Stuffed Poblano Peppers Phase 3 approved

Stuffed Poblano Peppers (or stuffed anything!)

1/2 lb 99% fat free ground turkey
1/2 lb Hot Turkey Sausage
1/2 cup stock (any kind...veg, chicken or beef)
3 cloves roasted garlic (smashed up a bit so it can blend into sauce)
4 Wedges of the  Laughing Cow Cheese (any flavor is yummy)
1/3 cup grated low fat cheddar cheese
1/4 cup salsa
3 Poblano Peppers
*2 zucchini (I had left over filling so I stuffed 2 zucchini also, you could also stuff tomato or bell peppers-optional)

Pre-heat oven at 350, grease a 13X9 pan with cooking spray

Start by placing the Poblanos into a pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and let boil about 3-5 min until they start to get soft then remove from water.

In a non-stick pan lightly spray with cooking spray and brown the ground turkey and sausage.  Once cooked through, add the roasted garlic, salsa and stock...let this all simmer together on med-low heat until some of the liquid is reduced. Once reduced reduce heat as low as it can go and add the cheese wedges.  They add a rich creaminess and cheese flavor with only a few calories!  once all incorporated remove from heat and get ready to stuff

Stuffing the Peppers
Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and any ribbing's of the peppers. (these can be stuffed whole if you want, but I like to make it feel like I am getting more this way)  Place the pepper halves in the dish with the open part facing up and spoon the meat mixture into each pepper.  I had extra filling so I cut open a zucchini, removed the seeds and stuffed them like a canoe as well.... a bell pepper or a tomato would also work.

Stuffed Poblanos- this picture doesn't give it justice!

I covered the dish with foil and baked for 30 minutes.  Then I removed the foil, increased the heat to 425 (or broil if you want it faster).  Then I topped each pepper with a bit of the low fat cheddar cheese and put back in the oven to let them get a brown cheesy crust!


 I made these on the last day of phase 2 for the upcoming week and it was torture to smelly that cheesy yet healthy goodness and know I couldn't eat until the next day, so beware :)

garlic buffalo shrimp recipe (HCG and regular)

Garlic Buffalo Shrimp (HCG phase 2)
3.5 oz shelled, de-veined shrimp (I used Med 31-40 per lb, which was 11-12 shrimp for 3.5 oz)
1 melba toast (2 snackers) crushed into crumbs
4 tablespoon hot sauce
seasoning of your choice (I use a no-salt herb seasoning)
3 gloves roasted garlic
2-3 tablespoons water to taste

preheat oven at 425
get cookie sheet with a cooling rack on top ready to go

Garlic Buffalo Shrimp with Brussel Chips

put the shrimp and 1 tablespoon hot sauce in a ziploc for a few minutes, this is to marinade and flavor shrimp as well as serve as moisture to help the Melba Toast crumbs stick.

Place the Melba Toast crumbs and seasoning of your choice into a different ziploc.  I use a salt free herb mix that has garlic, onions, lemon zest and herbs.  It is pretty course and helps add crunch, flavor and texture to the Melba crumbs.

remove the shrimp from the ziploc with hot sauce and add to the crumbs to full coat.  Once coated place on your cooling rack on top of cookie sheet,  if shrimp are small and fall through cracks, you can put them on a few wood skewers (soaked in water first so they don't burn) and place those on the rack.  The rack helps heat get on both sides of the shrimp and allows both sides to get crisp without flipping and I find it gives you more of a fried taste without the oil!  they only take 5-7 minutes max depending on their size (maybe less if smaller)

Garlic Buffalo Sauce for Shrimp
in tuperware or bowl add remaining hot sauce and the roasted garlic.  smash the garlic a bit with a fork or spoon and stir into hot sauce.  I like tupperware for this so I can put lid on and shake to mix...my only exercise :)  The garlic will thicken the sauce so I added water to cut the heat and thin out a bit.  This sauce can be drizzled over the shrimp when done or you can add shrimp to tupperware and coat them if you like it really hot!

This sauce is great over the baked chicken nuggets recipe as well!  add some vinegar and other herbs and it is a kicked up dressing!

