Chipotle Chicken Croquettes with Spicy Mustard Sauce

Ok so y'all know I love comfort foods with a healthy twist.  So when the folks from Saucy Mama challenged us to come up with a unique recipe incorporating they're delicious gourmet mustards, I was literally jumping with excitement.  This is right up my alley!  I immediately thought of chicken croquettes because they're perfectly portioned, packed with protein and taste amaaaazing!

I've made chicken croquettes before using Cajun spices, celery and various other ingredients typically used in creole dishes.  Well when I saw we were given chipotle mustard as one of the options, I knew exactly what I would make and wanted to make this completely original!

Friends I give you Chipotle-Lime Chicken Croquettes with a Spicy Mustard Sauce!  I promise you will LOVE these.

Pinky swear.

The great thing about these little cakes are they're super easy to make, can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for easy party preparation and well, have a great kick to them that'll knock anyone right off they're feet!

And that's what you're going for right??

I thought so.

The spicy mustard sauce is seriously a winner in its own right as I wanted to just take a spoon and go at it.  Don't worry, I controlled my inner-fat kid and kept the dipping sauce to a minimum.  The combination of bell peppers, onion and chipotle spices tasted incredible together and the mustard gives everything such a nice flavor.

Go ahead, make them for yourself!

Don't take my word for it.

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Servings: 10

Serving Size: 1 croquette + 1 Tbsp sauce

Calories: 184

Fat: 8 g

Carbs: 9.5 g

Fiber: 1.2 g

Protein: 16.4 g

Old Points: 4.1 pts

Points+: 4 pts

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Here are your ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter, divided

1/3 cup minced red bell pepper

1/3 cup minced orange bell pepper

1/3 cup minced onion

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 1/2 cups whole what panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp Saucy Mama Chipotle Mustard

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. Mrs. Dash southwest chipotle seasoning

1 tsp. seasoned salt

Spicy Mustard Sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup light sour cream

1 Tbsp Saucy Mama Chipotle Mustard

1 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp. Mrs. Dash southwest chipotle seasoning

To make the sauce, whisk all ingredients in a small bowl and chill for at least an 2 hours before serving.

For the croquettes, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the minced bell peppers and onion and saute for about 5 minutes until tender.

In a large bowl, combine the chopped chicken, breadcrumbs and bell pepper mixture.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, eggs, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, seasonings and salt.  Add to the chicken mixture, tossing gently to combine.  Form the mixture into 10 patties.

In a large skillet, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter over medium heat.  Cook the chicken croquettes until browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side and serve with spicy mustard sauce.  Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe 

Hope you guys enjoy this recipe!

A BIG thank you to Saucy Mama for hosting this amazing Skinny Mama contest and for supplying me with some incredible gourmet mustards!  They're all so delicious!

Don't forget, voting starts February 29th so vote for moi pretty please!  Just click HERE and it'll take you right to it.  You can vote once each day through March 7th!

Thank y'all in advance, love you!

 

Sponsor?

I would love to have you in March!

Email me at cook.skinny@gmail.com if you're interested.

Pear, Apple and Raspberry Crisp

 Ok so I have a real sweetheart to introduce to you today!  Kristina, who writes for the fabulous blog Whipped, is a girl after my own heart.  Basically she's a health nut who LOVES sweets!  Doesn't get much better than that, right??  Living in Chicago, she loves to try out new recipes and play around with photography.  And no, she doesn't just make cupcakes and whoopie pies, her blog literally has something for everyone!  You have to check out her mini pizzas with arugula, peppers and prosciutto, I'm making those ASAP.  

Anyway enough of my rambling, I'll let her introduce herself and her super delicious recipe she's sharing with us today!

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Hi! I’m Kristina.

I’m a 20 something foodie with a huge sweet tooth. I’ve always been into healthy living and love to run, but I also need to be able to sneak in my sweet treats when I can. That’s why in my spare time I’m dreaming up lighter baking recipes to satisfy my sweet tooth without totally splitting my skinny jeans.

