5:4 challenge #4 Chicken Yumbo's (p1)

Ok, this is the 4th of of the 5:4 challanges. The 5 ingredients were: Chicken, Asparagus, Mustard, Spinach and any style of Tomatoes. We get to pick 3 of our own ingredients to make a main dish...this is what I came up with. (It was so good that I had to give it an acutal name, ha ha).

Chicken Yumbo's P1)
Ingredients:
Skinless, boneless chicken breasts (4 large or 5 to 6 small)
Pesto sauce (I like Gilroy Farms pesto sauce)
1 jar of sun dried tomatoes, marinated (again I like Gilroy Farms brand)
Swiss cheese slices
Canadian bacon
Asparagus spears (I used precooked frozen)
One frozen box of cut spinach, thawed and well drained (I squeeze out The excess water by hand)
Salt to taste
Olive oil
1 packet of McCormick brand Chicken Dijon Sauce blend
1.5 cups of water


Pound chicken breasts between some parchment paper till thin and basically even all over. Place oil from jar tomatoes in a skillet and a little extra olive oil if necessary - cook the chicken on both sides, til it just starts to brown lightly - but not cooked completely.(this sears in the juices but it will cook the rest of the way in the oven)

Drain frozen spinach and squeeze out all the excess water. Place in a bowl with 3 to 4 TAB pesto. Dice or cut all the sun dried tomatoes into small bits and add to the spinach pesto mixture. Mix well.

Place semi cooked chicken on foil lined baking sheets, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Top each chicken breast with the spinach, tomato and pesto mixture. Place one to two canadian bacon rounds on each chicken (depending on the size of the chicken breast) and top with 4 or 5 asparagus spears (alternating the tips back and forth)
Sprinkle with a little salt and spray each chicken with a little cooking spray.

Bake in the oven at 350 for 35 mins or til chicken is cooked through.

For the sauce:
in a sauce pan take the McCormick Chicken Dijon sauce blend and place in a sauce pan and slowly add 1.5 cups of water ( 1/8 to 1/4 cups at a time til to insure there are no clumps and than add remaining water). Add a drizzle of olive oil (approximately 1tsp), salt and 1TAB pesto sauce. Bring to a boil til it reduces a bit and thickens. Remove from heat and continue with chicken.


When the chicken is finished take out of the over, top with 1 to 2 slices of Swiss cheese and pop back into the oven for another 3 to 5 mins, or until its melted and lightly bubbly. Using a standard turner place each chicken creation on a server plate, drizzle with sauce and enjoy!

Nau-Dee's Sausage, Mushroom, Spinach, and Leek Soup (p1)

One of the blogs that I enjoy is: Once Upon A Feast - Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories. While there, I came across a Leek, Mushroom and Spinach Soup recipe that looked REALLY good. It was a cold day and soup sounded like a great idea. I made it as the recipe called and it was wonderful!!!!! I highly recommend it. However today I wanted this soup but felt adding a few things and changing a few other things would be good too and suit my taste buds. My recipe is as follows...

Nau-Dee's Sausage, Mushroom, Spinach, and Leek Soup (p1)

Ingredients:
Approximately 3 cups thinly sliced leeks, white part only (cuz they are most tender...OR you can use some of the green part too but cook it first before adding in the white as it will take longer to cook!)
Approximately 2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 lb ground turkey sausage, cooked and chopped into small chunk/bits
1 package chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 can of of chicken broth
2 to 2.5 cups water
1 cup 1% milk
2 TAB olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Dash of Nutmeg for flavor


1. Slice up mushrooms and leeks. For leeks I didn't measure, I just used 2 large and 3 medium ones as I like it to be thick with veggies.

2. In Large or Medium size pot, cook ground turkey sausage (drain if needed). Add some olive oil, mushrooms and the leeks and saute until the veggies are tender. I like to do this all in the same cooking pot as it really makes a nice flavor for the entirety of the sou[. I also added a bit of salt to this saute mixture. When finished add thawed spinach and toss.

