Spicy Chicken Cacciatore

Way back in 2005 when I first joined Weight Watchers they had a program that was divided into Core and Flex. Flex used the points system that Weight watchers has evolved into a healthier program. Core was the other version that had certain foods that you could eat until you were satisfied (NOT STUFFED). It was a more regimented eating plan, where you ate lean meats, protein, fruits and veggies, some whole grains. Basically a healthy well rounded diet. When I first joined I never thought of doing the core plan. But after 8 months on a plateau. I was beyond frustrated. I can remember leaving meetings after not seeing a loss, or seeing a gain on the scale and crying out of frustration.

I finally told myself that I would try the Core plan, honestly for 8 weeks. And if it didn't get me off my plateau then I would quit Weight Watchers... within a week I was losing again. And after having lost another 30 pounds, I ended up pregnant with my little munchkin. Or I would have probably lost more.

While we were doing Core, I collected a 3 ring binder full of recipes. Some were great, while others were so so. One of the great recipes is this Spicy Chicken Cacciatore recipe. I haven't changed the recipe, but just re-calculated it for Weight Watcher's new points program.

Spicy Chicken Cacciatore (makes 4 servings)

WW Points Plus: 8 pts a serving

4 ounces whole wheat spaghetti

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup onions, chopped

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 medium green pepper, diced (or sliced)

1 cup mushroom, sliced

4 Chicken Thighs with skin removed

4 Chicken drumsticks with skin removed

2 tsp dried basil

1 1/2 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, no salt added, drained

2 Tbsp dried parsley

In a large saucepan or stock pot over medium-high heat, add onion, garlic, green pepper and mushrooms. Saute until vegetables are tender and mushrooms release juice, about 4 minutes. Add chicken and saute until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add basil, curry, salt and pepper. Stir to coat.

Add tomatoes and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 30-45 minutes or until chicken is done.

Meanwhile cook pasta according to package directions and keep warm. Transfer pasta to bowls and spoon 1 chicken thigh and drumstick then top with Tomato mixture.

Serve hot.

Stuffed Chicken breast.

I'm still working on getting used to Weight watchers new Points plus program. But I'm really liking it. When I bought the new material it had a cookbook. We have started to go through the cookbook trying all the recipes. One of the first ones that caught my eye was this recipe. It turned out delicious, and was surprisingly filling.

Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast (makes 4 servings)

WW points plus value: 4 pts a serving

2 ounces fat free cheese, crumbled

2 moist packed sun dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), finely chopped

1 Tbsp basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup panko (japanese bread crumbs)

4- 5 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast

4 teaspoons fat free mayonnaise

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray nonstick baking sheet with spray.

2. With fork, mix together feta, sun dried tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper in small bowl until blended. Spread Panko on sheet of wax paper or shallow pan.

3.With small sharp knife, cut pocket, about 2 1/2 inches long in each chicken breast. Put one-fourth of cheese mixture into each pocket. Brush top of each breast with mayonnaise. Press coated side of chicken, one breast at a time, in crumbs. Place, coated side up in prepared baking pan.

4. Lightly spray crumbs with nonstick spray. Bake until chicken is cooked through and crust is golden, about 25 minutes.

We served it with side of Sliced mushrooms sauteed. And fresh spinach sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil.

Eggplant Parmesan I've missed you.

It's been at least 2 weeks since we have had this recipe... So HELLO what goes on sale at Kroger this week. Eggplants for a dollar a piece, which they are usually at least 3 dollars a piece. So I gladly added it to our weekly menu. I did make the mistake of grabbing Hot Jalapeno's instead of medium... so our sauce was a little spicier, but still!!

delicious

Eggplant Parmesan (makes 6-8 servings)

WW pts: 7 pts per serving or 8 if you eat with 1/2 a serving of Whole wheat spaghetti noodles

2 Large eggplant

1 cup fresh parmesan cheese

Olive oil

flour

Pepper

Rosemary

1 cup diced onion (1 md onion worked fine)

1/4 cup minced garlic

1/4 diced jalapenos

1/2 cup chopped basil

pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Cut Eggplant into 12-14 slices (1/2 inch thick). In a large saute pan, heat enough oil to cover the bottom to brown the eggplant. In a shallow dish mix flour, rosemary and pepper with a fork, then dredge eggplant in seasoned flour. Shaking off excess flour. Saute 4-5 slices at a time, until golden brown on each side. After cooking all the eggplant in same fashion, dump the oil, and add new oil (1 tsp olive oil). Add onion, garlic and jalapeno. Saute a few minutes, then add the tomato sauce that you've been cooking into this pan. Season with pepper and salt if you need to, I didn't need any salt.

