Lightened Orange Chicken

Well it has been a whirlwind couple of weeks/weekends!  With our first bridal shower, my bachelorette plus quick trips to Miami and to OU and busy work weeks then being sick then Easter oh and then another bridal shower I have just been too tired to post!  But I've got a slew of local foodie moments lined up for you all in the coming weeks plus some new recipe favorites.  So let's get started shall we?

Ever have one of those hankerings for take out but don't actually want to spend the money or extra calories on said takeout?  Happens to me a lot, so I try to find healthier and budget friendly options to satisfy these pesky cravings so our calorie splurges can be spent elsewhere (aka Local Foodie Moments!).  Chris is an Orange Chicken fan, I'm not so much but I thought I'd make this lightened version for him since he kept mentioning we hadn't had Chinese in awhile.  Since I used fresh squeezed orange juice it had a very orangy tang but it was still pretty tasty.

Lightened Orange Chicken
(makes 2 servings)

Ingredients:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed into bite sized chunks
- 2 Tbsp. chicken stock
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/2 Tbsp. orange zest
- 2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. Sriracha (add more or less depending on your spicy preference)
- pinch red pepper flakes
- olive oil for cooking
- sesame seeds for garnish if desired
- white rice, cooked (I typically make 1 to 1/2 cups)
- 2 cups broccoli, steamed

Instructions:
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken and cook until cooked through (8-10ish minutes).  Remove from skillet and set aside.
- While chicken is cooking, mix together chicken stock, honey, garlic, orange zest, orange juice, soy sauce, Sriracha and red pepper flakes.

- Pour mixture into skillet after removing the chicken.  Reduce heat to a low simmer, stirring often.
- Let sauce cook until its reduced/thickened, add chicken back in and mix to coat.

- Serve over rice and steamed broccoli, sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
- Enjoy!

The wedding is just a few short weeks away so my apologies if content is a little slow!  Next up I'll be sharing our most recent trip to the Pint House, where we were invited to a private local blogger dinner.

Cheers!
Steph

Lightened Mini Cheesecakes for Two

Happy Sunday everyone!  How was the weekend?  My parents came to town for the Ohio State game so we did an indoor tailgate and enjoyed some local eats (more on that in another post).  With the big turkey day feast upon us this week, I thought I'd share a lightened dessert that doesn't make you feel as guilty while indulging.

Momma and I posing with Brutus at Ohio Union!

Chris is a big fan of cheesecake, I'm not so much (I have major food issues with calling something cake that isn't actually cake).  But for his birthday last month I wanted to do a nice dessert for him without falling too far off our dieting wagon.  I found this cheesecakes for two recipe on Pinterest and decided this would be just right! I even thought since it was lightened up that maybe I'd turn over a new leaf with my cheesecake feelings.  That wasn't really the case but Chris really liked these so here goes.

Lightened Cheesecakes for Two
(This makes two four inch round cheesecakes)

 Ingredients:
- 4 oz. (half of an 8 oz block) reduced fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 container plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 c. plus 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
- 2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Spray the insides of your springform pans or ramekins with cooking spray, then wrap the bottom of your springform pans with foil so there's no spills.
- Mix together graham cracker crumbs, 1 Tbsp sugar and melted butter.
- Divide the graham cracker mixture among the pans, press it into the bottom and slightly up the sides of the pans.

- Put pans on a baking sheet, bake for 8 minutes.
- While crusts are baking, mix together cream cheese, Greek yogurt and sugar until creamy.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.

- When crusts are done, allow to cool for 10ish minutes.
- Pour cheesecake filling into each pan and bake on baking sheet for 40 to 45 minutes until centers are set.

- Let the cheesecakes cool about 20 minutes then pop off the sides of the pan, remove the bottom of the pan and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 2 hours).  I actually froze these because I was making them a few days ahead.

- When you are ready to serve, take cheesecakes from the fridge and garnish however you like.  You could use shave chocolate, cut up fresh fruit, a couple spoonfuls of preserves, etc.  Chris likes his plain so we left the garnishes off, I thought some shaved dark chocolate would be nice.
- Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Chris!

Like I said before Chris liked these, I decided to stick with my previously mentioned cheesecake distrust issues.

Next up, some Local Foodie Moments!  Have a great (short) work week!

Cheers!
Steph