Beef Stew with Ranch Mashed Potatoes

Let's just ignore the fact that I haven't posted a new recipe in ages, okay?

I've been wanting to try this recipe since last winter at some point. I'd been searching for beef stew recipes that I felt would be flavorful enough to counteract Hubby's dislike for your standard-issue beef stew and I think I've got it pretty well ironed-out!

I served this with some steamed green beans because I needed something green and it was gone in seconds. I'll definitely be making this again this fall/winter for sure!

Beef Stew with Ranch Mashed Potatoes
Slightly Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Serves 6
Estimated Point Value: 8 pts

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp light butter, (Land O'Lakes Light Butter is my favorite)
1 lb stew beef
1 small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 oz tomato paste
2 cups beef stock
Worcestershire, to taste
1/4 tsp sugar
1 cup carrots, diced
8 oz mushrooms, small whole or quartered medium sized
~2 lbs red potatoes
5 tsp Ranch Seasoning
1 Tbsp light butter
2 Tbsp light cream cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large dutch oven heat the olive oil and first tablespoon of butter over medium high heat. 
2. Brown the stew beef and season with salt and pepper.
3. Remove the beef from the pan and saute onion and garlic until soft in the deliciousness that the beef leaves behind.
4. Stir in tomato paste, then add in beef stock, sugar, and a few dashes of Worcestershire, to taste.
5. Add the beef back into the pot, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.
6. Add in carrots and mushrooms, stirring to combine. Simmer for a half hour, covered.
7. While the carrots and mushrooms are simmering, prepare mashed potatoes. In a large pot cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil then cook for ~20 minutes or until done.
8. Drain potatoes and add in butter, cream cheese, and Ranch seasoning (I realize making your own Ranch seasoning is way better for you, but I have yet to find a seasoning combination that I think tastes as good as the classic Hidden Valley variety...it's my cooking fatal flaw, we eat so much ranch I know I should find a healthier alternative...suggestions welcomed.) 
9. Mash using extra beef broth for liquid if necessary (yes milk is more delicious, but...broth has zero points and we're in diet mode people!)
10. Serve one serving of the beef stew over one serving of the mashed potatoes in a shallow bowl.

Also this is totally one of my 30-by-30 items so I'm counting it as a double-win!

Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff

Slow Cooker meals are always a tough sell around my house, but I've been trying to find a good knock-off stroganoff recipe for YEARS. My hubby is obsessed with the Mushroom Stroganoff at Noodles and Company, but that's anything but figure-friendly. I saw this on Pinterest (like I do) and decided to give it a shot, incidentally enough the same day another friend was testing out the same recipe, ha!

The results were pretty tasty. The original recipe called for Cream of Mushroom soup, but I had Cream of Chicken on-hand and while I'm sure Cream of Mushroom would have given this a solid mushroom boost, I was pretty pleased with the flavor. I also used fettuccine instead of egg noodles since that's what I had on-hand, but I'm sure either would be super yummy =)

Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff

Adapted from Shrinking Jeans

Serves 6

Estimated Point Value: 8 pts

1.5 lbs chicken breast (4 frozen chicken breasts worked for me)

16 oz nonfat plain yogurt

1 can Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup

1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix

10 oz Mushrooms, quartered

12 oz Fettuccine (or Egg Noodles, whatever you have/prefer)

1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray and put chicken breasts on the bottom (I put mine in frozen; me = lazy one who never remembers to defrost).
2. Combine yogurt, condensed soup, and soup mix in a small bowl and pour over chicken.
3. Layer quartered mushrooms on top.
4. Cook for 7 hours on low.
5. Remove chicken, shred, and return to the sauce.
6. Prepare noodles according to the package instructions.
7. Serve noodles topped with stroganoff sauce.

