California Chicken

We absolutely love this one at our house!  We've had it over rice or whole grain thin spaghetti.  Both times it was great!

6  4 oz chicken breasts

1 cup orange juice

1/3 c chili sauce

2 T light soy sauce

1 T molasses OR 2 T brown sugar

1 t dry mustard

¼ t garlic powder

¼ t onion powder

1 green or red bell pepper, diced

2 cans mandarin oranges, drained

Arrange chicken in a sprayed slow cooker.  Combine juice, chili and soy sauces, molasses, and seasonings.  Pour over chicken.  Cook on low 6 – 8 hours.  Then add bell pepper and oranges and heat 30 minutes more.  Makes 6 servings.

Moo Goo Gai Pan - a very light Chinese Chicken dish!

½ lb fresh mushrooms, sliced

½ lb snow peas

2 cans sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 c chopped celery

1 c chopped Chinese cabbage or coleslaw mix

2 t minced garlic

1 T grated fresh ginger root

1 – 2 chicken breasts, very thinly sliced

1 t white sugar

1 can reduced sodium chicken broth

3 T cornstarch

1/3 c water

1 T sesame oil

Use ½ T of sesame oil in large frying pan or wok – wipe it with a paper towel so it is distributed evenly.  Stir fry vegetables (including ginger root) for 5 minutes over medium high heat. Remove from pan.  Add the other ½ T of oil and wipe it around.  Stir fry chicken and garlic for 5 minutes over medium high heat.  Add back in vegetables.  Sprinkle with sugar and the add chicken broth.  Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water – stir until blended and add to the mixture in the pan.  Simmer until thickened.  Serve over rice.  Makes 8 servings.

Add other veggies if you would like or substitute.  We don’t do mushrooms at our house but some sliced zucchini would make a great substitution for them!

Taco Noodle Bake

½ lb burger, browned

1 can corn, drained

2 c chunky salsa

1 small can sliced olives, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 package taco seasoning mix

1 can tomato sauce

1 lb desired whole grain pasta, cooked

Combined all ingredients.  Pour into a sprayed 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle with reduced fat Mexican cheese blend if desired.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Makes 8 servings.

Make it meatless by omitting the burger and adding another can of drained, rinsed beans!

Layered Sour Cream Enchilada Bake

2 -3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup

1 16 oz can fat free sour cream

1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans diced green chilies

1 c shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese blend

18 corn tortillas

Combine soup, chicken, green chilies, beans and sour cream.  Tear the corn tortillas.  Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 8 x 11 pan. Cover with a layer of tortillas, then sauce, then tortillas, then sauce, etc.  ending with sauce.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Sausage Spinach Lasagna

9 whole grain lasagna noodles, uncooked

1 lb turkey Italian sausage, browned – look for the lowest amount of fat possible!

10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained

3 cans petite diced Italian seasoned tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

1 T dried basil

1 T sugar

24 oz container fat free cottage cheese

1 egg white

¼ c grated parmesan cheese

2 c mozzarella cheese

Combine spinach, sausage, tomatoes, basil and sugar and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.  Combine the cottage cheese, egg white and parmesan in a bowl.  Pour the tomato sauce in the bottom of a well sprayed 9 x 13 pan.  Cover with 3 noodles.  Then cover that with 1/2 of the sausage mixture and 1 c of cheese.  Then 3 more noodles and then the cottage cheese mixture.  Then the last three noodles, the rest of the sausage mixture and the rest of the cheese.  Makes 8 – 10 servings.

Cover with a sprayed piece of foil and bake at 375 for one hour.  You may want to place a pan on the rack below the lasagna in the oven – it has a tendency to overflow.  J

You could easily make this meatless - substitute kidney beans or garbanzo beans for the sausage.

Pizza Spaghetti Bake

½ of a package of turkey pepperoni

½ lb burger, browned (opt)

1 lb thin whole grain spaghetti noodles, cooked

1 26 – 28 oz can spaghetti sauce

1 can mushrooms, drained (optional)

1 small can sliced olives

1 c mozzarella cheese

Mix all ingredients(except cheese) together and pour into a sprayed 9 x 13 pan.  Top with cheese.  Spray a piece of foil and cover the pan with it.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Makes 8 servings.

Marie's Taco Casserole

24 corn tortillas

½ lb burger, browned

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans tomato soup

2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup

1 T chili powder

1 c reduced fat Mexican blend cheese

Mix soups, chili powder together and spread a bit on the bottom of a sprayed 9 x 13 pan.  Then stir in the burger and the beans to the soup mixture.  Tear up the corn tortillas.  Place a layer of tortillas, then soup mixture, then tortillas, then soup, etc. End with the soup mixture as the top layer.  Then sprinkle with cheese.  Top with a sprayed piece of foil.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Makes 8 servings. 