Here’s one of my favorite fruit crisp recipes that’s super simple to whip up and looks impressive enough to show off to your friends.  I can never resist a warm buttery streusel (and neither should you)!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

·         1 1/2 cup Bartlett pears sliced 1/2 inch thick

·         1 1/2 cup Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick

·         1 cup raspberries

·         1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

·         1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided

·         1 tablespoon corn starch

·         1 cup flour

·         1/2 cup brown sugar

·         4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

·         1/3 cup regular oats

·         1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine pears, apples, raspberries and lemon juice in a 2-quart baking dish.  Toss gently to coat.

3. Combine cornstarch and 1 teaspoon cinnamon with a whisk or fork.  Add cornstarch mixture to pear mixture and toss well to coat.

4. Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt in a food processor; pulse 2 times or until combined.  Add chilled butter and pulse 6 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add oats and pecans and pulse another 2 times.  Sprinkle flour mixture evenly over fruit mixture.

5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes or until pears are tender and topping is golden brown.

6. Cool 20 minutes on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

Now go ahead, stick your fork in the pan (no one's looking!) and...enjoy!

Thanks so much for letting me share one of my favorite fruit crisp recipes Kelly!  Hope you all had a great weekend!

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Sponsor Spotlight!

Happy Friday everyone! 
Ok so I must share with you my excitement for tonight!  My little pup Ollie finally gets to meet his brother Polly!  {Names were not planned at all btw}  Oliver is about 8 months older, but they both come from the same breeder and have the same mom and dad.  He's never played with someone his size before and isn't going to know what to do with himself!  My friend Tiffany happened to get him as a gift from her fiance, of course thanks to moi, and since we're having dinner and drinks, why not let the boys play too??  Pictures are definitely to come though, pretty sure it's going to be the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Now for the fun stuff!  I'd LOVE for you to meet these amazing ladies that I've come to know and love!  Their blogs are so much fun to read and I could easily be best friends with every single one of them.  Don't forget, I'm currently accepting sponsors for Eat Yourself Skinny for the month of March so please check out my sponsor page and let me know if you are interested!  I'd love to have you!

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Allow me to introduce my dear friend Megan who is {literally} from Across the Pond.  She's gorgeous, a total sweetheart and just so happens to date a man with an accent....yes be jealous.  Previously a former LA model, she uprooted her glamorous life for the chance to study abroad which turned out to be even more amazing than she could have ever imagined!  So make sure to follow along on her journey of life, love and breaking the language barrier with her Irish man candy.  I promise you'll be stalking her on the reg.

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Ok so I just LOVE Miss Stephanie from the fabulous blog Love. Life. Babies.  She's adorable, fun, and just so happens to have the greatest fashion sense ever.  She shares her amazing life as a mom to the most darling little girl and wife to the man of her dreams.  And let's be honest people, I want to know her secret to looking like that after popping out a little one!  May very well have something to do with her Vegan lifestyle, note to self.  I know you'll absolutely adore Steph as much as I do so make sure to stop by her blog and become a follower while you're at it!  You can thank me later.

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Meet the lovely Alycia from the blog The Curious Pug, which I think is the most adorable name for a blog ever.  Alycia is fun, quirky, honest and shares pretty much everything you can think of on her little blog of hers!  Whether you are into crafts, books, dogs or just want to follow what's going on in her life, her blog has something for everyone.  Oh and she has the cutest little puppy named Mabel who is the newest addition to her family and I seriously just want to steal her!  Ok not really, but you'll totally see why.  So head on over to her bog and make a new friend!

 

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Miss Olivia writes for the sweet blog Fairytales and Cancer Don't Mix and she is literally one of the strongest women I've ever met.  Overcoming impossible odds and becoming a cancer survivor at only 20-something years old, she shares the optimistic side of life while smiling the entire way.  Olivia and I would most likely be BFFs in the real word as we're both obsessed with Lilly Pulitzer, sweet tea and cupcakes, so what's not to love??  I hope you'll check out her fabulous blog and all the inspiring posts that come with it!   