Buffalo Pulled Chicken

A while back I found a pin for this type of thing on Pinterest. The recipe took me back to a blog I'd never been to before called My Kitchen Apron and I decided to give it a shot although I made several changes after reading reviews and such. It was pretty tasty, but definitely hit my preferred tolerance-level as far as the heat was concerned (Bing would probably not consume this as he and I share drastically different "pepper palates" as it were. It made for a tasty open-faced sandwich with some ranch dressing drizzled over the top though and it shall be a tasty treat to keep in the freezer when I want a warm treat!

Buffalo Pulled Chicken

Serves 5 (generously)

Estimated Point Value: 4.5 pts

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts (I used frozen)

1 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce - Original

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix

2 Tbsp butter, salted

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1. In a crock pot, layer the chicken breasts after spraying the pot with cooking spray.
2. Sprinkle the packet of dressing mix over the top of the chicken.
3. Pour the hot sauce and chicken stock over the chicken.
4. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
5. After 4 hours remove the chicken from the crock pot and "pull" (using two forks or the handy stand-mixer-with-paddle-attachment trick, whichever you prefer) then return to the crock pot.
6. Add the butter and yogurt and stir well.
7. Cook for 1-2 hours on low until it reaches your desired consistency.
   
   I went about 30 minutes with the lid on, then 30 with the lid off, 30-on, 30-off. The result was a bit sloppy for picking up a sandwich to eat, but I ate mine open-faced and it was amazing.

Baked French Toast

Wow, it's been over a month since I've updated the blog with a new recipe!?! Okay, that's pathetic...I've tried a few new things and have been working on perfecting my Oatmeal cookies (almost there!) so I've been in the kitchen, just not blogging about it...although I have been blogging from time-to-time over at Hooked to Books (a YA book review site one of my college BFFs started and now she's got a few other folks doing reviews too).

This recipe was one that I've been dying to try and decided it would be perfect to take to my weekly Bible study Wednesday morning at church. It was my turn to provide some of the coffee table snacks and I mean really, it seemed perfect...and less dangerous than making it at home for myself where I would undoubtedly eat it all in one sitting.

Baked French Toast with Berries

Makes one 13 x 9 inch casserole pan

Adapted from Annie's Eats

8 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 cup skim milk

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 tbsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

2 small French baguettes, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 10-12 cups)

Powdered sugar (garnish)

Berries (garnish)

Maple Syrup (on the side)

1. Beat the eggs and then mix in milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and spices.
2. Pour over cubed bread in a large bowl and coat all the pieces well.
3. Pour mixture into a greased casserole dish and cover.
4. Chill in refrigerator for at least two hours (or overnight).
5. Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes or until the bread reaches your preferred done-ness (some like more squishy bread that others...that freaks me out so I baked mine on the longer end of that range..next time may back it off just a bit).
6. Allow to cool a few minutes before serving with some sprinkled powdered sugar and berries on top for garnish and some maple syrup on the side.

Considering this was completely gone when I went to retrieve my dish, I'd say it was a success ;-)

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I love me some down-home casserole action. I had never had tuna noodle casserole until I was in high school (early in their marriage my mother apparently made a disastrous tuna noodle casserole for my father and he asked her to never make it again...she didn't...ever) and had it over at my boyfriend's house for dinner and it was amazing. I have that recipe, but decided to try out this lighter version for dinner. It was definitely a keeper and felt indulgent without being terrible for the waist-line. Not sad about leftovers to be had later in the week, nope, not sad about that at all!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Adapted from Gina's Skinny Recipes

Serves 6

Estimated Point Value: 6pts

6 oz egg noodles (well, no yolk, or whole grain ones)

1 Tbsp margarine

1 onion, chopped

3 Tbsp flour

1 3/4 cups chicken stock

1 cup skim milk

1 oz Marsala

10 oz sliced mushrooms

1 cup frozen peas

2 (5 oz) cans tuna in water, drained

Garlic salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, to taste

4 oz shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar

2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 375 and prepare a large casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Prepare noodles according to the package instructions, drain, and set aside.
3. In a large skillet, saute onion in butter.
4. Sprinkle in flour and allow to cook out a bit, then whisk in chicken stoke and milk until smooth.
5. Once boiling add in Marsala, peas, and mushrooms and cook for 5-10 minutes.
6. Add in drained tune, garlic salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper (if you like a little heat) to taste.
7. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar cheese.
8. Combine noodles with the sauce mixture and pour into casserole dish.
9. Top the casserole with the Parmesan and the breadcrumbs.
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

