Archive | Recipes- It’s what’s for dinner! (entrees) RSS feed for this section

Beef Stew Shepherds Pie

25 Sep

This is not a pretty dish, but it tastes SO good! I’ve always been intrigued and a bit weirded out by the concept of shepherds pie. I mean, why would you mix all those foods together when you could eat them nice and separately, in their own little OCD compartments??? It just seems so strange to mush everything together like that!! So, i thought to myself “self. i don’t think you’ll ever be a true shepherds pie kind of girl..but you know what’s delicious together? beef stew and mashed potatoes!” and so beef stew shepherds pie was born! It’s so rich, and flavorful, and hearty. This will really be great this fall and winter, and I’m so glad I made it. I hope you enjoy! PS you could make your own mashed potatoes and probably lower the calories further, but since i found these little gems, potato mashing has become a time consuming effort reserved only for Christmas, and days off. We do what we do to get the kids fed, homework done, piano, softball, girl scouts meetings, and school plays in, right? right.

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb of stew meat
  • 1 onion, quartered, then cut in half (so, eighthed, that’s a word right?)
  • 15 baby carrots
  • 2 Cups hot water
  • 1 packet mcCormick beef stew seasoning mix
  • 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
  • 2/3 cup frozen peas
  • 2 TBSP cornstarch
  • 1 container of prepared bob evans original mashed potatoes

 

Directions:

1. place beef, onions, and carrots in a medium crockpot.

2. Mix 1 1/2 cups of water with beef stew seasoning mix, and pour over top of beef mixture.

3. cook on low for 5-7 hours, stirring occassionaly if you’re available to do so.

4. Once 5-7 hour time is up, transfer mixture to a large oven safe skillet (cast iron if you have one). Add frozen peas and mushrooms to mixture.

5. Remove about 1/4 cup of liquid from stew mix, and mix with corn starch in a separate container, until mixture creates a smooth slurry.

6. Add the corn starch slurry into the stew and stir well with mixture. Continue to cook on low for about 10 min, or until mixture begins to thicken.

7. Microwave the bob evans mashed potates according to package directions. Spoon carefully and evenly over top of stew inside the skillet.

10. Place the oven-safe skillet into the Oven, and Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

 

Makes 4 servings= 530 Calories per serving

Approximately 14 weight watchers points plus

20140925-173914.jpg

20140925-173931.jpg

20140925-173944.jpg

Tags: , , , , ,

Ham and Havarti Frittata

27 Aug

This was pretty good, and it was really quick. I served it with some fresh fruit in a 1/8 serving size, but it’s pretty low-cal and full of protein, so i’ll list different serving sizes today, in case you’re a little hungrier 🙂 Great for Breakfast, Brunch, or Dinner, and Frittatas are versatile, so I’ll be posting more versions with different ingredients in the future.

Editors Note: I used a 10 Inch cast Iron skillet for this. I’m not sure how else you could make it, because of the high heat needed to finish this in the oven. Most oven-safe skillets are only “oven safe” to a certain temperature, so be sure yours will work in the oven.

 

Ingredients

  • 4 Egg whites
  • 5 whole eggs
  • 1/3 cup 1% Milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup diced onion
  • Diced Ham, 4 ounces (i bought a 4 oz pre-diced pack in the deli section)
  • 5 ounces Havarti Cheese (I used Boars Head creamy havarti from the deli)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to broil.

2. Heat oil in your cast iron skillet, on a medium setting on the stovetop. Sautee onions and diced ham until onions become translucent.

3. In a medium bowl, mix egg whites, eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and thyme. Whisk until everything is well blended.

4. Once onions and ham have been sauteed, spread them in an even layer in the skillet, and cover with the sliced havarti cheese.

5. Pour egg mixture over the top of the ham, onions and cheese and cook on medium on the stovetop 3-4 minutes until eggs appear to be set on the bottom, and are beginning to set through the middle. Don’t stir the eggs. Pay attention here to the heat. If your heat is too high your eggs will scorch. I set mine on about 4-5 on a 1-10 setting.

6. CAUTION: USE A POT HOLDER: The skillet handle will get very hot both on the stovetop, and of course, in the oven.

After bottom and middle of eggs have begun to set, place the whole skillet into the oven and allow it to broil 4-6 additional minutes.