3. Pour in chicken broth, water and milk (add more or less depending on the amount of veggies you use and your desired consistency) Season with salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg to taste. Bring to a low boil, stir and reduce the heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes and then serve.

* I think with a little fresh grated parmesan cheese on top makes a nice and yummy garnish.

Two Breakfast - Sb style (both P1 friendly)

Easy Egg Omelet (p1)
2 eggs, beaten
sliced mushrooms, bell peppers and onion
I cant believe its not butter (ICBINB)
shredded cheese (mozzarella and colby or mild cheddar blend)
dry oregano
salt to taste


Cut bell peppers (into strips or small chunks) and slice up an onion. Saute in ICBINB til tender and set aside. Slice mushrooms and saute in ICBINB too and salt to taste and set aside with onion and bell pepper. I like to cook the mushrooms separately as they take less time to cook and they tend to soak up the juices at the beginning of their cooking.
Beat 2 eggs and pour into a hot non-stick skillet that's been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Cook til its set up a bit and flip. While the other side is cooking, top with cooked veggies and cheese and sprinkle with some salt and oregano. Sometimes the egg cooks up before the cheese is good and melted so I nook in the microwave a bit.


Quick Italian Spinach Pie (p1)
Adapted from :
kraftfoods.com

1 container (16 oz.) Low Fat Cottage Cheese
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1 cup Shredded Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
Ground turkey sausage, cooked and drained if needed (I added this and REALLY think it ads extra flavor and texture)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix all ingredients until well blended.
POUR into greased 9-inch pie plate.
BAKE 40 minutes or until center is set.

I often double this and place in a 9x13 and bake til set. Than I cut into servings and freeze or place in the fridg til ready to eat. It reheats wonderfully!

Note: the real Kraft recipe called for: 1 jar (7 oz.) roasted red peppers, well drained, chopped. and no sausage....but I leave the peppers out and add the turkey sausgae and its REALLY yummy and easy! ENJOY!!!!!

Grilled Chicken Satays with Lime Ginger Marinade and Peanut Sauce (P1)

From the blog of:
Reluctant Housewife Recipes
Photos by Nau-Dee

Grilled Chicken Satays with Lime Ginger Marinade and Peanut Sauce (P1)

Chicken Tenders
Marinade:
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon (sugar free) honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Peanut Sauce (below)


Cut the tenders in half lengthwise so that they are not too wide and will lift on the skewer nicely.
Combine all the marinade ingredients into a large bowl and place the tenders into the marinade and mix to cover chicken. Let marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Meanwhile, soak wooden skewers in water for at least 15 minutes.

Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Thread the chicken tenders very carefully. The skewer should mostly go through the chicken but because it is so thin it will need to be threaded in and out a little and that will work out just fine.

Grill over medium high heat for about 3 minutes per side or more until cooked all the way through. These should be very thin slices so they really should cook very fast.

Serve warm or at room temperature with Peanut Sauce.
















Peanut Sauce
Makes 1 1/2 cups

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup scallions, sliced very thinly
1 lemongrass stalk, pliable center very thinly minced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter-Natural is preferred
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I used sf maple syrup and splenda)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Lower heat, add ginger, jalapeno, scallions, lemongrass, cayenne, and coriander. Cook until for about 4-5 minutes until beginning to brown just slightly and super fragrant.

Add coconut milk and bring it to a simmer.

Add peanut butter, sugar, lime juice and salt. And stir really well to combine and let it simmer about 3 minutes. Adjust seasoning. Remove from stove and and let cool to room temperature before serving.

Note: Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Before serving, stir over medium heat until hot, thinning with water if necessary.

And ENJOY!

