Recipes

Microwave Potato Chips

potatoes, thinly sliced
Pam
salt, pepper
parchment paper

Tear a piece of parchment paper to the size that will fit on your microwave tray.  Spray with Pam.  Sprinkle salt and pepper (and whatever other spices you want - chili powder, garlic powder, cheese, etc).  Place potatoes on the parchment paper. Sprinkle top with spices.  Cover with another piece of parchment paper.  Microwave for 5 minutes and check.  They take anywhere from 5 minutes - 10 minutes depending on the thickness.

The one issue I had was that when I layered the potatoes, they stuck together.  But if I do just a single layer, it won't make much, and I have a family of 6 to feed.  So, the layering works, they just come out in clumps (tasty clumps, though!!)


Shrimp Po' Boys

Medium shrimp
buns
shredded lettuce
Texas Pete hot sauce
garlic, minced
chili powder
pepper to taste

Put the shrimp in a baggie.  Add Texas Pete, minced garlic, chili powder and pepper.  Seal and shake.  Marinade for a few hours.  I just use all the spices "to taste."  I like a lot of garlic so I used a good bit of it.

Grill on the grill until done.

Slather Texas Pete on both sides of the bun.  Add shredded lettuce and top the lettuce with the shrimp.  I used 1/2 a bun and about 6 shrimp.

Calories - about 130


Grilled Artichoke Hearts

2 cans quartered artichoke hearts
garlic powder
pepper
chili powder

Drain the artichoke hearts and put into a baggie.  Add garlic powder, pepper and chili powder (you can add whatever spices you want - these are my favorites).  Grill until crispy.

10 pieces are 50 calories.


Black Bean Soup

10 cups of canned black beans
5 cups chicken broth (try to use low sodium)
1/4 cup of diced carrots (or more if you want)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 pkg of chopped ham
garlic powder to taste
chili powder to taste

Put all the ingredients in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, then cook on low for several hours.  At this point you can eat the soup as is - with chunks in it - OR you can cool it down and then blend it in a blender to make a smooth soup.  If you have one of those hand held blender things, you could use that too.  I like to let it sit for a day in the refrigerator and then eat it.  It is really, really good.

1 cup has 238 calories and 8.5 g fat.  The only problem is limiting yourself to one cup!!



Beef Pot Pie

1 large can of stew (we used Dinty Moore, but I won't use it again)
1 pie crust

Spray a pie pan with non-stick spray.  Pour the stew into the pie pan.  Cover with the pie crust and cut slits to let it breathe.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until bubbly and the the crust is done.

Enjoy!  1 serving is 300 calories and 13 g of fat (that's a cup of the stew and 1/8 of the pie crust). 

It is very filling.  However, I found the Dinty Moore stew to be a bit tasteless.  It was the lowest calorie choice, so that's why I chose it, but I will find a different brand next time.  You can also add a bottom crust if you want, but I wanted to avoid the extra calories.

I served this with cut pineapple.  The kids gave it rave reviews.  Hubby said it was just okay (I think he had the same thoughts about the stew that I did).



Chicken Enchiladas

1 can cream of chicken soup - healthy request
taco seasoning
1 can ro tel's diced tomatoes and chiles
4 chicken tenders
3/4 cup 2% four cheese mexican
fat free refried beans (about 1/4 cup for each enchilada)
tortillas

Sprinkle the taco seasoning on the chicken tenders and let sit in the refrigerator for a few hours.  Broil the chicken breasts until done.  Shred them into pieces.  Mix chicken pieces with the 1 can of chicken soup and the 1 can of ro tels.  This is your filling.  (You can also add 1/4 cup of the cheese into the filling at this stage which will leave 1/2 cup to go on top).

Spread about 1/4 cup of refried beans on a tortilla, then put filling on top.  Roll up the tortilla and place, seam side down, in a baking dish.  Repeat.  I was able to fit 5 tortillas in my baking dish.  Spread remaining filling over the top of the tortillas.  Sprinkle with 3/4 cup of cheese.  Bake about 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

The filling and the refried beans comes out to be about 209 calories and 5.75 g of fat each.  The tortillas you use make up the rest of the calories.  A corn tortilla is only about 60 calories while a whole wheat tortilla can be up to 150 calories. 

I think I would like it if I just heated the filling in a sauce pan and put it in a lettuce leaf wrap.  I'm not a big tortilla fan, so I think I would like that better.  The filling is really good! 

Enjoy!


Ham/Apple/Swiss Cheese Sandwich

2 slices of  wheat thin bread
2 slices of low fat swiss cheese
2 slices of lunch ham
1/2 apple, sliced
mustard to taste

Toast the bread halves in the oven.  Apply mustard to taste.  Layer apples, 1 slice of ham and 1 slice of cheese on each half of the sandwhich.  Broil until cheese is melted.

This is fantastic!  Eating both halves is about 263 calories.  I was full after the first half, but it was so darn good, I ate the second half, too!  Tasty!



