Recipe of the week: Green chili pulled pork

My husband and I are big college football fans...okay so we are big ASU fans. :)  We always plan our day around watching the game on TV, and in the past always ordered pizza and wings or something like it for game days, so that I wouldn't have to cook.

This year, however, in an effort to save money and calories (15 lbs. down, by the way!!) I've decided to make game day, "crock pot meal" day!  I've been scouring the internet for fun and healthier crock pot recipes, and every game day we are going to try a new one.  We just started last weekend, and I have to say that the first recipe was a gem!!!!!! Green chili pulled pork, which I used to make tacos, was a super easy recipe and turned out to be delicious.

Green Chili Pulled Pork

1 small pork shoulder/butt

1/2 to 1 8 oz jar of green salsa ( I used about 3/4 of the jar)

1 small onion chopped

1 cup cilantro (washed) chopped

2 cans chopped green chilis (or fresh roasted)

Dump all in crock pot. Cook on medium all day. Serve as soft corn pork tacos with mexican rice. 

Could it be any easier??  I was lucky enough to get to use fresh roasted hatch chilis, and it was wonderful!  I served it on low carb tortillas with fresh cilantro and tomato, and a little fat free sour cream.  SO yummy! One word of caution, the recipe doesn't say how big to get the pork shoulder, and the smallest one I found was 7lbs! so I cooked it on high for about 4 hours then turned it to low for 3.

Its been a ton of fun trying to find new recipes that may be a little splurge (enough to feel like we are having a special game day meal) without all the calories.  We have a whole list of recipes that we are going to try out, and I will be sharing the memorable ones with you guys!  

Recipe of the week: Low Cal Boneless Buffalo Nuggets

I got this recipe out of the Hungry Girl 200 Under 200 cookbook, so I cannot claim it as my own.  But it was super yummy so I wanted to share.  The best part....its low calorie and high flavor, the best combination!



Love buffalo wings but stay away from the high calorie, fried food trap?  Try these boneless buffalo nuggets. Full of buffalo wing flavor, these baked goodies are only 180 calories for 5! Just what my diet ordered.  :)

8 ounces of boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into 10 pieces)
1 oz. (around 14) fat free BBQ flavored Pringles chips
1/4 cup of Fiber One cereal
3-4 tablespoons of your favorite wing sauce
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne pepper


Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Grind up cereal in a food processor until its a breadcrumb consistency.

Crush Pringles thoroughly.  Mix chips and cereal together with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne.

Dredge each piece of chicken in wing sauce then coat with dry mixture and set on a baking sheet that is  lined with foil.

Bake for 8-10 minutes per side, flipping half way through.



I made some ranch using fat free sour cream for a dip.  These taste like the real thing, without the mess.  Let me know what you think!

Oh, and go buy this.  Now. I'm serious!

Baked beans with Mustard greens

I am making one of our favorite new meals today and so I thought I would share!  This is a super yummy way to do beans, and my son loves it. He will even eat the mustard greens in it...it is truly a miracle! The best part is that it is packed full of vitamins and fairly low in calories. Great for a potluck, and even the veggie haters will love it!


Baked Beans with Mustard Greens


1 Tbl. Extra virgin olive oil                                    
1/2 small onion, chopped                                      
1 stalk celery, finely chopped                                
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped                              
1/2 cup diced turkey or ham
1 15oz. can crushed tomatoes                                 
1 bunch mustard greens or swiss chard,
       stems removed, leaves chopped
 2 15oz. can Pinto beans, drained and rinsed
 1 15oz. can navy beans, undrained
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
 fresh thyme and oregano

1. Preheat oven to 375. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, celery, garlic and some salt/pepper. Cook until soft, about 7 minutes.

2. Add the greens, turkey and 1/4 cup water.  cook, stirring until greens wilt, about 3 min.  Add tomatoes with juice, simmer for 5 minutes at medium/high heat. Add beans (navy beans with liquid).  Add herbs and let simmer.

3. Mash some of the beans to help mixture thicken, season with salt/pepper. Transfer to oven safe dish.  Bake covered for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake 10 additional minutes.

Recipes to share

So one of my reasons for doing this blog is to share some of my favorite recipes with you. I like to think of myself as a foodie that is short on time and money! I LOVE trying new foods, but I just don't have the money to eat out all the time and, since I have a four year old, my choices of what to make at home are somewhat limited.  But I am always trying out new recipes when I get the chance, and I am going to share the good ones here with you!  And please, if you have a recipe you love, email me with it and I will be sure to post it.

I am always trying to think of good dishes to bring to parties, and this one is an instant hit!  Even people who don't think they like artichokes love this dip.  Try it the next time you have a pot luck!  I like to buy the round loaves of bread and take out the inside. Then I put the dip in and cut up the top and inside pieces and lay them around the bowl.  Yumm!!

Hot Olive and Artichoke Dip

•    1 can Artichoke Hearts (14 Oz. Can)                                10 whole Black Olives

•    8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese (1 Pack)                      1 cup (Real) Mayonnaise

•    whole Egg                                                                             ¼ cups Red Onion, Diced

•    ¼ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese                                   3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce

•    Salt and Pepper, to taste                                                   Cayenne Pepper (for Spice)

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 5 to 8 times untilmixture is combined but not totally liquefied. Stir and check seasonings, then pour into a small casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Enjoy!