Food Frenzy Friday 5

I am SUPER excited about this week's Food Frenzy Friday!!

Every Sunday, I begin the great debate as to what to make for dinner. I try to plan for the week so I don't need to make too many trips to the grocery store. I've been rotating through a lot of the same recipes (several of which I've shared with you before). I've been digging through my favorite bloggers websites for healthy recipes. Gina at SkinnyTaste and Brooke at Skinny Mom (along with all of the bloggers she has on her website --- there are several contributors who all have fabulous recipes and tips). But even going through all my pins on the Healthy Recipes board on Pinterest, nothing was jumping out on me. I knew I wanted to avoid pasta --- several dishes included pasta and I felt like I needed a break! So I revisited my Weight Watchers cookbooks.

You may remember one of my very first posts: Tweaking My Diet --- Plus 2 Recipes. I shared a Parmesan Turkey Meatloaf recipe which I paired with Roasted Butternut Squash and Parmesan Polenta. Still one of my favorite recipe finds to date. Well, I went digging through these cookbooks again and decided it was time to try something new.

If you're like me, you may worry when you cook something new that is healthier recipe, you may proceed with caution. I feel a slight wave of anxiety come over me when I'm cooking something new for the first time... is it going to taste good? I hope so! Bless my husband, I know he'll eat it either way (however, I am pickier and won't eat something if I really don't like it --- I made my father crazy doing this as I grew up).

From the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook: Orange-Crumbed Baked Chicken. I actually found the recipe directly from the cookbook online so instead of posting the entire recipe, you can view the recipe on page 163 here. I liked how there was only a slight taste of orange flavoring --- it wasn't too overpowering. I cooked the thighs for 20 minutes on each side as I used thighs with bones (the recipe calls for boneless). My only issue was when I turned the chicken over after the first 20 minutes in the oven, some of the breading came off with it. I don't know if I needed to spray more non-stick spray on the sheet next time or maybe I just need to push harder on the chicken when I breaded the chicken. The great part about using thighs (which I don't usually use since I don't like having to pick apart my dinner --- I prefer boneless), the chicken was super moist! Loved this!

From the Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook: Roasted Sweet Potato and Pear Mash. Until about 5 years ago, I wasn't really into sweet potatoes. Even to this day, I don't really eat a baked sweet potato. But my mother-in-law makes a killer sweet potato casserole for most major holidays, and this gave me my cravings for sweet potatoes. Of course, you hear "sweet potato casserole" and start to think about all the unhealthy things that go into it. I've never asked for the recipe because I don't want to be tempted to make it (as yummy as it is) because I don't want to know how many calories are in it. :)

HOWEVER! I found the perfect solution. And I mean PERFECT! Weight Watchers Roasted Sweet Potato and Pear Mash. Here are the details.

Serves 4 (1/2 cup servings) --- 5 Weight Watchers PointsPlus

2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed (1.25lbs)
1 Barlett pear, halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon bourbon or orange juice (I used orange juice)
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons butter (I used Land 'O Lakes Light Butter)
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Pierce potatoes in several place with fork. Place in small baking pan and bake until tender, about 40 minutes. (Note: I bought the pre-wrapped sweet potatoes that I just needed to microwave for 12 minutes --- 6 per potato as noted on the wrapper --- wanted to minimize cooking time).

2. Meanwhile, spray 9-inch pie plate with nonstick spray. Place pear halves cut side down in pie plate. Bake until pear and potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Carefully transfer potatoes to cutting board, cut in half lengthwise, and let cool. Let pear halves cool.

3. Scoop flesh from potatoes and place in food processor. Remove core from pear and cut pear into chunks; add to food processor. Process until smooth. Add bourbon/orange juice, brown sugar, butter, and salt; process until combined. Transfer puree to small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring often, until hot (about 2 minutes).

1/2 cup serving (196 g), 188 Cal. 2 g Total Fat, 1 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 5 mg Chol, 238 mg Sod, 39 g Total Carb, 14 g Total Sugar, 6 g Fib, 2 g Prot, 50 mg Calc.

When I plugged this recipe into My Fitness Pal as it was not loaded into the website yet (using orange juice and the light butter), the calories actually came in at 126 per half cup serving, even better! I've got to be honest... I thought these sweet potatoes were as good as my mother-in-laws sweet potatoes! The pear is a perfect way of sweetening the potatoes naturally. I actually even sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon on top of mine when I scooped them onto my plate - perfect! I can't wait to make these again, these are without a doubt my new favorite side dish. See below! I made a side of green beans with this dinner... my favorite veggie!

Happy Healthy Cooking! And don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin' so you don't miss a beat!