Garlic Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters

Garlic Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters

This recipe was a little different for us in our house. We almost always cook with chicken breast because the white meat is lower in points than the dark meat is (although my personal preference is dark meat...love me some fried chicken legs!) However, when I was shopping at Aldi one week, I saw this huge package of chicken leg quarters that were marked down to like $2 or $3 because they were almost to their "sell by" date, so I just couldn't pass it up. I'm always looking for ways to save money, and I am so not above buying marked down meat. (Just make sure to stick it in the freezer when you get home unless you are cooking it that night!) So once I had the meat, I went searching for a recipe and found this one. It was soooooo delicious! We had my in-laws over for supper and they loved it too! Yes, this is definitely one of those higher point meals, but as long as you plan your day so that you know what you'll be eating, you should be good to go!

Ingredients:

4 cloves diced garlic

1 tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. cumin

Dash of pepper

2 T extra virgin olive oil

4 chicken leg quarters

½ c. chicken broth 

Directions:

1.   Heat oven to 425

2.   Combine garlic, oregano, salt, chili powder, cumin and black pepper. Add olive oil and mix well. Mash it up with a fork

3.   Rinse chicken leg quarters and pat dry. Snip off any excess skin. Arrange chicken in a shallow baking pan. (I used a jelly roll pan). Pat the garlic mixture over the leg quarters.

4. Pour chicken broth in the pan to keep chicken moist while baking.   

5. Bake 40-50 minutes or until juices run clear.  

Yields 4 pieces – WWP+ 9 per leg quarter 

Shown here with a 1 point salad: lettuce, mushrooms, cucumbers and 2 T. fat free Caesar Italian dressing.

Recipe from www.southernfood.about.com

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

This was a very simple and fast fish dinner recipe and it was so tasty, Tessa even ate a whole piece! I was shocked!

Ingredients:

4 (4 oz) tilapia filets

2/3 c. parmesan cheese

1 T. chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp. paprika

1 lemon (cut into wedges)

Directions:

1.   Heat oven to 400.

2.   In a shallow dish, combine the cheese, paprika and parsley. Moisten fish slightly with water or cooking spray then dredge in cheese mixture.

3.   Place on foil lined baking sheet and bake until fish is opaque, about 10-12 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges. 

Yields 4 pieces – WWP+ 3 per filet

 
Shown here with a 1 point salad: lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers and 2 T. fat free Caesar Italian dressing, 3 points (1/2 c.) of brown rice and steamed broccoli.

 

Recipe adapted from RachaelRayMag.com

 

Easy Baked Chicken

Easy Baked Chicken

I debated even writing up and posting this dinner because it's so basic that it seems completely unnecessary to post. It's a seasoned piece of chicken breast, and that's it. However, I realized that in the 2.5 months that we have been doing this, I have been so caught up in making these incredibly yummy and fun dinners that are all weight watchers pointed out that I have not once just cooked some regular chicken. So I figured if I needed the reminder, maybe someone else did too. I actually put the baked chicken on the menu at the request of the hubs. It's been frustrating for him, and me as well, these last few weeks because his weight has been coming off much slower than it has in the past. He has been doing everything right (except maybe not exercising as much as he should, he just has a busy schedule this time of year) but the weight has just been slow to come off. The only thing he could think of that was different from the last time he did Weight Watchers and dropped so much, so fast, was that we ate a lot more plain meats and less fancied up recipes. While I explained to him that I would loose my mind and my motivation if I had to go back to eating nothing but chicken breast all the time again, however, I would be happy to implement more non-fancied up proteins for meals once or twice a week, so that's what I did! I was also having a major craving for mashed potatoes, so I fixed a small pan of instant mashed potatoes, which was 3 points for 1/2 c. and 5 points for a whole cup. We still had our big salad and also served it with broccoli. As for making the actual chicken, I get these really big chicken breasts that I then butterfly so they are thinner and cook faster and much more evenly. You can use whatever seasonings you want, I used what I had on hand and what sounded good to me. The chicken broth in the pan really does help keep the chicken from drying out. And point value-wise, for the most part, unless you get up to 9-10 cooked ounces in one chicken breast, we just weighed them after they were cooked and they are one point per ounce. This meal was nothing fancy, and certainly anything that anyone could do and has done a million times before, but sometimes going back to the basics is a refreshing change of pace.

