Cool Veggie Bruschetta Appetizer

I turned the Pampered Chef cool veggie pizza recipe into a bruschetta appetizer. Some measurements are estimates because I didn't measure.

1 (10 ounce) can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent roll dough
Olive oil

1 (8 ounce) package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. Ranch dressing
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
Sea Salt and Ground Pepper to taste

28 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp. (approx.) dried basil (fresh would be better)
1 tsp. (approx.) dried minced onion
1 1/2 tsp. (approx.) olive oil

1/2 cup (approx.) shredded Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Unroll crescent roll dough and arrange in a single layer on lightly greased 9x13 pan, cookie sheet or Pampered Chef bar pan. Spread out to cover pan and pinch together seams. Brush with olive oil. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 30 minutes.

Mix tomatoes, garlic, basil, onion and olive oil and allow to marinate while the crust cools and cream cheese mixture is prepared.

Mix together cream cheese, ranch dressing, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Evenly spread cream cheese mixture on cooled crust. Top with tomato mixture and then sprinkle shredded Parmesan on top.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Crispy Baked Buffalo Style Wings

These wings are delicious! Very crispy for baked wings and as good as many restaurant wings I've had. I found the cooking method online. They are boiled on the stove, then broiled in the oven, then tossed in a mild traditional Buffalo style sauce. Adjust the amount of hot sauce to your taste or try them with your own favorite sauce.

24 wings (used Kroger brand frozen chicken party wings)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Seasoned salt to taste

Place wings (frozen or thawed) in large pot and cover with water. Add salt and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil 15 minutes.

Place wings on aluminum foil lined baking sheet and season with seasoned salt. Set oven to broil on high heat. Place baking sheet on lowest rack and broil for 15 minutes. Make sauce (see below) while wings are cooking. After 15 minutes, remove from oven, turn wings over, and return to the oven to broil another 10-15 minutes.

SAUCE
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup hot sauce*
1/2 tsp. garlic (optional - adjust amount to your taste)

Melt butter on medium heat. Add hot sauce and stir. Cook on low until wings are done. Toss wings with sauce using tongs. If you prefer, you can brush the wings with sauce after the first 15 minutes.

Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing and celery or carrot sticks if desired.

Serves 2.

*The above measurements are for a mild sauce. Increase hot sauce to 2/3 cup for medium wings; 1 cup for hot.


iPhone photo - didn't know I would like them enough to post the recipe so just snapped a quick pic.

Crockpot BBQ pulled pork

1 pork tenderloin
Dried minced onion
1 bottle Stubb's BBQ sauce
Heiner's New England Split Top Weiner Buns

Spray crockpot with cooking spray

Place tenderloin in crockpot. Sprinkle with onion to taste. Add sauce.

Cook 8-10 hours on low or until falling apart.

Pull apart with fork while still in crockpot(or I sometimes use a knife and fork to shred and then cut so the pieces aren't too long for sandwiches). Stir to get all the pork coated well with sauce.

Serve on buns or just eat on a plate if you like.

Lasagna

1/2 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup minced onion
1 24 oz jar Barilla roasted garlic pasta sauce
8 Barilla no boil lasagna noodles
8 oz reduced fat cottage cheese
1 small jar sliced mushrooms
16 slices reduced fat provolone cheese
Parmesan cheese

Brown turkey and onion together until turkey is done and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 2 qt square casserole or 9x9 pan with cooking spray. Spoon approximately 1/2 cup sauce into bottom of dish and spread to coat.

Layer 2 lasagna noodles, 1/3 cottage cheese, 1/3 turkey, 1/3 mushrooms, 4 slices provolone, sauce and sprinkle with parmesan.

Repeat twice. End with remaining 2 noodles, sauce and 4 slices provolone.

Bake covered with foil or lid for 50-60 minutes. Remove cover and bake 5-10 minutes more or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Serves 4.

Crockpot Turkey Breast

1/4 cup butter, cut into patties
1 bone-in turkey breast, thawed
Seasonings

Spray crockpot with Pam and place butter in bottom of crockpot. Turn on to low.

Rinse turkey breast and pat dry. Place in crockpot.

Season liberally with your favorite seasonings - I used garlic powder, seasoned salt, dried minced onion and Mrs. Dash. When the turkey cooks, the seasonings are watered down so be generous with your seasonings. Turn over and season the other side as well. Season under the skin also.

Cook all day on low - meat will be falling off the bone. I pour the drippings over the meat when I serve it.

Roasted Red Potatoes

I have hesitated to put this up as a recipe because I don't measure the ingredients. But in the event someone wants to try it, here it is.


Ingredients:
Red potatoes
Olive Oil
Onion (minced - I use dried minced)
Fresh garlic, minced
Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning
Sea salt

Cut red potatoes into quarters and place in bowl. Add enough olive oil to coat the potatoes. Add remaining ingredients to taste.

