Day 252: Another New Recipe, TJ's Product Review and Weekend News

Yesterday I woke up MUCH more well rested and even washed/dried my hair in the morning (as opposed to the night before). This was necessary as per my new theory that either my hair needs to be “fresh” or I need to wear make up. Well make up is out as allergies are too bad… so good hair it is to keep me from looking haggard and unkempt. Anyway! Traffic was bad this morning – boo, but it only had me 10 minutes late so not awful. I worked hard, walked 3.5 during lunch and then had a yummy lunch with a new Trader Joe’s product: Yellow curry sauce.

I basically took 5 oz. chicken and cooked with salt, ginger and 1 tbsp sauce. Once the chicken was almost done, I added .75 cup cooked white rice, more salt, another tbsp of sauce and 1 tbsp of chopped cilantro and stirred for 1-2 minutes. It was YUMMY!! May have been even better “fresh” the night before – but reheat was pretty fab!



Afterwards I was in meetings pretty much all afternoon, then I headed back to the gym for 2 miles and back and shoulders strength training. Then I raced home to make a new recipe from, you guessed it, For the Love of Cooking! This time I made what me and Austin call Creamy Chicken Tostados. AMAZING!

Before Oven

Sour Cream Sauce

6 tbsp fat-free sour cream

2 tbsp sweet yellow onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 tsp lime juice

1 clove of garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine ingredients. Cover and place in the refrigerator.

Chicken and Dressing

1-2 pieces baby red bell pepper, cored, seeded and flattened

1-2 pieces baby yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and flattened

8 oz. cooked chicken, shredded

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tsp lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

Heat broiler for 10 minutes. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Put the flattened peppers skin side up on a baking sheet; broil until blackened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove any blackened skin and chop them finely into pieces. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, cumin, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken meat, onions and peppers. Toss chicken mixture with the dressing until well coated. Taste and re-season with salt and pepper if needed. Add sour cream sauce. Mix well.

Other Ingredients: 4 tortillas, 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese, shredded and Guacamole & salsa (I used 6 tbsp of Trader Joe's - 1.5 tbsp on each)

Place tortillas on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the bottom of the tortilla is close to golden brown. Remove from the oven and turn the tortillas over. Carefully, layer the chicken and pepper mixture on the tortilla; then add some sour cream mixture; next add a bit of cheese. Bake until the cheese melts and the tortilla is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with fresh guacamole and cilantro. Serve with fresh salsa and enjoy.

Toasted & Ready to Eat!

It makes 2 servings but for one it’s super filling and secondly it’s pretty high in calories. So, it makes 4 tostados – I had 1.5 which came out to 388 calories, 40 carbs and 10 fat grams. It also has TONS of protein – 35! But if you have all two, you would end up at 517 calories, 54 carbs and 13 fat grams. If you DEFINITELY want more than 388 calories – just pile all of half the recipe on one tortilla to cut out a tortilla! Just some thoughts. GREAT recipe though, but for now I’ll reserve it for weekends – it took too long for a weeknight!

After dinner we settled in for a couple of law & orders and a couple of vita brownies- YUM!! I ended up at 1,692 calories, 240 carbs and 33 fat grams – not bad (especially with cardio factored in) Here’s what I ate.