Friday, May 25, 2012

Crock Pot Bruschetta Chicken


The original Pinterest Recipe... 
    6 Chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)

    1 Cup Low Calorie Italian dressing (less than 70 cals per 2 tbs)

    One large tomato, Sliced thin

    2 Tablespoons Ground Basil

    1 Tablespoon Ground Oregano

Take boneless, skinless chicken thighs and put them in a crockpot. Slice tomato into thin slices, and place over chicken.

Pour Italian dressing over the chicken and tomato. Sprinkle Oregano and Basil over the top. Cook on high setting for three hours or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

For an additional 70 calories, you may serve on/over a piece of baked sourdough bread.

makes 6 servings

My Recipe...(everyone knows I rarely have all the ingredients for anything!
    2 Complete Frozen Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

    1 Cup Low Calorie Italian dressing (what was left in a Low Calorie Italian Bottle and what was left in a Wishbone Romano Basil Vinaigrette bottle)
    1 1/2 cups of diced Roma Tomatoes (left over from tacos)
    A couple shakes of Ground Basil (about 2 tablespoons)
    A couple shakes of Ground Oregano (about 1 tablespoon)
    2 sprigs of fresh basil leaves cut into small pieces
    1 sprig of fresh oregano cut into small pieces

Dump it all in the crockpot. Chicken first, then tomatoes, then dressing and seasonings. Set probe temp (if you have one) to 165 degrees and let cook. It took about 2 hours on high and then sat for an hour on warm before serving. 
 
Serve over plain Ramen Noodles cooked with no seasoning (or ala Madeline). Make sure to spoon the juices out of the bottom of the crock pot and pour over the chicken and noodles for extra flavor. Top with cheese. In my case, I used parmasean, asiago, romano combination (it was in the fridge). Mozzerella would be more in line with the Bruschetta recipe! In any case, make it your own!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Dana's Bean Dip (aka - Crack)

Best bean dip you'll ever eat and it's super easy!

1 jar of bean dip (found by the chips at the store)
1 box of cream cheese
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 dollop of sour cream

Mix well and serve warm.

I, of course, bought re-fried beans instead of bean dip because I wasn't paying attention to the recipe. So, we added about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to give the beans a little more creaminess. It still tasted amazing! You'll want to make a LOT, because this stuff will not last long.

Special thanks to Dana Hancock for her original recipe!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

The hubby wanted to cook for me on Mother’s Day so he asked me to find him a new recipe that I would like to try. With the fresh basil out of the garden, I knew this one would be yummy!!

Ingredients
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup Sun-Dried Tomato dressing, divided
2 tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (1 tsp. dried basil leaves)

Directions

- Place chicken in Ziploc bag. Add 1/4 cup dressing and seal bag. Marinate for 10 minutes or longer.

- Place a large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; heat grill to medium heat.

- Grill chicken on uncovered side of grill for about 6 minutes.

-Meanwhile, combine remaining 1/4 dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil.

-Turn the chicken over and place cooked-side up, on foil on the grill. Top with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill 8 minutes or until chicken is done.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- No tips from me. The husband made it following the directions and it was DELICIOUS!!

**Recipe from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com **

Monday, May 7, 2012

Chicken Rollatini with Spinach

I always am up for a recipe that is tasty and good for you.
The recipe claims to be 5 WW points per serving for anyone counting!
It was DELICIOUS (dare I say it, very moist... I can't stand that word) and super easy, especially since I had all the ingredients at home to make it.

Ingredients:
8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each
1/2 cup whole wheat Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
6 tablespoons egg whites or egg beaters
5 oz frozen spinach, squeezed dry of any liquid
6 tbsp part skim ricotta cheese
6 oz part skim mozzarella
olive oil non-stick spray
1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
- Wash and dry chicken, season with salt and pepper.  Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Combine breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp parmesan cheese in one bowl and 1/4 cup egg beaters or egg whites in another.
- Shred or finely chop 1.5 oz of mozzarella cheese and combine with remaining parmesan cheese, spinach (make sure you squeeze it dry), 2 tbsp egg beaters, and ricotta cheese.
- Lay chicken down on a working surface and spread 2 tbsp of spinach-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.
- Dip chicken in egg mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks -needed). Repeat with the remaining chicken. \
- When finished, lightly spray with olive oil and cover with foil. Bake 25 mins. Remove foil, top with sauce and cheese. Bake 4 more minutes until cheese is melted.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
I actually ALMOST followed the recipe, I substituted Italian (non healthy) breadcrumbs for the other, it was what was in the pantry. I also love garlic so I added a tsp of minced garlic to the cheese/spinach mixture.

**Recipe from www.skinnytaste.com . **

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

Since it is Cinco de Mayo—I tried out a new recipe for the occasion. YUM! Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 green onion, finely sliced
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded cheese
Sour cream (optional)

6 burrito-sized flour tortillas

Directions:
Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin, and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. (Optional: on some of the wraps, I dotted the cheese with about 1-2 tablespoons of reduced fat sour cream before arranging chicken and rice mixture down the center.) Roll stuffed tortillas, leaving edges open. Spray the tortillas all over with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange 2 wraps, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- As always I left out the onions and cilantro. Feel free to swap out ingredients that you like.

- I didn’t have any sour cream so I used Ranch Dressing instead. It was delicious!

- I am a very bad burrito wrapper, so instead of rolling these, I sandwiched the filling between two tortillas… so ours were technically quesadillas.

-These were cheap, easy and delicious. They will be made again!

 

** Original recipe from: www.melskitchencafe.com/ **

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Sour Cream Pasta Bake

This is a modified recipe I got from one of my best friends, Emily. 

1 package bowtie Wacky Mac Pasta (my kids love the colors, I love it's made from veggies)
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cottage cheese
1 small can tomato sauce (NOT spaghetti sauce)
1 lb ground beef
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Cook the Wacky Mac according to the package directions.
2.  While the pasta cooks, brown off the ground beef and drain the excess fat off.  Pour in the can of tomato sauce and I season it with a little black pepper and garlic salt.
3.  In a 2 or 3 qt baking dish (I use a large deep oval shape, not a 9 X 13) dump in your cottage cheese and sour cream.  I season this also with a little black pepper and garlic salt.  Mix well.
4.  Drain pasta and shake excess water off.  Pour into baking dish and mix with sour cream/cottage cheese mixture. 
5.  Pour beef mixture on top and spread evening.
6.  Top with cheese.  Cover with either foil or a lid (I have a glass lid) and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Take the foil/lid off the last 10 minutes to brown the cheese just a bit. 

Tips from the Kitchen of Reality:
-My kids DEVOUR this.  They LOVE the Wacky Mac! 
-The original recipe calls for scallions on the top.  It makes it taste a little more Tex-Mex and I like it that way but the kids don't, so I leave it off.
-This is a great easy recipe that makes a lot and is GREAT reheated as leftovers. 

Enjoy!