Pomegranate Chicken & Roasted Green Beans

Dinner tonight was absolutely fantastic ~ we both gave it 5 stars all around and I will definitely be making this again!  I’ve been wanting to use the POM Wonderful Juice that I received in a recipe and tonight was the night.

Can you guess the star of the show?

 

POMEGRANATE CHICKEN

½ cup chopped walnuts
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 ½ lb chicken breast tenderloin
1 Large Vidalia Onion, halved and sliced
2 cups 100% pomegranate juice
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
1 green onion, sliced, optional

1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the walnuts and toss until browned, then place on a plate to cool.
2. Add oil to pan, then add tenderloins. Brown on both sides and remove, setting aside.
3. Add onions to skillet, moving them around so they pick up all the chicken drippings. When onions have softened and browned, add pomegranate juice, lemon juice and rosemary. Add sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Allow to remain at a vigorous simmer, for about 10 minutes, then add chicken back to pan. Simmer vigorously until sauce has reduced, about another 10 minutes. Serve with walnuts and green onion sprinkled on top.

Makes 6 servings, 5 Weight Watcher Points Each

    

Our veggies tonight involved roasting the Purple Green Beans we got at the market last week.

Roasted Green Beans with Walnuts

1 lb green beans, stems and ends snapped off
1 small sweet onion, halved and sliced into thick slices
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp roasted, chopped walnuts

 

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a large cookie sheet with foil.  Add green beans and onions.  Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt & pepper. Mix with hands and roast for 10 minutes.

2.  Combine balsamic, honey and rosemary.  Drizzle over green beans and roast for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve topped with walnuts.

Makes 4 servings, 1 Weight Watcher Point each

I had one serving of beans ~ I LOVE roasted veggies and the balsamic/honey adds a fantastic sweetness along with the roasted nuttiness of the walnuts.

Plus a 1/2 c Trader Joe’s Organic Frozen Brown Rice.  I have The Husband hooked on this rice – he actually request it now instead of white – yeah!  

And the star of the show, 1 serving Pomegranate Chicken!!!  I LOVED the chicken and it honestly reminded me a bit of Thanksgiving.  I know wrong fruit, but, I think it was just the combination of the herbs and the fruit juice that made it feel like a total healthy comfort meal.

All together with a POM spritzer ~ it was the perfect meal and it was totally worth heating up the kitchen to cook it!  The Husband ate it all, but, I did manage to save one small serving for lunch tomorrow – yeah!

Dessert tonight was another Trader Joe’s Raspberry Vanilla Cream Bar – YUM!

I am off to finish watching the Bachlorette Finale and make the last minute changes to switch to the new site ~ Yeah!

Nite all!

Grilled Eggplant Lasagna

I LOVE Eggplant Parmesan and Lasagna, but, both are not too friendly when it comes to calories and fat.  I decided to combine the two to come up with maybe one of my favorite new healthy recipes. 

Grilled Eggplant Lasagna

 

2 medium eggplants, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices

2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cup fat-free cottage cheese

2 cup sliced mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 c shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cups marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe’s Starter Sauce)

Sliced the eggplant and lightly brush the eggplant with olive oil.   Place on a medium nonstick baking sheet. Sprinkle both sides with sea salt and pepper. Place on your grill or in the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until tender.

Meanwhile, lightly mist a medium nonstick skillet with olive oil spray. Set over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until there is no liquid remaining in the pan and the mushrooms are starting to brown.

Preheat the oven to 350 ° F. Place half of the eggplant in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with half of the mushroom mixture, half of the marinara sauce, and half of the cheese. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, mushrooms, sauce, and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until hot and the cheese is bubbly. Remove and let stand for 10 minutes. Cut into 6 equal portions. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings, 5 Weight Watchers Points each!

Start out by slicing your eggplant lengthwise in 1/4 inch strips.  Line up your slices and brush them with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper.  I used Consorzio Roasted Garlic Olive oil for extra flavor.

Place your prepared eggplant slices on the grill for about 3-5 minutes per side.

While your eggplant cooks, saute your mushrooms and garlic in nonstick pan with a little nonstick olive oil spray until browned.

 

For your marinara, I have a FAVORITE goto sauce that really doesn’t need added flavors.

I LOVE that the nutritionals are good (it isn’t loaded with sugar) and you can recognize every ingredient on the list.

 

Now it’s time to layer your lasagna.  Start with a layer of your eggplant slices and top them with 1/2 the mushroom mixture.

Add 1/2 your marinara sauce.

Plus 1/2 your mozzarella and cottage cheese. Repeat the layers with last topping being a little freshly shredded parmesan.

Bake in the oven as directed above.

   

Cut into 6 slices and enjoy!  I LOVE any lasagna that gives me 1/6th of the pan for less than 300 calories/5 Weight Watcher Points – YUM!

