Chicken Divan

This one takes a little long for a standard weeknight.  I've cooked the chicken the night before and then put it together and baked it on a weeknight.

Ingredients: 

1 pkg of bone-in chicken breasts (mine had 2 large breasts)
1 pkg or 1 head broccoli florets
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can milk (fill the empty soup can with milk)
2 T Miracle Whip
lemon juice
sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
rice (your preference - Minute rice, long grain, etc.  But be sure to account for the cook time)

Cooking Info: 

Boil chicken in large stock pot - reduce to simmering and cook for ~1 hour.  Remove to plate to cool.  (You can strain and save the stock if you are so inclined)  If using frozen broccoli, dump into a colander to thaw a bit; if using fresh, wash and cut into florets.  Set aside.

In saucepan combine cans of soup, milk (I used heavy cream this last time b/c I had it leftover from the bowtie pasta and it was DELICIOUS), lemon juice, and Miracle Whip.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly and thickens.

Preheat oven to 375.  De-bone chicken into bite-sized pieces and put into large casserole dish.  Layer broccoli on top.  Pour soup mixture over chicken & broccoli.  Bake (uncovered) for 45 minutes.

Make rice using your preferred method - Minute Rice I usually put on to cook when there's ~5 minutes of bake time left.

Remove chicken/broccoli from oven, sprinkle with cheese, and bake another 3-5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Serve over the rice.  I always make a lot of rice (this serves a whole family with leftovers) and then make up lunch-sized containers for us to take the next day.

Serves:  8

Serve With:

This is really good with fresh pineapple or strawberries, we always have crusty rolls or bread, and a salad.

Nutrition Info:

(With brown rice, 2% milk, and Miracle Whip Light)
Calories per Serving:  332
Carbs per Serving:  47
Fat per Serving:  11
Protein per Serving:  12

Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:

4-5 Soft Taco size or Fajita size tortillas (depending on the size of your casserole dish

1 can black beans

1 can diced tomatoes (if you like spice get the kind with green chili peppers in it)

1lb ground beef or turkey

1pkg taco seasoning

½ c. taco sauce

2 tbsp water

1 can enchilada sauce

1 pkg Mexican cheese shredded (the 2% Sargento is very good)

sour cream (optional)

Cooking Info:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare Taco meat by browning the ground beef, adding the water, taco seasoning packet and taco sauce.  Put enough enchilada sauce to cover the bottom of the casserole to prevent sticking.  Start to layer your ingredients with a tortilla first, then meat, tomatoes, black beans, little cheese, and repeat until all ingredients are used up (keep 1/3 of the cheese for the top), ending with a tortilla.  Then poor the rest of the enchilada sauce over it and the rest of the cheese. Then bake for aprox. 15-20 min.  Cut it like lasagna, and enjoy.  I like to top mine with sour cream.

 Serve With: Spanish rice (I like Zatarains) and a salad.

Ravioli Bake

This is one of our family favorites.  Thanks to my buddies at MF, we have it at least twice a month!  It's easy to throw together earlier in the day and pop in the oven to bake while you make the salad, do homework, etc.

Ingredients: 

1 jar (16 oz) of spaghetti sauce
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained (I use about 1 1/2 c of the Pomi crushed tomatoes)
1 can (10 oz) reduced sodium beef broth (Campbell's is the perfect size, or I use the little boxes of Kitchen Basics beef stock)
2 pkg (9 oz each) fresh cheese-filled ravioli (I use the big bag of frozen beef ravioli)
1/4 cup zesty Italian salad dressing
2 cups shredded mozzarella

Cooking Info: 

Preheat oven to 375.  Combine sauce, tomatoes, broth, and dressing in a 9x13 pan.  Add ravioli and mix lightly to coat.  Cover with foil and bake 50 minutes, until ravioli are tender.  Remove from oven, sprinkle with cheese.  (I put it back in the oven to melt the cheese)

Serve With:

Green salad, crusty bread, steamed broccoli, fruit salad

Nutrition Info:

Serves - 6
Calories - 435
Carbs - 51
Fat - 20
Protein - 21

Egg Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce

This is like a crepe, only thicker. Mom always made these when we were growing up. They are a German pancake. I have been playing with the recipe lately, and got it just right so thought I would share since they are low calorie and high protein. We have these every Sunday for lunch. I top them with raspberry sauce, roll them up, and put whip cream on. The kids like them spread with peanut butter and/or nutella (or a new favorite, Biscoff spread!). They even will take them as a “sandwich” cold for their lunch at school spread with PB & J or Nutella & PB.

Egg Pancakes

1.5 cups of milk

9 large eggs

1.5 cups of flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat eggs, vanilla, and ½ cup of milk with a whisk. Add in all the flour and whisk until smooth. Then add the remaining 1 cup of milk and whisk until smooth. The batter will be quite thin. Take an 8” or 9” frying pan, and pour enough batter to cover the flat part (a little less than 1/4 of a cup). When the edges start to brown, flip it. Use a spatula to press it once you flip it and within a few seconds, it will be done. Top with topping of choice! This recipe makes around 14 pancakes. If you need less than that, do 5 eggs, with ¾ cup flour and milk, ½ tsp of salt and vanilla.

Nutrition (per pancake)

Calories: 88 to 93 (depending on how many eggs)

Fat: 1.8 grams

Cholesterol: 74 mg

Total Carbs: 13 g

Fiber: .5 g

Sugars: .5 g

Protein: 5 g

Raspberry Sauce

1 lb frozen raspberries

1/4 cup sugar

Heat raspberries and sugar over medium low heat while cooking pancakes. Makes approximately 12 servings (ie for 12 pancakes)

Estimated Nutrition Information

Calories: 32

Total Carbs: 8

Fat: 0

Bowtie Pasta with Sausage Cream Sauce

This is a favorite in our house.  One of my friends recommended it years ago, and we make it pretty regularly since it's quick and easy for a weeknight.

Ingredients:

1 package Bowtie pasta (I prefer the mini farfalle)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled (I use turkey sausage)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced onion
1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style plum tomatoes drained and coarsely chopped (I use the box of Pomi chopped tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (can use evaporated milk, even fat free is fine, but the heavy cream turns out the best)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil

Cooking Info:

Heat oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage and pepper flakes until sausage is evenly brown. Stir in onion and garlic, cook until onion is tender. 

Add tomatoes, cream, and salt. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.  Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.  Stir cooked pasta into sauce, and heat through. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

(I don’t always add all of the pasta – sometimes I pull out some plain for the kids, so I end up with a little less than a full box.)

Serve With:

Crusty bread, green salad

Nutrition Info:

Serves - 8
Calories per Serving - 355
Carbs - 47
Fat - 11
Protein 18

Speedy Dinner 101

Fast dinner idea for a Monday...

Ingredients:

Boboli pizza crusts
jarred pizza sauce
shredded mozzarella
mini turkey pepperoni
sliced black olives

Cooking Info:

Bake at 450 for 9 minutes

Serve With:

Salad, cut up veggies or fruit, or whatever's in the fridge!