Chicken with Black Bean Sauce

Here is another recipe from Holly Clegg. I always like new ways to cook chicken since that seems to be all we eat here. Seriously....I'm growing feathers. This recipe was extremely easy and so good for leftovers. For some reason leftover chicken just doesn't sit well with me but this was actually good. Holly Clegg suggests eating the leftovers wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla and I can see why! We ate it over brown rice and it was yummy, yummy, yummy.

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 (16 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes, with their juice
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies, drained
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a pot coated with nonstick cooking spray, saute the onion and garlic over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the black beans, tomatoes with juice, green chilies, chili powder, cumin, and coriander. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes. In a 2 quart oblong ovenproof pan, season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Pour the black bean sauce over the chicken. Bake, covered with foil, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the chicken is cooked through.

Makes 6 to 8 servings
Calories 187; Fat 2

Chicken Mediterranean Pasta

This recipe makes a ton! It says the serving size is 6 so they must mean 6 Jonathan's!!! Taylor had soccer yesterday so I made it around 3 so it'll be ready when we got back. I think the pasta soaked up all the juices but it was still really good. Anything with capers in it is yummy to me!

Chicken Mediterranean Pasta
Holly Clegg

2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 (10 oz) can diced green chilies and tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (3 1/2 oz) bottle capers, drained
1 (2 1/4 oz) can chopped black olives, drained (I omitted these; I love them but Jon doesn't)
1 (16 oz) package linguine pasta
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup finely minced parsley

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic over medium heat until transparent, about 4 minutes. Add the basil, thyme, chilies and tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chicken. Season with the salt and pepper. Simmer slowly for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the capers and olives. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions, omitting any oil and salt. Drain and toss with the Parmesan cheese. Pour the sauce over the pasta, toss, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve immediately.

Makes 6 BIG servings

Calories 503 Fat 10.4

Mexican Cornbread

This is another crockpot recipe that I found in Fix it and Forget it Lightly. What a wonderful recipe!!!

Mexican Cornbread

1 lb extra lean ground chuck (I used turkey)
16 oz can cream style corn
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
1 cup fat free milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup low sodium taco sauce (try to make sure it's low sodium. mine wasn't and I found it a little salty.)
2 cups shredded fat free cheddar cheese
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
4 oz can diced green chilies

1. Brown ground chuck in nonstick skillet.
2. While meat is browning, combine corn, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, oil, milk, eggs, and taco sauce. Pour half of mixture into slow cooker.
3. Layer cheese, onion, garlic, green chilies, and ground beef on top of cornmeal mixture. Cover with remaining cornmeal mixture.
4. Cover. Cook on high 1 hour and on low 4 hours, or only on low 6 hours.

per serving: 360 calories, 10 gram total fat

Stew Meat

This really isn't a recipe but just something that I love, love, love to eat. My brother-in-law introduced this to me years ago and it has been a staple in my house since I've been married. I had it last night so I thought I'd share it. As you can see it's still on my mind.

All I do is cut up an onion and saute it w/ about 2 cloves of garlic. (I'm such a garlic lover! You should have seen me as a kid eating the heads of garlic that my dad used to boil with the crawfish. I would stink after b/c I always ate too much!)

After sauteing the onion and garlic I threw about a pound of stew meat in there and let it cook for about 2 hours. I use chicken broth....yes I said chicken broth b/c that's the one thing I always have on hand....to add to the pot every so often to make sure the meat doesn't burn. Plus I scrap the bottom yumminess off the pot to make the gravy.

Put that meat and gravy over some rice and you got yourself a plate full of heaven!!!!

Beef and Rice Casserole

This recipe (found in Fix it and Forget it Lightly) wasn't anything earth shattering but the main thing is that Tay loved it. I thought it was a good, kid friendly food. As some of you know, Taylor is quite a picky eater so when I find something she really likes I jump all over it. It is a crock pot recipe so it makes a lot. I actually froze quite a bit of it so we will have some on hand when I need a nice fast mean in a hurry.

