Almond Stuffed Chicken with Couscous and Green Beans with Bacon and Toasted Almonds

I love to cook, but I also work full time, so a lot of week nights when I come home, I don't really feel like spending hours in the kitchen. Crazy, I know. This is the perfect weeknight meal. Easy, quick to prepare, delicious, and healthy. Well, sort of. I did saute the green beans in the bacon fat after I cooked the bacon......but you could drain the pan and just use a teaspoon or two of olive oil if you are watching your diet. This meal also uses relatively few ingredients. You might already have these in your kitchen now!

Almond Stuffed Chicken

adapted from Cooking Light magazine

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 wedges of Laughing Cow Garlic and Herbs cheese
• 3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
• 1/8 cup slivered almonds
• salt and pepper
  

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the filling by combining the cheese, parsley, and almonds in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Next, prepare your chicken. If your chicken breasts are thick, you can butterfly them (cut them in half horizontally, but not all the way through) and stuff them that way. If they are thin cut like mine, you can make roll ups by spreading the filling on top of the chicken breast and fold it over. Either way, lay each chicken breast out on a cutting board.

3. Stuff the chicken by spreading it over the top of the chicken (if using thin chicken breasts) or stuffing it in the middle (if using butterflied chicken breasts). Fold the chicken over and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Transfer to a foil lined baking sheet. Cover the chicken with foil (to prevent the toothpicks from burning) and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through.


Meanwhile, prepare:

Green Beans with Bacon & Toasted Almonds

• 1 lb fresh or frozen steam in the bag green beans
• 2 slices center cut bacon
• 1/8 cup slivered almonds
  

1. Cook the green beans in the microwave according to the package directions, but make sure you cook them at the minimum time given since you will later saute them.

2. Next, cook the bacon in a large pan until crispy. Remove to a plate covered in paper towels to cool and drain. Do not drain the pan. If there is a lot of fat in your pan, remove some but leave a tablespoon or two for sauteeing the green beans.

3. Lower the heat to medium low and add the almonds, and toast them for a couple of minutes. Once they are toasted, add in the green beans and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste.




As for the couscous, just use your favorite brand and prepare according to package directions. I used Marrakesh Express chicken and vegetable flavor.

Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Burgers

As you can tell, there is no photo for this recipe, unfortunately. I made these burgers yesterday as an easy dinner, and before I knew it, they were all gobbled up with no time for a photo! But let me tell you, this recipe from Ellie Krieger is a keeper...I just HAD to post about them, even sans photo! Since they're made with ground turkey, they're even good for you, and since they're so delicious, moist, and succulent, you wouldn't even know. Even if you don't like peppers (I'm not a huge fan), I am sure you'll still love these. I enjoyed mine with just a few spinach leaves and a little ketchup, but any way you dress them up, these burgers are simply delicious! They make a perfect lunch. I think I may cook up another batch to keep in the fridge for lunches this week. Yum!!

Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Burgers
Recipe Courtesy Ellie Krieger, www.foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lb. lean ground turkey (I only had a 1lb package, which worked fine. I used a little less filling and my burgers were a little smaller)
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
• 1/2 cup grated part skim mozzarella cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Seperate the ground turkey into four equal portions. Then, half each of the four portions, making eight patties.
2. Top four of the patties with some of the roasted red pepper and mozzarella.
3. Place the empty patties on top of the ones stuffed with the pepper and cheese; make sure to seal the edges. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Grill (or brown in a pan) for 5 minutes per side or until done. If needed, finish in the oven for 5 minutes. The burgers may appear a little pink around the edges... this may be due to the roasted red pepper.
5. Serve on buns with the toppings of your choice.

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal

To me, there are few breakfasts more comforting than a steaming bowl of oatmeal or cream of wheat. This definitely wasn't the case when I was a kid - I thought my dad was "really mean" for forcing me to eat a bowl of oatmeal (or some other kind of hearty, hot breakfast) before school in the mornings.

