Bruschetta Stuffed Balsamic Chicken

Bruschetta Stuffed Balsamic Chicken

During my latest 5-Day Dinner Party for the re-opening of my weekly meal planning service for the 17 Day Diet called Simply17, one of our entrees was this delicious Balsamic Chicken stuffed with a yummy tomato and cheesy mixture. The sweetness of balsamic made this dish a hit!

You can prepare the recipe as-is by stuffing your chicken breasts, or top your chicken breasts with the tomato and cheese mixture instead. Either way, this dish is tasty!

Bruschetta Stuffed Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes, diced

1/3 cup packed fresh basil ribbons

1 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese, divided

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup low sodium, chicken broth

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl add tomatoes and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and basil. Stir to combine. Set aside.

Depending on size of chicken breasts, place up to two breasts at a time in one large zip lock bag (or one breast in between two layers of plastic wrap) and pound until you achieve a 1/4-inch thickness. Be careful not to tear or rip through the chicken as you’ll be stuffing them!

Season chicken on all sides with salt and pepper, to taste.

Take your tomato mixture and spoon a generous portion over the top of each chicken breast. Reserve leftover tomato mixture for sprinkling over the top.

Gently roll up the chicken breasts, wrapping them tightly, and secure both ends with toothpicks to prevent chicken from unrolling while cooking.

In a large frying pan or oven-proof pan, heat olive oil on medium high heat.

Add rolled chicken breasts to pan and cook for about 6 to 7 minutes, or until all sides are lightly browned.

While chicken is browning, combine the balsamic vinegar, broth, garlic and seasoning to a bowl. Whisk until mixture is fully combined. Set aside.

Remove chicken from stove. Spoon remaining tomato mixture over chicken and gently pour balsamic vinegar mixture over chicken.

In your oven-proof pan or baking dish, place chicken in oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Flip chicken once and return to oven to continue baking for another 15 minutes.

Remove chicken from oven and top with remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and return to oven to continue baking for an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes before serving. From pan, scoop remaining tomato and balsamic mixture and serve over chicken.

Note: If you want to make this dish a bit easier and save some time, rather than stuff the chicken, cook chicken breasts with mixture on top. It’s perfect either way!

Yields 4 Servings

Approved for all cycles

Here are a few photos from party guests:

Photo above courtesy of Sandra J. – I love how Sandra’s chicken was stuffed perfectly! What a beauty!

Photo above courtesy of Molly C. – I loved Molly’s creation, along with her use of our Simply17 cards where she displayed the name of the dish. So creative!!

Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site

Broiled Tilapia with Parmesan (modified for the 17 Day Diet)

Broiled Tilapia with Parmesan (modified for the 17 Day Diet)

I saw the most gorgeous tilapia recipe while browsing Pinterest. I thought I’d modify the recipe ever so slightly so it’s 17 Day Diet friendly with less fat (used Greek Yogurt instead of butter and mayo)! Enjoy!

Broiled Tilapia with Parmesan (modified)

Ingredients:

4 Tilapia Fillets (defrosted if frozen)

1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

1/8 Cup Plain Non-Fat or Low-Fat Greek Yogurt

1 1/2 Tablespoons Plain Non-Fat or Low-Fat Greek Yogurt

1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Dill

Pepper to taste

Directions:

Turn broiler onto high and adjust oven rack to the top.

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except the tilapia. Set aside.

Place tilapia fillets on a foil lined pan.

Broil for 3 minutes.

Remove from the oven, flip over and divide the parmesan mixture over the uncooked sides of the tilapia.

Return to the oven and broil an additional 3-4 minutes making sure not to over cook the fish.

Yields 4 Servings

Here is the original Parmesan Broiled Tilapia recipe (which contains a lot more fat).

Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site

Broccoli Chicken Dijon (south Beach Diet)

Broccoli Chicken Dijon (south Beach Diet)

Prepared this for my family tonight, since we're trying to keep our carb count fairly low. I'd seen it a few days earlier and been intrigued. After fixing it, I have to say that it wasn't half bad by any stretch of the imagination. I would have liked for the flavor to have gotten deeper into the broccoli, but it made the chicken absolutely awesome! The directions were pretty straight forward, and the dish wasn't hard to fix. I scaled it up and have a lunch for tomorrow loaded with protein, low in carbs and fat, and fairly tasty. We will be chomping down on this one again.

