Mexican Fiesta

Tonight’s menu included two more Hungry Girl recipes: “Just Fondue It” and “Cheesy Beefy Quesadillas.” The quesadillas were very yummy, and the cheese dip was good too. I would definitely recommend these, especially the quesadillas!:

Cheesy Beefy Quesadillas

Ingredients:

• 2 large La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low Carb/High Fiber tortillas
• 2/3 cup frozen ground-beef-style soy crumbles (like the ones by Boca and Morningstar Farms)
• 1/2 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
• One wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
• 2 tbsp. fat-free sour cream
• 1 tbsp. chopped scallions
• 1/2 tsp. dry taco seasoning mix
• Optional: additional fat-free sour cream, for dipping

Directions:

1. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine soy crumbles, cheddar cheese, scallions, sour cream, and seasoning mix, stirring thoroughly. Microwave for 1 minute, stir again, and set aside.
2. Lay tortillas flat and spread cheese wedge evenly over one half of each.
3. Bring a medium-large pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat, and lay one of the tortillas in it with the cheesy side up, and cook for about 30 seconds. Top the cheesy tortilla half with half of the soy crumble mixture. Using a spatula, carefully fold the plain tortilla half over the other half, pressing down with the spatula to seal. Cook for about 1 minute, until slightly toasted on the bottom. Flip and continue to cook for about 1 minute, until both sides are toasted. Remove from heat and cut into four triangles.
4. Repeat for other quesadilla.
5. Serve with sour cream for dipping, if you like. Enjoy!

Nutrition
Serving Size: entire quesadilla
Per serving: Calories: 196; Fat: 5g; Sodium: 931mg; Carbs: 25g; Fiber: 13.5g; Sugars: 2.5g; Protein: 25.5g; POINTS® value 4*

Notes:
I couldn’t find the aforementioned tortillas…so if you can’t, maybe try and find another low fat and/or low carb tortilla.

“Just Fondue It”

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• dash salt
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbs plain light soymilk
• 3 ounces fat free cheddar cheese block (cut into smaller blocks)
• 2 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
• 2 slices reduced-fat swiss cheese, torn into pieces
• 2 tbs fat free cream cheese
• 2 tbs dry white wine
• chili powder, if desired

Directions

1. Bring saucepan sprayed w/nonstick spray to medium low heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add soymilk, all four cheeses, and salt. Cook for 3-4 mins (or however long it takes), stirring continuously, till cheeses have melted and sauce is thoroughly mixed.
3. Reduce heat to low and add wine (and chili powder if desired). Stir until combined. Transfer mixture to fondue pot and set temperature to low.

Nutrition
Makes 4 servings
PER SERVING (about 3 tablespoons): 89 calories, 2.5g fat, 548mg sodium, 3g carbs, 0g fiber, 2g sugars, 10g protein POINTS® value 2*

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Fiber-rific Combo

Tonight I made Hungry’s girls “Planet Hungrywood Sweet & Cap’n Crunchy Chicken” and “Lord of the Onion Rings.” The “secret ingredient” for both? Fiber One cereal. Yes, that’s correct. Hungry Girl is a big fan of putting the stuff in a food processor/blender, and grinding till you have “bread crumbs” for coating things. But what kind of food does using this yield? Read on to found out.

…Cap’n Crunchy Chicken

Ingredients

• 8 oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast tenders
• 1/2 cup Cap’n Crunch cereal (original)
• 1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)
• 3 tbsp. fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
• 2 tbsp. Hellmann’s Dijonnaise
• 2 tbsp. honey mustard (actual mustard, not dressing)
• 1/8 tsp. onion powder
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• dash salt
• dash black pepper

Directions

1. Place Fiber One in a blender or food processor, and grind to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Set aside.
2. Put Cap’n Crunch in a sealable plastic bag and seal. Using a rolling pin or a can, coarsely crush cereal through the bag. In a wide bowl, combine Fiber One crumbs, crushed Cap’n Crunch, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well and set aside.
3. Place chicken tenders in a separate medium bowl. Pour egg substitute over the chicken, and flip chicken to coat. Shake off any excess egg substitute, and then coat chicken in the cereal mixture.
4. Bring a large pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Place coated chicken pieces gently into the pan, spacing them out as much as possible. Cook for 5 minutes, and then carefully flip pieces over. Cook for about 4 additional minutes, until chicken is cooked through.**
5. Combine the Dijonnaise and honey mustard in a small dish, and mix well for a tasty dipping sauce. Enjoy!

