Chicken with Cranberry Almond, Havarti Stuffing

Once again we have another delicious chicken recipe.  The original (Rose Reisman) recipe called for Chicken Supreme with skin but I altered it to a light breading instead.  Some of the measurements are altered as the original recipe served 4 and I need it for 6.

My youngest lad has lately become somewhat fascinated with all things cranberry.  He wanted me to make this one last night but I opted for the Tomato/Olive Chicken combo in yesterday's post instead.

Tonight I gave in and made this one and it was absolutely delicious.  The sauce is delightful and the chicken combined with the stuffing is perfect.  If only they made a "light" white wine with few calories....oh to dream.

Again, easy to prepare, and fast.   All in about 45 minutes (with kids running up to the market to pick up ingredients I had run out of).   These measurements were to serve 6.

Ingredients
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (six breasts)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup skim milk

Stuffing
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup toasted almonds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup shredded light havarti cheese

Sauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup thawed concentrated orange juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Garnish
fresh chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
Make a horizontal slit in each piece of chicken to form a pocket for the stuffing, making sure not to slice all the way through.

To make the stuffing, in a food processor, chop the cranberries and almonds.  Add the cinnamon and olive oil and finally havarti and process for a minute or so.

Stuff into the chicken breasts and secure with toothpicks.

In a small bowl combine the egg and milk and scramble well. Dip each chicken piece in to coat and then coat with breadcrumbs

Lights coat a large non stick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium high heat.  Lightly coat all of the breaded chicken with cooking spray.   Cook for approx 3 minutes on each side of chicken until golden brown and transfer to a foil lined cookie sheet.  (spray sheet with cooking spray).

Place in oven between 20-30 minutes until an interior temp of 165 F is reached.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce by whisking the maple syrup, orange juice,  honey, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and Dijon together in a small saucepan.  Add the cornstarch and whisk well.  Bring to a boil reduce the heat and simmer for about a minute until just slightly thickened.  Spoon over the cooked chicken.  (It is delicious over rice as well)

Chicken with Tomato, Three Cheeses, Olives

This lighter fare kick we are on has been wonderful but dang....I love breaded food.  I can't tell you how much I love fried breaded chicken, fried breaded pork chops, chicken wings, oh and veal cutlets...oh how I love an artery hardening veal cutlet with a sprinkle of lemon juice....heaven.

It's been a stressful week.  I had to fly up north to care for my Mother in Law (she is fine).  My daughter was having an issue that was best dealt with by me so I flew her up with me (happy Birthday honey), and we reset the gardens all weekend.  It was a week of trying to stay light on the fly so to speak.  That said I needed some comfort food tonight.

Anyhow...true to the spirit of keeping it light and trying to lose weight.   Woohoo (I have lost a little over 4 lbs now).  This is a lightened up version.   I can't tell you how good this recipe was.  It turned out far better than I thought it would taste wise.  It was scrumptious and the kids all wanted 2nds.
 
I should note.  This recipe took about 1/2 hour from start to finish.   Quick and delish

I got my inspiration from Rose Reismans' Family Favorites cookbook.  I changed the cheese types, tomato variety and olives to suit our own tastes.  The original recipe called for Havarti, Goat Cheese, and Parmesan, plum tomatoes, and black olives.  I used Asiago, vine tomatoes, and green olives with the little red pimentos in them.

It was fantastic!!   Without further adieu.

Ingredients: (serves 6)
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 egg
2tbsp skim milk
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup diced vine or plum tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded asiago
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped green olives
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp dried basil
3 tbsp chopped basil fresh
2 tsp vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Lightly coat a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
Pound chicken to 1/2 inch thickness
Beat the egg and milk together.  Dip each chicken piece into the mixture and then coat lightly with breadcrumbs on a seperate plate.
Lightly coat a non stick skillet with cooking spray, add the oil and place over medium high heat.   Cook each piece of chicken until browned and almost cooked through (approx 3 minutes per side).   Transfer to the casserole dish.
Combine the tomatoes, asiago, goat cheese, parmesan, olives, garlic, and dried basil in a bowl.   Spoon over the chicken.  Cover and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts and the chicken is cooked through. (internal temp of 165 F).   Garnish with fresh basil and serve with vegetables.     After the 10 minutes remove the cover and bake an additional 3 minutes.

This one is sure to please.

Chicken breaded.

After browning in the skillet

Tomato and Cheese mixture added

Yummy out of the oven

Ravioli Caprese Lightened up. (Chicken and Basil Ravioli)

One of our favorite recipes is Ravioli Caprese from Giada's Everyday Italian.  It's a wonderfully light tasting recipe.  It is however not that light calorie and fat wise so I wanted to try "lightening it up" tonight.




What resulted was a delightful surprise.  Minimal difference in flavour and even lighter tasting.

We used Wonton wrappers for this recipe instead of making the dough from scratch this time and I used light ricotta cheese and a broiled chicken breast as opposed to rotisserie from the store as in the original recipe.

