My better than "copycat" recipe for Applebee's Dijon Chicken and Portobellos

We were stuck in Bellevue one evening around dinnertime and needed food.  Applebee's seemed to be the best compromise, so that's where we ended up.  Fortunately they have a "550 Calories or Less" menu, which I knew had to be deciphered!!  Some of the entire meals were less than 550 calories... some of them were just the meats... and people wonder why food confuses them!!!

Wonder no more, my loves... this entire meal is less than 600 calories per serving if you make it exactly the way I do!

Vicki's Version of Applebee's Dijon Chicken and Portobello

4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 5 oz. each)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 C. Dijon mustard
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 T. olive oil

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a gallon size ziplock bag.  Shake well to mix.  Add chicken breasts, making sure they are thoroughly coated.  Squeeze out as much air as possible and refrigerate  for at least 3 hours (or overnight).

1 red bell pepper
1 8 oz. package whole crimini mushrooms, cleaned
1/2 red onion

Preheat grill.  Grill vegetables (using a grill grid if desired) until they are crisp-tender.



Remove and cool.  Dice and place together in a bowl.



Remove chicken from marinade and grill until cooked through, about 8 minutes per side.  Keep warm.

To assemble, place each chicken breast on an oven-proof serving plate.  Top with about 1/2 C. of mushroom/pepper/onion mixture.  Sprinkle with about 2 T. freshly grated asiago cheese.  Broil just until cheese is melted and slightly browned.



Serve with 1 C. of microwave steamed potatoes (plain) and 2 C. steamed mixed veggies (couple spritzes of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray).

Microwave Steamed Potatoes

I was at a loss as to how Applebees cooked their "steamed" potatoes.  They were obviously seasoned with salt and the texture wasn't exactly like any steamed potato I'd had before.  I finally figured it out... they're microwaved!  These ones taste and feel exactly like the ones in the restaurant.  In this picture I used a mix of purple and Yukon gold potatoes.

1 lb. waxy potatoes of your choice (red, gold, white, purple)
1/2 C. water
1 t. kosher salt

Cut potatoes into 1/2" dice.  Place potatoes, water and salt in microwave-safe bowl.  Cover and cook on high for 4 minutes.  Stir, re-cover, and cook for another 4-6 minutes until tender.  Let stand 5 minutes, drain and serve.

Parmesan Broiled Tilapia

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 T butter, softened
1/4 C mayonnaise
2 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 t dried basil
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t paprika
1/4 C panko
Old Bay Seasoning
1 1/2 lbs. tilapia fillets
Directions

Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper and onion powder.  Add panko, mix well and set aside.
Sprinkle both sides of fish with Old Bay. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Amount Per Serving (one fillet) Calories: 225 | Total Fat: 12.8g | Cholesterol: 63mg



Shown served with cooked spinach seasoned with salt, pepper and red wine vinegar, and brown rice pilaf.

Panko coated tilapia filets

For three servings-

3 5 oz. tilapia fillets, thawed
salt, pepper, and garlic powder
1/2 C low fat buttermilk
3/4 C. panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/3 C. freshly grated Romano cheese
2 t. dried basil
butter flavored cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Pour buttermilk into shallow bowl.  Mix panko, cheese, and basil in a pie plate (or something similar).  Season fillets with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Coat with buttermilk, letting excess drain off.  Coat with panko mixture and place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Spray tops of fillets lightly with cooking spray.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

Serve each fillet with 1 C. of steamed brown rice or whole wheat pasta and 2 C. steamed or raw vegetables.

No sauce!!!  A spritz or two of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray and pepper are okay though!

Cooking within the confines of an Isagenix weight loss program

You may have noticed that my posts have dropped off lately.  About three weeks ago, my beloved Brian started the Isagenix program for weight loss.  Truth is, he has a lot of weight to lose (as do I).  We decided that since he has more weight to lose than me, he would start using the Isagenix products and I would just start cooking within his regimen and making myself exercise more.

He has been doing very well.  He lost nearly 20 lbs. in the first two weeks and, more importantly, 13.25 inches of overall body measurements.  I'm so proud of him!

I'm not so proud of myself though.  Even though I have become extremely creative in making him approximately 600 calorie dinners every night, there are two nights where he fasts... which means I am left to my own devices.  We have a 13 yr. old daughter who eats like... a 13 yr. old... and trying to find something that we can both compromise on those nights gets hairy.  She wants fatty greasy food... I want fatty greasy food after eating low cal/fat all week... the temptation gets to be too much.  I cave and we go out.  I end up spending $40 for just the two of us and none of it is good.

I am hoping that going public with my lack of restraint will cause me to have more of it.

In the time that I have been cooking for Brian's new lifestyle, I have come up with several recipes that can be combined into dinners that total around 600 calories.  He says they're fantastic, but hey... when anyone hasn't eaten real food in a couple of days, an old shoe tastes fantastic, right?  lol!!  Seriously, I will be posting the best of my "600 Calorie or Less" dinner menus as my next few posts.  I hope you try them... please let me know if you do and how you liked them.