Cooking

Made some stuffed peppers -- I have a lot of lentils to use (a LOT, like 9lb, leftover from party decorations, used in a mason jar with candles). I followed a recipe that was decent, but needs a fair bit of tweaking before I'll be happy with it. I'll post eventually. It was basically rice, onion, lentils, cheese and sausage stuffed in a roasted pepper. It used chicken sausage, I think I'd rather just use ground turkey. It used too much cheese and not enough veggies - I'd add mushrooms and zucchini.

I also used the leftover onion rice to make a sort of chicken burrito bowl -- I added kidney beans, corn, red pepper, salsa, diced chicken breast and jack cheese. Pretty good!

And I cooked up some bulgur I bought. I really like the grain. It's similar to quinoa in taste and texture. I'm finding that I've really adjusted to whole grains. I like the nutty taste and the chewy texture better than enriched. I portioned the bulgur into 1/2 servings (70cal) which was about 1/4cup - maybe a bit over. I ate that night with chicken in a salad. I ate Tuesday night... sauteed a chooped zucchini, chopped onion, red pepper, mushrooms, and spinach. Added the bulgur and a bit of mozarella. Served with a precooked chicken breast. YUM! and soooo much fiood with all the veggies.

Chicken and Mushroom Crepes

There are a few BMD meals that I really miss.  The chicken and mushroom crepes are one of the top ones.  If I could order 7 of that meal, I would.  I found frozen crepes at Ikea (yes, I know I could make them, but...).  So, I looked up chicken mushroom crepes on cookinglight and mashed two recipes together... Original recipes #1 and #2

My Recipe...
6 frozen Ikea crepes, thawed
29oz of raw chicken breast (roasted in oven, trimmed and chopped, 19oz cooked)
8oz mushrooms, chopped (should have used more, like 16oz)
2/3 of a large onion, chopped
1T of butter
2 T cornstarch
2 cups of skim mik
2 oz gruyere cheese
1 oz mozarella cheese
red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
garlic powder
1-2 T of fresh thyme, chopped
1-2 T of parsely, chopped

Saute the mushrooms and onions until mostly soft.  In a bowl, mix the chicken, mushrooms, onions, shredded cheese and seasonings.  In a small cup mix the cornstarch with a small bit of milk, just enough to moisten.  Heat the butter in a small pan, add the slurry and let cook a bit.  Add the remaining milk.  Cook for a minute or so and cool to thicken.  Add the milk mixture to the chicken mixture and gently stir to coat.  Serve with a thawed crepe (or make your own!)

By my measurements and calculations, each serving is about 375cal.  The chicken mixture is amazingly tasty.  Don't skip out on the thyme -- it really makes the meal.  Note to self though: Don't use more that 2T... it gets heavy.  And easy on the parsley... it's bitter.  And I could probably get away with using just half a crepe per serving.  AND it could use twice as many mushrooms!  With a few tweaks though, this is perfect!  And exactly what I was craving.  Hopefully it holds me over as long as the BMD version!  (Edit on trying: So far, so good... It's been 2 hours and I still feel FULL.)

Tofu Stirfry

Not a real detailed recipe here, but I did like the end product... So, I'd like to try to get it down here.

I soaked some rice noodles according to package, used half a serving per tray.  I think it was one oz dry per tray.

Sliced the tofu into 6 slices and drained for a bit on paper towels.  Then cut each slice into 8 cubes.

Sauce: This was totally a guess, based off a few different recipes and modified as I tasted it.  I used about a cup of chicken broth as the base.  Added a T of cornstarch, 2 T of soy, 2 T of oyster sauce, 1 T of siracha, a tsp or so of sesame oil, and the juice of a lime.  The lime was critical to the flavor, really brightened it up.  Mix throughly.

Sauteed off some veggies in a bit of olive oil.  I used broccoli, red pepper, mushroom, onion, carrot, green onion.  Remove to bowl.  Saute tofu cube lightly in a bit of oil until browned a bit.  Add veggies back to pan.  Add the sauce mixture.  Let come to a simmer, cook for a minute of so, then remove from heat.  The cornstarch will thicken up as it cools. 

