Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Mac & Cheese!!

CREAMY BAKED MACARONI AND

 CHEESE!



Makes 8 -10 servings.




Ingredients:

16 ounces elbow macaroni (about 3 cups)

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 ½ cups milk, divided

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 lb (16-ounces) cubed (1/2 inch size) Velveeta cheese

8 ounce shredded Kraft Mild Cheddar Cheese (about 2 cups), divided

8 ounce shredded Kraft Monterrey Jack Cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:


Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. Cook macaroni in a large pot of salted boiling water until tender but not mushy, 
about 8-10 minutes. Drain well and pour into a large mixing bowl.

2. Melt on low the Velvetta Cheese and ¾ cup milk until melted (stir often)

3. Pour Melted Cheese Sauce over Pasta and Stir. Add in butter, ¾ cups milk, eggs, 1 cup shredded cheeses, salt and pepper. Mix well and transfer to a 2 quart baking dish. Pour the remaining cheese on top.

Bake until top crust is golden brown and casserole is bubbling, about 25 minutes. Serve hot .

Monday, July 29, 2013

chicken recipe


Weight Watchers Parmesan Chicken Cutlets


1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2 In resealable plastic bag, combine cheese, crumbs and all seasonings; shake well.
3 Transfer mixture to plate; dip each chicken breast in cheese mixture, turning to coat all sides.
4 Arrange on nonstick baking sheet.
5 Bake until chicken is cooked through, 20-25 minutes.

Nutritional Facts for Weight Watchers Parmesan Chicken Cutlets

Serving Size: 1 (128 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving:
Calories 178.0
Calories from Fat 45
Total Fat 5.0 g
Saturated Fat 1.8 g
Cholesterol 81.0 mg
Sodium 299.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 3.3 g
Dietary Fiber 0.3 g
Sugars 0.3 g
Protein 28.1 g



CROCKPOT CINNAMON ALMONDS!!


Great holiday gift idea!


Ingredients:


1 1/2 C. Sugar
1 1/2 C. Brown Sugar
3 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1/8 tsp. Salt
1 Egg White
2 tsp. vanilla
3 Cups Almonds
1/4 C. Water

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl, mix together sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In another medium sized bowl, whisk the egg white and vanilla until it’s a little frothy. Add almonds. Make sure the almonds are thoroughly coated in the egg white mixture. Add cinnamon mixture to the almonds and toss until coated.

Thoroughly spray with the stoneware of your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray and add the mixture of almonds and sugars.

Cook on low ( with the lid on) 3-4 hours stirring every 20 minutes. In the last hour, add the 1/4 C. of water and stir well. This ensures a crunchy yummy coating. (*make sure after you've added the water that you continue to cook the nuts for another 45 minutes to an hour.)

You have to stir really well, especially as it gets later in the cooking process.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and spread the almonds flat to cool. The almonds will be sticky at this point, so make sure you separate them a little and have no large mounds.

A Great Dessert


Turtle Cheesecake


Crust

3 cups finely chopped pecans
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cheesecake Filling

24 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 large eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Toppings

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1 11-oz bag caramel candy, unwrapped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons milk, divided



Insructions


Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Line a 13x9 pan with parchment paper, so that parchment extends over long side of pan.
In a bowl, mix crust ingredients together with a fork; press mixture onto bottom of prepared pan.
Bake crust for 20 minutes; while crust bakes, prepare filling.
Cream together cream cheese, yogurt or sour cream, sugar and vanilla.
Beat in eggs, one at a time.
After crust bakes, remove from oven and immediately sprinkle on 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Pour filling over chocolate chips and return to oven; bake for 50 minutes.
Allow cheesecake to cool for about hour, then place in refrigerator to chill overnight.
When ready to serve, remove cheesecake from pan using parchment paper and place on serving platter, then prepare toppings:
Toast pecans in oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
Unwrap caramels and place in a microwave safe bowl, along with 4 tablespoons milk.
Microwave in 30 second intervals until caramels have melted and sauce is smooth.
Pour caramel sauce over cheesecake and immediately sprinkle on toasted and chopped pecans.
Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl, along with 2 tablespoons milk, and microwave in 30 second intervals, about 2 minutes total.
Stir until smooth and drizzle over caramel-pecan topping.
Allow chocolate to set before serving.

Sticky Bun

Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring




Ingredients:


2 small tubes refrigerator buttermilk biscuits OR 1 tube Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 C. pancake syrup (any brand you like, I used Mrs. Buttersworth)
1/3 C. packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 C. chopped pecans, optional
1/4 C. chopped almonds, optional

Instructions:
Spray a fluted pan with non-stick spray. Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if desired). Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top. Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges (closely together) to form a ring. Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter and enjoy!

** I ended up using 1 1/2 tubes of the Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits (1 tube didn't seem like enough) and baked it for about 30 minutes. It needed a bit longer to bake since I used more... 

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Mini Chicken Pot Pie, So easy to make!





Chicken Pot Pie with just 4 ingredients? It couldn't

 get any easier!




Ingredients

Grands!® Chicken Pot Pie Puffs

2 cups Green Giant® frozen mixed vegetables, thawed


1 cup diced cooked chicken

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated biscuits


Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, combine vegetables, chicken and soup; mix well.
Press each biscuit into 5 1/2-inch round. Place 1 round in each of 8 greased regular-size muffin cups. Firmly press in bottom and up side, forming 3/4-inch rim. Spoon a generous 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each. Pull edges of dough over filling toward center; pleat and pinch dough gently to hold in place.
Bake at 375°F 20 to 22 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from pan.
Make the Most of This Recipe With Tips From The Pillsbury® Kitchens
Substitute 2 cups of any frozen (thawed) vegetables you have on hand, such as broccoli, corn, peas or green beans, for the mixed vegetables.
If your family loves cheese, sprinkle some shredded Cheddar cheese over each puff about 5 minutes before the end of the baking time.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole



It’s a wonderful Weight Watchers casserole recipe that is easy to prepare and very satisfying at 7 Points + per serving.

Ingredients


1 cup brown rice, uncooked
1 lb cooked skinless boneless chicken breasts, diced
2 cups fat free chicken broth
1-2 cubes chicken bouillon
16 oz frozen broccoli
8 oz frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded
1 ½ cups fat free sour cream
1 cup fat free milk
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1 tbsp light butter (I used Brummel & Brown)
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large 9” x 13” baking dish with non-fat cooking spray or an olive oil mister.
Prepare rice according to package directions, but using the chicken broth instead of water, and adding in the bouillon with the broth.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove. Blanche broccoli and mixed vegetables for just about 3 minutes. Drain and spread evenly into baking dish. Top with the cooked chicken. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, onion powder and paprika.
Top with ½ cup of the shredded cheese. Then top with the rice.
In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat. Whisk in the flour and stir until well combined. Add in milk, salt and pepper, and continue to whisk constantly, until mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat and fold in the sour cream. Pour over rice, and then sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese.
Place in oven and bake for about for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Let cool about 10 minutes before serving.

Number of servings (yield): 8

Fat: 4.5

Protein: 23

Entire recipe makes 8 servings
Serving size is about 1 ¼ cups
Each serving = 7 Points +

PER SERVING: 278 calories; 4.5g fat; 35g carbohydrates; 23g protein; 6g fiber