Soups for the season!

So many of you soups are comforting and filling but did you know that most are calorie friendly as well!

I have included a couple of favorites for the season as well as some new ones!

Minestrone with Squash and Pork Sausage
Aldis's Pork and Apple Sausages, 3 Sausages                            
Squash - Butternut, cooked, baked, without salt, 2.5 cup, cubes                            
Potatoes - Russet, flesh and skin, baked, 3 potato large (3" to 4-1/4" dia)                            
Onions - Raw, 1 medium (2-1/2" dia)                            
Garlic - Raw, 2 clove                            
Centrella - Dark Red Kidney Beans, 1 container (1 4/5 cup (130 g) ea.)                            
Fit & Active (Aldi) - Chicken Broth, 1 container (4 cups ea.)                            
Spices - Sage, Fresh, 0.7 g (2 tsp)             

Dice the sausage and the potatoes and add with all of the ingredients into the crock pot (or pot) and cook on low for 6 hours, or in a pot for an hour.  I serve this with a crusty loaf of bread.  This makes 8 decent size bowls and it is has 246 calories 4     grams of fat 10 grams of protein 6 grams of fiber 468 sodium 43 carbs       
My Hubby's Favorite~ Split Pea Soup!
INGREDIENTS

    16 oz split peas
    1 c diced ham
    1 c diced carrots
    1 medium onion diced
    1 stalk celery diced
    2 garlic cloves
    2 bay leaves
    1/2 tbsp splenda brown sugar, brown sugar or agave nectar
    5 cups of reduced or no sodium chicken broth or water

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Add everything to a crock pot first thing in the morning starting with the split peas.  Cook all day on low for about 8 hours and it’s done by dinner.
2.  Remove the bay leaves before serving and enjoy!

Lasagna Soup-My kids favorite!
Number of servings
Serves 8 people
Ingredients
   
Medium - Yellow Onion, 1 medium
Italian Sausage- Mild, 3 Link( you can also use Mild Turkey Sausage, depending on your budget!)
Diced Tomatoes (Canned), 1 container (2 cups ea.)
Fit & Active - Beef Broth 99% Fat Free, 1 container (2 cups ea.)
Dark Brown Cane Sugar, 1 Tablespoon
Rigatoni, 8 oz dry( half of the box)
Grated Parmesan Cheese, 12 tsp(1/4 cup)
Shredded Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, 1 1/2 cup
Garlic and Herb Spaghetti Sauce, 1 cup
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Start by taking the casing from the links and brown, chop onion and add to the meat while browning.  I try to make this a one pot meal and add the rest of the indigents except the pasta. After brining to a boil, add pasta and continue to stair for 20 minutes.

Per Serving: cal 325 carbs 31 fat 15 Protein 17 Fiber 3  *without cheese Per Serving: cal 246 carbs 30 fat 10 Protein 11 Fiber 3
WW Points 8 (if you subtract the cheese though it is only 6+ points)

Ravioli and Vegetable Stew
Ingredients

  
    2 cups bell peppers ( I use 1 red and one green)
    1 medium onion finally diced
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste (optional)
    1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
    1 15-ounce can vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
    1 1/2 cups hot water
    1 teaspoon dried basil
    1 6- to 9-ounce package fresh or frozen cheese (or meat) ravioli, preferably whole-wheat
    2 cups diced zucchini, (about 2 medium)( you can replace this with any winter   squash)
    Freshly ground pepper to taste


Preparation

   In a large sauce pan add pepper-onion mix with cooking spray, garlic and crushed red pepper (if using) and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, broth, water and basil  bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Add ravioli and cook for 3 minutes less than the package directions. Add zucchini; return to a boil. Cook until the zucchini is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Season with pepper.  ~This is also crock pot friendly but cook on low without ravioli until 1 hour before serving~


Nutrition

Per serving: 264 calories; 9 g fat ( 3 g sat , 3 g mono ); 28 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbohydrates; 11 g protein; 8 g fiber; 763 mg sodium; 762 mg potassium.