7. Remove from oven when eggs appear set all the way through and top has just begun to turn golden in spots.

8. Allow to cool about 5 minutes before slicing the frittata like a pie to serve.
6 Servings= 225 Calories per serving

8 Servings= 165 Calories per serving

Approximately 5 weight watchers points plus for 1/6, or 4 points plus for 1/8.

 

20140827-112717.jpg

20140827-112729.jpg

20140827-112741.jpg

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Stuffed Shells Florentine

20 Aug

This recipe is pretty classic, pretty easy, but not all that “quick” so it makes a good weekend recipe at my house. If you want to make it on a weeknight, and you’re short on time in the evenings, i’d recommend making the sauce, and stuffing the shells the night before, and then just adding the sauce, cheese, etc for the baking the next evening. Also, if you don’t want to make the sauce i’ve linked to here, you can use Prego Smart Light without affecting your calorie count. Any other jarred sauce will increase your calories.

 

Ingredients:

  • 30 Barilla Jumbo Shells
  • 1 batch (or about 3 cups) Marinara Sauce
  • 15 oz Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 Tsp Garlic powder
  • 1/4 Tsp Salt
  • Pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 Cups mozzarella cheese shredded (divided into 1/2 cup, and 1 cup)
  • 1 Box frozen chopped spinach, thawed

 

Directions:

1. Boil a large pot of water, and boil your shells until al dente.

2. Mix ricotta, egg white, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup mozzarella in a medium sized bowl.

3. Lay about 4 stacked paper towels flat on your counter. Spread the thawed spinach out on these towels, and top with about 3 additional paper towels. Press hard to remove all the water from the spinach. This is very important. Otherwise your pasta will be watery.

4. Mix Spinach into ricotta mixture until everything is well incorporated.

5. Spread about 3/4 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of an 8X13 baking pan.

6. Carefully stuff each shell with about 2 TBSP of Ricotta mixture, and set them into the 8×13 pan on top of the sauce. Arrange them in rows. They will be a tight fit.

7. Once all shells are stuffed and arranged, pour remaining Marinara sauce evenly over the tops of the shells.

8. Sprinkle evenly with remaining mozzarella cheese.

9. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 min. Uncover and continue baking an additional 5-10 min.

10. Allow shells to sit/cool for about 5-10 min before serving. They will be hot.

20140817-164510.jpg

20140817-164518.jpg

20140817-164530.jpg

Baked Lemon Butter Shrimp

15 Aug

This is a lightened up variation of a recipe I found on Pinterest. It was a big hit! My 3 yr old ate a full serving without complaint, which is really a big deal. The flavors are perfect, and I poured the sauce that remained in the pan over the rice we were eating. Yummy.

Ingredients:

– 8 oz frozen shrimp (cooked, deveined, peeled)
– 3 tbsp land O lakes light butter
– juice from 1/2 a lemon
– 1 tbsp Italian dressing seasoning (the kind in the envelope, you use to make dressing)

Directions:

1. Thaw shrimp. Pour into baking dish.

2. Melt butter in a saucepan on low.

3. Squeeze lemon over shrimp, then pour butter over them.

4. Sprinkle with seasoning.

5. Bake at 350 for 15 min.

3 servings, only 120 calories per serving!

Approximately 3 weight watchers points plus

20140815-174359.jpg

20140815-174418.jpg

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Oven Baked Chicken Tenders

14 Aug

I have tried several versions of baked tenders, and, upto this point I have not posted any of them, because none of them really “hit the spot” to satisfy a true chicken finger craving. But, last night, I tried this version, and the results were very satisfying. Please note that you should not substitute regular breadcrumbs in this recipe. I’ve tried both types, and the Panko is really needed to give it a good crunch. I hope you all enjoy.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb uncooked chicken tenderloins (or you could cut up 1 lb of breasts)
  • 3 Egg Whites
  • 1/2 cup 1% Milk
  • 3/4 Cup All purpose flour*
  • 1/2 TBSP dried Rosemary (optional, but recommended)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 1/4 Cup Seasoned Panko Bread Crumbs**

* I was able to find pre-seasoned panko at the store, but if you want to use regular, just add in about 1 tbsp parsley, 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, and maybe some salt and pepper.

