#814: Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

This picture does not do this meal justice.  This was the best chicken I think I've ever made.  EVER.  Oh my goodness was this fantastic.  It was so good the girls and I were fighting for the last piece.  You know how people joke that there is something in Chinese food that makes you want to eat it and eat it and eat it...It's the cornstarch.  It has to be, because this recipe was the exact same way.  This isn't the super healthiest of recipes because of the sweet and sour sauce, but I cut down the amount of sugar we used to make it a little better for us. 

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

salt + pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten (I used egg substitute)
1/4 cup canola oil

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup)

4 tbs ketchup
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp garlic salt

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees (I baked ours at 385 degrees). Cut your chicken into bite size pieces. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs. Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken (turn to coat). Bake for one hour (I baked for about 45 minutes) and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.

#813: Garlic Roasted Potatoes

These potatoes are really supposed to be made on the grill.  I seriously considered it but since it was supposed to sleet today I decided against it.  Actually I didn't subject Brian to having to slip on the deck.  So I baked these in the oven instead.  These turned out perfectly...well maybe not perfectly, next time I would use less broth in the bottom of the pan so they crisped up more.  Besides that though, we all enjoyed this immensely. 

1 1/2 pound potatoes (equal sized)
1 grated garlic clove or 1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder
chicken or vegetable broth
tiny cubes butter
minced parsley
pepper and salt

Heat up your grill and keep it steady at 350Fº.
Use an ovenproof dish. Place the peeled (I didn't peel ours) and washed (even-sized) potatoes in there and make sure they fit snuggly together. (I cooked ours in a pie pan).

Add the grated garlic or powder to the broth and heat it for a minute to get the flavors going. Pour hot broth in there until there’s about 1 inch of broth in the dish and sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top of the potatoes.

Place a tiny slice of butter on top of each potato. Place the dish in your grill or oven and give them 40-50 minutes. Check them for doneness. Sprinkle the potatoes with finely minced parsley.
Note: a grill gives far more direct heat than an oven does, so when using your oven you will have to dice the potatoes or adjust the cooking time.  I baked ours in the oven at 385 degrees on the bottom rack for about 30 minutes.  Then I drained the liquid, increased the temperature to 400 degrees and finished cooking until the rest of our meal was done. 

Product Review: Morningstar Farms Veggie Meatballs

We are a meatball loving family.  I eat it in soups, as a meatball sub and with our pasta meals.  I'll also make meatballs and freeze them so when I need to add a healthy protein to the kids meals, I can just reheat them and they are ready to go.  This is one product from Morningstar Farms that I have never tried before, so when I got a coupon from my Bzzagent Kit to try this product for free I was super excited.  The box of veggie meatballs comes with 15 per box (3 servings), and each serving is only 130 calories, has 3 grams of fiber and 14 grams of protein!  They are super easy to heat up in the microwave (only takes 2 minutes) and are a great healthy addition to any pasta dish.  You could bake them in the oven as well, which would probably make them a little less chewy but that takes about 18 minutes in the oven and I'd rather have a quicker meal.   Anyhow, this is a great addition to a pasta dish...so that's what I ate it with...whole wheat pasta.  It was delicious.  The meatballs are just a tad bit chewy for my liking, but as far as frozen meatballs go, that's par for the course (as far as I'm concerned). 

Now don't get me wrong, I ate this box of meatballs in 2 days.  I'd say I enjoyed them!  I did share them with Matthew and he loved them too.  These would make a great addition to a lunch since they are so easy to heat up in the microwave.  But if you really want to enjoy these, grab some fresh french bread, and mozzarella and make some meatball subs!  These are delicious that way!

Want to find out more about their products? Check out their website, facebook page, or find them on twitter. 

#812: Frozen Yogurt Berries

Sometimes I come across a recipe that is so simple, I can't figure out how I didn't think of it first.  This is one of those recipes.  Duh, yogurt and berries frozen??  Yes please.  What a great, healthy snack that takes longer to eat because the berries are FROZEN. 

All you need are...berries and yogurt.  You can choose any kind of berries you want (I used raspberries) and any kind of yogurt you have (I had strawberry).  You could use low carb, greek, flavored, unflavored...the possibilities are endless. 

Wash and dry your berries (I used frozen berries so I could skip that step) and roll around in the yogurt to coat.  Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze.

Next time I'm going to do a combo of blueberries and raspberries. 

