Balsamic Chicken

Chicken in the crockpot is delicious. The longer you leave it in, the more fall-off-the-bone-tender it becomes. Try this recipe out before crock-pot season ends (summertime!)

INGREDIENTS
4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 onion thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 TBS olive oil
1 tsp each- dried oregano, basil, and rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
ground black pepper and salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Pour the olive oil on bottom of crockpot. Place in chicken breasts, salt and pepper each breast. Add in sliced onion, then all dried herbs and garlic. Pour in vinegar and top with tomatoes.

Cook on high for 4 hours. Serve over pasta.VERDICT

This is delicious! I have no changes to recommend, this recipe has plenty of flavor on it's own.

Baked Tilapia with lots of Spice

I ended up eating this all on my own. Someone chose to eat pizza instead of delicious tilapia. His loss.

DIRECTIONS

1	teaspoon salt
3/4	teaspoon paprika
3/4	teaspoon onion powder
3/4	teaspoon dry mustard
1/2	teaspoon garlic powder
1/2	teaspoon pepper
1/2	teaspoon cumin
1/2	teaspoon basil
3/4	teaspoon italian seasoning
4 (4	ounce) tilapia fillets
1/2	cup breadcrumbs (or panko crumbs)
3	tablespoons sliced green onions
1	tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1	tablespoon olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a small bowl combine the spices from the salt through the Italian seasoning and set it aside.
3. In a shallow container mix the bread crumbs, dried parsley, and green onions.
4. Measure 4 tsp of the spice mix and sprinkle that all over the 4 fish fillets.
5. Add the remaining spice mix to the bread crumbs, mixing well. Add the olive oil to the bread crumb mix, blending it in with your hands.
6. Dredge the fish in the breadcrumbs, coating well.
7. Shake off any excess breadcrumbs.
8. Place the fish on a baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
9. Bake for 6 minutes.
10. Turn over and bake for 4 minutes.
11. Turn over again and bake until flaky, about 4 more minutes.
12. Serve immediately.

VERDICT

Very tasty. Panko breadcrumbs instead of regular added a lot of crunch.

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

It's Sunday- which means it's time for another Slow Cooker recipe! This chicken noodle soup is easy to make and relatively low in calories. Sod

INGREDIENTS
6 cups water
2 3-oz packages Chicken-flavored Ramen Noodles
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 cups cooked chicken
16-oz package frozen broccoli stir-fry vegetables- or several cups fresh vegetables
2 green onions, sliced
crushed red pepper, to taste
soy sauce, to taste

· DIRECTIONS

1. In a 3-1/2- to 4-1/2-quart slow cooker combine water, seasoning packets from noodles, and ginger. Add chicken and frozen vegetables.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

3. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. Stir in noodles. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more or until noodles are just tender. Stir in green onion. Ladle soup into bowls. If desired, sprinkle with crushed red pepper and serve with teriyaki sauce. Makes 6 main-dish servings (9-1/2 cups).

VERDICT

I think it needs some garlic as well. There's not a recipe I know that can't benefit from garlic :) This was delicious. We might try again with the oriental-flavored ramen, but this recipe is just fine the way it is.

NUTRITION

Serves: 10
Calories: 149
Fat: 4g
Carbs: 17g
Protein: 9g
Sodium (as best as I can guess): 320 mg

Cheesecake Factory's Romano Chicken

INGREDIENTS

2 Chicken Breasts
1/2 C. Flour
2 Tbsp. Romano Cheese - You can use Kraft in a jar
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Egg beaten
2 tsp. Water

DIRECTIONS

Whisk together the egg and the water.

Pound out chicken breasts to, at most, 1/2 inch thick. Season the flour with salt and pepper, and coat the chicken lightly. Then dip in egg, and cover with shredded Romano.

Place in frying pan on medium high, with a little bit of oil. Cook until golden brown. Top with either marinara or Alfredo sauce.

VERDICT

We topped it with alfredo- yum! This was a delicious recipe. Not too many ingredients (but a lot of plates to clean up from the preparation. Definitely a keeper!

NUTRITION

I assume this is not a healthy recipe when you get it at Cheesecake Factory. But making this at home it's not too bad.

