Easy Hawaiian Chicken Bake!

We had my in-laws over the other night again and I was wanting to try something new and impressive, but still super easy for dinner. 

Enter this Easy Hawaiian Chicken Bake!

This dish seriously could not be easier! And it's amazing! It's great for a crowd or even for a romantic dinner just for two. 

I also thought about serving it for Easter dinner since something about pineapples screams Easter to me for some unknown reason! And, you can really up your game and make it ahead of time!

This Hawaiian Chicken Bake is also very Weight Watchers friendly! (Only 8 points per serving!)

Ingredients:

(based on four to five people)

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 to 2 sweet onions, quartered

1 large can of pineapple slices

A bottle of your fave BBQ sauce

1 package of smoked provolone cheese slices

First, start by quartering your onions and place them in the bottom of a sprayed baking dish.

Place your chicken breasts on top of the onions and season with salt and pepper. These are probably the thinnest chicken breasts I have ever seen. Normally, I get thicker ones, but it all tastes the same!

Next, drizzle your chicken and onions with your favorite BBQ sauce! If you are on Weight Watchers, measure it out for the points. That Kroger Sweet n Tangy BBQ sauce in the background is one of my favorites! It's, guess what ~ sweet and tangy!

Place the pineapple rings on top of the chicken.

Then top with the provolone cheese!

Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the chicken reaches at least 165 degrees internally. After it reaches 165 degrees, take the foil off and return the chicken to the oven and cook until the cheese gets bubbly and a nice, golden brown.

Mmmmm! It is so good!

I also made an Angel Food Cake for dessert and topped it with Cool Whip Lite and fresh strawberries!

The quickest way to the hostess's heart is by bringing them flowers! Thanks, honey!

For all you Weight Watchers out there, this Hawaiian Chicken Bake is only 8 smart points per chicken breast! (The kind of bbq sauce and cheese you use will effect the exact pointage of the meal, this is just how much mine was. If you want exact points be sure to figure it out based on your options!)

Enjoy!

 

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

I love Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. I love stuffed peppers. Put them together and you get Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers! And they, are amazing!

These Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers are also easy to make and surprisingly healthy!

And as always, for all you Weight Watchers out there, they are only 4 points per half pepper! 

All you need are five ingredients:

2 bell peppers

 6 reduced fat smoked provolone cheese slices

1 sweet onion

Butter to saute your onions

About 1/3 lb deli sliced or shaved roast beef

First, cut your peppers in half and clean out the guts of the peppers. I prefer red peppers over green, but feel free to use whatever color you want! (That's my awesome husband/sous chef cutting up the peppers for me!)

Saute up a sweet onion in a scant bit of butter (I've been using whipped butter for everything here lately - aside from baking - it's got a lot less calories/points.)

Place half a slice of smoked provolone cheese (I used Sargento reduced fat!) in the bottom of each pepper.

Divide up some of your sauted onions between the four peppers, leaving about half in the pan still to put on top later.

Add your roast beef.

Top off your meat with the rest of the onions.

Add your final slice of cheese and put into the preheated oven. Bake at 400 degrees until heated through and the cheese is golden brown and bubbly!

Like this!

Enjoy!

Homemade Vegetable Soup (for the soul!)

 This is the best vegetable soup I have ever had - hands down.

And I made it! This was the first recipe that I ever devised by myself, soon after I got married and long before I joined Weight Watchers.

It's super easy, ultra healthy, but most importantly, delicious! And for all you "Weight Watchers" out there, it's only one smart point!  

It's the perfect soup for a cold winter's day and with the frigid temps and blustery days we've been having, now is the perfect time to make this yummy deliciousness!

I use mostly frozen veggies for this soup, with the exception of canned diced tomatoes and potatoes, and fresh cabbage. Really, you can put anything you want in it, this soup is very versatile.The last time I made it, I didn't have any tomatoes so I used some V8 juice instead. This time around, I didn't have any potatoes so it's potato free today!

First, I start out by adding torn cabbage leaves to four cans of chicken broth. If you prefer to make this a vegetarian vegetable soup use vegetable broth instead! I just eyeball most of the ingredients in this soup. Use as much or as little cabbage as you like! Let it cook on low/medium heat until the cabbage is translucent - about twenty minutes.

Then I add one can of diced tomatoes - juice and all! Give it a stir.

Next, I add frozen carrots and frozen green beans - a handful at a time. Again, use as much or as little as you want, keeping in mind whether you like your soup thicker or more soupy. I also add 1/2 cup of frozen sweet corn (I measure the corn out for points value for WW since it's a starchy veg.) Slowly bring the soup to a boil over medium heat.

Once it boils, it's time to add my favorite part - the barley! I use 1/3 cup of pearl barley. Reduce the heat to low and let it cook until the barley expands, then lower the heat again to simmer and cook about 10-15 minutes more.

Ready to eat! Once in your bowl, season with salt, pepper, or seasoned salt to taste! I simply use seasoned salt to season my soup. It adds some spices and salt. It's delicious!

Sometimes, after this soup sits a lot of the liquid will disappear and you will need to add another can of broth for the leftovers. Even though I like a thicker soup, I usually add another can or so into the container right before I put it in the fridge so all the flavors can meld together. Other times, I just use water when I am reheating it. 

Enjoy!

Cutting the fat...

With everyone making New Year's Resolutions, many of which involve losing weight, I thought I'd share my tale with you all today. Although, I don't consider this as much a resolution as a "lifestyle change" or "getting healthy."

