Jerk Chops & Sweet Potato Crisps

     I love a little kick to pretty much everything I eat.  That's why I really love these jerk chops.  They are pan seared in olive oil so they have an incredible flavor, plus they have this spicy rub that really packs a kick!  This is also one of my favorite ways to cook chops because it's so quick.  Just don't smoke your house up like I do EVERY TIME I cook these.........you would think by now I'd be able to lower the heat enough to not set the fire alarms off.  Oh well, we all need a little excitement at dinner time, right?

     I've paired these with a sweet potato cut into rounds and baked.  I am not a sweet potato person, but for some reason when they are cut up like this I like them.  I only baked mine for 30 mins this time and they were a little too soft for me.  I think next time I would bake them about 45 mins for a crunchier chip!

Here's what you need:

1 Large Sweet Potato

Pork Chops

1 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Jerk Seasoning

Salt

Ground Cinnamon

Butter Substitute (spray is okay)

I also threw in some Cajun seasoning for more spice but that is optional!

 

    The one thing I love about this recipe is that you need so few ingredients to make such a tasty meal!  You can add as much or as little spice, but I will warn you, the mixture of the jerk seasoning AND the Cajun spices is pretty spicy.  You feel a little tingle on your taste buds the whole time you are eating, so if you are not a big spice person, maybe you should play it safe and just use the jerk seasoning..........sissy.   Ha ha, just kidding.

 

 

First preheat the oven to 375 degrees and chop your sweet potato into rounds......or fries, whatever floats your boat.

 

Then spray some butter substitute or melt some in a bowl and brush onto your rounds.  Then sprinkle with some cinnamon.  You can leave the cinnamon off if you want it to be more like a fry, but I like the flavor combination.  Then bake them for 30 mins for soft rounds or 45 mins for crispy rounds.

 



While your potatoes are cooking you can prep your chops.  On each side, sprinkle your seasonings & salt and rub into the meat.  Then put your olive oil in a pan and heat.  When the oil is hot it's time to cook!

 

Place the chops in the oil and cook for two minutes on each side.  I use tongs to flip them because sometimes the oil gets a little poppy!  Then cook for an additional five minutes.  I usually will keep flipping them every minute or so of that time just to make sure one side does not burn.

 

 

These chops were HUGE, so I cut them in half to make 4 servings.  I also will butterfly them in the last 2 minutes or so to make sure all the pink cooks out.

 

     And there you have it!  You won't even need any type of sauce for these chops.  They are that good!  I threw some green beans on there for good measure.  Total calories for the chops & potatoes is 215 calories (including the olive oil) and 17 carbs.  The carbs are all in the potatoes!  I hope you will try this delish combo for  yourself!

Happy Eating.

 

 

 



Chili ~ For These Lovely Fall Nights!

     Fall is in the air.  You know how I can tell?  Because I am on fall break and am splitting my time between spending all my money making crafts and watching trashy daytime talk shows!  What goes better with a little chill in the air than homemade chili?  This is my version so feel free to tweak as you see fit.  But I will say, it's pretty darn good and only 203 calories & 10 carbs per 2 cup serving!!!!  If you add in crackers, don't forget to add the calories as well.

Here's what you need:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 Bell Pepper

1 cup chopped onion

Large can of diced tomatoes

1 - 16oz can chili beans

1/4 cup Masa Flour

2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

2 tsp Minced Onion

1 tsp Minced Garlic

1 tsp Cumin

3 tsp chili powder

 

 

I don't know what was going on with me, but I left several of these ingredients out of this photo! 

 

 

    First brown your ground beef and drain.  Chop your onion and your bell pepper.  Feel free to add more or less of these veggies to suit your taste!  Then just dump your veggies, spices and meat into a pot!  Can't get much easier than that can it?

 

 

 

    After you mix up that mixture, add in your beans (don't drain them) and your big can of tomatoes.  I also add about 2 cans worth of water.  I used my chili beans can.  Cut on high and bring to a boil, then lower it to simmer for at least 45 mins or so.

 

     Now what you DO NOT want to do is set your pot to high then go downstairs to supervise your husband who's making a photography prop for you and realize that you were supposed to set the pot to simmer...........by the time I made it upstairs the whole house smelled like burnt chili.  But surprisingly this chili is tough and it was just as yummy as if I'd been paying attention all along.







     We will be having the left overs for lunches and maybe even another dinner this week.  Having chili makes me feel like fall is really here!  Enjoy this new season!

Happy Eating.

Chicken Mozzarella Roll-Ups

Wow............It has been a while since I've made a recipe post.  Needless to say, if I haven't been posting, I probably haven't been cooking too much either.  Which means I've been living la vida fast food.........a lot.  I feel pretty crappy about it but it's been a little crazy at school.  No excuses.  Now that the wonderful week off known as fall break has arrived, I vow that I will be cooking each day and hopefully posting some great new recipes to get the blog caught up.  I made one last night that was terrific......Chicken Mozzarella Roll-Ups!