While not big changes it was enough to lighten up the fat content and reduce the calories a bit.

The original recipe is posted HERE.    My changes are as follows.  As always my portions are to feed a family of six (plus a neighbour child tonight who begged to stay after seeing them made)

You can always take these portions and freeze extras on a cookie sheet then place them in a ziploc bag in the freezer to make a quick and easy dinner.  Halving the recipe works too.  I use the original measurements for the sauce without doubling.

Ingredients

Filling:
1 tub Light Ricotta Cheese
2 eggs
approx 1 1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken breast (use a processor to shred it).  This equates to about 1 cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup grated parmesan
4 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
grated ground pepper to taste

Sauce:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Wrappers:  One 220gram package of wonton wrappers.  (approx 75 wrappers)

For the Filling:   Combine all the ingredients in a medium bown and stir to combine.  I use my kitchenaid mixer to combine them all well.

Place the wrappers working with about 12 at a time on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Have a small bowl of water and pastry brush nearby.

Place approx 1 tsp (a smidgeon more.  I use a small cookie scooper) into the center of each of the wonton wrappers.
Use the pastry brush to lightly brush water along two edges of the wrapper and fold to create a triangle.  press closed and set aside on a seperate cookie sheet until ready to use.

To make the sauce, simply place the ingredients into a skillet and heat the sauce on low.

Once all the wrappers are filled  have a pot of low boil water ready.  Place about half the wontons in the water and let low boil until floating and ready (about 3-4 minutes).   Drain the wontons and place in the skillet with the sauce, lightly coating before removing to serving dish.  Repeat with the balance of the wontons.

The result is delightful and significantly less work than making the dough by hand as well.  This took me about an hour from start to finish.   Making the dough rolling it out etc, generally takes me about 2-3 hours to make this recipe.

Light Cinnamon Crepes with Fruit and Cheese. Scrumptious

We had the pleasure of having my parents here for Easter weekend this year.  This is the first time in 15 years that we've been able to spend Easter together so I was thrilled as were the kids.   Since we don't have them here very often I wanted to make a delicious brunch for them.  Of course we are still trying to stay "light" and I worked through some recipes lightening them up.  In addition to the crepes we also made a Chicken Spinach Frittata.  Recipe here

These were absolutely delicious!!!  I got to test my new crepe pan and play in the kitchen.  The filling light and scrumptious.  Fresh fruit finishes it up beautifully...  Ricotta cheese is spectacular with fresh fruit on it's own.  Add in a little crepe and it pushes it over to top in goodness.

Crepes. (makes approx 15)

These can be made a day ahead of time.  Everytime I've made crepes the first one always goes caplooey so I just toss the first one (actually one of the kids gladly accept it to taste test. )  You can cut the recipe by 3rds to reduce quantity of crepes

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
3 pinches of salt
2 1/4 cup buttermilk
6 tsp vegetable oil
3 large eggs (or 3/4 cups liquid egg replacement)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Filling
1 Tub Light ricotta cheese
2 oz light cream cheese (about 1/2 bar)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
3 cups of fresh fruit   (strawberries, banana, blueberries, raspberries, etc)


To make the crepes.
Combine the dry ingredients and mix well, set aside
In a seperate bowl combine the milk, egg, and oil.   With an electric mixer add the dry ingredients to the wet mixing gradually until smooth and combined.   Cover and refridgerate for 30 minutes

Lightly coat a non stick skillet or crepe pan with cooking spray and set over medium heat.  Using approx 1/4 cup of the batter, pour into the pan and tilt in all directions so the batter covers the pan.   Cook for approx 1 minute and lift the edges with a spatula to test.  Flip when the bottom is lightly browned.  I always use my silicone icing knife and a spatula to flip.  I am not a flipping master.  Set the crepes aside.   I use parchment paper to seperate the crepes.  I have tried plastic wrap (they get stuck together and hard to seperate the plastic),  wax paper (just doesn't work, paper gets soggy) and have ended with parchment paper being the best solution.   

For the filling, combine the ricotta, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a bowl, mixing with electric mixer until well combined.  Add the maple syrup and combine well.
Fold in half of the mixed berries gently.

To assemble, spread approx 1/4 cup (maybe a little more) of the filling onto each crepe and roll up.  Lightly coat a large non stick skillet with cooking spray over medium heat.  Brown the crepe on all sides for about two minutes.  Serve with the balance of berries.

Spinach Chicken Frittata

Frittatas are one of those easy breakfast items that let you use up all kinds of leftovers in the fridge.  I love frittatas.  They are nutritious and delicious.   You can generally use whatever you want in them after the basic eggs/cream combo to create your own unique versions.

I always have cooked chicken breasts in the fridge.  I love having them available for a quick lunch, to toss in salads, or make a quick meal.   This time instead of using heavy cream in the recipe to lighten it up I used 2% evaporated milk and it worked perfectly.  (next time I might even try evaporated skim milk)

Just as a note.  I don't measure any of this while I'm making other than the eggs and evaporated milk everything else is pretty much whatever I have on hand.