Oh this was yummy. I bit of work and a lot of ingredients but well worth the flavors. I particularly enjoyed the flavor of the chicken!
I somehow got more than just 1 1/2 cups of the peanut sauce. I'll save it for another time I make this chicken..wonder how well it will freeze? Anyways over all it was very good. The peanut sauce is one I have to get used to. I think if and when I make it again, as i don't have any low fat coconut milk I think I'll make it with fat free 1/2 and 1/2 or cream and add coconut extract....i think that would make it a bit more Sb friendly. Instead of brown sugar I used the splenda and sugar free maple syrup combo to emulate the flavor.

Hot Cocoa Custard (p1)

I got this off of the Sb forum that I just love! I'm not sure who or where this orrigionally came from but I got it from a post by: "Dolly-VA"




Hot Cocoa Custard (p1)


1 cup ff/lf milk
2 whole eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 pkt swiss miss DIET hot cocoa mix (only 25 calories per pkt)
1 Tb splenda (you really need to add this)
ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix all but nutmeg in a bowl. Pour into 3 (1/2 cup) Pyrex custard cups. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Set in a pan that has about 1 inch of very hot/boiling water in it. Bake 25 minutes or til set in the middle. Let cool and eat warm or better yet chill in the refrigerator and top with cool whip!

The recipe calls for: 2 tsp instant coffee/espresso crystals but I'm not big on coffee so I leave this out. I do however top with Sugar Free or Light Cool Whip. Its Soooo good!

5:4 challenge #3 Pork patties with black bean & cauliflower sauce (p1)

This is the 3rd of the 5:4 challenge. Our ingredients this time was: Any style of pork product, eggs, beans/legume, cauliflower and sour cream / milk. We also get 3 additional ingredients to use of our choice. This is what I made:

Pork patties with black bean and cauliflower sauce (p1)

Pork patties:
1 small or 1/2 large Pork tenderloin (fat trimmed and sliced)
1 small onion
dried cilantro (approximately 1 to 2 tsp) optional
1 to 2 eggs, beaten
oil
salt and pepper to taste

Trim the pork tenderloin to remove most of the fat. I used frozen tenderloin (2 to a pkg) and only used 1/2. After trimming the fat I sliced the tenderloin a bit so it would fit well into the grinder. I ground the tenderloin into large bits. Added a 1 egg, salt, pepper and dried cilantro if desired and mix. Let rest for about 5 to 10 mins and make into little patties. In a none-stick skillet add some oil and heat. Add the patties and cook til golden brown on both sides and meat is cooked thoroughly.

Cauliflower Sauce:
1 large or 2 small pkg cauliflower
sour cream (approximately 1/2 cup) salt and pepper to taste

boil cauliflower in water til every tender. drain and add salt, peeper and sour cream. Pure in a food processor to desired consistency.

Bean Sauce:
one can of black beans
garlic salt

put beans and garlic salt with some pepper in a food processor and blend til smooth. Pour into a sauce pan and heat and serve. Presentation can be made any way you like...here are two ideas:

Easy Taco Salad (p1)

Romain lettuce torn into bits
Hamburger meat, cooked and drained
Taco seasoning pkt
Black beans and or Kidney rinsed and drained Black olives, sliced
Shredded Cheese
Salsa
Sour cream

Cook hamburger meat; drain, rinse and drain again. Add a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water to the skillet along with the meat and taco seasoning. Add beans and cook to reduce and marry the flavors. Tear lettuce and place on a plate. sprinkle with black olives, cheese and top with sour cream and salsa.

White Bean Salad with Zucchini and Parmesn (p1)

White Bean Salad with Zucchini and Parmesn (p1)
(From the kitchen of Allison Jeffries in Maryland and posted on the Everyday foods Magazine).

2 cans Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3/4lbs zucchini (about 2 small), trimmed, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced on the diagonal
4 oz fresh green beans, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal (3/4 cup)
2 oz fresh Parmesan cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 TAB olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper

In a medium bowl, place the beans, zucchini, green beans, Parmesan, basil, lemon zest and juice and oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

Serves 4.
Note: small zucchini are sweeter than larger ones. Especially when used raw.
per servings: 205 calories; 7.7 grams fat; 11.2 grams protein;24 grams carbohydrates; 6.6 grams fiber.