Ingredients:

4 (4-6oz) thinly sliced chicken breasts

½ c. chicken broth
Onion powder
Garlic salt
Basil
Freshly ground pepper
(or any seasoning of your choice)

Directions:

      1.   Heat oven to 350.

2.   Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 baking dish.

3.   Top with seasonings of your choice, I used onion powder, garlic salt, black pepper and dried basil.

4.   Very carefully add about ½ c. of chicken broth to the bottom of baking dish (try not to pour it right on seasoned chicken so to wash off the seasonings).

5.   Bake about 20 minutes or until chicken is done. 

Yields 4 pieces – WWP+ 4-6 per piece (1 point per ounce of cooked chicken)

Shown here with a 1 point salad: lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers and 2 T. fat free Caesar Italian dressing and 3 points of instant mashed potatoes (1/2 c. serving)

Mexican Baked Spaghetti Squash

Mexican Baked Spaghetti Squash

 

The spaghetti squash obsession only continues...this week's new recipe was so good!! And possibly the best part of it all was that I didn't have to make it!!! We had this for dinner on Monday night, and I took off as soon as the hubs got home to go do a little shopping with my mom for some new clothes (since everything I have is too big!) and when I got home from shopping, this delicious casserole was in the oven ready to go, what a treat! The hubs did a great job, he doesn't think of himself of much of a cook, but he really did amazing! (I was also warned that this was not something I was to get used to happening :) This one had a bit of a kick to it, but not too much, trust me, I can't handle too spicy, and I thought it was delicious. But if you really don't like spicy, then just substitute the can of tomatoes and chilis for a can of regular diced tomatoes. We cut the 9x13 pan into 8 pieces, and they were big and only 4 points a piece! My whole dinner that night, with the salad, was only 5 points!! Spaghetti squash never ceases to amaze me!

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash

1 medium onion, sliced thin

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2 cloves garlic

1 T. chili powder

1 tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. cumin

Salt & pepper to taste

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 c. frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 can tomatoes with green chilis, drained

½ c. nonfat greek yogurt

1 c. 2% shredded cheddar cheese

 

Directions:

1.   Heat oven to 375. Cut squash in half length-wise and using a spoon, scoop out the seeds. Place halves face down on baking sheet and cook for 45-50 minutes. When done, using two forks, scrape out the insides and put all spaghetti squash in a separate bowl. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

2.   While squash is roasting, spray skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the onions, bell pepper and jalapeno and cook about 5 minutes.

3.   Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in chili powder, oregano, and cumin and cook another minute, stirring constantly.

4.   Transfer to a large bowl and add beans, corn, tomatoes, yogurt and half of the cheese. Allow spaghetti squash to cool at least 5 minutes, then add to the bowl and stir well to combine.

5.   Transfer to baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

 

Yields 8 pieces – WWP+ 4 per slice

 

Shown here with a 1 point salad: lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers and 2 T. fat free Caesar Italian dressing.

Recipe from Baked-In

Hawaiian BBQ Cupcakes

Hawaiian BBQ Cupcakes

I keep saying it, over and over, but we have yet to try a cupcake recipe that we don't love! This one was no exception AND it was super easy and fast to put together. There was only 3 layers (then repeated) and was just a quick and easy and yummy dinner to put together! I will say, they didn't hold up as well when I reheated them the next day for lunch as other cupcakes have, and I'm not entirely sure why, tasted just as good, just didn't hold shape quite as well reheated. But if that's my biggest complaint, then I think we're doing pretty good!

Ingredients:

1 2/3 c. cooked chicken breast, chopped or shredded

½ c. chopped fresh pineapple (if you have to use canned, drain, and don’t buy any in syrup)

4 T. BBQ sauce

1 T. chopped scallions

16 wonton wrappers

4 oz. (about 1 cup) 2% shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375, spray 8 cups in a muffin tin.

