Orange Chicken

serves 4 ( 10 points + without rice. ½ c. rice = 2 additional points to this recipe)
You will need to make this marinade earlier in the day as the chicken must marinate for at least 2 hours.
adapted from "Allrecipes.com"
Sauce:
1-½ c. water
2 T. orange juice
¼ c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅓ c. rice vinegar
2-½ T. soy sauce
1 T. grated orange zest
1 c. packed brown sugar
½ tsp. minced fresh ginger
½ tsp. minced fresh garlic
2 T. chopped green onion
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
3 T. cornstarch
2 T. water

Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( 1 pound) cut into cubes
½ c. flour
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 T. olive oil

Place all sauce ingredients except for cornstarch and 2 T. water into a large saucepan. Stir and cook. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Place 1 c. of this mixture in a gallon sized ziplock bag, along with the chicken. Seal and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Reserve remaining sauce.

In another large ziplock bag, place the flour, along with desired amount of salt and pepper. Add chicken (discard marinade ) and shake to coat.
Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray. Cook chicken until no longer pink. Remove chicken and keep warm. Add sauce to the skillet. Stir together cornstarch and water. Bring sauce to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture and cook and stir until thickened. Return chicken to pan and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until sauce is thick and chicken is heated through. Serve with rice if desired.

Country Fried Steak

serves 4 ( 8 points + )
from "Healthy Cooking"

• 1 beef round steak ( 1 lb)
• salt, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder
• ½ c. buttermilk
• ¾ c. + 4-½ tsp. flour, divided
• 1 T. canola oil
• 4-½ tsp. butter
• 1 c. 2% milk

Cut steak into four serving pieces; pound to ¼" thickness.
Sprinkle steaks with seasonings.
Place buttermilk and ¾ c. flour in separate bowls. Dip steaks in buttermilk, then flour.
In a large skillet, cook steaks in oil for 3-4 minutes per side or until meat is no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.
In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in remaining flour until smooth; gradually add milk. Brink to a boil and cook for 1 minute or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with steak.

Italian Sausage Frittata

Yummy and Filling!
serves 6 ( 6 points +) or if you want a larger piece, cut into four servings for ( 10 points + )

• ½ lb. ground Italian sausage
• 6 eggs
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 Roma tomato, thinly sliced
• ¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat broiler.
Heat a 10" oven-proof skillet coated with nonstick spray. Cook Italian sausage, peppers and onions, breaking up meat and cooking until no longer pink. Spread mixture evenly in the pan and add the eggs. Cook until eggs are almost set. Place tomatoes over the top of the eggs and sprinkle with cheese. Place pan under broiler for 4-6 minutes or until cooked through and lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Savory Crescent Chicken Squares

showing the filling on the inside

This is what Joey thinks of this recipe

another family recipe, adapted. Even though these are higher in points, you can add a salad and green beans for no additional points to make a filling meal.
serves 12 ( 9 points + )

6 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
6 T. light stick butter, melted and divided
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts ( about 4 c. cooked), cooked and chopped
salt and pepper
4 T. skim milk
3 T. chopped onion
3 ( 8 oz) packages reduced fat crescent roll dough
½ c. seasoned croutons , crushed

Heat oven to 350.
In a mixing bowl, blend cream cheese until smooth. Add 4 T. melted butter, salt, pepper, milk and chicken. Mix until combined.
Unroll each package of crescent roll dough into 4 rectangles. Press seams together. Spoon equal amounts of chicken mixture into the center of each rectangle. Fold up the four corners and twist to seal. Brush with remaining 2 T. melted butter and sprinkle with crushed croutons. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Vesuvio Potatoes

This recipe goes well with any chicken dish. I made it with Parmesan Chicken Tenders.

serves 8 ( 4 points + )

4 large Yukon Gold Potatoes, halved lengthwise, then halved again lengthwise, then cut each piece into 4 wedges. You should end up with 64 wedges.
¼ c. olive oil
1 T. crushed garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 -½ tsp. dried pregano
⅔ c. white wine
⅔ c. fat free chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Use a large roasting pan to heat oil. Add garlic and potatoes, cooking until golden brown, Season with salt, pepper and oregano.
Add white wine and stir. Add chicken broth. Remove roasting pan from heat and place in the oven for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Chocolate Coffee Ice-Cream Sandwiches

This recipe was adapted from "Weight Watcher's"

serves 15 ( 4 points +)

¾ c. white whole wheat flour
3 T. unsweetened cocoa
½ tsp. baking soda
¾ c. sugar
5 T. light stick butter
2 T. water
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 egg
1-½ c. fat free vanilla ice-cream ( I used Breyer's smooth and dreamy)
1-½ c. low fat coffee ice-cream ( I used Edy's double churned)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Line with foil and spray foil.

Stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda.
In a saucepan, combine butter, sugar and water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until chocolate melts. Let cool for 10 minutes. Whisk in flour mixture and carefully spread into a thin layer in the jelly roll pan ( you may not make it all the way to the edges)
Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from pan and cool.
Invert brownie onto a cutting board. Remove foil. Cut brownie in half, lengthwise, forming two rectangles.
Spread one half with vanilla ice-cream (softened) and the other half with coffee ice-cream. Sandwich layers together with the ice-cream in the center and brownie on the outside. Cover in plastic wrap and freeze for about 3 hours. Remove from freezer. Cut into thirds and then each third into 5 pieces. You can wrap each sandwich individually and freeze if not serving right away.

Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers

adapted from "Cooking Light"
serves 4 ( 5 points + )

¼ tsp. each salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano
4 ( 4 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 T. olive oil, divided
1 green bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
½ c. thinly sliced onion
1 c. fat free chicken broth
1 T. balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 450.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1-½ tsp.  oil. Brush chicken lightly with 1-½ tsp. olive oil. Mix spices together and sprinkle over chicken. Add chicken to pan and brown for 3 minutes on one side. Turn and brown for 2 minutes on the other side. Place in a baking dish coated with cooking spray and bake 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Meanwhile, add remaining olive oil to pan. Cook peppers and onions until tender. Add chicken broth. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 5 minutes or until broth reduces. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 1 T. balsamic vinegar. Cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Serve pepper mixture over chicken.

Tomato Bread Soup

serves 6-8 ( 6 servings = 6 points +, 8 servings = 4 points + )

A nice soup for lunch or a light dinner. This is a great way to use up old bread.

½ lb. dry crustless French or Italian bread
2 lbs. canned whole tomatoes
5 garlic cloves, minced
¼ c. olive oil
2 c. water
salt to taste
Fresh or dried basil to garnish
shredded Parmesan cheese to garnish (optional)

Cut bread unto chunks and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with water and let stand 10-15 minutes to rehydrate.
Puree tomatoes in a blender and set aside until ready to use.

In a heavy saucepan, saute the garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Squeeze the bread of excess water and add to the pot, stirring to coat with oil.
Add the tomatoes, water and salt to taste. Cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring vigorously every 5 minutes. After 30 minutes, check to see if soup has thickened. If not, uncover and cook an additional 10 minutes. Turn off heat and add basil. Serve with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Timpane di Patate

This is a potato pie with provolone cheese and prosciutto…yum!

serves 12 ( 8 points + )

5 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
½ T. salt
1 c. skim milk, warmed
4 T. light stick butter
3 eggs, separated ( room temperature)
3 whole eggs
8 oz. reduced fat Provolone cheese slices ( Sargento)
4 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto
3 oz. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ c. bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 and spray a 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray.

Boil potatoes until done; drain. Mash with butter and warmed milk.
Separate 3 eggs. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into potato mixture.
Place ⅓ of potato mixture in the bottom of the 13 x 9 pan. Top with half of the Provolone and half of the prosciutto. Sprinkle with ⅓ of the Parmesan cheese.
Repeat with another ⅓ potato mixture, remaining Provolone and prosciutto and ⅓ of Parmesan cheese.
Top with remaining potatoes. Whisk together the egg yolks and 3 whole eggs. Pour over potato mixture. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and bread crumbs. Bake 40 minutes or until the top has puffed and is a deep golden brown.

Italian Beef Barley Soup

This is a very hearty and filling soup!


serves 10 ( 1-⅓ c. = 7 points+ )

•  2 lbs. boneless beef chuck roast, cut into cubes
• 3 onions, chopped
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, thinlu sliced
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can ( 46 oz) tomato juice
• 1 can ( 28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ c. pearl barley

In a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray, brown the beef and onions until meat is no longer pink,]. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer until veggies and barley are tender ( about 1-½ hours)


adapted from "Healthy Cooking"