Filling Phillys

Sometimes I don't feel like spending a lot of time making a big dinner, so these hearty and delicious sandwiches are one of my go-to quick dinners.  

1 large onion
2 green bell peppers
1 lb deli roast beef
Swiss cheese slices
Ciabatta buns
1 envelope McCormick Au Jus gravy mix, prepared per directions but use less water to make it thicker and tastier.
Chips
 
Slice the onion and peppers and saute in butter (I use I can't believe its not butter) until onions are caramelized and peppers are cooked.  Toast the buns in the oven (350 degrees for 5 min works for me)  Add the roast beef and warm thoroughly.   Placed a slice of swiss cheese on the toasted bun then load up with some meat and veggies.  Serve hot with au jus and chips. 

300 Calorie Football Day Chili

On football day, I used to make a whole plethora of high calorie snacks and graze like a cow all day long.  Not to mention the occasional beer that accompanies football at times.  I believe this is a much more sensible (and less expensive) option.  This chili tastes great and is very simple to put together.  It will make 8 hearty servings.  

1  to 1 1/2 lb pkg 93% lean ground beef (ours was 1.29 lb)
2 medium green peppers
1 lg onion
2 garlic cloves
1 envelope McCormick chili seasoning

Cook the first 4 ingredients together in the skillet then drain and add the seasoning packet and put the mixture in the crock pot.  We also salted with some McCormick (the only acceptable) garlic salt.  

Add to the crock pot:

2 cans Brooks Hot Chili Beans
1 large can Red Gold tomato juice

And voilà*!  Leave it to simmer in the crock pot until half time (or whenever it is warm).  If you want to add crackers, cheese, etc, be sure to account for those if you are counting calories like this girl. 

*Thank you to the member of the grammar police who corrected me and saved me from the embarrassment of using "wah-lah" instead of the french expression correctly.   

Give a Fish a Chance Tacos

I have long avoided the fish taco craze because I love the beefy cheesy Mexican taco and just couldn't get my fork into (or head around) a non-beef taco.  I never even ventured out to a chicken taco! But since I am counting calories and last evening I only had about 400 left for dinner, I gave the ol' fish taco a chance, and boy am I glad I did!  This recipe surprised the heck out of me by being more flavorful and filling than I expected, partially thanks to my twist in adding the green chiles.  I am generally not a fish fan, unless it is some fried crappie, or trout, but this is a much healthier way to change up the menu and I will go to this recipe again and again. 

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1 lb Tilapia fillets

Combine the first 4 ingredients into a marinade and put the thawed fillets into a bag with the marinade in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.  

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tablespoons lite mayonnaise
1 4.5 oz green chile peppers
Envelope of Baja Citrus or Chipotle seasoning

Combine the yogurt, mayo, 1 tablespoon of seasoning,  and chiles and set aside or chill.

Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and cook the fillets for 3-4 minutes per side, until white and flaky.  At this point for extra flavor, I sprinkled some of the remaining Baja Citrus seasoning on the fish while it cooked.

1 pkg 6 inch corn tortillas
1 bag coleslaw
Lime wedges

Heat the tortillas in the frying pan coated with spray for 30 seconds on each side.

Flake the fish with a fork. Top each tortilla with 1 tablespoon of the green chili sauce. Top with fish, and coleslaw and a dredging of lime juice.  These are about 125 calories each according to my calculations.  Other toppings to consider are corn kernels, cilantro or tomatoes.

New Beginnings and a Low Calorie Frittata

Hello friends! I have decided to stop harassing my Facebook friends with my incessant food postings and take it to a different  medium.  Thanks for joining me in my new adventure. 

Well, today starts a new era for me.  Since my layoff from the State of Missouri I have enjoyed the benefit of Unemployment Benefits while attending college.  Today, I ran out.  So to celebrate my impending financial doom, I am having a healthy low calorie frittata while I peruse the few open job opportunities here in my little town.

Easy Low Calorie Frittata

3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper
4 slices brown sugar extra lean deli ham
1/3 cup mozzarella
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 a medium sweet onion, chopped

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray a pie plate with cooking spray.  Beat eggs together with the milk in a bowl and add salt and pepper.  Pour into pie plate then add the remaining ingredients then stir gently with a fork.  Bake for around 15 minutes, until middle is firm.  Allow the frittata to cool for 5 minutes and enjoy a 1/4 of a pie plate slice for ......get this.....only 102 calories (according to myfitnesspal)!