Sausage Manicotti

This version of baked pasta classic is rich and satisfying yet, easy to prepare. It also it’s a lightened up version, instead of using ricotta cheese, I used cottage cheese. It turned out just as yummy. The only difference is, is that the cottage cheese cooks it’s self away, so the shell it’s self isn’t as stuffed with cheese. I will definitely  make this recipe again.  This makes  4 manicotti and each manicotti has 204 calories.

Ingredients:

1 pound turkey sausage

2 cups (16 ounces) of cottage cheese

1 package (8 ounces) manicotti shells

1 jar (26 ounces) spaghetti sauce

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. First, bring a pot of water to a boil and boil manicotti till all dente. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine sausage and cottage cheese. Stuff into manicotti shells. Place in greased 13 by 9 inch baking dish. Top with spaghetti sauce.
2. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes or until meat thermometer inside into center of a shell reads 165 degrees.
3. Uncover, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 8 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Thursday: Chicken & Veggie Tortellini Stew

Another installment of Crock Pot Thursday! This recipe came from Pillsbury, 2009 Casserole Book. This makes servings and has 380 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

2 medium carrots, sliced (about 3/4 cup)

2 cloves of garlic finely chipped

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4 inch pieces

1 can (19 ounces) of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1 3/4 chicken broth

2 cups of water

1 package (9 ounces) of refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini

2 medium green onions, sliced (2 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon of dried basil leaves

2 tablespoons of shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, layer carrots, garlic, chicken, and beans. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour broth and water over top; stir to combine.
2. Cover; cook on low heat setting for 6 to 8 hours.
3. Stir in tortellini, onions and basil. Increase heat setting to hight. Cover; cook 15 to 20 minutes longer or until tortellini are tender. Sprinkle servings with Parmesan cheese.

Scallop & Broccoli Toss

I have to be honest with this recipe. I didn’t enjoy it very much. I know some food bloggers would say, then why are you posting this? Well, everyone has different likings and taste. Just because I didn’t enjoy this recipe very much, doesn’t mean someone else won’t. This recipe was adapted from Family Circle, July 2009. It makes 4 servings and has a total of 345 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of whole wheat thin linguine

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets (5 cups)

1/2 cup of vegetable broth

2 tablespoons of reduced sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons of ketchup

1 tablespoon of sugar

1/4 teaspoon of hot sauce

1 1/4 pounds of sea scallops, cut in half, horizontally

1 can (5 ounces) of water chesnuts, drained and quartered

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

Directions:

1. Cook linguine to al dente, about 9 minutes. Add broccoli during the last 5 minutes of cooking; drain.
2. In small bowl, whisk together the broth, soy sauce, ketchup, sugar and hot sauce.
3. Place broth mixture in a large skillet and bring to a simmer. Add scallops and water chestnuts and simmer for 4 minutes, turning halfway through or until cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil.
4. Place cooked pasta and broccoli in the skillet and toss with the scallops. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Creamy Crab & Artichoke Dip

I can’t believe I’ve never posted this dip before! This dip has been a family recipe for years! We love it during football games, it’s so easy to prepare and pop in the oven before the game starts! You can serve this recipe warm or cold, but its much better served fresh out of the oven!

Ingredients:

1 can(14 ounces) of artichoke hearts, drained

1 package (8 ounces) of cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese

1 package (8 ounces) of crab meat, finely chopped

Bread or Crackers, to dip

Directions:

1. Chop artichoke hearts. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese and mayonnaise, artichoke hearts, parmesan cheese and onions. Fold in crabmeat.
3. Spoon into 9 inch pie plate. Bake uncovered, at 375 degrees about 25 minutes or until heated through. Serve with bread or crackers.

Enjoy!

Apple Stuffed Chicken

Apples are one of my favorite things about fall! I love just about everything apple. When I saw this recipe in the November 2009 issue of Woman’s Day, I ripped it out right away and hung it up on the refrigerator. It has 342 calories per serving and makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1 apple, cored and finely diced

1/2 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons of dried bread crumbs

1 1/2 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, mixed

4 skinless bone less chicken breast halves, about 6 ounces each

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging.

2 teaspoons of canola oil

3/4 cup of apple cider

1/2 cup of chicken broth

2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. You’ll need 12 wooden toothpicks, coated with non stick spray. In a small bowl, mix apple, cheese, bread crumbs, thyme, lemon juice and half the salt mixture. On a cutting board, lightly press each chicken breast flat with one hand; using a sharp knife, carefully cut into side of breast to form a deep horizontal pocket, (don’t pierce top, bottom, or side of breast).
2. Divide the apple mixture into 4 portions and stuff into chicken pockets. With the prepared toothpicks, pin closed. Sprinkle the remaining salt mixture over breast. Dredge chicken in flour lightly to coat; tap of excess flour. At this point, if needed, the chicken can be refrigerated and covered for up to 6 hours.
3. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown 3 minutes per side. Pour 1/2 cup of apple cider and the broth into skillet; add thyme. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and stuffing registers at 165 degrees on instant read thermometer.
4. Remove chicken to serving plate, cover with foil to keep warm. Whisk mustard and remaining 1/4 cup of cider into juices in skillet, boil mixture 3 minutes on high until reduced and slightly thickened. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.

Enjoy!

