Enchilada Chili Bean Bake

I needed to use up leftover Turkey Chili, and on Saturday night's I love easy meals.

2 C of Leftover Chili
1 Can of Kuner's Black Refried Beans
1 Can of Kuner's White & Gold Corn
1/2 of red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 of onion, sliced
3/4 C of Sargento Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
3 Burrito Sized Low Fat Tortilla's
Canola Oil Spay
9x9 Baking Dish

Spray and heat up small non-stick skillet
add Onion and Bell Pepper and sauté until caramelized
remove from skillet and set aside

Lay one Tortilla out and top with the following:
coat with an even layer of refried beans
then top with about 3 T of Corn
and a then a portion of onion and bell pepermix
roll and lay in pan seam side down, repeat 3x's

cover with rolls with Chili and bake 400deg for 25m
pull out and cover with cheese and bake for another 5m
1 serving = 1/2 Enchilada with Chips

Buffalo Chicken Salad in Pita

I like the flavor of buffalo chicken wings, but don't care for the fried version all that much. I eat at a local joint in town called The Classic Bean they have a Buffalo Chicken Wrap. After eating the wrap regularly for 3 years now, I finally came up with a home made version that I like just a little better.

for 2:
1 diced up chicken breast, lightly seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder, and sauteed in skillet, until cooked.

whiles cooking mix in a bowl: (cheese mixture)
dice up 1-2 celery stalks
1-2 strip(s) of cooked bacon crumbled (I micro'd mine)
1/4 C of White Vermont Cheddar
1/4 C of Gorgonzola Cheese
3T of Blue Cheese Dressing (enough to bind together mix)

Toss Cooked Chicken in small bowl with your choice of wing/hot sauce, then add to cheese mixture.

Fill Pita and lettuce if you'd like and eat YUM.

Easter Dinner: Deviled Eggs

It was highly requested that I make Deviled Eggs for Easter Dinner.

Everyday Deviled Eggs
6 Eggs Hard Boiled & Peeled
I have been told older eggs work better to peel. I use older eggs traditionally, and pull them out of the boiling water, run under cold water and then peel. Generally speaking it works ok.

2-3T of Mayo (I used more at the end if I need to loosen it up)
1 T of Mustard
2-3t of Dill Relish (low on the juice)
1 t of Dill Relish Juice
1 t of vinegar
pinch of salt
and Cooked egg yolks

Mix well, and fill egg white hole.

Flank Steak with Honey Glazed Carrots & Rice

From The Best of Cooking Light 9, pg 28, Roasted Flank Steak with Olive Oil-Herb Rub, 3 oz = 7g of fat.
Cooking Light.com Honey Glazed Carrots, 1/2 C = .02g fat (not worth counting in my book)
a revisited recipe from Cooking Light that I adapted a bit: the original recipe was Herbed Basmati Rice,

My Version:
Nutty Jasmine Rice

Pt 1:
1 t of Olive Oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
warm in non-stick sauce pan

Pt 2:
add 1 C of Jasmine Rice

Saute rice in olive oil until it starts to brown
add 1 C of Chicken Broth
add 1 C of Water

Let come to boil stirring occasionally,
when it boils turn down heat and let simmer for 20 m with lid on.

In separate pan toast almond slivers (1/2 of the small packet)
when toast set aside

Cut up 1/4c of green onion set aside

when rice is cooked turn off heat, add nuts and green onion and stir in
Serve

1/2 c of rice is a serving = about 1-2g of fat

For the first dinner I did good at about 10g of fat. To bad dessert was still a little on the high fat side, brownies and ice cream (reduced fat ice cream).

The brownies are left from our Valentines Day treat. :) They'll be gone soon.

Spaghetti

Tonight I made my husbands favorite meal. SPAGHETTI! I would love to say here is my recipe for Spaghetti sauce, but I never quite make it the same way. There are a few things I always do the same, the rest is just how it goes.


Pt 1:
Boil Water
Cook Noodles

Pt 2:
Heat up 1 t of Olive Oil in the Skillet (sometimes I go up to a Tablespoon)
add 1-2t of garlic (for ease I use the kind in a jar)
1/2 Onion Chopped Up
1 med Bell Pepper Chopped Up (or use the Onion Bell Pepper Freezer Mix)
Saute until soft
1-2 T of Italian Seasoning
Pepper and Salt to taste.