The Adventure Continues(life and food and all that jazz!)

So as many of you know going to school is a challenge with 2 small children and a hubby whose work schedule is crazy!  I have been packing 4 lunches 3 days a week and 2 on the other 2 week days.  One of those lunches is for me, and well I have to say after only a measly 2 weeks stint I am SICK of Wonderbread Smart Wheat (which I really like compared to most low calorie breads...and I have been so so sick of the 'thins"), with lunch meat and mustard!  SO I am trying to spice it up!  I would love to take a salad but really my lunch tote is small ( as of  now though I just ordered one from 31...can't wait to get it!) so what are the other options.  Then a good old favorite came to mind..Tuna fish, in fact canned tuna...the standard with pickle relish and light MW, and mustard...but then I am so sick of that...for any of you who occasionally peek at my food diary on My Fitness Pal you may have seen that Tuna was my go to for a while. So I thought I would try something new...I chopped up a half of an apple and added 1/8 cup of silvered almonds and tested before I added an dressing and surprisingly I love it!  I can hardly wait to eat lunch tomorrow.
    Another successful adventure comes from the "Meatloaf Mishap".  Now while I will tell you that for ground turkey meatloaf my Turkey Cheesy Meatloaf (from this weeks menu!)was a success...my children would beg to differ they both even refused to try it..I am not sure if it was the shape or the look but no go...oh well, the hubby and I enjoyed it!   But I couldn't figure out what to do with the left overs, the hubby who is not keen on eating the same dinner 2 nights in a row and the children who refused it the 1st time....well my meatloaf had a makeover...( I had more than half the loaf left)


I added 11/2 cups of water
1 tablespoon chili powder( which was a little too much..think next time 2 teaspoons will do!)
1 tsp of cumin
2 cloves of garlic
1/8 cup of chopped cilantro


This made really great taco meat and the kids asked for 2nds!

Here I go Again!

So with the new school year up and going I found myself stressed exhausted not eating like I want to be and sick of the old family favorites!.  So it is back to Menu Planning.  Progress with my weight loss has slowed down the closer I get to my goal I sit steadily at 147.  I can hardly wait to see 136 on the scale but I am willing to be patient as the remainder of my body changes.  So here is the plan for dinners for the Week of August 29th-September 1st( we are leaving to go camping on the 2nd so these will be planned the Thursday before!)  You might also see a theme in my meal planning we are trying to eat on a budget, so a little more ground turkey and a little less beef.

Monday August 29th ( Happy Birthday Momma)

Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf( Gluten free!)

baked potatoes

sweet peas

Ingredients
1 pound of ground turkey ( we are using the 85/15 from Alid's)
1 cup of baby carrots
1 medium onion
1 cup of oats
3 egg whites ( or 2 eggs or EnerG egg replacer)
1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning
1 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
1 cup of colby blend shredded cheese
1/2 cup of ketchup

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.	Dice the carrots and onion finely ( I use a food processor), soften these in a pan.  Set aside and allow them to cool.  Take the oats and milk and mix and let soak for approx. 10 minutes.In a bowl, mix the turkey, milk, oats, and eggs by hand. Season. Fold the cheese  into the mixture. Transfer to a loaf pan, and top with ketchup.
3.	Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). makes 6 servings Per Serving: calories 302 Fat18 Protein18 Fiber 3 Sodium619

Tuesday August 30th

Turkey Spaghetti and Bread sticks

Ingredients

Aldi's - Kirkwood - Pure Ground Turkey, 1 container (16 oz ea.)
Carrots - Raw, 2 medium
Onions - Raw, 1 medium (2-1/2" dia)
Aldi Mama Cozzi - Traditional Spaghetti Sauce-True Values, 1 container (3 cups ea.)
Garlic - Raw, 3 clove
Spices - Oregano, dried, 3 tsp, leaves
Fit & Active - Fat Free Chicken Broth, 0.5 cup

Directions
1. First take the ground turkey and brown and drain.  Then add finely diced carrots and onions, cook until soften thoroughly, add seasoning and garlic.  Cook for approx 5 minutes or until the garlic is soft, then add the chicken broth. Add one jar of sauce.
2.  Serve over whole wheat spaghetti or spaghetti squash.
This makes 8 servings

Per Serving:(with the pasta) Calories

193

Fat 10

Protein 11

Fiber 2

Sodium 517

Wednesday Night 

Leftovers!