BFF-M loves stuffed peppers. I have not been able to perfect them (probably due to my inability to trust ground beef baking and meat thermometer, or my irrational fears of food borne illnesses instilled in me by my middle school Home Economics teacher (not Mrs. Morral, the other one which I cannot remember her name...the one that made her own clothes...) you know, or the fact that meatloaf sort of grosses me out)...BUT I came across a recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup and knew we had to try it...my love for soup combined with her love for stuffed peppers, this bad boy had WIN written all over it. I forgot to ask for her "rating" (since Hubby isn't a huge soup person so I generally don't let him vote on soups) so I'm guessing here...but I think it was most definitely a keeper, I mean, she did take home leftovers ;-)

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Adapted from Gina's Skinny Recipes

Serves 6

Estimated Point Value: 5pts.

1lb lean ground beef

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 small red pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans diced tomatoes (with liquid)

1 can tomato sauce

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp Italian seasoning blend

Salt and pepper, to taste

3 cups cooked brown rice

1. In a large soup pot, brown onion, garlic, and ground beef together.
2. Add in peppers and allow to soften for a few minutes.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients (other than the rice) and simmer together for at least a half hour.
4. To serve, place 1/2 cup of the rice in the bottom of a shallow bowl and top with 1 cup to 1 1/2 cup of soup.

Super easy and super tasty!

Chicken Stuffed with Broccoli and Cheese

Let's be honest, I'm terrible at rolling up things inside of chicken. That being said, this was totally worth it and delicious. I did the stuffing before dinner and just popped this in the fridge until I got the call that Hubby was on the way home and they turned out great. I'm sort of in love with browsing Gina's Skinny Recipes and highly recommend it for inspiration for anyone trying to watch their waistline!

Chicken Stuffed with Broccoli and Cheese

Adapted from Gina's Skinny Recipes

Serves 4 (one large and one small chicken cutlet per serving)

Estimated Point Value: 8 pts.

1 tsp + 1 Tbsp EVOO

4 cloves garlic, minced

1-box chopped frozen broccoli, thawed

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

3 oz reduced fat mozzarella cheese

8 chicken cutlets (~24 oz total)

1/2 cup Italian seasoned wheat breadcrumbs

1 lemon, juiced

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450 and prepare casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet, saute garlic in 1 tsp of EVOO until golden then add broccoli and cook through for a minute or two.
3. Stir in 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and remove from heat.
4. Once cooled enough to handle, mix in mozzarella cheese.
5. In two rimmed shallow bowls prepare the breading ingredients: one bowl with the breadcrumbs and 2 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese mixed and one bowl with the lemon juice, 1 Tbsp of EVOO, salt and pepper.
6. Lay the chicken out on a cutting board (you can pound thin if you like, but it's not necessary) and put a layer of 3 Tbsp of the broccoli mixture onto the chicken.
7. Roll each chicken cutlet up, dip in the lemon/EVOO and then in the breadcrumbs. Lay in the casserole dish seam down (no need to use toothpicks).
8. Bake at 450 for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

I served ours with some two-point potatoes and some zero-point veggies. Delicious!

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Salsa Verde

Boy the name of this recipe is long, I shall call it Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas from now on. After getting up the motivation to kick start the new year with some weight-loss goals Hubby and I decided we needed some new recipes to get excited about. I have been wanting to try making a green/white sauce for a while and was excited to see this recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes pop up on my GoogleReader. These earned good reviews from Hubby and his only real suggestion for next time would be to add some sort of cold chunky salsa when serving, which I must say, isn't the worst idea in the world!

And yes, I forgot to take a picture...

