Sweet and Cheesy Jalapeno Chicken Wontons

Sometimes you have an idea for a recipe in your head and it just doesn't work out. In your mind, the ingredients complement each other perfectly, but when you actually create it, the flavors don't mesh and you wind up with a mess on a plate. Sometimes recipe ideas just don't work out.

But sometimes they do.

One of my friends recently had a Tastefully Simple party. Have you ever been to one of those? I love their products (the beer bread is to DIE for). Most of their mixes and dips require just one or two additional ingredients (hence the "simple" in the name). Anyway, when I was flipping through the catalog I came across this Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam and had to buy it.

I've had sweet pepper jelly before. It's amazing with crackers and cream cheese. And in wontons.

After I bought the jelly, I was brainstorming ways to use it. I knew I wanted to pair it with cream cheese, but wasn't sure what else. Then it came to me. Chicken. And onions. And wanton wrappers. Boom.

This recipe is only a few ingredients, but it does involve a little more preparation than some of the other recipes I've posted. Not much more, though. It's definitely worth it.

I cook the chicken by poaching it. You need to shred it for this recipe, and I find it's easier to shred when it's poached. I didn't add any spices to the chicken, but you can.

Once it's shredded, add it to a bowl. Combine with the onions, jelly, and cream cheese.

Next comes the moderately time-consuming part: stuffing and sealing the wontons. Start by placing a wonton on a clean, dry surface (like a cutting board). Scoop about a 1/2 tbsp onto the center of the wonton - be careful not to scoop too much, or else it will be really tough to seal the wrapper.

Once the filling is on the wonton, fold it in half so it's triangle-shaped, with the filling sealed inside. Moisten your fingers (it helps to keep a small cup of water next to where you're working) and press down on the edges of the wrapper to seal them. You can cook them like this, or press the two bottom corners together to get that wonton shape (and moisten and press to seal) and cook that way.

Spray a baking sheet with no-calorie nonstick spray. Arrange the wontons on the sheet, spray the tops with nonstick spray, and bake at 400 degrees. After 5 minutes, flip the wontons and bake for another 4 minutes.

Enjoy! Serve warm, either plain or with sweet Asian chili sauce.

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded (about 4.5-5 oz)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
• 3 tbsp sweet pepper jelly (I use Tastefully Simple, but you can use any brand)
• 3 tbsp fat free cream cheese
• 20 wonton wrappers (I use the ones by Nasoya - check the produce or tofu section at the grocery store)

Serving size: 4 wontons

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 3

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine the shredded chicken, onion, jelly, and cream cheese.
3. Lay a wonton wrapper on a clean, dry surface. Scoop 1/2 tbsp of the chicken mixture onto the center of the wrapper (be sure not to overfill, or else it will be difficult to seal). Fold the wrapper in half to seal the filling inside. 
4. Moisten the tips of your fingers and press the edges of the wrapper to seal. If you want to, you can then press and seal the two bottom corners together to give it a wonton shape (this isn't necessary, though - you can cook it in the triangle shape, too).
5. Repeat for the remaining wrappers.
6. Spray a baking sheet with no-calorie nonstick spray. Arrange the wontons on the baking sheet and spray the tops lightly with nonstick spray.
7. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven, flip, and bake for an additional 4 minutes.
8. Serve warm, either plain or with sweet Asian chili sauce.

Nutrition

Party-Size Shrimp and Crab Salsa

Drumroll, please - Lighter Bites is BACK! Thank you for sticking around through the hiatus while we had our kitchen redone! I'm not ready to share the after pictures quite yet ... we're having it painted on Monday, and then we just have to hang our decorations, and THEN I'll share the much-anticipated (okay, maybe not much-anticipated, but I'm excited) after photos.

It is, however, in good enough shape to cook and post recipes again! I'd love for my first recipe after a hiatus to be a Lighter Bites original, but I was making this Skinnytaste-inspired recipe for a BBQ tomorrow, and it's just too good not to share.

See the new countertops?! Eeeeee!

I've made some small tweaks and additions to the Skinnytaste recipe, but I have to give credit where it's due. This Skinnytaste recipe is amazing, and I think my version is pretty good too!

I've doubled everything in quantity because I'm bringing this to a BBQ tomorrow. It's so light and refreshing and perfect for summer!