Covert this to a Phase 3 recipe....
I would have used an egg wash for the Melba crumbs to get a better coating
I would have added a teaspoon of butter to the garlic buffalo sauce

I find that unless you are really frying these in oil and with a  Panko crust the baking still works best to get them crusty without going to far into the carb world!

apple spice crumble

I have been making a version of this for a while, but this is a much lower calorie, HCG friendly version

This is for 1 individual serving which was pretty hearty, it could have been split into 2 if needed.  I bake mine in a small casserole dish that I have, but I think they would work in muffin tins as well, or in a big casserole dish for a larger serving.

Apple Spice Crumble

Ingredients:
main filling
1 apple, cored and sliced thin or in chunks (I leave the peel on and I use Gala since I had them, but can be any apple you like,and cut how you like, but cooking time will vary)
1 individual  package Stevia
1 tablespoon cinnamon (or more or less depending or your taste)
1 tsp of cayenne (i like the cinnamon and cayenne combination, you can leave out if you don't like spice, but I think it kills the after taste of the Stevia that I am not a fan of)
1-2 tablespoons water
dash of salt (brings out the sweetness in the apples)
(dried cranberries would be a yummy addition to this as well)

Crumb Topping
1 Melba toast (or 2 Melba snackers)
1 Ziploc bag
dash of cinnamon
dash of Stevia (if you want it sweet, I didn't do this since my apples were sweet and I am not a huge fan of Stevia)

How to Prepare:
Toss the apples with all of the filling ingredients except the water so they get coated completely.
Place the coated apples in the baking dish (sprayed lightly with cooking spray).
Add the couple tablespoons of water
place in open at 375 and bake for about 5-7 minutes or until apples are almost tender

(if using muffin tins, may take less time...if apples are cut in chunks and not thin slices, it will take more time)
Remove from open and add the Topping as listed below.


For the Topping:
Start by increasing temp on oven to 425
Place all of the topping ingredients into the bag.
Use a tenderizer or can to crush the Melba toast into crumbs
Add the crumb topping on top of the apples
Spray top lightly with cooking spray to help the crumbs brown.

How to Finish
place the dish with the topping back in the oven at the new 425 degree temperature for another 3-5 minutes
this is to help the topping brown a bit.

Few notes:
the water and the apples natural juices make a yummy caramel-like sweet sauce. I usually start with it covered for when it is the apples only since my dish has a lid and it gets really juicy then I remove the top when I add the crumb topping so that it browns a little.  If you notice there isn't much sauce when you remove the apples (before you add the topping) you can add a bit of water and stir it up a little to create a little more sauce before you finish with the crumb topping.

Regular Full Fat Version
the Regular version of this would have been with brown sugar instead of Stevia and a small pat of un-salted putter, which really does create a true caramel sauce as it bakes!  my topping would have been more like a streusel for a coffee cake (Bisquick, cold butter, brown sugar, cinnamon...mixed together into crumbs and placed on top of apple mixture, maybe even some crush pecans as well) and I would have added it on top of the apples from the start so it had time to cook through.  If you want to stick the a crumb topping more than streusel you can use crushed graham crackers, brown sugar and butter and add after the apples are almost cooked, just like the low fat version.

big hurdle leaped over!

without giving too many details I hit a big accomplishment for weight today I am official under 1_0 LBS!!!! .... for the first time in about 5 years!  (you can fill in the blank as you wish :) )  I am so excited and I seem to have lots of energy.  This diet isn't hard to stick to if you like to cook and plan, which are pretty much 2 of my best traits... and talking of course :)

it is all about planning!!  I work long days sometimes and I grab my lunch bag and I have lunch, dinner and my fruit already sliced up.

Cheating:  I have cheated a couple times, to be honest, I risked being removed from my grandma's will if I didn't have a slice of her homemade Angle Food Cake.  I was good, I ate 1 slice and brought the other 4 to work to share and normally I would have made those 5 slices in one serving!!!  I also have had a few alcoholic drinks, I am a night-cap person so that is hard for me to give up and a couple days after work it was hard to resist, but I stuck with straight whiskey on the rocks, so no added sugars... but still added calories unfortunately so I exceed my 500 plan on those days :(  I noticed that 2 days later my weight loss was reduced to only 1/2 a lb and not the normal 1- 1 1/2 lbs, so I paid the price!  I also noticed the same with those miracle noodles.  They are filling and taste good when with a sauce but it did effect my weight loss, so I think I will add them along with whole wheat pasta later on, but for now I am staying clear.

