Light Recipes

[cuddlyevil]

I'm bumping this as we've got to make some drastic changes to the diet so that we can lower a certain member of the household's cholesterol levels. So, if y'all have any new (or more) light recipes, please toss them up here--I could use anything ya got.

[clemsonfan]

Here's one I whipped up last night:

Chicken Casserole

2 baked chicken breasts, cubed
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup skim milk
1 can green beans
1 can sliced carrots
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups crushed corn flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients (except corn flakes)together in a large bowl. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray. Put mixture in pan. Spread crushed corn flakes over mixture and bake for 30 minutes.

[Juliana]

The chicken is already cooked when you put it in?

[clemsonfan]

Yep, you bake it again in the oven to heat the mixture up. It's a great way to use up leftover chicken.

[redbobsled]

I make a lot of fake-meat stir fries.  We like the Yves soy ground 'beef.'  I mix it with some frozen chopped spinach, an onion, some garlic, some mushrooms, whatever veggies you like, maybe some basil or hot pepper flakes, and add a little bit of some kind of stir fry sauce (not a lot though, because that's where the calories are) - like Trader Joe's kung pao sauce or some kind of hot stir fry sauce - just maybe 2-3 tablespoons.  

Then we eat it over microwaved veggie burgers (less calories than rice) - the Dr. Praeger burgers from Trader Joe's are good for this because they are mushy.  If you eat half of it (and that's a LOT, we can usually only each manage a third, and then I have leftovers for lunch the next day), it's only like 5 weight watchers points, which, I think, is like 250 calories.

[vizzah]

i made this last saturday and it was AMAZING.  i got it from one of those copy cat sites for max & erma's chicken tortilla soup (i'd been craving it, but refuse to drive all the way out there and pay $6 for a bowl of it).  but, since i'm on weight watchers, i tried to out the fat and up the fiber as much as possible.  so, here's the original recipe....

2 cans Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup
2 cans Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup
2 cans Campbell's Cream of Celery soup
2 cans Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup
2 (15 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup Pace medium picante salsa
1 (4.5 ounce) can Ortega green chiles
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red chile powder, more or less to your taste
Salt and pepper to your taste
1/4 cup fresh, chopped cilantro
4 cooked chicken breasts, cut into
    small chunks
1 package flour tortillas
1/2 pound longhorn style Colby cheese

In a large stockpot combine and whisk together until smooth all eight cans of soup. Add chicken broth. Add tomatoes, salsa, green chiles, onion, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper.

Bring all ingredients to a full boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour.

Add cilantro and chicken breast chunks. Simmer another hour.

While soup is simmering, make your soup toppings: Cut flour tortillas into small thin strips and deep fry in hot oil until lightly browned.




and here's my amended version (5 points for a *heaping* bowl, for those of you counting points along with me)....

2 cans 98% fat free Cream of Mushroom soup
2 cans  98% fat free Cream of Chicken soup
2 cans 98% fat free Cream of Celery soup
2 cans  Cheddar Cheese soup
2 (15 ounce) cans fat free chicken broth
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 cup Pace medium picante salsa
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red chile powder, more or less to your taste
Salt and pepper to your taste
4 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
1 package wheat or low-carb tortillas
1/2 pound longhorn style Colby cheese (low-fat version, if you like...i used regular cheese)

i bought all the generic brand of soups and got allt he fat-free versions i could.  i was a little worried about the consistency, but it was thick and heavenly, as it is in the restaurant.  i used canola oil to fry the tortilla strips in, elimnated the cilantro, and killed two birds with one can by just buying the daiced 'maters with chiles already mixed in.  

p.s.  the point count does NOT include the cheese and tortilla strip garnish - but i insist, the soup is not the same without them!

[vizzah]

this was awesome - i found it on cooking light and the dude actually liked it!

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup water
1 (10-ounce) package fresh spinach, chopped
2 cups chopped plum tomato
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about 1/2 pound)
1/4 cup chopped cooked bacon (about 2 slices)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 cups hot cooked angel hair (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded Asiago cheese


Preparation
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add water and spinach; cover and cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts.
Stir in tomato, chicken, bacon, and vinegar; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve over pasta; sprinkle with cheese.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 cup spinach mixture, 1 cup pasta, and 1 tablespoon cheese)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 350(21% from fat); FAT 8.1g (sat 2.4g,mono 2.6g,poly 0.8g); PROTEIN 26.4g; CHOLESTEROL 42mg; CALCIUM 153mg; SODIUM 433mg; FIBER 4.7g; IRON 4.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44.7g


i was a little bit more liberal with the cheese, but i couldn't find asiago @ the ghetto kroger, so i had to use parmesan.

