Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Creamy Walnut Sauce+

6 points

2  (1 1/2-ounce) slices day-old white bread
1  cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1/3  cup walnuts, toasted
1/4  cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2  teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3/4  teaspoon salt, divided
1/2  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/8  teaspoon ground red pepper
2  garlic cloves, chopped
6  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1  teaspoon olive oil
1  teaspoon butter
6  cups fresh baby spinach
2  tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Trim crusts from bread. Chop bread; combine bread and broth in a small bowl. Let stand 10 minutes. Combine bread mixture, walnuts, parsley leaves, juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, red pepper, and garlic in a food processor; process until smooth.

Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

Heat olive oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 7 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add chicken broth mixture to pan; cook until hot and slightly thickened, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

To serve, place 1 cup spinach on each of 6 plates. Place 1 chicken breast half on each serving; top each with about 2 1/2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon chopped parsley over each serving.

Yield: 6 servings

  • Calories: 286
  • Fat: 7.6g
  • Fiber: 2.6g

Janet’s Texas Caviar+

There are lots of variations to this: I use black beans, pinto or red beans and black eyed peas.  I skip the pimiento and use a red pepper instead of the yellow pepper.  Red onions are also zippier than green.  The original recipe called for 1 cup of oil – that seems excessive to me, so I use half that.

1 can pinto beans
1 can black-eyed peas (I used black beans)
1 can shoe-peg corn
1 c chopped yellow peppers
1 c chopped celery
1 c chopped green onions
1 jar chopped pimientos
1 small can diced jalapenos
½ c cider vinegar
½ c sugar
½ c oil

Combine last three ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cool

Combine vegetables.  Pour cooled dressing over vegetables and marinate overnight (if possible).

Drain before serving.

Serve with Scoop Fritos (2 bags for this amount).

Makes lots.

Black Bean Tomato Soup with Cilantro Lime Cream+

2 points

It is worth the points to make the cilantro cream!

  • 2 center-cut bacon slices, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1 small)
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 (15-ounce) can cumin-spiced black beans, undrained
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added organic diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in pan; set bacon aside. Add onion and celery to pan; cook 5 minutes or until celery is tender. Stir in 3/4 teaspoon cumin, chile powder, and garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in bacon, pepper, beans, tomatoes, and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Place half of bean mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining bean mixture; process until smooth. Keep warm.

Combine sour cream, cumin, cilantro, and lime juice in a small bowl. Drizzle cream over soup.

Yield:  4 servings (serving size: 1 cup soup and 1 1/2 tablespoons cream)

  • CALORIES 123
  • FAT 4.3g
  • FIBER 5.1g

Filet Mignon with Mushroom Wine Sauce+

7 points

Yield:  2 servings (serving size: 1 steak and 1/4 cup sauce)

1/2 cup less-sodium beef broth
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
2 (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks
1 cup presliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sweet Marsala

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat.

Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl.

Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steaks to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steaks from pan. Add mushrooms to pan, and cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove mushrooms from pan. Remove pan from heat; add Marsala, scraping the pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium. Return pan to heat. Add broth mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in mushrooms.

CALORIES 318 (31% from fat); FAT 11.1g (sat 4.2g,mono 4.5g,poly 0.6g); IRON 2.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 78mg; CALCIUM 32mg; CARBOHYDRATE 11.9g; SODIUM 410mg; PROTEIN 26.3g; FIBER 0.6g

Malaysian Chicken Pizza+

6 points – 6 pieces per pizza

  • 3/4       cup rice vinegar
  • 1/4       cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/4       cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 3          Tbsp water
  • 1          Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 2          Tbsp chunky peanut butter
  • 1/2       tsp crushed red pepper
  • 4          garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2       lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1/2       cup shredded Swiss cheese
  • 1/4       cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1          Pillsbury pizza crust
  • 1/4       cup chopped green onions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl, stir well with a whisk.

Heat a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat.  Add chicken, and saute 2 minutes.  Remove chicken from pan.

Pour rice vinegar mixture into pan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Cook mixture 6 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Return chicken to pan, cook 1 minute or until chicken is done.  (mixture will be consistency of thick syrup)

Sprinkle cheese over prepared crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border, and top with chicken mixture.  Bake at 500 for 12 minutes on low rack in oven.  Sprinkle with green onions.  Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

(I actually spread this out to cover 2 pizza crusts)

  • Calories: 293
  • Fat: 7.3g
  • Fiber: 1.8g

Honey Ginger Chicken Bites+

4 points (calculated using thighs instead of breasts)

2/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted (optional)

Combine first 9 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and shake well. Add chicken; seal and toss to coat. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 425°

Remove chicken from bag, reserving marinade. Arrange chicken in a single layer on the rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes, stirring once

While chicken is cooking, strain marinade through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Place marinade in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes; skim solids from surface. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture to pan, stirring with a whisk; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; pour glaze into a large bowl

Preheat broiler.

Add chicken to glaze; toss well to coat. Place chicken mixture on a jelly roll pan; broil 5 minutes or until browned, stirring twice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.

Yield:  12 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 ounces)

  • CALORIES 179
  • FAT 4.4g
  • FIBER 0.1g

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Enchiladas+

I frequently add left over cut up chicken to the enchiladas

Sauce:
1 tsp garlic powder
1 (10 oz) can condensed reduced-fat cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (8 oz carton) fat-free sour cream
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies, undrained

Enchiladas:
Cooking spray
1 c chopped onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 c sliced mushrooms
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt
2 (10 oz) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 c (4 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
10 (6”) corn tortillas

Garnish:
½ c chopped seeded plum tomato
¼ c chopped green onion tops

Preheat oven to 350.

To prepare sauce, combine first 4 ingredients; stir well.

To prepare enchiladas, heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add onion and jalapeno, saute 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.  Add mushrooms, saute 3 minutes or until tender.  Stir in garlic powder, cumin, salt and spinach; cook 5 minutes or until heated.

Combine spinach mixture and ¼ c cheese in a large bowl, stir to combine.

Spoon ½ c sauce into a 13 x 9 baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Warm tortillas according to package directions.  Spoon about 1/3 c spinach mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up.  Place filled tortillas seam sides down in the baking dish.  Spread remaining sauce evenly over tortillas; top with ¾ c cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Top with tomato and green onion.

Yield 5 servings.

Beef with Rosemary Mushroom Sauce+

5 points

Don’t add extra salt – the process of reducing it concentrates the salt that is in the tomato sauce

1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1 cup dry red wine
1 pound boneless top sirloin steak (about 3/4 inch thick)
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (10 1/2-ounce) can beef broth
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

Combine the presliced mushrooms, wine, and steak in a large zip-top plastic bag, and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, turning occasionally.

Remove the steak from bag, reserving marinade. Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add steak; cook for 6 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning after 3 minutes. Remove from pan

Combine the onions, 2 tablespoons parsley, rosemary, and remaining ingredients. Add onion mixture and reserved marinade to pan. Bring to a boil; cook until reduced to 2 cups (about 15 minutes), stirring frequently.

Cut the beef diagonally across grain into thin slices. Place beef on a serving platter. Spoon the mushroom sauce over beef. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons parsley.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces beef and 1/2 cup sauce)

  • Calories: 229
  • Fat: 6.6g
  • Fiber: 1.7g