In a 9x13 pan place eggplant and spoon even amounts of the sauce over the eggplant, and then generously sprinkle parmesan cheese and bake until the cheese is completely melted.

I used less parmesan and added some fat free Mozzarella.

Cheap but great dinner.

Most of you know that I love anything cheap. So when I get to use coupons and can create a whole meal for $2.69 dollars to feed 3 people... who can beat that. Let's face it, you can't go to McDonald's and get that much food to satisfy your hunger no matter what those commercials say.

Not sure how many people know this, but if you don't already here it comes. Most grocery stores that have a deli, do rotisserie chickens. Well you can only keep said items for sale for a certain length of time, before they "expire". So what do they do if they have leftovers. Well Wal-mart has been known give them away to customers in the checkout line for free (my in-laws benefited from that) vs. throwing them away. Other places like Kroger put their 4-5 dollar chickens on sale for 2 dollars. So here is the breakdown of my made up dinner and how I did it.

I had planned to get a chicken, normal price was 3.99 (it was on sale for that usually 4.99). So I went to Kroger and found one for 1.99 on clearance. I also had received a coupon from Kroger for 1.25 off a whole chicken. Making the whole chicken 75 cents. Which we made into 3 dinners. Making it 25 cents a dinner! The peppers and onions I got on sale for $1. And the diced tomatoes $1.28. Then the pasta I got B1G1 Free, which meant the 8 servings of pasta was 65 cents. Meaning our 2 servings was right at 16 cents.

So our grand total for us was $2.69 cents.

Chicken Spaghetti (makes 2 servings)

WW pts: 7 pts.

4 ounces of Chicken (you can use a chicken breast cooked and shredded if need be.)

4 ounces of whole wheat pasta

1-15 ounce can diced tomatoes, no salt added, drained

1- 15 ounce can tomato sauce, no salt added

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 red or yellow pepper, diced

1/2 medium onion diced

1 tsp crushed Rosemary

1 tsp oregano

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp pepper

pinch Cayenne pepper (optional)*

PAM

In a pan spray PAM and saute peppers, onions for 5-8 minutes on medium high heat. Add diced tomatoes and let them cook for 3 minutes. Then add tomato sauce, rosemary, oregano, garlic, garlic salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Turn heat down to a simmer.

While the sauce is cooking, cook noodles according to package directions. When noodles are almost done, add chicken to spaghetti sauce and heat through. Mix and serve hot.

Michael added the mozzarella cheese on top, and added more than I planned, so mine was a little cheesier than anticipated. So you will have to determine how much cheese if any you want on there.

*Just so you guys don't think I'm totally insane. The reason I add Cayenne pepper to a lot of stuff, is I read an article a year or so ago that talked about if you add a little extra spice to the food you eat, it causes you to slow down your eating, and you eat less. Plus the spicy foods cause you burn a few more calories than if it were normal. I'm not completely insane (and if any ex-roommates try to tell you differently. I've got Crisco ready for them) there is a reason to my madness. Most of the time.

One other little side note. I'm going to be MIA for a week or so. But when I come back, you better believe I've got some yummo recipes to share with you!!

It's Football.

Which in the south means tailgating, food, alcohol... but mostly food. In the low cholesterol, low fat cookbook they had a recipe for toasted ravioli and an Italian salsa. In the past 6 days, I've made it 2 times. That's how good it is. Although the second time I made my homemade marinara which went WAY better with the ravioli then the Italian salsa recipe that came with it.

These suckers are so good, that both times I failed to take a picture of them, because we dug into them so fast. So next time I swear I will take a picture of them. But for now you only get the recipe. It depends on what raviolis you get, so you will have to figure out the points for them if you need to. I went with Publix's brand frozen beef Ravioli.

Toasted Ravioli with Marinara (makes 10 servings)

1 lb. frozen beef ravioli (about 30 pieces)

Vegetable spray (PAM)

1/4 cup fat free light Italian dressing

1/4 cup dry Italian breadcrumbs (I used progresso 1 time and panko the other, but Progresso worked better)

1 1/2 tsp Salt free italian herb seasoning.

