It’s been too long since I have given you a new exciting recipe to try. I hope to be posting more often again. Here is a very tasty dish from tonight that the family really enjoyed. The best thing is that it is a complete meal with veggies already included.
Enjoy!!
Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
Serve 6
Preheat oven 375o
Estimated Values per serving:
Calories = 300 Fat = 8 grams
Ingredients:
1 ½ broccoli
1 ½ pounds cooked skinless/boneless chicken breast – cut into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon canola oil
¼ cup onion – chopped
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup sherry
3 – 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup flour
1 cup skim milk
6 ounces grated low fat cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup parmesan cheese
Directions:
Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Add broccoli and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Add to a large bowl with cooked chicken and toss.
Coat a 9-by-13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Heat a skillet on medium heat, coat with cooking spray, add oil and chopped onion. Cooke 3 – 5 minutes until tender. Add garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute. Add sherry, scraping any pieces from the pan an cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated.
In a small bowl, whisk together milk, broth and flour then add to skillet. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture is bubbly and has thickened. Remove from heat and add Swiss cheese, stirring until all the cheese has melted.
Pour cheese sauce into mixing bowl with chicken and broccoli, adding salt and pepper to taste and toss until well coated.
Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish.
Mix the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese together then sprinkle on top.
Hey Everyone! It has been one of those weeks and although I have been making dinner every night, I just have not had the chance to do any filming. I will get a few videos done this weekend and we will get back on track.
In the mean time, we are going to a friends house this weekend to watch football for a game day. With that theme in mind we are all cooking some kind of Game. We will have venison, wild turkey, doves and probably a few other surprises. It should be fun!
Now you may not have access to any Game for game day so I am re-posting this classic from 2011. I do not have a video for it but if you are going to a party this weekend and bringing something, this one is a winner!
Enjoy!!!
Roasted Red Pepper and Cheese Stuffed Bread
Preheat oven 400o
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 20 – 25 minutes
Estimated Values per Serving:
Calories: 240 Fat: 7 grams
Ingredients:
½ cup fat free ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup grated low fat mozzarella cheese
½ teaspoon granulated onion powder
½ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried basil
1 package refrigerated thin crust pizza dough
1 jar (12.3 ounces) roasted red peppers
Directions:
Coat a baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl mix together ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, onion, powder, garlic powder and basil.
Rinse and dry roasted peppers with paper towels.
Roll out pizza dough and place half of the peppers in the middle of the pizza dough making sure you leave about a 1” border on the edges.
Spoon cheese mixture on top of the peppers and spread over the peppers. Top with the remaining peppers.
Roll pizza dough once toward the middle then fold both sides toward the middle. Roll the remaining dough until you have one large roll. Place the dough, seam side down onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, let stand for at least 5 minutes. Slice and serve.
Ham & Cheese Stuffed Bread
Preheat oven 400o
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 20 -25 minutes
Estimated Values per Serving:
Calories: 260 Fat: 8 grams
Ingredients:
½ cup fat free ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup grated low fat mozzarella cheese
½ teaspoon granulated onion powder
½ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried basil
1 package refrigerated thin crust pizza dough
6 slices Italian deli meat ham
Directions:
Coat a baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl mix together ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, onion, powder, garlic powder and basil.
Roll out pizza dough and place 3 slices of ham in the middle of the pizza dough making sure you leave about a 1” border on the edges.
Spoon cheese mixture on top of the ham and spread over the ham. Top with the last 3 slices of ham.
Roll pizza dough once toward the middle then fold both sides toward the middle. Roll the remaining dough until you have one large roll. Place the dough, seam side down onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, let stand for at least 5 minutes. Slice and serve.
Sausage Stuffed Bread
Preheat oven 400o
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 20 – 25 minutes
Estimated Values per Serving:
Calories: 250 Fat: 8 grams
Ingredients:
2 Italian style chicken sausages
2 cloves garlic – crushed
1/3 cup fat free ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 refrigerated pizza dough
Directions:
Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
Remove casings from sausages and chop. Heat a skillet on medium high heat and coat with cooking spray. Sauté sausage for 3 – 5 minutes until browned. Add crushed garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Spoon sausage mixture into a small mixing bowl. Stir in ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and basil.
Roll out pizza dough and spread the sausage mixture in the middle of the pizza dough making sure you leave about a 1” border on the edges.
