Skinny Salad Dressing

I found the idea for this dressing on pinterest, of course, and decided to give it a whirl. It is to die for, and it is only 10 calories for a 3 tbs serving. YAY!!! I tried it on a spinach and brussel sprout salad last night and oh...my...word. I loved it! I wanna drink it, actually. lol.

Here it is in the jar. It makes one pint. 

Here it is in a bowl so you can see all the yummy strawberry bits. 

Here is what you need for one pint:

• 10 tbs sugar free strawberry jam (or any flavor you want as long as it is sugar free...that's the key to this being 10 calories per serving)
• 10 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 6 tbs water

Here is what you do:

• Stir all ingredients in a glass bowl
• Heat in microwave for 1 minute
• Stir again 
• Serve 3 tbs over salad and put the rest in a glass jar to store in the fridge

When you're ready to use it the next time, just take out what you need, heat it again for about 20 seconds, stir, and serve! Easy!

This is the spinach and brussel sprout salad I put the dressing on.

It also has almond slivers and pineapple...a smidge of each.

Orange Glazed Salmon

If you don't already love salmon, I bet you will if you try this recipe! I got the idea from MMM...Cafe. I had to switch out a couple of ingredients, though, because I didn't have what was called for.

Here is what you need:

• 3 tbs Asian seasoning (they used Cajun)
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 boneless, skinless, salmon fillets
• 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate (they used marmalade)
• 1 tbs lime juice

Here is what you do:

• Mix Asian seasoning, brown sugar, and salt; rub over both sides of the salmon.
• Bring oil in pan to a nice, hot heat and then saute fillets on medium heat for 2 - 3 per side. Note: You want to make sure the pan and oil is super hot, but not smoking. The super hot heat will insure a nice flip when it is ready to turn over. Also, be sure to not move the salmon until it is ready. You'll know when it is ready because it won't flake apart when you try to turn it.
• Combine orange concentrate and lime juice. When salmon is cooked all the way, drizzle orange mixture in skillet until melted, flipping salmon over to get glazed all over. Note: Be cautious when adding the orange mixture. You want to make sure the salmon is finished cooking or the mixture will crystallize...

Seems like this would also be yummy with lemonade concentrate. Yum! 

Three Ingredients = Flavorful Pork Chops

These pork chops could not be easier to make. All you need is 3 ingredients. THREE ingredients! That’s it—seriously!

Veggies haven't made it to the plate yet.

Here is what you need:

• 4 pork chops
• 1 pkg onion soup mix (Shake to make sure it is mixed up well.)
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise

Here is what you do:

• Place pork chops in glass baking dish.
• Slather half of mayo on one side of pork chops.
• Sprinkle half of package over mayo and then spread with a spatula to make sure every inch is covered and really pressed into the pork chop.
• Use tongs to flip pork chops over then repeat mayo and soup mix on second side.
• Cover dish with foil and place in fridge for at least an hour so the mayo and soup mix can marinate the pork chops. (You can marinate it for longer, though. I did for 4 hours.)
• Cook on a grill for 3 ½ to 4 minutes per side, depending on how hot your grill is and how thick your pork chops are. Just be sure the juices are clear and not pink.
• Serve with one of my very favorite rolls and a side of veggies!
• Oh, and don't worry if the soup mix forms crusty areas...they are YUMMY! 

Slather the pork chops.

Spread in the soup mix.

Grill on one of these or your outdoor grill.

Three ingredients, one dish, and oh-so-easy! Give it a try and let me know what you thought!

Mexi Steak and Potato

I've always loved steak and potatoes, but I haven't ever had steak and potatoes with a Mexican flair. But, when I saw the idea in my low-cal cookbook, it made my mouth water. I just had to try it!

Below is the cookbook that gave me the inspiration. I showed it to you in the Fajita Lettuce Wraps post I did last week.



This is the cookbook.

This is what I made. Yum!
The recipe called for ground beef, but I used steak instead because that's what I had on hand.

Here is what you need:

• medium red potato (I cooked three for the week)
• 1/4 refried beans
• 4 oz lean steak (or hamburger flavored with taco seasoning)
• shredded lettuce, as desired
• chopped tomatoes, as desired
• diced green peppers, as desired
• sprinkle of grated cheese
• dollop of mexi-sour cream
• taco seasoning, as desired

Here is what you do:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Clean and poke holes in potato and wrap in foil. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• At the end of the cooking time for the potato, cut steak into strips and lightly coat in a little taco seasoning. Cook in a little bit of butter spray.
• While steak cooks, chop tomatoes, green peppers, and lettuce.
• When potato is done, allow it to cool for 5 minutes and then open it and pile on the toppings.
• Sprinkle a little bit more taco seasoning on top of everything. It makes it pretty. :-)

Did you notice that I didn't use any butter on my potato? And, I didn't even miss it since I had so many other flavors going on. Delish and incredibly filling!

Fajita Lettuce Wraps

I'm participating in a weight loss contest at work for the next two months, so I've been on the hunt to find low-cal, but not low-flavor meals. Well, lucky me, I stumbled upon this bargain book last week and have been so happy with it. It was less than $10!!! YAY!

I marked a few recipes to try over the next week or two, and this (shown below) is the first one I tried. It's called Lettuce Wrap Enchiladas. I changed it up a bit, though. So, that's what I'll share with ya. I also made up my own sour cream concoction, and it is SO delicious! I'll give ya that recipe, too.

Here is what you need for the filling:

• 1/2 cup green bell peppers, sliced
• 1/2 cup onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbs water
• 5 oz. chicken breast, cut into 2" long strips
• 1/2 cup fat-free, low-sodium refried beans
• 1 tbs salsa (or a little more, if you'd like)
• taco seasoning, to taste; reserve a dash for refried beans
• fajita seasoning, to taste; reserve a dash for refried beans
• grated cheese, as desired
• diced tomatoes, as desired
• 2 large lettuce leaves

I made the sour cream in bulk so that I have it for the rest of my Mexican themed menu items. So, here is what you need for my mexi-sour cream:

• 1 medium container fat-free sour cream
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning
• 1 tbs fajita seasoning
• 2 tbs lime juice (or if you're like me and you LOVE lime flavor, add a bit more to taste)
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Here is what you do:

• Cut bell pepper and onion into strips. Mince garlic.
• Add water, bell peppers, onion, chicken, garlic, and filling seasonings in skillet. Cover with lid and cook on medium-high until chicken is done and veggies are tender but still have a little crunch. Stir occasionally. (You do NOT need to add oil or butter. The water steams inside the closed skillet and cooks the ingredients.)
• While fajita fixins cook, mix refried beans, salsa, and a dash of seasonings in bowl. When fajita fixins are almost done, heat refried beans in microwave.
• Mix all ingredients for mexi-sour cream.
• Layer beans in center of lettuce leaf then layer fajita fixins on top.
• Top with mexi-sour cream, cheese, and tomatoes.
• Wrap leaf around filling like a burrito. (The pic shows one, but it makes two!)
• Eat and enjoy! (Careful, it gets a little messy, but it is still delicious!)

I just had to share these next two pics with ya, too, because they are precious.

This is my puppy, Sullie. He is like my little shadow. As I was washing dishes, he came over and slept by my feet. Too cute!

And, here he is sleeping next to me as I type this blog post. I felt his little paw on the back of my neck as I sat in my chair typing. (Awe, he was saying he wanted to sit with me!) So, I picked him up, put his blanket on the table next to me, and put him up there. He immediately laid down to take a little nap while I finished typing. Precious! (Since he is all black, its hard to see where his face is. lol. Its on the far right of the pic.)