This was a perfect meal to serve for guests – tasty, elegant, refined. It was also so perfectly seasoned with the dressing, rosemary and sundried tomatoes. This is one of those recipes that will be made again and again !
Rosemary Chicken with White Beans
4 servings
380 calories per serving
1/3 c low fat Italian dressing
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 oz. each)
¼ c water
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
¼ c chopped drained sun dried tomatoes in oil
1 t rosemary leave flakes
19 oz. cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Heat dressing in skillet and cook chicken 5 minutes per side or until browned. Reduce heat to medium low and add water, carrots, celery, tomatoes and rosemary then cover and simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in beans and cover and cook 5 minutes or until beans are warm.
1 c chopped onion
1/4 c chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
7 oz. salsa verde (found in the Mexican section of your food market)
2 c shredded cooked chicken breast
1/3 c low fat cream cheese, softened
8 6 inch corn tortillas
Pam
1/4 c crumbled queso fresco (Mexican cheese) or 1/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 t chili powder
salt
4 lime wedges
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
You can either start with precooked chicken (Perdue Shortcuts work great), use leftover chicken, or boil 2 boneless skinless breasts and let cool a bit. Then shred using 2 forks. Alternately, you can just make very thin slices. Combine chicken with cream cheese. Combine onion, cilantro, garlic and salsa verde in a blender or food processor and mix well. Stir 1/2 c of the salsa mixture into the chicken mix. Keep the rest of the salsa mix to use as a topping.
Heat the tortillas for 15-30 seconds on the microwave – just enough so that they will roll easily and will not fold and break. Spoon 1/4 c worth of chicken mix down the center of each tortilla and roll up. Place seam side down in a 9×13 pan that has been sprayed with Pam.
Top the enchiladas with the remaining salsa and sprinkle with cheese and chili powder. Bake 18-22 minutes or until hot throughout. Serve with lime wedges.
And here is my first retread of the week….this salad is so spicy and so enjoyable. I have been looking forward to making it since the last time I made it back in January. But I am usually too busy testing NEW recipes and I had not gotten back to it. That is, until today. My mouth is pretty happy right now !
Hot, Hot, Hot !! But just the right amount of hot – – – almost like eating hot wings together with the celery and carrots – all in one mouthful.
Spicy Chicken Salad
2 servings
120 calories per serving
6 oz. cooked cubed chicken (Perdue Shortcuts works great here !)
3 T fat free mayonnaise
3 T chopped celery
3 T chopped carrots
1 1/2 t Frank’s Red Hot sauce
1/2 t dry ranch dressing mix
Combine the mayo, hot sauce and ranch dressing mix. Place chicken in a hot skillet and saute 3 minutes to heat up. Add chicken, celery, and carrots to sauce. Mix well and serve.
The grapes did not really ‘make’ the dish and the chicken could certainly be served on its own since the sauce was really tasty. But the grapes certainly made a more standard chicken dish into something special and definitely company worthy !
Chicken with Grapes
4 servings
229 calories per serving
2 t oil
4 5 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T flour
½ c dry white wine
¾ c chicken broth
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
¼ t rosemary flakes
2 c seedless red and green grapes, halved
3 T low fat sour cream
¼ c parsley, chopped
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Dredge the chicken in the flour and shake off any excess, but reserve it for later. Cook the chicken 3 minutes per side or until browned. Add the wine to the pan, increase heat to high and cook 2-3 minutes. Add the broth, salt, rosemary and pepper and bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Add the grapes and cover and cook another 5 -7 minutes or until grapes are tender.
Whisk sour cream and any leftover flour. Stir into the pan and cook, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes or until the broth is thickened. Plate chicken and add parsley to the sauce and then spoon it over the chicken.
Cobb Salads are one of my favorites – there are always lots of good substantial ingredients so you get filled up and the bacon flavor always permeates all the other ingredients. The goat cheese is a nice addition that you usually don’t find in a cobb salad.
Chicken Cobb Salad
3 servings
325 calories per serving
4 1/2 c shredded romaine lettuce
1 ¼ c cooked, shredded boneless skinless chicken (Perdue Shortcuts work great here)
2 hard boiled egg (yolks removed and whites chopped up)
1 tomato, chopped
2 T low fat crumbed goat cheese
2 slices turkey bacon, cooked, cooled and crumbled
½ avocado, diced
3 T chopped green onions
½ c fat free ranch dressing
Divide the lettuce on plates, arrange an even amount of each of the ingredients onto each plate and drizzle with dressing.
Roasted chicken is a bit higher in calories than chicken breast cooked without the skin, but sometimes you just gotta splurge 🙂 Even though you peel the skin off to stay at the low calorie level, because it was cooked with the skin on, it is super moist and quite tasty.
