Chicken Chili Enchiladas

Another great Mexican dish!

serves 8 ( 6 points +)

• 1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can ( 4 oz) diced green chilies
• 8 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese
• 8 La Tortilla Factory Whole Wheat Tortillas
• 1 c. salsa
• 1 ( 15 oz) can Hormel Turkey Chili Without Beans
• 3/4 c. reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
•  cilantro

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a large baking dish with nonstick spray.
Coat a large skillet with nonstick spray. Cook chicken until no longer pink. Let stand 5 minutes, then shred.
Beat cream cheese with green chilies; add chicken and mix.
Fill each tortilla evenly, fold and place seam-side down in the baking dish.

In a saucepan, combine chili and salsa. Heat through. Spoon chili mix over tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake 20 minutes or until heated through. Top with chopped cilantro.

Champagne - Browned Butter Chicken

When my son came home with a bottle of champagne and gave it to me, I did not know how I would use it ( since I do not drink). I kept it, hoping that I would come across a recipe that made use of it. This recipe from the October 2012 issue of "Cooking Light" was just the thing I was looking for! Make sure you have a little time to prepare this recipe. It will take at least 2 hours from start to finish. I did slightly adapt this recipe to use ingredients I had on hand.

Serves 6 ( 12 points +)

• 2 slices center cut bacon
• 2/3 c. all purpose flour ( you will not use all of this)
• 6 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
• 6 bone-in drumsticks, skin removed
• salt and pepper
• 2 T. canola oil
• 1 lb. red-skinned potatoes, quartered
• 8 oz. sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 c. champagne or white wine
• 4 shallots, halved
• 3/4 c. fat-free chicken broth
• 1 T. black peppercorns
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp. dried parsley
• 6 medium carrots, sliced
• 3 T. butter
• 1 tsp. flour

Preheat oven to 350.
Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp; remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Reserve bacon for another use.
Place 2/3 c. flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.
Increase heat to medium-high and add 1T. canola oil to pan. Place half of the chicken in the pan and brown on both sides. Remove, add remaining 1 T. oil and the rest of the chicken to pan. Brown chicken and then remove.
Add potatoes to pan; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook 3 minutes. Stir in white wine and cook until nearly evaporated.
Return chicken to pan. Add shallots and broth. Bring to a boil. Add carrots, peppercorns, parsley, bay leaf and thyme. Place pan in oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 -1-1/2 hours or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.
Remove chicken and vegetables from pan. Place pan over medium-high heat. Add champagne and bring to a boil, stirring to remove browned bits. Cook until mixture reduces to about 2/3 c. ( 10-11 minutes)
Melt butter in a saucepan, cooking until lightly browned. Stir in 1 tsp. flour.
Gradually whisk butter mixture into champagne mixture. Cook about 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

I love the quickness and ease of making a stir fry dish, not to mention the healthy low-point ingredients.
This recipe is a little bit of Asian awesomeness!

serves 4 ( 8 points +)

• 1 ( 3-1/2 oz.) bag boil-in-bag long grain brown rice
• 1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 T. cornstarch
• 1 T. hoisin sauce
• 12 oz. boneless sirloin steak, sliced thinly
• 2 tsp. canola oil
• 2 c. broccoli florets
• 1 c. vertically sliced red onion
• 1 c. chopped carrot
• 1/2 c. sliced red bell pepper
• 2 tsp. dark sesame oil
• 1/3 c. sliced green onions

Cook rice according to the package.
Combine soy sauce, cornstarch and hoisin in a medium bowl. Add beef at toss to coat.
Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add canola oil and swirl to coat. Remove beef, reserving marinade. Add beef to pan and cook 2 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove beef from pan. Add veggies and sesame oil to pan. Cook until veggies are crisp-tender. Add reserved marinade to pan and heat for 1 minute. Return beef to pan and heat through. Sprinkle with green onions. Serve over rice.

