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Penne Chicken Florentine

22 May

I love Italian food, but I typically lean more toward tomato-based sauces, which are sort of a weakness of mine. My kids and husband love a creamier sauce though, and I love a good reason to feed my kids spinach… so here goes.
Ingredients
  • 12 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
  • 1/2 box frozen spinach
  • 2 TBSP minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 can fat chicken broth
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 2 tsps dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup low fat ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 8oz. pasta (Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne Rigatta)

 

Directions:

Cut Chicken breast into cubes, about 1 inch by 1 inch. Salt and pepper chicken to taste.

1. In a medium size pan, cook pasta al dente while preparing remaining ingredients. When it’s done, drain it and set it to the side until needed.

2. Spray a large skillet with non-stick spray, and saute chicken pieces until done through. Remove from skillet and set aside.

3. Mix Ricotta, Spinach, and parmesan cheese until all ingredients are well mixed.

4. In the skillet you used for the chicken, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Carefully add flour to the oil, and wisk together for 30 seconds or so to form a “roux” for your sauce.

5. Add chicken broth to your roux, and wisk together until sauce begins to thicken. About 2 or 3 minutes.

6. Stir in nutmeg, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and oregano and simmer sauce for about 2 minutes.

7. Remove sauce from heat, and gently fold in ricotta mixture, chicken, and pasta.

8. Pour pasta into a 9×13 pan (sprayed with nonstick spray) and cover with foil.

9. I just cooked this all together in the skillet until everything was hot and the sauce was thickened. For a “prettier” presentation, you could also Bake on 375 for 30 minutes.

 

Editors Note: I really liked this with crushed red pepper on top. yum.

 

Makes 4 Servings= 440 Calories per serving

Approximately 12 weight watchers points plus per serving

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Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Breakfast Quesadillas

19 May

This recipe was delicious, and will definitely be a repeat in my house! We ate them for dinner, because my family is fond of breakfast for dinner. You could use turkey bacon, or ham if you prefer, and add any veggies you might like. Just try not to over-stuff or your quesadilla won’t close!

Ingredients:

– 4 low carb tortillas (60 cal each)
– 3 whole eggs
– 3 egg whites
– Salt and pepper
– 1/4 cup diced onion
– 8 oz cooked turkey sausage
– 12 TBSP 2% shredded cheddar cheese
– Non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

1. Coat a small-medium skillet in non-stick spray, and sautéed onions until translucent. Remove from pan.

2. Mix eggs, egg whites, salt and pepper. Re-spray same skillet with nonstick spray, and scramble eggs until cooked through.

3. On a pre-heated large skillet or griddle (heated to 375), spray a generous coating of nonstick spray. Place a tortilla on the hot surface.

4. Cover one half of tortilla with 1/4 of egg, onion, and sausage. Sprinkle 3 TBSP cheese over whole tortilla, slightly heavier on the side with no egg.

5. Fold cheese side of tortilla over egg side, and press with spatula to close tortilla.

6. Flip quesadilla and cook on each side until done.

7. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

 

Editors Note:  For that extra pop of flavor, serve with 2 tbsp of chunky salsa!

Makes 4 servings= 307 calories per serving

Appx 8 weight watcher points plus

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Homemade Taco Seasoning

18 May

So, the taco seasoning I usually use in an envelope, contains 120 calories per envelope!!! This taco seasoning, contains 40 calories in the same serving size. I don’t know what’s in that store bought stuff that makes it so caloric (spices are typically really low cal, right?) So, here’s my version, which is just as delicious, but lower in calories. I also like that i can control the ingredients to make it hotter, milder, or however I like it. This version is a little on the spicy side, but I wouldn’t call it quite “hot”.

 

This Recipe makes seasoning for 3 lbs of ground meat.

