Chicken Burger

Since the birth of my youngin, Owen, I had felt a little tubby in the mid-section and wanted to start eating better. I love desserts but I had to start thinking of new foods to make that are more healthy. I have never tried ground chicken meat and decided I would pick up a pack of it at the store the other day. I was going to make meatballs but we don't eat a ton of pasta so I made a chicken burger instead. It was SO good! I didn't miss anything from not having hamburger meat. I do believe this is a start of a new, healthy relationship with ground chicken.

Here's what I did:
1lb. ground chicken
1tsp rotisserie seasoning. You can find this in the seasoning aisle in your store
pinch of salt
olive oil cooking spray or 1tsp olive oil

Get a skillet nice and hot on the stove and spray it with olive oil cooking spray, or add 1tsp olive oil. I added the rotisserie seasoning to about 1/4 cup of chicken meat and rolled it into a ball and formed a chicken patty. Once the skillet was hot, I put the chicken in and cooked it, flipping a few times, for about 8-10 minutes. When the juices run clear, you'll know it's ready to consume!
Here's a tip with meats and their juices ... If you press down a lot and make the juice come out, you're only drying out your protein. Instead of pressing and squeezing it a lot, just press lightly when you think it should be done - around the 8 minute mark or so.

For the dressing on the buns, I mixed ketchup and ranch dressing. I eat this combination with chicken all the time so why should I skimp out now? This is really tasty!

I had a salad and butternut squash with it as well and will post my butternut squash recipe at another time (and will update this post when I do).

Let me know what you think!
Enjoy!

Chocolate Truffles

I am so very late with this post because I made them for my boys on Valentine's Day. I was going to post but I have been so busy this week so here's to some yummy homemade chocolate that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Here's what you'll need:
2tbsp heavy cream
1/2 cup milk chocolate
4-8oz nice dark chocolate

In a double boiler, melt the dark chocolate. Once it has melted, remove it from the heat and stir in 2tbsp heavy cream and stir until combined. Let this mixture cool on the counter for at least 4 hours. If you want to do it quickly, you can place it in the fridge for 2 hours - not any longer or you won't be able to work with it.

Once it has cooled down, you'll need to get a cookie sheet and line that with parchment paper. Grab a small spoon or a melon baller if you have one. Get the size that you'd like and roll it into a ball. You'll do this for the entire amount of chocolate that's in your bowl. Place the chocolate on the parchment paper and refrigerate for about an hour.

Melt your milk chocolate (or white chocolate) over a double boiler and then you can dunk your refrigerated chocolate in the milk chocolate. Put them back on the parchment paper and back in the fridge to set up. This doesn't take too long. You can decorate them while they are still wet with coconut, mini-chocolate chips or drizzle white chocolate on the milk chocolate.

You can dunk them as many times as you want for an extra thick crust of chocolate. These are a little hard on the outside with a creamy middle. YUM!

Chicken Sandwich with Avocado

I love nothing more than a quick lunch to tide me over to dinner so I thought I'd try this sandwich the other day and boy was it good!

Here's what you'll need to do:

Get a chicken breast and season with rotisserie seasoning. You can get this at almost any grocery store. Season with salt and pepper as well.

Get a pan and heat about 2tbsp olive oil and brown the chicken and cook all the way through. Once it's cooked, let it rest for about 5 minutes and then carve into thin pieces or leave whole. Up to you on this one!
Get an avocado and mash it up with about 1tbsp mayonnaise and spread it on your bread pieces. EAT AND ENJOY!

The first time I made this, I used sour cream and just cut slices of avocado but mixing with mayonnaise like a glue was so much better, and easier to eat. I also added some lemon juice, just a squeeze, and that was good too! 

Healthy Berry Shake

I love a good berry shake. I wanted one today from a shake store but they didn't open until 11:00am. WHAT!? So, I saved myself probably $4-$5 from them not being open.. thank you :) I went to the store and picked up a small bag of frozen mixed berries and a container of plain vanilla yogurt. I spent maybe $6.00 on that and will be able to make at least 6 shakes. I'd say that was a money-saving idea!

Here's what you'll need to do:
Take about 1/2 cup of frozen berries and pour into your blender. Add about 1 cup of plain vanilla yogurt (or frozen yogurt if you want to splurge a little!). Also add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk and about 2tbsp of honey. Blend away! If you want to add sugar, you're more than welcome to but the honey gives it a natural sweetness that sugar just doesn't compete with. Plus, it's also MUCH healthier than adding sugar. I added a touch of vanilla as well.

If you didn't want to add milk, you could add orange juice! MMM!!

Any type of berries are good - especially if they are frozen so you don't have to add ice. If your berries aren't frozen, go ahead and add a few ice cubes.

If you have fruit that is ripe but won't be eaten, cut it up and freeze it. That way, you have it for any side dishes or yummy shakes!

One more note, if you are a work-out person and want to add something extra, add your Whey Protein here. This would be an awesome combination with the whey protein, fruit and vitamin D (milk/yogurt).

These are easy and delicious to make! Guilt Free!