Chicken Dijon Pasta - Crock Pot Meal

HUGE hit last night for dinner! We'll be making this again.
Super quick, cheap and easy! VERY LOW FAT! And you can add and sub a lot of things with this.

2 1/2 cup of uncooked bow tie pasta (you can sub with spaghetti squash)
Half bags of Frozen Peas
1 can of FF Cream of Chicken Soup
1/3c of Chicken Broth
2T of Dijon Mustard
1lb of Chicken Breast
1/3 cup of Roasted Red Peppers
1/2c Shredded Parmesan Cheese
(you can add one can of small mushrooms - we don't like mushrooms)

In Crock Pot
Add all ingredients MINUS the Pasta, Peas and Parmesan Cheese
Place on Low for 6 Hours OR High for 3 hours
Before serving Boil Pasta (or cook the squash)
While Pasta is Boiling shred the chicken in pot with fork
Mix Pasta and Peas in Crock Pot
Sprinkle Cheese on Top


(add salt and pepper to your tasting!)

Pair with Steamed Cauliflower for a side dish

ENJOY!!!

Crock Pot Chicken

Soccer night so I am making dinner super easy tonight.

3 pieces of Chicken Breast (thawed out)
1 can of dice tomatoes
1 jar of homemade canned tomatoes (you can use 1 med can of sauce and 1 can of dice)
Garlic - to your tasting
Basil - to your liking

Throw in crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours

Cook a box of Whole Wheat Pasta
Pour dinner from Crock Pot onto Pasta after cooking.
(You can either dice the chicken or shred)

Side dishes
Grilled Zucchini and Yellow Squash - season with salt and pepper.

A perfect Winter Meal

Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

2 - 8oz sweet Potatoes, peeled
1tsp olive oil
1/2tsp curry powder
1/4tsp salt
1/4tsp ground cumin
1/8tsp ground cloves
1/8tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise; cut each half lengthwise into 6 wedges. Combine sweet potatoes and remaining ingredients in a bowl; toss gently to coat. Place wedges on a baking sheet; bake at 425 for 25min or until very tender. Enjoy!!

4 servings (serving size; 6 wedges)
101 Calories
1.5g Fat
1.5g Protein
21g Carbs
2.7g Fiber

Sage Crusted Chicken (can use Turkey Tenderloin)
3tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
3tbsp shredded 3cheese blend
1/4c crushed cornflakes
1lb of Chicken Boneless Breast or Tenderloin
1tbsp Olive Oil
1/4tsp Salt
Cooking Spray

Preheat oven 425.

Combine first 3 ingredients in a dish. Brush chicken with olive oil; sprinkle with Salt. Dredge chicken in sage mixture, coating well. Place on Baking Sheet coated with cooking spray.
Bake for 15 min or until meat registers to 170 degrees.
Garnish with sage springs if desired.

Makes 4 servings
190 Calories
29g Protein
5g Fat
6g Carb
0g Fiber

Snack:
PB Banana Slice with Brazil Nuts

1 Banana
2tbsp Peanut Butter
8 Brazil Nuts

Cut Banana in half
Cut lengthwise
Spread PB on all slices
Add 2 Brazil nuts on each slice
Yummy!!!
(this helped with my PB M&M craving!)

Tonight till Friday Meals

The Chili I made yesterday was enough for us to have for left overs so that's on tonights plate ;)

Tomorrow we will have Baked Ziti and Salad
Thursday is Dance night which is also left over night, so we'll be eating Wednesday night meal
Friday Sage-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges (Dave will have backed potato)

Saturday and Sunday we'll be out of town so no cooking for mama! Sunday night we'll most likely eat whatever is in the house aka sandwhiches.

Here is tomorrow's meal
Taken from Weight Watchers Cookbook
I plan on changing some things so I am not sure how many points it will be worth
*I am going to use Fat Free Cottage Cheese instead of Ricotta. I may add some Turkery Cumbs of meat as well.

Ingredients

3 spray(s) cooking spray
1 pound(s) uncooked pasta, rigatoni or penne
3/4 pound(s) part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese, divided
4 cup(s) marinara sauce, store-bought, divided**
1/2 pound(s) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheeses
1/4 cup(s) basil, cut into ribbons, for garnish***

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat bottom and sides of a lasagna pan with cooking spray.

Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse with cool water and drain.

While pasta is cooking, in a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, red pepper flakes, 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup marinara sauce.

To assemble ziti, spoon 1/2 cup sauce on bottom of prepared pan; top with half of pasta in an even layer. Evenly spread pasta with ricotta mixture; cover with half of remaining sauce. Top with remaining pasta and spoon remaining sauce over top; sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining tablespoon Parmesan. Bake until cheese melts and is browned, about 20 to 30 minutes. Allow ziti to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into 12 pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.

On a Roll

Last night we went to AppleBee's to use up gift cards we've gotten. I was able to stay within my Weight Watcher Point System and still have dessert :)

Tonight we are having Beef and Bean Chili.

I've made this before and it was a hit. It's not as spicy as you would think. You can add more Red Pepper Flakes and buy tomatoes with Chili Peppers in it if you want to add the heat up. I use Turkey meat instead of Beef. I also skip the Bay leaves.

Again this was taken from Weight Watchers
Worth 7points if you follow their recipe

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion(s), chopped
2 stalk(s) (medium) celery, chopped
2 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
1 small jalapenoٌ pepper(s), seeded and minced**
1 pound(s) lean ground sirloin
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp Durkee Ground Cumin Seed, or other brand
1 tsp dried oregano
2 leaf/leaves bay leaf
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or more to taste
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup(s) canned beef broth, reduced-sodium
8 oz canned tomato sauce
30 oz canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup(s) shallot(s), chopped

InstructionsHeat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, garlic and jalapeño; sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Add beef and sauté until browned and cooked through, breaking up meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes; drain mixture through a colander to remove excess fat.


Return beef mixture to pan (set over medium-high heat) and add chili powder, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, salt and red pepper flakes; stir to coat vegetables and beef with spices. Add tomatoes, broth, tomato sauce and beans, and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.


To serve, discard bay leaves, ladle chili into bowls and top with chopped shallots. Yields about 1 heaping cup per serving.

New Year New Start

Here are some new stuff we tried out last night! It was a big hit with all 4 of us! I am doing Weight Watchers so it's healthy too! But more important it was a winner with my Steak and Potatoes kind of guy ;)

Both were taken from Weight Watchers

Au Gratin Potatoes

*I used Light Butter instead of Regular Butter
* I cut the time to 45 min in the oven and 2 min under the broiler
It's worth 4 Points

Ingredients

1 spray(s) cooking spray
1 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion(s), thinly sliced
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
2 pound(s) uncooked Yukon Gold potato(es), thinly sliced
1 cup(s) low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 2-quart covered baking dish with cooking spray.
• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour; add milk slowly, stirring. Add potatoes and stir to mix. Bring to a boil. Stir in 3/4 cup of cheese, salt and pepper.
• Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and level out surface. Bake for 1 hour, uncovered. Cover and bake until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes more.
• Change oven temperature to broil. Sprinkle remaining cheese over potatoes. Broil 6 inches from the heating element until the cheese is golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing into 8 pieces.

Baked Tilapia

Worth 3points

Ingredients

1 spray(s) cooking spray
20 oz raw tilapia, four 5 oz fillets
1/2 tsp table salt, or less to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp garlic herb seasoning

Instructions
Preheat broiler. Coat a shallow roasting pan with cooking spray.

Season both sides of fish with salt and pepper.

Transfer fish to prepared pan and drizzle with lemon juice; sprinkle garlic herb seasoning over top.

Broil until fish is fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Yields 1 fillet per serving

Weekly Meals Planning

I was out of town so hence the reason I was MIA ;)
With ice skating lessons, church, school, and dance classes being back in full swing this week menu planning is made to be quick and easy. Healthy too!

Monday (yes a day late) - we had Chili.
Tuesday - Fish, Carrots, and Mash Taters (myself sweet potatoes)
Wednesday - homemade pizza and salads
Thursday -Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice
Friday - Simple Shredded Pork Tacos
Saturday - Fresh Herbed Turkey Breast with wild rice and cranberries (dave will have taters)
Sunday - Pasta :)