Featured Chef: Megan McClellan :o)

So my BFF Megan cooked dinner for me tonight - and it was wonderful! She gave me permission to blog about her meal, and you should get excited about this post. On the menu was a Chicken Taco Salad and Mellow Yellow Cupcakes. Through this dinner, Megan introduced me to this new cookbook/recipe website called Hungry Girl. OMG, earth shattering. This book/site gives you recipes to make delicious things that are much better for you with *substantially* fewer calories. Megan and her boyfriend Justin have tried several of the recipes over the last week, and they can vouch for them all so far being awesome, and the cupcakes tonight were legit!

The beautiful Chef Megan in action! :o)

Chicken Taco Salad

This was Megan's mom's recipe (I just love her, btw). You take a drained jar of roasted red peppers (make sure you get the ones in water like Mazetti Deli-Style) and chopped onions and let simmer in a frying pan until just caramelized and set aside. Then place a bag of pre-cooked fajita chicken in another pan to warm. Add a packet of taco seasoning followed by the peppers and onions and a splash of lime until well blended. Use the chicken taco blend to top a bed of shredded lettuce, pinto beans, and any of your favorite other taco toppings - we used light sour cream, some southwestern salsa, and a few tortilla chips for an extra crunch. This was definitely one of the best salads I've ever had - so my compliments to the chef! :o)

Mellow Yellow Cupcakes

This recipe for cupcakes uses a regular yellow cake mix, but keeps out the oil, water, and egg yolks. Instead you use sprite zero, some baking powder, vanilla, and egg whites. And for the frosting, you mix light Cool Whip and low-fat vanilla pudding to create a wonderfully delicious light and fluffy topping. In exchange, you cut out more than half of the calories! Here is the link to the full recipe and comparison: http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=1910. And the verdict = awesome. You'd never know you lost those extra calories!

Note: You can also make the Chicken Tacos in tortillas for another version of the meal like Megan made for Justin below. Aren't they just the cutest couple? :o)