Ingredients:

 

  • 2 beef bullion cubes, crushed
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp flour
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp salt

 

Mix all ingredients together. Use 2 Tbsp seasoning for 1 lb of beef. After cooking beef, add 1/2 cup of water and 2 tbsp seasoning, and cook down until liquid has evaporated.

1/2 tbsp (4 oz of beef)= 10 cal per serving
0 weight watchers points plus

 

If you like this recipe, try it out with some of our other recipes!

Weight watchers Mexican Chicken

Nachos!

 

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Cherry Lemonade Bundt Cake with Lemon Cool whip Frosting

17 May

This cake is very light, and would be great for summer. It’s the type of cake some people refer to as “poke” cake, meaning you poke holes in the cake and fill them (with jello in this case). If you love this idea, you can also check out my strawberry poke cake, or my tiramisu.

Ingredients:

  • 1 boxed lemon cake mix
  • 3 egg whites
  • 12 oz diet or “10” 7 up. ( or diet sprite, or sprite zero, or diet ginger ale)
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 small box of sugar free cherry jello
  • 1 cup boiled water
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 1 tub of light cool whip
  • 1 cup 1% milk
  • 1 small box (4 servings) of sugar free, instant lemon pudding
  • 2-3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, mix cake mix, soda, lemon juice and egg whites. Pour into a bundt cake pan sprayed with non-stick spray.

2. Bake cake according to directions on box. Once cake is finished, cool 30 min.

3. Once cake has cooled, use a 2 prong meat fork (or a knife, or wooden skewer) to poke many holes all the way through the cake, to the bottom of the pan.

4. Boil cup of water. Once its boiled, mix with jello until dissolved. Add cold water, mix well.

5. Pour 1/2 of jello mixture evenly over cake. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or more. Discard remaining jello.

6. After cake has cooled 2 hours, place a large plate, or platter over the top of the pan, and flip pan over to remove cake.

7. In a medium size bowl, mix milk and pudding mix until it thickens and lumps are smooth. Fold coolwhip, and yellow food coloring (optional) into mixture until well incorporated. Ice the cake with this mixture, then refrigerate at least 2 more hours before serving.

12 Servings= 199 Calories per slice

(approximately 5 weight watchers points plus per slice)

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Chili and Soy Glazed Mahi Mahi

29 Apr

Ingredients:

– 2 tablespoons honey
– 3 tablespoons soy sauce
– 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
– 1 teaspoon grated fresh or minced ginger root
– 1 tablespoon of mincede garlic
– 1 teaspoon olive oil
– 4 (4 ounce) mahi mahi fillets
– Salt and pepper to taste

Direction:

1. In a dish, just large enough for your filets, stir together all ingredients listed above “mahi mahi.”

2. Salt and pepper your mahi fillets, and place them into the dish. Cover, and refrigerate 30 minutes.

3. Heat your grill to medium heat, and grill the fish on each side for about 4-5 min, until fish is cooked through and flaky.

4. In a separate, small pan, heat remaining marinade through until it thickens into a glaze. Divide sauce evenly to top each fish fillet.

Editors Note: You can use 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to cook these fillets in a skillet if you prefer. Add 30 Calories per fillet.

4 Servings= 158 Calories per serving

appx 4 weight watchers pp per serving

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Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken Breasts

21 Apr

This is a variation of a recipe I found on pinterest. I liked the concept, but I tweaked the ingredients a bit to fit my taste. In the end, this was really good, and even my kids loved it.

Ingredients:
– 4 boneless chicken breasts (1 lb total)
– 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
– 1 large ziplock freezer baggie

Rub:
– 1 teaspoon garlic powder
– 2 teaspoons chili powder
– 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
– 1/2 teaspoon coriander
– 1 teaspoon kosher salt
– 1 teaspoon cumin
– 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
– 1/4 tsp black pepper
– pinch of salt

Glaze:
– 1/3 cup Honey
– 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Instructions:
1. Combine the rub ingredients in bowl and mix well.