If you want to make this a meatless meal, just add another can of drained, rinsed beans for the burger and use cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup!

Burger Stew

1 lb burger, browned with chopped onion and salt and pepper

3 cans petite diced tomatoes

 4 sliced carrots

4 ribs celery, sliced

2 medium potatoes, diced

¼ c rice

2 t basil

1 t salt

1 t pepper

Combine in a large pot.  Simmer together for at least an hour or until vegetables are completely tender.  You can add other seasonings if desired. Makes 6 – 8 servings.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Lasagna - the lite version

3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

9 whole grain lasagna noodles, uncooked

1 8 oz pkg diced ham

1 pkg frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

3 pkg alfredo sauce mix (made according to package directions except use skim milk and no butter)

1 c grated mozzarella cheese

Layer 1/3 sauce in a well sprayed 9 x 13 pan. Then 3 noodles, then chicken, then sauce, then 3 noodles, then broccoli, then ½ of cheese, then noodles, then sauce, then ham, then rest of cheese.  Pour 1 cup water around the inside edges of the pan. Cover with a sprayed piece of foil  Bake at 375 for 1 hour. Makes 8 – 10 servings.

Chicken Caesar Casserole

2 -3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

1 c green or red bell peppers, diced

1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

1/3 c fat free Caesar salad dressing

¼ c reduced fat Parmesan cheese

1 lb whole grain pasta, cooked until al dente

½ c shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine all ingredients except the mozzarella.  Pour into a sprayed 9 x 13 pan.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

2 boxes wild rice “rice a roni” type mix (made according to pkg directions but omit the butter and oil)

2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

1 c chopped celery

1 bag frozen vegetables (we prefer broccoli and cauliflower mix)

1 c fat free plain yogurt

2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken or celery soup.

Combine all ingredients. Pour into a sprayed 9 x 13 pan.  Bake at 325 covered for 45 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Chicken Black Bean Burgers

3/4 lb ground chicken breast (can use lean ground turkey or diet lean hamburger)
2 cans drained black beans
1 can diced green chilies
1 c dried bread crumbs
1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
2 egg whites
1/2 c shredded low fat cheese
1/2 t salt

Puree beans and chilies and spices in your blender.  Stir in bread crumbs, chicken, egg whites and cheese.  Form into patties and bake at 350 on a well sprayed cookie sheet for 20 minutes.  Makes 10 patties.

A great sauce that we used for this was:
3/4 c olive oil mayo or fat free plain yogurt
1 T chili powder
dash cumin
1 T ketchup

These froze really well for a quick lunch too and my kids LOVED these - my 3 year old daughter liked them better than regular hamburger patties and I completely agree with her!

SlowCooker Southwestern Bean Stew with Dumplings

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can red beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can low-sodium chicken broth
1 10 oz package frozen corn
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped, optional
1/2 c water
2 4 oz cans diced green chilies
1 T chili powder
1 15 oz pumpkin
1 t cumin

Mix together and place in a large sprayed slow cooker.  Cook on low for 4 hours, then turn to high 2 hours before serving.

One hour before serving, stir together the following:
2/3 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c cornmeal
2 t baking powder
2 egg whites
1/4 c fat free milk
1 t canola oil

Batter will be lumpy.  Drop it by the spoonful onto the stew in crockpot.  Cover with lid and allow to cook on high for one hour.

Makes 8 servings.

Baked Corn Chips

My kids now prefer these over store bought tortilla chips.  They are more filling and very crisp!  However - watch them closely while they bake because they go from pleasantly crisp to unpleasantly crunchy within a couple of minutes.

5 or 6   6 inch corn tortillas
cooking spray
sea salt

Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray.  Cut the tortillas into wedges (we usually do 6 - 8 wedges per tortilla).  Place the wedges on the foil and spray with cooking spray.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.  (Regular salt works too, we just like the flavor of the sea salt).  Bake at 375 for about 10 - 15 minutes.  You want them to just be starting to turn brown on the edges.  We usually plan on 2 tortillas worth of chips per person.

For a sweet treat, use whole wheat tortillas and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  These would be awesome with the caramel dip!

Creamy Cinnamon Caramel Fruit Dip

This is one of my absolute favorite new healthy recipes - especially since I am not an apple lover. 

2 8 oz packages fat free cream cheese, softened
2/3 c brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c fat free caramel ice cream topping

Mix well with electric mixer until smooth.  This is great with little pieces of bagel, apples, bananas (any fruit really).  We've eaten it on graham crackers instead of frosting.  We absolutely love it.  A serving size is about 2 Tablespoons.