Thursday

Turkey Salisbury Steaks

Mashed Potatoes

Corn

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1pound of ground turkey
• 1 envelope dry onion soup mix, divided
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten( or egg substitute)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 can sliced mushrooms, drained (4 ounces)

Preparation:

Gently but thoroughly mix turkey 3 tablespoons of soup mix, crumbs, milk, and egg. Shape into 4 patties. Brown patties in skillet,  pour off excess fat. Add remaining onion soup mix ; gradually stir in water and mushrooms. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.(You may need to add flour or cornstarch to thicken I will choose corn starch to make this Gluten Free)
This makes 4 servings

Per Serving:

Calories 302

Fat 18

Protein 18

Fiber 3

Sodium 619

Friday, Saturday and Sunday Camping!

Monday night's makoever makes a little change for Wednesday night

So I wanted to let you all know that since it was just my little one and I home Monday night for dinner I changed things up we had Wednesday Hungry Girl's Corndog Millionaire Muffins...but I edited the recipe yet again to make it completely dairy free!  And Jenna and I thought these were fun and would make great appetizers, and fun party food, but it will not be on my dinner list again it just wasn't dinner food for us.

 Hungry Girl's Corndog Millionaire Muffins

(with I am too lazy for all that measuring twist!)

These are great and super quick! Mine has a tad more calories in it, but takes much less time since I don't have to measure as much, and time in a commodity for this mommy, wife, student, and nurse's assistant!  This makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients
Jiffy - Corn Muffin Mix (Only Mix), 1 container (1 1/2 cups ea.) Hebrew National (Kosher) - 97% Fat Free Beef Franks, 1 container (7 frank (49g) ea.) Corn - Sweet, white, canned, cream style, regular pack, 1 can (303 x 406) Ener g - Egg Replacer, 3 teaspoon(mixed with 4 tablespoons cold water) Total: 1547 250 75 3 54 Per Serving: 129 21 6 0 5

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl mix together corn bread mix, egg substitute,  and corn.
Cut 2 hot dogs in half, leaving you with 4 cocktail-sized franks. Cut each of the halves into 6 pieces, leaving you with 24 "coins." Set aside. (You'll use these to top the muffins.)
Chop the remaining hot dogs into very small pieces. Add those to the large bowl, and stir until they are integrated into the batter.
Line muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute batter among the 12 cups. Top each muffin with 3 of the hot dog "coins."
Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool and then enjoy!

Back again and well just as good maybe even better!

So as you may have noticed the menu planning took a backseat in the last few months, but then I caught myself with bad habits again, like just picking up dinner, or get prepared meals, and hey I miss cooking, but without preparing an organized list and plan, grocery shopping is sloppy random and really doesn't produce anything I really wanted to eat.  So here it is -the plan!  Our menu for next week, grocery shopping day is tomorrow and I am stoked to know that my time will be quick and I will leave with a car full of things that I can actually put together!

I am also taking requests for menu makeover items...feel free to shoot me an email or post a comment! 

6/6/2011-6/12/2011

Monday -King Ranch Chicken

This is actually a family friends favorite, and this makeover of this dish sounds yum!( This has been further made over for our family allergy needs!)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups fat free chicken broth
• 1 ½ cups almond milk
• 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• ½ of 4-ounce can chopped green chiles, drained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, or parsley
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red or green bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups diced cooked skinless chicken
• 10 corn tortillas, cut in quarters
• 1/2 cup shredded fat free Cheddar cheese
  

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Whisk milk and flour in a small bowl until smooth. Add to the broth and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in tomatoes, chiles, cilantro (or parsley), chili powder, oregano and cumin. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.
4. Line the bottom of a shallow 3-quart baking dish with half the tortillas. Top with half the chicken and half the onion mixture. Spoon half of the sauce evenly over the top. Repeat layers with remaining tortillas, chicken, onion mixture and sauce. Sprinkle with Cheddar. Bake until bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes. ( I spoon out a portion for my youngest who has a milk allergy before sprinkling with cheese!)
   

