add the vinegar. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add salt, pepper and thyme. Stir chicken and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until chicken is about done. Add tomatoes and continue to cook until the chicken is done.


Points Plus Value: 5
*Weight Watchers® and Points® are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. The number of Points provided here were calculated by using the Points calculator published Weight Watchers International, Inc. information and do not imply sponsorship or endorsement of such number of Points, or the above product by Weight Watchers International, Inc.

Serve with noodles or rice and a veggie!

Not So Skinny White Wine Sangria

This is definitely a girls night favorite!!! Okay so it's NOT WW but it's definitely worth sharing...

• 1 bottle of White Zinfandel
• 1/2 bottle of Peach Schnapps (I usually buy the 12 oz bottle and use close to half)
• 2 cups of pineapple juice
• 1 1/2 cups of lemon lime flavored soda
• 1 small package of frozen peaches

Mix all ingredients together (except frozen peaches) and taste. Add more Peach Schnapps if necessary.
Put in a large pitcher and serve. Add frozen peaches to each glass!

ENJOY!

"Skinny" Ranch Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

This recipe was created on one of those nights when I had nothing planned. I opened my cabinet and took a look at all the spices I had, and voila: a new recipe was created!


Ingredients:

• 2 boneless pork chops
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 1/2 tsp smoked maple bbq seasoning
• 2 tsp parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp Adobo seasoning
• 3 tbs whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Light Ranch Dressing

In a large mixing bowl, combine all seasonings. Add more to taste. (To be honest, I never really measure them out. You can use more or less, depending on how many you are serving)

Dip pork chops in Ranch dressing. Coat completely on both sides.
Place pork chops in mixing bowl and cover both sides with seasoning mixture.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Turn pork chops over and bake for another 15 minutes.

Serve with brown rice and a veggie.
WW Points Plus: 7 points per pork chop

*Weight Watchers® and Points® are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. The number of Points provided here were calculated by using the Points calculator published Weight Watchers International, Inc. information and do not imply sponsorship or endorsement of such number of Points, or the above product by Weight Watchers International, Inc.