Stir and let sit in the fridge to marinate a bit if you have time and meanwhile preheat the oven to 375.

Place potatoes on baking sheet (I use the Pampered Chef bar pan). Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes, until they are as browned and crisp as you like them. Turn with a spatula 2-3 times while cooking.

Tomato Basil Skillet Chicken

1 packet Grill Mates Tomato Garlic Basil marinade
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1 package thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts

Combine marinade mix with water, olive oil and white wine. Marinate chicken in mixture in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Place chicken and all the marinade liquid in large skillet. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Add a little more wine if you need more liquid. Turn chicken, reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered 10 minutes or until done. Stir and turn a few times while cooking. (NOTE: If you don't use the thinly sliced chicken, you may need to cook it longer).

Pesto Pasta with Chicken & Veggies

• 1 13 oz. package pasta (I used whole grain penne)


• Olive oil


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 1/4 cup minced onion


• 1 zucchini squash, sliced and quartered


• 1 yellow squash, sliced and quartered


• 1 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces


• 1 small jar sliced mushrooms


• 2 6-oz. packages Perdue Italian Style chicken shortcuts


• 10-oz. jar Classico Traditional Basil Pesto sauce (more or less, to taste)


• Sea Salt


• Fresh ground pepper


• Italian seasoning


• Parmesan cheese (I used approximately 2 Tbsp.)

This is a very flexible recipe - add or change vegetables and adjust seasonings to suit your taste.

Cook pasta according to package directions. While it cooks, saute garlic, onion, zucchini and yellow squash in olive oil, approx. 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomatoes, mushrooms and chicken and cook until warmed through.

Drain pasta and return to the pot. Add pesto sauce and chicken mixture and toss to coat evenly. Add enough olive oil so that it's not too dry. Season with remaining seasonings to taste and stir in Parmesan cheese.

Heat up again if necessary (by the time I got the seasonings the way I wanted them, it needed to be warmed up a little) and serve.

Serves 6.

Cool Veggie Pizza

This is a Pampered Chef recipe, altered slightly

1 (10 ounce) can Pillsbury refrigerated reduced fat crescent roll dough
1 (8 ounce) package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons Pampered Chef dill seasoning
Garlic powder
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

2-3 cups worth of veggies of your choice (I used green peppers, red peppers, broccoli, carrots, cucumber & grape tomatoes)
1/2 cup Kraft shredded 2% sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a lightly greased 9x13 inch pan or on a Pampered Chef bakin pan, arrange the crescent roll dough in a single layer. Pinch together the seams of the dough. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 30 minutes.

Mix together cream cheese, dill seasoning, salt and pepper. And additional garlic powder if desired or a close of fresh garlic, pressed. Evenly spread cream cheese mixture on crust.

Veggies should be finely chopped or sliced. Sprinkle veggies on top of cream cheese spread. Top with cheddar cheese.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the spread to thicken. Cut chilled pizza into wedges or squares with a pizza cutter to serve.

Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Seasoned meat tenderizer (or regular seasoned salt)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. dried or fresh minced onion
1 cup Weight Watchers shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 cans 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 small jar sliced mushrooms
1 cup Weight Watchers shredded Mexican cheese blend (optional)

Spray casserole dish with cooking spray and preheat oven to 375.

Coat the bottom of the dish with a spoonful of soup.

Place chicken in dish. Sprinkle a little seasoned meat tenderizer on top of each piece of chicken. Top with garlic, onion and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.

Mix remaining soup with mushrooms and spread on top.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. If you want it extra cheesy, add the Mexican blend cheese on top now and return to oven for 10-15 minutes.

Chicken ala the Fighting Sophias

My office recently had an iron chef competition, and the name of my team was The Fighting Sophias. Long story. Anyway, I tried to recreate the turkey dish we made at the competition using chicken. It is not exactly the same but it is good nonetheless. Problem is, I didn't measure anything so you have to guess at how much of everything to use. If you're up for that challenge, give it a try!

CHICKEN

• Marinate chicken breast (thinly sliced or pounded flat) in a mixture of white wine, olive oil, fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, basil, fresh ground pepper and sea salt for at least 30 minutes, turning a few times.


• Bake on aluminum foil 10-15 minutes or until done (or better yet, grill)

CHUTNEY

• Mix chopped red pepper, chopped onion and minced garlic.


• Add Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, a little olive oil and a dash of crushed red pepper.


• Saute 5 minutes over medium heat

Serve chicken topped with the chutney. At the competition, we also included yellow peppers in the chutney and served it on a bed of sliced grilled zucchini. I just had sauteed zucchini and yellow squash on the side.

Reduced Fat Version: Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 1/2 cups Weight Watcher's shredded Mexican cheese blend
1/2 cup Reduced Fat Bisquick
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup Egg Beaters

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Brown turkey and onion together. Drain. Stir in seasoned salt.

