Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Salsa Verde

Tonight we made Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Salsa Verde.

Points+ = 5 per enchilada (Makes 8)

The only thing we really did different was use mozzarella instead of Mexican cheese. Note to self: Mexican cheese gets moldy real fast after you open it. ;)

These were pretty good- Dave really liked them. They were a little spicy, but not burn-your-lips-off hot. :)

Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1 enchilada • Old Points: 4 • Points: 5
Calories: 230 • Fat: 7.3 g • Protein: 20.4 g • Carb: 28.7 g • Fiber: 12.2 g

Ingredients:

For the Chicken and White Bean Filling:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
• 15.5 oz can Navy beans (or Cannellini beans)
• 8 oz cooked shredded chicken breast
• 1/3 can water
• 1 chicken bullion
• 1 tsp cumin

For the Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:

• 1 tsp butter
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth
• 7 oz can chopped green chile
• 2 jalapeños, chopped
• salt
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 3/4 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese
• 8 medium low carb tortillas
• chopped fresh cilantro or scallions (or both!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°.

For the Filling:
In a medium pan, heat olive oil on low. Add onions, garlic and saute until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add green chiles, beans, water, bullion, and cumin. Mix well and cover. Simmer on low 15 minutes. Remove cover, add chicken and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until it thickens and liquid boils down. Set aside.

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:
In a large nonstick pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add flour and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Whisk until the sauce becomes smooth. Cook over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Add green chiles, jalepeños, and salt to taste. Cook another minute then remove from the heat. Stir in the sour cream.

Spread about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish. Fill each tortilla with 1/3 cup of the chicken/white bean filling. Roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling remainder of the tortillas.
Pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with cheese. Cover with aluminum and bake 20-30 minutes, until the enchiladas are hot and the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with fresh cilantro or scallions.

Baked and Breaded Ravioli

We made Baked and Breaded Ravioli last night for dinner. Got the idea from our wonderful friends the Delligers, but sorta followed a recipe we found online. We used Buitoni cheese ravioli and dipped them in pizza sauce. :) They were definitely very crunchy, but a little different than we expected. The cheese was completely dried up; it was almost like eating a hollow chip! Not bad, just not what we expected.

Points + = 10 per serving. The Buitoni container makes 2 1/2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 (25 ounce) package cheese ravioli, thawed if frozen
• cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Place a wire rack on a baking sheet.
2. Beat together the egg white and water in a small bowl. Mix bread crumbs, oregano, basil, and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl.
3. Dip each ravioli in the beaten egg, and then roll in the bread crumb mixture. Spray both sides of breaded ravioli with cooking spray; place on the wire rack.
4. Bake breaded ravioli in preheated oven until golden brown and crispy, 15 to 25 minutes.

Bacon and Broccoli Mac and Cheese

A couple nights ago we made Bacon and Broccoli Mac and Cheese, a recipe we found in the April 2012 edition of Cooking Light magazine.

Points+ = 10 per serving (4 servings)

We followed the recipe fairly closely, but used about 5 pieces of microwave bacon instead of regular and we just added the broccoli to the pasta the last two minutes of cooking time. We also used Smart Taste Penne for the pasta.

This was pretty good. Not amazing, but I'd eat it again.

Ingredients

3 cups broccoli florets

8 ounces uncooked rigatoni

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

2 ounces reduced-fat processed American cheese, cut into pieces $

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1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup packed)

Preparation

1. 1. Steam broccoli 5 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Pat dry, and keep warm. Cook pasta in boiling water in a large saucepan for 8 minutes or until al dente; drain and keep warm. Wipe pan with paper towels, and return to medium heat. Melt butter in pan. Sprinkle flour over melted butter; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add milk to the flour mixture in pan, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thick, and remove from heat. Add American cheese; stir until smooth. Stir in sliced green onions and the remaining ingredients. Stir in broccoli and pasta; serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 413
• Fat: 13.3g
• Saturated fat: 7.5g
• Monounsaturated fat: 3.4g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.9g
• Protein: 19.6g
• Carbohydrate: 53.4g
• Fiber: 3.8g
• Cholesterol: 39mg
• Iron: 2.8mg
• Sodium: 772mg
• Calcium: 317mg

Italian Meatball Sliders with Spinach and Mozzarella Salad

We made these Italian Meatball Sliders last week, also. The recipe was from the March 2012 edition of Cooking Light, page 70.

We made them into regular size burgers instead of sliders. We doubled the recipe (mainly because the amounts of meat we had worked out more evenly that way) and froze 6 of them for later. We made a lot of changes to this recipe and the salad that went along with it (see below).

