Monday, January 16, 2012

Creamy Italian Chicken

Creamy Italian Chicken 

PointsPlus™ Value:    8
Servings:  4
 
Ingredients

 
  1 envelope(s) Good Seasons Italian Dressing   
  2 can(s) Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup   
  8 oz fat-free cream cheese   
  1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast   
  1 cup(s) cooked brown rice (optional)
 
Instructions


Put chicken breasts in crock pot. Sprinkle with dry Italian dressing mix. Mix cream cheese and soup in separate bowl. Pour over chicken. Cook on low all day (8 hours) or on high for 4-5 hours). Serve over rice or noodles. (Add milk if needed to thin sauce out)

**My modifications: I added garlic powder for extra flavor and served over penne.

Oven Baked Chicken Parmasan

Oven Baked Chicken Parmasan
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless breast halves (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1 egg slightly beaten
3/4 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 jar (26-28 ounces) Ragu pasta sauce of choice (or any brand)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dip chicken in egg, then bread crumbs, coating well.
2. In 13x9 inch glass baking dish, arrange chicken. Baked uncovered 20 minutes.
3. Pour Ragu pasta sauce over chicken, then top with cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Serve, if desired, with hot cooked pasta.

Source: Easy to Bake, Easy to Make recipes.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 pork roast
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Salt
Pepper
20 oz bottle of Dr. Pepper (or any soda)
1 bottle barbeque sauce
Hamburger buns

Directions:

1. Season the pork roast with the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper (whatever amount you prefer)
2. Place pork roast in crock pot and cover with Dr. Pepper
3. Cook on high for about 4 hours (longer if cooking on low)
4. Once the roast is cooked, shred and place the shredded meat back in crock pot. Add barbeque sauce and warm. Add pulled pork to hamburger buns and enjoy!

Italian Breaded Pork Chops

Italian Breaded Pork Chops

Prep Time:
25 Min Cook Time:
35 Min Ready In:
1 Hr

Yield 4 servings  

Ingredients

3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 pork chops


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. In a separate small bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and parsley.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook until lightly browned. Remove garlic, reserving for other uses.
4. Dip each pork chop into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating evenly. Place coated pork chops in the skillet, and brown abut 5 minutes on each side.
5. Place the skillet and pork chops in the preheated oven, and cook 25 minutes, or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).


Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 527 | Total Fat: 24.6g | Cholesterol: 247mg

**My modifications: I used 1 egg instead of three. I also reduced the amount of dry ingredients as the original recipe seems to call for more than is necessary. I also coated the pork chops in flour before dipping it into the egg mixture to make the coating to stick better.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/italian-breaded-pork-chops/

Pan-Seared Chicken with Garlic Sauce

Pan-Seared Chicken with Garlic Sauce

Ingredients

1 tsp paprika   
1 tsp dried thyme   
1/2 tsp dried rosemary   
1/2 tsp table salt   
1/4 tsp black pepper   
1 pound(s) uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), four 4-oz pieces   
1 tsp olive oil   
12 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), halved   
  1 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth, reduced-sodium, divided   


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with herb mixture.

Heat oil in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook 2 minutes on each side. Add garlic and 3⁄4 cup broth. Place pan in oven. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until chicken is done and garlic cloves are soft.

Remove pan from oven. Transfer chicken to a platter; keep warm. Add remaining 1⁄4 cup broth to pan. Mash garlic with a fork. Cook garlic mixture over medium heat 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated; stir. Serve garlic sauce over chicken.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast and 2 tablespoons garlic sauce).

Source: www.weightwatchers.com

Southern Oven "Fried" Chicken

Southern Oven "Fried" Chicken
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup fat-free buttermilk
1/2 cup crushed cornflakes
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 lbs of chicken breasts
4 teaspoons canola oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Pour the buttermilk into a large shallow bowl. On a sheet of waxing paper, combine cornflake crumbs, flour, salt, and pepper.
3. Dip the chicken in the buttermilk, then dredge in cornflake mixture, coating completely.
4. Place chicken on the baking sheet; drizzle with canola oil.
5. Bake 30 minutes the turn the chicken over. Bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes longer

Per serving: 229 Cal, 10g Fat, 2 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 64 mg Chol, 295 mg sodium, 11 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 23 g protein, 49 mg calcium.

