Low-Calorie Parmesan Pesto Chicken

This entire recipe is only 350 calories per serving, 2 servings-- YUMMMMM

2 6oz Chicken Breasts (boneless, skinless)-165cal each
1/4 cup Buitonis Basil Pesto (all-natural, made with EVOO)-270calories
1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese (or shredded, whatever you have!)-100 calories

Coat the chicken breasts with the Basil Pesto Sauce:

Cover with foil and bake @ 375 for 25-30minutes.  When chicken is done, remove foil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese---place back in oven for about 5 minutes for cheese to melt.  

Easy cheezy....ENJOY!!!!!

Resurrection Rolls

found this great idea here we'll definitely do this next year when Kenwood will understand a little bit better!

Resurrection Rolls: An Easy Easter Treat

March 8, 2010 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Creating Family Times, Homegrown Kids

Mine are always far more mishapen than these...

Ingredients:

One can of crescent roll dough

8 large marshmallows (or one for each roll you’ll be making)

Melted butter

Cinnamon sugar

Bible or Easter storybook

Assemble rolls and read the story:

1. Read John 19 while the oven is pre-heating according to the package directions. If you’re really on top of things, spend the week before reading John 12-18 with your kids.

2. Unroll the crescent rolls. Explain that this is like the cloth they wrapped Jesus in.

3. Give your child a marshmallow and explain that it represents Jesus… all white and pure because He was without sin.

4. Roll the marshmallows in the melted butter. This symbolizes the embalming oils.

5. Roll the marshmallows in the cinnamon sugar. This is like the spices used to prepare his body for burial.

6. Wrap the marshmallow in the crescent roll cloth, pinching the dough together securely. Don’t worry about the shape so much, they’ll taste the same no matter how you roll or bundle them. This represents how they would have wrapped Jesus’ body. I like to brush them with more melted butter, but it’s not necessary.

7. Put the rolls in the oven (symbolizing the tomb) and bake for the amount of time specified on the package.

8. While the rolls are baking, read John 20:1-18.

9. Open the tomb and remove the rolls. When they’re cool enough to handle, break one open and discover what happened to the marshmallow. Jesus is risen! At this point, I also read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. Jesus is coming again!

Pepperoni Stromboli-280 calories?! YUM!

Dillon and I are trying to eat a little bit healthier since he wants to lose weight and I've hit the 30lb pregnancy weight gain already with 10 weeks still to go! YIKES...at this point last pregnancy I'd hit about 50, but I started about 20 heavier this go 'round so I'm right on track to be as ginormous as last time.  So, I stole this cookbook from my mom called "Quick and Easy Healthy Main Dishes"...it has sooo many great options for REAL (pregnancy craving) food! I have at least 8 recipes marked for us to try.  Tonight: Pepperoni Stromboli--Pizza on a diet? Yes, please!

13 oz Pillsbury Pizza Crust
1 3/4 c. spaghetti sauce, divided (I didn't use NEAR this much)
30 slices turkey pepperoni
1 c. reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese (Ok, so I used a little more than that....I like cheese on my pizza people!)

Preheat oven to 350. Roll out pizza dough. Spread spaghetti sauce over dough (I just barely did this b/c I don't like a lot of sauce). Layer pepperoni and cheese.  Fold dough over to create a pouch.  Seal up edges, then bake seam down for 20-25 minutes.  Use remaining spaghetti sauce for dipping.

Makes 6 Servings; Per Serving: 280 calories

This sucker is HUGE...we'll be lucky to finish half of it between the three of us (Kenwood eats like a champ) I think next time I'll load half of it with olives, peppers, and lots of veggies and Kenwood and I can split that side! I'm definitely looking forward to dinner tonight! YUM!

