Showing posts with label Casserole. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Casserole. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Nacho Casserole



this may not sound like a healthy recipe but with a few healthified options these nachos are packed with fiber rich beans, protein packed chicken breasts, antioxidant bursting tomatoes (salsa), calcium loaded cheese, and oh-so-good for you fats from avocado

Nacho Casserole

Ingredients:

6 ounces baked tortilla chips (I uses less to healthify OR you can make your own)

2 C cooked shredded chicken

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 C jarred salsa (my mom used 1/2 C salsa and 1 C spaghetti sauce)

1 C 2% shredded Mexican cheese

4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (optional)

I added green bell peppers slices for more veggies!

avocado slices (optional, but add some great healthy fats!

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350F. Line bottom and sides of 13x9x2 baking dish with chips. Scatter chicken and beans over the chips. Spoon salsa over the beans and top with cheese and scallions. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted. Serve!

Nutrition per serving (serves 6): 282 calories, 6g fat, 19g protein, 37g carbs

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

Monday, February 7, 2011

Nesting - Casserole Mania

Nesting, pleaseeee...who said I was nesting!?

ok...judging by the stack of casseroles now in my freezer, I would say I had a little "food nesting" the other weekend.
I just decided it would be nice to designate a few hours one Sunday to preparing 4 wholesome, healthy casseroles that would be easy for J and I to bake up after the baby arrives (any day now).
After preparing them, I thought to myself...why not do this more often (Super Sized Sundays as I like to call them)...make your master list, head to store, cook up a storm, make one giant mess, package up, clean up, freeze, and viola....you have great meals for the month to come! This is great for those that have on the go schedules.
Grass Fed Beef Lasagna (click for recipe)

Chicken Enchiladas packed with veggies
(click for recipe)

BBQ Chicken Casserole - recipe to come

Chicken & Biscuit Pot Pie - recipe below

recipe from Ellie Krieger (dietitian) on Food Network
watch a video of the chicken pot pie preparation here
Ingredients
For the filling:
Cooking spray
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups lowfat milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup peas, thawed if frozen
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
For the biscuit crust:
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
Instructions:
To make the filling: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a large shallow casserole dish, or 6 individual casserole dishes with cooking spray.
Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the chicken with its juices to a bowl. .
Add 2 more teaspoons of oil to the same pan and heat it over a medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the green beans, garlic and remaining salt and pepper and cook for 2 minute more. Add the milk. Stir the flour into the broth until it is completely dissolved and add to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes more. Return the chicken with its juices back to the pan. Add the peas and thyme and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the mixture into the baking dish or individual dishes.
To make the crust: Put the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse about 12 times, or until pebble sized pieces are formed.
Add the buttermilk then oil to the food processor and pulse until just moistened. Do not over mix. Drop the batter in 6 mounds on top of the chicken mixture (1 mound on each individual dish, if using) spreading the batter out slightly. Bake until filling is bubbling and the biscuit topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Nutritional analysis per serving
Calories 400
Total Fat 17 g
(Sat Fat 5.7 g, Mono Fat 7.7 g, Poly Fat 2.7 g)
Protein 31 g
Carb 31 g
Fiber 5 g
Cholesterol 82 mg
Sodium 600 mg


Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good

Monday, November 1, 2010

Turkey Egg Dish

Turkey Egg Dish
This is my go-to recipe when I have company and want a no-hassle, yet impressive breakfast dish.

Ingredients:
4-5 whole wheat bread slices, cubed
1 bag of 2% cheddar cheese
1 lb ground turkey breast
1 T Penzeys Spice's Breakfast Sausage seasoning
1 bell pepper, chopped
mushrooms
spinach
broccoli
(variety of veggies is optional, remember..the more veggies the more liquid in the dish so this is the only time I will say don't over do it)
12 omega 3 eggs
4 C skim milk together
2 tsp dry mustard
Instructions:
Season turkey breast with breakfast sausage seasoning and brown in pan.
While turkey is cooking, layer whole wheat bread cubes in greased 9X13 baking dish. Layer cheese over bread and chopped veggies over cheese. Add cooked turkey to dish, spread evenly
over top. Whisk together eggs and milk, add 2 tsp dry mustard. Pour into baking dish.
Place foil over top and let sit overnight. Bake at 350F for about 1 hour. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good
http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

Monday, September 20, 2010

Wild Rice w/ Apples & Butternut Squash

You'll Fall in love with this delicious recipe...ha, I crack myself up. Did you know Wednesday is the first official day of Fall!?
Bring it on...just not the snow.

Wild Rice w/ Apples & Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups wild rice cook (or a blend of wild rice and other varieties)
1/2 Cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 Cups 1/2inch cubed butternut squashed
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored, cut into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes (best to buy organic when purchasing apples)
1 T dried thyme
1 Cup chicken broth (Watkins is the best)
1/2 Cup walnut pieces
Instructions:
Heat oil in large skillet and saute onion over medium high heat until translucent. Add squash, apples, and thyme, and saute 5 minutes. Stir in broth. Combine cooked rice, parsley, and sauteed mixture into an oils 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle walnuts over top (these turn out to be sooo tasty and rich so be generous). Bake 425F for 20-25 minutes. Serves 10.
Of course, J likes his with Robert's 1% cottage cheese mixed in so it gets ooey and gooey!