I made this last night. I was hesitant to make this dish because of the mustard, but will admit that the mustard made the recipe. I agree with other reviewers who said that the directions to make this meal are a bit time-consuming, so I did tweak that. Here's how I made this: I cut 1 lb. of chicken breast into bite-sized pieces and seasoned with salt, black pepper, paprika and garlic powder. I then fried the chicken pieces in olive oil in a large skillet. While the chicken cooked, I heated two 10 oz. containers of frozen chopped broccoli in the microwave, then added the broccoli to the chicken. I then added 1/2 a cup of vegetable stock. I didn't have soy sauce so I added A-1 sauce for the tang. (It worked.) I didn't have Dijon so I added spicy brown mustard. I then covered the skillet and heated for 10 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. I disagree with other reviewers who said the dish was too watery and needed cornstarch to thicken. I served this meal over white rice. My husband loved this meal but thought it needed some heat, so he sprinkled hot red pepper flakes on his portion. This recipe is a keeper!

Original article and pictures take geniuskitchen.sndimg.com site

Breakfast Smoothie Recipe for the 17 Day Diet

Breakfast Smoothie Recipe for the 17 Day Diet

New to the 17 Day Diet is the optional Transitional Day Fast where you are allowed to drink smoothies for each of your meals for an entire day. You can catch up on how the Transitional Day Fast works.

Here is the recipe for the breakfast smoothie for the 17 Day Diet.

Breakfast Smoothie Recipe

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

1 serving powdered fiber

1/2 cup crush pineapple, canned in its own juice, drained

1/2 frozen banana

Place the ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.

Tip from Book: Blend the ingredients for several minutes as this will add air to the smoothie and the extra air will make you feel fuller.

17DD Blog Tip: Add crushed ice to your ingredient list and blend. The ice will make the smoothie slushy and add a bit more volume to your meal.

Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site

Break Your Weight Loss Goal Into Smaller Mini Goals for Success

Break Your Weight Loss Goal Into Smaller Mini Goals for Success

Weight loss and goal setting go hand in hand. Your weight loss goals can either make or break your progress, so it’s best to form a game plan that sets you up for success right from the start.

Which goal sounds more manageable and one you might achieve with greater success? Lose 100 pounds in one year or lose 10 pounds in one month?

If you’re like me, I’m guessing you’d choose the smaller, more realistic goal of 10 pounds.

While it’s quite important to understand what your overall objective is (i.e. lose 100 pounds), it’s equally important to break up your main goal into manageable smaller goals or milestones.

Let’s say you have a beach trip coming up in a month. Rather than set a goal to lose a 20 pounds in one month, you give yourself a few mini goals or milestone to achieve.

Milestone or Mini Goal #1 for Beach Trip

In two weeks, I will zip up and comfortably fit into my pair of dress slacks that I’m currently not able to wear.

After about nine days of working towards this first mini goal, you’re able to achieve this because you set a realistic goal you knew you’d be able to achieve in a short amount of time.

Milestone or Mini Goal #2 for Beach Trip

In two weeks, I will be able to button up my favorite shirt and it will fit comfortably.

In about a week and a half you’re able to wear your shirt and see a difference in how your clothes fit because you set a reasonable mini goal.

Get the idea?

So if you’re like me and have a difficult time sticking to a “big picture goal” like losing XXX pounds in a year, don’t fret!

The Lesson Here…

An effective strategy I use to keep my long-term objective in sight is to break my overall main goal into “mini goals” or “milestones” so that I don’t lose steam and give up.

What happens when you achieve a goal and see results? You guessed it! You gain momentum, you stay motivated and you continue to push yourself to achieve even better results!

Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site

Blueberries and Cream Green Smoothie

Blueberries and Cream Green Smoothie

This is one of my popular green smoothie recipes that we featured in both my Summer C1 Challenge and my green smoothie recipe book called Addicted!

