Zupa's Chicken Enchilada Soup Taste a Like

Zupa's Chicken Enchilada Chili Soup Taste a Like

I have a really hard time going into Zupa's and plunking down $6 for a bowl of soup that I'm pretty sure I can recreate at home and feed a bunch of people for the same cost. So, this is my version of Zupa's Chicken Enchilada Soup. I combined a couple of different online recipes and after a couple of versions am now calling it my own.

Zupa's Chicken Enchilada Chili a'la Jiggle
serves 6-8

2 cups cooked chicken breast shredded or diced into small pieces
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
15 oz tomato sauce
4 oz can green chiles
1 12 oz bag frozen white corn
1 T. minced garlic
2 T. chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp back pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
Cheese for garnish

Add all ingredients except sour cream to crock pot. Let come to temp and cook on low a couple of hours. 15 minutes before serving add sour cream. Serve with cheddar cheese and tortilla strips.

*Chicken broth to thin to desired consistency.

1 15 oz can Cannelini beans, rinsed and drained

Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry

I didn't get a picture taken but this is DEFINTELY a do again so I will get one the next time...and if I am lucky I will even get to have rice with it!

As usual in the quest for low carb things that I can eat stuff like Chinese take out is not on the list. I could mourn for days over that sad fact but occasionally I am moved to action.

My mom used to do a stir fry when I lived at home that had chicken, broccoli, and carrots in it. I was thinking about that as I was throwing things together and I think that the result was a pretty darned good psuedo take out meal...if only there were rice...but I digress.

Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry

1/3 c. soy sauce
2 T brown sugar (I used brown sugar Splenda)
1 clove garlic crushed
1 t. ginger grated fine
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 tsp arrowroot (if you don't have arrowroot use cornstarch)
1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
1 T. canola oil
1 large head broccoli (approx 3 cupsish)
1 lg onion
8 oz water chestnuts, sliced

Combine first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Mix chicken in sauce well and let marinate for 10 minutes. Heat oil in large skillet. Add chicken in small batches to prevent crowding and stir fry until browned. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Add broccoli, onion and water chestnuts to hot skillet. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add 1/4 c water, cover and steam for 3 minutes or until broccoli is crisp tender. Add chicken and heat through stirring constantly.

Serve over rice.

*this doesn't give you a thick sauce like you get with actual Chinese food. If that is your goal add another tsp of arrowroot.

Nutritional Information:
Calories 348; Total Fat 11.2g; Total Carbohydrates 24.7g; Dietary Fiber 1.9g; Protein 36.2g;

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

It seems that we have found ourselves on yet another diet at our house. I think sometimes that I have been hungry for half my life. I remember in Notting Hill when Julia Roberts character says she's "been hungry for the better part of a decade". I can relate.

So in my quest to find foods that fit the narrow criteria of acceptable and also palatable I decided to do some lettuce wraps. I loved Chili's version of lettuce wraps and was so sad when they were removed from the menu. These are surprisingly not a bad substitute.

I did use Splenda in place of all the sugar and cut the oil way back. The next time I make these I am going to add carrots for some color but overall these were a definite do again. Don't let the long list of ingredients and instructions intimidate you...these are really very easy and not too bad timewise.

The NI is figured using sugar instead of Splenda as that is what I will use more frequently.

Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps

1 lb lean ground turkey
1 cup water chestnut
2/3 cup mushroom
3 Tbs chopped onions
1 tsp minced garlic
4-5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs ketchup
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/8 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs hot mustard
2 tsp water
1-2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

1. Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.
2. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.
3. Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.
4. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well.
5. Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.
6. Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.
7. Brown turkey and break up into pea sized chunks
8. Remove turkey from pan and drain well
9. As turkey cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.
10. Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
11. With the pan still on high heat, 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil.
12. Add turkey, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.
13. Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce "cups".
14. Top with"Special Sauce".

Servings: 4

Calories 272.71; Total Fat 4.49g; Total Carbohydrates 39.58g; Fiber 2.45g; Protein 23.97g

Spicy Orange Beef with Vegetables

Once again I am in search of a healthy substitute for Chinese take out. I LOVE Chinese take out, I could eat it every single day and never get tired of it. It doesn't even have to be good necessarily, I still like it. I know, I am pathetic. :D

I've done this recipe several times. It's a modified WW recipe so it was pretty healthy to begin with if a little bland. So with a few additions and tweaks it has turned out to be a pretty good substitute on a Chinese food craving night. We like this over rice. Count the rice NI separately.

A couple of tips to make it taste more authentic:

1. partially freeze your steak so that you can slice it thin
2. do all the prep work (chopping veggies and making your sauce) prior to cooking. If you can just quickly dump and cook you will avoid overcooking anything. Nothing says "homemade impostor" like overcooked vegetables.
   