#811: Wild Rice Soup

This was not what I intended to make for my lunches at school this week.  Unfortunately the "healthy" pasta salad I was going to make was going to be WAY more weight watchers points than I like to eat at a meal.  So I started scouring my Pinterest pins to find something healthy and filling to make AND that I had all of the ingredients on hand for.  I came across this recipe and decided to give it a try. I made some changes based on what I had on hand, and this is really, really good.  I poured off a lot of the soup/liquid (which helped make it healthier too) and ate this more like a stew than a soup.
 

2 teaspoons vegetable oil (I omitted)

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 medium stalks celery, diced (1 cup) (I used zucchini and bell peppers instead)
2 medium carrots, diced (1 cup)
1 cup diced smoked turkey (6 ounces) (I used 2 chicken sausage links diced)
½ cup uncooked wild rice
1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves (I omitted)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 1/2cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-ounce carton)
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated fat-free milk (I used 1 cup soy milk)
1/3cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 cup Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen sweet peas, thawed (I used 2/3 cup)
2 tablespoons dry sherry, if desired (I omitted)

In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion in oil about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.  Place onion, celery, carrots, turkey, wild rice, tarragon and pepper in 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker. Pour broth over top. Cover and cook on low heat setting 6 to 8 hours or until wild rice and vegetables are tender. Stir in peas last 15 minutes of cooking.  Mix milk and flour; stir into soup. Cover and cook about 20 minutes or until thickened.

Now here's how I made this recipe: In a pot sautee the veggies (onion, zucchini, bell peppers and carrots) and the chicken sausage until carrots are mostly soft/cooked thru.  Add chicken broth, pepper, and COOKED wild rice.  Heat over medium-high heat until boiling.  Add in frozen peas.  Mix milk and flour; stir into soup. Cover and cook on low about 20 minutes or until thickened.

The entire pot of soup was 15.5 ww+ pts.  I drained off most of the liquid so I figured this was 13 ww+ pts (without the liquid).  I got 4 servings out of this at 3 ww+ pts each.

#810: Twice Baked Butternut Squash

The original recipe for this makes 6 servings and calls for 6 squash. I wanted to make this just for myself for lunch so the ingredients below are what I did to cut this down from 6 servings to 1.

1 butternut squash

salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon reduced fat sour cream
1/8 tsp paprika
1 fresh chives, cut into 1/8-inch pieces
1/2 tablespoon fresh breadcrumbs, lightly toasted (since I was not eating this right away I used 2 tsp chopped pecans instead)

Heat oven to 450 degrees with the rack in center. Halve squash lengthwise, and remove seeds and fibers. Sprinkle squash halves with salt and pepper. Fill a roasting pan with 1/4 inch water. Place squash in pan. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake until squash is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer squash to a cool surface, and let cool enough to handle. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees.

Use a spoon to scoop baked flesh out of each half into a large bowl, leaving a 1/4-inch border around six of the halves so they will keep their shape. To the bowl, add sour cream, paprika, and chives.. Mix with a handheld electric mixer or potato masher until smooth and well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Fill one squash half with mixture (discard remaining empty halves). Sprinkle top with toasted breadcrumbs. Bake until golden brown and warm throughout, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve.

I tried to serve this in the squash shell as directed but mine totally fell apart. Maybe I over cooked it. Doesn't matter. I still made the "filling" and just ate it like that in a bowl. I got 2 fairly large servings of this (about 1 heaping cup full) for .75 ww+ pts each. I suppose I should round up for that one...so each is 1 ww+ pt. Unless you eat all of it, then it's only 1.5 for both!

#809: Garlic Roasted Chickpeas

Oh little chickpeas, how I love thee.  I'll eat you in a salad, mashed in a burger, as hummus...doesn't matter to me.  So when I saw this recipe I ran right to my pantry to find as many cans as I could. Here's what I love about this recipe.  It makes your jaw hurt because of the constant chewing....which equals portion control!! :)  Just kidding...sort of.  The longer you let these cook the crunchier they get.  So good!

1, 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon oil (canola, olive, safflower, coconut-any kind you prefer) (I omitted and used non-stick spray instead)
1 teaspoon salt
Garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, toss the chickpeas with oil (I used non stick spray). Spread them on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and any additional seasoning/spice you like. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until the chickpeas begin to brown.

One entire can of chickpeas was 10.5 ww+ pts.

#808: Cucumber Salsa

Let me start out by saying, when I want to eat salsa I want a pureed sweet tomato based salsa.  So there is no way I am going to be able to give this recipe 5 stars.  Now, with that said...I loved this.  It was crisp and refreshing...but not a "salsa" in my book.  Would I eat this again? Yes, for sure.  Would I sit down and eat the entire bowl with a bag of chips?  No.  (And I could do that with regular salsa, sad to say).

