Skinny Chinese Pepper Chicken

Yesterday, I shared with you the recipe for Skinny Vegetable Fried Rice, and today I’m sharing one option for topping that rice – Chinese Pepper Chicken.  Pepper Chicken is my favorite Chinese dish (and I really don’t like that many Chinese foods!  I’m wierd like that), but it is breaded and fried.  Not very skinny!  So, I wanted to create a version that was a little better for you. 

The original recipe called for Oyster Sauce, but I didn’t have any on hand (and didn’t have the time or energy to run to the store), so i used a combination of Soy Sauce, Worchestershire Sauce and Spenda brown sugar.    If you have Oyster Sauce, go ahead and use that.

Skinny Chinese Pepper Chicken

• 1 pound chicken breasts (or tenders), boneless, skinless
• 4 tbsp cornstarch
• 4 tbsp canola oil

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp Pepper

In small bowl, combine sauce ingredients and set aside.

Cut chicken into bite size pieces.  Dust chicken with cornstarch until well coated.  Heat oil in wok or other non-stick pan.  Cook chicken in oil until golden brown, remove and set aside.  Add sauce mixture to pan and heat until bubbling.  Add chicken back in, stirring to fully coat chicken in the sauce.  Serve over Skinny Fried Rice.

 

Serves:4

Calories Per Serving: 289

 

Skinny Onion-Barbecue Chicken

This recipe combines two things I think most of us love…french fried onions and barbecue sauce.  This dish is very quick and simple to prepare and bakes in the oven so you are free to work on other parts of dinner while it cooks.

Skinny Onion-Barbecue Chicken

• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 cup french fried onions
• 1/8 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Place barbecue sauce in a shallow dish.  Crush french fried onions and place in an other shallow dish.  Add parmesan cheese and pepper to french fried onion crumbs, stirring to combine.  Dredge chicken in barbecue sauce, then press one side into the onion crumb mixture.  Place onion crumb side up on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 400 degrees for 22-27 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

 

Serves: 4

Weight Watchers Points + : 5 per serving

Skinny Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Hey moms and dads!  Let the crockpot do your dirty work while you do your daily work!  I love chicken and wild rice soup and will often order it if I see it on the menu at a restaurant.  But I rarely made it at home because of the lengthy cooking time of wild rice.  I decided to try to create a recipe using the crockpot so I could fix it and forget it, and this is it!

Skinny Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

• 1 cup finely diced carrots
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice
• 1 small sprig fresh rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 42 oz chicken broth

In a 4 to 4-1/2 quart crockpot/slowcooker, combine carrots, wild rice, onion, rosemary, bay leaves, lemon zest and pepper.  Top with chicken breasts and pour chicken broth over all.  Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 3 hours.  Remove chicken and shred with a fork.  Add chicken back to crockpot.  Remove bay leaves and rosemary sprig and serve.
Serves: 6

Weight Watchers Points + : 5 points per 1-1/2 cups

 

Skinny Bourbon Grilled Chicken (Or Pork)

We eat a lot of chicken in this house.  And so I’m always on the lookout for new ways to prepare it and for different flavor combinations.  I stumbled upon a recipe for Bourbon Pork Skewers and decided to adapt it just a bit to use with chicken.  I decided not to mess with the skewers and just grilled the chicken tenders instead.  Everyone in my family loved it!

Skinny Bourbon Grilled Chicken (or Pork)

• 12-16 chicken tenders (or 4-6 pork chops)
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3 tbsp bourbon (I only use Makers Mark!)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp pepper

At least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours before cooking, place all ingredients in ziplock bag.  Refrigerate until ready to cook, turning occasionally.  Heat grill (or heat a skillet over med-high heat), and cook chicken on both sides until cooked through.

 

Skinny Tomato Basil Chicken

 

This is a great summer dish that combine fresh produce and your backyard grill, which means you won’t have to heat up your kitchen!  You can marinate the chicken for as little as two hours, or up to 24 hours.  Fresh tomatoes and fresh basil make this a nice refreshing meal on a hot summer day!

Skinny Tomato Basil Chicken

• 12 boneless, skinless chicken tenders
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1-1/2 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried mustard
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt

At least two hours before serving (or up to 24 hours), combine 1/2 cup olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried basil, dried mustard, and minced garlic.  Place in a large ziplock bag along with chicken.  Keep in the refrigerator, turning occasionally, until ready to grill.

Heat grill and grill chicken on each side until cooked through.  Place on serving platter.  Top with diced tomato, chopped fresh basil, and fresh parmesan cheese.