2.   In a bowl, combine the chicken, pineapple, BBQ sauce and scallions. Stir well to combine.

3.   Put a wonton wrapper in the bottom of each of the 8 muffin cups. Using half of the chicken mixture, divide evenly among the muffin cups. Then using half of the shredded cheese, divide evenly among the muffin cups. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients: wonton wrapper, chicken mixture, shredded cheese.

4.   Bake 18-20 minutes, then let sit about 5 minutes before serving.  

Yields 8 servings – WWP+ 4 per serving. 

(Pictured above with a 1 point salad – lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms and 2 T of fat free Caesar dressing) 

Recipe from Emily Bites

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Last night's dinner only added fuel to the fire of my new obsession with spaghetti squash! I have yet to try anything that I don't love with spaghetti squash and it only makes it all the better that using it really fills me up and keeps the point values low!! This really tasted like a real lasagna, I couldn't believe it! I think next time, I will probably try sauteing in some mushrooms and garlic with it as well. I admit, I did give it a sprinkle of garlic powder at the last minute when I realized there was no garlic in this recipe. I will say, buy the biggest spaghetti squash you can find. This one asks for 5-6 cups, I bought the biggest one that Woodman's had and it barely gave me 5 cups. I bought an extra smaller one just incase I needed more, but decided at the last minute to just fix the one and it gave me just enough. And I love that this recipe gives me 12 servings, the hubs had 2 pieces, and I had 1, so even though he took a couple for lunch today, we'll still have plenty of leftovers!!!

Ingredients:

1 (10oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach

1 c. onion, finely chopped

1 lb. extra lean ground turkey

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 ½ c. pasta sauce

1 ½ c. fat free cottage cheese

½ c. grated parmesan cheese

2 large egg whites

1 large spaghetti squash (5-6 cups cooked)

½ c. part skim shredded mozzarella

 

Directions:

1.   Heat oven to 375. Cut squash in half length-wise and using a spoon, scoop out the seeds. Place halves face down on baking sheet and cook for 45-50 minutes. When done, using two forks, scrape out the insides and put all spaghetti squash in a separate bowl. Then turn oven temp up to 425. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2.   While spaghetti squash is roasting, begin preparing the other layers to the lasagna. In a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray, sauté the onions and spinach (best if it’s not totally frozen, but can be). Cook until onion is translucent and spinach is not frozen. Remove from pan and put in a bowl.

3.   In the same skillet, cook ground turkey. Drain off any excess grease. Add basil and oregano and pasta sauce. Cook until heated then add to the onions and spinach and stir well.

4.   In a separate bowl, whisk together the cottage cheese, parmesan cheese and egg whites.

5.   Begin layering the lasagna. Using half of the spaghetti squash, spread it out on the bottom of the baking dish. Then using half of the cheese mixture, spread on top of spaghetti squash. Third, using half of the meat mixture, spread over the cheese mixture. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients: spaghetti squash, cheese mixture, meat mixture. Then sprinkle the ½ c. mozzarella on the very top.

6.   Bake for 35-40 minutes.

7.   Let it sit about 10 minutes before cutting into 12 even pieces.  

Yields 12 piece – WWP+ 4 per slice

Shown here with a 1 point salad: lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers and 2 T. fat free Caesar Italian dressing.

 Adapted from Dashing Dish

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Sorry! No picture! I took one, I swear, but it has disappered from my phone!

 

I don't know what happened to my picture, I swear I took one, but it is missing from my phone. The next time I make it (which will probably be soon considering how delicious this was!!!) I will be sure to take another picture to post with the recipe. This casserole was super easy to put together and it really did taste like chicken parmesan. We had my parents over for dinner the night we made this and they both loved it too! The only downside is that it is an 8 point dish, which is getting to be a higher point dinner for me now that I'm losing more and more weight, because as the weight goes down, so do the points they allow you for the day, but it was worth it to eat a light lunch to enjoy this dinner!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ c. fresh basil, finely chopped

2 c. marinara/pasta sauce

6 oz. part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated

3.5 oz. garlic croutons, roughly crushed (leave some bigger chunks) 

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2.   Spread the cubed chicken in the single layer across the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the minced garlic and fresh basil over top of it. Spread marinara sauce over the chicken next.

