Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Curry Chicken à la King and Biscuits

It's so hard coming up with new ideas for dinner. Tonight though, I decided to take a classic and put a spicy spin on it.  I have to admit...I wasn't too sure how it was going to turn out though.  Surprisingly...it was really good!!! You could easily leave the curry and cilantro out and just use this recipe as a traditional Chicken à la King recipe....but this version adds a little spice to your life!!!  So give it a whirl.

While I can take credit for the idea of this spicy spin on comfort food....I cannot take credit for the star of the show.  Drumroll please.........The Easy 7up Biscuits  My oh my!!! Thank the good Lord above and thank you Pinterest for sending these babies into my life.  I did lighten them up a bit from their original (which you can find here) by using Heart Smart Bisquick, Light Sour Cream and Sprite Zero (my version 4 WWP+) and still OMGoodness......so so so soooooo delicious!!!  Drizzle some warm honey over the warm biscuit and you may just hear angels sing.  Seriously...you MUST make these.  Like now!!!  Really....get up....go into your kitchen and make these.  You're welcome in advance...no need to track me down to thank me, hug me, kiss me...depending on how much you end up liking them!

So here was my comforting curry meal tonight.







Serves: 4 - 1 cup servings
Each Serving is 6 WWP+



INGREDIENTS

8 oz. raw chicken breast, cut into cubes
2 Tbl. butter
1 Tbl olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 servings of dry SOS Mix
2 1/2 cups of water
1 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 Tbl. curry powder
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet over med-high heat melt butter and olive oil.  Add chicken, onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms and season with a little salt and pepper.  Cook until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender.  Combine the dry SOS Mix, with the water and other dry seasonings then pour onto the chicken and veggies mixture.  While continuing to stir, bring the mixture up to a boil and cook for approximately 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened.  Stir in the chopped cilantro and serve over warm biscuits or cooked rice.



Friday, August 24, 2012

Breakfast Favorites

What is your favorite breakfast?  Are you a salty or a sweet???  Don't get me wrong....I love pancakes, waffles, cinnamon rolls or just plain ol' toast and jelly BUT my go to breakfasts are savory and stick to your ribs. 

Even on weekday mornings before work...I'll make omelets, breakfast sandwiches, or sometimes just eggs and toast.  If I eat cereal or oatmeal I'm hungry again by 10am, but a hearty breakfast can keep me satisfied until noon. 

Here is my latest fav....BREAKFAST BURRITOS!!!


They are super easy and portable.  Just warm your tortilla in the microwave for about 15 seconds so it rolls nicely.  Fill it with your favorites.  As seen above I like peppers, onions, egg whites, and a little cheese. 

Try these other favorite combos:  ~ egg whites, mushrooms & swiss cheese ~ egg whites, spinach & feta cheese ~ bacon, egg & cheddar cheese ~ turkey sausage, egg & pepperjack cheese

But what about the weekends when you have a little more time?

On the weekends.....it's game on!!!!  Still simple, but just with a little more lovin.

Here I diced potatoes, onions, peppers and cooked until just tender. Then I made little wells in the cooked potatoes and cracked an egg in each pocket.  As long as your skillet is oven safe pop it into the oven set to about 375 degree oven until the eggs are set to your liking. 

Bacon:  Team Skillet? or Team Oven?

Here I cooked it in the oven.  I think both have their pros and cons, but the clean up of oven verses skillet is hard to beat, isn't it?




Now...if this doesn't stick to your ribs...I'm not sure what will?

Have a happy breakfast....sometimes even for dinner!!!



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread

I just recently heard of "garbage bread". I suppose it's really just a way of wrapping your leftovers in some bread dough, baking it, and calling it dinner....sounds like a plan to me!!!

So that brings me to the need for quick weeknight meals. SUPER FAST meals are a MUST now that soccer season is upon us.

This recipe uses leftover chicken or if you don't have any leftovers, simply put raw chicken into the crockpot with 1/2 cup sauce in the morning. When you get home just use the amount needed for this recipe and make chicken salad with the rest. Perfect...two meals in one either way!!!


So here is a super easy dinner made in under 30 minutes!!!


INGREDIENTS

8 oz. cooked chicken breast

1/4 cup Syberg's Famous Wing Sauce (or your favorite wing sauce)

4 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1/4 cup light ranch

1 - Pillsbury Thin Pizza Crust (found near the refrigerated biscuits)

1/4 cup 2% shredded cheddar




In a food processor combine chicken, cream cheese and Syberg's Wing Sauce. Spread mixture onto the pizza crust. Drizzle with ranch dressing and roll up.




Place roll on a cookie sheet sprayed with olive oil and then spray the top of the roll with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until browned.








Let it cool a little and let the filling cool just a bit, then cut, and enjoy with a side salad!!!

You know what these really remind me of? Hot Pockets!!! So get creative...toss whatever "garbage" you've got hanging out in your fridge...just give it a quick sniff first though ;)

Enjoy!

Serves 6 (7WWP+ per serving)

Sunday, February 12, 2012

PB2, Chocolate & Banana Shake

So!!!! Why am I just now finding out about this genius product??? I mean REALLY...powdered peanut butter!!!! With 85% less fat and calories!!!

The good news is...we've been united and will remain friends for life...I'm sure of it!!!




I was really craving a Cold Stone Creamery PB&C Shake last weekend. Just the "Like It" size packs a severe punch to the ole' calorie bank.




See...


Sooo....while I may have not been on my best behavior, I was not about to travel down that road...thankyouverymuch!!!!

BUT, I still needed to crush the craving so I set out towards my kitchen instead.

Here is what I found...a frozen banana, a sugar free chocolate snack pack pudding, a packet of diet Swiss Miss hot cocoa, 1% milk, and my new best friend PB2.




The banana still had the skin on (something weird my husband did, I'm sure of it) so I placed it into a glass of hot water for about one minute until the skin slid right off. Then blended with 1 cup of milk, the pudding, the cocoa and 2T of PB2.

Craving CRUSHED!!!




Saturday, January 14, 2012

Taco Shells

Weighing in at only 80 calories, 1 gram of fat, 10 grams of sodium, and 2 grams of fiber....meet my new friends Mr. EXTRA THIN TORTILLAS!!!


Now...I'm a crunch factor kinda gal. So I set out to find a HEALTHY way to turn these into taco shells!!! I found THIS BLOG which is the main inspiration to making mine, but I am WAY to impatient to wait 1 hour to bake some shells so I went full force 350 degrees, baby!!! I still made the little tents out of an aluminum foil lasagna pan I had on hand.


Then warmed up my tortillas in the microwave to help them lay properly over the aluminum forms.


The oven was preheated and ready to go.....about 10 minutes later...they were ready! Be sure to let them cool and fully harden before handling. How freakin' GENIUS!!!


HERE IS A QUICK TIP FOR REMOVING THEM FROM THE OVEN AFTER THEY ARE DONE: I couldn't take a picture since this is a double handed duty, but I will try my best to describe. Using a flat wooden spoon or any sturdy utensil lift up the aluminum tent and taco shell from under the oven grate. Using your other hand slide a knife or thin utensil under the bend of tent above the grate, gently raise and place onto a surface to cool...as shown below. If you try to "pinch" them out chances are you will break some. I used this "lift and pull" method and didn't break one!!!


Enjoy with your favorite taco recipe!