 So yes, as I mentioned before, it's official. I joined Weight Watchers. I know you're probably thinking, "she hasn't even posted any yummy delicious food on this blog yet and now it's going to be all about diet food!" Not at all. Part of the allure and success of Weight Watchers is that you can eat anything you want! (Yes, I have been drinking the kool-aid.) 

So, I will still be cooking yummy delicious food - just eating less of it. And no, this is not going to turn into a "Weight Watchers Blog," it's just a part of my life that I will sometimes write about, just like anything else!

I joined Weight Watchers for several reasons. First off, because I didn't feel healthy. If I would climb a flight of stairs, I could barely breathe by the time I got to the top. And, my clothes just kept on getting tighter. Even my most recent "larger" clothes were borderline at this point! 

Also, I was sick of people asking me when my baby was due. Hello! Not pregnant, idiots! Didn't your mother teach you any manners?!? 

The point is, is that I just didn't feel like the best version of myself. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. And if I'm being totally honest, the main reason I joined was because I wanted to be a partner in crime for my husband, who was practically doctor ordered to go on it.

I am in no way an expert on losing weight and it is not my place to tell you what to do or have you follow my regimen. This is what is working for me. My goal here is to share some tips and tricks that have helped me on my journey and possibly to inspire others and show everyone that it is possible to lose weight and get healthy!

The number one thing that has really stuck with me is something our leader keeps reiterating to us and that is to eat for real life or it will never last. She has encouraged us to eat chicken wings, or birthday cake, or whatever it is that you love. But, she stresses, you cannot eat these things every day or even every week. Maybe, once a month you can splurge and have that treat. Why give up cake on your birthday? This is your life, and you only get so many birthdays. Celebrate! Just don't go crazy and eat the whole cake.

The first two days were the hardest so far. I was starving and I was eating all my extra weekly points right up. (WW operates on a simple point system called "Smart Points" that are based on height, weight, age, and gender.) After the first two or three days though, it did get easier.  I've heard it takes two weeks to make something a habit and I'd have to agree.

This is a glimpse at how the first week went...

Day 1:

I am excited! Let's do this!

A few minutes later...

Holy crap I used up half my daily points on my traditional Sunday breakfast of bacon and eggs! I was suddenly jealous of my dog as I watched her eat her bacon grease drizzled dog food with abandon. Note to self, count points before eating the meal! How am I going to be able to eat dessert tonight?

Day 1, later in the day:

I have nothing to drink! I always drink tons of orange juice and lemonade but they are both very high in points! But it's fruit! It's good for you! Not so much, apparently. I made some ice tea with a very minute amount of sugar to get me by. I really don't like water that much. Sigh.

Day 1, dessert:

Pumpkin bread. I wasn't going to let that last piece go to waste! I just used some of my weekly points and I am good to go!

Day 2, work, 10:30am:

I am starving! I already ate my "second breakfast," but it was just a banana today. I still have one and a half hours till lunch! Good thing I brought that rice cake! And I am drinking tons of water! I look at my ill-fitting shirt and then a picture of Kate Middleton and think "I have to do this!"

Day 5:

I have resorted to eating dog food. And it was actually good! (It's my dog's birthday. I made her a pupcake, it wasn't actually real dog food.)

I did great the rest of the week! Yes, it was a transition and took some getting used to, but I did it and I feel great! Honestly, it really wasn't that bad! I started eating my fruit instead of drinking it and eating sugar-free pudding with fat free Reddi Wip for dessert. And guess what! In just five days, I lost 1.6 pounds! My husband lost 4.8! 

~ ~ ~

We are now about three months into our Weight Watchers Journey and I have lost almost 15 lbs and 10% of my body weight! I feel so much better! My husband has lost almost 20 lbs! Not too shabby since we are not even working out, only watching what we eat! I didn't even gain any weight over the Holidays, despite the fact that I did go a little off course and went crazy on my cookies. Who wouldn't?

Easy Pumpkin Pancakes!

I love IHOP's pumpkin pancakes! I've tried to recreate them at home using several different recipes and nothing ever comes close. Plus, pancakes are really hard to make! It seems like they either don't get done enough or they get burned. Well, fear no more. I have found the best tasting and easiest pumpkin pancakes to make at home-and they may even rival IHOP's!

I was at Meijer the other day and came across Hungry Jack Complete Pumpkin Spice Pancake mix! Yes, complete. As in, just add water. You know I had to try them! I also picked up some sugar free butter flavored syrup, which also just so happened to be made by Hungry Jack, to go with them since we are now doing Weight Watchers (more on than later!)

I usually don't like anything "sugar free" for several reasons, but my husband insisted we try it since it was only one Weight Watcher point for a quarter cup. One of the reasons why I don't normally do sugar free anything is because it usually just tastes so fake and has a bad after taste. This syrup proved me wrong. It was good! Just make sure you heat it first. I had some cold and some heated up and it was way better hot. And the pancakes...OMG. Delicious! Maybe even better than IHOP. Certainly better than any I've made before! I highly suggest picking some up! It was the perfect fall Sunday morning breakfast! Now I wish I had a waffle maker so I could use it to make pumpkin waffles!

For all you "weight watchers" out there, throw on some whipped butter and (zero point!!!) Fat Free Reddi-Wip for an awesome low point breakfast! Heck, it's perfect this way for anyone, not just fellow WW followers!

And just an FYI...this post is NOT brought to you by anyone but me, myself, and I! Just in case you were wondering! I just like sharing things that make my life better!