I do wish this diet had a free day which is always my saving grace to get rid of a bunch of cravings I have.  Although my couple cheats helped a little I sure would love some BACON or CRUSTY BREAD AND BUTTER!!!!

but today I celebrate my milestone as I look forward to the rest of this week and maybe dropping another 3-5 lbs before I end my run this weekend!  and who knows after a free weekend and maybe a steak.... maybe I will go another week or 2 starting Monday and lose a few more in my last stretch before Hawaii, it isn't as hard as I thought!  Countdown to Hawaii is less than 3 weeks!

roasted brussel sprout chips and centers

this is so yummy and so easy!

I buy the microwave in the bag brussel sprouts because depending on the time of the year I can find them at the 99 cent store for a great deal!  I do find that raw works a bit better then frozen, but frozen did work just didn't yield as much, so it is still an option if fresh are hard to find.

I start by cooking them about 1/2 way, so if you got a microwave bag of them, follow the directions and cook about half way then let them cool.  If you got raw ones, steam until almost fork tender but not done and let them cool.

Buffalo shrimp and Brussel Chips

Making the chips:
Heat oven to 425 and get a baking sheet ready.  Cut the ends of the sprouts to loosen the leaves.  Slowly separate the outer leaves of the sprouts and place on the baking sheet.  you should be able to get a few off each sprout depending on the size and eventually you will get to a center part where it is harder to separate the leaves.  These are what I call the centers, put them to the side for another yummy snack or side dish which is detailed below.

Once you have all the leaves pulled off, lay them on a single layer on cookie sheets, top with salt and pepper or seasoning of your choice (I like chili powder and cayenne for a kick!) and spray very lightly with non-fat cooking spray to make them brown.  They will take about 10-15 minutes depending on the oven heat and how wet the leaves are.  Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.  They will get nice and crispy like chips.  They go great with the chicken nugget recipe I posted earlier...

Making the centers:
take the center portion of the sprout and cut it in half.  season with whatever you like and slightly spray with cooking spray to help them brown.  you can place them on the same sheet as the chips if you want and just remove the chips when they are done and leave the center for another few minutes.  they take about 15-20 minutes depending on your oven and how crispy you like them.  They make a great snack or added topping to a salad to give you a bit of extra texture and crunch!

If not on HCG diet:
My recipe for this is the same except normally I drizzle with olive oil or even fry the chips.  If you reduce some balsamic vinegar to thicken it and drizzle that and some Parmesan cheese over the chips it is amazing!

yummy shrimp salad

Cooking the Shrimp

I placed 3.5 oz of shrimp, without the shell or tail on a skewer.  I placed on the grill and almost cooked it completely.  I knew I was going to freeze them for later in the phase so I knew they would be re-heated in some way and didn't want them to be over-cooked, so under-cooking them a bit helped.

to add some flavor to them I coated them in a salt free seasoning mix which is mostly dried herbs and dried lemon zest.  I then lightly sprayed my cast iron pan, turned on very high and through the herb crusted shrimp in there for about 1 minute to crisp them up and warm them up.

Making the Dressing:

• Orange Zest
• juice of a lime/lemon or orange (your choice)
• amino drops
• couple cloves of roasted garlic
• water to get to consistency you want
• seasonings based on your likes (I love fresh herbs)

The roasted garlic cloves are a natural thickener so smash those with a fork and place the rest in a storage container and shake to combine and you will get a surprisingly tasty and naturally thick dressing.  Depending on your version of HCG you may be okay to add some greek yogurt to make it a creamy texture.  Pureed roasted garlic and onions are natural thickeners and can be used in regular recipes like soups and pasta sauces instead of a cornstarch or butter/flour process.  They are great to thicken mac n cheese recipes!

Making the Salad:

now it is time to assemble.  Start with a bed of greens, I like the mixed herb greens so you get lots of flavor.  I topped with the cooked shrimp, chunks of orange and some left over roasted brussel spouts centers (see recipe).  Drizzle the top with the dressing and you have a yummy meal with tons of flavor!