Healthy Chicken Carbonara

½ lb whole wheat spaghetti

-Put in boiling water until cooked

Alfredo:

4 Tbsp yellow onion, diced

1 tsp garlic, chopped

1 tsp olive oil

1 1/3 cups 1%milk

½ cup chicken broth

1 Tbsp all purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

-Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until light brown.

Add the milk, chicken broth, flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook

Over low heat until the sauce is smooth and thick.

Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently

Until the sauce thickens.  Stir in the parmesan cheese

Carbonara:

5 each 4 oz chicken breasts, boneless

5 slices cooked bacon, diced

¾ tsp garlic, chopped

¼ cup fresh basil

½ cupgreen peas, frozen

¼ tsp pepper

5 tsp walnut halves, chopped

5 tsp parsley, chopped

-Preheat oven to 350*.  Spray a baking sheet with

nonstick cooking spray.  Place chicken breasts on sheet

and bake for 13 minutes or until done.

Heat the bacon and garlic in pan until bacon is crisp.  Add

The basil. 

Add the alfredo sauce, peas, and pasta.  Toss to coat

-On a plate, place 1 cup carbonara; fan the slices of chicken

breast to the side of the pasta.  Garnish each plate some

black pepper and a tsp of walnuts and some parsley. 

From Scratch Italian Spaghetti

This is a great way to use up some of those garden tomatoes in the fall.  My family loves it and will eat it even though there are little specks of green in it... that means it's good folks! And it's so easy.  Just put it all together around lunch time and it's ready by dinner time.  Plus it makes your house smell YUMMY! 

Combine the following:

1 lb hamburger - browned

1 onion - chopped

½ cup celery - chopped

2 cans tomato sauce

2 quarts tomatoes

1 can mushrooms

1/4 cup parsley

1 bay leaf

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

½ tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp thyme

½ tsp oregano

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp sugar

½ cup grated cheese

Put all ingredients in a large pot and simmer 4-6 hours 

Serve over Spaghetti

Healthy Chicken Salad

I love me a chicken salad sandwich, but I don't love all the fat and stuff that goes with it.  But with this recipe, you don't have to worry as much!  Woohoo!  I've subbed the mayo base (loaded with lots of bad stuff) with a greek yogurt base.  You can't tell!  Crazy!  In such a good way!

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded or chopped finely
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
1 TBSP honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dried dill
pinch ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
some slivered almonds
1 cup red grapes, halved
1/2 cup chopped celery

Directions
In a bowl combine yogurt, honey, vinegar, dill, salt and pepper. Pour over chicken and mix it.
Add almonds, grapes, and celery to mixture.  Mix.
Let sit for about 20 minutes to let flavors blend.

This makes about 6 servings and has 110 calories a serving. 

Enjoy!

Healthy BBQ Chicken Wrap

BBQ yumminess in under 250 calories (depending on the tortilla/wrap you use).  I really like to make this for lunch.  Mmmm....

Here's the recipe (more general guidelines- customize as you wish)

-Chicken (I use breaded chicken that I just have to bake for 20 minutes, from Sams Club)
-BBQ sauce (KC Masterpiece is my sauce of choice)
-Red onions, sliced
-Spinach
-Cilantro (A must if you like cilantro!)
-Feta Cheese
-Tortilla  (I prefer the brand flat out, they are under 100 calories and give you tons of fiber)

*Warm up the tortilla and then add your chicken slices.  Add a tablespoon or so of feta and then bbq sauce.  Then just add the spinach, onions and lots of cilantro.  Roll up.  Eat.  Enjoy. Thank me. 

Crisp Chicken Burritos

Okay has it really been like 3 months since we've posted anything?  Yikes!

Well here goes. 

This is one of my favorite meals to make because it's super easy and really good.  Plus the kids even like it, so it's a win, win, win situation.  :)
This is the secret recipe from a certain taco place in town and I know it because my hubby use to work there in his high school years...  They let him watch how they made it once and he took notes. 


1 package cream cheese
3/4 pound of shredded chicken (I use a can of chicken to make it even more easy!)
1 can green chiles (I use fresh- yum!)
1 TBSP dried onions (You can use fresh onions too of course, it's just one small onion, chopped)
some seasoned salt to taste
Tortillas

*Okay, so here's the super easy method of getting these ready-  put all ingredients (except tortillas) in your kitchen aid and mix.  Put a spoonful of mix on a tortilla and roll it.  Repeat.