According to my measurements and calculations, this is 300cal per serving.  I added a few almonds and a bit of steamed spinach when I ate it.  Pretty darn tasty!  I like the tofu much better this way, over the baked version.  Surprised me -- I didn't think I'd like tofu so much, especially since it's barely cooked.

Polenta Bake

Wanted to use up some canned diced tomatoes and get a different style meal.  Found this recipe on myrecipe.com.  Modified some: used ground turkey breast, added extra zucchin, red pepper, mushrooms.  Will also add spinach when served.  I like this, though ironically, I'm not that fond of the canned tomato taste.  I might try just roasting off some grape tomatoes next time. I was worried the tomato paste might be too strong, but that doesn't seem to be an issue.  THough it was difficult to mix in -- I might try thinning it slightly with a bit of tomato juice or water next time.  And I wasn't sure whether to use yellow cornmeal or polenta meal -- the polenta is a coarser grind.  Chose polenta in the end.

Here's my slightly modified recipe...
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup polenta meal
1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
?? garlic powder
9oz mozarella, shredded and divided
1oz cheddar

20oz ground turkey, extra lean

1 cup chopped onion

3 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
8oz mushroom, shopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1.5 tsp olive oil
2 (14 1/2-oz.) cans petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bring 3 cups water and 1 tsp. salt to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in cornmeal; reduce heat to low, and simmer, whisking constantly, 3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in italian seasoning and 1 oz cheddar with 1 oz mozarella. Spread cornmeal mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

2. Brown ground turkey in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain and transfer to a bowl.

3. Sauté onion and zucchini pepper and mushrooms in hot oil in skillet over medium heat 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in beef, tomatoes, and tomato paste; simmer, stirring often, 10 minutes. Pour beef mixture over cornmeal crust. Sprinkle with remaining 8oz mozarella cheese.

4. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle casserole with parsley just before serving.

By my measurements and calculations, this comes out to about 315cal at 8 servings. Added a 1/3 cup of corn and a bit of broccoli to tray, for a total of 350. It's a heavy tray too! It thought the corn would taste good with the polenta. Might add to polenta next time -- either frozen or creamed.

Coconut-Apricot French Toast Bake

I actually created this recipe using a couple of Cooking Light recipes as inspiration, but it's completely different from either one.  #1   #2  I decided to add the preserves instead of fresh fruit because I didn't think it would freeze and reheat well.  I intended to use pineapple, but my store only had apricot-pinapple and didn't have anything low-sugar with pineapple.  I couldn't decided between the apricot or an orange marmalade.  Might try the orange next time, but I did like the apricot.

16oz loaf of French bread, cubed   (I used only 13oz, should have used the full loaf -- but I'd eaten two slices already!)

1 can (~1.5cups) of lite coconut milk

¼ cup of sugar

4 eggs

80g sweetened shredded coconut, split into two batches

170g (10 Tbs) low sugar- apricot preserves

¼ cup toasted pecans

Cube the bread and place in a large bowl.  Lightly beat the coconut milk, sugar, eggs and half the shredded coconut.  Add the egg mixture to the bread.  Gently turn until all pieces are coated.  Add the preserves to the bowl and turn just a few times to distribute the preserves, but not completely mix them in.  Pour into a greased 9x13.  Sprinkle the top with the other 40g of flaked coconut.  Bake at 350 for approx. 20 minutes, until top is browned and mix is set.  Garnish with chopped toasted pecans. 

Serves 8.  Approx 335 cal per servings with 45g of carbs per serving.  I took the time to calculate the carbs because this is basically bread and sugar here... :)  I served with one 60-80cal turkey or veggie sausage. 