3.   Divide the two cheeses into halves, sprinkle half the mozzarella then half the parmesan. Sprinkle all the croutons on top of the cheeses. Then sprinkle the remainder of the mozzarella and parmesan on top of the croutons.

4.   Bake for 40-45 minutes.  

Yields 8 servings – WWP+ 8 points  

Recipe adapted from Emily Bites

Spicy Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans

Spicy Spaghetti Squash w/ Black Beans

So this was my first venture into the world of spaghetti squash and let me say, I am a HUGE fan! Dinner was so filling and so low in points!! My plan is to post a spaghetti squash recipe every week! Also, I will say, I was a bit nervous making this because spicy is not really my thing, but I'm trying to push myself outside of my comfort zone, and believe it or not, this was the first time I have ever cooked with jalapeno in my life. I omitted the chili powder when I made it last night because I wasn't sure how spicy the jalapeno would make it, and either I'm just really getting used to spicier things or it really didn't make that much of a difference, so next time I will definitely add the chili powder because it really wasn't what I would consider spicy. Tessa even ate it! Stay tuned for some more awesome spaghetti squash recipes...can't wait!!!

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash

2 tsp. olive oil

½ c. onion

1 jalapeno, seeded & minced

½ c. red pepper, chopped

1 c. black beans, drained & rinsed

½ c. sweet corn, frozen

1 tsp. chili powder

1/3 c. cilantro

1 T. lime juice

1 tsp. sea salt 

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375. Cut spaghetti squash in half and clean seeds out of the inside. Lay face down on a baking sheet and roast for 40-50 minutes, or until tender. When cool, take 2 forks and scrape away at the inside, it will fall apart and look like little spaghetti noodles. Set all squash aside in a bowl. Save squash shells for serving (can also be served in a bowl).

2.   Heat oil in a skillet, and add onion, jalapeno and red pepper. Cook about 2-3 minutes. Add beans, corn and chili powder and sauté another minute or so. Add cooked squash, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Cook another 1-2 minutes until heated through.

3.   Fill squash halves (or bowls) with filling and serve!

When in the skillet, I just flattened out the mixture, then using my spatula divided into 4 portions. The hubs at 2 of them (and was completely full afterwards!) and I had 1 serving, so ¼ of the whole recipe.

Yields 4 servings – WWP+ 3 points

(Pictured above with a 1 point salad – lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, and 2 T of fat free Caesar dressing)

Recipe from WholeFoodsMarket

Taco Cupcakes

Taco Cupcakes

Yet another incredibly yummy cupcake recipe! These had just a smidge of spicy to them, not too much, but you could make it spicier or not as much depending on which salsa and queso you purchase to use. I have already eaten up all the leftovers of our taco cupcakes because they were so good!!! With all of these ingredients, they really filled up the muffin cups and some of the cheese and stuff kinda melted over as they baked, but it doesn't matter because they were just...that...good. I highly recommend trying these!

 

Ingredients:

½ lb. extra lean ground beef

16 wonton wrappers

1 T taco seasoning

¾ c. canned black beans, drained & rinsed

5 T + 1 tsp. white queso dip

1 c. chunky salsa

4 oz. (about 1 cup) 2% shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375, spray 8 cups in a muffin tin.

2.   Spray large skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium heat. Add ground beef and taco seasoning and brown the beef. Add the black beans and continue to cook, warming the beans.

3.   Put a wonton wrapper into each of 8 muffin tins. Using half the queso, divide evenly among the cups. Then using half the meat and bean mixture, divide evenly in the 8 cups. Using ½ c. of the salsa, divide evenly over the meat mixture. Lastly, using 2 oz. of the cheese, divide evenly among the cups. Then repeat layering with remaining ingredients: wonton wrapper, queso, meat mixture, salsa and cheese.

4.   Bake for 18-20 minutes and allow to cool a few minutes before serving.  

Yields 8 servings – WWP+ 4 for one, and 9 points for two.

