Grilled Chicken Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
• 1/4 cup fat -free mayonnaise
• 1 bunch fresh chives, chopped
• 2 tbsp. coarsely  chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 tbsp. tarragon vinegar
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 4 (1/4 lb.) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (16 oz.) bag ice berg salad mix

Makes 4 Servings (1 chicken breast half with 1/2 tablespoon dressing & about 1 3/4 cups salad per serving)

1. Puree the sour cream, mayonnaise, chives, tarragon, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce in a blender.
2. Spray a grill rack with extra-virgin olive oil nonstick spray; prepare the grill for a medium-hit fire. Lightly spray the chicken with nonstick spray; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Place the chicken on the grill until cooked through, about 6 minutes on each side. Transfer to a cutting board.
4. Transfer 2 tablespoons of the dressing to a small bowl; set aside. Combine the salad mix and the remaining dressing in a large bowl; mix well. Divide the salad among 4 plates. Cut each chicken breast on the diagonal into 1/4-inch -thick slices; arrange 1 breast half on top of each salad. Drizzle the chicken evenly with the reserved 2 tablespoons dressing.

WW POINTS VALUE: 4 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the WW Ultimate Chicken Cookbook. This is a great salad to enjoy any day of the week. This salad is very filling and satisfying. I highly recommend adding sliced cucumber, carrot, cherry tomatoes or grapes for a more filling salad. The chicken is nicely seasoned and goes very well with the dressing.



South Beach Ballpark Mustard

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup mustard seeds
• 1/4 cup +2 tbsp. mustard powder
• 1/4 tsp. dried tarragon
• 1 tbsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 cup tarragon vinegar
• 1/2  cup dry white wine
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1/4 cup granular sugar substitute
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. arrowroot

Makes 1 1/2 cups

1. In a small bowl, combine water, mustard seeds, mustard powder, tarragon, and turmeric.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, wine, oil, sugar substitute, garlic, allspice, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. In a blender or food processor, combine the mustard and vinegar mixtures and blend for 2 minutes. Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat on low heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the arrowroot to thicken. (Keep covered in the refrigerator for 1 week.)

WW POINTS VALUE: 1 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Cookbook. You can make mustard at home and it's better than what you would buy at the store. This recipe requires a little time and effort but it's worth it. Don't be overwhelmed by the amount of ingredients in this recipe. They come together great in the end. The mustard is great on chicken, beef, pork and some fish as well.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. table salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. white vinegar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp Neufchâtel cream cheese, softened

Makes 16 Servings (1 cupcake per serving)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare 16 muffin tins with paper muffin liners
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa; set aside.
3. In another large bowl, mix together buttermilk, vinegar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract; set aside.
4. With an electric mixer on high speed, cream granulated sugar with butter until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and add eggs, one at a time, until well-incorporated.
5. Add about 1/3 each of flour and buttermilk mixtures to sugar mixture; beat until just combined. Repeat until all of flour and buttermilk mixtures are incorporated; add 1 1/2 ounces of red food coloring and mix well with mixer (do not over beat batter).
6. Fill each muffin tin about 2/3 full with batter.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out dry, about 25 minutes; cool for 5 minutes in pan and then cool completely on a wire rack.
8. Meanwhile, to make icing, combine powdered sugar, cheese and remaining teaspoon of vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until well-combined and creamy. For a looser icing, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of warm water. Ice cooled cupcakes.

WW POINTS VALUE: 5 pts.



Note: This recipe appears on www.weightwatchers.com. You can have your cupcake and eat it too. You don't need to visit your local bakeshop or grocery store to buy a Red Velvet cupcake. Red Velvet cupcakes originated in the American South and they are a take on Devil's Food cupcakes. The key to making delicious red velvet cupcakes is the red food coloring, vinegar, buttermilk, and the right amount of cocoa powder. Cream cheese frosting also the icing on the cake. These sweet treats are the perfect portion size to satisfy your sweet tooth. You can also make these treats blue or green velvet cupcakes using blue or green food coloring as well.