Marinara Sauce

1- 15 ounce can tomato sauce, no salt added

1- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, no salt added, drained

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic salt

pinch of cayenne pepper (optional, but add so much flavor to the sauce)

1/4 tsp rosemary

pinch of ground thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil ravioli according to package directions. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, mix together marinara ingredients and let simmer on low for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spray a sheet pan with PAM. After raviolis are done, let them cool for 10 minutes, then brush Italian dressing on them with a brush or spoon. In a small bowl, mix breadcrumbs and italian seasoning. Then sprinkle the tops with breadcrumb mixture. And bake 10 minutes, then flip and bake another 10 minutes or until they are crispy.

Serve hot, with hot marinara.

For around 3 raviolis:

Calories: 133

Fat: 2

Fiber 2

This is for the raviolis I bought but might need to be recalculated to whichever you buy.

Honestly these things would be good as a meal in themselves, and not just an appetizer.

Crock Pot Lasagna!!

I'm sitting here typing this with the smell of lasagna wafting through the house. And all I can think is... I still have hours before it's going to be ready. YUM and torture all rolled into one giant crockpot. I got this recipe from a coupon book from Proctor and Gamble a few years ago. Who would have thought that such a great recipe would come from a free coupon book. But hey, I got a great dinner recipe, and great coupons out of the deal. So I'll take it. Plus it's super easy to put together.

Crock Pot Lasagna: makes 6 servings

WW pts: 8 pts.

Cooking Spray (PAM)

1 lb ground lean turkey (or beef), cooked and drained

1 28 ounce can tomato sauce (you can use a jar of spaghetti sauce if you want instead of tomatoes)

2- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes no salt added

1/2 box no-boil lasagna noodles, gently broken in half

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 cup fat free ricotta cheese (or ff cottage cheese)

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/2 cup onion, diced

2 cups Mozzarella

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

Grease the inside of the crock pot with the PAM. Combine beef, sauce, garlic, spices and onion in a medium size bowl and mix well. Then combine the ricotta and mozzarella in a small bowl, stirring to combine well.

In the crock pot, layer sauce, noodles, then ricotta mixture, repeating. Your top layer should end up sauce. I think we had 2 full layers, then topped with sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours. then serve.

Good but disappointing.

We had another one of Eatathomecooks.com recipes. It was a Rotini with Grilled Zucchini and Chicken. I'm not sure what I did differently but ours had a lot more sauce than I think it was supposed to. I probably could have cut the sauce recipe in 1/2 again and still had enough. But it was good and creamy, and I LOVED the Gorgonzola cheese in the sauce. The disappointing part is that it was 20 pts for 1 serving... I know some people don't get that for their whole daily allowance. I even used fat free whatever I could... so I'm stumped as to why it was so high... But here is what I did. You can click the link to the right to find her original recipe.

I also changed the name to something a little shorter for my sake.

Gorgonzola Chicken Penne (makes 2 servings)

WW pts: 20 pts. (ouch)

2 Chicken breast

2 small Zucchini, diced

2 Tbsp, light butter

4 ounce Penne (It's all I had)

1 cup Fat free half and half, warmed (I did it in the microwave for 30 seconds)

4 ounce Gorgonzola cheese

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp, minced Garlic

1 large tomato diced

Slice chicken into small strips and saute until done. Add diced Zucchini and saute them until they are tender. Remove the chicken and zucchini from pan, then add butter and let melt. Add garlic to melted butter, and saute for a minute. Slowly whisk in Half and half. Stir that for few minutes. While the sauce is going, cook pasta according to package directions.

Then add the cheese to the sauce and stir to melt both cheeses. When cheese is all melted, add the chicken and penne, and diced tomato to the sauce, stir to coat. And serve immediately.

I think next time I would make a little more pasta, and break it into 4 servings instead of 2. Maybe that would bring the points down. Luckily my week started today... so I have all week and a triathlon Saturday to work these 20 pts off!!!!

Perciatelli all' Amatriciana

I know it's a crazy name. And from the recipe it's just a simple pasta dish... I guess they just had to get all fancy with the name. Oh well. I did have to substitute and adjust the recipe. One day I swear I'm going to splurge and actually buy the real pancetta that recipes call for, and not go cheap and just use regular bacon. I liked this dish because it wasn't a "heavy" pasta dish that some can be. And of course with my love of mozzarella cheese, I had to fight not to want throw a couple tablespoons on the top and melt it in the oven (which I think would have topped this dish off). But it's good either way. I might just call it Bacon Tomato Penne next time.

