Chicken Alfredo

I usually just crack open a jar of alfredo sauce when I'm in the mood for alfredo but when I saw this recipe I figured I'd give it a whirl.

1lb pasta of your liking - I used angel hair because that's what I had in the house.
1lb chicken, cubed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp cornstarch
3 cups fat free milk
1 cup half & half
1 cup parmesan cheese
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed & drained
1/2 tsp italian seasoning

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.

Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper. Cook chicken & garlic in butter over medium heat. Remove chicken, keep warm. Combine corn starch & milk until smooth. Stir into skillet. Add cream. Bring to a boil & cook while stirring until thickened. Stir in cheese, continue to stir until cheese is melted. Add spinach, chicken & italian seasoning. Add pasta to mixture. Cook & stir until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.

makes 12 1 cup servings

Zucchini Casserole

I used to not like zucchini. . but one night at a hibachi place I decided to give it another try. Now I love it. I go through phases with it though. I think I tend to cook it too often and then get sick of it. I've had this recipe written down for quite sometime and I finally got around to trying it. It's in the oven as I type and it smells divine!



Adapted from: Gina's Skinny Recipes

4 cups grated zucchini (I used 2 little zucchinis and a squash)
1 cup Heart Smart Bisquick
1 small onion, grated
3 egg whites
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp parsley

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Pour into pie dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 45 minutes until golden brown.

(before baking)

Serves 12
Calories: 110
Fat: 6
Carbs: 10
Fiber: 1
Protein: 3

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I knew I'd find a great new recipe or two to try in the Healthy Cooking magazine & this is the one I tried first. Em was home for a "snow day" so it gave us a chance to bake together.


1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed firm
2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp water
1 egg white
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray.

In a bowl combine oil, sugars, water, egg white & vanilla. In separate bowl combine flours, cinnamon, baking soda & salt. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Stir in oats & raisins.

The magazine said to "drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto baking sheets" and said it would make 15 cookies. When I used the 1/4 cup, I only got 10 cookies. So I moved some batter around and made 16 cookies. So eyeball it. ha ha ha.

Bake cookies 10-12 minutes.


1 cookie:
144 calories
6g fat
22g carbs
2g fiber
3g protein

Mail call!!

I LOVE getting magazines in the mail!! I currently subscribe to US Weekly, Allyou and my girlfriend E got me a subscription to Weight Watchers magazine cuz she ♥ me! I got this magazine in the mail yesterday:

I'm not really sure where it came from but I was happy to see "Comfort good makeovers", decadent desserts" and "must-have snacks" on the cover! I look forward to creating some wonderful dish out of this magazine & sharing it here on my blog.

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

Quesadillas. K-suh-dillas. Love them. They are so easy to make, so many ways to make them, and they're so filling. Today I simply googled "chicken quesadillas" for a new idea, and I came across this recipe. I bookmarked their site to dig deeper into it at a later date too. I took my Buffalo Chicken Skewers recipe and made some dang quesadillas for dinner!

5 chicken cutlets
1/4 cup Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce
Low carb Tortillas
avocado
fat free shredded cheddar cheese
turkey bacon, cooked crisp
olive oil spray

Cut chicken breasts into strips. Marinate in 1/4 cup of Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce for about 30 mins. Broil chicken strips for about 15 minutes, turning over halfway through cooking.

Heat pan over medium heat. Spray with olive oil spray. Lay 1 tortilla in pan. Add toppings; chicken, cheese, avocado & bacon.




Fold tortilla in half, letting the cheese act like a glue. Flip and brown on other side. Serve immediately.

Pizza Burgers

I hate buying packages of hamburger buns because I tend to use 3 and throw the rest out once they get stale. Which is what was about to happen after I made the Cheddar Stuffed Burgers I saw in Weight Watchers magazine last week. (damn, I didn't post that on my blog, next time. . ) But instead I had the brilliant idea to make Pizza Burgers, also getting use out of the leftover fresh mozzarella I had.

I defrosted 1lb of ground beef, sprinkled in some garlic powder, oregano & basil. Formed 4 burgers & grilled them in my grill pan. I opened a small can of tomato sauce, sprinkled some spices in it & topped the burger with a hefty tablespoon full of sauce and 1oz of fresh mozzarella. I stuck them under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese was melted. yum. *NI does not include bun/english muffin*



*disclaimer* I took this picture with my Blackberry before turning over the new leaf of sprucing up my blog. ;)

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 270.4
Total Fat: 13.1 g
Cholesterol: 85.0 mg
Sodium: 155.7 mg
Total Carbs: 2.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g
Protein: 29.5 g

Blog Stalking. . .

I spend a lot of time looking at other cooking blogs and I am so envious of their dedication to posting daily & sharing so many pictures of their creations. I take 1 picture of my finished product with my blackberry. Truly the definition of "half-assed". So I will try to commit to at least 4 posts a week, with better pictures. I can't guarantee a step-by-step slideshow type of post but I will take pictures with my real camera & make an effort to spruce up my blog.

Here are a few blogs I found today that I bookmarked & will investigate more throughly.

eatliverun

bunsinmyoven

Picky palate

I've already written out 2 recipe cards from picky-palate's site. I look forward to testing them out & sharing them with you.