Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Lime Mayo Dipping Sauce

We're on Spring Break this week with B and I should be cooking more since I have the time!  But, I wanted a fairly easy dinner tonight so I did my French Dip.  I have had this recipe from Epicurious for sweet potato fries for a few weeks and thought this would be a good meal to serve them with.  The dipping sauce was really good and would be great with not only these fries but also a Southwest theme meal or pulled pork...or anything!

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into "fries"
2 tsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper

For Lime Sauce:
1/3 c light mayo
1/4 tsp finely grated lime zest
2 tsp fresh lime juice
Chopped cilantro (optional - I omitted)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
In a large bowl, toss sweet potatoes, olive oil, salt & pepper to coat
Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and evenly place potatoes on it
Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and turn the potatoes.  Return to oven and cook another 10-15 minutes

Meanwhile combine lime sauce ingredients and keep chilly until you are ready to serve.  I also make a Cajun mayo dip by simply putting mayo and cajun spices in a small bowl and mixing.

Cajun Kale Chips

My sister in law had kale chips on Easter.  I have always wondered what they taste like so I gave them a try.  Wow - they are a great snack!!  Even B loved them!  I wanted to try a different spin on the ones she made so I did mine with a little salt and cajun.  These would be good with any of your favorite spices (Old Bay may be next for me!).

Ingredients:
Kale, snipped from the stalk
2 tsp olive oil
Cajun spice
Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cut kale into smaller pieces and rinse thoroughly
Place in a large bowl and add spices, tossing to coat
Place kale on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper
Cook for 15 minutes and allow to cool

Baked Shrimp in a Lemony Garlic Sauce

I needed a quick weeknight dinner that was an "all in one" type meal.  I found this recipe on the WW community site.  I liked it and thought it was light in taste.  I would probably use fresh, chopped spinach next time only because I don't love frozen spinach.  But other than that, this is a keeper!

Ingredients:
1-1/4 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/4 c fresh lemon juice (I used less but eye-balled it)
2 tbsp light butter, melted
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper (I used red pepper flakes)
2 tbsp fresh parsley (I used dried flakes and just eye-balled it)
2 c chopped, frozen spinach, thawed & drained
Pasta

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Combine lemon juice and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl.  Add shrimp & toss to coat.  Place in a 9x13" baking dish, coated lightly with cooking spray
Cook pasta according to box directions
Bake for 8-10 minutes & serve with pasta

5 points plus for shrimp & spinach.  Pasta is extra

Southwest Turkey Meatballs with Dipping Sauce

I made these for a get together with the neighbors.  I know I've mentioned that I don't like cilantro but I realize other do.  The recipe calls for adding cilantro to the meatballs and the sauce but I omitted it from the meatballs.  I also made 2 dipping sauces...one with cilantro and one with pesto.  These were a hit and would be a nice app to bring to any event.  I would recommend adding more jalapeno if you like a little pep to your food.  I couldn't taste it in mine and I kept a few seeds to hopefully add a little heat.  I found the recipe here.

Ingredients:
1-1/4 lb ground turkey (99% lean)
1 jalapeno, seeds removed if you don't like too much heat
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c chopped cilantro (I omitted this) but subbed parsley
3 scallions, chopped
1/4 c seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp cumin
pinch Oregano
Salt & Pepper
Cooking spray

Directions:
Lightly spray cookie sheet & preheat oven to 400 degrees
Place jalapeno, garlic, cilantro & scallions in a food processor and pulse until minced
In a large bowl, combine turkey, chopped herbs, bread crumbs, egg, cumin, salt & pepper. Use your hands to blend thoroughly
Make into small meatballs and place on cookie sheet
Bake for 15 minutes (mine were a bit big so they cooked for about 20 minutes)
Makes 24 meatballs

Dipping Sauce:
1/2 c lowfat buttermilk
1/4 c lite mayo
1/4 c Fat Free Greek yogurt
1 small jalapeno, seeds removed if you don't like it too spicy
1/4 c fresh cilantro
1 tomatillo, husks removed.  Chop the tomatillo
1 clove garlic
1 scallion
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/8 tsp cumin
Salt & Pepper

Mix all ingredients in a blender and serve.

For a pesto dipping sauce, I followed the instructions above but instead of cilantro, I used almost 1 small jar of pesto sauce.

2 points plus for 2 meatballs; add 1 point for dipping sauce

Lemon Chicken with Broccoli

This chicken is lighter tasting (and lighter in calories) than the traditional "chicken & broccoli" that I love from the Chinese restaurant.  The lemon makes it refreshing and yummy!  I served it over Basmati rice.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 tsp table salt, divided

1/4 tsp black pepper

12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced

2 tsp olive oil

1-1/2 c fat free reduced sodium chicken broth, divided

2 tsp minced garlic

2-1/2 c uncooked broccoli florets

2 tsp lemon zest

2 tbsp fresh parley, chopped

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

On a plate, combine 1-1/2 tbsp flour, 1/4 tsp salt & pepper.  Add chicken & turn to coat

Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium high heat.  Add chicken and cook, turning occasionally until cooked and a little brown - about 5 minutes.  Remove to a plate

Put 1 c broth and garlic in same skillet and bring to a boil over high heat.  Scrape bits of chicken with wooden spoon.  Add broccoli.  Cover and cook 1 minute

In a small cup, stir together remaining broth, 1/2 tbsp flour & 1/4 tsp salt.  Add to skillet and bring to a simmer over low heat

Cover and cook until broccoli is a little crispy and sauce is thickened - about 1-1/2 minutes.  Stir in chicken and lemon zest; heat through.  

Remove skillet from heat.  Stir in parsley & lemon juice.  Toss to coat.  

4 points 

Enjoy!

Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms

This recipe has been requested by so many people after I put the picture on Facebook.  It is a pretty easy dinner but has great flavor!  Again, it's from the WW community recipe site.  We buy our chicken from Costco so it needs to be pounded pretty thin to make cooking it on the stove top easier.  As long as you get the chicken fairly thin and even, this turns out really nice!  I don't think this picture does the meal justice - sorry!!

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups fresh mushrooms (I use baby bella)
1/3 c chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried thyme

Directions:
In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 tsp olive oil
In a medium bowl, mix vinegar, mustard and garlic.  Add chicken & turn to coat
Transfer chicken & marinade to the skillet.  Saute chicken until cooked, about 4-5 minutes per side (with the larger Costco chicken breasts).  Transfer chicken to a platter & keep warm.  (I put my oven on 200 degrees and put the plate in there to keep the chicken warm)
Heat remaining tsp olive oil in skillet.  Saute mushrooms for about 1 minute.  Add broth, thyme and remaining balsamic vinegar.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are cooked and have a deep brown color.
Serve chicken topped with mushrooms

4 points

Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan Cheese

I don't know why I never thought I'd like cauliflower in the past but it has become one of my new favorite sides!  I found this on the weight watchers community recipe site and it had a ton of reviews.  It is so good and has an almost "nutty" flavor.  This is a super simple recipe but makes a great side dish!

Ingredients:
4 c uncooked cauliflower florets
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Spread cauliflower florets on baking sheet and drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper over top
Bake cauliflower for 20 minutes or until lightly browned in spots
Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese over top.  Return to oven for 5 more minutes then serve

1 point

Enjoy!