Chicken Breast with Cilantro Yogurt

I have been loving the flavor of cilantro in the summer.  Here is a really great healthy recipe!  Plus, it was super easy!

Ingredients: (Serves 6)
1 Boneless Turkey Breast for London Broil
Onion
3 Sprigs Cilantro
3/4c Chicken Broth
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/3c Lowfat Plain Yogurt
1/4c Cilantro, chopped

Chop the onion.

Spray the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.  Then add the turkey breast to the slow cooker.  Top with the onion, 3 sprigs of cilantro, chicken broth, salt, and pepper.

Cover and cook on Low for 5 hours or High for 3 hours.

Remove the chicken, place it on a cutting board, and keep warm.  Strain the juice into a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Mix the cornstarch with 3 Tbsp of the juice.  Whisk the cornstarch mix into the pan.  Boil for 1 minute.

Mix the juice with the yogurt, cilantro, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl.

Slice the turkey and serve with the sauce.

Dinner is served.

This turkey was so good!  The cilantro really added a lot of flavor.  My parents raved about it.  It was very tender.  I will definitely make this again.

Nutritional Info:
230 Calories
4g Fat
0g Fiber
41g Protein
5g Carbs
5 WW PointsPlus

Recipe from Family Circle

Red Beans and Spanish Rice

I was looking for something new to try with Pork since I rarely cook with it.  This one was pretty easy and came out really well!  This recipe takes a little more prep work than normal but it is worth it!
Ingredients:
2 cups Dry Red Beans
5 cups Water
Cooking Spray
1 lb Pork Shoulder
2 Onions
6 Garlic Cloves
1 T Cumin
4 cups of water
2 boxes Spanish Rice (called for water, diced tomatoes and butter)

First you want to begin by rinsing the red beans in a strainer.  Then add them to a pot with five cups of water. 

Bring the water to a boil and then leave it on simmer for 10 minutes. After this I let them soak for two hours and drained them. They probably only needed one hour but I had to go and run some errands.

While I was waiting for the water to boil I began cooking the pork.  Spray a frying pan with olive oil Pam and place the cubed pork in it.  I cooked the meat until it looked browned but didn't worry about cooking it all the way through since it would be in the slow cooker for so long.

I began chopping up the onion and garlic while I waited for the meat to brown.

After this is done you can add the beans, pork, water and cumin to the slow cooker and mix it together.

I cooked this on low for 11 hours.

Now all you have to do is prepare your Spanish Rice according to the directions on the box.  I didn't realize it had so many steps when I bought it.  I sauteed the rice and seasonings in olive oil and then added stewed tomatoes and water and let it simmer for 20 minutes after it was brought to a boil.

Place the rice on your plate and then top it with the bean mixture.

This meal was so good!  The rice and bean mixture complimented each other so well.

Nutritional Info: (Bean Mixture Only)
7 Servings
Calories: 252
Fat: 7g
Carbs: 31
Protein: 29

Greek Beef Stew

It's nice being able to cook a nice warm dinner without heating up the whole house during the summer.

Ingredients:
1 Boneless Beef Bottom Round Roast or Chuck Pot Roast (about 2lb)
1 - 16 oz Bag of Frozen Whole Small White Onion or 1 Fresh Small Onion
1 - 16 oz Bag Fresh or Frozen Whole Baby Carrots
1/2 c Dried Tapioca
1 3/4 c Beef Broth
1 - 5.5 oz 100% Vegetable Juice
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar, Packed
1/2 tsp Dried Cinnamon
2 Dried Bay Leaves

Chop the onion if you are using fresh onion.

Cut beef into 1 inch pieces.  I missed this step.  Haha  I ended up cutting the beef after it was done cooking.

Put the beef in the slow cooker and top with the onion, carrots, tapioca, and cinnamon.

Mix the broth, vegetable juice, and brown sugar in a separate bowl.  I added the cinnamon to this bowl, but it did not mix in.  That's why I suggest just sprinkling it on the meat.

Pour the mixture in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on Low for 8 - 9 hours.  Serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

I loved this meal!  The cinnamon gave it a really unique flavor.  I will be making it again!  Your family will love it.  This was a pretty decent sized serving.  You could serve it with a side of veggies and eat a smaller portion of the stew.  We added the tapioca a little late in the cooking process.  Therefore, they still appear a little white in the photo.  They will not be noticeable if you add them in the beginning.

Nutritional Info: (Not including the noodles)

419 Calories

12g Fat

2g Fiber

52g Protein

23g Carbs

10 WW PointsPlus

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs.  I was excited to see how this recipe would turn out.  It was very simple to put together in the morning.

Ingredients:

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or a 1 lb Chicken

2 tsp Olive Oil

1/4 c Lime Juice

1/4 c Nonalcoholic or Light Beer

1 tsp Minced Garlic

1/4 c Fresh Cilantro, packed

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

Rub the oil on the chicken and put it in the slow cooker.

Chop the cilantro.

Mix the lime juice, beer, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper in a separate bowl.

Spoon the mixture over the chicken.

Cover and cook on Low for 6 - 8 hours or 3 - 4 hours.

Slice the chicken and serve with side dishes.

We were surprised that the chicken didn't really taste like cilantro or lime.  I think it had a good flavor, but definitely not cilantro & lime.  I think I cooked our chicken a little too long.  It got a little dry and started shredding.  I cooked it for 8 hours.  I would suggest closer to 6 hours if cooking on low.

Sesame Turkey

Sorry I haven't been posting at all lately.  I guess I just got caught up with the beautiful Spring / Summer weather here in Michigan.  I was really excited to try this recipe!!

Ingredients:
3 lb Turkey Breast
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper
1/4 cup Fat Free Chicken Broth
1/4 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce
4 teaspoons Fresh Ginger, grated
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Green Onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
2 tablespoons Corn Starch
1 tablespoon water
(I accidentally deleted the photo of all the ingredients)

The turkey should be thawed before you begin.  Mine wasn't completely thawed so I added an hour on to my cooking time.  Place the Turkey into the slow cooker and sprinkle it with the red and black pepper.

Next I began chopping the garlic and green onion and grating the ginger.  This was my first time working with the ginger but it was easy.

Then you can mix the remaining ingredients together, except for the corn starch and water.

Pour this mixture over the turkey and you are all done!

I cooked this on low for seven hours and it was on warm for three more hours.

Take the turkey out and place it on a separate plate.  Then mix together the corn starch and water in a glass.  You can turn the slow cooker to high and stir in the corn starch.  I let this sit on high for about 15 minutes.

While this was thickening I worked on taking the netting off of the turkey and slicing it into eight pieces.

Then you can evenly spread the gravy on top of the turkey.

I served it with broccoli and red skinned potatoes.

It was so good!  I will definitely be serving this at dinner parties in the future.

Nutritional Info (Turkey only)
8 Servings
WW Points Plus: 5
Calories: 90
Fat: 3
Carbs: 6
Protein: 9