Top 2 Tuesday

Top 2 Healthy Recipes and Snack ideas!

About 4 years ago, I did weight watchers while on summer break from college. I had a lot of success with it but unfortunately didn't have the time to commit to it once I went back to school.

Here are two recipes I have continued to enjoy.

Diet Soda Cupcakes Recipe

Makes 24 servings

Cake mix combined with diet soda makes yummy cupcakes!

Ingredients

• 12 ounces of any diet soda
• 1 package of cake mix

Directions
Combine cake mix and can of diet soda; cook as per directions on cake box. Makes 24 cupcakes.

For frosting I like to use Coolwhip. You can mix it with cocoa powder and use Splenda to sweeten.

And if you're doing Weight Watchers, if I remember correctly a cupcake is only 1 point.

Orange Crumbed Baked Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup whole wheat crackers, crumbled
• tablespoon orange zest, grated
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper, freshly ground
• 12 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a nonstick baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the orange juice, mustard and salt. On a sheet of wax paper combine the cracker crumbs, orange zest, shallot, and pepper. Brush the chicken on both sides with the mustard mixture then dredge in the crumbs, firmly pressing the crumbs to coat both sides. Place the chicken on the baking sheet.

Bake 15 minutes, turn over and bake until cooked through. 15 to 20 minutes longer.

Enjoy!

Five

Last night I enjoyed cooking dinner for myself. I made Chicken stuffed with spinach and mozzarella cheese. It's delicious, fast, and easy.


Recipe
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
Salt
Pepper
Italian Seasoning (I like Mrs. Dash Italian Blend)
Crushed Red Pepper
Garlic (minced)
Spinach
Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Use olive oil or cooking spray to lightly oil a 8x8 baking dish. Butterfly the chicken breasts by cutting in half horizontally through the thickest part of the breast. Cut into 2 pieces. (If the tender is attached, remove and form 6 bundles instead of 4). Place one piece of chicken on a large piece of plastic wrap, fold over the chicken and pound to 1/4-1/2" thickness. Season with salt and pepper and Italian seasoning on both sides.

On each chicken breast, lay several spinach leaves, a pinch of minced garlic, a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese and crushed red pepper flakes. Roll each piece up and use a toothpick to hold the bundle together if necessary.



Cook for about 20 minutes and then switch the oven to broil, grate Parmesan cheese over the chicken and continue cooking until the cheese is melted and the chicken is lightly browned and cooked through.

I think it would be delicious to add mushrooms or red peppers sometime!

Happy cooking.