Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Deli Style Chicken Orange Salad...with some extras!

So, I am super lame and started my menu week a day late.  It happens!

We were scheduled to have Deli Style Chicken & Orange Salad with French Bread.  I could have bought a loaf of bread at the store...but where is the fun in that?!

The French bread was super easy...with the help of my trusty breadmaker!
1.5 c water
1 Tbl veggie oil
2 Tbl milk
4 c flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast

Toss them all into the breadmaker and walk away!  Crazy easy!

Truth be told the Salad was just as easy.
Get yourself a rotisserie chicken and tear it to bits.  I tossed the skin, since I am making strides to keep things on the healthy side!
Get a bagged salad - or cut your own greens and place in salad bowls.  Top with mandarin orange slices and peanuts.  I made a really easy dressing (though forgot to take pics) of 2 Tbl. of frozen oj, 1 Tbl. of water and 2 tsp. of sesame oil.
Doesn't that look delicious?  Well, it was...trust me.
Aiden was much happier about dinner than he appears and Daddy was quite happy to have a great dinner waiting for him as soon as he got home!
(Stats on the salad: 232 cal, 10g fat, 25g protien, 10g carb, 3g dietary fiber, 65mg sodium)

Did I mention that we also had dessert?  Of course we had dessert...but this time it was a more health conscious choice, though it won't appear so at first glance!
Yes, we had cupcakes.  Not just any cupcakes...Devin Alexander Black & White Cupcakes.  If you are not familiar with Devin - you should be.  She has a show on Discover Health called Healthy Decadence (a cookbook by the same name as well as others) and she is also a major contributor to The Biggest Loser cookbooks.  She is really a great find.

To start you will need:

For the cupcakes:
Butter-flavored cooking spray
1-1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup corn starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 cup fat free milk
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
3 egg whites
1/2 cup light corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place 18 silicone or foil (not paper) cup cake liners into 18 cups of 2 standard, non-stick muffin tins (or you can work in batches, using only 1 tin). If using foil liners, lightly mist them with spray.
Add the flour, cocoa, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a medium mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix them until combined, being sure to break any lumps. Set it aside.

In a large mixing bowl, using a sturdy whisk, mix the sugar, milk and coffee granules, stirring continuously for 1 minute. Whisk in the egg whites and the corn syrup until blended. Add the dry ingredients and stir them until just smooth.

Fill each cup about two-thirds full.

Transfer the pan to the oven and bake them about 21-25 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out dry (a few crumbs are okay). Transfer the pan to a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes from the pan and allow them to cool completely.

For the butter cream frosting:
1/2 cup light butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3-3/4 cups powdered sugar

Add the butter, vanilla and salt to a medium mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer fitted with beaters, beat it on high speed until smooth. Then add half of the powdered sugar. Beat on low speed until well combined. Beat in the remaining powdered sugar until combined. Then beat on high speed until fluffy. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap until the cupcakes are completely cooled. Then spread 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons of the icing evenly over each cupcake. Makes 18 cupcakes.

(You save: 154 calories, 18 g fat, 11 g saturated fat!!)

Everything turned out really great.  I even took some extra non-iced cupcakes to my walking group and got great reviews!  Hope you are all having a great day...I have to get to tonight's dinner!! 

Menu Plan Monday...on Wednesday?

Yeah - so I actually created my menu plan on Monday night but haven't gotten around to posting it on here until now.  As a result of another blogger's inspiration I tried to create a weeks worth of healthful and enticing meals...because, as poigantly as Kendra says, "You can't not eat!!"

So here we go:
Monday - This was a fend for yourself meal...I cannot even remember what I had!

Tuesday - Deli Style Chicken and Orange Salad served with home made French bread

Wednesday - Ever Lovin' Oven Chops served with baked sweet potato fries and steamed green beans

Thursday - Turkey Loaf with Tomato Gravy served with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed carrots

Friday - Lemon Garlic Roasted Drumsticks served with baked potato and yellow and zucchini squash

Saturday - Beef and Broccoli Stroganoff served salad and crusty bread

Sunday - Thai Shrimp Noodle Bowls served with steamed egg rolls

I will be posting the recipes and photos in the next few days.

See you soon!!