Honey Lime Pork Chops

This marinade is absolutely amazing! If you aren't a big fan of onions, don't worry. The mix blends so well with the other ingredients that not a single one stands out above the others. Think of this marinade like the harmony of a talented a cappella choir :)

Ingredients

1 envelope of Onion Soup Mix
1/2 cup soy sauce (I use reduced-sodium)
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp lime juice (I usually go a little over this)
1 tsp (or more) ground ginger
4 boneless lean pork chops (about 4 oz each)

Directions

-Place all ingredients except for the pork chops in a gallon-sized zip lock bag and seal it closed. Use your hands to shake and massage the ingredients until they seem to become one liquid, although a little chunky.
-Add the chops to the marinade and place in the refrigerator for at least two ours. I suggest doing it in the evening and leaving them in the fridge overnight. Make sure you shake it up a little bit each time you open the fridge. The chops will turn a darker color due to the soup mix and soy sauce; it's okay!
-Preheat your grill to about 350 degrees. Make sure to spray it with grill spray or oil it down with olive oil ahead of time to help reduce the chance of sticking. These chops will be sticky!
-When the grill is ready, add the cops and cook. Cook them for about four minutes on each side, flipping only once.

Nutritional Information
Although not all the marinade is absorbed by the pork chops, the following information was calculated including all the ingredients. Each pork chops will have approximately 240 calories, 3.4 g fat, .5 g fiber, and 28 g protein.

Cajun Grilled Shrimp

This dish can be a little on the spicy side depending on your sensitivity, but don't let that scare you!
This recipe was adapted by a similar one found in Good Housekeeping's grilling cookbook

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs of shrimp (I use frozen, but you can use fresh too)
1 tbsp of Cajun seasoning (I use Tony Cacherere's)
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1 tsp fresh lime zest
1 tsp of either fresh lemon or lime juice

Directions

-Preheat your grill to about 350 degrees
-Combine the seasonings, oil, zests, and juice in a bowl.
-Add shrimp to the bowl and toss until the shrimp is covered
-Lay out a piece of aluminum foil onto your grill; fold up the ends to create a small tray
-Pour the seasoned shrimp onto the foil
-Cook for 2-3 minutes, and then flip the shrimp over
-Cook for another 2-3 minutes
-Enjoy!

This goes really well with the lime cilantro rice! I can imagine it would be tasty in a salad too.

Nutritional Information
This recipe makes four servings. Each serving is about 199 calories, 5.4 g fat, .07 g fiber, and 35.6 g protein.

Stuffed Peppers in the Slow Cooker

This recipe is a favorite in our house! It takes a little bit of prep time, but it is worth it!

Ingredients

12 oz ground turkey burger (browned/cooked)
4 large green bell peppers
10 oz frozen niblet corn
8 oz can of tomato sauce
3 (or more) cloves of fresh garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion (I prefer sweet)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp (or more) ketchup

Directions

-Chop off the tops of the peppers and clean them out of seeds
-Combine all ingredients in a large bowl except for the peppers and the ketchup. If you like bell peppers, feel free to chop the tops and add them to the bowl.
-Stuff the peppers with the mixture until they are VERY full
-Pour 2-3 tbsp of water into the stone wear of the slow cooker (depending on its size)
-Drizzle ketchup over the tops of the peppers
-Cook on low 7-9 hours or high 3-5 hours

Nutritional Information
I like serving my pepper with a half of a cup of rice. The rice is not included in the calculations. Each pepper has about 254 calories, 8 g fat, 8.9 g fiber, and 19.7 g protein.

Sarah Chicken

This recipe has a fun story behind it. I'm not exactly sure where the inspiration for it came from; my guess is I found something on WeightWatchers.com and made some changes. Nonetheless, this past August, a good friend of ours (Sarah) stayed with us for about three weeks. During that time, I tried this recipe for the first time. Sarah liked it so much that we started referring to the dish as "Sarah Chicken." It's both sweet and savory, easy, and delicious. I like to serve 3-4 ounces of it with about a cup of egg noodles seasoned with a little salt, butter, and garlic power.