Feel free to check out the original makeover at http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/king_ranch_casserole.html



Calories Carbs Protein Fiber Calcium

Total:	1731	204	130	18	146
Per Serving:	289	34	22	3	24

Tuesday- Beer and Burgers...( homemade black bean burgers and root beer floats!)

Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed (rinse and then drain for a while, you really don't want wet beans!)
• 1/2 bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces ( you can use red green, or yellow!)
• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 egg whites ( or egg substitute) or 3 tsps of Ener G egg replacer mixed with 4 tablespoons of cold water
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon Taco sauce
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs ( or plain, or quick cooking oats)

Directions

1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.
   I made 2 batches of these since my youngest is allergic to eggs ( and I use an egg substitute). I half the batch they turned out great!

Root Beer Floats

We make these with frozen vanilla yogurt ( I much prefer the flavor to low fat ice-cream(most just taste funny!) and diet Rootbeer
Wednesday Hungry Girl's Corndog Millionaire Muffins
(with I am too lazy for all that measuring twist!)

These are great and super quick! Mine has a tad more calories in it, but takes much less time since I don't have to measure as much, and time in a commodity for this mommy, wife, student, and nurse's assistant!

Ingredients
Jiffy - Corn Muffin Mix (Only Mix), 1 container (1 1/2 cups ea.)
Hebrew National (Kosher) - 97% Fat Free Beef Franks, 1 container (7 frank (49g) ea.)
Corn - Sweet, white, canned, cream style, regular pack, 1 cup
Breakstone's - Sour Cream - Fat Free, 8 tbsp
Eggs - White only, raw, 0.5 cup

Total:	1547	250	75	3	54
Per Serving:	193	31	9	0	7	8 total servings

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl mix together corn bread mix, egg substitute, corn, and sour cream.
Cut 2 hot dogs in half, leaving you with 4 cocktail-sized franks. Cut each of the halves into 6 pieces, leaving you with 24 "coins." Set aside. (You'll use these to top the muffins.)
Chop the remaining hot dogs into very small pieces. Add those to the large bowl, and stir until they are integrated into the batter.
Line 8 cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute batter among the 8 cups. Top each muffin with 3 of the hot dog "coins."
Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool and then enjoy!

Thursday- Left over night!

Friday- Fiesta Night TVP and lean beef tacos

Our family loves tacos, so this is a must at least one night a week, we prepare one cup of TVP ( Textured Vegetable Protein) with lean ground beef and use our homemade taco seasoning. We garnish with lettuce, tomato, salsa, and avocado(if I can find a ripe one).

Ingredients for the taco seasoning ( we double this recipe)

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Saturday- Grilled Chicken breast with herbs, baked potato, and asparagus

I love to experiment with different topping for baked potatoes some of my favorite are Salad Toppings from McCromick, the classics like butter and sour cream also can be found on my potato, light sour cream ( prefer it's texture to fat free(which I do use I cooking)) and Parkay butter spray ( the best invention ever!)

Sunday- It's my birthday so who knows!