(Pictured above with a 1 point salad – lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, and 2 T of fat free Caesar dressing)

 

Adapted from Emily Bites

Crock Pot Cheeseburger Soup

Crock-Pot Cheeseburger Soup

This was our delicious dinner tonight on this chilly winter evening...and it was so good! It may not look the fanciest, but it was really tasty! The hubs and I are both big fans of soup and salad for dinner and this one did not disappoint. It did take a few more steps to make than some of my recipes, but it was worth it. Bonus....it's a slow cooker recipe, however, you only put it in the slow cooker for 2 hours. I started my dinner around 2:00 since I knew we would be eating early tonight with other things we had going on. So if you're one that works a 9-5 job, I would save this recipe for the weekend, only because you can't stick it in the crock pot in the morning, and I would imagine that starting dinner at 5 that takes about a half hour to prep and 2 hours to cook would lead to a pretty late dinner. It was definitely worth the effort for us and I'm looking forward to my leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

1 pound extra lean ground beef

2 T. all-purpose flour

3 c. chicken broth

1 c. low-fat evaporated milk

8 oz. low fat cheddar cheese, cubed

½ tsp. paprika

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

24 baked tortilla chips

 

Directions:

1.   Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Add garlic, onion and celery. Cook over medium heat 4-6 minutes or until cooked. Remove vegetables from skillet and put in slow-cooker (I always use crock-pot liners, if you don’t, spray the bottom of it first).

2.   In the same skillet, brown the ground beef and drain. Once cooked, add to crock-pot.

3.   In a small bowl, combine the flour with ½ c. of the chicken broth. Stir well until no clumps remain. Then pour into the same skillet you just removed the beef from. Add the remaining 2 ½ c. chicken broth and bring to a simmer (using a wooden spoon make sure you are scraping up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan…good flavor!) Pour liquid into crockpot.

4.   Stir into the crock-pot the cubed cheese, evaporated milk, paprika, salt and pepper.

5.   Cook on low for 2 hours, no longer! Stir occasionally. With each single serving of soup, add 3 baked tortilla chips crumbled up on top.

Yields about 8 (3/4cup) servings – WWP+ 5 per serving.

***original recipe from www.weightwatchers.com

Mini Mexican Biscuit Casseroles

Mini Mexican Biscuit Casseroles

Okay, so I've been wanting to do this recipe since the day we started doing weight watchers again. This recipe is my absolute FAVORITE from my days of eating whatever I felt like without giving it a second thought. I love this, it's a casserole my mom has made for years and there is just something about it that I love. It's kinda taco, kinda chili, topped with cheese and biscuits...wonderful. It's because of this recipe that I used to love to make biscuits when I would make chili, then I would dip the biscuits in the chili. I just love it. I knew if I made it again, I would have to lighten it up though, so I made a few changes, but overall, it gave me the same flavor and the same comforting effect that this dinner has always done for me. Now, I'll admit, my intention was to take the 4 biscuits, and cut them across (kinda butterfly style) so I would end up with 8 round biscuits, just thinner. However, I had a bit of a challenege doing that as my biscuits weren't quite firm enough. You're welcome to try it! That would definitetly make it look a little more like the original recipe. And....I love that it heats up awesome for lunch the next day! In fact, sometimes I think the flavor is even stronger the next day!

Ingredients:

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

¾ c. cooked corn kernels

½ c. drained black beans

1 ½ c. drained kidney beans

4 large homestyle buttermilk refrigerator biscuits

2 T. taco seasoning

2/3 c. water

4 oz. 2% shredded sharp cheddar cheese

 

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375 and spray 8 individual glass baking dishes with cooking spray

2.   Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain off excess fat/liquid. Add taco seasoning and water. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Add cooked corn, black beans and kidney beans. Cook a few minutes on the stovetop (just warming the beans and corn).

3.   Evenly fill 8 baking dishes with the meat and bean mixture. Shred 4 oz. of cheese and evenly sprinkle on top of meat mixture in the 8 dishes.

4.   Using 4 of the biscuits (my can came with 8), cut into small pieces, I did about 12-16 per biscuit. Evenly divide biscuit pieces over the cheese.

5.   Put all baking dishes on a large cookie sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes or until biscuit pieces are golden brown. 

Yields 8 servings – WWP+ 7 per serving.

(Pictured above with a 2 point salad – lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, and 2 T of fat free French dressing)

Recipe from: Yum to the Tum original!