Somewhat Skinny Chicken & Pasta San Marco

I found this recipe while flipping through a cookbook I borrowed from the library (which, by the way, is a great place to get recipes…just check out the books, copy down the recipes you like, and return the books!).  I made a few changes to suit my family’s tastes, and to try and make it a little healthier.  It’s still not super low in points, but if you have a salad on the side, you’d have a nice dinner for a reasonable amount of points. 

Somewhat Skinny Chicken & Pasta San Marco

Servings:  6   WW Points Per Serving:  13

San Marco Sauce:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chcken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tbsp flour

Vegetables:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cup julienned bell peppers (colors of your choice, I like to use a combo of red, green and yellow)
• 2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried rosemary

Pasta:

• 6 cups cooked whole wheat spaghetti or fettucine
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Grated fresh parmesan cheese for serving

Cook pasta and drain.  Add 1 tbsp olive oil and toss to prevent sticking. 

Meanwhile, to make the sauce, preheat a heavy pot over medium high heat and add 3 tbsp olive oil.  When oil is hot, add chicken and saute for 5 minutes or until slightly browned on all sides.  Add onions and cook another 2 minutes.   Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds.  Add chicken broth to the pot and stir to loosen the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.  Add the tomatoes and the flour.  Lower heat to a simmer.  Cover and let simmer, stirring occasioinally, until the chicken is tender, about 5-10 minutes.  Add cooked pasta to the pot and toss to combine.

While the sauce is cooking, prepare the vegetables by adding 3 tbsp olive oil to a skillet over medium high heat.  Add the peppers and broccoli and cook just until crisp-tender.  Add the salt, pepper, and herbs.

To serve, place pasta in serving dish and top with vegetables.  Grate fresh parmesan cheese over top.  Serve immediately.

Skinny Spinach and Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I have ordered this pizza at our local pizza place, and was determined to create a version that is lower in points, yet still delicious.  Here’s what I came up with.  And I aplogize, but I dont’ have a lot of step by step photos for this one, because my family was hungry!

I started with a premade pizza crust.  This pizza has two parts basically – the alfredo sauce, and the chicken topping.  And, it was really good as is, but I really thinking it would be even more awesome with some fresh sliced tomatoes on top!

Start by preparing the spinach alfredo sauce.

Cook the chicken.

Assemble the pizza.

Sauce, chicken, fresh mozzarella cheese.

Bake until golden brown, and serve!

Skinny Spinach & Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Serves: 8        WW Points Plus Per Serving:  8

 

Alfredo Sauce

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 5 oz. frozen spinach, cooked and drained

Chicken:

• 6 chicken tenders (or 2 chicken breasts), boneless & skinless, sliced thinly
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

 

• Prebaked Pizza Crust
• 8 oz ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
• Fresh Tomato, thinly sliced

 

Prepare chicken by tossing chicken pieces with floru.  Heat olive oil in skillet.  Add garlic and cook until soft.  Add flour coated chicken and cook until cooked through.  Set chicken aside. 

In same skillet, melt butter for sauce.  Add flour and cook for one minute.  Slowly stir in milk, whisking to prevent lumps.  Cook until slightly thickened.  Add parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Stir in spinach.

Spread sauce on crust.  Top with cooked chicken.  Lay fresh mozzarella slices over all.  Top with fresh tomato slices.  Bake for 15 minutes at 475 degrees until golden brown and bubbly.

Chicken Penne Rustica

I stumbled upon this recipe while searching for something totally different, and just knew I had to make this!  I made a few changes to make it a little healthier (it originally called for TWO CUPS of heavy cream!), and to suit my family’s tastes.

If you scroll down and look at the printable recipe first, don’t be scared off by the long list of ingredients.  This is really an easy dish to prepare.  Just gather all your ingredients before you start and you won’t even notice how many are going into the recipe.   This dish is certainly restaurant quality…it was rich, creamy, and decadent!

Start by seasoning two boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or in my case, 4 chicken tenders) with salt and pepper.  Cook in a skillet until cooked through and browned on both sides.

Slice chicken and set aside.  Prepare the sauce by melting 1 tbsp butter over medium-low heat.  Add 2 cloves minced garlic and cook until the garlic is tender, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 cup heavy cream, 1-1/2 cups milk, 1/2 cup chicken broth , 1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp cornstarc, 1 tbsp mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp thyme and 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper.  Whisk to combine.

Bring to a simmer and cook until thick – about 10 minutes.  Cover and remove from heat.

While the sauce is thickening, cook 1 lb. of penne pasta to al dente.

Start building your dish.  You can do this in individual oven proof serving dishes, or in one big casserole dish.