PS...if you don't have a chop wizard to cut up your cucumber and red onion, you are going to be chopping forever.  And as long as we are talking about the chop wizard, don't, I repeat DON'T put tomatoes in it.   You will have a very big seedy mess all over you, your cabinets and your floor if you do.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

2 cups finely chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4-1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/4 c reduced-fat sour cream
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Tortilla chips

In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with chips.

This is super, super healthy.  The entire bowl of salsa is 2 ww+ pts.  It's the chips that are the downfall.  :(

#807: Strawberry Cheesecake Salad

I very recently found this recipe and was excited to try it when our family came over for dinner tonight. I don't know if anyone else enjoyed it, but I sure did.  I would definitely make this again for a family gathering...or for my breakfast or lunch.  :)

12 oz. whipped topping (I used 8 oz of fat free cool whip) 
1 small package of cheesecake pudding (I used half of a package)
18 oz of strawberry yogurt (three 6oz containers) (I used 1 1/2 containers)
1 lb fresh strawberries, sliced
3 bananas, sliced (add just before serving or they brown)
miniature marshmallows (I used 1 oz)   

Thaw whipped topping and in a large salad bowl stir together whipped topping, yogurts, and pudding powder. Let this set up in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Wash and slice strawberries. You can add strawberries to salad or wait to add them with sliced bananas and marshmallows just before serving. Keep refrigerated.

My version was 16.5 ww+ pts for the entire bowl.  You could EASILY get 4 extremely large servings out of this, but more realistically 5 or 6 serving.  Also I used regular yogurt.  Next time I'll use carb smart and hopefully reduce the number of points there too!! 
As made tonight: 4 servings = 4 ww+ pts; 5 servings = 3.5 ww+ pts; 6 servings = 3 ww+ pts

#806: Homemade Pizza Sauce

We eat a lot of pizza sauce in this house.  We almost always have a jar on hand in the pantry.  So when I saw this recipe on Pinterest I was eager to try making it.  It was extremely easy to make and I got a lot of pizza sauce out of this.  I don't know if I'll buy pizza sauce again.  This way will save us a ton of money!
 
2 Cans of Crushed Tomatoes
1 Can of Tomato Paste
2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
1 ½ Teaspoons Dried Basil
1 ½ Tablespoons Dried Oregano
2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
¾ Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Start by finding a large, deep pot. Heat the pot over medium heat. Pour in the olive oil and your minced garlic. Sautee the garlic until it is golden brown; this takes about five minutes. Remove the pot from the lit burner and stir in the oregano, basil, onion powder, sugar, and salt. Add in the tomato paste. Mix well and fast, being careful not to burn the ingredients. Next, slowly incorporate the crushed tomatoes.  Allow the sauce to simmer down to your desired thickness, stirring every five minutes or so.

#805: Zucchini Pizza

I like zucchini.  I don't love zucchini.  That said, I wasn't sure I was going to totally enjoy this pizza fake-out recipe.  I was wrong.  Dead wrong.  This was so good I almost immediately make another pan.  I would have to, except I was full.  Holy cow were these good.  I think it was the addition of they turkey pepperoni.  I'm making this again for lunch tomorrow.  And maybe Monday too.  I need to go back to the store for more zucchini now!

1 zucchini, cut into slices
Pizza sauce (about 3/4 c or so)
Turkey pepperoni, cut in half
Shredded mozzarella cheese

In a non-stick skillet sprayed with cooking spray, cook the zucchini for about 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.  Remove to a parchment lined baking sheet.  Top each zucchini slice with a dollop of pizza sauce, 1/2 piece of turkey pepperoni, and a sprinkling of mozzarella.  Bake in a 425 degree oven until cheese is melted and browned. 

The zucchini and pizza sauce (mine was homemade) were 0 ww+ pts, my pepperoni was 1 pt for 15 pieces and I used 1/4 c of cheese (3 pts).  So my batch was 4 pts for the entire pan.  Next time I'm going to try using less cheese and see if I can get it down to at least 3 pts. 

#804: Broccoli Bites

This recipe reminds me of our family spinach patties.  Grandma Chirch used to make it for us a couple of times a year.  Now Auntie Mar makes it for us mainly for ravioli day and random family get-togethers.  This was extremely easy and although I made a lot of little patties, next time I think I'll try making this in a 9x13 pan and then cut it into squares.  Even Matthew is loving eating these.  We have been eating them cold and I've been dipping mine in homemade pizza sauce.  Delish!