Note: small zucchini are sweeter than larger ones. Especially when used raw.

Garbanzo and Tomato Salad
(Adapted from Sunset Magazine, four servings)

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained well
2 T balsamic vinegar
3 cups diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced sweet onion or red onion
1 large yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cup (or more) finely chopped parsley
salt, fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T fresh lemon juice

Put garbanzo beans in colander and rinse well, until all foam is gone. Pick over beans and remove any skins, then let drain about 5 minutes (or pat dry with a paper towel if you're short on time). Put beans in plastic container with snap-on lid, add 2 T balsamic vinegar and turn over several times so all beans are coated with vinegar. Let marinate while you prepare other ingredients.

Cut tomatoes in 1 inch pieces and put in colander. Sprinkle with salt, toss, and let drain. Dice onions in 1/4 inch pieces and bell pepper in 1/2 inch pieces. Chop parsley with chef's knife or mini-chopper. Put bell pepper, onion, drained tomatoes, and garbanzos with vinegar into large bowl (not the bowl you will serve the salad in). Drizzle over the olive oil, add lemon juice, and combine ingredients gently. Taste to see if you want to add more balsamic vinegar. Gently mix in parsley, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, put in serving bowl, and serve immediately.

5:4 challenge #2A Stuffed Tuna Packets (p1)

Well its time for the second installment of 5:4 challenge. This time around our ingredients were: Tuna (canned or fresh), pepper (any kind), celery, lime and mushroom. I came up with three idea's but only made 2. Two of the idea's were using tuna steaks and they are pretty expensive here right now and on base I could only get frozen. The one I didnt make was going to be a grilled tuna steak, stuffed with mushrooms and topped with a celery relish...but like I said I went with the other two idea's instead and limited my creativity to two dishes. One is a snack/appetizer and the other is a main meat dish. Both were really easy to make and had loads of flavor! If you try either I hope you enjoy! Heres the link to the Tuna Cream Bites.

Stuffed Tuna Packets (p1)
4 tuna steaks, rinsed and patted dry.

Marinade:
2 to 3 TAB fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tsp celery salt
salt and pepper to taste
5 to 6 TAB olive oil
2 TAB lime juice
salt and pepper, to taste

Filling:
one small can of chopped portabella mushrooms (drained)
1TAB fresh cilantro, chopped
3 TAB roasted red bell pepper, diced (from jar)
approximately 1.5 to 2 TAB feta cheese, crumbled
1 to 1.5 tsp minced garlic
a drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions: rinse and pat dry 4 Tuna steaks. Mix marinade in small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix filing ingredients with fork or hand mixer until blended but still chunky in texture.

Make a little slit in each raw tuna steak to create a little pocket. Fill the pickets with the filling mixture and place on a heavy duty sheet of foil.If you have left over filling or you don't want to make pockets topping the tuna with the filling mixture would be fine. After all four steaks are stuffed or topped with cheese mixture, drizzle marinade over each steak, equally (using all of it). Roll up foil and create little foil pockets/ pouches. I placed these on the grill but I'm sure you could cook them in a grill pan or oven (350 degrees). Cook approximately 25 to 30 mins til tuna is easy to flake and desired doneness. let cool a tiny bit as the foil will be hot - unwrap and serve!