I use cooked, peeled, frozen shrimp for this (and most shrimp-containing) recipes. It's easy to defrost - just let it sit in really hot water for a few minutes. The tails slide right off, and you can easily cut the shrimp into pieces.

I've also found that defrosting shrimp this way can add a lot of excess water to a recipe, so I've found a solution. I defrost and cut the shrimp first, and while I'm preparing everything else for the recipe, I let the shrimp sit in the colander in my sink to drain any excess water. It doesn't hurt to blot the shrimp with a paper towel, too.

Yep, we have a stainless steel sink now. No big deal.

The rest of the recipe is so easy. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a bowl, season to taste with seasoned salt, salt and pepper, and garlic powder, and mix to combine.

You can serve it right away (I like to serve this with pita chips - Wheat Thins makes an awesome pita chip) or refrigerate until you're ready to serve. Since there's seafood in this, I don't recommend refrigerating for longer than a day.

So that's about it! I'm so excited to be back blogging again and SO excited to share the new kitchen photos! Hope you enjoy this recipe (and don't forget to check out Skinnytaste's original and all her other stuff - she's amazing). 

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs cooked shrimp, peeled and chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 3/4 medium-sized red onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium-sized cucumbers, chopped
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 3/4 cup crab meat, chopped (I used imitation)
• 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp fat-free plain Greek yogurt
• Seasoned salt, to taste (I used Morton)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste

Serving size: 1/8 recipe
Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 3

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to combine (everything should be evenly coated with mayonnaise and yogurt). Serve immediately with pita chips, or refrigerate up to one day before serving.

Note: This recipe can easily be halved and served to a smaller gathering (4 instead of 8).

Nutritional Information

Lightened-Up Texas Toast

Happy Independence Day, everyone! Sorry for the long hiatus between my last post and this one - work has been busy, and I've taken on some freelance work as well, so things have been a bit crazy. I hope everyone has something fun planned for the holiday today! Me? I'll be relaxing at my in-laws' house, spending time with good people and eating good BBQ'd food (today will probably NOT be a diet-friendly day, but what can you do).

Anyway, I wanted to share this SUPER SIMPLE recipe for Texas toast with you! I was trying to think of a clever line about Texas being American and that's why I decided to wait until July 4th to share this recipe, but the truth is, this recipe has nothing to do with Independence Day. It's just really easy and delicious and you should make it ASAP.

My husband found Texas toast in the supermarket a few years ago. It's basically thick garlic bread, toasted, and covered in melted cheese. It's amazing, but definitely not amazing for someone who is trying to count calories. So a few weeks ago, I was having grilled chicken for dinner, and I wanted something on the side. My husband, who for some reason (like most men I know) doesn't have to worry about his weight, was making the store-brand Texas toast with his dinner, and it looked REALLY good. So I opened my fridge and saw that I had some English muffins, and I decided to see what I could do.

I toasted an English muffin, then covered each part with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray. Zero-calorie butter spray can be your best friend in recipes. Personally, I don't think it's tasty enough on its own to have with nothing else (I'd never eat toast with butter spray and nothing else) but it's good when paired with something else. For example, toast with butter spray and jelly, toast with butter spray and cinnamon sugar, etc. And in this recipe, it works perfectly.

Next, I sprinkled (pretty generously) garlic powder on top of the spray. Then I took some part-skim mozzarella and spread it across the top of the garlic. Pop it in the oven at 375 for about 5 minutes until the cheese melts, and there you have it - easy, delicious, lightened-up Texas toast.

I made my husband try it - he approves! He'll probably continue to eat the "good stuff" from the supermarket because he can, but I'm happy he approves of my lighter version too.

That's it! Make this the next time you have chicken or pasta and let me know what you think!

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 2 Fiber One English muffins
• I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (roughly 32 sprays)
• Garlic powder (to taste)
• 2 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese

Serving size: 2 pieces (half of recipe)
Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 5

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Toast each English muffin to desired crispiness.
3. Spray each muffin half with butter spray. The recipe calls for ~32 sprays, or 8 per piece of toast, because I like mine extra buttery. Feel free to use more or less as desired. Sprinkle garlic powder over the top of each piece.
4. Distribute the cheese evenly among the pieces of toast. I've been using the mozzarella blocks lately, so I measure out 2 oz on my food scale and then slice it into small pieces and distribute them among the pieces. If you use shredded cheese, this will probably be easier to measure. Either way, each piece of toast gets about half an ounce of cheese.
5. Put the toast on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese looks melted but not burnt. (TIP: I like to put a piece of tin foil on my baking sheet to eliminate mess).
6. Let cool slightly, and enjoy!