Ingredients

1 cooked chicken breast cut in small cubes
12 eggs
1/2 cup 2% evaporated milk
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 cup chopped brocolli (small)
1/2 red pepper chopped.
1 cup shredded cheese (your choice, sometimes I use goat cheese, feta, mozza, cheddar)

Beat the eggs and milk until well "scrambled".  Add in all the other ingredients and mix well.

Pour into a  greased 10-12 inch round oven proof dish (can be a skillet)  I use an oven proof flan dish.  I generally spray the pan with cooking spray.  Sprinkle some of the shredded cheese over the top of the mixture.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F, for approx 45 minutes.   Remove from oven and let sit for five minutes before serving.   This feeds my entire family with leftovers.  Yesterday I made it for 8 and we still had leftovers.

Easy Creamy Lemon Meringue Pie

Who says low fat has to taste badly?    Today was a major cooking feast in the kitchen using up produce and meat in the fridge.  We have cream of broccoli soup, cream of cauliflower and carrot soup, (both made with low fat condensed milk, vs cream) beef stew, low fat mac and cheese and we needed to add a little sweet to our lives today.

I found a lower fat creamy version of Lemon Meringue Pie on Rose Reiman's http://www.theartoflivingwell.ca/  website this afternoon.  

My daughter's little friend showed up and asked if she could help in the kitchen so we went at it.  This recipe is very easy.  My young ladies learned how to seperate egg yolks and whites, how to whip egg whites into yummy meringue (which they say is like goopy marshmallow "stuff"), zest a lemon and hand squeeze the juices. 

This recipe took very little time to make and while we haven't tastes the finished product quite yet, there were lots of little fingers testing the filling/meringue and base along the way.  Numberous thumbs up were achieved.

From the filling it is almost more like my Creamy Key Lime Pie  but I suspect lower in fats.  I was tempted to make it without the meringue as I'm not a huge meringue fan but given the first kick at the can so to speak, we made as directed.

Crust:

1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (I used graham wafer crumbs)

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Filling

1 can + 2/3 cup low fat sweetened condensed milk

1 tbsp lemon zest

1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed)

3 egg yolks (saving the whites)

Meringue

3 egg whites

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

3 tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly coat a 9 inch pie pan with cooking spray (I didn't do this)

To make the crust simply combine the crumbs with the water and oil in a small bowl.  Pat into the pie pan along the sides and bottom

For the filling, comine the sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, lemon juice and egg yolks until smooth and combined.  Let it sit for 10 minutes until it thickens a bit.   Pour into the pie pan and bake for 20 minutes or just until the mixture is set.

While the pie is baking make the meringue.   Combine the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and water in a mixing bowl.   Beat on highest setting until stiff peaks form (about 7 minutes).   Spread over the lemon filling immediately upon removing the pie from the oven.

Increase the oven temp to 375 degrees F and bake for 10 minutes until just lightly browned.  Chill until cold and cut into 14 small slices.  

Yes...SMALL slices.  I'm learning it's not necessarily what I'm eating but the portion size of said foods.  We are definitely "lightening" up our dishes with some easy alternative ingredients  but really it's monitoring portion controls.

I don't really need large portions of food so on that front I'm lucky.   I just needed a little bit of tweeking.

Mediterranean Burgers with Feta Cheese

Day 3 of healthy eating with another winning recipe from Rose Reisman's http://www.theartoflivingwell.ca/ website.

Tonight I actually made a variety of dishes including a "light" baked macaroni and cheese, and cream of broccoli soup.

I'm going to concentrate on the burgers though as they were exquisite!!!  The kids could not get enough of them.  I used approx 2 lbs of ground beef and doubled the recipe for my family.  I made the patties smaller to yield approx 18 patties

Absolutely no need to have a bun although my oldest told me a small fresh bakery dinner roll made was tasty with it as well.

Again under 300 calories and I can't even begin to describe how good these patties were.

BURGERS

1 lb extra-lean ground beef
1 egg
1 tsp dried basil  (I used fresh Basil (about 1 tbsp) and (1/2 tsp) oregano)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3 Tbsp seasoned dry breadcrumbs
3 Tbsp ketchup
2 tsp finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 1 oz)

SAUCE
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 1 oz)
1/4 cup light cream cheese (about 2 oz), softened
3 Tbsp low-fat plain yogurt (or sour cream)
1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp water (I omitted the water)
1/2 tsp dried basil  (I used fresh basil)

To make the burgers, combine the ground beef, egg, dried basil and oregano, breadcrumbs, ketchup, garlic, onion and feta in a large bowl and shape into 4 burger patties. Grill or sauté in a pan lightly coated with cooking spray. Cook on 1 side for 7 minutes, then turn over and cook 3 to 5 more minutes or just until beef is done.  I grilled mine on the bbq.

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a food processor and purée until smooth.  I simply used a hand blender