How to Make Easy Meals

Archive for the ‘Main Dish’ Category

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons lite soy sauce
1/2 cup red raspberry preserves
2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 lemon wedges (for garnish, optional)

Instructions:

In a baking dish blend together lemon juice, soy sauce, preserves, ginger root and garlic. Marinate chicken in this mixture for at least 15 minutes (longer is even better!)  Grill the chicken for 7 minutes per side or until no longer pink and juices are clear. Serve garnished with lemon wedges.  Marinating before grilling helps keeps the chicken from drying out for a tender and juicier result than if you just grilled plain chicken.

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin — (approx 8-ounce)
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1/3 cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic — minced
favorite cooking spray
Fresh mint sprigs

Instructions:

Trim any fat from tenderloin. Cut into two pieces.  Cut a lengthwise slit down each piece, about 2/3 of the way through and then flatten. Spritz tenderloin with cooking spray and then sprinkle tenderloin with ground pepper to your liking. Combine marmalade, fresh mint, soy sauce, and garlic. Place tenderloins in roasting pan and pour marmalade mixture over top and spread out evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until juices run clear. Garnish with mint springs at serving time.

photo credit: stu_spivack

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oyster sauce
1/3 cup sweet chili sauce
500g fresh thick rice noodles (see note)
2 tablespoons peanut oil
4 to 6 chicken breast fillets, trimmed, thinly sliced
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed, cut into 5cm lengths
1 long red chili, deseeded, thinly sliced lengthways
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 bunch baby bok choy, trimmed, leaves and stems separated, thinly sliced

Instructions:

Combine oyster and chili sauce.  Cook noodles as usual.  Rinse, drain, and set aside.  Heat some of the peanut oil in wok or skillet.  Stir fry chicken until cooked through.  Add more peanut oil to wok, along with sesame oil.  Toss in garlic, asparagus, and red chili.  Stir fry for 2 – 3 minutes.  Add noodles, sauces and bok choy and continue to stir fry until leaves wilt.

In some places rice noodles aren’t always easy to find.  It depends on what kind of store you have near you.  You may need to substitute those.  You can use ramen noodles or thin pasta noodles. It won’t be quite the same, but it still tasty.

Ingredients:

8 ounce package nonfat cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast cuts
2 tablespoons nonfat sour cream
1 teaspoon dried dill
4 (10 inch) low-fat flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups fresh spinach
Nonfat ranch salad dressing or salsa

Instructions:

Combine the cream cheese, onion, chicken, sour cream and dill. Spread on tortilla. Place spinach leaves on top of the filling layer. Roll tortillas and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight before serving. Slice into bite size pieces and serve with dip of your choice such as nonfat ranch or salsa. Great to prepare the night before and pack in lunches for the next day.  If you slice about 1/2 inch thick you can serve as a pinwheels appetizer as well.

Delicious low carb chicken dinner!

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese (0 carbs)
1 cup mayonaise (0 carbs)
1 cup sour cream (0 carbs)
1 cup parmesean cheese (0 carbs)
1 8.5 ounce can artichoke hearts sliced into small pieces (6 carbs)
Several pieces of celery, chopped

Instructions:

Mix the above together in a medium bowl.  This will be our filling.

You’ll also need 4 to 6 average sized chicken breasts depending on how many people you are serving. Pound chicken breasts flat.

Spread the artichoke filling on top of the flattened chicken. Roll up and secure in place with a toothpick or skewer and put into baking dish. After all rolls are in place, sprinkle with parm cheese.  Bake for 375 degrees F for 45 minutes until chicken juices run clear.

You will have likely left over filling, you can add this on top of the chicken or serve on the side at dinner time.