Place about 3 cups of pasta into each dish and top with 3/4 cup sauce.  Sr gently to combine. 

Top with 1/4 of the chicken slices.

In a small bowl, combine 3 tbsp parmesan cheese and 1 1/2 tsp paprika.  Sprinkle over the pasta.

Broil until golden brown and bubbly.  Serve immediately.

Chicken Penne Rustica

1 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup parmesan cheese

1 ½ cups milk

½ cup chicken broth

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp mustard

½ tsp salt

½ tsp thyme

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 lb. penne pasta, cooked al dente

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Topping:

3 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 ½ tsp paprika

　

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook in skillet on both sides until done. Slice chicken and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, prepare sauce by melting butter over medium-low heat in large skillet. Add garlic and cook about 5 minutes. Add cream, parmesan cheese, milk, broth, cornstarch, mustard, salt, thyme and cayenne pepper, whisking until smooth. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally; cook until thick, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Preheat broiler. Build each serving in individual oven proof dishes, or assemble in one large casserole dish.

To each dish, add 2-3 cups pasta, top with ¾ cups sauce and stir lightly to coat. Top with ¼ of the chicken slices.

Combine parmesan cheese and paprika and sprinkle about 1 tbsp of mixture over each dish. Broil until the top starts to brown and gets bubbly.

Serve immediately.

Lemon Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

 

I don’t know about you, but I love just about anything with lemons.  Lemonade.  Lemon Pie.  Lemon Bars.  You name it.  So, when a friend shared the link to this recipe, I knew I had to try it.  I made a few minor changes to it, because, well, I rarely stick to a recipe exactly.  I’m wierd that way.

If you don’t lik the mushrooms, I encourage you to go ahead and make the creamy sauce without them.  It won’t be the same, but you don’t want to leave out the lemony sauce completely.  You could even substitute onions for the mushrooms, I think.

Start by coating 4 chicken breasts (or chicken tenders in my case) with 1 tbsp olive oil. 

Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and place chicken in skillet.  Season with salt and pepper and cook on both sides until just browned.

Zest the lemon; set zest aside for later. 

Squeeze the juice of half the lemon over chicken.  Slice remaining half of lemon into thin slices.  Place slices on top of browned chicken.

Cover with lid and cook until chicken is cooked through.

Meanwhile, in seperate skillet, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat.  Add 3 cups sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are browned and have released their juices.

Once mushrooms have browned, sprinkle 2 tbsp flour over mushrooms and stir to combine.

Stir in 1/2 cup chicken broth and cook until sauce has thickened.

Just before serving, a just a splash of heavy cream (this gives the sauce a rich, creamy consistency) and add in lemon zest and 1 tbsp parsley.

Place chicken on serving plate and top with sauce.

PRINTABLE RECIPE:

Lemon Chicken with Mushroom Sauce4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon

2 tbsp butter

3 cups sliced mushrooms

½ cup chicken broth

2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp parsley

Salt & Pepper to taste

Splash heavy cream

Coat chicken with olive oil. Place in hot skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook on both sides until just brown.

Zest the lemon; set zest aside. Squeeze the juice of half the lemon over chicken. Slice remaining lemon half into slices. Top each chicken breast with 1-2 slices of lemon. Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through.

Meanwhile, melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are browned and have released their juices, about 6 minutes.

Sprinkle with flour and stir. Add chicken broth, stirring to make a thick sauce. Stir in a just a splash of heavy cream. Add lemon zest and parsley at the last minute. Spoon over cooked chicken and serve immediately.

　

Crock Pot Casablanca Chicken

Whew!  That’s a mouthful!  I don’t have step by step photos of this recipe because  I put this together Monday morning before taking the kids to school, heading to the gym, and then to work.  I didn’t have time for snapping photos!  But I wanted to share the recipe for two reasons.  1)  It’s very, very delicious.  2) It’s made in the crock pot, which means you just need a few minutes in the morning and dinner is ready for you when you get home from work!

Crock Pot Casablanca Chicken

• 1 onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloved, minced
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 2 large potatoes, diced
• 2 lbs. chicken breasts or chicken tenders (Boneless & Skinless)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 3 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 15 oz. can cannelini beans, drained
• 2 tbsp parsley

Place onions, garlic, carrots and potatoes in crock pot.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and place in crock pot.  Stir into vegetables.  Combine cumin, salt, pepper and cinnamon and sprinkle over chicken and vegetables.  Add tomatoes.  Cover and cook on Medium for 8 hours or High for 6 hours.  About 10-15 minutes before serving, stir in cannelini beans and parsley.

Serve as is, or over cooked rice.