Skinny Chicken Enchilada Rice Bowl

Skinny Chicken Enchilada Rice Bowls

Hi fellow Weight Watchers!

I’m back again with another yummy and “WW friendly” Mexican-style main dish.  This one is an old favorite that I plugged into the WW App and only modified slightly to produce a 6 point large entree to die for!  Soooo yummy for the tummy!

I like to prepare this one in a Dutch Oven, because of its even heating, but it can also be prepared in a regular pot, too!  My 12 year old son–MO–loves this one and he’s not even a Weight Watcher!

 

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, any color, chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup uncooked white rice
• 2 cups canned/boxed chicken broth
• 2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes and green chilies (I use Rotel)
• 1 large (or 2 small) cans/jars of enchilada sauce
• 1 cup frozen yellow corn kernals
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

 

Instructions:

1. Add oil to your Dutch Oven and heat for a minute or so.  Toss in onion, garlic and bell pepper and cook for a minute or two.  Add chicken chunks and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until vegetables are soft and chicken is no longer pink.
2. Add the rice and stir to combine.  Cook for 3-4 minutes or until rice and chicken is light golden brown.
3. Add chicken broth, canned tomatoes and chilies, enchilada sauce, corn, chili powder and cumin.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to simmer and cover.  Cook covered until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid or for approximately 20 minutes.
5. Remove pot from heat and add the black beans.  Stir to combine.  Cover and let rest for a few minutes.
6. Makes 6 *very generous* servings, which equal to about of only 6 Weight Watcher points, as prepared.  Note: If you serve it with a low-fat sour cream and/or a sprinkling of low-fat Mexican cheese you need to consult your app and add for the additional toppings. 

Skinny Chicken Enchilada Rice Bowls sprinkled with optional low-fat Mexican cheese (don’t forget to add points for the cheese!)

 

Skinny Black Bean Burritos

Fresh Veggies for Black Bean Burritos!

In honor of the upcoming Cinco de Mayo holiday, here is an amazingly delicious and fresh Skinny Black Bean Burrito recipe!

They are easy to prepare and so satisfying!

Ingredients:

• One yellow, orange or red Bell Pepper, coarsely chopped
• One medium or half large sweet onion (such as Vidalia onion), coarsely chopped
• One medium jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and chopped
• Handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• Two cloves of garlic, pressed (feel free to use minced!)
• Pan spray
• Adobo seasoning
• 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup fat free Greek-style yogurt
• Shredded low-fat Mexican style cheese
• Salsa for garnish
• Low-carb wraps, such as Tumaro’s “Skip the Sandwich” Wraps

Instructions:

1. Spray a medium non-stick frying pan with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat.
2. Toss in Bell pepper, onion, jalapeno pepper, tomatoes, garlic and cilantro and fry until softened and onion is translucent.
3. Season with salt and pepper or Adobo seasoning.
4. Fold in black beans and cook for an additional minute or two until beans are warmed.
5. Remove pan from heat and mix in yogurt.  Do NOT do this while the pan is still on the heat or it will curdle! You can also use low-fat cream cheese, but I found the Greek yogurt gave a “fresher” taste and also had less WW points.
6. Spoon the mixture into preheated tortillas.  Sprinkle with a bit of Mexican style cheese and top with salsa, if desired.

This recipe makes 4-6 fully stuffed burritos and–if prepared as above with fat free yogurt and low-carb wraps–they are only 2 Weight Watcher points!!

Black Bean Burritos

Simply delicious!!

Skinny Sesame Chicken & Broccoli

Weight Watchers Sesame Chicken and Broccoli

Anyone who has followed my blog for a while knows that I just adore food…especially the gourmet variety!…so when I contemplated joining Weight Watchers with my sister, I gave serious consideration about how I would go forward with my blog without stuff like heavy cream, butter, pasta and rice.  I simply cannot abandon my favorite foods and have success at losing weight, because sooner or later, I’ll fall off the wagon and eat something Italian or French or Mexican…I could go on and on.

Instead I decided that I had to look at joining Weight Watchers as a challenge instead of as some sort of torture.  In fact, you can eat anything and EVERYTHING on WW and still lose weight (it’s really true!), but you just have to be creative about it and utilize the tools they give you, which includes their fabulous App that scans barcodes right in the grocery store and tells you how to track your points!

Today I am presenting a completely satisfying and truly, truly delicious chicken dish and you won’t believe it only has 3 (yes, you heard me correctly…THREE!) points, thanks to the new Freestyle WW plan.  The recipe does require a few specialty items, but everything should be available in your local market.  The sauce makes this dish amazing, so don’t skip items unless you really don’t care for them or can’t find them.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I use FROZEN Perdue individually flash frozen kind and they are perfect for this dish), sliced or chunked into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup of frozen broccoli florets
• cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (you can use fresh or the prepared garlic)
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 4-5 green onions aka scallions, chopped, including the green parts
• 1/2 of a red or orange bell pepper, cored and roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Weight Watchers Sesame Chicken and Broccoli

Instructions:

1. Place the broccoli in a bowl with a little water and cover with plastic wrap.  Pierce the wrap a few times and microwave for about 5 minutes.  Drain water and set aside.
2. Spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium high heat.
3. Toss in the green onions, garlic and ginger and cook for about two minutes.  Keep an eye on your pan to avoid burning.
4. Add the bell pepper and sauté for a minute or two.
5. Toss in your chicken pieces and sauté for about five minutes or until the chicken is white and cooked through.
6. When the chicken is thoroughly cooked, toss in the broccoli florets and mix in to the chicken.
7. Carefully drizzle the sesame oil over the entire thing.  Then add the oyster sauce and soy sauce.  Stir to incorporate all the ingredients.
8. After cooking for about a minute, push the chicken and broccoli out to the sides to make a little well of the liquids.  Add the cornstarch and stir it into the liquid.  The cornstarch will thicken the sauce.  Once the sauce has thickened, push the chicken and broccoli into the well and mix to combine everything.
9. Divide into two dishes and sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy!

For those on Weight Watchers, half of this recipe counts for 3 points.  One point each for the cornstarch, sesame oil and seeds.   The oyster sauce–which really gives the dish depth–is free in this quantity.  Obviously if you eat this with rice, you need to add the points for it.  If you are going to use rice, I would recommend serving steamed jasmine rice.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!  If you do, come back and tell me about it.  And, please, feel free to spread the word!

Weight Watchers Sesame Chicken and Broccoli