Chicken Divan

This dish turned out great! The thing I like most about it is that the serving sizes are large and for only 8 points! Even my hubby liked it. It does make a bit, so we have plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week.
Chicken Divan
From www.cookingthisandthat.blogspot.com/
Makes 6 servings
8pt per serving

Ingredients
-1 1/4 cups rice, either white or brown
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup (I omitted)
-3 garlic cloves, chopped
-3 cups chicken broth
-3/4 cup milk
-3 tablespoons corn starch
-1/4 cup white wine
-1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
-1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
-1/2 teaspoon pepper
-4 cups of broccoli florets, steamed (about 3 broccoli crowns)
-4 cups of cooked chicken, shredded in large chunks (about 3 chicken breasts, or 1 1/2 pounds)
-1/3 cup panko bread crumbs (I used seasoned bread crumbs since that is what I had on hand)
-1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook rice according to package directions. Place cooked rice in a 2-quart baking dish. Set aside.

Heat a medium sized saucepan to medium high and add olive oil and onions. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for an additional minute. Add the chicken broth and milk and bring to a boil.

Combine the cornstarch and wine in a small bowl and whisk into the saucepan. Cook until sauce thickens, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add the cheddar cheese and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in broccoli and chicken.

Spoon chicken mixture over rice. Combine panko and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle over chicken and rice. Cover baking dish with foil.Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 8 - 10 minutes or until top is browned.

Note - This dish can be assembled ahead of time, unbaked, and covered and refrigerated. When ready to serve, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake dish for 30 - 35 minutes covered with foil. Then uncover and bake an additional 8 - 10 minutes. It can also be frozen. Thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours, then follow the refrigerated baking directions.


Coming soon-Pumpkin Puppers! Doggie Treats

Lightened King Ranch Chicken Casserole

I know, I know, I have been horrible about updating my blog. Things have been kind of crazy around here. For Christmas, my sister and her wonderful family gave us a trip to San Antonio. So we were out of town, enjoying the sites and relaxing. Then when we returned, it was back to work. I have been working alot lately, but I think things are about to be back to normal. Anyway, I am going to make a larger effort to update all my new recipes on a more normal basis. I have a couple today.

I made this a few weeks back, and it turned out delicious! I have to apologize for not having a picture. I totally forgot to take one and didn't remember till after we ate it! I got it off the Southern Living website awhile back. It is definitely a remake in our house! (It makes alot, so I made it I put it in two containers and froze one for later since there is just two of us).

Lightened King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Serves 8-10
approx 7pts.

Ingredients
-Grocery store rotisserie chicken
-1 tablespoon butter
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
-1 garlic clove, pressed
-1 (10 3/4-oz.) can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
-1 (10 3/4-oz.) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
-2 (10-oz.) cans diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
-1 teaspoon dried oregano
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-1 teaspoon Mexican-style chili powder*
-3 cups grated 2% reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese
-12 (6-inch) fajita-size corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch strips

Shred rotisserie chicken and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 6 to 7 minutes or until tender. Add bell pepper and garlic, and sauté 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in reserved 3/4 cup cooking liquid, cream of mushroom soup, and next 5 ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes.

Layer half of chicken in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Top with half of soup mixture and 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Cover with half of corn tortilla strips. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining 1 cup cheese.

Bake, covered, at 350° for 50 minutes; uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*1 tsp. chili powder and 1/8 tsp. ground red pepper may be substituted for Mexican-style chili powder.

La Madeleine's Tomato Basil Soup

La Madeline is one of my favorite places to eat. It is a french bistro type place. They are famous for their tomato basil soup, so when I found a recipe for it I had to give it a try. I was surprised how much it tasted like the real thing! Definitely a keeper. It makes quite a bit of soup so I halved the recipe since it was just two of us. There was still plenty for leftovers. I bought a panini press during the Black Friday sales. It is my new favorite toy. So I made some turkey paninis to go with it. The dinner was a huge success. My husband gave it two thumbs up!

Here is the original recipe:

La Madeleine Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups canned whole tomatoes, crushed

4 cups tomato juice

12 to 14 Basil leaves, washed

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 lb (1 stick) sweet, unsalted butter

Salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon crushed black pepper

Combine tomatoes and juice in a saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Cool slightly, then place in a blender or food processor and process with 12-14 basil leaves to puree. ( This might have to be done in small batches).

Return to sauce pan and add cream and butter, stir over low heat until cream and butter are incorporated. Garnish with basil leaves and serve.

Serves 8

WW Points per serving: 6pts.