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas

Adapted from Gina's Skinny Recipes

Makes 8 Enchiladas

Estimated point value: 4 pts per enchilada

1 tsp EVOO

1 softball-sized white onion

2 cloves minced garlic

3 - 4.5 oz cans diced green chiles

15.5 oz can Cannellini beans

8oz (one large) chicken breast, cooked and shredded

1 -1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

2 jalapenos, chopped

1/2 cup lite sour cream

3 oz shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese blend

8 low carb tortillas (medium/soft taco)

Salt and pepper, to taste

• Preheat oven to 375.

Enchilada Filling

• In a large skillet, saute 1/4 cup of the minced onion and garlic in olive oil until tender.
• Add one can of the green chiles, beans (undrained), 1/2 cup chicken stock, and cumin. Mix well and simmer for about 15 minutes.
• Add chicken and cook until mixture thickens and the vast majority of the liquid is gone.
• Set aside to cool.

Green Enchilada Sauce

• In a large pan, saute the rest of the onion in butter until tender.
• Add in flour and cook out a bit before whisking in the remaining 1 cup of chicken stock.
• Whisk sauce until smooth and up to a boil.
• Once the sauce has thickened up a bit add the other cans of chiles, jalapenos, salt and pepper.
• Turn off heat and stir in sour cream.

Enchilada Assembly

• In a greased casserole dish, spread a small amount of enchilada sauce on the bottom (1/4 cup or so).
• Fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture, roll up, and place in the casserole dish seam-side down (I'm a weirdo and I weigh everything to make sure the filling is evenly distributed...no one likes to have that one tiny enchilada that inevitably happens if you eye-ball it and have a poor eye-balling skills...like me.)
• Spread the rest of the enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle on the cheese.
• Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Red, White and Blue Scones

I have been wanting to try a scone recipe and when I had some blueberries and strawberries that were not going to get eaten I thought I would test out one I found this summer from Two Peas & Their Pod. I made a few adaptations, and must say the results were delicious. I have officially decided that I need a pastry cutter as my hands get warm way too fast to be able to properly incorporate the butter (so I had to chill the dough for a little bit before rolling it out). Even so I think I will be coming back to this recipe in the future!

Red, White, and Blue Scones

Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod

2 cups flour

2 Tbsp light brown sugar, packed

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

5 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small chunks

1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

3/4 cup whole milk

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

6 oz white chocolate chips or melting chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 400 and prepare a couple of baking sheets*.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the butter and using a pastry cutter, or your fingers, mix until crumbly.
4. Stir in the berries.
5. In a small bowl combine the wet ingredients, then add to the large bowl stirring gently until the dough comes together.
6. Knead with your hands (you may need to put the dough into the fridge for a little bit if it is too sticky to work with at the time) until it is well combined and then turn out onto a floured surface.
7. Roll out dough and cut into desired shape(s) then place on the baking sheets.
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Cool completely then use melted white chocolate to create a drizzle on top.

*Sometimes this happens to my baking mats...this is not the proper way to prepare baking sheets for baking scones...just in case you weren't sure.

Shrimp Pasta with Old Bay

We have been wanting to get ourselves a shrimp pasta, shrimp scampi, shrimp ____ go-to recipe in this house. I have also been craving some Old Bay of late. We are originally from Maryland and while neither of us grew up anywhere near the Bay, we're Old Bay fans for sure. My favorite part about attending football games at the University of Maryland? Fresh cut boardwalk fries with malt vinegar and Old Bay. Pardon me while I get lost in my food daydream...

I decided to check out several recipes and their comments to see what I could come up with, the two that were most inspirational were from Annie's Eats and The Pioneer Woman (especially her Shrimp Pasta in a Foil Package recipe!)