Flash forward to adulthood - I would usually take packets of oatmeal to work every day for breakfast. And while there's nothing really wrong with that, I was always displeased with the fact that it was full of sugar and/or preservatives; and also that it took more than one packet to fill me up. Now, at the inspiration of other food blogs, I have started making my own oats in the morning, and have found it to be very easy, quick, convenient, and delicious! I also love that it's nourishing and good for me, and that it sticks with me until lunch. It takes about five minutes to prepare in the morning, and I pack it up in a Gladware bowl and bring it to work with me to eat.

Sarah's Strawberry Banana Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup oats
  
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• pinch of salt
  
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3-4 strawberries, sliced
  

Directions

You can prepare your oats one of two ways: one the stovetop, or in the microwave. I usually do mine in the microwave for quickness and so I don't have a dirty pot to clean. Just combine your oats, pinch of salt, and your liquid in a bowl, and microwave it for 2 minutes or so, or according to package directions. If your oats are too thick, stir in a little bit more milk or water. Add your vanilla, honey, and mashed banana, and stir. Top with sliced strawberries. Enjoy!

Tips

Make sure to follow the package directions for your liquid-to-oats ratio. I sometimes buy Irish oats, and they use a little bit more water than my regular rolled oats do. Feel free to use all water or all milk if you like. I use half water, half milk so that I still get the creaminess that the milk adds without all of the calories.

2 Ingredient Brownie Muffins

This week my husband is away on a business trip and he took my camera with him, so again, no pictures. But, I do have a super simple, super easy recipe for you that has just two ingredients! And, its pretty healthy! I served these at a girls night in I was having at my house, and none of the girls could believe how simple and delicious they were. You'd never believe that they have just 2 ingredients, and that one of them is pumpkin.

2 Ingredient Brownie Muffins
from Hungry-Girl.com

Ingredients

• 1 box your favorite Devil's Food cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Moist Deluxe)
• 1 15oz can pumpkin (I recommend Libby's brand)
  

Directions
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Combine the cake mix and canned pumpkin in a bowl. It will be relatively thick, but don't be tempted to add water, oil, eggs, or anything else, as it will ruin the mixture. And add fat and calories, and we wouldn't want that, now would we? Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way full with the mixture. I think I got 16 muffins out of my batch, but I wasn't really exact with the measurements. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack & enjoy!

1 Muffin, or 3 minis - 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 37g carbs, 2g, fiber, 2g protein - 4 WW points.

Variations:
Instead of Devil's Food cake mix, try using spice cake for yummy, moist pumpkin spice muffins.
To add a little bit of decadence to your brownie muffins, stir in chocolate chips or other add ins. I bet peanut butter chips would be good. Of course, this makes them higher in fat and calories. Last night, I stirred in some Nestle chocolate chunks that I had in the pantry.
You can also just spread this in an 8x8 baking dish and cut into squares for low fat brownies. A friend of mine made hers this way and they turned out great!

Peach Pie Smoothie

This Peach Pie Smoothie recipe is really great. It's easy to do, it's tasty, and it's even healthy! My husband is a type 1 diabetic (to learn more, visit www.jdrf.org - it's a great organization), so I'm always on the lookout for easy and healthy recipes. This makes a great breakfast on the go. Sometimes, I'll mix up all the ingredients except the frozen peaches the night before and store it in a container. The next morning, I'll just combine it in a blender with the peaches.It has no fat, 240 calories. It is a little high in carbs; but, it does have a lot of fruit in it. So, it least it's natural sugars from the fruit and honey. It's also a good source of calcium, fiber, and vitamin C. However, please don't be mislead by the name of this recipe. It really is a yogurt smoothie with some peaches and spice. It's not going to taste exactly like a slice of decadent peach pie. It's easy to tweak according to your tastes, too. Use vanilla or peach flavored yogurt; add more spices; or more vanilla. Any way you make it, it's healthy and refreshing. Try it for breakfast today!

Peach Pie Smoothie

courtesy of Ellie Kreiger, Food Network

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup nonfat or 1 percent lowfat milk
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 cup frozen unsweetened peaches
• 1 tablespoon honey, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• Pinch ground ginger
  

Directions
Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:
Calories 240; Total Fat 0 g; (Sat Fat 0 g, Mono Fat 0 g, Poly Fat 0 g) ; Protein 12 g; Carb 49 g; Fiber 3 g; Cholesterol 5 mg; Sodium 150 mg