2. Place chicken breasts in ziplock bag, along with oil. Shake bag to coat chicken with oil.

3. Add “rub” mixture into bag and shake, smoosh, or press seasoning onto chicken breasts until well covered on all sides.

4. On medium heat, grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

5. Mix honey and vinegar in a separate bowl. Once chicken is mostly cooked, use a spoon or brush both sides of chicken with honey mixture. Turn and Grill last few minutes, reapplying honey mixture until only about 2 tablespoons of honey remain (save these last 2 tablespoons). Honey mixture will begin to caramelize on the surface of the chicken.

6. Remove chicken from grill, and top with remaining honey mixture before serving.

4 servings= 240 calories per serving
Approximately 6 weight watchers points plus per serving

Editors Note: I would not recommend trying to make this in the oven. If you don’t have a grill, maybe just pass on this one. The sugary glaze creates quite a bit of smoke and will likely set your alarm off!

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Seafood Chowder

13 Apr

I was recently inspired by an awesome clam chowder that I had, in Chicago of all places. I thought, I could do that pretty easily as an adaptation of my potato soup recipe! So, here it is. Seafood chowder. I added some fish and shrimp, but you could make this a clam chowder by tripling the clams instead. Feel free to add any other seafood you like as well. If you think this looks good, but you don’t like seafood. Leave it out. You’ve got a great potato soup on your hands 🙂

Ingredients
– 2 cans of chicken stock
– 1 bag of frozen O’Brien style potatoes (with onions and peppers)
– 2 stalks celery, finely diced
– 1/4 cup onion, finely diced
– 1 envelope of pioneer White Gravy Mix
– 1 cup water
– 1 tsp salt
– 4 ounces of small (salad) shrimp
– 7 oz of minced clams (small can)
– 1 mahi mahi filet, 4-5 ounces (or fish of your choice).

Directions:
1. Heat Chicken Stock in a large pan.

2. Add salt, celery and onion. Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer about 5 min.

3. Add potatoes to broth mixture, and cook until potatoes are thawed, about 15 min on low.

4. Cut fish filet into chunks, about 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch. Add fish, shrimp, and clams to pot. Cook on low heat about 3 minutes, until fish is cooked through.

5. In a separate container, mix water with gravy mix packet. Stir Gravy slurry into chicken stock and potatoes.

5. The texture of your chowder will vary greatly here depending on which brand of potatoes you used. If it is too thick, simply add 1/4 cup water at a time until it reaches the desired thickness.

Makes 8 1 cup servings= 187 Calories per cup
Appx 5 weight watchers points plus per serving

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Chicken Pot Pie

10 Apr

I love chicken pot pie. I’m a southern girl. What can I say? But that Crust!!! that cream!!! it’s oh-so-fattening, and I decided to post this recipe after picking up a frozen, single serving pot pie at the grocery store this weekend, that had a whopping NINE HUNDRED calories!!! what!? So, here it is…light flaky crust… even if there’s only half as much (crust that is. this recipe won’t leave you hungry). The filling is easy, quick, rich, and super low in calories. In fact, you could eat three servings for less calories than that single serve frozen version!

Ingredients:

– 12 oz of cooked chicken breast (diced or shredded)
– 1 large can of veg-all original mixed veggies (3 1/2 cups)
– 1/4 cup diced onion
– 1 tsp water
– 2 tbsp minced garlic
– 1 can of pillsbury reduced fat crescent rolls
– 1 can of low-fat cream of mushroom soup
– 1 can of low-fat cream of chicken soup
– Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions:

1. Dice or shred your already cooked chicken, and place it in a large mixing bowl with 2 full cans of soup (undiluted), veggies, garlic, salt, and pepper.

2. Place onions in a microwave safe dish with 1 tsp of water and microwave for 60 seconds. It’s in your best interest not to skip this step… the onions are very strong if you stir them in raw. After cooking, mix in with chicken/veggie mixture.