Grocery List 6/6/2011-6/12/2011
Produce	Dairy	Bread/Cereal	Dry Foods	Sweets & Snacks
cilantro	Almond milk		Chicken broth	Frozen vanilla yogurt
Red pepper*	Fat free cheddar cheese		flour	Diet a&w **also you should pick up topping for your potatoes whatever they may be !
mushrooms	Grated Parmesan cheese		Chili powder
Frozen peas	Pecorino Romano		Canola oil
onion	Fat free sour cream		oregano
garlic	Lean beef		cumin
Asparagus russet potatoes	eggs		Salt
Canned Foods	Meats		pepper
Diced chiles	Chicken breasts		Olive oil
Diced tomatoes	Cooked ham		Italian seasoning
Creamed corn	Hebrew National 97% fat free hot dogs		Chicken bouillon cubes
Black beans	Chicken		Thin spaghetti
			Jiffy Mix
			Chili powder
			Garlic powder
			oregano
			Taco shells
			TVP
			buns
			Hot sauce
			panko

*All strike through items are needed but are currently in my home!

Menu Planning Monday 2/13/11

*Menu Plan for 2/13/2011-2/20/2011*

Monday Dinner

Meatloaf cupcakes

For the muffin:

2 eggs white

1 pound of lean ground beef

1 red pepper

1 stalk of celery

1 onion 3 cloves of garlic

½ cup of panko bread crumbs

1 table spoon of Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp of salt and pepper

This is the topping:

1/2 c. catsup
3 tbsp. light brown sugar
2 tsp. prepared mustard

For the Frosting:

3 potatoes

½ cup of skim milk

2 tablespoons of Country Crock Light

¼ cup of fat free cheese

First you want to dice (I put them in the food processor) all of your veg and then soften in a sauté pan.  Then mix the remaining ingredients for the muffin together.  You want to mix the topping ingredients together and then take and make 12 mini meatloaves (you will want to spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray or even better use an actual cupcake paper) and spread the topping on each.  Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes. 

While baking you want to wash and peel your potatoes.  I dice mine evenly and then boil.  Then add reminding ingredients, these should be a little runnier than mashed potatoes.  When the cupcakes are done~ frost with potatoes!  You could even use some bacon bits on top to look like sprinkles!

1 serving equal one cupcake!

Per Serving: Cals 228 Carbs 27 Fat 9 Protein 11 Fiber  2

Sweet peas

Tuesday Dinner

Hungry Girl’s Sesame Chicken couple of tweaks though, I really prefer panko crumbs, so we are dredging ours in almond milk and then rolling in the panko crumbs, but the sauce was a hit! This really doesn’t affect the cal count so that’s a plus

Fried Rice Makeover

These are repeats from another week click here to find the original recipe!

Wednesday Dinner

Left Over Night

Thursday Dinner

Trying something new this week some of that cook once and eat twice!

 Cooking 2 pork tenderloins that I will marinate for 24 hours in fajita seasoning. ( heat oven to 450 and cook for 20-23 minutes)

Pork Tenderloin #1~ Pork Tenderloin Fajitas

Slice one tenderloin and serve with flour tortillas and sautéed peppers and onions!

Friday Dinner

Rachael Rays Turkey Sloppy Joes recipe

Sweet potato French fries

corn

Saturday Dinner

Pork Tenderloin #2~MooShu Pork

Cut pork into cubes

Prepackaged shredded cabbage and carrots

½ onion sliced

¼ cup of hoisin

4 cups of cooked brown rice

2 tsp of oil

Heat skillet and add oil add carrot onion and cabbage, stir fry until softened. Stir in pork and hoisin sauce. Serve over ice.

 Serves 4

Cal 420 Fat 8g carbs 57 Protein 50

Sunday Dinner

Finish up leftovers

Menu Planning Monday...okay I know it's Tuesday!

Menu Plan for 2/7/2011-2/13/2011

Monday Dinner

         Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Pepper Makeover!

Usually Italian Peppers and Sausage are served on a roll, this is served with potatoes!