[clemsonfan]

We made this on Tuesday and it was fabulous!

Chimichito

http://health.discovery.com/fansites/sam-zien/recipes/chimichito.html

Part chimichanga (the crunchy outside) and part burrito (the inside) this is made totally simple by using a rotisserie chicken. But the crunchiness is from baking, not frying.

Ingredients
2 cups cooked (rotisserie) chicken, shredded
1 4 oz can diced green chilies
3/4 cup red salsa
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
Four 8 inch flour tortillas
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Light Sour Cream
Cilantro

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a non-stick pan, combine chicken, salsa sauce and green chiles, mix until just heated through. Heat tortillas in microwave about 30 secoonds to make them pliable.

Spoon 1/4 of the chicken mixture on each tortilla and roll up—sides in first then over the top to keep everything in. Place on a greased baking sheet and very lightly rub top of burrito with vegetable oil.

Bake until just starting to get golden brown,15-20 minutes. While they cook, warm the enchilada sauce.

Spoon warm enchilada sauce on a plate, place baked chimichito on top, add a spoonful of sour cream and sprinkle with cheese and cilantro.

Serves 4.

We actually used a whole jar of salsa and put the cheese inside the tortillas with the chicken mixture. This is definitely a recipe in our regular rotation now.

[Wherle]

I don't think I ever paid attention to this thread, but with mine and the wife's new dedication to being healthy, this will come in handy. Went back and read every recipe, and will most likely try about 90% of them. Keep 'em coming! If I find any, I'll post 'em up.

[clemsonfan]

We made this on Tuesday and it was fabulous!

Chimichito

http://health.discovery.com/fansites/sam-zien/recipes/chimichito.html

Part chimichanga (the crunchy outside) and part burrito (the inside) this is made totally simple by using a rotisserie chicken. But the crunchiness is from baking, not frying.

Ingredients
2 cups cooked (rotisserie) chicken, shredded
1 4 oz can diced green chilies
3/4 cup red salsa
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
Four 8 inch flour tortillas
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Light Sour Cream
Cilantro

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a non-stick pan, combine chicken, salsa sauce and green chiles, mix until just heated through. Heat tortillas in microwave about 30 secoonds to make them pliable.

Spoon 1/4 of the chicken mixture on each tortilla and roll up—sides in first then over the top to keep everything in. Place on a greased baking sheet and very lightly rub top of burrito with vegetable oil.

Bake until just starting to get golden brown,15-20 minutes. While they cook, warm the enchilada sauce.

Spoon warm enchilada sauce on a plate, place baked chimichito on top, add a spoonful of sour cream and sprinkle with cheese and cilantro.

Serves 4.

We actually used a whole jar of salsa and put the cheese inside the tortillas with the chicken mixture. This is definitely a recipe in our regular rotation now.

To make this South Beach phase 2 friendly, use low carb tortillas. Our favorite kind is this:



(Tumaro's)

[cuddlyevil]

Bright green smoothie (this recipe makes two adult servings, or two small adult servings and one kid serving):

2 bananas frozen (or whatever frozen fruit you prefer)
1tbsp peanut butter
1/2-3/4 cup milk, water, or juice (your choice)
enough washed, raw baby spinach leaves to fill up the pitcher of the blender

Blend all together until smooth. Pour and enjoy.

It's awesome because you can't taste the spinach at all and it has a light banana + peanut butter flavor. Great way to sneak veggies into finicky diets.

[rva]

Has anyone tried using straight-up vegetable broth in recipes that call for chicken broth? 

I realize it won't taste like chicken, but do you at least get some broth-y heartiness or at least some flavor out of it?

[foolsgold]

All the soups I make for the tea house use veggie broth and I've been pretty happy with the results.  In a pinch it's OK to use in a brothier soup because the flavor is good (albeit different than the chicken) but I don't know if I would unless you're cooking for a vegan or vegetarian.  Part of it is that veggie isn't as hearty, but mostly, if you're expecting something that should have that chicken taste, veggie just won't deliver.  That said, it is absolutely serviceable for your standard issue tomato/potato/chowdery/etc soups.

[MissKitty]

I almost always use veggie broth as a substitution when a recipe calls for "chicken broth," but if it is a chicken-y flavor you want (without the chicken-ness), you might try McKay's instant seasoning.