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This next girl you will just adore!  Jasmine is the super cute blonde behind the blog Barbie Bombshell.  Think Elle Woods meets Canada with a bit of New York thrown in!  Her blog is fun, full of fashion and uh, did I mention inspiring?!?!  Girlfriend lost 100 pounds!  If that's not motivational for you then I don't know what is.  Not only does she share her weight loss tips and diet routines, but she also shares how to get her gorgeous hair and super fab style.  So follow along and make a new friend in the process!

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 I just love Julie from The Semi-Reformed Nerd!  She's a girl after my own heart sharing her favorite recipes, her adorable dog so appropriately named The Captain {um my dog should be called that as well} and her super fun life living in awesome Dallas, Texas.  Oh and looking for healthy menu plans to get you through the busy week??  She shares all that and MORE!  So head on over to Julie's blog, you'll be so glad I sent you!

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Meet the gorgeous Heather behind the blog Finding the Beauty in the Ordinary.  I just love the concept of her blog....finding beauty in everything, even in the most ordinary of moments.  Brilliant, huh??  Miss Heather shares her love for traveling, photography and is currently an adorable mommy-to-be!!  Follow her along and watch her little baby bump grow day by day, you won't want to miss her uplifting posts and fun pictures!  Trust me. 

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Ok so Maureen (aka Mo) has to be one of the sweetest people ever.  She is the writer behind the blog New On U and just so happens to be a neighbor of mine living in the DC area as well!  Her blog shares everything from delicious recipes, to her adorable pups Bowser and Mugsly, as well as her super fabulous life with her, YES, brand new fiance!  She was just proposed to last night and I couldn't be MORE excited for her!!  So head on over and congratulate her, I know you'll want to follow along with this newly-engaged sweetheart!

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Andrea's blog Quest for Delish is pretty much all that and more.  Living in New York City with her hubby a sweet little boys, Miss Andrea shares all her favorite delicious recipes from savory stuffed shells to sinfully delicious ultimate chocolate chip cookies.  I promise, this blog has something for everyone and I can just guarantee you'll get lost reading all her fun posts.  I love any blog that makes cooking look easy, and she sure is good at it!  Head on over and see what I mean!

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Helen is the super sweet girl behind the blog Eat. Enjoy. Live. and she shares a fun variety of stuff on her blog!  Whether you're looking for healthy delicious recipes, cute DIY projects or just want to read little snippets of her life, you will just adore reading Helen's posts.  She finds the beauty in pretty much everything and I know you will too after following along!  So head on over and make a new friend, you'll love her!  

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I'm so excited for you to meet Amee from the blog Amee's Savory Dish!  She's a gorgeous southern foodie living with her hubby and two adorable children {see the picture below} and shares her take on comfort food, but with a healthy twist!  I mean who doesn't love comfort food??  You'll find everything from her gorgeous cranberry orange chicken to gluten-free vanilla cupcakes, you really can't go wrong!  So follow along with this southern girl to see what yummy recipes she'll whip up next!  

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Ok ladies, you are just going to adore Miss Michelle who writes {and cooks} for the blog Michelle's Tiny Kitchen.  I seriously think we could be best friends as we are SO much alike!  We both grew up in DC, both work at law firms and, duh!, we're both obsessed with cooking and our dogs of course!  Now living in New York City with her hubby and dog Charlie, she now lives a Vegan lifestyle and has recipes everyone can enjoy!  You don't want to miss out on her fabulous blog, she seriously rocks!

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Hope you've enjoyed meeting all these wonderful ladies!  Make sure to check out all their blogs and send them a quick hello, I mean who doesn't like to make a new friend??  Meanwhile, I'm trying to get out of this office early as the sun is finally coming out and my nails are in desperate need of a manicure.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Spicy Lime Salsa

Ok so I'm gonna go ahead and say it.
This is literally the best salsa EVER!

I love it because it contains everything you'd ever want in a salsa...tomatoes, jalapenos, green chilis, red onion, cilantro and even a dash of cumin {just to name a few ingredients}  It's super quick to blend together and is easily jarred for future use.  Oh and trust me, you'll want to make batches and batches of this stuff!