Spray 9" pie pan or square casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread cooked turkey mixture on bottom. Top with cheese.

Mix remaining ingredients with a fork until well blended and pour batter over top. Bake 25 minutes.

Reduced Fat Breakfast Casserole

6-8 slices Heiner's 35 vegetable fiber white bread
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray
1 package Jimmy Dean precooked turkey sausage (8 patties)
2 c. Kraft shredded 2% sharp cheddar cheese
1 16-oz. package Egg Beaters
2 cups skim milk
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. dry mustard

Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with bread slices. Spray bread with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray.

Dice sausage and sprinkle it over bread. Top with cheese.

Combine Egg Beaters, skim milk, salt & mustard then pour over cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake 40-45 minutes at 400 degrees.

Mexican Lasagna (updated)

1/2 pound ground turkey
1/2 packet taco or fajita seasoning
1/3 cup water
1 14.5 oz. can Del Monte Diced Tomatoes with Zesty Mild Green Chiles
4 flour tortillas
Reduced Fat Sour Cream (1/2 small container)
3 cups Weight Watchers Mexican Cheese blend

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spray 2 quart square casserole with Pam, then spoon some of the juice from the tomatoes in the bottom to lightly cover it.

Brown ground turkey. Add taco seasoning, water and 1/2 can tomatoes.

FIRST LAYER: Lay one tortilla on bottom of casserole dish and cover with half the meat mixture. Spoon dollops of sour cream over meat (about 1/4 small container). Cover with shredded cheese. 

SECOND LAYER: Top first layer with a tortilla and cover with a layer of cheese.

THIRD LAYER: Add another tortilla and cover with the rest of the meat mixture, dollops of sour cream and a layer of cheese.

Top with last tortilla, rest of tomatoes and cheese.

Cover and bake 15 minutes.  Uncover and cook an additional 10-15 minutes, until cheese is hot and bubbly.

Serves 4. Great warmed over the next day too.

NOTE:  You can add whatever other toppings you want such as black olives, jalapeno peppers, etc. Or double for a deeper dish and add more layers.

Hungry Girl's Brownie Muffins

This may have originally been a Weight Watchers recipe? Although it has pumpkin in it, you CANNOT taste the pumpkin! Just makes them really moist.

1 box devil's food cake mix
1 can solid pack pumpkin (15 oz.)

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix ingredients. Mixture will be very thick and difficult to stir, but DON'T ADD ANYTHING ELSE!

Place batter into muffin tins lined with paper or sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Makes 12 regular or 36 mini muffins.

VARIATION: Try your favorite cake mix. I've also had them made with french vanilla and spice cake mixes and they were great! And you can't taste the pumpkin in any of them.





(1 Muffin or 3 minis = 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 37g carbs, 2g fiber, 2g protein - 4 WW points)

http://www.hungry-girl.com/week/weeklydetails.php?isid=614

Photos by Jamie

Sharon's Night Before French Toast Casserole

• 10"x4" french bread baguette, sliced into 1 1/2"-2" thick slices (optional: may remove crusts if desired)
  
• Cinnamon (for sprinkling)
  
• 10 eggs
  
• 2 cups hazelnut creamer
  
• 1 cup skim milk or half & half
  
• 3/4 tsp. sea salt
  
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
  
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  
• Your favorite french toast toppings (butter, pecans, syrup, powdered sugar, fruit, yogurt, etc.)

Spray 13x9x2 glass pyrex dish with Pam. Line bottom of dish with bread slices, as many as you can fit in without mashing the bread. (Usually 6-8, more if baguette is thinner). Sprinkle slices liberally with cinnamon, if you like cinnamon.

In large bowl, crack 10 eggs, whipping with a whisk. Gently whisk in the hazelnut creamer, skim milk, sea salt, cinnamon (1 Tbsp.) and vanilla extract. 

Pour mixture slowly over and around bread and cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, until bread is puffy and lightly browned. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Great served with butter, toasted pecans and heated maple syrup; some prefer powdered sugar or sliced fruit and yogurt.

Excellent the next day. Cut a big slice, top with butter, pecans and syrup, and microwave for 1 minute 45 seconds at 80% power.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Italian Turkey Meatballs

1 lb. lean ground turkey
2-3 slices stale bread or buns, crumbled
1/4 cup Egg Beaters
1/3 cup minced onion
2-3 tsp. garlic powder
2-3 tsp. Seasoned Salt
2-3 tsp. Italian seasoning

IMPORTANT NOTE: I don't measure the seasonings, so you may need to experiment with the amounts to your taste. Turkey is a little more bland than beef so keep that in mind.

Mix all ingredients well and form into walnut-sized balls. Spray frying pan with Olive Oil cooking spray. Add meatballs and cook over medium heat, stirring and turning frequently, until done. Add to your favorite pasta sauce.