Shamelessly Jacked Kids Menu - Grilled Cheese

When I decided to start this blog I wanted it to be about how we are fitting in here in Cali but also how I cheat the system into eating what I want by making the things I love with better ingredients.

I hate to say this is a "recipe" because it's not. What it is really is a combination of low calorie ingredients that you can use for an easy lunch or dinner. Plus, I write about things that taste good and this certainly qualifies AND it's a dinner for two so win-win. 

Last time I was in San Diego I was there for work and flew in early. I was at a swanky hotel and starving so I made my way down to the hotel's restaurant to eat alone. Because I either have no fear or my shame button was turned off, I ordered the most bizarre lunch: a glass of wine and a grilled cheese sandwich.

Now before you judge me: it was grilled cheese month AND that's a real holiday I did not make up AND if you're eating alone you better do it like a boss and have a glass of wine. I don't care if you've just ordered off the kids menu.

The PTA meeting at the table next to me was in full judge mode and I can tell you I did not care one bit. That grilled cheese was DELICIOUS.

It was so good I went home and started ordering grilled cheese everywhere. I can tell you that in Baton Rouge one of my favorite grilled cheese sammys is from The Bread Box on Essen. It's called the "Grown Up Grilled Cheese" and it's like a heavenly cheese explosion. 


So a week or two ago I started to crave it again and just knew that I'd be tossing it a lot of calories between the cheese, butter, and bread. Add to this I also wanted tomato basil soup. I'm greedy like that!

If you want a low cal Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup option pick up these ingredients:

4 slices Sara Lee 45 calorie bread
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter (or less)
2 slices low calorie Pepper Jack
Campbell's Harvest Tomato with Basil 

(DO NOT get their tomato soup...you want this one! Trust me. It's delicious and I could have pretended it was homemade and Husband would have never known the difference!)

This will not, I repeat will not, taste as good as the grown up grilled cheese at The Breadbox. Lower those expectations...

Basically you make the grilled cheese sandwich the same way since the dawn of grilled cheese time and you heat the soup on the stove.

This makes two sandwiches and the soup has two servings (real servings, not pretend ones that food companies put on packaging that do not reflect what a normal person would eat. I'm talking to YOU Girl Scouts of America!)

With these options your grilled cheese AND soup will come out to be around 350 calories. That's absurdly low. And it's pretty filling. I mean I could eat another sandwich cause it is delicious, but I never have. 

I made it this week because I was sick and I couldn't bare the thought of cooking or eating chicken noodle soup. I have to say it was a winner!


If you have any other cheats to a lighter, delicious, easy meal - let me know!

XO,
Andrea

Accidental Taco Soup. A Slow Cooker Miracle!

Nope. No post yesterday. I was doing so well, wasn't I? It's been a strange week. I haven't been feeling 110% percent. Still looking for something to do with my time (apparently blogging about your health is NOT a viable career). Also, I have been a little obsessive about the dog since the incident chronicled in the post: Dog Pounds.

Not to mention my mother-in-law will be in town this weekend coming back from an extended stay in the Philippines AND it's her birthday AND two of my nieces are getting their black belts. I have some very special, very high calorie desserts planned for this weekend. Definitely more Cajun than California. So clearly I am happily, joyously busy! I've had this weekend in the planner for a while!


Before I get into the sweet of the weekend, here's a little savory.

Preface: I was not trying to make soup, thus the name Accidental Taco Soup. I was TRYING to make seasoned chicken that I would then put in a tortilla and eat with said cheese and sour cream. In my wild imagination the slow cooker KNOWS what I'm trying to do when I turn it on and I just throw things in there willy nilly. That's the truth. Once I discovered the slow cooker I just went wild. The result is that sometimes I end up with a crock pot full-a-crazy OR amazing awesomeness...


Accidental Taco Soup

Servings: 4 Time: Prep 5 minutes. 4 hours in the slow cooker on high or 6-8 low.