This smells AMAZING.  And the flavor is great – I wasn’t sure about the apricot with the coconut, but it was great.  The pecans are a good touch – could probably cut back there though.  Using only an eighth of a cup would shave 15 cal off each serving. Still needs a bit of tweaking… perhaps another egg?  Some skim milk?  I think it would be good at given ratios if eaten fresh, but reheats only okay.  Gets a bit dry.  Perhaps I microwaved too long?  Will have to experiment.  Could def cut back on flaked coconut to make calorie space for another egg.  Could swap out some of the coconut milk for a higher quantity of skim milk.

Edit: THis doesn't reheat from frozen perfectly.  It's still good and nice to have a different flavor.  But it does get a teensy bit tough.  Maybe I'm just cooking it too long. 

Ham, Mushroom, and Gruyère Strata

Originally from Cooking Light -- here's a link to the unmodified recipe.
YIELD: 8 servings

Ingredients
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped (330g)
• 16oz presliced button mushrooms, broken into halves
• Thick-cut slice of deli ham, chopped (6.5oz)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 15oz sourdough/French bread chopped or torn
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Gruyère or other Swiss cheese
• 2 cups fat-free milk
• 6 eggs
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp whole grain mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1-2 oz of shredded Parmesean cheese
• Garnish with chopped green onion

Preparation
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions; sauté 3 minutes or until translucent. Remove to bowl. Add mushrooms to pan, and sauté 7 minutes or until mushrooms release moisture. Allow moisture to cook off some. Cool slightly, add to onions. Add ham and parsley.

Lightly beat eggs with milk, mustard, salt and pepper. Add grated cheese and stir. Add to cooled mushroom mixture. Stir gently.

Add bread cubes and stir to coat. Pour into a 9x13 sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle the top with 1-2 oz of Parmesean cheese

Cover with foil, refrigerate for 8 hours. (I did 1 hour!) 
Preheat oven to 350º.  Remove strata from refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Bake strata, covered, at 350º for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until set and golden brown. Sprinkle with chives, if desired.

8servings, each is 375 calories.  Good with steamed spinach and cherry tomatoes.  Also good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!  I reallllllly liked this.  The flavor of the ham, cheese, mushroom was so good.  The mustard added a savory flavor that didn't taste like mustard.  Same for the parsley -- added flavor without screaming parsley.  I used brown sugar ham fromt he deli and the slight sweetness was good too.  Loved it!

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.

Chicken with Eggplant and Basil

(From a magazine at the check stand)

¼ cup (1/3oz) coarsely chopped fresh basil

2 TBS chopped fresh mint (or cilantro)

¾ cup (6 fl oz) chicken broth

3 green onions, including greens, 2 coarsely chopped and 1 thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic

1 TBS peeled chopped fresh ginger

2 TBS olive oil

1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped

2 bell pepper (red or yellow), seeded and julienned

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into strips 0.5” x 2”

2 TBS low-sodium soy sauce

In blender or food processor, combine the basil, mint, ¼ cup of stock, the shopped green onions, garlic and ginger. Pulse until minced but not pureed. Set aside.

In large non-stick frying pan, heat 1 TBS of oil over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant, onion, peppers, and sauté until just tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Add remaining oil to pan. Add basil mixture and sauté for 1 minute, stirring. Add the chicken and soy and sauté until chicken in almost opaque throughout, 2 minutes. Add remaining ½ cup of stock and bring to a boil. Return veggies to pan and stir until heated, about 3 minutes. Transfer to serving dish and garnish with sliced green onion.

I liked this very much. I made a few modifications... I did not add garlic or ginger. I may have added a little powdered garlic. I didn't have any mint or cilantro -- I think it would have added to the flavor. It lacked a bitterness/herbiness/tangyness... not sure how to describe what I was missing. It was still good, but I wish it had one of those other herbs. And I used one yellow and one orange pepper. Would use one red in the future as the color would have looked nice.

Other than those items, I followed the recipe and liked it very much. Caution: it is a LARGE quantity of raw veggies to process. I had to cook in shifts as it wouldn't all fit in the pan at once.