Nutritional Information

Watermelon Feta Salad with Balsamic Glaze

I think I've found my go-to summer salad.

It's crisp and fresh and the ingredients work together in such an amazing way. It's also really easy and can be thrown together really quickly if you need something to serve for company or to bring to a BBQ.

I heard someone mention a watermelon feta salad last summer, and even though I was curious, I never actually made or tried the combination. Recently, I decided I needed to start doing something new for lunch - my daily lunches at the office were getting STALE - and since it finally feels like summer - and what says "summer" more than juicy watermelon? - I decided to revisit the watermelon feta combo. 

I looked online for inspiration and then created this salad with my own twist. Some people make their watermelon feta with oil. Some use oil and vinegar. Some use balsamic. Some added other ingredients; others kept it simple.

You start with your greens.

I've made this salad three times this week (when I fall in love with a new food or meal, I eat it almost exclusively and obsessively until I move on to the next thing. I have a problem). The first two times, I used baby arugula. Pictured in this recipe is baby spinach, since I ran out of arugula. Both combinations work, but I think if I had to choose I'd choose the arugula.

Then it's just three additional ingredients (watermelon, red onion, and feta cheese) before the dressing, and you're done. Simple!

Next comes the dressing. I went back and forth a few times with this. I didn't think I'd like the oil or oil/vinegar combo with the watermelon. Balsamic vinegar is always a good choice, but I felt like this salad needed something sweeter. That's why the balsamic glaze is perfect. It has the flavor of balsamic but it's much thicker and sweeter than the vinegar. It goes perfectly with this salad.

I wish I could explain why all these ingredients work together so well. I wish I could tell you why the sweetness of the watermelon tastes so good with the crunchy red onion. I wish I could explain how the feta adds a subtle but amazing flavor to the salad and how the balsamic glaze ties it all together in the most delicious way. I wish I could tell you why, but I can't. I don't know why all these ingredients work together. They just do. And you need to try it ASAP.

Summer is coming - and it deserves to be celebrated with this salad.

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 12 cups baby arugula (2 bags of salad mix)
• 4 cups watermelon, cubed
• 6-8 oz fat free feta cheese, crumbled
• 3/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 6 tbsp balsamic glaze

Serving size: 1/4 salad
Serves: 4
Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 5

Instructions

1. Rinse the arugula and place it in a large bowl. Add the watermelon, feta cheese, and red onion, and toss to combine.
2. Drizzle the balsamic glaze over the salad. Toss again to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving, or refrigerate overnight and serve the following day.

Nutritional information

Avocado Ranch Coleslaw

Well HELLO! I apologize for getting a little off-track with my posts the last couple of weeks. Work was really busy and then I was thrown off by the holiday weekend. I hope everyone who had a three-day weekend enjoyed it! My parents have a house in upstate New York and every Memorial Day my dad's side of the family heads up there. There are tents and bonfires and games and music and singing and hanging out by the pool ... oh, and there's a TON of eating. And drinking. Let's just say Memorial Day weekend is NOT a Weight Watchers weekend. Oh well ... worth it.

But, the holiday is over and I need some healthy food back in my life. Enter this week's recipe: Avocado Ranch Coleslaw! 

I absolutely love coleslaw. But prepared the traditional way, with a ton of mayo, it's definitely not healthy. Another thing I absolutely love is avocado. Especially in summer. Something about fresh avocado (and homemade guacamole) just resembles summer to me. I came up with the idea to combine the two, and it worked out pretty nicely. The addition of ranch is just because I think ranch dressing makes everything better. Wings, veggies - what doesn't benefit from a little ranch?

Anyway, let's discuss this recipe. It's really easy and tasty too. And I'm already thinking of ways it can be used other than just as a side dish (hint: I think it would be REALLY yummy on shrimp tacos. There may or may not be a recipe coming soon that uses this coleslaw that way ...)