**I used nonstick cooking spray, and they got a little burnt on each side. So I would recommend maybe adding a little bit of oil, just so they don’t burn. Also, it took me more like 4 minutes on the first side, and 2-3 on the second (and that was on medium LOW heat)–but that might have just been my stove.

Nutrition
PER SERVING (1/2 of recipe/2-2.5 chicken tenders): 234 calories, 2g fat, 617mg sodium, 23.5g carbs, 4g fiber, 10g sugars, 29g protein — POINTS® value 4

Note, this should make about 4-5 chicken fingers TOTAL. If you want to make enough for two people, double the amount of chicken…I did, but didn’t have to double the other ingredients (though you can if you want).

Lord of the Onion Rings

Ingredients

• 1 large onion
• 1/2 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)
• 1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
• Dash of salt
• Optional: additional salt, black pepper, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut the ends off of the onion, and remove the outer layer. Cut onion into 1/2-inch-wide slices, and separate into rings.
3. Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Pour Fiber One “breadcrumbs” into a small dish and mix in salt, and any optional spices you like.
4. Next, fill a small bowl (just large enough for onion rings to fit in) with egg substitute. One by one, coat each ring first in egg and then in the “breadcrumbs” (give each ring a shake after the egg bath).
5. Evenly place rings on a baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping rings over about halfway through.

Nutrition
Per serving (appx 15 rings, or however many you make): Calories: 153; Fat: 1g; Sodium: 225mg; Carbs: 41g; Fiber: 16g; Sugars: 7g; Protein: 9g; POINTS® value 2

The Verdict
This meal was fairly good-it probably would have been better if it wasn’t my first time making it. The chicken was good, but would have been better had it not burnt some. The onion rings, considering they were cereal + onions, were pretty good. As good as normal fried onion rings? Taste wise–no. Though yummy, they simply can’t compare in taste to normal onion rings. But as far as calories/fat goes, they make a good substitute. I mean, consider this: 13 normal onion rings contain (approximately) 700+ calories, 40 grams of fat, and a whopping 18 POINTS®!
So, for a meal that had this few calories/fat/points, it was good.

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Enchiladas & Queso

Tonight I made some Beef Enchiladas; I got the recipe off of Sargento’s website (you can find it here), but I’m sure you find similar recipes all over the internet. Here it is:

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (or 1 tsp onion powder)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans (10 oz. each) enchilada sauce, divided
• 2 cups (8 oz.) Sargento® Artisan Blends™ Shredded Authentic Mexican Cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided
• 8 (6 to 7-inch) flour tortillas

Directions

1. Cook meat with onion and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes; drain. Stir in 1/2 cup enchilada sauce; simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
2. Spoon 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Stir 1 cup cheese and 1/4 cup cilantro into meat mixture. Spoon about 1/3 cup mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up; place seam-sides down in dish. Spoon remaining enchilada sauce over tortillas, spreading to cover. Cover dish with foil.
3. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through. Uncover; top with remaining cheese. Continue baking 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with remaining 1/4 cup cilantro.

I also found a recipe for queso on Sargento’s site, and served it with the enchiladas. The original recipe can be found here, HOWEVER, I think that the original recipe doesn’t call for enough cheese (it says 1/2 cup, but I’ve found the mixture is way too liquidy when you add 1/2 cup, so I add 1 cup)….so below is my modified version:

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• Salt to taste (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. ancho chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 cup Sargento® Artisan Blends™ Shredded Authentic Mexican Cheese

Directions

1. Heat heavy cream in saucepan on high. Add spices and season with salt, if desired. Add cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and serve warm.

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Spicy Chicken Cheese Dip

This dish was made by Linda Clemens at our young marrieds SHARE Group (i.e., bible study) a few weeks ago. I thought it was pretty good, so I asked her for the ingredients…which I then googled (to find a recipe I could use). Based on what I found online, this is how to make it:

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chicken
• two 8-oz pkgs of cream cheese
• 1 cup ranch
• 4-6 oz. Texas Pete hot pepper sauce
• 8 oz. Sargento Authentic Mexican Cheese (or whichever cheese you like)

Directions

1. Cook Chicken and pull apart or cut into small bite size pieces.
2. Mix Cream Cheese, Chicken, Ranch and Texas Pete.
3. Pour mixture into an oven safe dish.
4. Top off mixture with Shredded cheese.
5. Place in an oven set at 350° for 30min.

Serve with Chips to dip in. Makes a great Quesadilla filling too.

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