We omitted:
- the basil
- the toasting of the Panko

We substituted:
- regular onion for shallots
- (about a tablespoon?) dried parsley for fresh
- 3/4 pound ground turkey (we doubled it) for the pork
- 5 chicken and pork sausages (we doubled it) for the turkey sausages
- Sandwich Thins instead of buns

We added:
- mozzarella to the burger (using an ounce a piece between burger and salad)

Points+ =  12 for burger and salad

(sandwich thin- 3 pts, 1 oz mozzarella- 2 pts, burger- 6 pts, 1 tsp olive oil [dressing marinade]- 1 pt)

Burger Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 shallots, finely diced

1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), toasted

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

8 ounces lean ground pork

2 (4-ounce) links turkey Italian sausage, casings removed

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups lower-sodium marinara sauce

12 slider buns, toasted

12 basil leaves

Preparation

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat; swirl to coat. Add garlic and shallots to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until shallots are softened, stirring frequently. Combine shallot mixture, ricotta, and next 8 ingredients (through egg) in a medium bowl. Shape mixture into 12 (1-inch) meatballs; flatten each meatball slightly.
2. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add meatballs to pan; cook 6 minutes, turning once. Add marinara sauce; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until meatballs are done. Top bottom half of each bun with 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce, 1 meatball, 1 basil leaf, and top half of bun.

Salad

Again we changed A LOT! We used sweet peppers and white onion and marinated them in the dressing from the orange-avocado salad that we made previously (olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, substituting a little apple cider vinegar for the orange juice). We also added romaine to the spinach.

Original Recipe

Combine 1 cup julienne-cut red bell pepper, 1 cup sliced red onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar in a large bowl; let stand 15 minutes. Add 6 cups baby spinach, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Toss. Top with 6 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mozzarella. CALORIES 98; FAT 7.3g (sat 2.3g); SODIUM 167mg

Honey Cashew Chicken with Rice

We made this Honey Cashew Chicken with Rice Recipe that we found in Cooking Light, June 2012 magazine. It was pretty delicious! We substituted regular rice for instant, sweet peppers for bell, and pea pods for edamame.

Yield: Serves 4 (serving size: 1/2 cup rice and 1 cup chicken mixture)

Points+ = 9 per serving

(1/8 c. peanuts = 3, 3/4 c. rice = 4, 3/4 tbsp. honey = 1, 2 oz. rotiserrie chicken = 1)

 

Ingredients

1 cup instant rice

2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup frozen shelled edamame (green soybeans)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1  medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1/2 cup dry-roasted cashews, unsalted

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)

Preparation

1. Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
3. Combine chicken and next 3 ingredients in a bowl; toss to coat.
5. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add canola and sesame oils. Add chicken mixture, and sauté for 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Increase heat to high, and add broccoli and the next 4 ingredients (through red bell pepper). Cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and chicken is done, stirring frequently. Stir in cashews.
7. Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add vinegar mixture to chicken mixture; toss to coat. Serve with rice.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 470
• Fat: 17.6g
• Saturated fat: 2.7g
• Monounsaturated fat: 8.7g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 4.2g
• Protein: 29.1g
• Carbohydrate: 50.9g
• Fiber: 4.5g
• Cholesterol: 49mg
• Iron: 3.1mg
• Sodium: 638mg
• Calcium: 66mg

Mango Coconut Chia Pudding

I made this mango coconut chia pudding  from skinnytaste a couple weeks ago and it was deeee-licious! Dave refused to try it because it was too much like tapioca... a.k.a. "fish eggs" in his mind. :P It was yummy and he missed out! I think I want to try it again with blueberries or strawberries instead of the mango, just for something different! I was really impressed with how big the servings were, as well.

I followed the recipe on this one, using a few drops of honey and a bit of Splenda as sweetener.

Mango Coconut Chia Pudding
Servings: 2 • Size: 1 cup •
Calories: 159.1 • Fat: 9.6 g • Protein: 3.6 g • Carb: 17.9 g • Fiber: 6.5 g • Sugar: 9.2 g
Sodium: 52.2 mg
Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 3 pts

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup lite coconut milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 3/4 cup fresh ripe champagne mango, diced
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp sweetened shredded coconut
• 4-6 drops Nu-Naturals liquid stevia (or sugar/honey to taste)

Mix all ingredients, cover, and refrigerate overnight or at least 5-6 hours.

Turkey Chili Taco Soup

Our Version

Tonight Sawyer helped me make Turkey Chili Taco Soup from Skinnytaste. Pretty positive it's my new favorite chili! Yum, yum, yum! Definitely would make this one again.

      

Fancy Version

Pretty much followed the recipe exactly, except we didn't have plain tomato sauce, only pizza sauce, but it seemed to work just fine! Also, we omitted the chicken broth, as the recipe suggests, to make it more like a chili than a soup.

Weight Watchers Points + = 5 points for 1 1/4 cups

Garlic Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Avocado Orange Salad

On  Monday Night we made these Chipotle Garlic Chicken tacos from Cooking Light. We found it in the June 2012 edition, pg 74.