This recipe makes a large serving. At 4 servings, it came out to 285calories and at 6 servings it came out to 195cal. I did 6 servings and added a half serving of rice or quinoa, for an extra 75 calories. I think I would do 4 servings next time.   I at one serving and froze the other 5.

An interesting process, would be adaptable to other veggies/proteins/herbs.

Corny Potato Salad

Made a potato salad to take to Father's Day dinner.  Really wanted to avoid the mayo -- I'd hate it even if it wasn't chock full of calories.  The texture and taste have always been bad to me.  So, I needed a no mayo potato salad.  However, my dad doesn't like vinegar-y things... so, that made finding a good potato salad difficult!  I stumbled across this one on foodgawker (fun site to browse, btw).  The original recipe can be found here.  I made some changes...

CORNY POTATO SALAD

serves 8 side servings

*27oz red new potatoes, cooked till fork tender (I boiled them)  And the 27oz was just what I used... Orig recipe called for 2lb.
*2 Tbsp. dijon mustard (or to taste)
*2/3 of a 14oz can of creamed corn
*1 Tbsp. capers (forgot these)
*1 celery stalk, diced
*1 small red bell pepper, diced
*3 radishes sliced
*2 tsp. fresh dill
*1.5 cups of frozen green beans, thawed and dried
*3.5 slices of bacon, cooked super crispy in the oven and chopped

I cooked potatoes ahead of time and cooled.  Mix mustard into creamed corn.  use more or less, to taste.  Could need more creamed corn too, depending on potato volume.  Add potatoes and other veggies and mix gently.  I garnished with chopped crispy bacon.  Would also be good with different veggies -- especially cherry tomatoes!  And it could have used a bit of onion. 

Nutrition:  Calculated the quantities/products I used... Each serving came out to about 130cal.  I thought this salad was great.  It has a creamy/dressed quality with out added any extra calories.

Artichoke/GoatCheese Strata

Another Cooking Light recipe.  I wanted some breakfast ideas and stratas seem like they would freeze well (we'll see!).  Plus, I can get loaves of french bread for free, so...

Here's a link to the original recipe
And here's what I did...  (added mushrooms, swapped out herbs, used a different bread, used skim milk)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (about 1 large)
• 1.5 tsp of butter
• 5 oz of baby portabello mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
• 1.5 cubes of frozen basil
• 1/2 tsp of dry mustard
• 1 3/4 cups skim milk
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 10 oz extra sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 5 cups)
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled goat cheese, divided

Preparation

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cooking spray, add shallots, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove shallots.  Sautee mushrooms in butter, until wilted.  Stir in artichoke hearts; cook for 8 minutes or until artichoke hearts begin to brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in shallots. Cool 10 minutes.

2. Combine milk, black pepper, salt, and eggs in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add basil and mustard. Add Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and bread; toss gently to combine. Stir in artichoke mixture, and let stand for 20 minutes.  (Mine sat for 4 hours.)

3. Preheat oven to 375°.

4. Spoon half of bread mixture into an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with half of goat cheese, and top with remaining bread mixture. Sprinkle remaining half of goat cheese over top. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

This made six pretty sizable portions.  I used the nutrition info off my products and calculated this at 255cal per serving.

Not the most photogenic dish, but...

"Serving suggestion"  :D

This is pretty good.  It reheated well from the fridge.  Haven't tested the frozen ones yet.  I like the sort of burnt or "very-well browned" crusty edges.  The goat cheese is good.  I don't love the frozen artichokes -- missing the salt of the canned variety.  Liked the addition of the mushrooms.  Need to get some new herbs.  All in all, successful and I like it, but it makes me want to experiment more with different veggie/cheese/meat to get a great version!  I also pulled recipes for sweet, frenchtoast/fruit baked dishes.

Recipe - Broccoli Slaw Spaghetti

Tried a new meal tonight... Put jarred spaghetti sauce over packaged broccoli slaw.  Added ground turkey and a few leftover green olives and artichoke hearts.  Also added a side of green peas - which turned out to be the highest calorie ingredient!  No matter, still low-cal.  Will test out the taste at lunch tomorrow.  Didn't fit great into the black trays - the slaw takes up too much space when it's raw.

