Friday, July 8, 2011

Side Dishes

I typically look for recipes that are main dishes.  I decided today to roast off some chicken breasts and find a great side dish (around 200cal) to package it with.  I found these two recipes at CookingLight.  I cooked chicken breast in the oven in a casserole dish covered with foil... keeps them moister.  Then portioned it into 4oz portions (170cal)


Potluck Potato Casserole
Classic hashbrown casserole lightened up.   Here’s a link to the original recipe from Cooking Light.

“The crunchy topping on this side-dish casserole gives way to a cheesy interior, resulting in a comfort food winner. A bonus with this dish is that you can make the casserole ahead--assemble and refrigerate it until time to bake. Sprinkle the cornflakes over the casserole just before baking.”
· YIELD: 10 servings
·         1 1/2 cups fat-free sour cream
·         1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) finely shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
·         1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
·         2 tablespoons minced fresh onion
·         5 teaspoons butter, melted
·         1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
·         1/4 teaspoon salt
·         1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
·         1 (30-ounce) package frozen hash browns, thawed 
·         1 (10.75-ounce) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
·         Cooking spray
·         1 cup coarsely crushed cornflakes
·         2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350°.  Combine first 10 ingredients in a large bowl; spread evenly into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle cornflakes over potato mixture.  Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until bubbly. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Lenna Watson, Cooking Light
NOVEMBER 2005
I made a few minor modifications.  I forgot to get reduced-fat cheese, but I also find it hard to find reduced-fat sharp cheddar.  I added a pinch of red pepper flakes instead of the ground red pepper.  I used rf cream of mushroom soup because I like it better.  And I used a combo of panko and crushed fried onion strips instead of cornflakes.  My calculations come out to 215 cal per serving at 10servings.

I liked this recipe a lot.  Good texture and it should freeze well.  I think it would be great with some canned green chilis mixed in.  The topping wasn’t great.  It’s good and it’s growing on me, but wasn’t GREAT, or as crispy as  I expected.  Packaged with a broasted chicken breast and frozen green beans or broccoli.  Totaled 415 cal.


Sweet Onion Casserole


Pulled this out of the magazine when I read it… Here’s alink to the original @ CookingLight.
YIELD: 6 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup)
·         1 tablespoon canola oil
·         4 cups chopped sweet onion (about 1 3/4 pounds)
·         1/2 cup uncooked long-grain rice
·         2/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
·         1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
·         1/4 teaspoon salt
·         1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
·         1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
·         Cooking spray
·         1/3 cup (1 1/3 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
·         2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
       Preheat oven to 325°. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Place onion in a large bowl. Cook rice in a large pot of boiling water 5 minutes. Drain.  Stir rice and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) into onions. Spoon onion mixture into an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 325° for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Top with parsley, if desired.
Irene Lilja, Corvallis, Oregon, Cooking Light
MAY 2011
Followed pretty closely.  Used only ½ TBS of olive oil.  Cooked the onions longer than 5 minutes, closer to 12.  Used a bit extra rice and a bit extra milk (closer to ¾ cup) and a that milk was a mix of skim with a TBS of whipping cream.  Omitted allspice.  I thought this was really good.  My calculations come out to 213 cal per serving at 6 servings.  But that was a HUGE serving.  I got 8 servings out @ 160cal per serving.  It should freeze well.  I packaged it with a roasted chicken breast and frozen green beans or broccoli.  Totaled 360 cal.







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