Beef and Rice Casserole

1/2 lb lean ground beef (I used 1 lb)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup green bell pepper, cut finely
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
10 3/4 oz can reduced fat, low sodium cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
4 cups cooked brown rice

1. Brown ground beef, onion, garlic, green pepper, and celery in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Season with basil and oregano.
2. Combine soup and water in separate bowl.
3. Spray slow cooker with nonfat cooking spray
4. Layer 2 cups of cooked rice on bottom of slow cooker. Add half of ground beef and half of soup mixture.
5. Repeat layers.
6. Cover. Cook on low 4 hours.

Gotta sweet tooth????

This weekend we had a "start of the football season" BBQ to go to and I made two fabulous desserts....S'Mores cheesecake squares and Paula Deen's "Maggie's Decadent Brownies". I've made the cheesecake squares numerous times before so knew they would be a winner but the brownies were a new find for me. I love, love, love Paula Deen and have seen her make these brownies before. I'm not a huge brownie fan but these just looked really good so decided that I would try these one day. Y'all would be proud of me b/c I really didn't have any of the desserts at all. I did eat about a quarter of a brownie to try it since I've been wanting to bake them and let me tell you.....they are soooooo good. WOW!!! You have got to try these....especially if you are a chocolate lover. They both were a huge hit at the BBQ.

Maggie's Decadent Brownies

4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

Frosting:
4 oz (4 squares) unsweetened chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup pasteurized egg substitute (Egg Beaters)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (1 lb) box confectioners' sugar, sifted
4 cups mini marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 baking pan.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a 2 quart bowl in the microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla and mix well with a spatula. Add the flour and stir to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
3. While the brownies are baking, make the frosting. Melt the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl in the microwave on high for 3 minutes stirring every 20 to 30 seconds until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the egg substitute, vanilla, and sugar and stir with a spoon until smooth. Stir in the marshmallows; they will soften but not melt completely. Spread the frosting over the warm brownies. The frosting will set up when the brownies are completely cooled. (I actually put them in the fridge to speed up that process.) When cool, cut into 1 1/2 inch squares and store in the refrigerator in a plastic container with a snap-on lid.

S'Mores Cheesecake Squares

18 Honey Maid Honey grahams, divided
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 pkg (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
6 bars (1.55 oz each) milk chocolate candy bar, coarsely chopped, divided
1 cup mini marshmallows

1. Crush 14 of the graham crackers, measuring about 2 cups crumbs. Coarsely chop remaining 4 graham crackers; set aside.
2. Mix graham cracker crumbs, butter and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Press onto bottom of 13x9 inch baking pan.
3. Beat cream cheese, remaining 1 cup sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix until just blended. Stir in 1/2 of the chopped candy. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with remaining candy, marshmallows and chopped crackers.
4. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Cut into squares.

Sloppy Joes and Sweet Potato Chips

My good friend Jennifer shared a delicious WW sloppy joe recipe with me that is sooooo easy and soooo delicious! I was feeling the need to "cheat" and this was a good way to feel like I was cheating without actually doing it. I also made some "Sweet Potato Chips" to go along with it. Jon said it tasted the same as a baked sweet potato and wasn't anything special but it was just something different to try.

Sloppy Joes

2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion chopped
2 medium celery stalks chopped
1 medium bell pepper chopped
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
20 oz canned crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
1/4 ketchup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
8 medium mixed grain hamburger rolls

1. Heat oil in large nonstick saucepan over medium high heat.
2. Add onion, celery, bell pepper and saute until tender, 3 minutes. Add turkey and saute until browned, breaking meats as it cooks, 5 minutes. Add chili powder, basil, salt, pepper, and cayenne, stir to coat. Add crushed tomatoes, ketchup and mustard. mix well
3. bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover and simmer stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.
4. Stir in corn and simmer 2 minutes to heat through. Spoon mixture onto rolls and serve hot.

5 points and YUMMY! Makes 8 servings

Sweet Potato Chips

1 lb sweet potatoes (about 2 large), peeled and very thinly sliced
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt

1. In a medium bowl, combine the potatoes, sugar, 1/4 tsp of the salt, and cold water to cover. Soak 30 minutes; drain and blot dry.
2. Preheat the oven to 350; spray 2 nonstick baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Place the potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheets. Bake, turning the potatoes over frequently so that they color and crisp evenly, 35-40 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt.

Per serving (1/4 of chips): 118 cal, 0 g fat, 3 g fiber. Points: 2