Thursday, January 29, 2015

Surprisingly Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip


As I'm sure you already know, the Super Bowl is this Sunday. And since the Colts aren't in it, the only thing I'm concerned about is the food. And one of my favorite party snacks is chips and dip. 

The only problem with this snack is that it's so easy to rack up hundreds and hundreds of calories. I have this problem where I always put way too many chips on my plate and not enough dip, and so then I have to get more dip to balance out the chips, and the next thing I know I've had about 50 chips and enough dip to feed a small village.

But the thing is I don't plan on changing my "chipping and dipping" habits anytime soon. So instead I decided to create a healthy dip recipe. I used reduced fat cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and reduced fat blue cheese to make this buffalo chicken dip surprisingly skinny. 1/3 cup of this dip will only cost you about 100 calories. I found a Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe on Taste of Home, and for the same serving size you'll rack up 800 calories. That's a huge difference!

Another great part about this dip is that it all comes together in a saucepan on the stove - you don't even have to bake it! And you can make the "dipping experience" even healthier by eating it with celery!

What's your favorite Super Bowl party snack?

Surprisingly Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip
Yield: Makes about 3 1/2 cups
Calories per serving: 105 calories per 1/3 cup serving

Ingredients
  • 4 ounces 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese
  • 1 cup shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup hot sauce
  • 1/4 cup reduced fat crumbled blue cheese
  • 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (or about 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

Directions
  1. Combine all ingredients except chicken in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Constantly stir ingredients until cheeses are completely melted – about 15 minutes. 
  2. Fold in shredded chicken.
  3. Serve dip warm with celery and tortilla chips.



Sunday, January 25, 2015

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup



I love “set it and forget it” recipes. Love them! First of all, they require the least amount of effort possible. The only tricky part is figuring out how to work the can opener, which can occasionally be a struggle (see below).

This is a real picture from college 
And secondly, I’m always amazed with the finished product. Like wow, I did nothing and this turned out amazing! It’s like magic.

This past week I had a craving for chicken tortilla soup. I’m always in the mood for soup, but this week I was in the mood for something a little bit out of the ordinary and a little bit spicy. I was so excited when I found this tortilla soup recipe!

And I was even more excited when I realized it had only 130 calories per cup. That leaves plenty of room for fun garnishes on top of the soup like homemade tortilla strips (recipe also below), sour cream and avocado!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Yield: About 6 cups
Calories per serving: 184 calories (calculated calorie content does not include optional ingredients and tortilla strips)

Ingredients
For the soup
  • 36 ounces (or 4 and 1/2 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
  • 4 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 3/4 teaspoon paprika
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (raw)
  • 1 (14.5 ounces) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 and 1/2 cups corn (canned or fresh)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 Tablespoon lime juice

For the tortilla strips
  • 10 (6-inch) corn tortillas
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Additional garnishes (optional)
  • Shredded cheddar cheese, diced avocado, diced roma tomatoes, sour cream

Directions
For the soup
  1. Pour these ingredients in a slow cooker: chicken broth, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and a little bit of salt and pepper.
  2. Add chicken breasts (thawed or frozen) then cover with lid and cook on LOW heat for 6 hours, or until chicken is cooked through. Add an extra hour if the chicken is still frozen.
  3. Remove chicken and shred.
  4. Return to slow cooker along with black beans, corn, cilantro and lime juice, and stir. Cook until heated through.
  5. Serve warm with tortilla strips and other optional ingredients.

For the homemade tortilla strips
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. Cut the tortillas into uniform 1/2-inch strips (I used food shears) and add to a large bowl.  Add vegetable oil and toss to coat.
  3. Sprinkle with seasonings and toss again.
  4. Transfer tortilla strips to baking sheet, trying not to overlap them.
  5. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, toss around, and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes.
  6. Add generously to soup!
Soup recipe adapted from Cooking Classy. Tortilla strips recipe adapted from Baked by Rachel.  








Thursday, January 8, 2015

Cooking Brown Sugar Teriyaki Salmon and Asian Mixed Vegetables on Fox59



The very first recipe I ever posted on my blog was Brown Sugar Teriyaki Salmon. And this recipe is still one of my favorite and most popular recipes today!

First of all it requires ZERO cleanup. That's because it is cooked in an aluminum foil packet. So when the salmon is ready, you just serve it up and throw away the aluminum foil. You don't need to scrub any baking dishes or pans.

Cooking salmon this way is also great because you get very consistent results. The foil conducts heat well and traps steam for fast, even cooking. The salmon turns out perfectly every single time!

On Wednesday, I got to show off this recipe on Fox59! I also made Asian-mixed vegetables to go with the salmon. Before I put the salmon in the marinade, I reserved some of the marinade in a little bowl for the vegetables. When it was time to make the meal, I made the vegetables the exact same way that I made the salmon. I put a cup of vegetables in the center of the strip of aluminum foil, spooned some of the marinade on top, and folded it up to make an aluminum foil packet. The vegetables steamed to perfection in the foil packet, just like the salmon.

I hope you try this recipe, and thank you for your continued support of Kylee's Kitchen!


Brown Sugar Teriyaki Salmon with Asian-Mixed Vegetables
Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 4 (6 ounce) salmon filets​
  • Vegetable medley (I used 1 large carrot, 1 head of broccoli, 1 sweet onion, and 15 ounces of sugar snap peas)


DIRECTIONS

  1. Pour soy sauce, brown sugar, water, olive oil, and garlic powder in a bowl and stir to combine.
  2. Pour that mixture into a gallon-size Ziploc bag, reserving one cup in a small bowl to use for your vegetables later.
  3. Place the salmon in the bag, seal it, and turn it so the meaty side of the salmon is soaking in the mixture
  4. Refrigerate the bag and let the salmon marinate for a minimum of 45 minutes to a maximum of about 4 hours.
  5. After marinating, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
  6. Take a big sheet of aluminum foil and fold it so it forms a little packet. Make an aluminum foil packet for each individual salmon filet.
  7. Spray the aluminum foil packet with cooking spray
  8. Put one filet in one foil packet. Do the same for each filet.
  9. Now, take a sheet of aluminum foil and put about a cup of your vegetable medley in the center. 
  10. Spoon about 4 spoonfuls of the reserved marinade on top of the vegetables. Fold up the aluminum foil to make another aluminum foil packet. Do that for as many cups of vegetables as you have.
  11. Put the foil packets on a baking sheet to give the foil packets a sturdier foundation
  12. Bake the salmon and vegetables for about 15 minutes.
  13. The salmon is done when it is pale pink and flakes easily


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