For the paninis: I used Sourdough bread and spread spinach dip on each slice. Then placed turkey, tomato and asiago cheese slices. Put together and placed on panini press for 1-2 minutes. Enjoy!

Hamburger Casserole Crock Pot Recipe

I know I have been really bad about blogging lately, but things have been crazy with the holidays. I do have a couple new recipes to share though.
I absolutely love my crockpot. I work long hours most days so it is nice to come home and have dinner already ready. This recipe didn't turn out looking really pretty but it tasted great. A perfect hearty meal for a cold night.

Hamburger Casserole Crock Pot Recipe
from: http://www.laaloosh.com/

Ingredients:
16 oz. extra lean gr. beef (or turkey)
2 cups sliced raw potatoes
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots (I used frozen)
1 cup chopped celery ( I omitted)
1/2 cup chopped onion( I omitted)
1 cup frozen peas –thawed
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn – thawed
1 10 oz. can healthy Request Tomato Soup
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 can mushrooms ( I omitted)
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
In large skillet brown meat, onion & celery mixture and mushrooms.

In slow cooker - sprayed with a butter flavored spray (or a non-stick cooking spray), combine meat mixture, potatoes, carrots, peas, and corn. Stir in tomato soup, water, parsley flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours.

Serving = 1 cup Each serving = 5 Weight Watchers Points

Domestic Goddess

Ok, well not actually a Domestic Goddess but I am kind of proud of myself. As a kid, I was really domestic. I loved to help mom cook and I enjoyed sewing. I made quilts and even clothes for myself ( they definitely weren't fashionable, but still). Somewhere along the way of growing up, I lost that passion for new interests. They all started coming back though, once I met my now husband. I started to learn how to cook again. Now it is one of my favorite hobbies. My mom mentioned that I should make some curtians for my kitchen since I was having a hard time finding some that I liked. So here I am again, in front of the sewing machine. I was nervous at first since it had been so long but they turned out pretty cute. Check it out!

Pasta Roll-Ups with Turkey and Spinach

Here is yet another recipe from my Clean Eating magazine. I am on a roll. Jeff said it needed more salt, but other than that he gave it a thumbs up. I wasn't real crazy about the sauce, but all in all a good dinner.

Pasta Roll Ups with Turkey and Spinach
From: CleanEatingMag.com

Serves 8
4pts per serving

INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey breast
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes in juice
1 tsp salt
8 sheets dried high-protein or whole-wheat lasagna
1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 15-oz container non-fat ricotta cheese
1 egg
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

Instructions:
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Turn heat to medium-high and add ground turkey, breaking it up with a spatula until meat shows no sign of pink. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg, then add tomatoes and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, rinse and allow to cool in a colander.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Squeeze all remaining moisture from thawed spinach and place in large bowl. Add ricotta cheese, egg and a 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese to bowl. Stir until combined.

Spread 1 cup of cooked tomato sauce into bottom of a 9" x 10" casserole dish. Lay a cooked lasagna noodle flat in front of you. Use your fingers to spread 1/8 of ricotta mixture across the noodle and roll it up. Place the rolled pasta seam side down, into the casserole dish. Repeat with remaining noodles. Spread remaining tomato sauce over roll-ups, then top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.

Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes. Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes or until the rollups are browned and bubbly

NUTRIENTS PER SERVING: 234 Calories, 3g Total Fat, 5g fiber, 7g Sugar, 28g Protein, 508mg, Sodium

Broiled Eye Round Steak

Steak was on sale the other week, so I decided to pick some up. With the weather so cold, I wasn't sure how I was going to cook them having only cooked steak on the grill. I came across this recipe in my Clean Eating magazine and thought I would give it a shot. The steaks came out very juicy and tender, just the way we like them, but I wasn't too keen on the flavor the marinade gave it. I will definitely broil steaks again in the future, especially since it was so easy and quick, but will probably go back to my old ways of marinating. At least I tried something new, right? I served it with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach.

Broiled Eye Round Steak
From: Clean Eating magazine Jan/Feb 2009

Ingredients:
4 3oz eye round steaks
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp cracked black pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped (used onion powder)
1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

Trim fat from steaks

In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, pepper, garlic, onion, and salt, and mix well. Massage marinade into meat for 5 minutes before refrigerating it. Marinate meat in mixture overnight.

After marinating, preheat broiler. Broil meat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, turning once.

(If you have an indoor grill, you can opt to use it instead of broiling the steaks. Simply preheat grill and cook meat for a total of 4 to 7 minutes, depending on desired level of doneness)

Serving Size: 3-oz
WW Pts: 4pts per serving