It's like crack.

I broke this up nutritionally by 1/2 cups since lets be honest people, who really sits down to eat salsa and only eats only 2 or 3 tablespoons??  Yeah no one in their right mind, except maybe Kate Moss.
 

The great thing is this salsa is fat-free and only 40 calories for an entire 1/2 cup!  I chose to use whole wheat tortilla chips, but baked ones would be a great choice too.  This would taste fabulous on quesadillas, taco salads, pretty much any Mexican entree you can think of and I can guarantee you it will be a hit at your next party.

...Cinco de Mayo anyone??

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Servings: 4

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

Calories: 40

Fat: 0 g

Carbs: 8.5 g

Fiber: 1.9 g

Protein: 1 g

Old Points: 0 pts

Points+: 0 pts

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Here are your ingredients:

1 (14.5 oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1 (4.25 oz) can green chilies

1/2 cup chopped red onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Juice of 1 lime (about 3 Tbsp)

1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed and chopped

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cumin

Place all ingredients in the bowl of your food processor.  Pulse until just combined for chunky salsa or pulse more for smoother salsa.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

Umm so writing this post has given me a serious craving for some margaritas and/or other alcoholic beverages.  And did I mention it feels like 70 degrees outside??  Good thing I have Happy Hour planned in T-minus 7 hours, sure hope the day goes by fast!

Cheers friends!

Margherita Pizza

So I finally made my first homemade pizza.

And it was amaaaazing.

The pictures didn't come out as great as I had hoped, but it sure tasted incredible!  And that's all that matters right?  I used this recipe that my lovely friend Amanda had shared from The Pioneer Woman and adapted the rest of it using a recipe I found from Cooking Light.

The simplicity of this pizza is just what I was looking for and uses absolutely no sauce!  Just sliced tomatoes, fat-free mozzarella cheese, chopped basil and a bit of balsamic!  My favorite combination of ingredients all on one heaping pile of dough.

Which also tasted crazy delicious.

The great thing about the dough is that you can make it ahead of time and use whenever you'd like.  I halved the recipe since I knew I was just making one pizza and stored it in the fridge for about 2 1/2 days til I made it.  It was super easy to make and was fun to shape!

I do want to invest, however, in a nice pizza stone because I think my pizza would have come out a million times better, but for now this works.  The great thing about this is you can make any type of pizza you want!  The possibilities are endless!  I just happen to be the pickiest eater known to man so I kept it simple.

...and I write for a food blog?

Crazy.

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Servings: 6

Serving Size: 2 slices

Calories: 230

Fat: 7 g

Carbs: 32 g

Fiber: 1.8 g

Protein: 7.6 g

Old Points: 4.8 pts

Points+: 6 pts

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Here are your ingredients:

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman and Cooking Light 

For the dough:

1/2 tsp. active dry or instant yeast

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup warm water

For the pizza:

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, halved

4 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 cup (4 oz) fat free mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 fresh basil, chopped

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Sprinkle yeast over warm water.  In your stand mixer using the paddle attachment, combine the flour and salt.  Then on a slow speed, drizzle in the olive oil until just combined with the flour.  Next pour in the yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.  Form the dough into a ball.

Coat a separate bowl with a touch of olive oil and place your ball of dough into the bowl.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in fridge until ready to use, at least 24 hours in advance.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray (or utilize a pizza stone if you have one) and get a bit of flour on your hands.  Start working your dough and stretch it into a long rectangle on your baking sheet, pressing with your fingers to finish forming.  Your dough should be very thin.

Brush your dough with about a 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and rub your crust with the cut sides of the garlic.  Arrange tomato slices over crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border and sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly throughout.  Bake at 500 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.  Sprinkle pizza evenly with chopped basil, salt and pepper and feel free to drizzle a bit of balsamic if desired.  Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

Just so y'all know, I'm practically blind writing this post so I apologize ahead of time if there any typos!  I finally went to see the eye doctor this morning to get my eyes checked and to get some glasses.  They had to dilate my eyes basically making me blind for about 4 hours, but at least I'll be able to see better now since I've been putting this off since pretty much college!