The Ultimate Lifestyle Package from Sara B Consulting
Reach and maintain a healthy body weight with your customized lifestyle plan, make peace with food through intuitive eating (no numbers) approach, respect your body and honor your health. Package includes:
~ Initial consultation
~ Detailed food log review
~ Initial caloric calculation
~ Pantry makeover (in your kitchen)
~ Grocery store tour
~ Additional nutritional education as needed

Week 1: Initial consultation
Week 3 and 7: One-on-One follow-ups (45 min each)
Weekly: Q&A through phone or email & goal tracking

Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good
http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Clean Eatin' Scalloped Potatoes

mmmm...I can still remember when my mom would dish up ooey gooey scalloped potatoes. So creamy and cheesy.
As I flipped through my latest Clean Eating Magazine, I was so excited to see they had a "cleanified" version of the classic recipe.

This version omits the half a stick of butter, heavy milk, and white flour. It still has the yummy cheese, just in a smaller quantity.
You save: 285 calories, 16g fat, 10g saturated fat, and 628mg sodium
Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:
olive oil cooking spray
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp sea salt, divided
fresh ground pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 t white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
2 C low-fat milk or skim
3 oz low-fat (2%) Monterrey Jack or white cheddar cheese, grated
2 1/2 lb Russet, Red, or Yukon Gold potatoes (I used Red and Yukon Gold), sliced thin as possible...I used my food processor to get the slices right. Leave the skin on for the extra nutrients.
2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
2 T whole wheat bread crumbs (Panko is a Japanese brand you can find at HyVee)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Heat oil in large skillet or medium-high heat. Add onion, 1/4 tsp sea salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add garlic, thyme (be generous) and flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes or until onions are coated with flour. Add milk and increase heat to medium-high. When liquid begins to simmer, reduce heat to low and cook until mixture has thickened slightly, about 4 minutes. Add three-quarters of Monterrey Jack and remaining 1/2 tsp salt, and stir until melted, about 1 minutes. Remove from heat.

Note: if milks burns slightly on bottom of pan, try not to scrap up as stirring. It should remain stuck to bottom and you wont have to worry about it.

Arrange potatoes in an even layer in greased baking dish. (should be several potatoes thick).
Cover with half of onion and milk mixture. Repeat with remaining potatoes and onion mixture.
Make sure all corners of dish get covered. If a spot looks dry add a tablespoon of milk.
In small bowl, combine remaining Monterrey Jack, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs; cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Bake potatoes in center of oven for 70-85 minutes or until potatoes are tender when a fork is pierced through. When finished baking, remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese-bread crumb mixture. Preheat broiler to high and return baking dish to oven and broil until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes....careful not to burn! Let cool for 10 minutes and serve!

I may have gone a little heavier on the cheese :) Also, I prepared my dish the day before and refrigerated it covered. The only step I did not do was top it with the bread-cheese mix.
20 minutes before dinner the next night I topped the cooked dish with my cheese-bread mix and warmed it in the 350F oven for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good
www.sarabconsulting.com

Monday, December 21, 2009

Squash and Chicken Casserole

Squash and Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:
10 slices whole wheat bread
olive oil spray
1 medium yellow onion
2 medium yellow squashes, thinly sliced
2 medium green squashes, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional...J doesn't like garlic :/)
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, small cubes cut
1 C 2% mozzarella cheese
2 tsp Italian seasoning (oregano, etc)
sea salt and ground pepper to taste
Instructions:
Cut bread into small cubes, spread on cookie sheet and let air dry overnight or toss in oven at 350 for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F. Heat large skillet over high heat for 1 min, reduce to medium, mist with olive oil, and add onion. Saute till caramelized, add squash and garlic. Mist with more oil if needed. Saute until cooked.
Remove veggies from pan and set aside in bowl. Add a touch more oil to pan and add chicken cubes. Cook until golden brown on each side (about 2-3 minutes total).
In large bowl mix veggies, chicken, and bread cubes. Add cheese and seasonings.
Pour into casserole dish (probably about 8 cupper) Bake for 15minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted and gooey. Optional: place under broiled for 2.2 secs to brown top a bit more. DO NOT BURN! Eat and enjoy! or freeze...cover with plastic wrap and then aluminium foil. Easy dinner for another night!
serves about 8, 1 cup serving size
Nutrition: calories 180, fat 4g, fiber 4g, protein 15g

A Winter Wonderland in our backyard
the ornaments can barely hold on!

what else to do but cook on a snowy, wintry day!
My friend Abby and I cooking away (vegetable bisque found in soup under labels)

Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good