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.
These were just fabulous ! The big cheese flavor makes you forget that you have a zucchini under there instead of a crust. And using tomato paste instead of sauce really makes for a rich flavor. You get a whole zucchini’s worth for just 90 calories !!
3 medium zucchinis each sliced into 12 pieces
6 oz. can tomato paste
36 thin slices 1 inch square part skim mozzarella cheese
1/3 c parmesan cheese
Mixed Italian herbs (oregano, basil, parsley)
Preheat broiler. Parboil zucchini slices 1-2 minutes and then drain on paper towels. Place on a baking sheet and top each piece with 1 t tomato paste and one slice cheese. Then top with ½ t parmesan and herbs. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
A classic combination with just a little twist – the apples in the stuffing add a bit more overall crunch to the dish making this a definite keeper recipe. Make sure you use pork chops that are on the thicker side so they don’t dry out.
Pork Chops with Apple Stuffing
6 servings
370 calories per serving
6 boneless pork chops (about 4 oz. each)
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
1 T oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and coarsely chopped
14.5 oz. chicken broth
1 can low fat cream of celery soup
¼ c white cooking wine
6 c herb seasoned stuffing cubes
Pam
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 13×9 baking dish with Pam. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper and cook in oil in a heated skillet. Brown pork about 3 minutes per side and remove from pan. Add onion and celery to skillet and cook 3 minutes. Add apples and cook another minute. Add broth, soup and wine and stir well then bring to a simmer and remove from heat and stir in stuffing cubes. Pour stuffing into baking dish and then place pork chops on top. Cover tightly with foil and bake 40 minutes or until pork is done.
Wow – this is a great filling meal for only 220 calories and if you have a low cal side dish, you can up the amount of shells you eat and still stay under 400 calories. The mushrooms and spinach really bulk up the meal and you feel like you are cheating, but you’re not 🙂
Stuffed Shells Florentine
8 servings
220 calories per serving
1 c coarsely chopped mushrooms
½ c chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
½ t garlic powder
½ t onion powder
½ t parsley flakes
¼ t pepper
¼ t salt
16 oz. fat free cottage cheese
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
½ c Egg Beaters
24 jumbo shells
15 oz. marinara sauce
Pam
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Saute mushrooms, garlic, onion, and seasonings in a skillet sprayed with Pam. Remove from heat and stir in cottage cheese, spinach and eggs. Spoon the mix into the shells. Spread ½ c of sauce into the bottom of a 13×9 baking dish and place the shells in the dish. Top with the rest of the sauce and bake 35-40 minutes. You can make these well ahead and keep refrigerated and then just slip into the oven 40 minutes before it’s time to eat – that makes it a great convenient meal and a great one for entertaining.
I usually have couscous heated but this salad is served cooled or chilled and it is a new and different flavor experience. Couscous is just a tiny pasta, almost like pastina. And you can find it boxed and usually in with the rices and rice mixes at your grocery store. Give it a try for something different !
(I just noticed that with all my couscous recipes, I photograph it in the same dish…what’s with that? hehehe I guess it’s THE couscous star.)
Couscous Salad
4 servings
131 calories per serving
1/2 c whole wheat couscous
1/2 c boiling water
1 c canned diced tomatoes
1/2 c diced English cucumber
1 T fresh oregano, chopped
1 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 T fresh basil, chopped
2 T red wine vinegar
4 t extra virgin olive oil
1/4 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground pepper
Combine couscous and water in large mixing bowl and let sit until water is absorbed. Mix together vinegar, salt and pepper and oil. When couscous is cool, fluff with a fork and add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Serve as is or chill for a bit before serving.
French toast with a peanut butter and jam filling – yummy ! You only get ½ of the sandwich for 236 calories, but this is a filling, sweet, satisfying dish and even at half a sandwich, you and your taste buds will be happy 🙂
Elvis' French Toast
6 servings
236 calories per serving
¼ c preserves
6 slices whole wheat bread
¼ c creamy peanut butter
½ c Egg Beaters
¼ c skim milk
Pam
1 large banana, sliced
1 T honey
1 T orange juice
1 T dry roasted peanuts, chopped
Spread preserves over 3 bread slices and peanut butter over the other 3 slices and make sandwiches. Cut the sandwiches diagonally and dip in a mix of milk and eggs. Spray skillet with Pam and on medium high heat cook the sandwiches 2 minutes or so per side. Combine banana slices, honey, juice and peanuts. Plate sandwiches and top with the banana mixture.
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.
Stuffed mushrooms usually come in 2 varieties, those stuffed a sausage or bacon mix and those stuffed with a chopped mushroom stem mix (usually including cheese). These stuffed mushrooms are a great third variety packed with flavor and an unexpected ingredient…carrot. The carrot and cream cheese mix together perfectly and make for a nice low cal appetizer. At only 54 calories for 6 mushrooms – – eat up !
Stuffed Mushrooms
4 servings
54 calories per serving
24 fresh mushrooms
1 grated carrot
3 oz. fat free cream cheese, softened
2 T chopped fresh chives
1 t dried minced onion
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat broiler. Discard mushroom caps. Combine cream cheese, chives, onion and mix well then stuff each cap and place on an ungreased sheet , sprinkle with salt and pepper, and broil 8 minutes or until done.
The avocado is unexpected and that makes it twice as good ! Mixed with the lemon and yogurt, this makes a very light yet creamy dressing.
Mixed Greens with Avocado Dressing
4 servings
106 calories per serving
1 avocado, cut into chunks
¼ c plain low fat yogurt
½ t grated lemon zest
1 T lemon juice
1 T water
½ t salt
4 c sliced romaine lettuce
4 c watercress or endive
In a blender mix the avocado chunks, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and 1 T water until smooth. Put dressing in a bowl and add greens and mix well.
