Baked Firecracker Chicken

When it's snowing in October I will find any reason to turn on the oven. Sunday meal prep for lunches this week...baked firecracker chicken. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Sriracha)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp oil

1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the hot sauce, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and chili pepper flakes in a small sauce pan until the sugar has melted into the sauce.

Heat the oil in a large oven safe skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add to the pan and brown, about 3-5 minutes per side.

Transfer to oven safe dish. Pour 1/3 of the sauce over the chicken and bake until cooked, about 10-15 minutes, basting with the sauce every 5 minutes.

Enjoy with the remaining sauce!

Low Carb Garlic "Bread"

Today was the most Monday-est Tuesday ever. Work was a total poop show. And although every ounce of me wanted to opt for pizza and some wine I went with a treadmill workout and healthy dinner.  Baby steps. But Lyndee for the win today. I paired this with a 4 oz boneless sirloin chop and it was delicious. Not to mention, super easy to make.  18 minutes starts to finish and it tasted just like a slightly doughy cheesy bread stick from Pizza Hut.

Ingredients
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
1 egg
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Break egg into a bowl and beat.  Add a few dashes of garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Stir in the cheeses. Line a cookie sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper.  Dumb the "bread" mixture on the paper and spread into a circle.  I threw a few squirts of butter spray on top and another dash of garlic but that's optional.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. I did 15 minutes and then a low broil for 1 minute and 30 seconds. That's it! Remove from oven and cut. I did half of the bread for dinner which was 3 carbs.  Yes, for half of it.  6 carbs if you wanna eat the entire thing and you probably will want to.

Green Chile Fiesta Chicken Bake

Gluten free and low carb! With only 6 ingredients this Green Chile Fiesta Chicken Bake makes dinner quick on even the busiest evening. And it’s only 7 weight watchers points per serving (makes 8 servings).

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)

1 can corn, drained

1 can chopped green chiles (I prefer Old El Paso)

8 oz Philadelphia light cream cheese, softened

8 oz monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup sour cream (light) 

4 green onions, chopped

Cilantro for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

Lay the chicken breasts in a 9x13 casserole dish. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Mix the cream cheese, corn, green chiles, sour cream, and 1 1/2 cup monterey jack cheese together until combined.  Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top of the chicken and sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over the top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (165˚F internal temp)

Garnish with cilantro and serve with your favorite side.  Or just eat it plain like I did for lunch the last three days. 😊

Jalapeno garlic cream cheese and bacon stuffed sweet peppers

Ingredients:

12 baby bell peppers cut lengthwise and seeded

2 teaspoons olive oil

8 oz package jalapeno cream cheese (if you don't like spicy you can use regular cream cheese) 

2 stalks green onion finely chopped

1 clove garlic minced

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sriracha

Ground black pepper

1 tbsp bacon pieces

Shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the bell peppers lengthwise, remove the seeds and stems. Lightly oil the bell peppers by tossing them in a bowl with some grapeseed oil or olive oil. Place the peppers on a baking sheet skin-side down. Roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the edges begin to show some color. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

While the peppers are roasting, prepare your stuffing. Place the cream cheese, garlic, salt, sriracha and black pepper in a bowl and mix until creamy. Add the green onion and bacon. Fold in to the cream cheese until combined. Test the cream cheese for flavor. If you would like, add more salt and/or sriracha.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Use a spoon (or a piping bag) to stuff the peppers liberally and place them back on the baking sheet. Sprinkled with shredded cheese.  Bake about 8 minutes. Change oven setting to high broil and bake an additional 2 minutes, until the tops of the cream cheese begin to brown (If they’re already brown at this point, skip the broiling).

Egg Roll in a Bowl (low carb)

My coworker McKayla had this for lunch the other day and it smelled great! She was sweet enough to share the recipe and it did not disappoint! 

1 lb. ground meat (I used beef but pork or chicken would be great too) 

Onion (green/red/white)

3T sesame oil

¾ T garlic

3T low sodium soy sauce

2T Rice vinegar

2T Grated ginger

1T olive oil

1 bag cauliflower rice – cooked per bag directions

1 bag Asian salad kit - greens only (Hyvee also has a Dole brand. If you want added crunch, save the wontons to top your bowl once it’s cooked.) or a medium chopped head of cabbage

Brown meat & onion. Meanwhile mix all remaining ingredients together (except cabbage and rice). Once meat is cooked, add cabbage, cauliflower rice & sauce and sauté to desired doneness.

I added a tablespoon of siraracha and drizzled with sweet chili sauce.  Delicious!