Shrimp Pasta with Old Bay

Serves 2

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, Minced
14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp dry vermouth
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
Salt And pepper, to taste

1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
Fresh parsley, minced
4 oz linguine

1. Bring water to a boil and preheat the oven to 350.
2. Prepare a large package made from aluminum foil that will be able to hold your entire dish to go into the oven (make sure you have a cookie sheet underneath for easy transport to and from the oven.)
3. In a large skillet, saute the garlic in olive oil and butter for a few minutes.
4. Add in the diced tomatoes, vermouth, and Old Bay (don't forget to salt and pepper to taste.)
5. Cook the pasta for 5 minutes (or half of the instructed time on the box) and then toss with the sauce and shrimp in the large skillet to coat.
6. Pour the pasta, shrimp, and sauce into the foil top with some fresh parsley and wrap into a package.
7. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes (this is where the shrimp will cook through) and unwrap the package when you are ready to serve.
8. Toss everything once last time to make sure the parsley gets evenly distributed and enjoy!

This was pretty amazing and a completely new flavor profile for us at home. I served with some crusty bread to help soak up the deliciousness. Next time I may try and make a bit of a roux before adding in all the sauce ingredients in Step 4, but not very thick at all since you do need some moisture to help the pasta continue to cook while the foil package is in the oven.

This is definitely going on the rotation and may someday even be in the elite group of recipes deemed "fit to serve company" by Hubby.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

The Pioneer Woman posted a recipe for Sour Cream Noodle Bake last week that I thought I would like to try out. After thinking about it a while and getting some feedback from my friend over at Hooked to Books who attempted the recipe the day it was posted, I decided to try and mash-up that recipe with one I had tried a few months ago for Crock Pot Pizza which made a ton of food, but the leftovers ended up being more of a casserole than a layered dish...which for me really just meant that the pepperoni got unevenly distributed and that was sad not to have pepperoni in every bite 0=)

Also, this recipe makes me want a shallow baking dish that is not a pan pie...but I used my deep dish pie pan as a decent substitute since I'm sort of in love with it.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Serves 6

1 lb. ground beef

15 oz can tomato sauce

6 oz egg noodles

1/2 c. sour cream

1 c. cottage cheese

1/4 c. green onion, chopped

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 oz pepperoni

4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper, to taste

1. Brown the beef in a large skillet with some Italian Seasoning and then add in the tomato sauce.
2. Cook egg noodles according to the package instructions, drain.
3. In a large bowl combine the noodles, sour cream, cottage cheese, parsley, and green onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. In a lightly greased baking dish layer:
   - 1/2 of the noodle mixture
   - pepperoni (I only made a single layer over the noodles, you could add more if you liked)
   -1/2 of the sauce
   -1/2 of the cheese
   -1/2 noodles
   -1/2 sauce
   -1/2 cheese
5. Bake for 20 minutes at 350.

The pie pan turned out to be a great idea although the whole dish got a little runny which would probably be remedied if the tomato sauce had been allowed to reduce a bit. All in all this turned out great and even Hubby liked it and he's been pretty down on casserole-type dishes of late. Granted the Snickerdoodle Blondies I had waiting for him when he came home from a long day of work (during which he forgot to eat lunch) probably helped ;-)

Roasted Potatoes

These potatoes are one of our dieting go-to sides. Super easy and pretty flavorful which is a high demand during diet season. I made these to go along with Lombardi Chicken and it was a tasty match-up!

Roasted Dijon Potatoes

Serves 4

Estimated 2 pts.

1 lb potatoes, peeled, washed, and cubed

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp olive oil

1/2 Tbsp rosemary

1/2 Tbsp oregano

1/2 Tbsp parsley

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In a large Ziplock bag mix all of the ingredients together, shake to coat.
3. Pour into a greased pan.
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes, stirring once in the middle of the cook time. Cook time will vary based on the size of your potato pieces.

I've also done these at 425 for 25-30 minutes so it can work with a variety of other sides/proteins you may have in the oven at the same time. I love me some versatile sides!

It's on my to-do list to attempt these with honey mustard instead of Dijon since I usually don't like mustard at all...I am only mildly turned off by the mustard flavor in these potatoes. I wonder if I would like them even more if I experimented with the mustard flavor...