16 oz. package of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained of liquid (I used 24 oz of frozen steamed broccoli)
1 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese (I used 1 cup)
3 eggs (I used egg substitute)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs (I used 3/4 c)

I started by putting my cooked broccoli into my food processor and then pulsed until it was into fairly small pieces but not pureed or mushed.  Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Form small patties and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake at 375F for 25 minutes, turning the patties after the first 15 minutes.  Let cool (or eat immediately out of the oven and risk burning your tongue, as I did).
My entire batch was 24 ww+ pts.  I got 16 fairly large patties out of this.  Next time I will bake in a 9x13 pan and cut into 24 pieces.

#803: Homemade Chicken Stock

I've never made homemade chicken stock before.  I assumed it wasn't worth the effort when you could go out and buy pre-made chicken broth or stock super inexpensively.  Then my friend Paula told me how simple it was to make.  So when we made a whole chicken in the crockpot last weekend, I figured I'd give it a try. 

Oh my goodness, I can't believe I haven't done this before!!  It was SOOOOOOO simple.  SO SIMPLE.  Now I'm not saying I'll never buy it again from the grocery store, but I will definitely make this every time we have chickens.  Look at home much stock I got from one carcass (that sounds so gross)?!  I probably could have gotten more too if I had added more water.  I just wasn't sure how much to add.

So here's how to do it...

After eating your whole chicken dinner, throw all of the bones back into your crockpot.  Don't worry if there is still meat on the bones.  Just toss it back in.  Add anything you have on hand to help flavor this....carrots, celery, onions, thyme, parsley, rosemary, peppercorns, whatever.  I used carrots, onion, parsley and black pepper. 

Cover the chicken bones with water.  Cook on low for 18-24 hours.  Then strain through a mesh colander to get all of the "stuff" (meat, bones, seasonings, etc.) leftover in the crockpot out and leave just the liquid.  Pour into SEVERAL mason jars (leave a little room at the top if you plan to freeze it) and set in the fridge to cool.  When cool you can freeze it until ready to use.   

#802: French Dip Crescents

Although these aren't very pretty, they are very, very good.  I don't even like roast beef and I had to stop myself from finishing the plate.  These would make a great, easy, relatively make ahead, appetizer.  I decided to make it for dinner though.  The girls thought they were just okay.  Brian, my mom and I really liked them though.  I was the only one who ate them with the dipping au jus sauce.  It was good! 

Next time I make these I'm going to try cutting the crescent rolls in half (so I would get 16 out of each tube) and stuffing them with just as much cheese and roast beef.  We'll see if they still turn out as good or as pretty.

1 (8 oz.) can Pillsbury crescent rolls (I used reduced fat)

8 slices cheese of your choice (I used .2 oz for each roll-up)

1/2 lb. thinly sliced roast beef (I used 1 1/2 slices per roll up)

2 cups beef broth

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 pinch onion powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lay out the individual crescent triangles on a work surface. Add a small roll of roast beef and a slice of cheese at the larger end of the triangle, then roll the crescent over the mixture until the crescent roll is formed. Repeat with remaining crescent triangles, roast beef and cheese.

Once completed, lay each crescent roll on a baking sheet that has been prepared with cooking spray. Bake for 14-16 minutes, until the crescent rolls are slightly golden and the cheese is melted.

Meanwhile, bring the beef broth, garlic powder and onion powder to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and pour into serving bowls.  Serve the crescent rolls with the au jus for dipping.

Each of my crescents were 4 ww+ pts.

#801: Zucchini Tots

This is a super, super easy (and relatively healthy) side dish to make with just about any meal.  I think it took me 6 minutes to throw this together from start to finish and that included grating the zucchini.  My mom and I ate this for dinner one night, it was FABULOUS.  I will definitely be making these again. 

I got 11 zucchini muffins out of this and the entire batch was 11 ww+ pts...so 1 pt+ each.  According to the original website it claims 1 and 2 muffins are both 1 ww+ pt, and 3 muffins is 2 ww+ pts...but they used MINI muffin tins and theirs were much puffier.  I don't think either way makes a difference...they still taste good.

1 cup shredded zucchini (I shredded mine on the large holed side of a box grater)
¼ medium onion, chopped
1 large egg (I used egg substitute)
¼ cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400. Mist a 12 cup mini muffin tin with cooking spray.  Wrap the shredded zucchini in a paper towel (or clean dish towel) and squeeze to extract any excess moisture from the zucchini.

In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients until combined. Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared mini muffin tin and press down on the filling in each cup with the back of the spoon to compact them together.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the tops are beginning to turn golden. Run a plastic knife around the outside of each top while still in the muffin tin and they will come right out. 

