Gorgeous Chicken night! I can’t remember where I came across this recipe – - and I can’t, for the life of me, remember it’s name. It’s something like “Really Good Chicken” or “Damn Good Chicken” or some such thing – - anyways, I just renamed it “Gorgeous Chicken” .. cuz it sounds good. It’s REALLY easy to!

Preheat oven to 400.

I use an 8lb chicken. (because I have a teenage son, so you can take away an automatic 2lbs right there!) My rule of thumb for baking chicken? 20 minutes per pound – then add another 20 minutes. but I always check the thermometer before calling it done. (checking the breast area of a whole chicken with a meat thermometer – - it’s done when it reaches 175).

Remove the innards completely and wash the chicken inside and out. Let sit in a collander in the sink for about 15 minutes until the bird reaches room temp. Pat it dry.

I use about a cup (or more) of lemon juice. Pour it all over the chicken – inside and out. Then take 3-4 whole lemons.. prick each one 3-4 times with a fork and shove those lemons right up the birds ass. I season with ground sea salt and fresh ground pepper. (you can use garlic juice in with the lemon juice too, if you’re a garlic lover like me!)

Reduce the temp of the oven to 350 and put the bird in a roasting pan. Put it in the oven, breast side down, for an hour. Then flip the bird breast side up and cook for the remaining time until done.

I served it up with steamed asparagus with a spritz or two of butter (of the “I Can’t Believe It’s Not” variety) and a side of brown rice.

(Note – yes, of course you can use the left over chicken meat to make wraps for lunch the next day – - a whole wheat tortilla, lettuce, tomatoes and a smearing of non-fat ranch dressing)

Disclaimers up front – I am in NO WAY affiliated with these No Pudge people. I don’t get compensated for this. That being said . . . have you ever said the phrase “Fat Free Heaven” ?? After trying these brownies – you will. Ohhhh you will!

They are completely 100% fat free. No lie. Only downfall is the carb count at 28g per brownie. For all you Weight Watchers folks out there – it’s a 2 Point brownie. I decided to try it out when I saw the boxes of it at my local health food store.

You mix the brownie mix with 2/3 cup fat free vanilla yogurt (my favorite comes from StoneyField Farms) – then you bake it at 350 for 30 minutes and that is it.

Rich. Chewy. Chocolatey. Fudgey. Goodness. Even my 14 year old daughter loves them!

Ingredients: Pure Sugar Cane, Dutch Cocoas, Cornstarch, Salt, Unbleached Wheat Flour, Egg Whites, Wheat Gluten, Baking Soda. Then the added no fat yogurt.

Too unbelievabley good to be true! Read more about them at the NoPudge Site!

We tried these yesterday and they are PHENOMENAL!

1 1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 1/2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped basil (fresh is best!)
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 large portobello mushrooms, washed – stems sliced off
1/2 cup non-fat cream cheese
4 large whole wheat tortillas

Mix the olive oil, garlic together in bowl. Brush the mixture on the mushrooms.

Grill mushrooms 3-4 minutes each site (I grilled them on our George Foreman grill). Let cool. Cut into 1 inch strips.

Mix cream cheese, basil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Layout tortillas and spread 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture on each. Lay a green lettuce leaf over the cheese then lay 3-4 mushroom stips on each. Roll the toritilla and enjoy!

Salmon is a great addition to your healthy diet – good source of protein and soluble fat.

Coat baking dish with nonfat cooking spray.
Place Salmon filets in dish.
Pour 1/4 cup lemon juice over top of salmon
Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
Lay 4-6 lemon slices across top of salmon.

Bake at 350 for until fish is pink and flakey. Put broiler on high and broil for 5 minutes. Remove, and serve.

(NOTE: Use remaining salmon to make great whole wheat tortilla wraps with the salmon, some lettuce, tomatoe and whatever else strikes your fancy – for lunch!)

Love asian foods? This one is a winner:

1/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 clove garlic, crushed
10 g fresh ginger, (2 tsp) finely grated
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp chilli sauce
20 g shallots, (2 shallots) ends trimmed, finely sliced
4 small skinless chicken breast
40 g fresh coriander, (2 tbs) chopped
1 medium lime, cut into wedges

Combine the lime juice, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, chilli and shallots in a bowl.Using a mallet pound the chicken breast until flat and an even thickness. Combine the chicken in a bowl with the marinade and refrigerate for 1 hour if possible.

Drain chicken and reserve marinade. Coat a frying pan with cooking spray, heat and cook the chicken on both sides until browned and tender, brushing with the reserved marinade.

Sprinkle with the coriander and serve with lime wedges.

I ran across this recipe somewhere on the net while searching for recipes for turkey tenderloin. We had it for dinner the other night and it was a hit, definitley on our ‘do again’ list of meals.

1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 tablespoon ground ginger
1/4 tablespoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 tablespoon cracked black pepper

combine the first 6 ingredients ina bowl. Pour it over the turkey tenderloins and marinate 30 minutes – 3 hours.

Combine grated lemon rind, garlic and black pepper – rub over tenderloins. Bake at 340 until meat reaches temp of 170. Take out of oven, let sit for 10 minutes. Serve.

Note: Use any leftover turkey the next day to make turkey wraps for lunch. Mince the turkey, add chopped tomatoes, shredded carrots, minced black olives with a few tablespoons non fat ranch dressing. Put a green lettuce leaf on a whole wheat tortilla – spoon the turkey mixture on top of the lettus – roll up and enjoy!

This is a recipe of my very own making. I made it up just yesterday, as a matter of fact. It was a hit with the man AND with the kids!

First! Make the Ranch Dressing with 1 package Fat Free Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix and 2 cups of fat free plain yogurt. (My favorite fat free yogurt comes from StonyField Farms)

Salmon Ranch Wrap

Whole Wheat Tortilla
Canned Pink Salmon

Mix a few tablespoons of the Ranch dressing in with the salmon. Then, I chopped up some cherry tomatoes, chopped up some chives, gathered some shredded carrots (I bought them pre-shredded) and mixed all that in with the salmon and dressing.

For extra flavor – I added a spoonful of capers, a dash or two of dill and some ground sea salt and fresh ground black pepper into the salmon mixture.

I let the salmon mixture sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes to let all the flavors comingle.

Then – I spread a thin layer of the ranch dressing onto one of the whole wheat tortillas, laid a green lettuce leaf on it and put two slices of fat free swiss cheese on it, then I put about 1/2 cup of the salmon mixture ontop of that and rolled it all up and chomped it all down.

It was heavenly!

I just have to say – making the ranch dressing with fat free plain yogurt instead of fat free mayo makes a WORLD of difference. Try it sometime – you won’t even notice the difference!