Tag Archives: celery

Chicken and Sausage

January 16, 2011 admin Leave a comment

The flavors in this dish remind me of a chicken and sausage casserole that my Mom used to make in the winters. This is a very filling meal – real comfort food ! 🙂

4 servings
360 calories per serving

2 t oil
½ pound turkey sausage, casing removed and crumbled up
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (10 oz. total)
Kosher salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 onion, diced
1 lb. potatoes, quartered
3 ribs celery cut into 1 inch pieces
1 c chicken broth
2 T red vinegar
1 T chopped parsley

In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat oil then add sausage and cook 5 minutes. Remove to plate. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pan and cook until golden, about 6 minutes, flipping half way through. Move to plate. Add onion and celery and cook 5 minutes, then add potatoes and season with salt and pepper and cook 15 minutes. Add sausage back to pot and then chicken and broth. Bring to a boil them cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are done. Take off the lid and bring back to a boil and cook until liquid equals only ½ c. Place chicken on a platter and add vinegar and parsley to pot and stir. Then add the rest to the platter with a slotted spoon.

Dinner, Pork

Ham and Barley Bake

December 29, 2010 admin Leave a comment

There is something so homey about this dish. It is savory, filling, and sooooo does not say ‘diet’ – – it makes a fantastic dish to serve guests.

8 servings
222 calories per serving

1 T buttery spread
1 c uncooked barley
1 c chopped carrots
4 scallions, sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. cooked smoked ham, cubed
2 t basil flakes
1 t oregano flakes
¼ t pepper
28 oz. beef broth
½ lb. fresh green beans cut into 1 inch pieces
Pam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with Pam. Melt buttery spread in a skillet on medium high and add barley, carrots, onions, celery and garlic and cook 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in ham, basil, oregano and pepper and then pour into the baking dish. Bring broth to a boil in a saucepan and then pour over ham mix. Cover tightly with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven, stir in beans, recover, and bake another 30 minutes or until barley is tender.

Chicken, Crock pot, Dinner, Kid Friendly

Chicken and Dumplings (Crock Pot)

December 15, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This recipe confirmed all my earlier suspicions – – I REALLY REALLY don’t like dumplings ! heheheh But I know there are lotsa people out there who do and my husband (who is a bona fide dumpling lover) said these were quite tasty !

8 servings
400 calories per serving

Soup:
4 c cubed cooked chicken (Perdue Shortcuts work great here!)
6 c fat free chicken broth
1 T parsley, chopped
1 c onion, chopped
1 c celery, chopped
6 c diced potatoes
1 c green beans
1 c carrots, sliced

Dumplings:
1 c white flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 t salt
4 t baking powder
1 egg, beaten
2 T oil
2/3 c skim milk

Combine all soup ingredients in crock. Cover and cook 4-6 hours. Transfer to a large soup pot with a lid and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer. To make the dumplings, mix flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl mix egg, oil and milk and then add to flour mixture. Drop by large tablespoonfuls on top of the simmering broth until the surface is covered. Cover and simmer 18 minutes.

Chicken, Kid Friendly, Lunch, Soups

Creamy Chicken Rice Soup

November 12, 2010 admin Leave a comment

The broth for this soup is just perfect – it is satisfyingly creamy without being too much. The veggies are just enough. And the rice makes it really stick with you. It is a great lunch soup and reheats well. Be sure to not skip the wine and lemon juice – just the little bits make a big difference in the taste of the broth !

6 servings
218 calories per serving

½ c chopped carrot
1/3 c finely chopped onion
1/3 c chopped celery
2 T butter
¼ c flour
6 c chicken broth
2 c cooked rice
1 c cubed cooked chicken
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
1/8 t garlic powder
1 c 2 % milk
2 T lemon juice
1 T white wine

Saute the carrot, onion and celery in the butter until tender then mix in flour and gradually stir in the broth. Mix in rice, chicken, salt, pepper and garlic powder and bring to a boil the reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the milk, lemon juice and wine and cook 5 minutes or until heated through.

Chicken, Lunch, Sandwiches

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

November 4, 2010 admin 2 Comments

User Perdue Shortcuts and you can be out of the kitchen in 10 minutes making these wraps. They make a great lunch and even a great lite dinner.