With my lasagna I had some fun fruit ~ a Plurine (1/2 pear, 1/2 nectarine) and a pluot (1/2 apricot, 1/2 plum).

And for dessert, I decided to bust out some Chez Cocoa Summer Salts!  I LOVED this flavor as well – it’s like a dark chocolate sunflower seed that is crunchy but not super sweet.  It was a lot of fun to crunch.  I started out with 1/2  a serving, but, deciding to just have the full serving – this x’s 2.

I am off to listen to my book on tape Second Chance by Jane Green as I work away on some reports – yeah!

See you all for another NEW POMTastic dinner recipe!

Double Cinnamon French Toast

I was dreaming all night about that fantastic Cinnamon Swirl bread we bought last night.  I think The Husband was too because when I got back from my meeting he asked if I had French Toast without him – he was smelling the bread all morning – funny!

I started off my day by going to my Weight Watcher meeting first thing this morning and I am really glad I did.  The normal leader that I listen to on Saturday’s was teaching and it made me realize that I miss her.  I think I have found my home again on Saturday’s and plan on switching back to that day.  I never realized how much limbo it can make you feel like you are in by not having a set leader that you love listening to. 

I started out with that Cinnamon Swirl Bread I bought at The Grateful Bread yesterday.  LOVE all the cinnamony swirliness of it – YUM!

I mixed up a “French Toast” mixture of:

2 eggs

3 egg whites

2 Tbsp Fat Free Milk

Splash of Vanilla

Dashes of Cinnamon and Sea Salt

I then dipped each slice in the mix and cooked with nonstick spray until browned on each side.

I made up 6 slices, 2 slices per serving is 5 Weight Watcher Points.

I had TWO slices topped with 1 tsp whipped butter and 1/2 Tbsp Pure Maple syrup for a total of 7.5 points – not too bad for a decadent Sunday Brunch.

I made my slices thin and the Husbands plus his mom Thick slices like below.

I think the BEST part was coming across the cinnamon swirl parts – SO GOOD!

Another goal I have this week is to center each meal around fruit and/or vegetables.  I added a 1 cup serving on cantaloupe and watermelon to balance out my breakfast.

Today I have a ton of things to check off my to-do list including making a few new recipes so I am off to get started.

Have a great Sunday all ~ see you all this afternoon!

Blueberry Protein Pancakes with Fresh Blueberry Syrup

Happy Hump Day All!!  I am so glad the week is 1/2 over!  Be sure to VOTE for me today so I can maintain the the lead you all helped me get yesterday!!

This morning I decided a “fun” and “fruity” breakfast was in order.

Blueberry Protein Pancakes with Fresh Blueberry Syrup

Ingredients

1/2 c ff cottage cheese
1/2 c uncooked oatmeal (quick cooking or old fashioned)
1 egg
1 egg white
1-2 T ground flax seed
2 T maple flakes (could use agave or sucanat or brown sugar, etc)
Splash of vanilla extract
Dashes of cinnamon & salt
handful of fresh blueberries, 1/2 blended in and 1/2 stirred in

Toppings: Fresh Blueberry Syrup (recipe below), fresh fruit, Greek Yogurt

Directions

Blend everything together until smooth and creamy. I use my Magic Bullet and it only takes seconds. Cook on a skillet over medium heat (use ns cooking spray or 1 tsp oil) on both sides until browned (about 5 minutes total).

Serve up with your favorite toppings or pure maple syrup, fruit, almond butter, etc. The options are endless.

Number of Servings: 2

Calculated using Sparkrecipes.com

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 194.7, Total Fat: 5.2 g, Cholesterol: 106.3 mg, Sodium: 255.7 mg, Total Carbs: 21.2 g, Dietary Fiber: 3.6 g, Protein: 15.4 g

I made up 4 pancakes that included a few blueberries blended in to make them BLUE and a few blueberries stirred in for chunky blueberriness throughout.

 

While I mixed up and cooked my pancakes, I cooked the Fresh Blueberry Syrup.

Fresh Blueberry Syrup

1 c fresh blueberries

1/2 c water

1 Tbsp PURE Maple Syrup

Combine the blueberries and water in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until majority of the water is reduced.  Remove from heat and stir in the maple syrup.

Makes about 1/2 cup of Fresh Blueberry Syrup, 8 Tbsp, 2 Tbsp per serving

Calculated using Sparkrecipes.com

Amount per 2 Tbsp serving (4 servings total)

Calories 25.3, Total Fat 0.1 g, Saturated Fat 0.0 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g, Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 2.9 mg, Potassium 32.3 mg, Total Carbohydrate6.4 g, Dietary Fiber 1.0 g, Sugars 1.3 g, Protein 0.2 g

I topped my 2 pancakes with the Fresh Blueberry Syrup, 1/4 Trader Joe’s 2% Greek Yogurt and fresh blueberries/raspberries.  OMG ~ absolutely amazing!!!!  The best part is that my entire meal was only 6 Weight Watcher Points!