Honeysuckle White - Lean Turkey Italian Sausage Sweet Cooked, 3 links

Peppers - Sweet, green, raw, 1 medium

Peppers - Sweet, red, raw, 1 medium

Peppers - Sweet, yellow, raw, 0.75 pepper, large

Onions - Raw, 1 medium (2-1/2" dia)

Potatoes - Russet, flesh and skin, baked, 5 potato large)

1 cup of fat free stock ( you can use vegetable, chicken, or beef)

1 cup of water

1 tbl spoon of Italian Seasoning

Per Serving:

Cals 355

Carbs 60

Fat 4

Protein 15

Fiber 7

Iron 21

1^st you want to take the sausage out of its casing and break it up and brown in a pan.  I spray my crock pot with cooking spray. The I add the peppers  and onion( in thin slices).  Then I add the potatoes, I like mine cubed but you can slice them wedge them or leave them whole.  Then I add the sausage and 1 cup of fat free stock and seasoning I also add the water at this time.  This cooks for 4 hours on low.

Tuesday Dinner

Buffalo Chicken Bake

3, 4oz chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)

½ cup of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

½ cup of fat free ranch dip (see recipe below)

1 package (8 oz) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), softened

1 cup of fat-free Kraft cheddar cheese

3 medium carrots
3 medium stalks
1 large onion

12 ounces of whole wheat pasta (your choice what kind!, I like bow tie!)(Cooked)

I place the veggies in the food processors then add them to a sauce pan to soften them. Mix chicken and cream cheese with veg.  I spray the baking dish with nonstick cooking spray (super important for cleanup (or even better line with tine foil).  Add cooked pasta. Spread chicken mixture over pasta, sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes!

Fat Free Ranch Dip (this is any easy one and my go to for carrots and celery!)

1 container of fat free sour cream (Breakstone’s is my preference, if not I go with the light)

3 tablespoons of Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning and Salad Mix

This makes for a 35 calorie dip for 2 tablespoons!  And it is yum!

This recipe serves 6 (the calorie count includes the ranch dip with light sour cream, because that is what I have on hand!)

Per Serving: Cals 428 Carbs 53 Fat13 Protein 30 Fiber 8

Wednesday Dinner

Left Over Night

Thursday Dinner

Oven Fried Chicken

Chicken breasts

Panko bread crumbs

Almond milk

Salt and pepper

We did the chicken breasts (that we make into bite size pieces) in almond milk then coat in seasoned panko crumbs.  I put these on a cooling rack on cookie sheet; it helps to crisp the entire chicken. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes

Mac N Cheese Recipe

Broccoli

Friday Dinner

TVP/ Lean Beef Tacos

Black Beans and Corn

Saturday Dinner

Spilt Pea Soup recipe (have to be honest this is going to be a test on my taste buds haven’t liked it in the past!)

Sunday Dinner

Finish up leftovers

Dessert for the week

So the mock ice cream sandwhiches( from last weeks menu) made of grahm crackers were a hit, and were tweaked. I add a tablespoon of greek yogurt with splenda, and a tablsppon of lite whipped topping the sanwhich makes it for more of a ice cream taste!

And also on this weeks menu ( since we love our sweets!)

Blueberry-Apple Crisp

5 cups	sliced peeled apples (about 7 medium)
1 cup	Fresh or frozen blue berries

3 tablespoons of Splenda

Topping:

4 1/2	low-fat graham crackers
1/4 cup	light brown sugar
1/2 tsp.	ground cinnamon
2 Tbs.	reduced-fat margarine cut into pieces

1. To make the filling, place the apples, and blueberries, and sugar substitute (you could use AGAVE syrup) in a large bowl, and toss to mix well. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, and spread the mixture evenly in the pan. Set aside.

2. To make the topping, break up the graham crackers, place them in a blender, and process into crumbs. Measure the crumbs. There should be 3/4 cup. (Adjust the amount if necessary).

3. Place the crumbs, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl, and stir to mix well. Then you can use a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut in the margarine or butter until the mixture is moist and crumbly and sprinkle the topping over the filling.

4. Bake uncovered at 375 degree F for 35 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown. Cover loosely with aluminum foil during the last few minutes of baking if the topping starts to brown too quickly. Serve warm or at room temperature. This recipe makes 8 servings.

Per serving: Calories 164; Cholesterol 0 mg; Fat 4.8 g; Sodium 86 mg. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1 Fruit, 1 Fat.

Adapted from http://www.grandtimes.com/cookie.html