Roasted Chicken
142 calories per 3 oz. serving of white breast meat
1 Roaster chicken
Water
Salt
Pepper
Lemon Pepper
1-2 onions
Pam
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove chicken from wrappings, wash it off inside and out. If there are any packets of giblets or anything stuffed inside the chicken, be sure to remove them.
Place the chicken in a roaster pan, or a baking dish atop a rack. If you don’t have a rack or a roaster, you can just place it in a baking dish and it will do fine, the bottom will just have a bit of a different texture.
Sprinkle the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper and then stuff with the whole, peeled onions. As the chicken cooks, the onion flavor really flavors the meet nicely. Lay the chicken back down breast side up and sprinkle with salt, pepper and lemon pepper. Place ½ c water in the bottom of the pan so the chicken will ‘steam’ as it cooks. This helps keep the meat moist.
Spray one side of aluminum foil with Pam. Place this side toward the chicken and cover the pan trying not to press the foil down against the chicken – make more of a tent of the foil.
Cook chicken for the time directed on the package which will be based on the weight of the chicken. The juices should run clear when it is completely done. Chickens usually cook for 15 minutes per pound.
Let it sit a bit before carving so that the juices do not all leave the meat as you carve it.
Here are some great instructions for how to carve a chicken – it’s really not hard ! Especially if you are mainly wanting nicely sliced breast meat (and you can save the thighs, legs and other dark meat for making soup).
http://www.howcast.com/videos/8687-How-To-Carve-a-Chicken
Quick and simple to do, yet a really flavorful way to serve chicken. Serve with a salad and a small baked potato for a great meal.
Parmesan Chicken
4 servings
206 calories per serving
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 t garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
4 b/s breasts – Perdue Perfect Portion 5 oz each (150 calories each)
Mix cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Moisten chicken with water and place in baking dish. Sprinkle cheese mix evenly across chicken. Broil 6-8 minutes. Let sit a few minutes before serving.
The chicken pot pie lover in the house called this one a keeper 🙂 Using a predone crust makes this so very easy to do and the cream cheese mixed in with the gravy makes for a very tasty meal.
Chicken Pot Pie
6 servings
330 calories per serving
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
¼ c Kraft light zesty Italian dressing
1 oz. low fat cream cheese, cubed
2 T flour
½ c chicken broth
10 oz. mixed frozen vegetables, thawed
1 refrigerated pie crust
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and in a skillet cook the chicken and dressing 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and cook and stir until melted. Add flour and mix well then add broth and vegetables and simmer 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into a deep dish pie plate and place a 10 inch pie crust on top. Flute the edges and cut 4 slits in the crust for venting. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.
These took just 10 minutes to throw together and were so very good – the onion was just enough, the beans leant a great flavor as well as making the texture really nice, and the cumin and lime made for a great overall flavor. You can make these ahead and freeze them – then you have a quick nutritious microwave lunch ready in 3 minutes !
Chicken Cheese Burritos
6 servings
367 calories per serving
2 t oil
1 c diced onion
1 T minced garlic
1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 c cooked and diced chicken breast (Perdue Shortcuts work great here!)
1 T cumin
2 plum tomatoes, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, diced
1 T minced lime zest
2 T fresh lime juice
2 t oregano flakes
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
6 8 inch whole wheat tortillas (Smart Delicious 80 calorie version)
1 ½ c shredded low fat cheddar cheese
Heat oil in skillet and cook onion and garlic about 2 minutes then add beans. Mix chicken with cumin and add to onion mix. Stir in tomatoes, jalapeno, zest, juice, oregano, salt and pepper and cook until jalapenos are slightly softened, about 5 minutes then let filling cool slightly. Place tortillas on a flat surface and fill with ¾ c filling and ¼ c cheese. Fold and eat ! Here is a video that will help you learn how to roll the burrito so it does not leak.
If you are making these to freeze and eat later, make sure you let the mix cool completely before putting them together and then fold in all 4 sides and roll, securing the filling inside. Wrap each in plastic wrap and then place all the burritos in a zip loc freezer bag.
This soup is prepared a day ahead and refrigerated so that the flavors really mingle. If you want to serve the same day you make it, that works too 🙂
Chicken and Pasta Soup
6 servings
265 calories per serving
1/2 c cannellini beans
1 lb. chicken breasts, cubed
6 bay leaves
7 c water
1 onion, halved and sliced
1 carrot, sliced thinly
3 ribs celery, sliced thin
Leaves from the tops of the celery stalks
28 oz. diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
2 T minced garlic
½ t onion powder
2 t basil flakes
8 oz. FiberGourmet pasta (short alfredo, elbows or rotini)
In a soup pot combine chicken, bay leaves and water. Bring to a boil. Add onions, carrots, celery, celery leaves, tomatoes, tomato paste, onion powder, garlic and basil. Return to a boil and then lower heat and simmer 1 hour. Add beans and remove bay leaves. Refrigerate overnight. The next day heat the broth and cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and place in soup bowl and ladle soup into each bowl.