Spaghetti and Meatballs Take 2

Last night I decided to do a second attempt of some spaghetti and meatballs. As I suggested in my previous meatball post, I wanted to test this out with our favorite sauce recipe and mix things up a bit. The result was pretty amazing, even though I had to make a few judgement calls on some substitutions since I was resolved not to go to the market this week until my Christmas Market Extravaganza (I'm cooking Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Brunch this year since it's our first year with the kiddo which means we get to stay home for Christmas fun...I'm sure lots more recipes will follow...) Anyway, this is what I came up with...

Spaghetti and Meatballs

(Makes 12 meatballs)

For the Meatballs:

2 slices of white bread, crusts removed

1/4 cup skim milk

3 Tbsp. dried minced onion

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 lb ground beef

1/2 tsp dried oregano (or 1/2 Tbsp fresh)

1/2 tsp dried basil (or 1/2 Tbsp fresh)

1/2 tsp dried parsley (or 1/2 Tbsp fresh)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the Sauce:

1/2 lb ground beef
small white onion, chopped
14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
8 oz can tomato sauce

8 oz water
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/2 c. ketcup
Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a small bowl tear the pieces of bread into smaller bits and soak in the milk. Mash with a fork until it makes a mushy paste.
3. In a bowl, mix all of the meatball ingredients together (including your milk-bread paste) using your hands.
4. Make 12 golf-ball sized meatballs and place them on a foil covered baking sheet.
5. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.
6. While the meatballs are baking, brown the rest of the ground beef with the onion in a large skillet (you'll want one large enough to hold all the meatballs...and a lid would be awesome as well).
7. Add in the rest of the sauce ingredients and turn down the heat to let the sauce simmer (I had to use 8 oz of water because I used up my last can of tomato sauce, if you have an other can, use that...or a larger can to begin with that would be better but the water wasn't so bad since the meatballs brought in some extra flavor.)
8. Once the meatballs are done, put them into the sauce and let it simmer, covered for as long as you want (...mine went for almost an hour but that's just because we eat ridiculously late =P)

We ate ours over penne again (when in the world am I going to get me some legit SPAGHETTI and meatballs?! I'll tell you when...TONIGHT when I eat the leftovers!!) and it was delicious. This was a lot simpler (read weekday friendly) than the previous attempt (all the dried ingredients eliminated the need to saute anything before adding it to the meatball mixture which was the main thing that simplified this endeavor) and I'd say the meatballs were just as good this time around and less fatty since there was no pork. The meatballs didn't dry out as I was afraid they would, but it probably helped that I used 80-20 beef this time instead of my usual 90-10 (I accidentally bought 80-20 last time...so sad...mostly because I buy meat in bulk so I got 7 lbs of it =P)

Chicken Enchiladas

I love enchiladas. About a year ago (I couldn't believe it was that long ago when I checked the blog!) I made an attempt at beef enchiladas that turned out pretty amazing, but this time I decided to try out a chicken recipe. I got the bones of this recipe from Annie's Eats, but I made a few changes based on what I had on hand to came up with the following recipe:

Chicken Enchiladas

Adapted from Annie's Eats

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp canola oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