The only ingredient we substituted was low fat flour tortillas for the corn tortillas. We did, however alter the cooking methods. We sliced the chicken first, tossed it in the sauce and cooked it in a pan. Same with the veggies. Turned out great! We also added some Mexican cheese and sour cream. Very tasty and fairly spicy! Must've been good since Rhiannon had seconds and we never see her eat! ;) Hehe

Weight Watcher Points+ = 9 for:
- 1/2 chicken breast (2)
- 1 large low-fat tortilla (3)
- 1 Tbsp light sour cream (1)
- 1/4 c Mexican cheese (3)
- peppers and onions (0)
- didn't calculate the marinade/sauce

The recipe suggested serving Avocado Orange Salad with the tacos. Mmmmmmmmm.... delicious!! I could have eaten just this and been very happy! We did add romaine lettuce and omitted the tomatoes [Dave swears they cause cancer ;) ].

We figured 3 Weight Watcher Points+ for a serving (1 for the olive oil and 2 for the avocado).
Here is the recipe for that:

Combine:
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Peel and section 1 orange; squeeze membranes to extract juice into bowl. Stir garlic mixture with a whisk. Add orange sections, ½ cup halved grape tomatoes, ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion, and 1 cup sliced avocado to garlic mixture; toss gently.

Serves 4 (about 1/2 cup) CALORIES 119; FAT 8.6g (sat 1.2g); SODIUM 126mg

Cool Whip "Ice Cream" Sandwiches

Made some "Ice Cream" sandwiches for snack and/or dessert. I LOVE these!! We originally got the idea from Laura. All you do is scoop some (Light) Cool Whip between (low-fat) Graham Crackers and freeze! Simple and AMAZING!! We've tried adding mini chocolate chips and crushed Andes mints. The mints in it was awesome!! Considered trying creme de menthe or strawberry extract next time.

Weight Watchers Points+ = 3 for one, 4 for two! Might as well have two, right?!

Breakfasts- Refrigerator Oatmeal and Breakfast Cookies

Easy Breakfast Cookies

These are big! Almost as big as a muffin!

Ingredients-

1.5 cups of oats

2-3 super ripened bananas

1 cup of unsweetened applesauce

handful of craisins to taste

cinnamon

Pretty much just throw everything together, mix it up pretty well, throw it on a baking sheet at 350 for about 35 minutes.

1 cookie equaled 1 weight watcher's point + (And the cookies are BIG!)

Pretty tasty but gooey. Possibly add more oats or some flour next time? Kept them in  the fridge since they weren't really "set."

***Made them again and used only 1 banana and a 1/2 cup of applesauce- much better consistancy!

Refrigerator Oatmeal

Also tried some Refrigerator Oatmeal. Tasty,  but a little weird. The chia was crunchy and it was a bit unsettling to eat cold, thick oatmeal.

Dave tried the cocoa banana and I had the apple cinnamon- both were 4 pts (we substituted Splenda brown  sugar for the honey).

Oven "Fried" Pickles

Last night, Tuesday, we had Adolph burgers (yum, yum!) with "Grandma and Papa." Nothing real "light" about them, but I did make a lightened version of onr of my faves- fried pickles- to go along with them.

The recipe came from Skinnytaste- "Oven Fried Pickles" I pretty much followed the recipe for the pickles except that I cut my own slices from whole dills and used an egg plus some egg beater instead of egg white. I cut about five big dills, which gave me 50-some quarter-plus size slices, and left me with about half the batter left over.... not sure how big their slices were!

Instead of the ranch sauce, I made the Texas Roadhouse pickle dipping sauce from Food Network since we knew we liked it. Easy sauce, too:

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon drained horseradish

2 teaspoons ketchup

1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

Pretty good for baked! Breading even stayed on fairly well.

Points value is estimated because the sauce was substituted and I had so much breading left over. Website says 6 slices with sauce = 3 pts. We guessed 10 slices with sauce = 3 pts.

Thai Steak Salad

Tonight, Wednesday, we made a version of Cooking Light's Thai Steak Salad. We got the recipe from the June 2012 edition, page 20.

Our Version. Looks yummy, huh??

Weight Watcher Points+: 6
(5 for 3 oz steak & 1 for 1/2 Tbsp Splenda brown sugar)

We substituted:
- a bag of cole slaw veggies for cabbage and carrots
- Splenda brown sugar for the "real stuff"

We omitted:
- the bean sprouts
- mint
- cilantro
- basil

We added:
- romaine lettuce
- sweet peppers
- pea pods
- and green onions

It was very nummy and quite spicy! I take that back... it's REALLY spicy!

Why We're Doing This in the First Place

Why We're Doing This in the First Place...

Welcome! So, we decided to start a food blog for the main purpose of remembering the different recipes we've  tried! We make some "culinary masterpieces" (haha) that we think are pretty nummy, but then we forget what it was that we made and/or lose the recipe. We figured this way we have one central location to store all the things we've tried. Also, we can share some low fat / low cal recipes and our thoughts on them with our fellow light-recipe-lovin' friends. :)

So, read on to see what we've been cookin' up in the Morrison casa!