Cook on greased baking sheet at 425* for about 10-15 minutes, or until brown.   

Or you could deep fry it for the genuine taste, but we love it baked. 

ENJOY!!!

Yogurt Parfait

This is more of a meal idea than a specific recipe, especially now when berries are in season.

This makes a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

Just layer vanilla yogurt, your favorite berries, and granola.  Super yummy and

good for you if you use light yogurt and lowfat granola.  (I have a really good and healthy granola recipe I will share sometime). 

Enjoy!

-Michelle

Yummy Berry Slush

I've made this slush a few times now for parties and I always have tons of people ask me for the

recipe.  It's SOOO easy and SOOOO yummy! 

  Yummy Berry Slush

4 cups water

4 cups sugar

4 cups water

¾ cup lemon juice

1 can pineapple tidbits

1 bag frozen berries

3 diced bananas

-Boil 4 cups water and sugar until sugar dissolves.

Add 4 cups cold water and lemon juice.

Pour in aluminum 9x13 pan and put in freezer and

Freeze.

-2 hours before serving, take out of freezer and pour

pineapple and juice over top of water mix.

-1 hour later, put frozen berries on top

-30 minutes later, put diced bananas on top. 

-Break up with fork and put in punch bowl.



Easy Potato Chowder

Well, since the weather here isn't getting any warmer and it still seems like winter, I thought

I'd post a comfort food for those cold winter nights... Easy Potato Chowder. 

Easy AND yummy!

3 cups skim milk

1 can (10 oz) condensed cream of potato soup

2 cups frozen hashbrowns (cubes)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/4 cup green onions, sliced

-Mix milk and soup in large saucepan.  Stir

in hashbrowns.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat to

medium-low; simmer 10 minutes.  Ladle soup into

bowl (or bread bowl) and sprinkle

cheese, bacon, and onions on top. 

Lava Flows

Last week marked the one year anniversary of our last trip to Hawaii. 

Such great memories!  And one of the memories that we have tried to recreate is this yummy treat!

It took me a couple of tries, but I think I finally got it pretty close to the real thing.

Enjoy!!!

*3 oz of pina colada syrup
*1 cup of ice
*1 cup vanilla ice cream
*whipped cream

*1 1/2 cups strawberry puree
(I made my own strawberry puree

by blending 1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries,

a little bit of water, a splash of lemon juice and

about 1/3-1/2 cup of sugar)

-Make the strawberry puree in blender first if you need to.

-In a blender, blend the pina colada syrup, ice

 and ice cream. Pour into glasses and

garnish with strawberry purree.

-Top with whip cream. 

(You can add some sprite to the lava flow if you want a little kick to it,

because the "real"

lava flows have rum added to it.  We add the Sprite sometimes and this is good either way.)

Tortilla Chips

This is just an easy, more healthy option for tortilla chips.  You could do so many things with it- add salt or garlic or chili powder or cumin or cinnamon and sugar... the possibilities are endless.

Here's the super duper easy recipe:

Corn Tortillas

-Cut the tortillas into eighths.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Spray with cooking spray and add your seasonings.
-Bake at 350* for 15-18 minutes, until crisp. 

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I can't remember where I got this recipe, but it's good!  If you like Buffalo Chicken Wings, you'll like this salad.  This would be perfect for that one big football game coming up...

1 Lb chicken

1 bottle Frank's Buffalo Chicken sauce

lettuce

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced

avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced

1/2 c. grilled corn kernels (optional)

cheese, shredded

sunflower seeds

ranch or blue cheese dressing, to taste..

-Heat oven to 375-degrees. Cover chicken in Buffalo

Chicken sauce and place on a greased pan. Place in

oven and bake about 25 minutes or until chicken is

cooked through. Cut chicken into slices and place in a

large bowl. Stir in more Buffalo Chicken sauce until

chicken is well coated. Shred lettuce and place on plate.

Add chicken, egg, avocado, corn, cheese, sunflower

seeds and top with ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn

This recipe comes from Our Best Bites and it was really good and easy.

About 20 cups of popped popcorn
2 cups honey roasted peanuts
3 cups peanut butter chips
2/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 TBSP vegetable shortening or oil

Place the peanuts, popped popcorn in a very large bowl.  In a microwafe safe bowl, combine the peanut butter chips and oil or shortening and heat for 2-2 1/2 minutes or until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds.  Drizzle the melted pb chips over the popcorn and peanuts and toss to combine.