Blueberries and Cream Green Smoothie

Ingredients

1 Cup Spinach

1 Cup Plain Low-fat yogurt

1 ½ Cups Blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions

Blend spinach and yogurt first. Add blueberries and blend again. Depending on thickness of smoothie, you made add a bit of water to thin it out, if desired or use Kefir instead of yogurt. Depending on the ripeness of your fruit, you may add Stevia to sweeten the smoothie.

Note: You may use Kefir instead of plain yogurt if you prefer

Consider adding whey protein if you use as a meal replacement.

Yields 1 Serving

Approved for all cycles

Photo Courtesy of Kelly J.

Kelly used kefir in her green smoothie pictured above. Thanks for sharing, Kelly!

Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site

Blackened Brussels Sprouts

Blackened Brussels Sprouts

Before we dig into brussels sprouts, I need to give a gigantic shout out to Erin and Melissa for the redesign of Mountain Mama Cooks. I’ve been wanting to update my look and implement some new features for awhile now but held off until the timing was right. I knew right after meeting these two, that they were the gals to do the job. Together, they run Wooden Spoons Kitchen, a boutique web design and hosting company and if I do say so myself, they knocked it out of the park! Thank you doesn’t seem like enough. The entire process was inspiring, fluid and you gals gave me exactly what I wanted. Thank you for your patience, hard work and being all around super savvy, design maven, rock stars!

You know a recipe is good when you make it six times in two weeks. Never in my life did I think I’d be making brussels sprouts multiple times a week. And never in my life did I think I could possibly love brussels sprouts more than these roasted ones with crispy bacon and balsamic. But here I am to tell you that a) I’ve easily eaten 2+ lbs of brussels sprouts in the past 10 days and b) these ones are better than my beloved roasted version with bacon. The best part? They only take 8 minutes.

I hosted a small brunch on Easter and since I was only a few days into my 21 day sugar detox, the menu was a ham cooked in the slow cooker, a veggie frittata, a spinach and avocado salad and these awesome pan seared brussels sprouts that my friend, Melissa made. It was all I could do to not eat all of them. Said no one ever about brussels sprouts…

Crispy and garlic loaded on one side, steamed to perfection, these are nuggets of veggie gold. Can you tell I haven’t had sugar in almost a month? I’m gushing about brussels sprouts. Man, someone get me a cookie stat. Or some ice cream. How about a piece of dark chocolate? You know at this point, I’d settle for an orange.

All joking aside, these brussels sprouts are out of this world. The key is using a stainless steal pan and heating it up so it’s piping hot when you lay the brussels in. The recipe below is more of a guide line. The recipe is forgiving and it’s easily adaptable to suit your taste. Play around until you get it right. The squeeze of lemon at the end makes takes ’em over the top. Don’t leave it out. Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

More of a guideline than a recipe, these brussels sprouts are just as easy to make for one as they are for a group. Play around until you get 'em just how you like them!

1. In a stainless pan, heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil over medium-high heat.
2. When pan is nice and hot (1-2 minutes), place brussels sprouts cut side down. If the brussels sizzle, that's a good sign!
3. Place tight fitting lid on pan and turn heat to medium low.
4. Set time for 8 minutes and don't lift pan lid or disturb the pan.
5. When timer goes off, remove pan from heat and sprinkle brussels with a drizzle of fresh lemon juice.

Original article and pictures take www.mountainmamacooks.com site

Bell Pepper Egg-in-a-hole

Bell Pepper Egg-in-a-hole

Print

My sister handed me a stack of old Martha Stewart magazines and I discovered this little gem. The bell pepper adds gorgeous color and a very healthy veggie to your morning. Did I mention it’s really easy?

You’ll definitely impress your family and breakfast guests with this bell pepper egg-in-a-hole. Thank you Martha! Serve the eggs-in-a-hole with buttered toast. English muffins are nice too. You can cook the eggs to the doneness you prefer.

Ingredients for Bell Pepper Egg-in-a-hole:

1 red bell pepper (yellow would probably work just as well)

4-5 large eggs

Salt

Pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (other cheese would probably work too)

1 Tbsp Olive oil

How to Make Bell Pepper egg-in-a-hole for Breakfast:

1. In a large, non-stick skillet, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium/high heat. Cut peppers into 1/2″ rings and remove the seeds and centers. Place sliced peppers into the pan and let them saute for a minute.