Start with a package of coleslaw in a large bowl. I usually buy Dole Classic Coleslaw when I make slaw, but any brand will do.

Then, in a small bowl, combine everything else (avocado, ranch, sour cream, mayo, and vinegar). The avocado I used was perfectly ripe, so I only needed to use a spoon to combine everything. If your avocado is still a little hard, you may need to use a hand mixer. I think that avocados taste the best when they're slightly mushy to touch but still firm overall. They're also much easier to mix when they're like this.

Add the avocado mix to the slaw and stir, stir, stir until the slaw is coated evenly. Season generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and stir again.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. It tastes best if you're able to refrigerate for at least an hour. Since this uses avocado, it may start to brown after a day or so, so I recommend making this when you know you'll be eating it or serving it within a day.

Before serving, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder again and give it a final stir to combine.

That's it! It's good on the side of a summer meal, but I personally think it would be even better when incorporated into a meal, like on a burger or sandwich, or inside some shrimp tacos ... (hint, hint)!

Enjoy! As always, feedback is appreciated!

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 1 bag coleslaw mix 
• 1 medium avocado (about 7 oz), shelled and pit discarded
• 3 tbsp fat free ranch dressing
• 1 tbsp fat free sour cream
• 1 tbsp low fat mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp white vinegar
• Salt, pepper, and garlic powder (to taste, but I recommend being generous with these)

Serving size: 1/4 of recipe
Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 3

Instructions

1. Empty the coleslaw mix into a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the avocado, ranch, sour cream, mayo, and vinegar. Depending on how soft your avocado is, you may need a hand mixer for this.
3. Add the avocado mix to the slaw and stir until the slaw is evenly coated. Season generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and stir to combine.
4. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (I recommend refrigerating for at least an hour, and serving within a day).
5. Before serving, season again with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and give the slaw a final stir.

Nutritional Information

Meatless Taco Bites

Happy weekend everyone! Is it just me, or did this week feel like a long one? Nevermind, though - the weekend is here and I thought I'd celebrate by posting a new recipe.

This one was inspired by my sister-in-law Tracey. She makes this AMAZING meatless taco dip - seriously, it's addicting. I can't seem to remove myself from the tray whenever she serves it. I've started making it whenever I host an event, and it's always a huge hit.

I usually serve the dip with Tostitos® Scoops!®, and it's so easy to just eat scoop after scoop of the delicious dip and lose track of exactly how much you've eaten (at least that's what I do). I wanted to try to revamp the recipe a little bit into a version that was easier to divide into pre-specified servings, without losing the deliciousness Tracey designed. Enter mini fillo shells, and the taco bites were created.

These are SO easy and SO delicious, and the best part is that they're so low-calorie that you can afford to eat a whole bunch in one sitting. The secret is using mini fillo shells, which are crispy and delicious but barely add any calories to the recipe.

Apologies again for my (lack of) photography skills. Maybe I'll get better as I continue to post. For now, though, I'll just post the recipe.

Ingredients

• 30 mini fillo shells (2 boxes)
• 4 oz fat free cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup fat free salsa
• 1/4 cup low fat Greek yogurt (I used Fage Total 2%)
• 1/4 small red bell pepper, chopped into small pieces
• 1/4 small green bell pepper, chopped into small pieces
• 1/4 medium tomato, chopped into small pieces (I used a plum tomato)
• 1/2 cup reduced fat Mexican style shredded cheese

Servings: 10 servings (3 taco bites each)
Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 2 (for 3 taco bites)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the empty shells on a baking sheet. Bake for 3-5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before filling. Note: This is an optional step. The shells come pre-baked and ready to fill, so all you need to do is let them defrost. Baking them adds a little extra crispiness, which I like, so that's why I included it as step 1. 
   
2. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, salsa, and yogurt. Once combined, distribute the mix evenly among the cooled-off shells. TIP: If you're like me, and you forget to leave the cream cheese out to let it get to room temperature, just stick it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. That should do the trick.
   
3. Sprinkle the chopped peppers and tomato over the shells. Top it off with the cheese, and you're done! Enjoy!

Super easy, really yummy, and guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. As always, any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated!

Until next time!

Nutritional Information