* My modifications: we like use some hot sauce on the chicken to add some extra kick!

Source: weight watchers cookbook

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

Source: Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1 lb 95% lean ground beef
15 oz can tomato sauce
Oregano to taste
Onion Powder to taste
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes to taste
Cooking Spray
8 oz mushrooms, sliced or chopped
10 oz can refrigerated pizza crust dough
8 oz shredded reduced fat mozzarella

Directions:
1.    Preheat the oven to 425
2.    Cook meat (seasoned with oregano, onion powder & crushed red pepper flakes to taste) in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring until it crumbles. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are browned a bit as well. Add tomato sauce and cook until heated.
3.    While meat cooks, coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Unroll pizza crust dough and press into bottom and halfway up the sides of baking dish. Sprinkle half the cheese over the bottom of the crust. Top with meat mixture.
4.    Bake uncovered in the oven at 425 for 12 minutes. Remove and top with remaining cheese. Put casserole back in the oven for 5 additional minutes or until crust is browned and cheese is melted. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Yields 6 servings. WW P+: 9 per serving (If you make it 8 servings the P+ value changes to 7 per serving)

**My modifications: I used lean ground turkey instead of beef. I added basil to the tomato sauce. For the seasonings, I used them until I got the flavor I wanted. I didn't use mushrooms. I topped with turkey pepperoni.

Source: http://www.emilybites.com/2011/01/deep-dish-pizza-casserole.html

Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

Hands on time: 20 minutes  Total time: 50 minutes  Serves: 12

Ingredients:
8 ounces (about 3 cups) uncooked spiral pasta
1 pound Italian sausage (casings removed) or ground beef
4 cups spaghetti sauce
1 (4-ounce) can mushrooms, drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (6-ounce) package sliced pepperoni
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese


Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On the stovetop, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions and drain. Return the pasta to the pot.
Meanwhile, in a saute pan over medium heat, cook the sausage; drain. Add the sausage, spaghetti sauce and mushrooms to the pasta and stir to combine. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and half the pepperoni slices.
Spread pasta mixture into a lightly greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Top with the mozzarella cheese. Arrange remaining half of pepperoni slices over top. Bake for 20 minutes, until cheese is bubbly. .

-- Adapted from www.thatsmyhome.com.
Nutrition:
Per serving: 455 calories (percent of calories from fat, 57), 19 grams protein, 29 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 29 grams fat (11 grams saturated), 62 milligrams cholesterol, 1,021 milligrams sodium.

My modifications: I used 1 lb of lean ground beef (or ground turkey) and 2 links of Italian sausage. I also used more pasta than the recipe calls for.

Source: http://projects.eveningedge.com/recipes/pepperoni-pizza-casserole/

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

Garlic Cheddar Chicken
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, and cook the garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. In a shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, pepper, and salt.
4. Dip each chicken breast in the garlic butter to coat, then press into the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with any remaining butter and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture.
5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.


Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 406 | Total Fat: 25.2g | Cholesterol: 130mg

*My Modifications: I used minced garlic instead of cloves. 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic = 1 garlic clove

Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/garlic-cheddar-chicken/

Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken

Adapted from My Once a Month Cooking
Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken
4 Servings

2 butterball turkey bacon strips, cooked and shredded (I used 5 thin strips)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup (98% fat free)
1 cup fat-free sour cream
16 oz. chicken breasts, frozen or defrosted/raw
8 oz. pasta (I used penne)

Combine the first five ingredients. Place chicken in slowcooker sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and pour sauce over the top. Cook on high for 3.5 hours. Shred chicken with two forks. Serve over hot, cooked noodles.

Nutritional Information: 456 calories, 61 carbs, 5 fat grams and 36 protein grams.

Source: http://healthifiedkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/08/bacon-ranch-slowcooker-chicken.html