Bell Pepper Egg in a Hole-2

Bell Pepper Egg in a Hole-4

2. Crack one egg into the center of each bell pepper slice. Start pouring the egg in slowly; it prevents the egg from leaking and forms a nice seal, but some will leak no matter what; don’t fuss over it; it will still taste great!

Bell Pepper Egg in a Hole-5

Bell Pepper Egg in a Hole-6

3. Sprinkle salt and pepper over each egg. Saute for 3 minutes, then flip it over carefully.

Bell Pepper Egg in a Hole-8

Bell Pepper Egg in a Hole-9

4. Top with a generous amount of parmesan. If you want your yolks to be juicy (over easy), cook another minute.

Bell Pepper Egg in a Hole-10

Bell Pepper Egg in a Hole-11

P.S. As a (almost licensed) nurse, I feel compelled to say that eggs should be fully cooked for high risk populations including elderly, pregnant and young children.

Print

Bell Pepper Egg-in-a-hole

Ingredients

• 4-5 large eggs
• Salt
• Pepper
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. In a large, non-stick skillet, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium/high heat.
2. Cut peppers into ½" rings and remove the seeds and centers. Place sliced peppers into the pan and let them saute for a minute.
3. Crack one egg into the center of each bell pepper slice. Start pouring the egg in slowly; it prevents the egg from leaking and forms a nice seal.
4. Sprinkle salt and pepper over each egg. Saute for 3 minutes, then flip it over carefully.
5. Top with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese. If you want your yolks to be juicy (over easy), cook another minute.

Original article and pictures take natashaskitchen.com site

Becky's Meatballs (C1)

Becky's Meatballs (C1)

Recipe Author:Becky Yokeley Love

Don't ever accuse me of making perfectly round meatballs! ~Simmie

1-2 lbs ground turkey

1-2 diced onions

3/4-1c ketchup

few tbsp grape jelly probably equalling 1/4-1/2c

Bake at 350 for 45 min - hour

This recipe is also available as Becky's Meatloaf, at:

http://17ddgal.blogspot.com/2011/12/beckys-meatloaf-c1.html

If you make the BBQ sauce in book its WONDERFUL :) Meatballs cook for 20-30 min then put them in crock pot with a bit of water for rest of day :)

Simmie Note:

You could also use salsa or sweet chili sauce in place of the ketchup!

Original article and pictures take 17ddgal.blogspot.com site

Be Kind to Your Liver, Your Ass Will Thank You Later

Be Kind to Your Liver, Your Ass Will Thank You Later

Detox your liver (take out the trash) and jumpstart your weight loss! #17DayDiet

Ever wonder why you start the 17 Day Diet off with detox by elimination of sugars, unhealthy fats and carbohydrates? Is it to help you lose weight quickly? Sure. Or is it maybe for another reason?

You may have heard that body detox and cleanses are good for your liver, among other things.

Well, when your liver is overloaded with toxins, it is nearly impossible for your liver to rid your body of the dangerous toxins and to help your body digest foods and fats.

If you start a weight loss regimen without first detoxing or cleansing your body (and liver), you may have a difficult time losing actual fat. You may lose water weight at first, but most people who have a buildup of toxins in their body stop right there.

Think of your body as you do a trash can. You put garbage into your trash can and there it sits under the sink for days at a time. You take your trash and place it into the main trash bin where it sits outside your house, for maybe a week. It’s finally trash day and you have piles of trash waiting on the curb to be picked up and hauled away.

Think of your liver as the garbage man who picks up your pile of trash from the curb and takes it to the dump.

If your liver is filled with toxins, it will not be able to properly rid your body of the “garbage” — this is unhealthy and makes for losing weight very difficult.

If your liver is not working properly because it’s overloaded with toxins, you may experience any of the following and more:

1. Extreme fatigue
2. Bloated Stomach
3. Blood sugar problems
4. Hormone imbalance

Cleansing your liver thoroughly prior to starting your weight loss program will allow your liver to be more effective in its job, allowing for proper digestion and weight loss.

Some of the natural cleansing foods to help rid your body of such toxins include the following:

1. Garlic
2. Grapefruit
3. Beets and carrots
4. Green Tea
5. Leafy green veggies

Do these foods sound familiar? They should if you’re on the 17 Day Diet.

