Coconut Chicken Salad with Warm Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Recipe from Gina's Skinny Taste

Serves 3 (hmmm...3? But, a perfect serving size for two adults, one child, and one child who stares at food.)

6 (about 12 oz) chicken tenderloins (I used a breast & 1/2, and cut them into strips)
6 tbsp shredded coconut
1/4 cup panko crumbs
2 tbsp crushed cornflake crumbs
1/3 cup egg substitute or egg whites (I used egg whites from 2 eggs)
pinch salt
olive oil spray
6 cups mixed baby greens
3/4 cup shredded carrots
1 large tomato, sliced
1 small cucumber, sliced

Vinaigrette
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard

1. Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients; set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 375°.

3. Combine coconut flakes, panko, cornflake crumbs and salt in a bowl. Put egg whites or egg beaters in another bowl. Lightly season chicken with salt. Dip the chicken in the egg, then in the coconut crumb mixture.

4. Place chicken on a cookie sheet lined with parchment for easy cleanup. Lightly spray with olive oil spray and bake for 30 minutes turning halfway, or until chicken is cooked through.

5. Place 2 cups baby greens on each plate. Divide carrots, cucumber, tomato evenly between each plate. When chicken is ready slice on the diagonal and place on top of greens. Heat dressing in the microwave a few seconds and divide equally between each salad; a little over 1 tbsp each.

Served with: Nothing. I didn't think this would be filling, but I was wrong. Very filling!

Results: Um...YUM! Gina has made up for the recipes I tried yesterday. This was delicious and filling. A great dinner. And that dressing is so good (and easy!), I'll definitely make that for other salads. Steven stared at his food. Henry ate all of his chicken, then devoured Steven's. Chris loved it too. KEEPER!

Pork Chops with Mushrooms & Shallots

Recipe from Gina's Skinny Taste

Serves 4

1 tsp butter
4 pork loin chops (with bone), 1 inch thick, trim all visible fat (I used boneless)
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 cup fat free chicken stock
10 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms (I used regular portabellas, sliced)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp chopped, fresh parsley

1. In a large frying pan heat the butter over moderately low heat. Season pork with salt and pepper. Raise heat to medium and add the chops to the pan and sauté for 7 minutes. Turn and cook until chops are browned and done to medium, about 7-8 minutes longer. Remove the chops and cover loosely with foil.

2. Add shallots to the pan and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the stock to deglaze the pan, stir in the mustard, 1 tbsp parsley, then add mushrooms, season with fresh pepper and cook about 3 minutes, or until mushrooms are done. Put the chops on a platter and pour the mushroom sauce over the meat, top with remaining parsley.

Served with Cauliflower Fritters

Results: Not a hit in our house. I love mushrooms, and I love pork chops, so what could go wrong, right? I thought the mushroom sauce was very bland and the entire dish was pretty boring. I won't repeat it (but again, read the comment's on Gina's Skinny Taste. There isn't a single person who agrees with me!)

Cauliflower Fritters

Recipe from Gina's Skinny Taste

Serves 12 (The recipe says it makes 24 fritters, and a serving is two fritters. I followed the instructions exactly, but it only made 10 fritters. Go figure.)

4 cups steamed cauliflower (roughly chopped)
2 cloves garlic, crushed (I think she meant minced or chopped. Otherwise, one fritter could end up with a huge chunk of garlic!)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano (I used Parmesan)
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup hot water
salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

1. In a large bowl, combine cauliflower, flour, garlic, eggs, grated cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Add water so that batter becomes slightly more dense than pancake batter. (What a weird description. This lady must make some pretty weird pancakes. It is so lumpy, I don't know how you could even compare this batter to pancake batter.)

2. On medium-low heat, add 1 tbsp of oil in a 10 inch skillet coating bottom of the pan. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to form fritters. You can fit 4 fritters at a time. Cook until golden brown, turn and cook another few minutes. Add Add a little more oil to the pan, and repeat with the remaining batter.