Spicy Orange Beef with Vegetables
4 - 1.5 cup servings

3/4-1 lb top sirloin steak, sliced thin and trimmed of all visible fat
2 T. cornstarch
2 t. orange zest (if you don't have an orange just add extra orange juice concentrate)
1/2 C. beef broth
2 T. low sodium soy sauce
1/4 C. water
2 T. orange juice concentrate
1 T sugar
1 1/2 t. Srircha sauce (if you don't want to buy a whole bottle of this use a little minced garlic and don't leave out the crushed red pepper)
1/4 t. crushed red pepper
4 t. canola oil
1 T. minced fresh ginger (the stuff you can get in the produce section in the tube also works well)
Green Beans (a couple of big handfuls) sliced on the diagonal in 1" pieces
1/2 red bell pepper sliced into strips
1/2 yellow pepper sliced into strips
1/2 orange pepper sliced into strips
2 large carrots cut into matchsticks
1 4 oz. can water chestnuts rough chopped
1/2 small zuchinni chopped into strips

1. Combine the meat, 1 T of the cornstarch and the orange zest in a bowl. Mix around so that all of the meat is lightly coated with the cornstarch. Set aside.
2. Combine the remaining cornstarch, broth, water, orange juice concentrate, soy sauce, Sriricha sauce, sugar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Mix well with a fork. Set aside.
3. Chop all the vegetables and set aside.
4. Heat a wok or a large skillet over medium high heat. Swirl in 2 t. of the oil, then add the meat. Stir fry until cooked through, 2-3 minutes; transfer to a plate. Swirl the remaining 2 t. oil, then add the ginger. Stir-fry until fragrant, about 10 seconds (you will be able to smell when it's ready). Add the vegetables. Stir fry until crisp tender, 2-4 minutes. Add the broth mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens, about 1 minute. Add the beef back in and heat through, about 1 minute.
   

Nutritional Information: Cal 227; Fat 8 g; Fiber 4 g; Sodium 441 mg; Carb 16 g; Protein 22 g;

Biggest Loser Chicken Strips

One of my favorite TV shows is Biggest Loser. As I sit there on the couch eating my ice cream it's hard to not get just a little bit motivated to try harder in my own weight loss. Well, OK. If I were TRULY motivated I would probably choose a different, more healthy snack to eat while watching but it is all about baby steps after all, right?

Last week they had guest chef Rocco De Spirito on the show and he showed the contestants how to make chicken fingers more healthy. This is my take on his recipe. It is basically the same but I have swapped out the whole wheat bread crumbs for Panko because I can't find whole wheat organic in my local grocery store and I like the crunch of the Panko. I also increased the cayenne pepper a bit and reduced the buttermilk. Cause really, a whole quart seems like a huge waste to me.

When you get to the baking step it works best to cook the strips in 2 batches so that they are not squished together on the baking rack. If you have a baking sheet large enough to put 2 racks on that would be ideal. The chicken needs the air circulation to crisp up correctly. So, don't be in a rush and try to do it all at once....I wouldn't know anything about that.

Biggest Loser "Fried" Chicken
Serves 8
2 pounds chicken tenders
1 pint lowfat buttermilk
2 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons paprika
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon organic seasoning Salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
4 egg whites, beaten to very soft peaks
Pam cooking spray or olive oil

DIRECTIONS
1. Soak chicken tenders in refrigerator, in buttermilk, for 6 hours or overnight.
2. Drain and blot with paper towels to remove excess buttermilk.
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Lay bread crumbs out on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes. Cool. (You don't absolutely have to do this but it gives the crumbs that nice caramel color tricking your senses into thinking they have been fried. If pale, Caucasian, chicken strips don't bother you by all means skip this step)
5. Increase oven heat to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Combine cornstarch, paprika, seasoning salt, black pepper, and cayenne in a large Pyrex dish - mix well.
7. Dredge drained and blotted chicken tenders in seasoned starch.
8. Next, coat dredged tenders thoroughly with beaten egg whites.
9. Last, dip tenders in toasted Panko to fully coat.
10. Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet, fitted with a baking rack. Lightly spray chicken on both sides with Pam and season lightly with salt, if desired.
11. Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes or until outside is crispy and chicken is just cooked through and juicy.

For Eight Servings
Nutrient Analysis – per serving
Calories: 270; Total Fat: 4g; Total Carb: 27g; Fiber: 2g; Protein: 28g

Sweet and Sour Baked Chicken

Since I am always trying to "diet" many of the dishes I fix are either lighter to begin with or I lighten them in an effort to not "poison" my family as I work to be more healthy.

This is my new favorite Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe for home. It's not Chinese take out but it helps curb the craving!

Sweet and Sour Baked Chicken

POINTS® Value: 6

Serve with rice; count NI for rice separately.

Ingredients:
1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/8 tsp table salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup(s) pineapple juice
2 cup(s) canned pineapple, packed in juice
1 medium green pepper(s)
1/2 cup(s) Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp unpacked brown sugar
2 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Instructions:
Preheat over to 350. Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper. In a large skillet heal 1 T oil over med high heat. Add chicken and cook about 2 min on each side or until brown. Transfer chicken to a 2 quart baking dish. Drain pineapple well reserving 1/3 c juice. Spoon pineapple chunks evenly over chicken in dish; set aside. For sauce in a med saucepan whish together the reserved juice, cranberry sauce, cornstartch, brown sugar, vinegar, orange juice concentrate, water, soy sauce and ginger. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Pour over chicken and pineapple in dish. Bake, covered, for 25 min. Uncover and add pepper strips, stirring gently to coat with sauce. Bake, uncovered, about 5 min more or until chicken is no longer pink.Per serving. 368 cal, 6 g fat, 82 mg chol., 589 mg. sodium, 41 g carb, 2 g fiber, 35 g pro.