Roll pizza dough once toward the middle then fold both sides toward the middle. Roll the remaining dough until you have one large roll. Place the dough, seam side down onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, let stand for at least 5 minutes. Slice and serve.
I am always looking for light twists on typical dishes. I will get inspiration from friends, cook books, magazines and TV shows and it is fun to take an otherwise fattening dish and make it light enough that I don’t feel bad about feeding it to my family. The trick of course is to figure out a way to make it taste the same or better than the original dish.
Then there are those nights where I have nothing in mind and I jut start cooking with what I have. Sometimes the dishes come out great and other times I am reluctant to feed it to my dog. That is the fun and beauty of cooking….sometimes you never know what you are going to get!
Tonight’s dish was one of those dinners where I really didn’t have a plan, just some ingredients. Looking back now I could have made this dish a little “lighter” but it was close enough and it was delicious. I even had some Pillsbury Pizza dough which I formed and baked into little cups. I then serve Nick and my portions in the cup. Funny thing is they were gone so fast I didn’t take a picture! Oh well next time. Enjoy.
Southwest Chicken Casserole
Preheat oven 375o
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Estimated values per serving:
Calories = 257 Fat = 7 grams
Serves 6
Ingredients:
4 ounces low fat cream cheese – softened
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1 ½ cups salsa
1 cup diced tomatoes from a can – drained
2 pounds boneless cooked chicken breast – cut into ½ inch pieces
1 cup low fat grated Mexican cheese mix
1 15-ounce can black beans – drained and rinsed
Directions:
1. Beat cream cheese and taco seasoning on high speed until whipped.
2. Fold in salsa, tomatoes, chicken, cheese and black beans.
3. Coat a 12 by 8 inch casserole baking pan with cooking spray. Spoon chicken mixture into casserole pan.
4. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes then uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Add a
couple of tablespoons of water to the broccoli in a microwave safe bowl and
microwave for 2 – 3 minutes. Strain
water out of broccoli and set aside.
Heat
pan on medium hit heat, add oil to pan and sauté chicken until browned and
cooked through. Add cooked chicken to
broccoli, cover and set aside.
Add
garlic to pan and cook for 1 minutes.
Add teriyaki sauce, hoisin sauce and chili sauce and cook until bubbly.
Add
chicken and broccoli and stir until heated through.
Remove
from pan and serve hot with rice, rice noodles or riced cauliflower.
A cordon bleu or schnitzel cordon bleu is a dish of meat wrapped around cheese, then breaded and pan-fried or deep-fried. Chicken, Veal or pork cordon bleu is made of veal or pork pounded thin and wrapped around a slice of ham and a slice of cheese, breaded, and then pan fried and baked. This recipe is made with a simple to make cheese sauce, which really compliments the chicken. Enjoy!!!
Serves 4
Preheat oven 375o
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 – 45 minutes
Estimated Values per Serving:
Calories: 490 Fat: 10 grams
Sauce Ingredients:
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups skim milk
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 ounces thinly sliced reduced fat Swiss cheese
¼ teaspoon white pepper
Sauce Directions:
Whisk four and milk in a saucepan on medium heat for 5 – 7 minutes until thick and bubbly.
Remove from heat, add cheeses and pepper and stir until cheese is melted. Cover and set aside.
Chicken Ingredients:
4 chicken cutlets (total of 1 ½ pounds or 24 ounces)
Pound each chicken cutlet until it is about ¼ inch thin (thinner is easier to roll). Cut each in half for a total of 8 cutlets.
Cut deli ham meat into 8 slices and Swiss cheese into 8 slices.
Place a ham slice inside the chicken cutlet and then a slice of cheese. Roll up each breast tightly. Continue until all chicken cutlets are rolled with the cheese and ham inside.
Dip each in egg then roll in bread crumbs.
Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium high heat and spray with cooking spray. Cook the rolled chicken cutlets for about 5 minutes on each side until browned.
Pour 2/3 sauce into an oven safe baking dish. Place cutlets in a single layer on top of sauce then spoon remaining sauce on top.
Bake for 30 minutes covered then 5 – 10 minutes uncovered until bubbly and browned.
Serve hot.
TIPS FOR ROLLING CHICKEN CUTLETS:
You can use plastic wrap on the outside of the chicken cutlets when rolling to get a tight roll. This will help from the chicken falling away from the ham and cheese center.