Results: I was really excited to try these, but I was disappointed. First of all, that is A LOT of oil to cook these in! I only used 2 tablespoons, but they seemed so greasy. It felt so fattening, at a time when I am trying to lose some weight! Taste-wise, they were just OK. Chris didn't like them at all. Henry, on the other hand, LOVED these! His words were "I one billion, one billion, one billion.......(fill in one billions here)....times love these." Then he overheard me say to Chris that "I wouldn't repeat this." And you would have thought I took his favorite stuffed animal and flushed it down the toilet.

Me: "I wouldn't repeat this."
Henry: "What? The fritters? WHY NOT? But I LOVE THEM! You have to make this forever everyday!"
Me: "Ok, Henry."
Henry: "I want these for lunch tomorrow. And also for dinner on Saturday when it is dessert night."
Me: "OK, Henry."
Henry: "Because I LOVE THEM!"

BUT, if you have any interest at all in trying these, you absolutely should, because based on the reviews, Chris and I are the only people in the world who didn't like these. The comments on Gina's Skinny Taste overwhelmingly admit their awesomeness. Steven, of course, wouldn't even pretend to try them.

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

Serves 6 (you can make this serve 8 by adding one more chicken breast)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet (1-1/4oz) low-sodium taco seasoning
1-16 oz jar salsa
1 cup frozen corn
1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
Baked tortilla chips

1. Place the chicken breast in the bottom of the crockpot. Mix soup, salsa, and taco seasoning together and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

2. Before serving, shred the chicken in the crockpot with 2 forks, add corn, beans, and sour cream. Cook for a few more minutes until everything is heated through.

Serve with tortilla chips

Results: I found this recipe on Two Pink Hippos. It looked so good, so I added it to the menu for this week. It did not disappoint! This was sooooo good and filling. Chris liked it. Henry said it was "The bestest thing you have ever made." and had two servings. I think this one was a hit. (And in case you are wondering, Steven didn't have any because he was TAKING A NAP! That is not a typo. My six-year old son, who gave up naps when he turned one, was TAKING A NAP! I will take a sleeping child over fake gagging over my gourmet food any day!)

Henry ate two servings, and enjoyed being a "chef" by putting the chicken on the tortilla chips. He said adding the corn was his idea, but it really wasn't.

As an added bonus, this was so easy to make! At 9:24 a.m., as we were getting ready to leave for swim class, I remembered I needed to start the crock pot. I got everything going, and we were out the door at 9:31 a.m. Perfect! Thanks Two Pink Hippos!

Caribbean Pork Rolls

Serves 2 (Note that this serves 2, not the usual 4 that I have on here)

1/2 cup mango, diced
1/4 cup red pepper, finely chopped
1 Tbsp scallions, finely chopped
1 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped
2 tsp honey
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp table salt
1 Tbsp apricot preserves
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger root, fresh, peeled and minced
1/2 pound lean pork tenderloin, cut on diagonal into thin slices
2 tsp olive oil
4 lettuce leaves (large)


1. To make the salsa, combine the papaya, bell pepper, scallion, cilantro,
honey, lime juice, crushed red pepper, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Combine the apricot preserves, hoisin sauce, garlic, and ginger in another
bowl. Add the pork; toss to coat.

3. Heat 2 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add pork (in batches if you need to) to skillet and cook 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.

4. Place the lettuce on a plate. Top each leaf with one-fourth of the
pork and one-fourth of the salsa. Fold the two long sides of the lettuce over
the filling. Starting from a short end, roll up the lettuce to enclose the filling.
Repeat with the remaining lettuce, pork, and salsa, making a total of 4
rolls. Yields 2 rolls per serving.

Served with couscous

Results: This was De-FREAKING-licious. I loved it, the husband loved it. Henry devoured the pork (and asked for seconds), and Steven actually tried a bite (don't worry, fake gagging ensued.) I admit, I could NOT figure out how to roll these into lettuce wraps, but the lettuce is a must, because it adds a nice texture to the meal. Loved it! The salsa had a real kick to it, so it was much too spicy for the kids.

After a long time away...

I'm going to start posting again. Look for the next recipe coming tonight or tomorrow.