Sausage and Roasted Garlic Stuffing

I made this dish the other night along side the roast chicken and green beans mentioned in my previous post…it was pretty yummy! Who doesn’t love roasted garlic???

 

Ingredients

• 1 (14 oz) package seasoned bread cubes
• 4 tbs unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 large celery stalks, chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 12 ounces ground breakfast sausage
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1/4 cup roasted garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbs chopped fresh sage (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 tbs chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray a 9×13 glass baking dish with cooking spray
3. Put bread cubes in large bowl
4. Melt 1 tbs butter in large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, celery, salt, and pepper to cook, stirring occasionally till the onion is browned 8 to 10 minutes; pour mixture over bread cubes when completed
5. Set the same skillet over medium heat and put sausage in the pan. Cook the sausage, breaking it apart into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, till browned (about 5 mins)
6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to the bowl; pour off excess fat from skillet
7. Return the skillet to medium heat
8. Add the water, roasted garlic, remaining 3 tbs of butter, parsley, sage, and thyme, and stir to scrape up browned bits
9. Bring to a simmer, then pour into the bowl and stir well to combine
10. Transfer stuffing to baking dish, cover with foil, and cook for 25-30 minutes.
11. Uncover and bake till top crisps slightly, 5 to 10 minutes more.

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Parmesan Baked Potato Wedges

Another new recipe to share! I had several I was going to share last week, but one was too bland to share, and one I ended up not making. But tonight I have one to share, and later in the week I have some new enchilada and chicken parm recipes to pass along. 🙂

So anyways, we tried these potatoes tonight along side Balsamic Pan Seared Steaks, as well as some Buttered Rosemary Rolls (substituting melted butter with butter spray). Everything was delicious (especially the steaks)! The texture of the potatoes was a bit firmer than we’d have liked, but they still tasted good, and will likely be made again.

Ingredients

• 1 package Simply Potatoes® Red Potato Wedges (these are refrigerated; usually sold near eggs)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425°F.
2. Spray 9 x 13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In medium bowl coat Simply Potatoes with olive oil.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and spices over potatoes; turn to coat potatoes with seasonings. Spread potatoes in single layer in baking pan.
4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until potatoes are golden brown and slightly crisp.

Nutrition

Per serving*: 169 cal; 6 g fat; 4 g fiber (3 WW pts)

*1 serving = 1 cup/162 grams

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Clog up them arteries!

So, I am trying to make recipes from my Cooking Light cookbook more often, but tonight I decided to indulge some and make some recipes from “The Pioneer Woman,” (see link to her blog on the left). I made Ranch Style Chicken, Twice Baked Potatoes, and Buttered Rosemary Rolls. Boy, was it delicious! Note: as listed, these recipes serve more than one person; I modified them when I made them to serve the two of us, but just copied her recipes as they were for easy viewing. Also, you may just prefer to click the above links, and she gives a step by step guide (with pictures for each step) on how to make the dishes.

Ranch Style Chicken

Ingredients

• ½ cups Dijon Mustard
• ½ cups Honey
• ½ whole (juice Of) Lemon
• ½ teaspoons Paprika
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• Crushed Red Pepper (optional To Taste)
• 6 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 pound Thick Cut Bacon
• Bacon Grease
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese, to taste
• Canola Oil

Directions

1. In a large bowl mix together Dijon with honey, juice of lemon, paprika, and salt and whisk until smooth. Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne if you like; set aside.
2. Next, rinse the chicken breasts, place between two sheets of waxed paper and pound to around ½ to ¾ inch thick with a mallet. Next, add the chicken to the bowl with the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours.
3. While the chicken marinates, fry up some bacon. When finished cooking, reserve ¼ cup of the bacon grease and clean out the skillet.
4. When the chicken is done marinating, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the chicken from the fridge and pour off excess marinade.
5. Heat half of the reserved bacon grease with an equal quantity of Canola Oil in the clean skillet over medium-high heat. When the grease is nice and hot add two or three pieces of chicken to it. Cook until brownish/blackish, about 1 to 1 ½ minutes per side. Remove chicken to a large baking sheet. (If cooking many pieces of chicken, repeat skillet process and remove finished chicken to baking sheet).
6. Place chicken in preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
7. Lay a few pieces of bacon over each chicken breast. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the chicken as generously as you like.
8. Return pan to oven for an additional five minutes until cheese is melted and bacon is sizzling. Serve immediately.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients

• Baking potatoes (HALF OF however many you want…you will be cutting them in half, doubling the number of potatoes; so if you want to make 4 total in the end, buy 2)
• Butter*
• Bacon bits*
• Sour cream*
• Milk*
• Cheese*
• Desired Seasonings*

*You can click on the link above for specific measurements, but basically, these are ingredients you can eyeball.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Wash potatoes; brush with olive oil (to crisp the shell); put on dish (don’t cover in foil)
3. Bake potatoes 1 hour and 15 minutes
4. Once done, take potatoes out of oven, and reduce heat to 350.
5. After baking, potatoes will be hot. Holding each with a towel (to prevent your hands from burning), cut each potato in half.
6. Scoop the contents out of each shell into a bowl.
7. Mix the potatoes with other ingredients, and mash together.
8. Fill shells back up; Top with more cheese
9. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Buttered Rosemary Rolls

Ingredients

• Frozen, Unbaked Dinner Rolls
• Melted Butter, Regular, Salted
• Fresh Rosemary, Coarsely Chopped
• Coarse Sea Salt

Directions

1. Spray a small iron skillet with cooking spray (or coat with olive oil). Place frozen rolls in the skillet, leaving plenty of room for rising. Cover and allow to rise for several hours.
2. After rising, brush rolls with melted butter.
3. Sprinkle on chopped rosemary. Brush with additional butter. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
4. Bake according to roll package directions, until rolls are a deep golden brown on top.
5. Serve skillet on the table.

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Meat & Potatoes

Year one of pharmacy school is done and summer is here!!! And I recently bought a new cookbook (Cooking Light Superfast Suppers: Speedy Solutions for Dinner Dilemmas)…so, with these two things combined, I should hopefully be posting a bit more than I have this semester. School has just kept me soooo busy!
But anyways, tonight’s dinner was pretty yummy!! It was “Balsamic pan-seared steaks” along with “Pan fried potatoes with dill” (well actually, I had no dill…so it was really pan-fried potatoes, haha), both from the new cookbook. I also served some salad and rolls (FYI: Kroger frozen dinner rolls are delicious!) But anyways, here are the recipes:

Balsamic Pan Seared Steaks

Ingredients

• 4 (4 oz) lean boneless beef tenderloin steaks (about 1 inch thick)
• 1 tsp garlic pepper seasoning
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup beef broth

Directions

1. Sprinkle both sides of each steak with garlic-pepper seasoning and salt.
2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat
3. Add steaks, cooking 3 minutes on each side, or until done. Remove steaks from pan
4. Combine vinegar and broth in pan, and bring to a boil
5. Reduce heat to medium high, and cook 5 minutes or until sauce is reduced to 1/4 cup, stirring occasionally
6. Spoon sauce over steaks

Nutrition
Calories: 213; Fat: 9.8 g; Protein: 24.5 g; Carb: 5.1 g; Fiber: 0 g; Chol: 71 mg; Sodium: 367 mg

Pan-fried potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 (20 oz) packaged cooked new potato wedges (such as Simply Potatoes; available in refrigerated section; in my Kroger, they were above the eggs)
• 1 tbs grated parmesan
• 1 tbs finely chopped fresh dill (or 1/2 tsp dried dill)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat
2. Add wedges and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown
3. Remove from heat, and sprinkle with cheese and remaining ingredients; toss gently

Nutrition
(Serving size: 3/4 cup)
Cal: 168; Fat: 3.9 g; Protein: 3.9 g; Carb: 29.5 g; Fiber: 3.3 g; Chol: 1 mg; Sodium: 453 mg

This meal turned out very tasty, and wasn’t superbad for you. Will definitely make again!

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Crash Hot Potatoes

This is a recipe I got from The Pioneer Woman . Kroger was out of fresh Rosemary, so I used Thyme instead. They were yummy, and it was nice to have an alternative to a normal baked potato.