adapted from "Cooking Light"

Stuffed Pork Chops with Pumpkin Gravy

While thinking of how to use pumpkin in a savory recipe on this beautiful fall day, I came up with this recipe. Nothing says fall, like stuffed pork. This pumpkin gravy was both savory and a little sweet. It is a perfect accompaniment to pork. I do not think it would go well with potatoes, however!
The pumpkin lovers in my family really enjoyed this gravy. We even had a dinner guest who was game to try it and really liked it too! Let me know what you think!


serves 8 ( 8 points +)
Pork:

• 8 ( 6 oz) boneless pork chops
• 1 pouch chicken flavored Stove Top Stuffing
• 2 c. boiling water
• salt, pepper, garlic powder and ground sage to taste

Gravy:

• ⅔ c. canned pumpkin
• 1 c. fat-free chicken broth
• ¼ tsp. ground sage
• ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 2 T. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a large baking dish with nonstick spray.
Place stuffing mix in a large bowl. Mix with boiling water and let stand for 5 minutes.
Cut pork to, but not through the other side. Sprinkle pork on both sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder and sage. Fill each chop with stuffing. Place pork in baking dish and bake 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, whisk together gravy ingredients in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring often, until thickened. Serve over pork chops.

Chocolate Raspberry Yogurt Sundae

This recipe was very easy, low in points, and made good use of raspberries that are in season right now. 

serves 6 ( 3 points +)

• 3 c. fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt ( We tried Blue Bunny brand)
• 1-½ c. fresh raspberries
• 1 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

Place ½ c. ( about 2 scoops) frozen yogurt in each dish. Top with equal amounts of raspberries and chocolate.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin Roulade

I love roasting anything in the fall and this stuffed pork tenderloin was no exception. With relatively few ingredients, you can make a dish that tastes outstanding!

Serves 4 ( 2 slices = 5 points +)

• 1 ( 1 lb.) pork tenderloin
• ¼ c. chopped shallots
• ¼ c. crumbled goat cheese
• 3 T. chopped walnuts
• 2 tsp. fresh thyme
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a rack in a roasting pan with nonstick spray.
Cut pork horizontally to, but not through the other side. Place pork between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to ¼ inch thickness. Spread shallots, goat cheese, walnuts and thyme down the center of pork. Roll and secure with toothpicks or cooking twine. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on baking rack, cover and bake for 30-40 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove toothpicks or twine. Slice into 8 slices.

adapted from "Cooking Light"

Dark Chocolate and Cherry Brownies

Dark, moist and rich! You will love these!

serves 16 ( 4 points+)

• ¾ c. flour
• 1 c. sugar
• ¾ c. unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¾ tsp. salt
• ⅓ c. cherry preserves
• ⅓ c. water
• 5 T. butter
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• ⅓ c. semisweet chocolate chips
• powdered sugar ( optional)

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9 inch square baking pan with nonstick spray.
Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Combine cherry preserves, ⅓ c. water and butter in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Add preserves mixture to flour mixture; stir well. Add egg and egg white; stir until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake for  25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

"Cooking Light"

Toasted Cheese Ravioli

Perfect as a main course, side dish or appetizer, this recipe is sure to please both adult and child alike! I served this as a side dish with Italian Chicken with Lemon Butter Sauce, green beans and a cucumber salad. I also drizzled the ravioli with a little homemade marinara.

serves 8 ( 7 points +)

• 2 T. water
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 c. Panko Japanese bread crumbs
• ¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 ( 18 oz) package fresh cheese ravioli
• 4-½ T. olive oil, divided
• marinara sauce (optional)

Combine water with egg in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine Panko with Parmesan cheese. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray. Add 1-½ T. olive oil. 
Dip ⅓ of ravioli in egg mixture, then coat in Panko mixture. Add to pan and saute 1 minute per side or until golden. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Repeat twice with remaining oil, ravioli, egg mixture and Panko mixture.