Try serving with some celery and carrot stix on the side. If you use 45 calorie per slice bread, you can really BEEF up on the beef 😉
Cheesesteak
1 serving
320 calories per serving
6 slices shaved and lean deli roast beef
2 rings green bell pepper
2 slices FF Kraft singles
2 slices Marble Rye or bread of your choice (no more than 100 calories per slice)
Pam
ICBINB Spray
Make sandwiches. Spray skillet with Pam and heat. Spray outside of each slice of bread with 5 spritzes of ICBINB Spray. Grill 3 minutes each side.
It doesn’t get much simpler and this is one of those recipes that is really versatile – use any canned fruit or even some apples and you get a great warm, homey dessert in no time.
Fruit Crisp
6 servings
280 calories per serving
2 15 oz. cans peaches in juice, drained
5 graham crackers, coarsely crushed (1 c)
1/3 c flour
3 T brown sugar
½ t cinnamon
¼ c cold margarine or butter, cut up into pieces
2 c low fat vanilla yogurt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spread peaches in a 8 inch square baking dish. Mix crumbs, flour, sugar, cinnamon and then using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the mix is the consistency of coarse crumbs then sprinkle them over the peaches and bake 25-30 minutes then cool slightly and serve with yogurt.
Even my young teenage nephew liked this one ! So it’s kid approved 🙂 Lotsa flavor, lotsa veggies, and a great side to just about anything.
Corn Salad
7 servings
140 calories per serving
Dressing:
¼ c oil
1 T chopped parsley
3 T rice vinegar
1 T soy sauce
½ t crushed red pepper
Salad:
1 lb. frozen corn
¼ c shredded carrots
¼ c sliced radishes
¼ c sliced green onions (green part only)
Combine all dressing ingredients and refrigerate. Bring a pan of water to a boil and cook corn 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool then pat dry and add to all the rest of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours so flavors mix.
I bet this gets your kids eating their green beans ! And maybe even asking for more 🙂 Cheese, sauce, stuffing – what’s not to like?!?!
Cheesy Green Bean Casserole
14 servings
157 calories per serving
2 16 oz. packages frozen French cut green beans, thawed
1 can low fat cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. Velveeta, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 1/2 c hot water
1/4 c butter
8 oz. stuffing mix (I like Stove Top)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix beans and soup and place in a baking dish then top with cheese. Mix water and butter and melt butter all the way. Stir into stuffing and then spoon that over the casserole. Bake 40 minutes.
The apples added to the stuffing make all the difference in this meal – it is special and memorable ! Try serving with Buttery Carrots.
Pork Chops and Apple Stuffing
6 servings
290 calories per serving
6 boneless pork chops, about 1 1/2 lb.
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 T oil
2 medium apples, thinly sliced
1 1/2 c water
6 oz. Stove Top stuffing
Heat oil in skillet and cook onion 3 minutes then add pork and cook 4 minutes per side or until done. Move meat to a plate and keep warm. Add apples and water and bring to a boil and then stir in stuffing and place on top. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.
These are such a hit and it’s no wonder why ! The pastry filled with strawberries and cream is perfect – then you add some drizzled chocolate and you have a heavenly dessert.
Strawberry Tarts
152 calories per serving
24 servings
1 box (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
24 large strawberries, sliced
1 8 oz. container Light Cool Whip
Chocolate Syrup
Pam
Preheat oven to 450 degrees (or the temperature your puff pastry box instructs). Spray a baking sheet with Pam. Unfold each pastry sheet and cut into 12 pieces (making a total of 24 pieces). Bake 15 minutes or according to package instructions. Let cool and then gently split each in half so you can make a ‘sandwich’. Spread 2 T of Cool Whip in each, then top with 1 sliced strawberry. Close up the ‘sandwich’. Make all sandwiches and then drizzle each with 2 t of chocolate syrup.
This recipe calls for cashews, but that raises the calorie count quite a bit, so depending on what I am serving on the side, sometimes I just leave off the nuts. Try serving next to a side of brown rice or some Homemade Flat Beads. Your family will love the fantastic authentic Asian flavors !