Ingredients

• 12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Black Pepper To Taste
• Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.
3. On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
4. With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
5. Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)
6. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

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Oriental Chicken Salad & Broccoli Casserole

Sorry I haven’t posted since last week…I had a huge DAD (Drugs & Diseases) test this Wednesday, which I spent most of my time studying for (not that that helped). Anyways, tonight I made two recipes from Mary Etta Neiland (often known as “ME”). ME and her family have lived around the corner from my grandmother for years–in fact, my mom grew up playing with her sons. ME and her family also attend the church I grew up at, so suffice it to say she and her family have always been dear to mine. So it was no surprise that she was one of the hostesses of my Bridesmaid’s Luncheon, where two of her delicious recipes–Oriental Chicken Salad and Broccoli Casserole–were served (as well as other yummy things). Those two dishes are what I made tonight…thanks ME!:

Oriental Chicken Salad

Ingredients

Dressing

· 4 TBS Sugar

· 1 tsp Salt

· ½ tsp pepper

· 5 TBS Vinegar

· ½ cup oil

Other

· 4 Chicken Breasts, cooked and chopped

· 3 green onions, chopped

· 3 oz package sliced Almonds, toasted

· 1/8 cup poppy seeds

• 1 can Chinese Chow Mein Noodles

Directions

Day 1

Mix together dressing ingredients and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2

1. Mix together other ingredients

2. 4 to 5 hours before serving, mix dressing with chicken mixture and refrigerate

3. Just before serving add 1 can Chinese Chow Mein Noodles

Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients

· 2 (10 oz) package frozen, chopped broccoli

· 2 beaten eggs

· dried minced onion

· 1 can cream of mushroom soup

· ¾ cup mayo

· 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

· Ritz, crushed

· Butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Cook and drain broccoli, and then put into a casserole dish sprayed w/cooking spray.

3. Mix together other ingredients, and then top the broccoli with the mixture

4. Mix Ritz with melted butter, and sprinkle on top of casserole

5. Bake for 30 minutes

Ever since my Bridesmaid’s Luncheon I’ve been wanting to make these, and I am glad I did! Soooo delicious!

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Half & Half

This entry is entitled “Half & Half,” because of the two recipes I prepared today, one was a low cal Hungry Girl recipe, and the other was a … not-so-good-for-you recipe. The good recipe was Hungry Girl’s take on Green Bean Casserole: “Rockin’ Lean Bean Casserole,” and the naughty one was a recipe entitled “Joy’s Chicken” that was from a cookbook John’s sweet grandma June gave me us as a shower gift. I’ll go ahead and get the not-so-good-for-you one out of the way:

Joy’s Chicken

Day 1

Ingredients

• 12 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tsp celery salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Directions

1. Wash chicken & pat dry.
2. Combine all other ingredients, and then coat chicken with mixture.
3. Let chicken marinate in fridge for 24 hours

Day 2

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups ritz cracker crumbs
• 1.5 cups saltine crumbs
• 1 cup butter*

*That’s right, this recipe called for a whopping 1 cup of butter (that’s two full sticks!) I did end up using that much, but both John and I felt like it was a bit too much (especially considering the calories).

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Combine ritz crumbs and saltines crumbs, and roll chicken in the crumbs.
3. Place chicken in a casserole dish (10 x 15 is good) coated w/cooking spray.
4. Pour melted butter on top and bake for 1.5 hours.

Nutrition
Who would want to know?? I did use FF sour cream and reduced fat Ritz, but with all that butter, I shudder to think of the calorie and fat content.

The Verdict
Yummy!! John gave it an 8/10, and I’d give it about the same. If only it wasn’t loaded in fat, I might make it more!

Rockin’ Lean Bean Casserole

Ingredients

• Two 16-oz. bags frozen French-style green beans, thawed, drained & thoroughly dried
• Two 10.75-oz. cans Campbell’s 98% Fat Free Cream of Celery Soup (98% FF Cream of Mushroom or 98% FF Cream of Chicken would work fine too)
• One 8-oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 bag (about 1 oz.) Crispy Delites Red Onion Chips or 1 oz. (about 25 pieces) onion-flavored soy crisps, crushed**

**I couldn’t find either of these, so I subbed Sun Chips French Onion (+ a little onion powder) instead. They do have a bit more fat/cals, but not tons. It probably increased the points value by 1, maybe 2 points.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Make sure green beans are thoroughly drained and completely dry — use a towel if you need to. Then, place half of the green beans in a casserole dish (a 2 – 3 quart rectangular one works best).
3. Pour 1 can of soup evenly on top of the layer of green beans. Place half of the sliced water chestnuts over the soup layer.
4. Cover with remaining green beans, and then top with the rest of the soup. Evenly top with the remaining water chestnuts. Place dish in the oven, and cook for 45 minutes.
5. Top with crushed soy crisps, and return dish to the oven for another 10 minutes or so, until chips turn golden brown.