Here's what you need:

Chicken (not shown, but duh)

Sun dried Tomatoes (look at your package for serving sizes)

6oz Tomato Puree or Tomato Sauce

2oz of Mozzarella Cheese

Basil

Oregano

Salt/Pepper

 

 

First, you need to put your chicken breast in a Ziploc bag and beat it like Michael Jackson.  Ha ha. Sorry, I had to throw one in there to see if you were still paying attention.

 

Next, you are going to layer basil, sun dried tomatoes and cheese on top of the flattened chicken.

Then it time to roll up!  You want to roll the long side over on itself and secure the ends with toothpicks.

 

 

Before you place in the baking dish, put a layer of tomato puree in the bottom of your dish.  Place your chicken seam side down and top with the remaining sauce and remaining cheese. 

 

Bake these babies at 375 degrees for 40 minutes and you have a seriously yummy din-din.  Make sure to pair it with a veggie to keep the total calories for the meal down. 

 

Total counts on these were roughly 295 calories & 13 carbs per serving.  I only made enough for two servings, so if you are working on feeding a family you will need to double the recipe ingredients accordingly.  These things were seriously delicious and I just loved the little surprise of the sun dried tomato on the inside when you cut it up!  Hope you enjoy them!

Happy Eating.

 





Mini Meat Loaves

     One thing that I love is comfort food.  I can go to Cracker Barrel and get a "vegetable plate" which consists of nothing but fried okra, mashed potatoes,  squash casserole.........you know, all the healthy vegetables.  And when it comes to comfort food one of my all time favorites is meatloaf.  My mom makes the BEST meatloaf and she gave me her recipe.  I make it a lot, but I found another a few years ago that was a little healthier, so I created a hybrid meatloaf recipe out of the two!  That's where my mini meat loaves were born.  They are the perfect portion size so you feel full and satisfied....and you may have leftovers for lunch the next day!

Here's what you need:

1lb of Lean Ground Beef or Ground Turkey

1/2 Onion

1/2 Green Bell Pepper

7oz Spinach

1 Slice of Bread

1/2 Cup of Low Fat Milk (I use this lo-carb version)

Splash of Worcestershire

Splash of Steak Sauce

Salt/Pepper

Ketchup (not shown)

Franks Hot Sauce (not shown)

 

 

First, chop up your bell pepper and onion.  Crumble your slice of bread into a bowl and add all of the ingredients together EXCEPT the ketchup and hot sauce..........we will save those for later.

 

      Mix it up really good so you have a nice consistency.  I used canned spinach for this batch but I have used frozen and fresh as well.  I actually think I like the canned version better because it saves you a cooking step by not having to cook the spinach before you mix it in.  Do what you like best.

     Now, take a 1 cup measuring cup and pack the meatloaf mixture into it firmly.

 

 

     Now one step you don't want to forget is lining your baking sheet with some tin foil.  I got in a hurry this time and didn't and now I think I may need to toss that baking sheet............it's super gross.  Once your foil is in place, turn the cup upside down and tap it on the sheet so the meatloaf comes out in a cup shape.  Don't worry, it should hold it's shape just fine.

 

     Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.  About half way through take them out and brush the tops with a ketchup/hot sauce mixture.  If you don't want them to have a little flavor kick, leave out the hot sauce.  I use these......

 

     Now when you take these out half way through to brush the tops with the sauce, they may have a weird puddle of yucky fatty stuff around them.......it's just the fat from the meat cooking out.  Even when I have used ground turkey this happens a little bit.  I usually just take a spoon and kind of spoon it off from around them before I put them back in.  Or you can wait till they are done and just pull them off the foil and put them on another plate.  When you make meatloaf in a baking dish, that's what rises to the top and you can pour it off.  Since these are individual ones, it's coming out around the bottoms.  No worries.



 

     And there you go!  A perfect portion of meatloaf ready to eat or save for lunch another day.  I paired this one with some brown rice and it was a very filling meal.  Each mini meat loaf is approximately 290 calories and 8 carbs.  If you are eating it with a side, you probably wont need to eat more than one.....but you can if you want!  This recipe will make four meat loaves.  See, you can sneak in some veggies and still have that comfort food you love!

Happy eating!



Fish Tacos........for the water lovers.

     It has been a very long time since the last Fat Girl Gotta Eat posting.  For those of you who don't know already, we experienced a flood that took out the downstairs of our house......so eating right has not been at the top of my to do list, and boy should it be!  I'm not kidding, I've been eating mucho junko here lately and my body is feeling it.  It's funny how when you are eating right you don't realize how much better your body feels inside.  So here is a meager effort to get back on the yummy posting track. 

     I thought that seeing as how we've been living the life aquatic lately, it would be a good time to post one of my husbands favorite recipes..........fish tacos!  I have probably mentioned on here before that I do not really eat fish unless it is fried and covered in enough ketchup to keep the Heinz company running for another month.  But, my hubby would not relent until I found a non-fried version that I could eat.  He started making sauteed tilapia for me a few months ago and I actually like it!  So we tried a fish taco version.