Ginger Shrimp and Broccoli
6 servings
270 calories per serving
1 lb. raw, cleaned, peeled medium shrimp
1 T minced peeled ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c light teriyaki sauce
¼ c chicken broth
¼ t crushed red pepper
¼ t garlic powder
2 t oil
4 c broccoli florets
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 c cashew halves
Pam
Mix shrimp with ginger and garlic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cook veggies in oil with red pepper and garlic powder. Stir fry for 5 minutes them remove from pan and keep warm. Combine teriyaki and broth. Spray skillet with Pam and cook shrimp 5 minutes or until they turn pink. Add in the teriyaki mix and the reserved veggies. Cook 2-3 minutes. Just before serving, mix in nuts.
Nothing is better in winter than a pot of beef stew. And when you make it in the crock pot, the meat is so super tender. This one is a little more work than your typical crock pot recipe since different things have to happen at different times. But it is well worth it – the meat is super tender and the flavor is just great.
Crock Pot Beef Stew
8 servings
240 calories per serving
1 ½ lb. boneless chuck roast (trim off any fat)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
½ t pepper
6 c water
2 c red potatoes, cubed
8 carrots, cut into chunks
1 c frozen peas, thawed
1 c frozen corn, thawed
5 T cornstarch
6 T water
Put beef in crock and sprinkle with soup mix and pepper. Pour water around meat and cover. Cook on high 5 hours. Remove meat and cut into cubes. Return to crock with veggies and cook on low 2 hours or until veggies are soft. Combine cornstarch and cold water and then stir into crock. Cover and cook on low one more hour. If the gravy does not thicken up enough, you can take a bunch of the liquid and add another cornstarch mix, bring to a boil and then simmer 2 minutes. That will get it nice and thick. Then just add back to the stew pot and serve immediately.
I recently got a Zoku Quick Pop Maker. BEST THING EVER ! I love making pops but hate the wait time. Now I have ‘em in 7-9 minutes 🙂 This is one of the recipes I pulled from the Zoku book – of course, I’ve tweaked many of the recipes to suit my own tastes, bring down calories, and to get creative with the pops, but some are in their original goodness.
You can make any of these recipes in traditional pop makers – each pop here is 2 oz. so adjust accordingly. And if you love pops like me, then do yourself a favor and get a Zoku 🙂
Fudge Pops with Bananas
6 servings
132 calories per serving
1 c water
2 1/3 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli bittersweet morsels)
1/3 c sugar
1 pinch salt
1/3 c skim milk
1 T fat free half and half
½ c very thin banana slices
In a saucepan whisk chocolate, sugar, water and salt and cook until completely melted, about 5 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes in the fridge and then whisk in the milk and half and half. Then return to the fridge and cool completely (about ½ hour).
Working in 2 batches – Place bananas on the sides of the maker molds then pour in the mix. In 7-9 minutes you’ll have creamy, fudgy goodness with a bit of banana thrown in for interest 🙂
If you are using traditional molds, you can suspend the bananas by filling the molds half way, freezing a bit, then adding the bananas and the rest of the mix. Or you can just let the drop to the bottom – it will still taste dandy ! Freeze 6 hours.
This is a perfect meal ! Chicken done so simply turns out the most savory, delicious cutlets. And the lemony salad on the side just bursts with flavor. Simple, simple, simple – but such a great meal !
Chicken Cutlets and Bean Salad
4 servings
395 calories per serving
½ pound wax beans, sliced lengthwise (or green beans if you can’t find wax beans)
15.5 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ c lemon juice
3 T oil
Kosher salt to taste
Pepper to taste
4 boneless skinless chicken cutlets, 3 oz. each
5 oz. baby spinach leaves or baby arugula or other mixed greens
Pam
Mix beans, chickpeas, 3 T lemon juice, 2 T oil, salt and pepper. Spray a skillet with Pam and cook chicken with salt and pepper 3 minutes per side or until done. Mix spinach with 1 T oil and 1 T lemon juice then season with salt and pepper. Serve bean salad on top of spinach. Plate chicken and serve.