1 Tbsp sugar

15 oz can tomato sauce

15 oz can Rotel tomatoes with chilies

1 cup water

1 lb chicken breast

Salt and pepper, to taste

10 6" flour tortillas

8 oz shredded Mexican cheese blend

Cooking spray

1. In a large, deep skillet (or large sauce pan) cook the onions in oil on medium-high until tender.
2. Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar.
3. Add tomato sauce, Rotel, and water and bring to a bubble.
4. Reduce heat and put chicken breasts into the sauce covering as much of the chicken with the sauce as possible. Cover ad cook on low for 20-30 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through).
5. Remove chicken and shred using two fork. Place in a large bowl.
6. Strain out large pieces of veggies and put into the bowl with the shredded chicken. Keep liquid in a separate container, but add 1/3 cup to the chicken mixture. Also add in 4 oz (about 1 cup) of the shredded cheese.
7. Preheat your oven to 425 while you assemble the enchiladas.
8. Grease a 13" x 9" pan with cooking spray.
9. Take 1/3 of the chicken mixture and wrap it up in a tortilla placing it seam-side down in the dish. I was able to get 10 tortillas into my pan (two rows of five tortillas each) this way.
10. Spray the top of the tortillas with cooking spray and bake for 8-10 minutes or until they start to lightly brown.
11. Remove the pan from the oven and reduce the heat to 400.
12. Pour the enchilada sauce over top, then sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.
13. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 400.
14. Remove the foil and bake for 5 more minutes or until nice and bubbly.
15. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes after removing from the oven so you: 1) don't burn your face off, and 2) can get the enchiladas out of the pan without too much of a disaster on your hands.

I've been slacking and forgetting to ask Hubby his ratings lately (it all started with an unfortunate beef brisket situation - during dinner I asked for his rating and he said, "I've had a rough day, you don't want me to rate things today, ask me tomorrow.") but he was so excited about this meal I was in the clear ;-) I served it with Spanish Rice mixed with some corn. You can totally serve two of these bad boys as a meal, but since we're ridiculous, we each had three.

Catch a Man Chicken

How can you not attempt a recipe with a name like "Catch a Man Chicken"?! Granted, I've already got my man, but all the same, I was sure this dish, completely with bacon, would be a winner. This was pulled from Tasty Kitchen from the Pioneer Woman's website and I really made minimal changes to help make this fit in with our diet plan.

Catch a Man Chicken

Serves 6

Estimated Point Value: 5 pts*

1 lb package of thinly sliced chicken breasts
12 Slices of Bacon
1 can Cream Of Chicken Soup
8 oz. Sour Cream
Steak Seasoning
Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Spray a large casserole dish with olive oil cooking spray.
3. Wrap each piece of chicken with two slices of bacon (there are typically 6 cuts of chicken in the "thinly sliced" Perdue packages, which are my go-to choice. Lay the bacon wrapped chicken in the greased pan, be careful not to over lap the chicken too much.
4. Sprinkle with steak seasoning, salt, and pepper (the steak seasoning, in my opinion, was an awesome addition).
5. In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream and can of soup and spread evenly over the bacon wrapped chicken.
6. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 3 hours (your house will smell bacony and amazing).

Serve over rice or noodles (linguine noodles would be the preference of my man but you're free to choose whatever you would like to soak up the sauce).

Obviously you could use actual chicken breasts for this dish, but I would extend the cooking time a little bit and for 6 chicken breasts I would double the amount of sauce...if you're not watching your waistline or attempting to lose a ridiculous amount of baby weight, this would most definitely be a tasty option!

* The estimated point value of this dish is only for the chicken, any rice or pasta will be additional points.)

Chicken Fajitas

I love fajitas...just ask anyone that knows me, it's no secret. Deciding to attempt fajitas at home seemed quite reasonable with the new quest to lose weight and save a little coin by not eating out a bazillion times a week. I was pleasantly surprised by my homemade version and will definitely keep this in the rotation, diet or no diet =)

Chicken Fajitas

(Serves 8)

Estimated Point Value: 3 pts (without tortilla)

1 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)

1 tsp dried minced onion

3/4 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried cilantro

1/2 tsp black peppers

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c fresh citrus juice (I used a lemon, lime, orange combo)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cut into strips

1 large bell pepper, cut into strips

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1. Mix together all the dried spices, citrus juices, and olive oil together. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade in a small bowl for later and pour the rest into a Ziplock bag.
2. Add chicken strips into the Ziplock bag marinade and refrigerate (I kept mine in the fridge for a few hours).
3. Add the chicken to a large skillet and cook until browned (discard marinade) and remove from the pan.
4. Saute the pepper and onion with the reserved marinate for about 5 minutes.
5. Add chicken back into the pan and cook until heated through.
6. Serve with tortillas (I was able to find some large ones for 2 pts a piece), or on top of a large salad.