Product Review: Morninstar Farms Garden Veggie Patties

Many, many years ago when I was in college I used to skip class (shh...don't tell my dad) to go to the pub on campus to "study" and get a veggie burger.  It was the first time I had one and I LOVED it.  I couldn't get enough of them.  I loved the veggies in it, especially the water chestnuts.  Fast forward a few years later and I was out of college and still missing my veggie burger lunch dates.  So I grabbed a box of the Morningstar Farms Garden Veggie Patties to see if I liked them.  Imagine my surprise when they tasted almost identical to the ones I had eaten!  I was in love and I couldn't get enough of these.  Even today these are in my grocery cart several times a month.  I buy more than one box at a time.  These are my favorite veggie burgers.  They are healthy, have a ton of veggies in them and the water chestnuts are still my favorite part of this burger giving it a little extra crunch.  I eat these for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Yes I eat them for breakfast.  Burgers aren't just a breakfast food you know.  Well that's not true.  Burgers are a lunch/dinner food when they are unhealthy.  These burgers are great on an English muffin, topped with a reduced fat cheese.  It's like eating a sausage mcmuffin w/out the sausage. 


Now, with that said, I eat sausage mcmuffins at home all the time too.  The Morningstar Farms Veggie Sausage Patties are to die for.  They have a little sweetness to them and I love that I can just pop one in the microwave and by the time my English muffin is toasted, my sausage patty is done!  A fast, on the go, healthy breakfast!

Have you tried any of their products yet?  If not, you are missing out!  The Garden Veggie Patties are only 110 calories each and contain only 3.5 g of fat, but 10 grams of protein!  If you are wondering what other veggies are in this it includes mushrooms, water chestnuts, onion, carrots, green and red bell peppers, and black olives.  I love olives but not usually in burgers.  These are not overpowering at all.  I hardly know they are in there. 

Want to find out more about their products?  Check out their website, facebook page, or find them on twitter. 

#800: Breakfast Banana Split

Oh my goodness, this is one of the best breakfasts I've had in a while.  It is super healthy (no that's not cool whip on it) and very filling.  I found this recipe for a breakfast banana split and I was so excited to try it.  But then I looked at the ingredients and realized, I'm not a huge fan of cottage cheese, and I didn't have any flaxseed or fruit preserves to make this like I was supposed to.  You should all know by now that didn't stop me from changing things up though!  Time to substitute!!  This breakfast was wonderful.  Absolutely delicious and I'm still thinking about it (I ate it 2 days ago!).

1 banana, cut in half lengthwise (I chopped it into circles)
1/2 cup to 2/3 cup cottage cheese (I used ricotta cheese)
1 -2 Tbsp all-fruit preserves (I used honey)
1 tsp ground flaxseed (I omitted)
1 tsp chia seed (I omitted)
1 – 2 Tbsp chopped walnuts
1 tbsp coconut

Other options: add nut or seed butter or in place of the preserves, shredded coconut, coconut butter, replace cottage cheese with high-protein Greek yogurt, sprinkle with cinnamon, raisins, other fresh fruit, etc.

Place two banana halves in serving dish or bowl. Add scoops of cottage cheese on top of banana. Drizzle with fruit preserves and garnish with flax, chia and chopped nuts.

#799: Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

 

I've had this recipe booked on my Pinterest board for over a year now.  I don't know why I keep avoiding making this recipe.  It was actually quite easy, especially when you use leftover chicken from a whole chicken (made in the crockpot).  The hardest part of this recipe is to make the wild rice, which took an hour on the stove.  But I only used half of what I made so the rest is in the freezer for next time.  (Did you know you can freeze cooked rice?!).  I definitely altered this recipe and used WAY less chicken and cheese than it called for.  I'm sure the original recipe would have been better but I was going for healthier (and I didn't want that much chicken in my rice). 

This is really good.  I am really looking forward to lunch again tomorrow and at school.  The oven gives the rice a nice crispy texture and really lets the flavors meld together.  I only got 3 servings out of my batch though, but that's okay. 