3. Pour mixture into a 9×13 pan which has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

4. Unroll Crescent rolls across the top of the pan. Press seams together with your fingers to “mend” perforations.

5. Bake pot pie at 350 for 25 minutes, or until crescent crust is golden brown and cooked through.

6. Allow pot pie to sit for 5-10 min before serving. Seriously. This thing is molten-lava-hot in the middle. Let it sit.

Note: you could add a 2nd tube of crescent rolls to use as a bottom crust if you wanted, and it would still only be 412 calories (11 pp) per serving, but i don’t even think it needs it.

Makes 6 Servings= 292 Calories per serving
approximately 8 weight watchers points plus

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Kid approved Tuna Casserole

9 Apr

Tuna casserole. Just the mention of this dish sometimes conjures images of elementary school lunch ladies, or that one dish you always had to pretend to like at Grandmas house, right? It’s one of those meals that can vary so dramatically from one cook to another. Does it have a cheesy sauce or a savory sauce? Peas? Eggs? Crackers, breadcrumbs or crushed chips? Taking the first bite was a risk some of us were not-too-thrilled to take. It has a stigma. I get it.

Early on, this was one of my kids favorite meals, and it still is today. We had to tell them it was chicken the first time, but that’s irrelevant. It’s clearly not a gourmet “company’s coming” kind of meal. It’s simple, easy, quick, and kid cliched. I mean, the primary ingredient is a box of powdered Mac and cheese… But, even my pickiest kid loves it, and my husband does too.

Also, this is the very first “real” recipe I ever learned to make. My granny taught me when I was about 10. So, this recipe is sort of “where it all started.” You could sneak in peas, broccoli, or spinach if you need to sneak in veggies . Enjoy!

Ingredients:

– 1 box of original Kraft Mac & cheese
– 1/4 cup 1% milk
– 1 can of light or whit tuna, in water
– 1 can of reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
– 10 crushed saltine crackers

Directions:

1. Boil macaroni noodles, until they are donee. Drain well and mix with cheese packet and milk.

2. Drain can of Tuna, and mix tuna and soup well with macaroni.

3. Pour into a medium size baking dish (9×9 will work) sprayed with non-stick spray.

4. Top with crushed saltines, and bake at 400 for 20 min.

4 servings= 265 calories per serving
Approximately 7 weight watchers points plus

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Spaghetti and Meatballs

8 Apr

This is one of my kids favorite meals. Especially my oldest son. He is a picky eater, but he loves meatballs. I love to make meatballs from scratch, but sometimes I don’t have time. So, I either make large batches and freeze them for later, or sometimes i’ll use the kirkland frozen meatballs from Costco. This recipe is for homemade meatballs, but if you go the costco route, you get 5 meatballs per serving, and add 40 calories.

Ingredients:
– 1 lb 97% Lean ground turkey or 96% lean beef
– 1 egg
– 1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
– 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (for meatballs)
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/2 tsp pepper
– 2 tablespoons minced garlic
– 2 tsp dried oregano
– 1/4 cup minced onion

– 1 batch of homemade marinara (or a jar of prego smartlight)
– 1 12 oz box of ronzoni smart taste spaghetti
– 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (for topping)

Directions:

1. In large bowl combine beef, egg, bread crumbs, onion, salt and pepper, oregano, 3 tbsp parmesan, and garlic. Wash your hands well, and use them to smoosh (technical culinary term) all ingredients together until well mixed.

2. Form into meatballs about 1″ in diameter ( use a cookie scoop) and place on a broiler pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until meatballs are no longer pink in center.

3. Boil spaghetti noodles until they reach the desired texture, and drain. Plate 4 equal portions.

5. Divide meatballs evenly into 4 servings, and place on top of spaghetti. Top with sauce and 1 tablespoon of cheese.

4 Servings*= 575 Calories per serving
Approximately 15 weight watchers points plus

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