Chicken with Mushroom Saunce

Brr! It is cold outside! Well I guess that it is about time, considering I live in Germany. It has been pleasantly warm and snow-free since this past week! But isn't it just pretty? As long as I can stay inside, I will be good with the snow. So with the snow comes cold and with the cold comes colds. Yes friends, I have a cold! If I was reading this aloud to you, you could say that I sound a little bit like Steve Urkel. Congestion is a horrible thing.
Despite my cold, I have managed to stay somewhat on track with working out and eating healthy. I am still working on Jillian Michael's 30 Day shred, and still completing level 2. It is still tough, but I am starting to feel stronger every day!

So this week I made a delicious dish that kept me warm and was still healthy! I made chicken with mushroom sauce, from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet cookbook. Everything that I've had from this book has been wonderful so far, and I cannot wait to keep trying all of the different recipes. So here is a great dish that is easy to make!

Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup fat-free milk
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 tablespoon reduced-fat butter
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and milk until smooth; set aside. Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness. In a large nonstick skillet, cook chicken in oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm.

In the same skilled, saute the mushrooms and onion in butter until tender. Stir in the broth, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with chicken.

Yield: 4 servings
Nutrition Facts: 1 chicken breast half with 1/3 cup sauce equals 212 calories.

Doesn't that just look delicious? Well let me assure you, it is! I hope that you will be able to enjoy it as much as I did!

Chops and Kraut

Yesterday I was bad... I mean really really bad. I woke up and worked hard on my workout. Of course, I felt really weak during it. Have you ever just felt like you were a big, wet noodle? That's exactly how I was feeling during my workout. Voices in my head were whining, "I don't wanna do this!" Luckily, I made it through. I then headed to base to do some grocery shopping. I bought a blender and am so happy about that. Now I can start making the popular Green Monster smoothies I see all over the internet. So this is where I got bad... I went through Burger King and got a burger and fries for lunch! Now I think I've been doing really good on my eating and cutting back, but yesterday I was weak. So now I am writing in my blog putting off my workout, because I know I am going to be feeling that burger as Jillian Michaels tells me to do pushups.

So I tried to eat a healthier dinner last night. This recipe is adapted from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet cookbook. This dish was surprisingly good. I mean, I didn't think it would be bad, but I wasn't expecting to like every single bite as much as I did! Keep in mind that I only cook for two on weeknights, so I cut this recipe in half. So in the pictures you will see a smaller amount than what the recipe actually calls for.

Here is the wonderful recipe for an easy and healthy meal!

Chops 'n' Kraut
Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook

Ingredients

6 bone-in pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick and 7 oz each)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 teaspoons canola oil, divided (I used vegetable oil)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14 ounces) sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds (I left this out)

Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook three chops in 1 teaspoon oil for 2-3 minutes on each side or until browned; drain. Repeat with the remaining chops and 1 teaspoon oil.

Place pork chops in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray; set aside. In the same skillet, cook onion and garlic in remaining oil until tender. Stir int he tomatoes, sauerkraut, brown sugar and caraway seeds. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil.

Carefully pour over the chops. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until meat is tender.

Yield: 6 servings
Nutrition Facts: 1 pork chop with 2/3 cup sauerkraut mixture equals 311 calories, 3 g fiber, and 32 g protein.

Doesn't this just sound yummy? Well I can testify that it is! Don't be frightened by the sauerkraut. Adding the brown sugar makes it less sour. Also, I didn't have caraway seeds, so I left those out. The dish still tasted amazing. Remember, I cut the recipe in half, so my pictures look different than if you make the full recipe. I hope you can enjoy this dish as much as I did!

Taco-stuffed Pepper Cups

Good morning to you! So I have officially moved on from level one to level two in Jillian Michaels' Thirty Day Shred. Let me tell you, there has never been as hard of a difference between two levels! The first day I did the workout, I had to stop twice because I thought I would be sick. That's good right?? My body is aching, but I am taking that as a good thing. If I didn't feel sore, then obviously I am not working hard enough. So there is my workout update.

Now to some yummy food. I got a new cookbook for Christmas, and I couldn't be happier with it. I love anything from the Taste of Home cookbooks, but this one is even better. It is a comfort food DIET cookbook! How awesome is that? So the first recipe that I made from it was some amazing stuffed peppers. Obviously, since I live in Germany, I had to made some slight changes because I don't have a good grocery store in my city. I made due with what I had, and they still turned out delicious!

Here is what you need:
2 medium green peppers
1/2 pound lean ground turkey (I used lean beef)
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons taco seasoning
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped tomato

Chop tops off peppers and remove the seeds. In a large kettle, cook the peppers in boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; set aside.

In a large skillet, cook the turkey (or beef) and onion over medium heat until meant is no longer pink; drain. Stir in means, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; simmer, uncovered for 5-6 minutes or until heated through.

Spoon into peppers. Place in an ungreased 8-in. square baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until peppers are tender. Top with the sour cream, cheese, and tomatoes.

Yield 4 servings.

Adapted from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook

So here is what I found about this recipe. It is pretty simple and quick! Additionally, if you needed to, you could prepare the peppers and meat, refrigerate until dinner and then pop them in the oven. This may cause you to have to cook the peppers a bit longer though. Each pepper has about 21 grams of protein, so they will definitely fill you up! I was amazed that my husband only ate one because they were so yummy, but they really were filling. I also think that if you wanted to add some things to the dish you could. Next time I may add corn or even put some rice in the mix. You may notice in the first picture, it looks like I had more onion than in the recipe, well I did. I love onion, and so I don't think you can have too much of it! Also, if you are trying to cut even more calories, leave out the cheese and sour cream. Although they are yummy and add something to the dish, you don't HAVE to have it!

So I hope that you can enjoy this dish as much as I did. Remember, taking away or adding isn't a bad thing. Sometimes it makes a dish even better!