   

And now the moment you all have been waiting for…….The winners of my Annie’s Giveaway!

The Annie’s NEW Mac & BBQ Sauce Winners are:

61. Anne on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 3:54 pm

You're on my blog roll

Anne’s favorite way to use Annie’s BBQ is on Tofu!

75. Lisa on Thu, 16th Jul 2009 7:49 pm

I love to use Annie's BBQ sauce on my tofu…it is soooo good!

128. Mandy on Wed, 22nd Jul 2009 2:03 am

4th comment… I subscribed!

Mandy’s love using Annie's bbq sauce on chicken!! SO yummy… but then.. and yes, i'm weird… but I love adding the bbq chicken right into my Annie's Mac 'N Cheese!!

 

Congrats ladies ~ Please email your snail mail addresses to me at danicasdaily@gmail.com and I will get your prize packs out ASAP!

Thanks for playing along everyone – I LOVED reading all your comments on how you would use Annie’s BBQ sauce.

TODAY’S FUN STUFF:

* Check out the Hungry-Girl’s article in the LA Times – I had the chance to be interviewed to let everyone know how awesome she is – woohoo!  Click HERE to read it!

*  I won Amanda’s Balega Socks Giveaway – yahoo!  I LOVE their socks!

* HOLEY DONUTS GIVEAWAY ALERT!!! I know you all have been wanting to try out these fabulous donuts, be sure to Click HERE today to enter!

PLEASE VOTE AND TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO VOTE FOR MY NECTARINE RASPBERRY SORBET OVER FRESH FRUIT!!! Click HERE to VOTE NOW!

A Healthy BBQ BLTA Wrap….

Tonight’s dinner was all about super fast and exactly what The Husband requested.  I LOVE it when I can modify a fattier recipe to make it healthy and have him LOVE it all the same!  I replace the “mayo” with a healthier fat in avocados and swap out the fatty bacon (even center cuts are not so good) for 97% Minimally Processed Turkey Bacon.  For my VEGANISH friends, make this using Fakin’ Bacon and I guarantee you will LOVE it just the same!

Here is everything you need to whip up a fast, healthy BLTA in under 10 minutes!

* Organic Mixed Greens

* Trader Joe’s 3-Seeded Bread (I LOVE this bread, have you noticed?)

* Avocado

* Big Tomato, I am using one of the Heirlooms I got at the Market

* Trader Joe’s 97% Fat Free Turkey Bacon ~ Make it VEGAN by using Fakin’ Bacon

* Freshly Ground Pepper

I decided to take my BLTA a step further and use these 8-Grain VEGAN Wheat Tortillas that I get at the Farmer’s Market.

And add a little Annie’s Organic Sweet & Spicy BBQ Sauce.

I started out by toasting my tortilla a little and topping it with a 1/4 sliced avocado & freshly ground pepper.

  

Then, I added my tomato slices & Annie’s BBQ Sauce.

Plus 2 slices of TJ’s turkey bacon that I cooked in the microwave ~ 1 minute per slice to get it nice and crispy!

 

Wrap it up and enjoy ALL 6 WEIGHT WATCHER Points of goodness!

I had my “lettuce” on the side since I forgot to put it in the wrap LOL.  I added a few cherry tomatoes and drizzled it with balsamic vinegar (after the picture of course).

All together with a POM Spritzer, it was a completely filling and satisfying dinner!

After dinner, I had the chance to open up my “fun mail’!  Nicole from Time, Inc. hooked me up with THE COOLEST Thank You package for posting my interview with Anne Cain.  The MyRecipes.com people are just so nice ~ they didn’t have to send me any Thank You gifts as I thought it was such an honor just to be able to host the interview!  Yeah!!!  Just another reason why I LOVE MyRecipes.com! 

Some heavy duty, stainless steel MyRecipes.com measuring cups!

A reusable MyRecipes.com Grocery Bag that folds up and snaps!

A Real Simple Apron!

A fun Birthday Calendar, Real Simple Organizing 3xt cards and a VERY COOL Mouse Pad Todo list organizer.  The top is your mouse pad and the todo list organizer is a tablet that you slide out to use – Fun!

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The prettiest Wooden Card Box too!  The Husband said this is a Southern thing, but, I am not sure – is it??  Either way I totally LOVE it and it is our house colors too – yeah!

Here is everything all together – LOVE it!!!  Thanks, Nicole ~ You ROCK – I LOVE it all and cannot wait to use it!!!

You have just a few more hours to enter my Annie’s New Mac & BBQ Sauce Giveaway – Click HERE before Midnight to enter!

Keep sending the LOVE for my Nectarine Raspberry Sorbet over Fresh Fruit – Click HERE to VOTE!

I am off to spend a little time catching up on your comments, blogs and reading/relaxing a bit!

Have a great night ~ See you all in the morning for a Berry-licious breakfast!