If you are experiencing some of these symptoms or if you are not losing weight even if you’re following the 17 Day Diet to the “T”, consider a complete Detox/Cleansing program to help rid your liver and body of these deadly toxins and to allow you to be healthy once again.

Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carrots

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carrots

It’s easy to get bored with your regular veggie routine. You know what I’m referring to – steamed carrots, steamed broccoli, steam this and that. Enough already! I found a wonderful recipe that highlights the natural flavors of the vegetables, but adds in the the luxurious flavor of Balsamic vinegar. Yes, I described it as luxurious! If you think of your flavors this way, you feel like a million bucks!

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carrots

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup note: either use Stevia or omit all together

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts, halved

6 carrots, cut diagonally in 1 1/2-inch-thick slices

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, garlic and thyme; set aside.

Place brussels sprouts and carrots in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Stir in balsamic vinegar mixture; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place into oven and bake until browned and tender, about 20-25 minutes.

Serve immediately with cranberries, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Yields 2-3 Servings

Approved for all cycles

You can check out my original #repost of this recipe on Instagram. Check out the original recipe creator here.

Photo courtesy of @damn_delicious

Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site

Baked Turkey and Spinach Meatballs

Baked Turkey and Spinach Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Turkey
• 1 cup chop Spinach
• ⅓ cups dice Green Onion (Scallion)
• 2 tablespoons Ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
• ½ cups Parmesan Cheese, Dairy Free

Freezer Containers

Supplies

Nutritional Information

24 minutes

These directions are for cooking this recipe to serve immediately and NOT to freeze for later.

1. Grease a baking pan. Set aside.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly.
3. Shape into 1-inch balls.
4. Place in prepared baking dish.
5. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes or until fully cooked.

37 minutes

Freeze For Later

These directions help you cook or prepare this meal PRIOR to being frozen for serving later (see Serving Day Directions when you are ready to prepare it to eat).

Why would I want to freeze this?

1. Grease baking pans. Set aside.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly.
3. Shape into 1-inch balls.
4. Place in prepared baking dish.
5. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes or until fully cooked.
6. Allow to cool.
7. Divide meatballs among indicated number of gallon freezer bags, label, and freeze.

3 minutes

These directions help you cook or reheat this meal AFTER it's been frozen for when you are ready to eat it.

1. Heat through in microwave for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.

Original article and pictures take assets.onceamonthmeals.com site

Baked Chicken with Tomatoes, Basil and Red Chillies

Baked Chicken with Tomatoes, Basil and Red Chillies

There’s nothing as easy as a big pan of baked chicken and veggies for a delicious weeknight dinner. And this recipe is so good you’ll be making it for all your guests too!

Yesterday I shared a round up of healthy one-dish meals with you. It got me thinking of one of my favorite one-dish meals. It’s chicken baked with lots of tomatoes, chilies and basil. Add some bread to soak up the tomato and chicken juices and you’re good to go. It’s not only an easy and healthy meal, it’s also one of the most delicious things that I cook. Here’s how the recipe came about.

Easy Baked Chicken with Tomatoes, Basil and Red Chillies

We were visiting my brother-in-law and his family in London and his wife, Maria, was making dinner. I was sipping a glass of wine and planning to chat with her while she cooked. Except she finished cooking really quickly.

All she’d done was throw a bunch of stuff in the pan and slam it in the oven. For us. For company.

I was pretty surprised since I know her to be an extremely good cook.

But then I tasted it.

And then I knew why she’d made it for us. For company.

It was fantastic. Tons of flavor. Juicy chicken. A tiny bit of heat from red chillies. The fresh flavor of basil tying it altogether.

Easy Baked Chicken with Tomatoes, Basil and Red Chillies

I fell in love.

And now I regularly make Maria’s Baked Chicken for us. And for company.

Here’s how I make Baked Chicken with Tomatoes, Basil and Red Chillies.

The recipe is based on what I saw Maria do in her London kitchen.

Print Recipe

Video by Leigh Olson. Article, photos and recipe by Christine Pittman.

This recipe was originally posted in April of 2014, revised in August 2016.

Original article and pictures take cookthestory.com site