** I ALWAYS use a pre-seasoned flour for recipes like this, and I think it makes all the difference in the world. You should check out This Site and consider buying some of, what I believe to be the best, from “The Old Mill” in Pigeon Forge TN.

Directions:

1. In 4 separate, shallow dishes place the following: 1) Milk 2) Flour 3) Egg whites, whisked 4) Panko, Salt, Pepper, and Rosemary (stir together).

2. Dredge each of your chicken tenders into these 4 containers, in this order. 1) Milk 2) Flour 3) Egg white 4) Panko. Be sure to spend some time in that panko dish… pressing the crumbs into the tenders and really getting them good and covered.

3. Lay tenders on a metal baking sheet, sprayed with Pam.

4. Bake at 375 for about 20 Minutes. Flip Tenders over and continue baking about 5 min longer, or until cooked through.

5. If you feel your tenders are not brown enough for your liking, turn the broiler on for a minute or so, but watch them closely so they don’t burn.

Enjoy. These come out crunchy and flavorful, and my husband says he even liked them better than the fried version I made the same night.

 

Makes 3 Servings= 310 Calories per serving

Approximately 8 weight watchers points plus per serving

 

20140814-165438.jpg

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Grilled Chicken with Mango Salsa

12 Aug

Ingredients: Chicken:

  • 5 (5 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder

For Salsa:

  • 1 mango (peeled, seeded and diced)
    1 small tomato diced
    1/2 a small purple onion, diced
    1/2 or more fresh jalapeno peppers, diced (seeds removed) (to taste)
    1 TBSP of apple cider vinegar (to taste)
    salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix all Salsa ingredients together, and refrigerate for 2-12 hours.

2. Preheat Grill to Medium heat. Season chicken breasts evenly with salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder.

3. Grill chicken breasts on medium heat until done.

4. Top each chicken breast with an even portion of Salsa.

 

Makes 5 Servings= 205 Calories per serving

Approximately 5 weight watchers points plus per serving

20140811-161932.jpg

20140811-161948.jpg

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Cheesy Beefaroni Bake

5 Aug

Ingredients:

  • 1 (8-ounce) package small elbow macaroni
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 TBSP minced garlic
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 cup shredded 2% reduced-fat cheddar cheese

For Sauce:

  • 1 cup 1% milk
  • 2 TBSP all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup shredded 2% reduced-fat cheddar cheese

 

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain pasta, and then lightly coat pasta with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray, and sautee onion, garlic, and ground beef. Cook until beef is cooked through and onions become semi-transparent.

3. Add tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates.

4. Add pasta to beef mixture in pan, stirring to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 9X9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

5. In a small/medium sauce pan, mix milk, flour, nutmeg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk ingredients together over medium heat, until well blended. Stir constantly with a wisk until mixture thickens.

6. Once mixture has begun to thicken, add 1 cup cheese, stirring until smooth. Pour cheese mixture evenly over the top of the pasta mixture, And stir it all around a little. Top evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This “let it sit” part is important. This stuff is 1. molten-lava hot when it comes out of the oven, and 2. in need of some room-temp thickening. So, hold your horses here and give it 5 minutes 🙂 Enjoy.

Makes 6 Servings= 386 calories
Apps 10 weight watchers points plus

20140805-184027.jpg

20140805-184034.jpg

Tags: , , , , ,

Balsamic Chicken

31 Jul

Ingredients:

– 4 chicken breasts (4 oz each)
– 1/4 a medium onion, diced
– 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
– 1/2 cup low fat chicken broth
– 2 tablespoons white sugar
– 1/2 tsp dried basil
– 1/2 tsp dried oregano
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– A tiny sprinkle of corn starch

Directions:

1. In a shallow dish, mix vinegar, broth, garlic, sugar, oregano and basil.

2. Marinate chicken breasts 20 min to 6 hrs in this liquid.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet, and remove chicken from marinade, but don’t throw the marinade out.

4. Cook the chicken in the skillet, approximately 8 min per side, turning as needed. Cook until chicken is done all the way through.

5. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan being onion and remaining marinade to a boil, whisking regularly.

6. Continue whisking mixture, but turn heat down to about medium.

7. Once chicken is cooked through, add sauce into skillet.

8. Cook down until sauce thickens to desired consistency.

9. Whisk in a pinch of corn starch if sauce does not thicken to your liking.

Serve chicken with sauce spooned over top.