Bowl-Fulla-Awesome

Per Serving Stats: 
(depends on how much chicken you use AND does not include sour cream or cheese)

Calories - 210
Carbs - 36g
Fat - 15g


WHAT YOU NEED

Frozen Chicken Breasts

Taco seasoning packet

Salsa (1 cup)

And if you like:

Shredded Cheese

Light Sour Cream

Some people weigh their chicken breasts. I just look at them and know, ya know? I put in 4 big ones or 5 little ones. There are low sodium taco seasoning packets out there. Get them!


WHAT YOU DO

-Spray the inside of your slow cooker for easy clean up.

-Place the frozen chicken in the crock pot and cover with a cup of salsa.

-Mix separately 2/3 c of water with your taco seasoning and then add to the slow cooker.

-Walk away

-Periodically check on the chicken and start cutting it with a metal spoon while it's in the slow cooker.

-Serve in a bowl with shredded cheese and sour cream if you like!

 

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO WITH THESE INGREDIENTS?
There are no specialty ingredients here. Yay!

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
It's delightful. Easy. And in case you missed it pretty high in the carbs and kinda high in the fat. But also cheap! Three out of five ain't bad right? 

XO Andrea

Tilapia & Rotel. A Marriage made in Lazy Girl Heaven

Since October is my second favorite month, I'm going to start it on the right foot!

 This recipe is one of my favorite go-to recipes when you know that the evening will end with dessert. Hopefully you aren't thinking to yourself, "this girl plans her dinner around her dessert?" But if you are thinking that the answer is yes, I would plan my whole life around dessert. Judge away!

Two Ingredients. One piece of amazing.

It really doesn't get easier. It's only two ingredients. It's crazy cheap (this particular day I spent $1.03/serving).


We never, ever have leftovers. This is partially due to the fact that we usually eat this with veggies and have 2 filets a piece but also because it is SUPER delicious. I love it and I'm not a fish person. Yes I did grow up around the greatest seafood in the world. Don't argue. It's a fact. Truth be told, I really only love my personal trifecta of seafood: shrimp, crawfish and scallops. Maybe it's because the idea of a "fish stick" disturbs me. What part of the fish are you making into a stick? But I digress...

Also, I want you to know I even went to The Grammarist to verify whether it was filet or fillet. It's important to know! So without further ado... the mother of all tilapia recipes!!! 






Tilapia + Rotel 

Servings: 4-5 
Time: About 45 minutes
Per Serving Stats:
Calories - 116
Carbs - 3g
Fat - 3g

WHAT YOU NEED
Tilapia Filets 
Rotel

How do you get cheaper than rotel? Somehow Great Value at Walmart has done it and I'm here to tell you it tastes exactly like rotel. I tasted no difference whatsoever. Also, when you purchase frozen tilapia they usually have 4 bigger filets or 5 filets with 2 of them being little nuggets. It's the luck of the draw my friend but it all evens out.



WHAT YOU DO


-Defrost tilapia.

-Preheat oven to 350.

-Mix rotel in a bowl with seasonings of your choice.

Cheaper Rotel. Prepping the fish. Precious Pouches!

     I throw in whatever I feel like because you really can't mess this up. On this particular day I used cumin, red pepper, garlic powder, cilantro and some scallions I had leftover from Lazy, Cheaper Skinny Bang Bang Shrimp. Like I said, you cannot mess this up. For those inquiring minds cilantro IS the best so at the bare minimum you should definitely use it.

-Cut foil pieces big enough to hold the tilapia and create a little pouch

-Place the foil on a baking sheet and place the tilapia in the foil. Cover with rotel. I try not to add all the juice only because it's messy but whatever you want to do just do it. The kitchen police aren't going to show up.

-Wrap the tilapia into it's precious little foil pouch.

-Bake for 30 minutes. 


    
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO WITH THESE INGREDIENTS?


