Flaky Chicken served with Veggie Melody-6pts

This recipe came from my book with recipes made for two. When my husband tried it he was amazed and said you'd never know it was a low-cal/fat meal because it doesn't taste like it. The name is actually Flaky Herb Chicken.

Flaky Chicken-8pts per serving

• 2 oz round butter crackers (RITZ)
• 1 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 2 thin 4 oz pieces of chicken
• 1/4 c plain low-fat yogurt (~1/2 those 6 oz containers)
• 2 tsp veg oil

directions: heat oven 425 degree, combine crackers, cheese and herbs. Dip chicken into yogurt, then into the crumble mixture. Place on non-stick baking sheet and place into oven. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon oil on each piece before putting it in oven, cook 7-8 minutes, then drizzle another 1/2 tsp oil, cook for another 7-8 minutes (until done and lightly brown).

Flaky Chicken-6pts per serving

• 2 oz RITZ crackers
• 1tsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 8 oz chicken, cut into thin strips (min of two, I like to cut more strips-each serving is half of the chicken)
• 1/4 c plain non-fat yogurt
• spray butter or Pam

directions: same as above, instead of using the Veg oil, give it a spritz of the spray butter or the Pam. Between the changes of the non-fat yogurt and taking away the oil we are saving 2 whole points for the same serving of food. Other ways to trim, RITZ came out with a low fat cracker, and a whole grain cracker. I haven't tried them yet, or looked at the nutritional facts to see which is better, but it might be possible to shave another point.

Veggie Melody- 1 pts per serving

(makes min of 2 servings)

all veggies raw to start, can do more of any desired

• 3 oz potatoes (can add more, but add 1 pt for whole, div by number of servings)
• 1/2 of a yellow squash
• 1/2 of a zucchini
• 2 carrots,
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1/2 small onion (or 1/4 large)
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tbs olive oil
• water

directions: chop all veggies into cubes. Place in a baking dish (glass or corningware are what I suggest). Pour over them the olive oil and add the herbs. Toss all the veggies until they are all covered. Add water, just a tad until it just barely covers the bottom of the dish (no more than 1/4 inch deep). Cover and put in oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Feel free to change any amounts of any of the veggies. I just find these amounts make it great for 2 servings. Also add any other veggies you think will be good (peppers, tomatoes).

Beef Kebabs-6pts

When I saw this recipe I remembered the kebab racks that we got for our wedding, the ones we used once and have been sitting in our cupboards since. What a wonderful idea, make use of things we own. The recipe only had meat, onions, red peppers, and mushroom caps. But I like my skewers with lots of veggies. The recipe also suggested marinading the meat overnight, I decided to make it with less time than that and instead I only marinaded it for 30 minutes.

Beef Kebabs

(4 servings)

• 1 onion cubed
• grated zest of lemon
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 tsp chopped mint
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• dash of cayenne pepper
• 1 lb boneless beef tenderloin, cut into ~1inch cubes. (I used chuck roast, to cut cubes, other beefs can be used, just make sure the points are right).
• 1 bay leaf
• veggies cut into 1 inch sizes (mushroom caps, green peppers, red peppers, yellow peppers, orange peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, onion, tomatoes, cauliflower, carrots, cucumbers, just about anything that sounds good to you. My mom likes to put pineapples on her skewers-put that changes the points just a big).

directions: blend in a food processor the onion, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, cloves, cumin, thyme, mint, paprika, cayenne pepper. Place sauce and meat into a plastic bag. Place in the fridge overnight (or 30 minutes but it won't be as juicy). Remove meat from fridge, take meat from bag, pour all extra juices into a small sauce pan, add bay leaf to sauce and bring sauce to boil, let boil for 3 minutes. Take meat and veggies, place on skewers. Broil. I cut everything smaller pieces, and stuffed it on the skewers. It made a lot more skewers. In fact I used only 8 oz of meat, and got 6 skewers out of it. Cook throughly. Baste skewers with left over marinade while cooking, any marinade leftover at that point serve on the side. Each skewer (when making 4 skewers with the full lb of meat) is one serving.

Ideas as sides- couscous, wild rice, hummus.

Glazed Chicken Strips-6 points

The recipe calls for only 5 oz of chicken cut into cubes. I chose instead to use one 8 oz chicken breast cut into 4 strips. The points already are adjusted, if you only use the 5 oz it is 4 points per serving instead of 6 points. This recipe comes from a book where every recipe is made for only two servings and to be 30 minute or less meals. Other than the change I made and already mentioned it is the same recipe as in the book.

Glazed Chicken (for two)

• 2 tsp honey
• 2 tsp ketchup
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced (or 1 1/2 tsp jar minced garlic)
• 1 80z chicken breast, sliced into strips
• 1 cup cooked rice

directions-

In a small bowl, mix well the honey, ketchup, soy sauce, lemon juice, ginger, and garlic. Place chicken and mixture in a plastic bag, put in fridge to marinate for about 30 minutes (I don't think longer would hurt if you wanted to make it up prior and let sit in fridge overnight).

Fast way- place in microwaveable dish and microwave on high for 2 minutes, stir, cook longer if needed. Let stand for a minute. Serve chicken over 1/2 cup of rice.

Long way- Place marinated chicken in glass baking dish. Bake chicken at 350 for 20 minutes, or until fully cooked. Serve over 1/2 c of rice.

Suggestions- serve along side veggie. We did steamed zucchini with 1 tsp of Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Also to spice up the rice you could 1- use the remainder of mixture over the rice or 2- add 2 tbs of Crazens to the rice.

Glazed Chicken (for 4)

• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 Tbs ketchup
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp ginger
• 2 garlic clove, minced (or 1 Tbs jar minced garlic)
• 2 80z chicken breast, sliced into strips
• 2 cups cooked rice

follow the directions from above

Rice is included in the points, but the Parmesan on the zucchini is not.

Chicken Stir Fry- 6 pts

This is the Stir Fry I've always used. I was really wanting it last night. So I made it up and figured out the points. I like to use a pre-made stir fry veggie mix. To make it less points I only used 1- 8 oz chicken breast. I used about half the amount of rice I normally use, and filled it with veggies. I used a bit too much soy sauce and it looked really yucky- tasted fin, but I didn't want to put a picture up.

Stir Fry

• 1-8oz chicken breast, cut into cubes
• various veggies- carrots, green beans, zucchini, peas, yellow squash, celery, peppers, onion, broccoli, anything that sounds good to you.
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 4 tbs soy sauce

Cook up the chicken, when almost cooked turn heat to low, add 2 tbs of soy sauce, let simmer. When the chicken is done, add in the veggies, and the last 2 tbs of soy sauce. Mix well, then add rice, mix well and serve. Makes 2 servings (to make more servings just double the recipe). If you aren't up for rice, this could also be made with 1 package of Ramen noodles, if you use Ramen instead of rice the total is 7 points (its actually more like a point and half).