Make 4 servings.

1 breast with sauce = 179 calories

Approximately 5 ww points plus

20140731-201121.jpg

Tags: , ,

Smoked sausage and potato bake

20 Jul

This is based off a recipe I found on Pinterest. I made a few changes to make it lower calorie and also to my taste. This was very good. If you like banana peppers, it gets a tad salty, but nobody else in my family ate the banana peppers… And they all still loved it. Will be a repeat for sure.

Ingredients :

  • 1 package (13 oz) turkey smoked sausage or kielbasa
  • 6 red new potatoes
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 8 oz banana pepper rings, drained of liquid
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp creole seasoning

Directions:

1. Slice sausage at a slant (on the bias) into slices about 1/4 in thick.

2. Cut new potatoes into cubes about 1/2 in x 1/2 inch. Don’t make them too big or they won’t cook through.

3. Place sausage, onion, potatoes and peppers in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

4. Sprinkle creole seasoning over mixture and mix it all together, coating each piece with a little oil.

5. Spread mixture evenly over a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Use a pan with sides, not a flat sheet.

6. Bake mixture at 400 for 35 min, turning all items over once halfway through cooking.

Makes 5 servings= 231 calories per serving

Approximately 6 ww points per serving

20140720-213433.jpg

20140720-213448.jpg

Crockpot Bean Soup

16 Jul

I am a southern girl (which you probably know by now if you follow this blog) and I love bean soup. So does my 15 yr old, and he requested it this week, so, who am I to say no!! I’ve tried many times to make it in the crock pot, because it seems like a great fit… but for whatever reason, it never really worked… until last night! Below is a pretty delicious, filling, and low calorie classic southern white bean soup. It takes a little more prep time than I normally put into a crockpot meal, but honestly, I did everything the night before, except add the beans. I stored the rest of the soup mixture in the fridge overnight, and cleaned and sorted the beans, and set them aside on the counter. Then in the morning, I mixed the dried beans in and started the crockpot. It was yummy! For an extra 170 calories, I served it with one prepared jiffy corn bread muffin. mmm…… that deserves another one…. say it with me…. “mmmmmmm……” Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 stalks of celery, chopped
  • 3 medium carrots, chopped
  • 4 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 country ham hock (8 oz)
  • 26 oz of chicken stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 3 Cups water
  • 1 lb dry great northern beans

 

Directions:

1. On the stove top, heat oil in a medium sized skillet. Add some non-stick spray if you need more than just the 1/2 tbsp of oil.

2. Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pan. Heat them in the oil, stirring regularly, until the veggies begin to soften a big. Onions may turn semi-translucent.

3. Transfer veggie mixture to the empty crock pot. Add everything else on the list to the crock pot, except the beans. Don’t add the beans yet.

4. Use a strainer to rinse your beans thoroughly. Sort through the beans while cleaning them, and discard any beans that are discolored, shriveled, or broken. Be sure to rinse them well. Occassionaly you might find a pebble in there. Remove that too 🙂 they’re hard to digest.

5. See all those steps up there ^^ I did all those the night before, and then stored my beans on the counter, and the remaining soup mixture in the fridge, over night. Don’t soak your beans…. just rinse them, drain the water, and set them aside. If you’re doing this all in the same day, then you can go ahead and add your beans at this point. If you prep the night before like me, then just stir the beans in when you’re ready to start cooking!

6. Stir the beans into the mixture, and heat on low for about 8 hours, upto 10.

7. 30 min before serving, remove the ham hock, and the bay leaves. Mix the soup around, and if you like (i do) you can take a rigid spoon and smoosh some of the beans against the edge of the crock pot. This creates a thicker soup, which I like. You don’t have to do the smooshy part…it’s up to you. BUT… do leave the lid off and let it cook for another 20-30 min or so. \

Editors Note: I also remove about 1/4 cup of the country ham from the hamhock, chop it up, and add it back into the soup. Again, up to you. Southern girls don’t pass up country ham when they have the chance to eat it.

 

Makes 9 Cups.

1 Cup of soup= 172 Calories per cup

Approximately 4 weight watchers points plus per cup

20140716-205220.jpg

20140716-205239.jpg

Tags: , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →