This flavorful meat sauce is great over pasta or as part of a lasagna with fat free or Vegan cheeses. You may notice that there is no added salt in this recipe. That's because there is salt in the sausage seasoning. If you are using another brand or making your own, salt if needed.  1 & 1/2 pounds ground Chicken breast (Note 1) 2 TBLSP Italian seasoning  (Note 2) 1 tsp ground Fennel seed, optional (Note 3) 1 medium yellow Onion, finely diced 4 cloves Garlic, minced 2 Shallots, finely diced 2 (6 ounce) cans Tomato paste 1 (28 ounce) can crushed Tomatoes 1 (14 ounce) can f ..read more

Not only is this the easiest Chili I've ever made, it has also become my favorite. You can throw in pretty much any veggie that you want to use up so it's extremely tweak-able. I just happened to have a red pepper and some mushrooms. If you want to make it vegetarian/vegan you can do that too. Just swap the ground chicken for more veggies and swap the chicken broth for veggie broth. When I make this, I just use whatever broth I have in the fridge anyway. You can also use whatever bean you have on hand. Oh, and you don't even need to rinse them! Not only is this easy, but you probably have e ..read more

I created my roasted garlic shrimp pasta recipe pretty early on after starting the Swank diet and it quickly became my husband's favorite.  I have made it quite a few times since then which is actually saying  something since I don't like cooking the same things all the time.  If I cook the same thing over and over it becomes boring and tedious. I love trying new recipes and experimenting with new ingredients. I never want my cooking to feel like a job. I want it to remain an outlet for my passion. So since I was actually craving his dish, I decided to switch it up a bit by a ..read more

Whether you use this as a marinade or for a sauce or glaze, I bet you won't be buying the bottled stuff anymore! For the Marinade 1/2 cup Soy Sauce 1/2 cup Mirin 1/2 cup Sake or Rice Wine 2 TBLSPS Brown Sugar  2 cloves Garlic, minced 1 TBLSP Ginger, minced 2 TBLSP Water Stir ingredients in a small bowl and use now or pour into a jar and store in the refrigerator for for later. It will keep for 1-2 weeks. For the Sauce Use same ingredients as above plus whisk in 1 TBLSP Cornstarch. Whisk ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat to bring to a boil.  Once boiling ..read more

  This is an oldie but a goodie. It came up in my memories on Facebook and it was even an oldie then. I think I created it circa 2006. It was inspired by the salad I ordered when meeting my co-workers at a cafe for lunch. I don't know how I've forgotten about it so long! Feel free to just use the dressing, use it as a marinade or omit the noodles, chicken or both. You can even use whatever veggies you want for the salad.  For the Chicken  8 oz Chicken breast 1 tsp Freshly grated Ginger  2 cloves Garlic, minced 1/4 cup Sugar 1/4 cup Ketchup  1/8 cup Soy sauce&nbs ..read more

1 small container plain nonfat Yogurt 1 TBLSP Lemon 6 Cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp minced ginger 2 tsp Cumin 2 tsp Chili powder 1/2 tsp Cayenne 1 tsp Paprika 1 tsp Garam Masala 1/2 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp salt 4 Chicken breasts Mix all ingredients except for the chicken in a large bowl. Add the chicken making sure it's submerged. Let sit in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, heat the grill to medium and give the chicken a toss. Leave the chicken in the bowl on the counter for a few minutes while the grill is heating up. Spray the grill with oil.  Grill chicken for about 6 minu ..read more

  My husband requested enchiladas for dinner last night. He said, "We have enchilada  sauce in the pantry. We may as well use it." Well you don't  think I was just going to use a plain can of enchilada sauce did you?? No way. I like to add extra flavor wherever I can.  My husband tasted the sauce when he got home from work. He said "See. The enchilada sauce is good!" I smiled. For the sauce 1 TBLSP Avocado oil 1/2 Onion, minced 1 clove Garlic, minced 2 TBLSP Chili powder  1/4 tsp Cayenne Pinch of salt A couple grindings of fresh pepper  1 19 oz can of Enchila ..read more

I've  been making this soup for years, probably  as long as I've been on the Swank Diet. That's  why I was surprised  when I realized  the recipe wasn't  on my blog! This soup is so flavorful and pairs very well with my chicken  rolls, another recipe  I've been making as long as I've been on the Swank (also on this blog). It also can be served alone as a lunch or dinner. Feel free to omit the chicken and swap the chicken broth with veggie  broth for a vegetarian/vegan meal. Load it up with as many toppings as you like or none at all.  You can ..read more

This was the most flavorful and tender turkey I've ever made and I've made a lot of great turkeys in my life so far! I'm seriously thinking about making this next Thanksgiving! The brine 2 Cups water  2 tsps salt A few sprigs of rosemary and thyme A small handful of black peppercorns The dry rub 2 tsp Onion powder 2 tsp Garlic powder 2 tsp dried Parsley 1 tsp dry Mustard 2 fresh grindings of pepper 1 pinch salt 1 tsp oil 1 TBLSP high heat oil Method Add the water and salt to a small saucepan and heat until the salt dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the herbs and peppercorns ..read more

Remember the Mexican pizza from Taco Bell? I know they just recently got rid of it, but being a long time "Swanker", it's been a long time since I've had it. I did make a copycat recipe years ago, but now since it's off the menu, my husband was saying he missed it so it reminded me to make it again. This time I doctored up the canned refried beans. I was inspired by the beans in another recipe. They were just TOO GOOD! (https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/13954/addictive-sweet-potato-burritos/) This recipe is good enough to serve at a Superbowl party and also quick and easy enough for a weekn ..read more