Spread the popcorn onto wax paper-lined baking sheet.  In a ziploc bag, heat the chocolate chips until just melted and smooth (about 1 1/2 minutes), mashing the bag every 20-30 seconds.  Cut a small corner in the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn.  Allow to stand long enough to become solid.  When done, break the popcorn into small pieces and enjoy!

Jerk Chicken Salad

Even if you're not a salad person, you'll like this. It's so yummy! The kids weren't super fans when they saw that there was green in it, (they hate all things green) but they loved everything else. This is a Pampered Chef recipe and it's delish!

Ingredients:
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS Jamaican Jerk Rub (can order Pampered Chef's or can find in grocery store spice section)
1 pound chicken tenders
1 medium pineapple (fresh is SO yummy, but I'm sure you can use canned too)
1 red bell pepper
3 green onions
2 heads romaine lettuce
1 can (15oz) black beans, drained
6 slices bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled

Dressing:
2 limes
1/3 cup reduced fat mayo
2 TBS pineapple preserves (I couldn't find this, but I did find apricot and pinapple preserves and it worked)

Directions: Whisk together oil and jerk rub. Add chicken tenders, mix well to coat and set aside.
Peel and cut pinapple into slices. Heat a pan to medium heat and add chicken; cook 3-5 minutes on each side, until done. Remove chicken and add pineapple to pan. Cook 1 minute on each side. Remove from pan. Set chicken and pineapple aside.

Slice bell pepper and green onions. Arrange lettuce on large serving plate.

For dressing, zest one lime and juice both limes, put into bowl. Add lime zest, mayonnaise and pineapple preserves to bowl, mix well.

Layer chopped lettuce, beans, bell pepper, chicken, pineapple, bacon and green onions over plate. Drizzle dressing over salad.

Enjoy!

Homemade Zuppa Toscana Soup

I've made this a few times over the years, and I think it tastes just like the soup at that one Italian Restaurant... :)

Here's the recipe. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

1/2 pound of Italian Sausage (I like the HOT kind, but the family likes Medium)

3/4 cups diced onions

6 slices of bacon (I use the pre-cooked bacon and it tastes the same)

1 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic

2 cups of chicken broth

1 quart water (4 cups)

4-5 russett potatoes, cut in half and then into 1/4 inch slices

2 cups Kale (I use fresh spinach)

1/3 cups Heavy whipping cream (I use milk if it's all I have on hand)

-Cook the sausage and crumble it. Place onions and bacon in large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Add chicken broth, water, and potatoes. Simmer 15 minutes. Add sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer another 4 minutes and serve.

-Top with parmesan cheese.

Southwest Pasta Salad

I made this for a potluck church activity last night and I loved it. It's light and full of flavor. It's also a good vegetarian option for a main dish or as a side.

Ingredients:
8 oz rotini pasta
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1-2 Tablespoons chili powder to taste (I used 1 TBSP)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups whole kernel corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup chopped roma tomatoes

Directions:
- Cook pasta until al dente, drain.
-Combine oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and garlic. Stir in pasta and set aside to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
-Stir in rest of the ingredients. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Korean Candy Chicken

This was really yummy. A little bit of work, but the family loved it. Actually my kids liked it, but I had some Orange Chicken sauce from Panda Express leftover and coated half of the chicken in that- they loved that more, but they still liked this too.

2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 eggs
2 cups flour

sweet sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
toasted sesame seeds

cooked rice (I used quinoa instead)
Green onions (optional)

In a pan, pour about two inches of oil and heat on medium heat til hot. Beat eggs and put chicken pieces in the eggs, to coat. Then coat the chicken in the flour (which is in another container).

Place coated chicken pieces in oil and fry for a few minutes on each side until done. Place cooked chicken on a plate with paper towel to rest.

Mix the ingredients for the sauce. The sauce will be kind of thick, but not grainy. Then place the chicken pieces into the sauce and coat.

Serve over rice (or quinoa) and place sliced green onions on top.

Yummy Breakfast Pizza

This is a terrible picture of a really yummy dinner we just had. Everyone gobbled it right up. So, I'm sharing the recipe. Here you go!

1 pizza crust (you can also use a can of refrigerated crescent rolls)
1 pound sausage (Or bacon, but we prefer sausage)
1 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

*Put uncooked pizza crust on pizza pan. Cook sausage while crust rises. Drain the sausage and cool slightly.
*Sprinkle sausage, hashbrowns, and cheddar over crust. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk and pepper; pour over pizza. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
*Bake at 375 degrees for 28-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.