"Try It" Tuesday

Nutritional yeast. Who knew?

I recently read a post on Peanut Butter Fingers about an amazing chickpea dip made with nutritional yeast as an ingredient. I'd never heard of such (I'm not vegan), so, of course- I Googled it. Basically it's a deactivated (not living) yeast powerhouse packed with TONS of vitamins and protein (9 grams per 3T serving)!

Sorry for the waviness, this is the result of panorama camera mode on my iPhone...

So why make such a fuss? Well, aside from the nutritional value, it also has a wonderfully savory, kinda cheesy taste that you can add to all kinds of foods! You can make a cheesy gravy out of it, sprinkle it on your popcorn, and use it in dips, obviously.

I actually added a tablespoon into my mashed potatoes last night and I was very pleasantly surprised! It gave them a smoky cheese flavor. I think I will try some in my scrambled eggs tomorrow...can't wait to see what all I can do with this stuff!

You can't find it in regular grocery stores, but you can find it in health food stores (I got mine at Eddie's Health Shoppe in Knoxville), at Whole Foods and online. (Most of the information I've read online recommends Kal or Bob's Red Mill brand, but I haven't tried any other brands to see if there is a difference.) Give it a try! Let me know what YOU think!

"Tasty" Tuesday

I've decided that today's post is going to be called "Tasty" Tuesday  and it is courtesy of Peanut Butter Fingers, a blog that I love! If you haven't checked her out yet, you really should. She's wonderful! She recently posted a simple, baked, orange chicken dish, but I have adapted it for slow cookers. It's really easy and super delicious!

Here's what you'll need:

• 1-2 pounds of chicken. (Drumsticks were .98/lb this week, so that's why I used them, but chicken tenderloins or breasts will work, too!)
•  1/2 cup of orange marmalade
•  1/2 cup of Catalina dressing

Here's how you do it:

Place chicken in the slow cooker and season with a little salt and pepper.
(If you ain't scared, you might even put a little butter on top of these drumsticks for a little extra flavor...)

Mix dressing and marmalade in a small bowl and pour over the chicken.

Cook on High for 3 hours or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. (These drumsticks were ready in under 3 hours, so read your slow cooker manual and monitor the temperatures closely when in doubt.)

Voila! Easy Orange Chicken!

It really is delicious and wonderful and all that. The good news is that you can use low fat Catalina dressing and sugar free marmalade to cut calories, just beware that it will alter the taste a bit. Each serving (1 drumstick made by this recipe) is approximately 176 calories give or take. As you can see, I served the chicken over white rice and a side of streamed broccoli (which you can't see...) and it was very filling. Enjoy!