4 servings
360 calorie per serving

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves cut into strips (Perdue Shortcuts work great here !)
¼ t salt
1 T hot pepper sauce
½ c finely chopped celery
½ c crumbled blue cheese
½ c fat free blue cheese or ranch dressing
4 10 inch fat free tortillas
1 1/3 c shredded lettuce
¼ c shredded carrot
Pam

Mix chicken salt and pepper sauce. Spray a skillet with Pam and cook chicken 4-5 minutes or until done (or just a minute or 2 to warm up if using pre cooked chicken). Combine celery, cheese and dressing. Spoon celery mix into wraps then chicken and top with lettuce and carrot. Fold up and serve.

Chicken, Crock pot, Dinner, Kid Friendly

Chicken and Veggies (Crock Pot)

October 19, 2010 admin 1 Comment

New chicken recipes for the crock are always welcome in my house ! I love to be able to put a meal together and then walk away and have it ready to eat hours later. This one has all the flavor of a nice chicken soup, but has a thick sauce and is more like a chicken stew. As with any crock recipe, if you like you meat browned (which the crock will not do), either pre-sear it, or at the end place under a hot broiler for just a few minutes.

4 servings
190 calories per serving

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 c potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 carrots, cut in small pieces
½ onion, chopped small
1 rib celery, chopped
½ c frozen lima beans
¾ c water
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
¼ t onion powder
¼ t garlic powder
½ t basil flakes
½ can low fat cream of chicken soup

Place chicken in crock and add vegetables, water, salt, pepper and other spices. Pour soup over the veggies. Cover and cook on high 4 hours.

Lunch, Salads, Vegetables

Chopped Salad

September 17, 2010 admin Leave a comment

The idea of a chopped salad is to get all the ingredients chopped uniformly and small – otherwise, it is just not a chopped salad ! And to me, prepping things in this fashion DOES make a difference in the flavor of the salad. There is something about getting a bunch of the ingredients in your mouth at the same time – it just makes for a flavor explosion !

6 servings
200 calories per serving

1/2 c white balsamic vinegar
3 stalks celery, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 large peach, diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
2 c coarsely chopped arugula or spring mix or any other crisp greens
1 c thinly sliced napa cabbage
3 T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 oz. crumbed low fat goat cheese
½ c slivered almonds or pine nuts, toasted
1 large hard boiled egg, sliced
Smoked paprika

Mix together all the veggies with oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and then add in cheese and almonds. Top with eggs and sprinkle with paprika.

To toast the almonds, simply place in a hot skillet and sauté until toasty and starting to brown.

Dinner

Rice and Sausage

September 16, 2010 admin Leave a comment

What a great quick and easy meal for a weeknight ! It’s kinda like having sausage and peppers over rice – definitely a great flavor !

4 servings
397 calories per serving

Pam
10 oz. low fat andouille sausage or kielbasa, cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 c cooked brown rice

Heat skillet and spray with Pam and cook sausage until crispy, about 10 minutes. Add onion, garlic, red pepper, celery, salt and pepper and cook 8-10 minutes then add tomatoes and cook another 4 minutes. Serve with brown rice.

Dinner, Kid Friendly, Sides

Rice and Veggies

September 9, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Since your carbs and veggies are together in one dish, this recipe is a great side dish to complete a fish or chicken dish. It has just the right amount of veggies and a lovely mild flavor.

6 servings
147 calories per serving

1 T oil
1 c chopped onion
½ c chopped carrots
1/2 c chopped celery
½ c chopped red peppers
14.5 oz. chicken broth
1 ½ c Minute white rice, raw
1 c frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in skillet and sauté onions, carrots, celery, peppers, salt and pepper for 7 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil and stir in the rice and peas. Cover and simmer 5 minutes then remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes so liquid is absorbed.

Chicken, Dinner

Curry Chicken

June 29, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This steamy Indian inspired dish has just the right amount of curry. Pair it up with a vegetable side dish such as Ginger Steamed Carrots.

3 servings
190 calories per serving

3/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken cut into cubes
2 t oil
1/2 c onion, chopped
1/4 c celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T wheat flour
1 c chicken broth
1/2 c canned diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1-2 t curry powder
¼ – 1/2 t cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 c chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Add salt and pepper to chicken cubes. Put 1 t oil in skillet and cook chicken 4-6 minutes or until browned. Lower the heat and cook 4 more minutes then remove from pan. Heat pan to medium and add oil, onion, celery and garlic. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in flour and add broth and cook 5 minutes or until thickened up. Stir in tomatoes, Worcestershire, curry and cayenne. Add chicken back to skillet along with salt and pepper and simmer 3 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with cilantro.