You can secure with toothpicks and remove after cooking in the skillet.
Season chicken with salt and pepper and lightly coat with flour.
Heat a sauté pan on
medium high heat and spray with cooking spray. Sear chicken pieces until brown on all sides.
Remove the chicken from the pan and place in a tray.
Add onions to the pan and sauté, covered, for 15 minutes on medium heat until golden
brown, stirring often.
Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
Add the vinegar and wine and scrape any pieces from bottom of skillet.
Add chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
Add the tomato paste, tomato, and paprika. Stir until well blended.
Add the thyme and bay leaf.
Add the reserved chicken pieces and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Whisk half and half and
corn starch in a small bowl and then add to pan.
Continue to
simmer another 10 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
While simmering, cook egg noodles according to package
directions. Drain, rinse and transfer to
a serving platter
To
make sauce: Heat a pot on medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
Add
onions and sauté for about 5 minutes until softened and browned.
Add 2
cloves minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add can of crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil,
onion powder, garlic powder and season with salt and pepper.
Bring
sauce to a boil then let simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat.
To
make chicken: Spray frying pan with cooking spray. Sauté chicken breasts in a
frying pan on medium high heat. Cook
chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned.
Remove
chicken breast from pan and set aside.
Pour ½
cup of the tomato sauce into a baking dish.
Arrange
chicken breasts on top of tomato sauce.
Spoon
remaining sauce on chicken and then top with ¼ cup parmesan cheese.
Bake
covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for the last 10 minutes. Serve with cooked zoodles.
Zucchini Noodles Directions:
While
chicken is baking during the last 10 minutes, heat olive oil in a pan, add 1
clove minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Add
zucchini noodles, season with salt and pepper and sauté, while turning it with
tongs for 7 – 10 minutes until zucchini is soft and the water on the bottom of
the pan is absorbed.
Turn
off heat and toss ¼ cup parmesan cheese.
Transfer to a bowl and cover until chick parmesan is done.
This is an Italian classic made light. Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian. In cuisine, alla cacciatora refers to a meal prepared “hunter-style” with onions, herbs, usually tomatoes, often bell peppers, and sometimes wine. Cacciatore is popularly made with braised chicken or rabbit . Enjoy
As the weather starts to cool down, I like to cook comfort food favorites. This meatloaf is a great combination of a classic with a BBQ twist. It’s really easy to make and I think your family will love it…
Enjoy!!
BBQ
Meatloaf
Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 1 to 1 ¼ hours
Preheat oven 375o
Estimated Values Per Serving:
Calories: 200 Fat: 4 grams
Ingredients:
½ cup onion – chopped
4 slices turkey bacon
¾ pound ground turkey breast
¾ pound 93% lean ground beef
1/3 cup egg substitute
½ cup breadcrumbs – unseasoned
½ cup BBQ sauce
Directions:
Heat a skillet on medium-high heat and add bacon. Cook until crispy and browned.
Remove from heat and cool. Chop bacon once cooled.
Using the same skillet, heat on medium and add chopped onion. Cook until soft and browned. Remove from heat to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine turkey breast meat, beef, egg substitute,
breadcrumbs, BBQ sauce, bacon and onion. Mix all ingredients well until combined.
Coat a 9X5X3-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Mold meatloaf into pan.
Bake for 1 to 1 ¼ hours until thoroughly cooked through (temperature should reach 170o).
Drain off the excess fat and served sliced on a platter.
2 cups frozen chopped spinach – defrosted & drained of excess water
Directions:
Coat a 9-inch deep pie dish pan with cooking spray. Roll pizza dough in and fit into
the bottom and up the sides of the deep pie dish.
Bake at 425o for 10 minutes then remove from the oven (dough will not be completely cooked).
Meanwhile, heat a skillet on medium high heat and cost with cooking spray. Add ground turkey
and beef for about 5 minutes, breaking apart with a spoon. Add chopped onion and cook for an additional
3 – 5 minutes. Transfer the bottom of the pie dish.
In a bowl, whisk together the egg substitute, eggs, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, milk and salt and pepper. Stir in the defrosted spinach. Pour egg mixture into pie dish.
Lower oven heat to 400o and bake for 35 – 40 minutes until browned. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.
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