Oh and you know I'm going to rock some super cute lenses.
Hmm maybe I'll even look smarter?

...probably not.

Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken

So it is officially that time again, Secret Recipe Club time!!  This month I had the pleasure of receiving the fabulous blog Kate's Kitchen and lemme tell you, there were SO many delicious recipes that it was hard to choose just one!  Well after printing out a bunch of different ones {that I will definitely be making in the near future} I finally narrowed it down to these delicious Thai Peanut Noodles!

One of my all-time favorite salads EVER, literally on the face of this Earth, is one with spicy peanut noodles, so when I saw this I just knew I had to make it!  I did modify this recipe just a bit by using soba noodles instead of regular spaghetti since soba noodles are only 3 points per serving as opposed to 5.  I also omitted a lot of the oil in order to cut calories as well as the peanuts since, well, Chris just doesn't really care for them.  I threw in some sesame seeds too as a fun garnish since I thought they just went really well with the overall dish!

This recipe turned out amazing and I was really pleased with how it tasted!  The combination of soy sauce, lime juice and peanut butter was fantastic and the brown sugar added the perfect sweetness.  Screw takeout, this takes little to no time at all and cuts over half the calories from any place you'd end up ordering from!

I should probably also note that I did substitute the brown sugar for Splenda brown sugar blend to cut some additional calories, but thought that it still tasted fabulous!  Total fan of cutting calories anytime it's possible, especially on indulgent dishes.

And don't even get me started on my chopstick debacle.

When I had picked this recipe to make, I KNEW I wanted to display chopsticks in my photo because duh, it's the best way to eat Thai food {and sushi}.  Well who knew that finding nice chopsticks would become my weekend mission?!  I had assumed they could be found at Bed, Bath and Beyond, or any other home goods type store for that matter, but after 5 different stores with absolutely no success, I finally just went into my local takeout place and sheepishly asked for their free chopsticks.

Yeah you know the kind that comes in the plastic wrap that you break apart to use.

Yep those ones.

I had contemplated offering to buy their super fancy ones from the sushi bar, but chickened out at the last minute and didn't really want to look that desperate.  Sigh.  Alas, you should appreciate the chopsticks you see before you as they clearly are the most important aspect in this dish.

I kid I kid.

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Servings: 6

Serving Size: 1 cup

Calories: 222

Fat: 5.8 g

Carbs: 32.7 g

Fiber: 0.8 g

Protein: 12.8 g

Old Points: 4.8 pts

Points+: 6 pts

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Here are your ingredients:

Recipe adapted from Kate's Kitchen 

12 oz. soba noodles

6 Tbsp fresh lime juice

3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

3 Tbsp reduced-fat peanut butter

1 Tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (or 3 Tbsp of regular brown sugar)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/4 cup scallions, sliced

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

Sesame seeds, as garnish

Cook soba noodles according to package directions.  Meanwhile, whisk together peanut butter and 3 tablespoons of lime juice.  Whisk in the rest of the ingredients, including your fresh herbs, and toss with the noodles.  Garnish with sesame seeds and enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe 

 

Thanks again Kate for this delicious recipe!

Make sure to check out her fabulous blog Kate's Kitchen for more amazing dishes and fun blog posts.  And if you haven't already, be sure to check out the Secret Recipe Club!  I guarantee you'll meet some incredible bloggers and find some delicious recipes in the process.

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Now it's time to announce the winner of The Carb Lover's Diet Cookbook!

Drum roll please...

Congratulations Jesika!!
Hope you find lots of guilt-free recipes you can enjoy!

Thanks again to everyone who entered the Carb Lover's cookbook giveaway!  If you're super bummed you didn't win, you can purchase your own copy of the book here for only $17.44!  Trust me, it's worth every penny.

Have a wonderful Monday everyone!