Crockpot Thursday: Pork Goulash

I saw this recipe in the March 2009 edition of Family Circle. This makes 6 servings. I wasn’t sure we were going to like it at first because there is so much paprika, but it was so yummy! Our pork cooked a little longer then it should have so it was more like shredded pork, but it was still super yummy!

Ingredients:

1 boneless pork lion roast(about 1 3/4 pounds) trimmed ad cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3 medium sized parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch coins

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch coins

1 large onion, chopped

4 tablespoons of sweet paprika

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 pounds of green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Directions:

1. Place pork, parsnips, carrots and onion in slow cooker. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the paprika, stir to coat. Pour in broth.
2. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 4 1/2 hours.
3. Add green beans, cook 30 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, blend remaining 2 tablespoons of paprika, sour cream, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Stir into slow cooker bowl until thickened.

Enjoy!

Linguine with Garlic

I’m always looking for easy and healthy recipes to make for us for dinner after a long day of work. I saw this recipe in Woman’s Day Magazine, and saved it for a while in my recipe file, but never made it. I’m glad we finally tried it and we liked it a lot. It’s very easy to put together and very  yummy! It makes four servings and has 448 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

1 pound of linguine

1 tuna steak, sliced into small pieces

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

Directions:

1. Cook pasta as package directs; drain, reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water.
2. Add a small amount of olive oil in pan and sear tuna, remove tuna, preserve oil  and add garlic and stir 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in tuna and 1 cup reserved water. Toss with pasta and serve.

Enjoy!

BBQ Bacon Burgers

We love burgers in our house! I saw this recipe in the September 2009 edition of Family Circle. I knew right away I wanted to try this approach on making a burger. I typically like my burger’s plain, while my husband likes to add BBQ sauce to his. I finally tried it with some BBQ sauce and it made the burger so moist and juicy!  It makes 3 servings and has 360 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

4 slices of turkey bacon

1/2 package of ground turkey (10 ounces)

1/2 cup (1 ounce) of french’s fried onions

4 tablespoons of bottles BBQ sauce

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat grill or grill pan to  medium high heat. Heat broiler.
2. Cook 2 slices of turkey bacon in a medium size non stick  skillet over medium heat ,7 minutes. Set aside. Chop reaming 2 slices uncooked turkey bacon and place in large bow..
3. Add ground turkey, fried onions, 2 tablespoons of the BBQ sauce, the Worcestershire and the black pepper to a bacon in bowl. Stir to  evenly blend mixture into 3 patties.
4. Grill hamburger patties for 6 minutes. Flip over, continue to grill an additional 5 minutes or untill instant read thermometer  reads  into center of burgers registers 160 degrees.
5. To serve, place burger on roll, top with 1 tablespoon of BBQ sauce and 1 slice cooked bacon, broken in half.

Enjoy!

Chicken Lo Mein

Chicken Lo Mein is my husband’s favorite take out food. I have been looking for a “healthier” version of chicken lo mein for some time now and finally came across one! This was super delicious! It tasted just like take out lo mein! I found this recipe in November 2009 issue of Woman’s Day. It makes 5 servings and has 381 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of cornstarch

3/4 cup of chicken broth

1/2 cup reduced sodium teriyaki marinade & sauce

2 teaspoon of sesame oil

2 teaspoon each of chopped garlic and fresh ginger

1 package (8 ounces) of wide lo mein noodles

1 pound of chicken tenders

2 tablespoons of oil

3 cups broccoli florets

4 ounces sugar snap peas

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

3 scallions, sliced

Directions:

1. To make sauce; in a small bowl, stir 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch, the chicken broth, teriyaki, sesame oil, garlic and ginger until blended; set aside.
2. Cook noodles as package directs in salted boiling water; drain. Meanwhile, cut chicken diagonally into 1/4 inch thick slices; place with remaining 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a large Ziploc bag. Seal bag and shake until evenly coated.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in large  non stick skillet over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Add chicken; stir-fry 4 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove to serving platter.
4. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in same skillet, stir fry broccoli; sugar snap peas and red pepper for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir sauce to re-blend, add to skillet and cook 30 seconds or until thickened. Stir in chicken and noodles. Sprinkle with scallions.

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Thursday: French Onion Beef

As I said before I love crock pot meals, it’s so nice after a long day of work with the kiddies, that I know I can come home and dinner is all ready for us to eat! Well just about, this took about an additional 10 minutes more to finish, but it’s worth the wait. With so few ingredients, it was so flavorful! I found this recipe in the Pillsbury Cook Book. It makes 6 servings and has 400 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pound boneless beef round steak (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick)

1 package(8 ounces) slice fresh mushrooms (3 cups)

1 large onion sliced, separated into rings

1 can (10/5 ounces) condensed french onion soup

1 package (6 ounces) 10 minute herb stuffing mix

1/4 cup of butter, melted

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Cut beef into 6 serving size pieces. In cooker, layer half of each of the beef, mushrooms and onions; repeat layers. Pour soup over top.
2. Cover cook on low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours.
3. In medium bowl, mix stuffing mix, butter and 1/2 cup liquid from slow cooker; toss to mix. Place stuffing on top of mixture in cooker. Increase heat setting to high. Cover; cook 10 minutes longer or until stuffing is fluffy. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook till cheese is melted.

Enjoy!