1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp olive oil (I omitted)

1 small onion, diced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken breasts (about 2), boneless, skinless, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I used 3 oz of leftover shredded chicken)

1/2 cup sour cream (I used 4 tbsp reduced fat)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (plus additional for sprinkling on top) (I used 1/2 c in the recipe and omitted the additional cheese for the topping)

3 cups cooked wild rice (I used 1 cup cooked)

  

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Place 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and cook the onions for 2 minutes.  Add the mushrooms, season with 1/2 tsp of salt and cook another 4 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender and the onions are translucent.  Remove the mushroom mixture and place in a bowl.  (Since my chicken was already cooked, I just threw everything else together at this point).  Heat 1 tsp of oil in the sauté pan and cook the chicken, garlic powder and remaining 1/2 tsp of salt for 3 minutes or until cooked through.  Combine all the ingredients together, place in an 8 x 8 inch baking dish and sprinkle with additional shredded cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes.

My version was 16 ww+ pts for the entire 8x8 pan. 

#798: Corn Salad

The recipe below makes a HUGE bowl of this corn salad.  The recipe says it serves 14.  I halved everything except the edamame and this made about 6 heaping cups.  This was delicious.  It would be fabulous in the middle of summer when all the veggies were straight from the garden or farmer's market.  I will definitely make this again.  Yum!!

2 pounds sweet corn (I used 16 oz frozen corn)

1 large red bell pepper (I used 2)

1 (10 ounce) package cherry or other small tomatoes

1/2 large red onion

1 pound package edamame beans, shelled

1 (10 ounces) package tofu (optional) (I omitted)

Dressing Ingredients:
4 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons garlic powder
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 small bunch fresh basil (about 1-2 cups)

Directions:

Start your corn on the stove, and gather all your ingredients.

Chop the bell pepper, tomatoes, onion and tofu into bite size pieces.  Place into a large bowl.  Add edamame.  When the corn is done cooking, add it to the bowl of veggies.  Toss well.

 

Make your dressing by adding all dressing ingredients to a bowl and mixing well.  It’s best to add the dressing once you have served the salad. If you add the dressing to the entire salad, the leftovers won’t keep as long in the fridge.

My version made 6 servings (1 heaping cup each) at 4.5 ww+ pts a piece.

#797: Crockpot Vegetarian White Chili

I love chili.  LOVE it.  It doesn't always love me, but I sure love it.  Especially the beans in it.  So when I came across this easy meatless chili recipe I was very eager to try it.  This is so, so easy.  You just dump everything into a crockpot and let it cook all day.  It's very healthy too!  This would make a great lunch or even a side dish.  I liked this chili.  It's not like a typical chili so it isn't my favorite way to eat it, but I did enjoy it as more of a bean stew/soup.  It has a little too much cumin for my liking so next time I would cut down on it a little bit. 

16 oz bag of frozen white corn (I used 1 can of sweet white corn)

2 cans of White Beans, undrained

1 4 oz can of green chilies

1/2 chopped white onion

2 minced cloves garlic

1 cup vegetable broth

juice from one lemon

1 1/2 t cumin

1/2 t Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

 

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 8-9 hours, or high for 4-6.

This make a nice size pot (crock) of chili.  My version was 17.5 ww+ pts for the entire crockpot full.  I got 5 servings out of this at 3.5 ww+ pts each. 

#796: Watermelon Lime Frosty

I wanted to eat something sweet after dinner.  I made Brian take the leftover chocolate candy from the pantry so I wouldn't eat it.  Then I remembered I not only had this recipe bookmarked, but I also had all of the ingredients on hand.  So I made it instead.  It is delicious!  It's sweet, it's cold, it's refreshing.  Best of all, I left out the maple syrup and now it's 0 ww+ pts!  I need more watermelon now!

Serves 2:
3 cups watermelon, cubed and frozen
1 ripe banana, peeled and frozen
2 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup (I omitted)
Zest from 2 limes
Juice from 2 limes (about 4 tablespoons)
1/2 cup water

Blend all ingredients until smooth, adding more water as needed to keep the mixture moving.

#795: Pumpkin Pie Parfait

I actually found this recipe posted as a "Pumpkin Pie Parfait."  I was super excited to try it so I made it just about as fast as I "pinned" it.  Well for me this is definitely not a parfait.  I would need to add several more frozen banana pieces to make this thicker, and also additional suggested toppings such as graham cracker pieces to make this a thick, pumpkin pie tasting parfait.  I don't want those added calories.  So I decided to drink this as a pumpkin pie smoothie instead.  It was delicious.  Although I absolutely love chia seeds I decided to leave them out of this recipe.  This recipe is sitting in my blender in the fridge waiting to be whipped up tomorrow for a quick, healthy, to-go breakfast.

1/4 cup plain pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
1/2 large frozen banana
1 to 1 1/2 cups almond milk (I used 1 c of unsweetened chocolate almond milk)
1 tablespoon chia seeds (I omitted)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Optional Toppings:

Crumbled graham crackers
Peanut butter or sunflower seed butter
Cinnamon

Blend all ingredients in a blender, adding the almond milk as you go until reaching the desired consistency.  Pour into glass and top with desired toppings.