Ingredients

1 lb to 1 1/2 lbs of chicken breast
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vinegar (I prefer apple cider)
1/4 cup diet lemon-lime soda (Diet 7up for example)
3 tbsp minced fresh garlic
2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp black pepper
sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)

Directions

- Spray or line your slower cooker (I'm a fan of the Crock Pot Liners)
- Place chicken in the slow cooker
- In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients (but the chicken)
- Our mixture over the chicken in the slow cooker
- Cook on low 6-8 hours

Nutritional Information
About 4 oz of the chicken has 305 calories, 2 g fat, .6 g fiber, and 40.7 g protein.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

This recipe was adapted from SARAAK's recipe found on WeightWatchers.com

If you are craving a comfort food, this is a good fix! It's also an instant-warm up on those chilly, rainy spring days.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 cans of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup (in a bind, you can substitute one of the two cans
for some other "cream of..." soup you have on hand)
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced green bell peppers
1/2 cup fresh or frozen green beans
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
2 soup cans of water
1- 7.5 oz container of Pillsbury reduced-fat buttermilk biscuits (or half of a regular container)

Directions

-Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and brown the chicken breasts. Feel free to salt and pepper them to taste if you wish. Spray or line the slow cooker at the same time.
-Place the browned chicken in the slow cooker.
-Add the carrots, green beans, and green peppers to the same pan and saute until almost done.
-Add the sauteed veggies as well as the frozen corn to the slow cooker.
-Put the two cans of soup in the slow cooker as well as two full cans of water.
-Cook on high 4-5 hours or until the chicken shred easily and the sauce is combined and creamy.
-About 30 minutes before serving, cut up the 4 biscuits into quarters and add them to the slow cooker; allow them to cook for 30 minutes (no stirring needed).

Nutritional Information
The recipe makes 4 servings, and each serving will contain about 1 1/2 cups and 4 dumplings. Each serving has about 308 calories, 11 g fat, 3.3 g fiber, and 48 g protein.

Lemon-Ginger Asparagus

This recipe was adapted from a recipe of the same name found in Weight Watchers Weekly/WeightWatchers.com

I absolutely love asparagus. As the spring weather continues, I am craving more seasonal fresh veggies, like asparagus. Up until now, we've pretty much made it on the grill with a bit of olive oil and lemon pepper. This was an excellent alternative, was super tasty, low in calories, and really filling. Not only that, but it was EASY too! This recipe can be served warm or cold.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. fresh asparagus, tough ends removed

2 tbsp reduced-sodium, 99% fat free chicken broth

1/2 tsp-1 tsp freshly graded ginger (depending on taste; I like ginger a lot)

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp table salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions

-Bring 1-2 inches of water to boil in a medium skillet. Place the asparagus in the skillet so it is covered by the boiling water. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the asparagus is tender-crisp. This took about 6 1/2 minutes for me.

-Drain the asparagus and place it in a large, glass serving bowl.

-In a small bowl, combine the broth, ginger, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir well.

-Pour the liquid in the bowl over the asparagus and gently toss.

-Set aside for 30 minutes to marinate.

Nutritional Information

This recipe makes 4 servings. Each serving has about 35 calories, .2 g of fat, 3.6 g of fiber, and 4 g of fiber

Barbecued Sweet Potatoes

This recipe was adapted from Weight Watchers cookbook Best of Weight Watchers Magazine

This recipe was pleasantly surprising. I LOVE sweet potatoes, but I usually have them more sweet than savory. This was an amazing combination of both. I can't wait to make them again!

INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp red-wine vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 pound sweet potatoes cut into thin wedges

DIRECTIONS

-Get a large rectangle of aluminum foil. Pinch the edges and create a rim around the sides to you have a small pan.
-Prepare the grill.
-Combine the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard, and pepper in large bowl. Mix well. Add the potato wedges to the bowl and toss them in the mixture until they are well covered.
-Add the potato wedges to your aluminum pan and place them on the grill.
-Stir up the wedges every 5-7 minutes to make sure they don't stick.
-Cook for 30-40 minutes, depending on the thickness of your wedges.
-Once they are to your desired crispness, serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
This recipe makes about 4 1/2 cup servings. Each serving has about 104 calories, 0 g fat, 3 g fiber, and 2 g protein.
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