Here's what you need:

Tilapia Fillets  ( I think we used 3)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Lettuce

Black Pepper

Jerk Seasoning

Garlic Powder

Cheese

Salsa

Low Carb Tortillas



     First, coat your tilapia in seasonings to your liking and saute in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  I know this looks like more oil than that........and it probably is.  Look people, it was a man cooking this.  Just don't over do it when you cook it!

     Then, chop up the fish into tortilla size pieces.  Easy peasy!  Then just add your favorite taco additions.  Just make sure to account for all calories included.  You can get creative and add black beans, corn, salsa, lettuce, cheese.......you name it!  I stuck with the traditional version.

With salsa, lettuce and cheese, each  one of my fish tacos tallied up to about 200 calories and 7 carbs and 2 were very filling.  I probably could have had one and been good.  I hope you enjoy these tasty tacos and try to stay dry....I know we will.

Happy Eating!



Southwestern Chicken Wraps

     My husband has this cookbook that has all the famous food chain dishes in it.  He started making TGI Friday's Southwestern Egg Rolls.  These delicious babies are deep fried and full of fat!  So of course, they are one of my favs!  I love these things so much even though when you take them out of the fryer they soak about 4 paper towels with oil!  YUCK!

     So I found a recipe that sounded similar and thought I could give it the "fat girl gotta eat" makeover.  Boy!  These things are just as good as the fried death traps that I used to love so much and actually bigger!  More food for less calories.........I'm all about that. 

Here's what you need:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (not shown)

1 bag of brown boil in bag rice

1 can of black beans

1.5 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 onion

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin (not shown)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

6 lo-carb tortillas

1.  First cook and shred your chicken breast.  I boiled mine for about 45 mins and they shredded easily with a fork.

2.  Boil your rice.  You can use any kind you want, but I like the boil in bag because it's so easy!

3.  Mix all the ingredients EXCEPT CHEESE into a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

4.  Sprinkle a little cheese in the center of a tortilla and top with mixture.

5.  Then fold the top and bottom of the tortilla in; then the sides.

6.  Place with the seam side down and grill for a few minutes until tortilla is lightly toasted.  I used our griddler but you can use a panini press, George Foreman grill or even just a pan with some cooking spray in it.

7.  Let cool and enjoy!  I used spinach wraps for my husbands and the lo-carb tortilla for mine (in case you are wondering why some of them are green)

     You can add some salsa on the side for dipping or I like to do a tiny bit of caesar dressing.  Just make sure to add in those extra calories.  This recipe makes 6 wraps and each is 190 calories & 22 carbs.  I know, it's a little heavy on the carbs but you are getting rice, beans and tortilla for just those few!  These are great re-heated for lunches as well.  We had them today for lunch and will probably eat them tonight for dinner too.  Eat em' up!

Happy Eating.

Need a morning pick me up?

     Along with the loooooong list of foods I seem to be addicted to, caffeine is near the top of that list.  For me, that means iced coffee.  For many years I have been a slave to the Starbucks empire but about a year or so ago I decided to take things into my own hands.  Well, my bank account really made that decision for me, seeing as how I was probably going there at least 3-4 times a week and getting a grande or on bad days a venti and shelling out $5-7 a pop!  Geez, I feel guilty even admitting that now!

     So I purchased a cheap Mr. Coffee espresso maker from Walmart ($25) and started making my own.  It was a rough start.  It took me a really long time to find a balance of coffee and flavor that was actually drinkable.  I tried lots of tricks, but I have found one now that is really good,  lo-cal and believe it or not, lo-carb!

Here's what you need:

   Okay, so I use 1/2 a cup of Calorie Countdown "milk".  It's a low cal and low carb "dairy beverage"  you seriously can't tell the difference.  Anyway, 1/2 a cup is all it takes.  Then I brew my coffee.  I have the glorious keurig now, so I use the large cup setting, but if you are using an espresso maker or regular coffee (which are both fine) just pour yourself about 4-6 oz of coffee and add the milk to that.  Then I use about a tablespoon of Torani flavored sugar-free syrup.  This stuff is like liquid gold!  They have lots of flavors and they are zero calories and zero carbs.  This beats the socks off of those flavored creamers any day!  My favorite is the chocolate flavor, but my ghetto Walmart does not sell that anymore so I am experimenting with other flavors.  I've tried caramel and hazelnut and both were fine.  They also have vanilla and raspberry I think......you can find even more if  you want to buy them online.  The total calorie count is 35 calories & 1.5 carbs per serving!  You are only using 1/2 cup of milk so it's almost nothing!

     Just add ice, shake and enjoy!  This has saved me hundreds of dollars over the last year.  Now I will admit that when the pumpkin spice latte is in season, I still splurge at least once a week at the Bucks, but I try to stay away otherwise.  BUT if you just can't abandon your favorites from that chain, they will sell you bottles of syrup if you go inside and ask.  They have their skinny flavors and I think they have brought back the skinny mocha.....so I may be going in for that soon.  Either way, give it try and save a few bucks for all those new clothes you're fitting into!

Happy Eating.