Poached Eggs with Cherry Tomatoes and Scallions

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 8 oz. grape tomatoes, halved (1 1/4 cups)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 2 large eggs

Makes 4 Servings

1. In a small nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add scallions and cook until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until tomaotes have softened and given off some of their juices, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and keep warm.
2. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil; add vinegar. Crack 1 egg into a cup. Gently slide egg into the water. Repeat with the remaining egg, using a slotted spoon to keep eggs separated from each other, if necessary. Cook at a simmer until yolks are lightly set, 3-4 minutes.
3. Dived tomato-scallion mixture between 2 shallow bowls. Top each with an egg. Spoon any remaining liquid from the tomato mixture over the eggs. Serve warm.

WW POINTS VALUE: 4 pts.

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook. Poached eggs are absolutely declicious whenever you can eat them. I've always wanted to poach an egg and after watching Julie & Julia many times, I felt I was ready to try poaching eggs. Poaching eggs is a delicate skill that takes time and patience to master but the eggs are delicious. This is a very simple recipe but it's really tasty without a whole lot of flavor. Sometimes, keeping a dish simple can make a meal go a long way.



Italian Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 garlic clove or 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano leaves, crumbled
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper

Makes 4 Servings

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine all the ingredients; cover and shake well. Refrigerate, covered, overnight. Shake again before serving.

  

WW POINTS VALUE 1

Note: This recipe appears in the WW New Complete Cookbook. It was a nice day to cook and  wanted to cook something with flavor. I really like Italian dressing and I came across this recipe by accident. If you ar a garlic lover like myself, I highly recommend using at least one clove for flavor. The great thing aout making your own Italian dressing is that ou know what's in it and youcan modify it to your own taste.

So Sweet, So Good: Honey Mustard Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 
  
  4 tsp honey
  
  
  
• 
  
  1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
  
  
  
• 
  
  1 tsp cider/wine vinegar
  
  
  
• 
  
  1/4 tsp salt (optional)
  
  
  
• 
  
  freshly ground pepper, to taste
  
  
  
• 
  
  4 (5-ounce) pork chops, 1-inch thick
  
  
  

1. 
   
   To prepare the marinade, in a small saucepan over low heat, heat the honey until it liquifies. Stir in the mustard, salt and pepper; cool to room temperature.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Place the pork chops in a gallon-size zip-close plastic bag;add the marinade. Seal, the bag, sqeezing out the air; turn to coat the chops. Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, at leat 8 hours or overnight. Remove the chops from the refrigerator 30 minutes before broiling.
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Preheat the broiler. Discard the marinade. PLace the chops on the broiler rack and broil 3- 4 inches from the heat until cooked through, 6-7 minutes on each side.
   

WW Points Value: 4 per pork chop

Note: I do not use a broiler; I use the Griddler from CuisinArt and it works just as well as a broiler. Everything cooks faster on the Griddler, Trust me. This recipe appears in the WW New Complete Cookbook.

Sweet and Sour Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 3 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar (or plain vinegar)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast halves cut into 3/4 inch chunks
• 1-11/2 cups of diced peppers (the more color the better)
• 1 1/2 cups broccoli
• 1 8-ounce can pineapple chucks in juice, drained
• 1 tbsp of lime juice

1. Stir together the ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth; set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a non-stick wok or deep non-stick skillet over medium high heat. When a drop of water sizzles in it, and chicken and stir-fry until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the wok; stir-fry until the pepper is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Return the chicken to the wok along with the ketchup mixture. Stir-fry until the sauce thickens and bubbles, about a minute.

WW Points Value: 6

Note:This recipe appears in the Weight Watchers in 20 minutes cookbook. The original recipe had 1/2lb snow peas trimmed, 1 cup drained canned straw mushrooms, and a red bell pepper cut into 3/4 inch slices. I had to get creative so I substituted broccoli for the snap peas and mushrooms and used diced peppers from Trader Joe's. I added the lime juice becuase I saw Rachael Ray add lime juice to Sweet-and-Sour Pork. You could use pork instead of Chicken. I've never tried it but if you have, let me know how it tastes.