Rancher Chicken

Ranch and bacon, what is there not to love about about those two ingredients? After browsing Tasty Kitchen I decided to take a few of the recipes I saw that had similar ranch/bacon/chicken combinations and take the best of each and create my own concoction. Here's the result:

Rancher Chicken

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 8 oz Button Mushrooms (sliced)
• 3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 2 Tablespoons Garlic
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 oz. Packet Ranch Powder Mix
• ½ cups Dijon Mustard
• ½ cups Honey
• ½ teaspoons Paprika
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 6 slices Bacon (3 for each chicken breast)

1. Mix together marinade of: lemon juice, 1 Tbsp of minced garlic, 1 Tbsp of olive oil, ranch packet, dijon mustard, honey, and paprika. Marinate chicken breasts for at least 30 minutes.
2. Sauté mushrooms with butter and the remaining garlic and olive oil.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and while oven is preheating brown chicken in a skillet.
4. Place browned chicken onto a cookie sheet and finish baking in the oven for 10-15 minutes. (I also cook my bacon at this time on a cooling rack placed on another cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes -- or you can cook the bacon first then brown up the chicken in a bit of the leftover bacon grease, to each her own!)
5. Remove chicken and bacon from the oven. Top chicken breasts with a few slices of cooked bacon, sautéed mushrooms, and shredded cheddar cheese.
6. Return the chicken breasts to the oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Goulash

So this recipe was a hand-me-down from Husband's collection. I've since come into a groove in making it and although it's merely a variation of spaghetti...it makes me feel better knowing that it is technically called something else (and thus releases me from feeling guilty in cooking this and spaghetti in the same week...which I have totally done before.)

Atkinson Goulash
(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 can of condensed tomato soup
1 can of diced tomatoes (I use the Italian seasoned version)
1 can (small) tomato sauce (I use the Italian seasoned version)
6 oz. egg noodles

1. Brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet.

2. Put pot of water onto boil.

3. Add tomato soup, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce to the meat and reduce heat.

4. Cook egg noodles for 5-6 minutes, drain.

5. Put hot noodles back into pot and pour contents of the skillet on top.

6. Stir to combine and serve.

Yes, it's that simple...it's kinda like spaghetti stew...which is okay by me any day =)

Christmas Appetizers

This Christmas I was responsible for bringing two appetizers to our family gathering. I decided this could kick-start one of my 2010 New Years' Resolutions and try a few new things. After much Internet research I settled on two recipes to try out: Spinach Balls and Stuffed Mushrooms. Both were able to be made ahead of time and frozen until Christmas.

The Spinach Balls were insanely easy to pull together and were a combination of several recipes from RecipeZaar. These were my mother's favorite.

Spinach Balls

(Makes 5-6 dozen)

20 oz. of frozen chopped spinach
6 oz. Stove Top Stuffing (I used Chicken)
1 c. grated Italian Cheese Blend (I used the Sargento version)
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. butter, melted
Dash of Nutmeg
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

• Thaw spinach and drain out as much water as possible.
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Roll into 1 inch balls.
• Place onto a cookie sheet and freeze (covered).
• Once frozen, store in a freezer bag until ready to use.
• To heat and serve, bake (frozen) at 350º for 10-15 minutes.

The Stuffed Mushrooms were a Pioneer Woman recipe that I had been wanting to try out ever since seeing it on the blog. The only change I made to the recipe was in using a mild Italian sausage. Oh yeah, and I doubled the recipe because I just couldn't resist (the leftovers are making a reappearance for New Years Eve). I made these ahead and froze them until it was time. I went ahead and baked them frozen too and it seemed to do the trick (Hubby and I actually preferred them baked after being frozen to freshly baked...since obviously we had to try some the night I actually made them). The only thing to watch is that baking while still frozen will cause a lot of juice to accumulate in the bottom of your baking sheet/dish so I wouldn't plan on serving them straight out of the dish (learn from my mistakes please!) Just bake and then transfer the hot, yummy goodness to whatever serving platter you plan on using.