You probably won't have leftovers of either ingredient because you use it all. Yay! It's tilapia so there are a ridiculous amount of recipes out there and rotel is famous for making ordinary cheese amazing.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

It's good. It's cheap. It's low calorie. It's easy. Is there anything else you need to know?

XO, Andrea

Lazy Cheaper Skinny Bang Bang Shrimp

I can't believe I'm about to write my first recipe that includes a positive note about mayonnaise, but that's what's about to happen.

I am a long time mayo hater. To the core. Back when the internet was invented (did it exist before you found it?) I even found a website called nomayo.com. The site no longer exists but the underground world of mayo haters is alive and kicking.

Even this precious bear has strong feelings about mayo!

I don't know why but the thought of mayonnaise has always just made my skin crawl and I assume it's because of some childhood trauma. Maybe it's because supermarket sandwich trays always assume that you want each little triangle covered in mayo. Nay, I say. Some of us consider ourselves to be mustard loyalists.


As I've gotten older I don't mind mayo as much anymore. By "mind" I mean if it's an ingredient and isn't overwhelmingly in my nostrils or taste buds I can handle it for the most part but I'm not about to douse a slice of innocent bread in it.

A few months before we moved from Louisiana, Husband and I started spending our Friday evenings at Bonefish Grill. The pearl of the Bonefish oyster is none other than their Bang Bang Shrimp. The sauce is amazing and if you've ever had it you understand why we would go back week after week and order the same thing. Bangin' indeed.


Due to the beauty of Pinterest I discovered some sweet angel made a copy cat recipe called Skinny Bang Bang Shrimp. Her recipe is indeed skinny. It's also fancy. Fancy here is defined as "jumbo shrimp on skewers." I guess I do have the time to cook shrimp on sticks, but I'm not going to. Thus a new recipe was born out of sheer laziness...


Lazy Cheaper Skinny Bang Bang Shrimp. Ya welcome!

Serves: 2
Time: Barely 30 minutes
Per Serving Stats:
   Calories - 301
   Carbs- 12g
   Fat- 7g
 

WHAT YOU NEED
Light Mayo (2.5 tbsp)
Scallions -also called green onions by less fancy people (2 tbsp)
Sweet Chili Sauce (1.5 tbsp)
Sriracha (.5 tbsp)
Frozen Tiny Shrimp (16 oz. or about two cups)
Romaine lettuce


Why am I not using her suggested 40 large shrimp? While that is perfect for skewers, this version is more of a salad. Also the little nugget shrimp are cheaper. You get more for your money and if you're making this for more than two people then you will appreciate that you can get a big bag and just double the sauce.


WHAT YOU DO

-First cook those nuggety little shrimps in a skillet with light oil. They'll turn a pink color.

-Mix the scallions, mayo, chili sauce, and sriracha in a bowl. I did not measure the scallions cause who has time for that? I just cut enough to satisfy me. They are low cal so probably won't break anyone's calorie counters.

-When the shrimp are finished, drain them and then dump them in the mixture bowl. Stir until they are covered.

-Serve over lettuce.


WHAT ELSE CAN I DO WITH THESE INGREDIENTS?

My biggest gripe with most recipes is that you sometimes have to buy big bottles or packages of something for such a little amount. I never know what to do with the extras. Here's what you can do with the rest of some of the less common ingredients.

Scallions-  Put them on anything. I think they work best in Asian-style soups/dishes.

Sweet Chili Sauce-  I will literally eat this over rice. By itself. It's heaven.

Sriracha- For you brave souls like Husband you can put it on anything. He mixes it with his mayo and eats it on sandwiches. Whatever floats your boat!

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

This will not replace the amazingness of Bang Bang Shrimp, believe me. At first this was a disappointing realization but considering how low calorie this substitute is, I think it's worthy of remembering and saving. That being said, the sauce is a lot thinner than you would expect to find in a restaurant. Overall I'd give this a thumbs up and think it would make a really easy make-ahead, sandwich replacing lunch. 

XO,

Andrea