Baked Potato Soup and Grilled Cheese

What's on the menu tonight?  It was going to be leftover Hideaway Pizza that we ordered WAY too much of last night....but then Kenwood and I ate it for lunch instead :)  Since I have a sick little boy today, my grocery shopping will have to get done tonight when Dillon gets home from work to watch my munchkin! So, an easy dinner tonight is definitely what needs to happen!  I got this Baked Potato Soup recipe from one of the mom's in my Bible Study--Thanks Alli Black!  I am soooo looking forward to this comfort food tonight--its rainy and cold out!  We'll be having this along side some good 'ol classic grilled cheeses :)

- 1 bag Ore Ida Steam and Mash Potatoes (Regular Flavor- Cut Russet Potatoes--In freezer section near fries)

- 1/4 cup real bacon bits or crumbled bacon (I am going to use microwave bacon...not feeling very "Martha Stewart" tonight)

- 2 to 3 cups milk (more or less milk depending on how thick or thin you like it)

- 3 tablespoons light butter or margerine

- Shredded cheese

- sliced green onions (about 5) --I'll also be leaving these out due to a few "no onions" tastebuds in my house

- salt and pepper

1. Cook potatoes for 10 minutes in microwave as directed on bag

2. Dump cooked potatoes into a large bowl and add bacon bits, milk and butter, salt and pepper to taste. Mash with a potato masher or fork and stir thoroughly. 

3. Cook another 3-4 minutes in microwave adding more milk if necessary to thin out soup, stirring when necessary.

4. Top with shredded cheese and green onions. (a little sour cream is good too)

Adventures in Cooking-"DUMP soup"....hahahaha

What's on the menu tonight?!  Yummy, easy stew with cornbread!  Perfect for a November night indoors with my boys!

"Dump Soup"--not the most appetizing, but it's called this b/c you LITERALLY just dump everything in together

1 can Rotel
2 cans Minestrone
2 cans Ranch Style Beans (I only use 1 can b/c my hubby doesn't really like beans)
1 8oz jar Cheez Whiz
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 bag shell pasta (optional)


Brown ground beef and drain.  (Also, cook and drain pasta if you opt for this addition) Dump all ingredients into pot (or you can use a crock pot and slow cook) until melted and hot.  READY TO SERVE!!!!

We are having this tonight with cornbread! The minestrone and rotel give you plenty of good veggies, and the beans and ground beef (or turkey) give you a good healthy protein!

Adventures in Cooking: Pork Chops and Scalloped Potatoes

Well, hello there.  It's been awhile since I've talked to you!  As you all know, my adventures in cooking have begun.  It was always a little hard for me to believe that cooking at home was actually cheaper than eating out.  I mean, you have to buy ALL the ingredients for every single meal.  However, I have been pleasantly surprised.  After 3 weeks of cooking on a regular basis (at least 4-5 nights a week), my grocery bill was literally cut in half for the week.  Reason being, now that I have most of the mundane ingredients for cooking in general, I didn't have to buy seasoning, spices, oil, etc.  And this family of 3 literally has good food for every meal for the next week for under $50!!! YAHHOOOOOO Here is a VERY easy recipe I tried on Monday.  It was delicious!

Pork Chops & Scalloped Potatoes:

2 Pork Chops
2 Potatoes
2 cups Milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese

PreHeat oven to 350 degrees. Season pork chops with salt & pepper as desired.  I used Lawry's Salt and Pepper generously coating the chops.  Cut potatoes in slices and layer on the bottom of a casserole dish, then pour in milk over potatoes, then cover with shredded cheese.  Lay pork chops on top of potato/milk/cheese mixture and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

After baking, BROIL on HI for 3 minutes, flip the chop, and BROIL on HI for 3 more minutes. Pork chops should be cooked to an internal temperature of 155 degrees.

YUMMY!!!

Easy Breezy Cheeze-It Chicken

One of the major changes we knew we would encounter when we moved was the convenience of all the fast food joints around us.  Thankfully, it is a change that will be for the better!  With that said, I'd mentioned earlier that I was going to have to start cooking.  So, tonight is the first night we will have our first home cooked meal in our new house! What's on the menu? Something easy of course!!!!


Cheeze-It Chicken

Chicken breast, any size, skinned (as much as desired)
butter, melted
1 box of Cheez It crackers

Salt the desired number of pieces of chicken and leave overnight, (makes chicken tender). Melt butter and finely crush the crackers. Dip pieces in melted butter and then roll the pieces in the crushed crackers. Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

We will be serving the Chicken with:

Loaded Baked Potatoes

Steamed Asparagus