Sausage & Pepper Hero

I saw the original recipe for sausage and peppers sandwich on Humble Recipes, and bookmarked it, because the husband loves sausage and peppers. After reading the recipe over a few times, I thought of a few changes I could make to this recipe. They turned out great! Don’t mind this picture, it was taken with my cell phone, as I left my camera at work!  This makes 2 servings, and has 350 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

1/4 pound hot italian turkey sausage, cut into 1/2 coins

1 green bell pepper cut into 1/2 inch strips

1 sweet red pepper cut into 12/ inch strips

1/2 of  a large sweet onion, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 of a  large baking potato, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 teaspoons of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning

1/8 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of pepper

1 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

2 rolls, toasted

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place sausage in the pan and roast for 15 minutes.
2. Place peppers, onion and potato in large bowl. Toss with olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Add vegetables to the roasting pan and stir to combine with sausage. Roast for an additional 45 minutes, stirring twice, until vegetables are tender. Remove from oven and stir in vinegar.
3. To serve, spoon 1 generous cup of sausage and pepper over each toasted bun.

Enjoy!

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Buffalo Chicken Finger Subs

My husband and I both are from cities that are known for their famous foods. I’m from Philadelphia,  and as we all know, cheese steaks are our fame. My husband is from Buffalo and chicken fingers are their fame.  But another amazing food in Buffalo is just their simple chicken finger subs.  On Sundays, during football season, with being completely honest to you, is the one day where our meal isn’t very healthy. We decided that we wanted to try to re-create the chicken finger sub we often get when visting Buffalo, from John & Mary’s.

Ingredients:

Lettuce and Tomatoes for 2 sandwiches

2 sandwich rolls

2 chicken breast, sliced into halves, so you have 2 tenders for each sandwich

Frank’s Hot Sauce

Butter

2 slices of provolone cheese

1 cup of bread crumbs

1 tablespoon of EVOO

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Coat chicken breast with flour and then dip into egg. Once chicken breast has been dipped into egg, dip into bread crumbs.
2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and pan fry the chicken breast for about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes or until fully cooked.
3. In a small bowl, mix hot sauce and butter, to your liking. Remember, the more butter added to sauce, the less spicy it will be.
4. Once chicken is cooked, dip into sauce mixture, place back on baking sheet, place cheese on top, and put back in oven till cheese is melted. Serve on roll, with blue cheese if you like it and lettuce and tomato!

Enjoy!

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Dijon Crusted Pork Chops

My husband loves anything Dijon, so when I saw this recipe in the November 2009 issue of Woman’s Day, he was  very excited to try it.  It was very yummy! This makes 2 servings and 577 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

2 pork lion chops

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/8 cup of seasoned dried bread crumbs

1/2  tablespoon of canola oil

4 ounces of wide egg noodles

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place a sheet of foil on your kitchen counter. Measure mustard and bread crumbs separately onto foil. Coat pork chops with mustard, then coat with bread crumbs.
2. Heat oil in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat. Add chops and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side until bread crumbs are browned. Transfer to a foil lined baking pan and bake for 5 minutes or untill cooked through.

Enjoy!

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Tuna Melt

Do you love comfort meals? I do, not only are they easy to make after a long day of work, but they just taste so yummy! This has 361 calories per serving.

Ingredients

4 slices of your favorite bread

1 can of tuna

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1/8 cup of yellow mustard

4 slices of your favorite cheese

Directions:

1. Heat broiler. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Toast your bread for 3 minutes, turning it one time and then set it aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, prepare tuna fish with tuna, mayo and mustard. Spread a bit of tuna onto each slice of bread. Top each with a slice of cheese. Return to broiler; heat 3 minutes, until cheese is melted and lighting browned, served open face.

Enjoy!

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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!

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