Without the chia seeds this recipe is 1 ww+ pt (with 1 c of unsweetened almond milk). 

#794: Scrambled Egg Burritos

About every other week we have breakfast for dinner.  The kids love it, it's inexpensive to make and it is typically a dinner we can get on the table very quickly.  Brian and the kids alternate between pancakes and waffles.  I use this day to try out a new egg recipe.  This time I made these scrambled egg burritos...although mine were more like tacos since I didn't roll them up as directed and I used corn tortillas.  : )

This was really good.  I halved the recipe and got 2 "tacos" out of this egg filling.  I would definitely make this again!

4 9-inch whole-wheat flour tortillas (I used corn tortillas)

4 large eggs (I used egg substitute)

1/8 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (I omitted)

1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles

1/2 cup grated Cheddar, or pepper Jack cheese

2 cups Black Bean & Tomato Salsa, or prepared salsa (I used black beans)

1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream (I omitted)

 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap tortillas in foil and heat in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. (I microwaved mine for about 20 seconds)

Blend eggs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl with a fork until blended. Heat oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add chiles and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add eggs and cook, stirring slowly with a wooden spoon or heatproof rubber spatula, until soft, fluffy curds form, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes.

To serve, divide eggs evenly among the tortillas. Sprinkle each with about 2 tablespoons cheese and roll up. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

#793: Clean Eating Baked Italian Ziti

If you watch my freezer cooking calendar, we weren't supposed to eat this meal until February.  Such a great thing to do freezer cooking.  Our meals are done for about 6 weeks!  Anyhow, even though I know this would be FINE in our freezer, I don't have a very good lid/top to the container it was in.  So I swapped some meals and decided to make it sooner instead. 

First of all, this needs WAY more sauce added to the top.  Ours was so dry we had to top it with pizza sauce since I was out of spaghetti sauce and didn't feel like rushing to make it at the last minute.  For us this was also enough for 2 dinners.  It makes a lot!

We liked this, it was good, and I'd definitely make it again.  However, after the 2nd meal no one would have wanted to eat it for leftovers again.  2 days in a row was more than enough for us. 

1 lb whole wheat penne pasta, cooked (I used regular penne)
1 1/2 lbs lean, ground turkey (I used 1 lb)
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce, no sodium is best
1 cup Parmesan cheese

While the pasta cooks, in a large skillet, cook the turkey meat in the olive oil.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the basil, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, honey, vinegar, water and tomato sauce.  Add the cooked pasta and the cooked meat to the tomato sauce and mix well.  Transfer to a baking dish and top with Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 F. for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

I made this on my freezer cooking day and undercooked the noodles by about 2-3 minutes.  I put it all together and froze.  Then I took it out of the freezer 2 days before we planned to eat it so it would be completely defrosted.  Baked as directed.

My version was 8 servings at 7 ww+ pts each.

#792: Ranch Cheddar Burgers

This recipe is a super, super easy make-ahead freezer meal and an ideal meal to make if you are doing a lot of freezer cooking/prep meals in a day.  I got 8 burgers out of 2 lb of ground turkey, which is more than enough for 2 meals for our family.  Brian had no idea this had ranch dressing mixed into it.  Instead of cheddar cubes, I decided to use shredded cheddar instead.  Although it kept it fairly moist, it totally lost the cheese flavoring.  I left Brian's burgers w/out cheese and I could hardly tell which had the cheese and which did not.  I would make this again for my family but would just put shredded cheddar in all of them (he'll never know!).  If I wasn't trying to keep this healthy I would definitely try it with the cheese cubes.  I think it would have been great!  But for us, for now, shredded cheddar is just fine.

2 lbs ground beef
1 cubed cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp Ranch Dressing Mix

Combine beef, ranch dressing mix and shredded cheddar cheese. Gently shape 6 patties of equal size and thickness. With your thumb, or back of a spoon, make a shallow indentation about 1 inch wide in the center of each patty. This helps that patties to cook evenly. Grill patties over direct high heat with the lid closed as much as possible, until cooked to medium doneness – 8-10 minutes, turning once. Or cook in fry pan on stove top over med- high heat until done.

#791: Sonic Pomegranate Limeade

Okay this is supposed to be a copy cat recipe of Sonic's Cherry Limeade, but do you know how expensive cherry juice is??  So in an attempt to still make this but not spend $12 on cherry juice, I decided to get some Pomegranate juice instead.  I love pomegranate juice anyways so I wouldn't care either way.  (I originally found this link on Pinterest and the website it is linked to is not working.  Don't know who the original author is to give credit to).