Update:  I liked this very much.  The best part of spaghetti for me is always the sauce, so I didn't really miss the pasta.  The ground turkey was good and I liked the green olives.  The only modification I would make is to par-cook the broccoli slaw a bit in the microwave before assembling the meals.  The raw slaw took awhile to cook, and by then the parm cheese and the peas were way past their prime...

Broccoli slaw spaghetti

servings 3

broccoli slaw 12oz = 100cal

extra lean ground turkey breast 6oz = 180 (cooked with crushed red pepper and garlic powder)

green olives 10 olives = 30

artichoke hearts 6 quarters = 15

Classico Mushroom/Olive sauce 1.5 cup = 180 (found a lower sodium one, 15% RDA per serving - shoulda gone with the 10% one if I was gonna use the cheese.)

Raleys 3 italian cheese shred 42g = 165

Green Peas 270g = 210

Total 880 cal

Per serving 293.33cal

My Quinoa Salad

Going to a friend's house and supposed to take a salad... ran through many options in my head, but running short on time.  Decided to try to make do with items already in my house... here's the "recipe" - I thought it turned out pretty well.  It's mostly veggies, with some quinoa added.

-100 calories of cooked quinoa (about a half cup, I used two small prepackaged, frozen servings I had in freezer.)

-half a can of garbanzo beans (200cal)
-a smallish tomato, seeded and chopped
-1/5 of a red pepper, chopped
-a handful of spinach, ribboned
-artichoke hearts from a jar, packed in water, about 10 quarters, sliced.
-juice from one lemon
-cumin (just shook it, but not too much, barely to taste.)

This made 3 large servings for us - I calculate it to be about 145cal per serving.

I also added about 35 cal of chopped avocado when I plated it.  Really good with the flavors of the salad.  Add at the end though or it will totally break down as you mix.

Thought later about taking a TBS of humus and thinning it out with the lemon juice to make a thicker dressing.  I like straight lemon, but not everyone does... and it doesn't exactly hold the salad together at all.

My Meals #3

Made a Lentil Stew in the crockpot... Really good.  Tasty and filling and easy to make.  Freezes well too.  Will definitely make again.  Added some roasted chicken to most, had a couple with out.
Recipe made 10 servings for me.  Each serving is about 185 calories (without the chicken/turkey).  Lentils are really filling for the calorie count.

Lentil Stew (found online)
1lb bag of green lentils, rinsed and picked through
1 – 32 oz box chicken or turkey stock (or broth if unavailable)
1 medium to large brown onion, diced
4 carrots, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
1 – 28 oz can diced tomatoes (used low-sodium)
1 large russet potato, diced (about 4 cups) ( I used a sweet potato)
6 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste) (I used WAY less, and frozen.)
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large Crockpot and set to low for 6 hours. Stir after 3 hours if possible.  (I think I cooked it on high for 3 hours, until it seemed done.)  Serve with extra veggies - greenbeans, broccoli, spinach, etc.  Made 10 servings for me, each was about 1.25cups.

With added chicken, tomatoes, spinach and green beans.

My Meals #2

On a cooking spree this weekend...

First, I made Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes, adapted from Oxmoor House (whatever that is, I just found the recipe on myrecipes.com).

Adapted Recipe

Yield: 4 servings

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

Balsamic vinaigrette salad spritzer (such as Wish-Bone)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; place tomato mixture on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan. Bake at 450° for 12 minutes or until tomato skins burst and begin to wrinkle, stirring once. Transfer tomatoes to a bowl, scraping juices into bowl. Stir 1/4 teaspoon salt into tomato mixture.

3. I chose to bake the chicken breasts, covered in the oven, instead of pounding and sauteeing.

4. Place chicken on individual plates; coat each breast half with 2 to 3 sprays of balsamic spritzer. Spoon tomatoes evenly over chicken. 

I forgot to put balsamic vinegar on each chicken, I'll try it when I heat it up, but I thought the taste was already good!  I also created 5 servings by portioning off a couple oz of each breast to make a 5th serving.  I added a 1/4 cup of quinoa and a serving of roasted zucchini/eggplant/redpepper.  I would probably add some spinach or arugula when I heat it up. 

Total for meal = 330cal (200 for chicken and tomato, 50 for roasted veggies and 80 for the quinoa) I figured calories based on the actual products and quantities that I used.  Each meal cost about $3.13 (lots of fresh veggies).

Second, I made a Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash from Cooking Light.  This one was not as successful.  Still okay, but not going to make it a bunch.  The flavor is too strong for me and the beef cut I picked turned out tough when cooked in this method. 

Adapted Recipe...

Yield: 4 servings (I made 5 servings)

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (don't have, don't like, used a bit of nutmeg instead.)

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (1-pound) beef shoulder roast or petite tender roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes  (Couldn't find anything labeled "roast" so I bought what I always buy... london broil.  I think it's too lean for stewing though.)

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 shallots, quartered (used 3)

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound) (tried to find the precut, but unsuccessful.)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro  (forgot to add my frozen cilantro, will add when I reheat.)

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add beef; toss well to coat.

2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef and shallots; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes. Add squash; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until squash is tender. Sprinkle with cilantro.

I packaged with a 1/4 cup of quinoa and a serving of green beans.  The total calories count for the meal is 360cal.  The stem was 250, quinoa 80 and green beans 30.  Each meal cost about $2.70.

This morning I made Spicy Basque-style Chicken from Cooking Light. I really liked this one, though I changed the recipe quite a bit.

Adapted recipe...

Yield: 4 servings

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (too much paprika after the tagine, so I used ancho chile pepper)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast tenders (I just chopped the leftover chicken breasts into large chunks, had about a pound.)

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic (used frozen)

1/4 cup sliced green olives

2 (10-ounce) cans diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained (Didn't read well, only used one can, but I liked it.  I think two cans might be too much...)

1/4 cup finely chopped prosciutto (forgot to buy.)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (will maybe add frozen cilantro or basil when I eat it.)

Combine paprika and pepper; sprinkle evenly over chicken. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds. Turn chicken over. Add olives and tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes.

Remove chicken from pan. (Didn't do this, but then I didn't have as much liquid to reduce.) Increase heat to medium-high; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with prosciutto and parsley.

I added a 75 calories serving of frozen brown rice and a serving of green beans.  Total calorie count 330cal (chicken mixture = 190, rice = 75, beans = 35).  Each meal cost just under $2.

Done for now and definitely need to cancel a BMD box or two... There's a bunch of meals in the outside freezer too!



My Meals #1

A week ago I made 5 servings of cheese tortellini with refrigerated tortellini.  I used canned tomato sauce and diced tomato (no salt) to create a sauce with onion, basil, balsamic vinegar and crushed red pepper.  I added a serving of green beans or broccoli to each tray.  The total for the whole meal was 340 calories.  Total cost per serving = about $2.

Yesterday, I made 8 servings of a Turkey Tamale Casserole adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.   My adapted recipe...

Turkey Tamale Casserole

Yield: 8 servings

1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided

1/3 cup fat-free milk

1 egg 

1 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn

1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Martha White)

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained

Cooking spray

1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)

1 20-oz pkg of ground turkey breast (98%lean), crumbled and browned

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 6 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with cooked turkey; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces.  Top with avocado or FF sour cream. (didn't have any sour cream, so I used avocado.)  Calories per serving: 300, 330 with a serving of frozen veggies.  Cost per serving (including the veggies) = about $2

I ate one serving and pacakged the rest with a side of green beans or broccoli.  I liked the meal a lot.  It filled me up and satisfied my craving for Mexican food... and I really like the ground turkey.  I've missed it. :D

Could have used less cheese and still gotten good flavor.