Pt 3:
Add Hamburger (1lb or less)
Brown

Pt 4:
Add
1 can of Tomato Paste Italian Season Blend
until it is fully incorporated
1 can of Tomato Sauce

Now tonight's version:
In Pt 2:
3 Stalks of Celery
1/4 c of Beef Broth (let it cook off mostly before adding beef)
If you skillet is hot this will help cook the onion/bell pepper and "steam it"

Pt 4
After emptying the Tomato Sauce into the beef mixture, I swish out the sauce stuck on the inside, by filling up the can about 1/2 way with Beef Broth. Then I added to beef mixture.

Serve over spaghetti.

Sorry no photos, I was to hungry, it was a long day, and seemed like forever until I had dinner.

Not-Tuna Chicken Noodle Casserole in a Skillet

I originally read this recipe in Rachel Rays Magazine, and I didn't care for the original so I changed it to.. Not Tuna Chicken Noodle Casserole...

Part 1:
1lb of egg noodles
bring water to a boil and cook until soft.

Part 2:
1-2 t of Olive Oil (or EVOO)
1/2 of med onion diced
saute in large non-stick skillet 2-3 min until onion softens
2 t of minced garlic
3 Stalks of celery, cut up
saute in with onion until celery is soften
then add 1 lg can of Tyson Chicken (12.5 oz) shred it up out of the cubes.
then add 2 C of Green Peas (frozen works)
let them heat up, scoot to one side of skillet.

melt
2 T of Butter
then add
2 T of flour
after incorporated and cooked for 1m
add
1/2 C of Broth + 1 1/2 C of Milk
Slowly, and whisk together,
blend in with other ingredients in skillet
on med heat
when it starts to boil incorporate noodles, and mix well.
Heat through and serve.

Cooking Light Supper Club

Last night was our night in KC at the Supper Club we belong to, I signed up to make Texas Sheet Cake, some of the other dishes were Herbed Basamiti Rice (we used Jasmine), Cornflake Crusted Halibut, Yukon Gold Potato Biscuits, and a salad. It was all very good food, and a nice evening.

Friday Night Dinner: Re-Run with a new script!

I re-run the butternut squash soup and turned it into a a delicious pasta sauce. I added one can of Hunts Fire Roasted Tomatoes, I small can of cut up black olives, and 1 to 1.5 cup of butternut soup puree, 1 cup of Sargento Bistro Blends Sun-dried Tomato, and Basil Cheese, & 2 T of Heavy Cream. Mixed together, and placed over cooked spinach pasta, and baked in the oven with cheese on top at 425 F for 20min, until the cheese melted. It was much better this way than as soup. My parents are going to use it as a filling in Lasagna this weekend.
We also used my indoor grill pan and cooked steak, marinated with dried basil, garlic, olive oil, white wine, and sun-dried tomatoes. Then on the side we had salad and green beans. It was a great experimental Friday night dinner.

Cooking Light Mac n' Cheese with Grilled Turkey Cutlets

Tonight we had Cooking Light Mac & Cheese (featured on their website), and Turkey Cutlets. I marinated the Turkey Cutlets starting yesterday in:

3 Turkey Cutlets
1 T of Tarragon
1 T of Course Ground Mustard
3 t of White Wine
1 T of Olive Oil
pinch of sea salt
dash of pepper

Put in Zip Lock Bag together and mush around until the cutlets are covered.
Marinate for at least 2hrs, although I did overnight.

Then I removed from bag and placed flat on grill pan, cooked until done on each side.

Friday Night Dinner: Leftovers & Stir Fry out of Box

I had lots of leftover pork dumpling soup so I thought I would share with my parents, knowing that it was a light soup I picked up a box-o-stir fry from the store. It wasn't too bad, now I did add a few things to make it my own. Go figure! I added pork, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, bell pepper, and additional cashews. I also made some fried rice with out a box. We also enjoyed freezer egg rolls.