 Crock pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes and Baby Peas

1 pot roast
1 box beef broth (reduced sodium if possible)
1-3 Tbsp low sodium montreal steak seasoning
corn starch for thickening

red potatoes, with skins on

Green Giant baby peas with butter sauce

Place the roast in the crock pot.  Sprinkle with seasoning, pour in the box of beef broth.  Set crock pot on high and cook for 6-8 hours.  Thicken the gravy with cornstarch (put 2 Tbs - 1/4 cup corn starch in a cup.  Add water and mix.  Pour into beef broth and roast and stir until thick).

Slice the potatoes.  Cover with water and boil until tender.  Use an electric mixer to blend.  You can add water, milk or broth to make it creamy.  I use broth (either chicken or beef).

Cook the green giant peas in the microwave as directed.

The entire meal is 491.25 calories and 21.75 g of fat - this is for 4 oz of the roast, 1 cup of mashed potatoes and 3/4 cup of the peas.  (Just the roast is 262.5 calories for 4 oz).



Inside Out Cabbage Rolls

1 lb ground beef (90% lean)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 small head of cabbage, chopped
1 can of diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 cup reduced sodium beef broth
1 can (8 oz) pizza sauce
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Cook beef, onion and pepper in a large pot until meat is done and veggies are tender.  Drain.  Stir in the cabbage, tomatoes, broth and pizza sauce.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.  (While this was going on, I cooked the rice).

Stir in rice;  heat through.  Remove from heat and sprinkle with cheese.  Voila!  Dinner is served!

1 1/3 cups = 244 calories, 8 g fat, 21 g of protein!

The above recipe is from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook 2012.  The recipe is by Lisa Williams out of Comstock Park, MI



Tomato Tortellini Soup

1 9 oz package of refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 cans of healthy request condensed tomato soup (I used Cambell's)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups 2% milk (you can probably use skim milk)
2 cups fat free half and half
1/2 cup chopped, oil packed sun-dried tomotoes (I couldn't find chopped, so I used whole)
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Cook tortellini per package. 

In a large pot, combine soup, broth, milk, cream and seasonings.  Heat over medium heat, stirring.  Drain tortellini and add to soup.   Add the cheese.

Makes 10 servings - 1 cup each.  Calories - 245, fat 8.28, sodium 756, 10 protein.

This is based on the recipe out of Taste of Home's Comfort Food Diet Cookbook.  The original recipe was made by Sandra Flick per the cookbook. 

Truly fantastic!!


Bean and Ham Soup (Crock Pot)
1 bag dried navy beans
6 cans chicken broth
1 bag chopped ham
baby carrots, sliced (I used pre-peeled baby carrots - about 14)

Put everything into the crock pot.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours.  Makes a rich, thick soup.



(That's it!  It's easy!)

Makes 12  1 cup servings.  Each 1 cup serving has 118.5 calories and 1.5 g fat.  However, it is very high in sodium, so try and use the low sodium chicken broth.



Country Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Zipper Peas

4 pieces of chopped steak
1/2 cup flour
2 TBS  chili powder
2 TBS  garlic powder
paprika to taste
pepper to taste
beef broth

red potatoes with skins on

zipper peas

packaged white gravy (mine is from a local granary in Helen, GA)


For mashed potatoes:

1)  slice potatoes and put in pot.  Cover with water and bring do boil.  Cook over low heat until soft.
2)  Drain.  Use a hand mixer to mash the potatoes.  Use beef broth to moisten - it took about 3/4 of a cup to 1 cup to get the consistency I like. 

For zipper peas:

1)  pour frozen peas into a pot.  Cover with water.  Add lean bacon for flavor.  Boil until soft

For Country Fried Steak:

1)  preheat skillet to medium heat.  Spray with cooking spray.
2)  mix flour, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika and pepper together.  (I use a plastic baggie to mix it well).  Put mixture in a shallow dish.  Dredge the steaks in the flour mixture.
3)  place the steaks in the frying pan.
4)  Fry until done.  I added beef broth to keep the steaks from sticking and burning.  I also covered the frying pan to help with the cooking since I couldn't fry in oil.

Prepare white gravy as per package instructions.


For a 4 oz piece of steak, 1/3 cup of mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup of zipper peas, 1/4 cup gravy is 505 calories, 11.75 grams of fat and 45.8 grams of protein. 

Not bad for comfort food.

Of course, you have to watch the portions ...


Huevos Rancheros

2 eggs
cooking spray
enchilada sauce
cilantro
salt, pepper

Spray frying pan and heat it up.  Crack eggs into the pan and sprinkle with cilantro, salt and pepper. Cook until bottom is no longer gooey, then flip over and cook to desired doneness (we like ours over easy, but some people like theirs cooked hard).  Once the eggs are cooked to your specifications, pour some enchilada sauce over the eggs and cook til warm.  Enjoy!

Note:  the enchilada sauce is only 25 calories for 1/4 cup and I don't even use that much, but you can use that and more given the calories.  Also no transfat, etc. And eggs only run about 86 calories each, so not a bad breakfast - very flavorful.