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Recipe Exploration – Low Fat Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings
Name:
By: Breezermom (food.com) modified by J. Valentine
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 4-6 hours
Servings: 7
Nutrition(per serving):
Calories: 333
Fat: 9.3
Sat. Fat: 2.7
Sodium: 1,347
Carbohydrates: 33.9
Fiber: 3.6
Sugars: 6.7
Protein: 28.1
Ingredients:
- 25 ounces of Chicken Breast (2 12.5 oz cans of chicken for ease)
- 1 (10 ¾) can of low fat cream of mushroom
- 1 (10 ¾) can of low fat cream of chicken
- 2 (10 ¾) soup cans of water
- 4 teaspoons of all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon granules
- 1 ½ Cups of Frozen Peas and Carrots
- 1 Cup of Onion
- 10 Pillsbury Grand Biscuits (low fat version)
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of Oregano
Directions:
- Mix all ingredients except biscuits in the Crockpot.
- Cut biscuits into quarters and gently stir in mixture.
- Cover; cook on low 4 to 6 hours.
Notes:
- If you wish for it to be thicker at the end of the cooking process, take the lid off the and let it cook uncovered for 10-30 minutes to your thickness preference.
- For more awesomeness, add a nice side of mashed potatoes. Comfort like Grandma used to make!
Recipe Exploration: Chicken and Veggie Casserole
I love casseroles. No. I don’t think you understand. I looooooooooove casseroles. I love them so much I would marry them if it was legal. I’m lobbying for it so fingers crossed.
But the main problem with casseroles and my weight loss plan is that a normal casserole’s calorie content would equal two meals for me so I’ve been avoiding them with sadness.
It took me six months to realize, I should Google healthy casseroles. What is wrong with me! So I went on a quest. It took one minute. Success! \
I modified the original recipe a bit as you can do with this. Casseroles are very forgiving in substitution which makes them wonderful yet again. I listed the recipe exactly as I prepared. Feel free to be creative. Let me know your favorite modifications!
Chicken Veggie Casserole
Minutes to Prepare: 15
Minutes to cook: 20 (15 if you break it up into separate containers)
Number of Servings: 6
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340
Fat: 12.4
Sodium: 736
Carbohydrates: 38
Protein: 24
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoon margarine
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1 tablespoon dry parmesan cheese
- 7 oz whole wheat penne pasta
- 2 tablespooon oil
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves of garlic if you use fresh)
- 4 1/2 ounce can of mushrooms
- 12 oz good quality canned chicken (Canned works great for casseroles, I’ve found. If you use fresh, chop it.)
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Tony’s Chachere’s Spicy seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)*
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)*
- whipped cream cheese**
- 3 slices pepperjack cheese *
- 3 stalks green onions chopped
- nonstick cooking spray
*If you aren’t a fan of spicy things, omit or lower the amount of cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes and replace the pepperjack with a different kind of cheese. Also because I used three small containers, you might need more pepperjack cheese to cover the top.
**If needed.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Start preparing the sauce by melting the margarine in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Once the butter foams up (it won’t take long), add the flower. Stir immediately and continuously for 1 minute.
- Add milk and parmesan cheese and continue to stir until it starts to bubble.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring intermittently.
- While the sauce is simmering, prepare the pasta according to package directions. Add a handful of salt and a tablespoon of oil to the water. Drain.
- In a large saucepan, add a tablespoon of oil and heat to medium heat.
- Add in garlic and onions and saute for 1 minute.
- Add in peppers and saute for another minute.
- Add in canned mushrooms and canned chicken. Stir until mixture is heated up.
- Turn down to low heat.
- Add pepper, italian seasoning, Tony’s seasoning, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes to white sauce while stirring continuously.
- If the mixture is too thin, use whipped cream to thicken it. I ended up using 1 tablespoon 1/3 less fat Italian seasoned whipped cream cheese.
- When all spices are incorporated, pour sauce into chicken mixture stir well.
- Add in pasta until all pasta is covered.
- Spray a 9 x 13 oven proof casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray (I used three small crocks.) Pour pasta into dish.
- Bake for 20 min (lower time for smaller containers), adding the cheese during the last few minutes until melted.
- Add green onion on top of cheese
Recipe Exploration: Baked Ziti
Name: Baked Ziti
By: Renee
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
- 1 pound Ziti
- 1 pound lean ground beef or Italian Sausage
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 24 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
- 6 oz sliced provolone cheese
- 6 oz sliced mozzrella cheese (can use shredded if you don’t have sliced)
- 1 ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup fresh basil
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
- In a large skillet, brown beef or sausage over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; saute until tender. Drain off fat and add spaghetti sauce; simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a lightly greased 3 quart baking dish, place about half of the pasta; top with a layer of provolone and mozzarella cheese slices. Spread on a layer of sour cream and half the spaghetti sauce mixture.
- Cover with remaining pasta, cheese and sauce; sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbly; serve.
Notes:
- You can substitute any tubed pasta. I used penne.
Recipe Exploration: Vegetable Parmesan Penne
Name: Vegetable Parmesan Penne
By: Renee
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup fresh broccoli florets
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped zucchini
- ½ cup of chopped squash
- ½ onion, chopped
- salt
- pepper
- 3/4 cup butter
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 cups sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil chopped
- 3 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Toss with olive oil.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, roast asparagus, broccoli, bell pepper, zucchini, squash, and onion until flecked with dark brown. Set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Saute garlic and sun-dried tomatoes until heated through. Toss with penne, roasted vegetables and Parmesan. Place in a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- Bake in preheated oven 30 to 40 minutes, until hot.
Notes:
- Good idea to use a stir fry mix to save on time and money. Be careful using frozen. Fresh seems to work best with this recipe
- This would be excellent with chicken, shrimp or bacon if you are feeling meaty
- You can add in oil from sun dried tomatoes for extra flavor
Recipe Exploration: Spicy Black Bean Burgers
Name: Spicy Black Bean Burgers
By: Renee Valentine
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 can (16 Oz. Size) Black Beans
- ½ whole Onion, Cut Into Wedges
- 3 cloves Garlic, Peeled And Rough Chopped
- 1 whole Red Pepper, Stem And Seeds Removed, Chopped
- 1 whole Egg
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 Tablespoon Sriracha Hot Sauce (or Your Favorite Hot Sauce)
- ½ cups Finely Chopped Cilantro
- 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
- 4 whole Burger Buns Or Kaiser Rolls
Directions:
- Drain the can of black beans. In a mixing bowl, mash the black beans with a fork or a potato masher.
- Use a food processor to chop the onion, garlic, and red pepper until very fine. Stir the mixture in with the beans.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the egg, cumin, onion powder, chili powder, Sriracha and cilantro. Add this to the bean mixture and combine well.
- If the mixture has a lot of liquid, strain with a cheesecloth or let it strain through a colander with very fine holes. Once the excess liquid has drained off, return the bean mixture to the bowl and stir in half of the bread crumbs.
- Use your hands to form four evenly sized patties. Coat the outside of the burger patties in the remaining bread crumbs.
- Heat the oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Cook burgers in the pan until heated through and slightly browned on both sides.
- Put the burger on top of a bun. Dress with all your favorite burger condiments and enjoy!
Notes: