Menu: 10/8-10/15

Posted on October 8, 2011 by

Another tasty week in the kitchen planned! I was definitely pleased with the General Tso’s Chicken and the Chicken with Creamy Chive Sauce from last week, lets hope I have the same kind of success with this weeks menu! I ended up rolling over the Flemish Beef Stew from last weeks menu to go on this weeks menu. I think it’s going to be a good week. 🙂

Saturday: Bangers and Mash (can’t WAIT to make this).

Sunday: Roman Style Chicken, whole wheat pasta and salad

Monday:  Thai Chicken Burgers, inspired by this recipe, sweet potato fries.

Tuesday: Chicken Picatta, roasted broccoli and roasted carrots.

Wednesday: Chicken Rollatini with prosciutto and cheese, grilled potatoes and salad. 

Thursday: Flemish Beef Stew and whole wheat rolls.

Friday: Lavash pizzas with shrimp, red onion and goat cheese.

Saturday: Ordering in some wicked good BBQ from around the corner. 🙂

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Chicken with Creamy Chive Sauce

Posted on October 6, 2011 by

Holy cow. What a yummy dish! I was more than pleasantly surprised at how great this chicken turned out. It is reminiscent of my pork tenderloin with mustard cream sauce, being that it’s a creamy sauce with Dijon mustard but much healthier I can assure you. My husband who seems to be able to sniff out and dislike anything under 1000 calories absolutely loved this chicken. I served it with crash hot potatoes and they picked up the extra sauce perfectly. 

Enjoy!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Chicken with Creamy Chive Sauce

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (about 1 pound), trimmed of fat
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
  • 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 2 large shallots, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup chopped chives, (about 1 bunch)

Preparation

  1. Place chicken between sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or heavy skillet until flattened to an even thickness, about 1/2 inch. Season both sides of the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place 1/4 cup flour in a shallow glass baking dish and dredge the chicken in it. Discard the excess flour.
  2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, cover and keep warm.
  3. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring constantly and scraping up any browned bits, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour; stir to coat. Add wine, broth and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil, stirring often.
  4. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until heated through and no longer pink in the center, about 6 minutes. Stir in sour cream and mustard until smooth; turn the chicken to coat with the sauce. Stir in chives and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving :244 Calories; 9 g Fat; 3 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 72 mg Cholesterol; 1 g Carbohydrates; 26 g Protein; 0 g Fiber; 679 mg Sodium; 334 mg Potassium

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Posted in 500 Calories or less, Chicken Dishes, General Announcements, Quick and Easy Recipes | 17 Comments

General Tso’s Chicken

Posted on October 4, 2011 by

So after spending 5 nights at the hospital with my hubby and eating cafeteria food for just about every meal, I was definitely ready to eat real food. Not only was I ready to eat real food, I was really ready to cook real food. After deciding that our diet needed a major overhaul to get healthy, I knew of a blog I had to check out right away. PreventionRd is a great resource for healthy recipes and the thing I love about her blog is that it has really great recipes, not just carrot sticks and rice cakes. For about 450 calories this dish was pretty amazing. Even though he could only take a few bites after coming home from the hospital, hubby really enjoyed it. I loved it and was totally satisfied with the portion (MY WEAKNESS!) listed in the recipe.

*I was planning on adding zucchini at the suggestion of a reader, but the ones my store had that day weren’t that great looking. Change out the veggies to suit your tastes. Broccoli and snap peas were delicious though! (nutritional content subject to change with subsitution of veggies)

Enjoy!

 

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes (if using brown rice, if not closer to 30)

General Tso’s Chicken  

(As seen on PreventionRd, Original source Food and Wine May 2011)

1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 large egg white
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup cornstarch, divided
1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/3 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp Chinese chile-garlic sauce (I used Sriracha)
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh ginger root, grated
2 large garlic cloves, minced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 heads broccoli, cut into florets (about 4 cups)
2 cups snap or snow peas
1 1/4 cup dry brown rice, cooked according to package directions

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, egg white, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1/4 cup + 3 Tbsp cornstarch. Add chicken and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth, chile-garlic sauce, sugar, remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons cornstarch.

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add the ginger and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken to the pan and saute 4 minutes. Add the broccoli and peas. Saute an additional 2-3 minutes.

Whisk the broth mixture, then add it to the pan. Cook about 5 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and glossy, and the vegetables have softened. Serve with green onions as a garnish. Yield: 5 servings (about 3/4 cup rice served with 1 1/3 cups chicken/vegetable mixture).

Nutrition Information (per serving): 471 calories; 8 g. fat; 55 mg. cholesterol; 778 mg. sodium; 40.5 g. carbohydrate; 4 g. fiber; 35 g. protein

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Posted in 500 Calories or less, Chicken Dishes, General Announcements | 4 Comments

Times they are a changin…(and a mini menu plan)

Posted on October 1, 2011 by

You may have noticed recently if you follow my menu plan, that we have been addressing some health issues with my husband lately. Well, actually we have been dealing with them for a while. I am thankful to say that this year my husband has been cancer free for 6 years. Though, as I write this I am staring out the window of the surgical floor unit at our local hospital. He had to have surgery done to correct some complications from a previous cancer surgery. 

My hubby is pretty awesome. He makes me laugh, he slows me down when I am going too fast, he wants to see my dreams come true and has made a lot of sacrifices to see that happen. I say all of this mushy gushy stuff to say that we both really need to focus on being healthier. I want us both to live long lives so that we can annoy the mess out of each other when we are old and grey. In order to do that we both need to lose some weight and get healthy! So you will probably see recipes that don’t fit my usual bill (butter, cream, etc…) but no worries! I promise that I won’t post a recipe that my persnickety husband and I wouldn’t eat and love ourselves.

Here is our menu plan for this week. We are planning on eating really well during the week and loosening the reins a little on the weekend to enjoy the things we really crave in moderation.

p.s. You won’t find a lot of recipes on my blog with fat free ingredients. Reduced fat is just about as far as I am willing to go. While we both want to lose weight, we aren’t interested in taking in a lot of fillers and junk that most of those things have.

General Tso’s Chicken with Brown Rice

Flemish Beef Stew with whole wheat rolls

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Creamy Chive Sauce, Crash Hot Potatoes and salad

I don’t know how long we will be at the hospital, plus I have an event on Friday so I am only planning three meals for the week.

I would love to see any recipes you adore that are healthy and under 500 calories per serving. Comment below and enlighten me! 🙂

 

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Posted in General Announcements | 14 Comments

Swedish Meatballs

Posted on September 26, 2011 by

There are days when I wish I lived closer to an IKEA just so I could get some Swedish meatballs. Isn’t that the saddest thing you’ve ever heard? I mean they are pretty good but I know the sauce comes from a packet, which I know isn’t good for you. This is the first time I’ve ever made swedish meatballs at home and they tasted SO much better than any I’ve eaten out. Talk about comfort food!
The recipe calls for sherry, I used cognac because I had just purchased it for French Onion Soup and I didn’t feel like running back to the store. It worked really well! If you have sherry or would use sherry more often, I would use that instead.
Oh and by the way you should really double the sauce recipe below, that’s if you’re like me and like them really saucy! Next time I make it I will. Thanks to Taste of home for showing me another great recipe!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Swedish Meatballs

Meatballs
1 pound ground chuck, or ground beef, pork and veal mix
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 small onion, finely chopped (or grated on a box grater)
A few drops Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 cup beef broth
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup sour cream

1 bag wide egg noodles
1 tablespoon butter
A handful of chopped parsley

Cook egg noodles according to package directions. While waiting for the water to boil, make the meatballs and sauce.

To bake meatballs: preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix ingredients for meatballs in a medium-size bowl. Form bite-size balls and place on nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.
OR
To cook meatballs on the stovetop: preheat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Mix ingredients for meatballs in a medium-size bowl. Form bite-size balls and add directly to the pan as you roll them. Once the last ball has been rolled, give the pan a good shake and place a lid or aluminum foil over the top. Cook meatballs 10 to 12 minutes, turning them occasionally. Remove meatballs to a paper towel-lined plate, wipe out pan, and return to heat to make the sauce. (I baked mine because I wanted the extra room on my stove top for the noodles and the sauce)

To make the sauce: melt butter over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and continuously whisk until a smooth paste is formed. Slowly add sherry while continuing to whisk sauce; cook until sherry reduces by half. Add broth in a slow stream and continue to whisk until sauce thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Add garlic powder and dill weed. Turn off heat and whisk in salt, pepper, Dijon mustard and sour cream.

Once the noodles are cooked, drain them and toss with butter and parsley. Add meatballs to the sauce, stir to coat, and serve over the noodles.

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Posted in Beef Dishes, General Announcements, Quick and Easy Recipes | 3 Comments

Menu: 9/24-10/1

Posted on September 24, 2011 by

I can’t believe this week ushers in October! I am keeping the menu plan simple again this week, since our lives are still pretty chaotic.
Happy Fall!

– Beer Battered Fish and Chips
– Lemon Ginger Noodles
– Chicken with balsamic syrup and goat cheese, Pommes Anna, sautĂ©ed green beans
– Pork Au Poivre, rice pilaf and broccoli

That’s all for this week, we won’t be home for several days. 🙂

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Prosciutto and Fontina Pinwheels

Posted on September 23, 2011 by

Another great recipe thanks to A Taste of Home Cookings recipe swap! My husband and I actually don’t care for deli ham so when I first got this recipe I was a little worried. Then I realized that prosciutto is ham and I like prosciutto. I love the combination of prosciutto and fontina cheese so that is what I used to make these pinwheels. If you like ham and swiss cheese you could definitely do that as well. That is what is so great about a recipe like this, this is more so teaching you a method, experiment however you want! Turkey and cheddar would be good too. A big thanks to mecookingcreations for a GREAT appetizer recipe.
I had totally planned on taking a few of these to a friend, but they were so good that we ate them all! That’s the sign of a good recipe!
Enjoy!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

Prosciutto and Fontina Pinwheels
(slightly adapted from mecookingcreations)

Ingredients you’ll need: You can adjust this to however many you need. The amount below made 12-14.

1 can crescent rolls
1/4 lb thinly sliced prosciutto
1/4 lb thinly sliced fontina cheese

Making the Pinwheels

•Open a can of crescent roll dough – you will most likely have 2 rolls once you open them (mine always split down the center, but this is perfect). Roll out each roll – each one will be a rectangle; keep the long side near you and pinch the seams closed.
•Sprinkle them with a touch of dried thyme
•Layer fontina cheese across the crescent dough,then top with a thin layer of prosciutto. Roll towards you (you want the roll to be long and skinny, not short and fat) and pinch closed gently.
•At this point you can wrap each long roll in plastic until you are ready to bake and serve them – that’s one of the things I love about these.
•When you are ready to bake them, preheat your oven to 350 degrees (I liked baking them at 350 instead of the 375 I did last time). Slice each roll into 1 inch pieces and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet with one of the cut sides facing up. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.
* My oven is wonky but it took my pinwheels about 12 minutes in the oven to get a nice golden color

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