Nutrition
PER SERVING (1/10th of casserole): 76 calories, 2g fat, 431mg sodium, 13g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 4g sugars, 3g protein — POINTS® value 1

The Verdict
Pretty good! A much lower fat/calorie version, but still tasty.

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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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Veal, Potatoes, & Salad

Tonight for dinner I made:

• Weight Watcher’s Veal Scaloppine
• Hungry Girl’s “2-Good Twice Baked Potatoes”
• Salad w/Weight Watcher’s Blue Cheese Dressing

I will include all recipes in this post.

Veal Scaloppine

Ingredients

• 8 thin-sliced veal cutlets (about 1 lb)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3 tsp unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 tsp dried oregano

Directions

1. Sprinkle veal with paprika, salt, and pepper
2. Melt 1 tsp of butter in nonstick skillet over medium high heat
3. Add veal and cook till lightly browned, about 2 mins/side. Add broth, lemon juice, wine, and oregano; bring to boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, turning the veal once, till the veal is cooked through, about 2 mins

Nutrition
Serving size = 2 veal cutlets and 2 tbs sauce
Per serving: 4 weight watchers points (171 cals; 6 g fat)

The Verdict
Somehow I cooked the veal in such a way that it was too chewy for me to eat–but John liked it (as evidence by how much he ate of it).

Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized baking potatos
• 2 Slices Kraft Fat Free Cheese – American
• 2 oz. Fat Free Original Liquid Coffee-mate (or other non-dairy creamer)
• Paprika, salt, parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Peel the skin off the top side of the potatoes, and bake in microwave until soft. (Times vary for different microwaves. Poke holes in potatos with fork, and cover for best results.)
3. When potatos are cooked, scoop out the inside of the potatos, leaving behind empty potato “shells.” Take steaming hot potatoes, add cheese, Coffee-mate and a little salt. Mash it all together until the cheese melts and you’re left with a creamy, cheesy mashed potato mixture.
4. Place potato mixture back into the potato shells, sprinkle with paprika & parsley. Bake in a for 20-30 minutes or until top is nice and brown.

Nutrition
Per Potato: 156 calories, 0g of fat, 3g protein, 31 carbs, 3g fiber. (3 WW points)

The Verdict
These were good. Not as good as say, a regular twice baked potato, but pretty darn good for only 3 points.

Blue Cheese Dressing

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 2 tbs reduced-cal mayo
• 2 tbs crumbled blue cheese
• 1/4 tsp minced garlic
• pinch cayenne
• 2 tsp fresh chives
  

Directions

In blender/food processor, combine everything but the chives (pulse till nearly smooth). Sprinkle in the chives. Cover and refrigerate at least 1/2 hour (or up to 2 days) to allow flavors to blend.

Nutrition
1 serving= 2 tbs
Per serving: 27 cal, 2 g fat (1 Weight Watcher’s Point)
Note, this really only makes enough dressing for 2-4 people.

The Verdict
I have made this before and liked it–and this was still true today.

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Macaroni Cheese Pie

I got this recipe from John’s mom, Patti, who got it from her mom (his grandma June). John had mentioned several times how good it was, so I thought I’d ask Patti for it. She confirmed it was indeed a family favorite, and passed along the recipe. I made it the other night–both John and I liked it. I shared some of the left overs with Katharine, who also really liked it.

Macaroni Cheese Pie

Ingredients

· 1 cup Macaroni

· ½ tsp salt

· 1 tbsp butter, melted

· 1 egg, beaten

· 1 tsp salt

· 1 tsp dry mustard

· 2 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese

· 1 cup velveeta, cubed

· 1 cup milk

· Ritz crackers, crushed

Directions

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Cook Macaroni in 2 cups boiling water and 1/2 teaspoon salt

3. Placed cooked macaroni in casserole dish.

4. Melt butter

5. Beat egg

6. Stir in melted butter, beaten egg, 1 teaspoon salt, mustard, cheddar cheese & velveeta.

7. Pour 1 cup milk over macaroni mixture and stir.

8. Top with crushed ritz crackers and dabs of butter.

9. Cook 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

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