Calories (without the sauce): 295
Protein: 39g
Carbs: 8g
Fat: 10g

Lighter Penne with Vodka Sauce

Another re-made recipe this week. I have to admit I was skeptical because I make THE BEST Vodka sauce. Now that we're trying to eat healthier we gave this recipe a shot.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tsp butter
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 shallots, minced
• 3 oz prosciutto, chopped
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup vodka
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 12 oz uncooked (6 cups cooked) whole wheat or high fiber penne

DIRECTIONS

In a large sauté pan heat butter on a low flame. Add garlic and shallots and sauté until soft, about 2 minutes. (I disagree- heat needs to be on at least medium)

Add prosciutto and red pepper flakes and cook another minute. Add tomatoes, vodka, salt and pepper and cook on low, covered about 20 minutes. (Again, I disagree. Heat needs to be on medium or medium-high)

Add basil and half and half, mix well and cook another 5 minutes.

Serve this over pasta and top with grated cheese.

VERDICT

There's just no faking the good stuff. Without the heavy cream this sauce didn't get the nice pink hue that vodka sauce should have. And despite all the red pepper flakes I added (A LOT), there wasn't much flavor. It wasn't bad, it was just a good recipe.

On another note, this makes a LOT of sauce. I poured half into a freezer bag and stashed it in the freezer for a quick meal another night.
NUTRITION

Serving Size: 1 cup pasta, 1/2 cup sauce •Calories: 356

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

It's another Slow Cooker Sunday!

Up this week another recipe from a cook book we got at our family white elephant party. The last recipe we tried out of this book was the Herbed Cannelloni recipe last week and it wasn't a big hit- so we were hoping this was better. Otherwise the book goes in the trash!

INGREDIENTS
7 oz fresh ricotta cheese
1 cup chopped arugula (I used a salad mix with spinach and arugula)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (didn't use this- I think they're still on recall at Wegman's)
3 oz roasted red pepper, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 chicken breasts, skin on
2 TBS butter
1 cup chicken stock
2 TBS minced garlic (not included in the recipe, but I'm sure that was an oversight on the publisher's part.)
DIRECTIONS
Combine the ricotta, arugula, pine nuts, bell pepper and salt and pepper in a small bowl and mix together until smooth.

Place 1-2 TBS of ricotta mixture under the skin of each chicken breast. (Now here is where I had my first issue. The picture in the book shows a boneless chicken breast with skin. I have no idea if your grocery store sells boneless skin-on chicken breast... but mine doesn't. Either they're boneless/skinnless or they have bones and skin. I could forsee a problem already. Bone-in chicken takes a lot longer to cook. But moving on...)

Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker set on high, sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Place 1 tsp of butter on each breast and pour the stock around the chicken. Cook for 2 hours on high.Serve the chicken with juices and a arugula salad.

VERDICT
Turns out the concern over the cooking time being inaccurate wasn't a problem after all. I cooked two chicken breasts in my smaller crockpot and they were cooked perfectly after 2 hours. The chicken was tender, the filling was delicious, and the meal was a hit with my husband.

Next time I'll probably skip the whole skin-on chicken thing and just cut a pocket into a regular boneless, skinless chicken breast. But this recipe is definitely a keeper.
NUTRITION

Calories: 291
Protein: 34g
Fat: 12g
Carbs: 4g

Herbed Canneloni with Tomato Sauce

Another Slowcooker Sunday Recipe. This time- pasta!

INGREDIENTS

8 oz cottage cheese (or ricotta)

1 oz parmesan cheese

1 tsp Italian seasoning

6 green onions, freshly chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

8 cannelloni tubes (or manicotti)

Sauce:

1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

3-4 green onions, chopped

2 tsp Worchestershire sauce

1 large clove garlic, crushed

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil, add the pasta tubes and cook until al dente. Drain, set aside and keep warm. Place the cheeses, seasoning, green onions, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

To make the sauce, mix together all sauce ingredients

Lightly butter the base of the slow cooker. Spoon cheese mixture into cannelloni tubes. Spoon a little tomato sauce into the cooker, and then arrange the stuffed tubes in the cooker and add sauce. Cook for 1-1 ½ hours on high, or 2 – 2 ½ hours on low. Serve sprinkled with extra parmesan cheese and parsley sprigs.

VERDICT
The pasta was good, but with a cooking time of only 1 1/2-2 hours... why bother with the slow cooker? When I use the slowcooker I want something I can make in the morning- or during lunch break- that is ready for dinner.

The recipe was good, but the sauce had a strange flavor (from the Worcestershire I think). I doubt we'll try this again.
NUTRTION
Per Cannelloni (manicotti shell): Calories: 186 Protein: 11g Fat: 8g Carbs: 18g