Lo-Cal Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken

I just love the sweet and tart flavor that balsamic vinegar gives to a dish. These chicken thighs were tender, flavorful, and simple to prepare – and only about 180 calories per serving!

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed 

½ cup chicken broth

½ cup apple cider

2 T lemon juice

2 T balsamic vinegar

½ tsp thyme

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

2 T light butter

2 T flour

Place trimmed thighs in the bottom of a large slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine broth, cider, lemon juice, vinegar, thyme, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low, 5-6 hours, until chicken is cooked through and tender.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook about 1 minute. Add 1 ½ cups of cooking juices, whisking constantly, until sauce is smooth and thickened. Serve sauce over chicken.

DIY Pregnancy Pillow

As I enter the third trimester of my pregnancy it is getting very uncomfortable to sleep. I have seen the pregnancy pillows you can buy in the stores and they are so expensive and take up a lot of room to store after you have the baby. I tried just placing pillows under my stomach and behind my back and they moved around or fell out of the bed all of the time. I came up with this simple and cheap solution to help me sleep better at night.

Materials:
Two king sized pillow cases
2 11x18 inch pieces of material
30 inches of sew on Velcro
coordinating thread
sewing machine

 1. Cut two 11 inch long and 18 inch wide pieces of fabric.









2. Sew a 5 inch piece of Velcro 4 inches from one end and 3 inches from the top and bottom of each piece of fabric.













3. Fold the fabric in half, with the right sides together and sew in a 1/2 inch almost all the way around the edge of each side. On the last side, leave about a 1 inch opening to turn the fabric right side out. Once you have turned the fabric right side out, sew up the hold with a top stitch. Do this with both pieces of fabric.

4. Turn the piece of fabric so that the Velcro is going long ways and the measurements are 10 inches across and about 8 inches down. Then pin one piece of fabric to you pillow case. I pinned mine about 8 inches down the pillow case. Sew the pillow case and fabric piece together. Repeat for the next piece of fabric and pillow case. Make sure when you sew the second piece of fabric you will be able to line up and connect your Velcro.

5. Place your pillows in the cases and attach your pillows together. Try it out!!

I used king sized pillow cases because I can change the size pillows if I need more support. This is easy to travel with because you can take the pillows out and put the pillow cases in your suitcase. Also, you may want to have two strips of Velcro to keep the fabric together better. That is why I put you need 30 inches of Velcro in the materials section.

Morning Glory Muffins

Recently, I’ve been on a quest to incorporate more veggies into my diet. But when you’re not exactly a veggie-lover, sometimes it’s hard to get the recommended 3 cups a day. Muffins like these are a great trick for my taste buds: moist, sweet, and packed with good-for-you ingredients.

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 

2/3 cup sugar

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

¾ tsp salt

½ cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 (8-oz) can crushed pineapple, with juices

1 T honey

1 cup shredded carrots

½ cup shredded coconut (sweetened)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together oil, eggs, pineapple (with juices), and honey. Gradually stir dry mixture into wet mixture until just combined. Fold in carrots and coconut. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, filling about ¾ of the way. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

*Modified from Can You Stay for Dinner?

Chicken Alfredo

1 small-medium sized Chicken breast, per person
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt & Pepper

For Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons cream cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
Salt & pepper to taste
Farelle pasta 

1. Cook chicken & olive oil in medium size skillet (covered) on medium low until chicken is no longer pink and registers 170 degrees. Slice chicken & set aside.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, for sauce, add butter and lemon zest to skillet over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in milk and continue whisking until thickened. Add in Parmesan cheese, parsley and salt & pepper. Whisk until cheese is melted. Serve over pasta & chicken.

 

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

The craziness of the Holiday's is finally over and I am back and ready to get cooking, baking, and crafting. For Christmas, my husband got me a Kitchen-aid Stand Mixer, which is something that I have always wanted. But with going home for the holidays and helping my brother move and visiting Kim, I didn't have a chance to use it until today. I decided to whip up a batch of lemon poppy seed muffins.

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 5.3 oz. container of vanilla Greek yogurt
2 eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. vanilla extract


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin tin with paper liners. In mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing in completely. Add vanilla extract, and lemon zest. In additional mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). While mixing, add in 1/2 of dry ingrediants followed by half of yogurt; repeat. Mix until incorporated.

2. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes before moving to baking rack.

Recipe from Annie's Eats

South Beach Cheesy Frittata

When I went home over Christmas I was surprised to find a change in the typical Bartlett "home cooked meals". My parents decided in the fall to cut sweets and carbs out of their diet and both have lost a bunch of weight! Now, good for them but this was a nightmare for a pregnant woman!! All I wanted was carbs. Luckily, my dad had stocked up on breads for me to eat while I was home. We had this frittata for breakfast a few times and it was super yummy. Now the original recipe calls for egg substitute and evaporated milk buy my mom uses regular eggs and 2% milk.

2 teaspoons margarine or butter (SB says use Smart Balance spread)

1/2 cup onion or scallions , sliced

2 small plum tomatoes , diced

1 tablespoon fresh basil , chopped

1 pinch fresh ground black pepper

4 to 5 eggs

1/2 cup 1% fat cottage cheese

1/4 cup milk

3/4 ounce reduced-fat monterey jack cheese , shredded

 Add any of veggies you want like spinach or peppers

Saute any vegetables you are putting in the frittata in an oven safe skillet with the butter and pepper. Mix the milk, eggs and cottage cheese in a blender and then pour over the veggies.  Cook in the skillet for a few minutes until the bottom is cooked and the top is wet. Finish cooking in the oven with the broiler for a few minutes and then add the cheese.

To see the original South Beach recipe:

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/south-beach-diet-cheesy-frittata-296997#ixzz1jM6pMnZV

Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

This simple Crockpot meal has all the sweet and spicy flavor of traditional barbecue, with a fraction of the calories!

1 can (15-oz) tomato sauce 

2 ½ T brown sugar

3 T cider vinegar

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1-1   ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Whole wheat buns

In a large Crockpot, combine tomato sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Add chicken, covering completely with sauce. Cook on low, 5-6 hours, until chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Return shredded meat to the pot and stir into sauce. Cook about 10 minutes more. Serve on whole wheat buns.

*Modified from Hungry-Girl