Regardless of this not being cherry flavored like it was supposed to, this is delicious.  I loved it.  I will totally be making this again.

12 oz (or 1 can) Sprite (I used diet sprite)
3 lime wedges
1/4 cup cherry juice (I used pomegranate juice instead)

Fill a 16 oz glass with 2/3 ice. Pour Sprite over ice. Add 3 lime wedges. Add cherry juice and serve with straw. Makes a 16 oz drink.

This drink (with 1/8 c pomegranate juice) is 1 ww+ pt.

#790: Lasagna Soup

Here's another recipe I came across while checking out the Deen Brother's website.  This is a good, fairly filling soup.  It tastes a lot like a tomato soup with added flavor.  I don't know if I would have thought "lasagna" when eating this besides the fact it had lasagna noodles, but it was still really good.  Don't forget though, I made quite a few changes so the original recipe might taste a lot more like lasagna.  (Sorry Deen Brothers, I needed to make this even more healthier for me this week). 

2 teaspoons olive oil (I omitted)
1 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed (I used 1/2 lb ground turkey)
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 ounces broken whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 4 noodles)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I used 2 tbsp)
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese (I omitted)

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick saucepot or Dutch oven. Add the sausage, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is crumbled and browned, 8 – 10 minutes.

Add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Add the noodles; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly and the noodles are tender, 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in mozzarella, basil, and the Parmesan.

With my substitutions/changes the entire pot of soup is 21 ww+ pts.   (Or four very large servings at 5.25 pts per bowl...you choose if you want to round up or down). 

#789: Sausage Hash

Here is a ridiculously easy recipe that can be made ahead of time and frozen.  Best of all it only requires a few ingredients, most of which you probably have on hand.  My family loved this.  Chloe picked out all of the sausage and left the potatoes.  Brian and Allison fought over who would take it for leftovers (Brian for lunch or Allison for breakfast!). 

1 Tube ground sausage (I used reduced fat pork sausage)
1 c. shredded carrots (I omitted.  My family would never have eaten it)
½ c. finely chopped onion
3 c. frozen potatoes cubes
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (I used 1/4 cup to make it much healthier) 

Cook ground sausage thoroughly in pan. Add onion and carrots and cook for 5 more minutes. Place sausage with onion and carrots in gallon-sized bag. Put potatoes and cheese in 2 separate bags and place in gallon-sized bag. (Hint: make sure the meat has cooled down before you stick the bag of cheese in there… otherwise it melts into a blob!)

Thaw meat mixture in fridge overnight.  Heat frozen potatoes in pan with a little hot oil, and then add meat to pan. Simmer for 20 min. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with cheese. Let melt and serve.  (My meat and potatoes did NOT need to simmer for 20 minutes.  I just cooked the potatoes until they were cooked almost all the way thru then added the cooked ground sausage to re-heat it). 

#788: Hash Brown Quiche

Yesterday I was checking out Paula Deen's facebook page (Has anyone seen how skinny she's gotten?  She looks great but I thought she looked great before the weight loss too!) and eventually got to The Deen Brother's website.  Once there I came across this recipe and I was so, so, so excited to try it and since I had all of the ingredients on hand (including the hash browns!) I made it first thing this morning. 

Let me tell you this is fabulous!  Oh my goodness, I will definitely be making this again and I would absolutely make it to serve to company spending the night.  I made this to eat (I'll eat it cold) for breakfasts at school this week. 
1 tablespoon olive oil (I omitted and used Pam spray instead)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 (8-ounce) package cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 cup refrigerated shredded hash browns (such as Simply Potatoes)
1/2 cup cooked diced ham (I used 1/4 cup)
1 cup reduced-fat (1%) milk (I used skim milk)
3 large eggs (I used egg substitute)
1/4 cup half-and-half (I omitted)
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch ground nutmeg
2/3 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (I used 1/2 cup of finely shredded regular cheddar cheese)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9-inch round quiche dish or pie plate with cooking spray.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 – 8 minutes. Add the potatoes and ham and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Spread the mixture into the prepared dish.

Whisk together the milk, eggs, half-and-half, scallions, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl until blended. Stir in the cheese. Pour evenly over the potato mixture. Bake until the top is golden and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

My changes made this recipe 20 ww+ pts for the entire pan.  I got 8 nice size pieces out of this for 2.5 ww+ pts per piece.