Euro

This is Euro....he is a Yorkie / long haired chihuahua. However, he's fairly short haired (unlike his little brother, Mozes) so he's never gone to a groomer - but still needed to be introduced on the blog. He is my baby boy! We got him when he was only 3lbs and almost fit in our palm. He is now a HUGE 12 lbs :D He will be 3 years old this Oct 4, 2006. He is extremely laid-back and loving. He totally loves peanut butter, cheese, burger king hamburgers (plain) and vanilla ice cream if you feel like sharing. He loves to take naps, soak in the sun and cuddle! he is getting used to his little brother, Mozes, and spends loads of time wrestling with him or playing chase in the yard. Germans totally LOVE dogs - but they really flip when they see Euro. He is such a pretty dog and has an approachable quality about him. His fur is very silky and this, added to his awesome personality, makes him highly loved by all. Oh I should also add that Euro is very smart too. Yes yes he can do tricks but he also knows certain words when we spell them... like when we don't want to get him excited if we are discussing whether we want to go for a W.A.L.K or G.O someplace...he totally knows what we are talking about. Ha ha.

Mozes

Mozes

This is Mozes. He is anywhere from 1.5 to 2 years old. The people we got him from didn't really know and this was the best guess the vet could give us. The people that had him before us had saved him from a very bad home life. The people we got him from ended up not having much time for him and lived in an apt and really didn't want him anymore. My daughter fell in love with him and wanted to "save him". We adopted him and got ride of his 7 ticks, put him back on flea and tick meds, got him his shots, recently got him groomed and have an apt for him to get neutered and a microchip implanted. He is doing really great and is extremely happy and well adjusted. He has some quirks that stem from his past...like MAJOR anxiety when we leave the house or when he is in the car, but he is getting better!!! Mozes is a Yorkie and weighs about 5.6lbs. He is EXTREMELY playful and goes until YOU DROP! He loves attention...the more the better. He loves to cuddle, eat treats and shadow me around the house. He learned to bark after came to live with us (its so funny to hear him too) and he is starting to give kisses. He totally loves to pester his big brother, Euro- and the two enjoy playing chase in the yard or through the house. Mozes is a bit of a toy hog and knows a few tricks but really only wants to preform them if you have a treat in hand. He is very smart and learning very fast how his new family works and he's come to fit rather nicely.





Look who got a trim!
This is the first time he had been taken to a professional groomer. He was a good boy while there and will get more done next time. The groomer, who is also a licensed Dog Psychologist (?).... didn't want to do too much this first visit to overwhelm him. Mozes goes back in a month. But look! We can see his little face now!!!! :D


BEFORE





AFTER

Hot Sweetened Nighty Night Milk. (p1)

When I was very young my mother would make a milk for me that was sweet with a bit of a nutty/vanilla flavor. She called it Wonder Milk. She'd serve this cold or hot but it was always a special treat for me when she did. When I got older I found out it was an extract called wonder flavor and my mother couldn't find it anymore.
After reading some recipes from the SB forum for Vanilla Steamers, it brought this childhood drink back to mind and i got the thirst for it. I tried some and loved the results! This is what I did....

Hot Sweetened Nighty Night Milk. (p1)
Ingredients:
skim milk (enough for one coffee cup)
vanilla extract
almond extract
2 pkt splenda (per cup)
cinnamon

Directions:In a sauce pan whisk all the ingredients until heated and a little frothy. Add a dash or two of cinnamon, blend and then pour into a coffee cup and ENJOY! Now its not an attempt to remake wonder milk but its sure good! It was delicious before bed! My family and some of my daughters friends really enjoy it and have even made it for their families.

5:4 challenge #1 Chicken & Veggies 4 ways

Out of my indecisiveness I did it 4 ways!

I'm doing 5:4 with three awesome ladies... 5:4 is a blog we share where we create new dishes with limited ingredients. 5 random ingredients is our only real commonality and then each may pick 2 others ingredients of our choosing. we are to come up with some food dish, take Pict's of it and then report back to one another and post it on our 5:4 blog. We just started this but so far its been fun! Also check out the 5:4 to see what other things my great friends came up with....and stay tuned for more yet to come. I ended up making 4 things - but the one I liked the most is the Fried Chicken (its posted first of all the recipes)





NOTE that my puppy boys sure were interested in what I was

doing!!!!!!!!