Perciatelli all' Amatriciana (makes 4 servings)

WW pts: 5 pts. a serving

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped finely

4 oz. Pancetta (I used Turkey bacon b/c it's what I had)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup dry white wine (I used chicken broth b/c we didn't have the wine)

1 -28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, no salt added

1/4 tsp salt

6 oz. whole wheat penne noodles (it called for Perciatelli, but I only had penne)

1/3 cup grated parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese.

Bring a large pot of water to boil.

Meanwhile heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bacon and red pepper flakes. Saute 10 minutes or until onion and bacon are golden.

Pour in wine (broth) and bring to a boil, stir in tomatoes and salt,. Bring sauce to a boil, lower heat, and simmer stirring occasionally.

When sauce has simmered for 10 minutes add pasta to boiling water and cook according to directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Drain pasta; add to sauce in skillet and toss over medium heat 1 minute until pasta is well coated. Remove from heat, stir in cheese and reserved pasta water and toss well. Serve immediately with extra cheese.

I made a side salad so we could have some extra veggies for the day!!

Pasta Soup.

We are fast becoming HUGE fans of Eat at home cooks. If you can't tell by the fact that 1/2 of our week has been recipes from her site!!! Tonight is no different. I of course took her recipe and tweaked it just a bit. But in the end, I think no matter what recipe you follow, this one would turn out yummy!!!

Now please don't laugh at the pasta that we used. I tried to get Will to eat some alphabets a while ago, and he wouldn't so I was left with almost a full package of Alphabets... so I used them instead of opening something else.

Here is her original recipe.

Pasta Soup

I added a can of Rotel and 4 cups of water to the recipe. It added a little spice to it, and made it a little "soupier".

I figured up the WW pts at 2 pts. per cup. My version made 10 cups of soup. And I'm looking forward to having it for leftovers this weekend!!!

It's a homemade!!!

Ok, so your supposed to say the Title with an Italian accent "It's a homemade". Today I delved into the world of homemade spaghetti sauce. You know what. It was easy, fresh, and I could have continued to eat it until it was completely gone, if it weren't for Michael putting it away.

Our garden has been doing so great this year. Today alone I picked 5 tomatoes, 2 Green peppers, 3 squash... and that's not even the tip of what we've still got out there. With our garden doing so great, comes the over abundance of tomatoes. I think I've picked 30+ so far, not including the 5 I picked this morning. So last night Michael was joking about "Why don't you make your own spaghetti sauce with the tomatoes from the garden".... oooohh Challenge on hubby. With no clue as how to make spaghetti sauce, without opening a jar or can I went to Swagbucks searching (ask me about this, it's awesome, if you want free stuff). Sure enough I found a couple recipes but they were all for recipes of how to can the tomato sauce. Now I haven't gotten into the canning my stuff yet (maybe next year), but I figured, hey if I can make that, then just cook it a bit longer and bam I'll have sauce....

So how'd I do??? I added my leftover meatballs from the night we had the mexican meatball subs. Since I only need 1/2 lb of meat for both, I usually do 1/2 mexican and 1/2 italian meatballs and save the leftover meatballs for another meal.

Spaghetti Sauce (makes enough for 4 servings of sauce)

WW pts per serving: 1 pt.

8 medium tomatoes (boil for 1 minute in hot water, then put in ice bath to remove skins)

1- 15oz. Tomato Sauce

1 tsp Oregano

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp pepper

1 Onion diced

1/4 red bell pepper diced

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp basil

1 tsp crushed rosemary

After you remove the skins of the tomatoes, cut and take out as much seeds as possible (it doesn't have to be perfectly clean) and then try and squeeze out extra water. The less water in the tomatoes, the thicker your sauce will be (apparently). After you squeeze some of the water out of the tomatoes let them sit in a strainer in the sink. Meanwhile, saute the onion and bell pepper and garlic until Softened. Then add tomatoes (they don't have to be cut up, they will breakdown on their own). Add the remaining ingredients and let simmer, until thickened (I think I let it simmer for 2 hours, but it could have come off earlier).

Baked Ziti (makes 4 servings)

WW pts: 6 pts (including 1 pt. for sauce)

224 grams of Ziti noodles (or just go by the box for portions if you don't have a food scale)

Sauce of your choosing.

Boil noodles according to directions (if I'm going to bake it, I usually strain it a minute or two early so that the noodles don't get mushy in the oven). Then throw into sauce mix, and dump into baking dish of your choice. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

We served it with a side Caesar salad. I bought the Ken's lite Caesar dressing, and it's fantastic and a LOT less calories than the original.