Chicken Pot Pie

I LOOOOOVE Chicken Pot Pie, which is very unfortunate for the waist line!  A frozen chicken pot pie (the best kind) will cost you anywhere from 500-800 calories, 30-50 grams of fat and at least 800 milligrams of sodium.  When I figured out what all the info on the back of the box meant, I quickly took this out of my diet...but it has been missed.  Until now!  This version has about 250 calories and 5 grams of fat...much better alternative in my opinion!

The original recipe called for 5 oz of canned chicken - I'm personally not a huge fan of canned meats so I chose to cook about 1 pound of chicken breast instead.  I tripled the chicken just to add some extra lean protein to the dish.  Of course you could also use a rotisserie chicken if you are pressed for time!

Here is what you need:

1 can Healthy Request Cream of Chicken

1 lb chicken breast, cooked and chopped

2 cans no salt added mixed vegetables, drained and rinsed (frozen would work too)

1 cup low fat biscuit mix

1/2 c skim milk

1 egg

Mix first three ingredients in square casserole dish.

In a small mixing bowl, mix last 3 ingredients together and spread on top of chicken mixture - this will be your crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes - until crust is golden brown.

Easy as Pie!!

The 250 calories is based on 6 servings, but you may want to double it if you want leftovers.

ENJOY!

Light and Lazy Lasagna

13.1 miles, 2 hrs 27 minutes and some soggy shoes later the half marathon is done!!  This is my friend Bailey and I at the finish line...

                                  

I was eating a few more carbs than usual last week in preparation for the run, including this "light and lazy lasagna."  I got the recipe off the back of the lasagna noodle box, but changed it up a bit...of course!  Lasagna is actually pretty easy to make, especially if you use the "lazy noodles!"  A few small changes will save you LOTS of calories - keep in mind this is for ~12 servings. 

15 oz ricotta cheese = 740 calories, 55 grams fat, 48 grams protein

15 oz part skim ricotta cheese = 590 calories, 34 grams fat, 49 grams protein

4 cups mozzarella cheese = 1344 calories, 100 grams fat, 99 grams protein

2 cups part skim mozzarella cheese = 576 calories, 36 grams fat, 55 grams protein

16 oz 80% ground beef = 1100 calories, 72 grams fat, 110 grams protein

16 oz 95% extra lean ground beef = 740 calories, 27 grams fat, 117 grams protein

Those simple substitutions save you almost 1300 calories and 204 grams of fat...totally worth it!!

Another ingredient to watch out for is the spaghetti sauce - which can often times be pretty high in sugar and carbs.  Look for a marinara (rather than a flavored variety) with about 7 grams of carbs per serving - trust me, they do exist, you just might have to search a little harder!

So here is what you need:

1 lb extra lean ground beef

26 oz jar of marinara sauce 

8 oz can of tomato sauce

15 oz part skim ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 box OVEN READY lasagna noodles (this is the lazy part)

2 cups part skim mozzarella

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Brown meat in skillet, drain off any excess fat.  Add marinara and tomato sauce to skillet.

In a mixing bowl, mix ricotta, egg, basil & Italian seasoning.

Using a 9x12 casserole dish, pour a thin layer of the sauce mixture on the bottom - just enough to cover the bottom.  Spread a thin layer of the ricotta mixture on 3 of the noodles and place on top of the sauce.  If you use the oven ready noodles they don't have to be cooked before hand, you just put them in the dish raw, so it is easy to spread the ricotta on them.

Top with ~3/4 cup sauce - enough to cover the noodles.  VERY IMPORTANT: make sure the noodles are completely covered with sauce or they will be really tough when its done - they need the liquid to cook.  Sprinkle ~ 1/2 c mozzarella on top.  Repeat. Noodles with ricotta, sauce, mozzarella.  Repeat again.  Top with final three noodles (no ricotta) and the rest of the sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake 10-15 minutes longer - until cheese is melted and dish is bubbly.  Let stand ~5 minutes before cutting into 12 servings.

I think this would be awesome with some sauteed mushrooms and spinach in the sauce but unfortunately that would provoke a "why is there fungus in the lasagna?" response so I don't do it.  If you have a more fungus friendly family you should try it - it would add some extra fiber and veggies!

ENJOY!

BBQ Baked Potatoes

So, last week was low carb week - this week is quite the opposite!  I am running in my first half marathon this weekend so dinners look a bit different.  I have some pastas in mind for later in the week but for tonight its potatoes...

This one goes in the slow cooker and you can do tons of different things with it.  We are putting the meat over potatoes because I have some in the pantry that I don't want to throw away, but it would also be good on some buns (which will probably be lunch for tomorrow come to think of it!) or just by itself.

Just a warning - this isn't the most photogenic of dishes!

Here is what you need:

2-3# roast (I bought a rump roast this time - it was the leanest looking one)

2 18 oz bottles of BBQ Sauce (see note below)

1 onion, quartered

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 slow cooker liners

Line your slow cooker with a bag and pour about 1/4 of the sauce from your first bottle on the bottom.  Place the roast, onions and garlic on top.  Pour in the rest of the sauce.

Cook on low for 8 hours.  You could serve as is and stop at this step if you like - the meat pretty much falls apart.  But, since some of the fat melts off the roast while cooking I add in another step to save on some fat calories.

Take the roast out of the slow cooker and shred with a fork, trimming the extra fat off the meat.

Once shredded, place into a new slow cooker liner.  Strain the onions out of the old sauce and add to the shredded meat along with the second bottle of BBQ sauce.  Leave in slow cooker until warm, then serve!

About the BBQ Sauce, when you are shopping look for the lowest carb one you can find.  Condiments can get people into trouble because they can be high in fat (salad dressings) or high in sugar (ketchup).  You want to look for a sauce that has less around 5ish grams of carbs.  I used one that had 6 and it tasted awesome!  Be careful with ones that are "flavored" - honey BBQ, chipotle, etc...because chances are they will be higher in sugar.



ENJOY!

5 Ingredients AND Low Carb!

Happy New Year!!  Hope you all enjoyed the Holidays as much as I did!   Between a fabulous vacation and some construction going on at the house, there hasn't been much cooking going on around here.  This is us on our FREEZING New Years vacation to Salt Lake with BJ and Kasey
and our quick visit with my BFF in Phoenix...

But...there has been no shortage of eating!  I think I lost all knowledge of nutrition as soon as I crossed over the Texas border...ok, maybe not ALL knowledge, but I definitely did my share of over-indulging.  So...needless to say, it's "low carb week" at the Boening household.  This is one of my favorite low carb casseroles to make.  It is super easy to make, but the biggest plus of all is the fact that it only takes 5 ingredients!

1 pound of cooked shredded/chopped chicken breast

10 oz frozen broccoli, thawed

1 can cream of mushroom soup (low fat/low sodium)

3 Tbsp mayo  (I prefer to use the olive oil based mayo - it is lower in fat and the fat is does have is heart healthy)

1/2 c -1 c shredded cheddar (reduced fat)

Boil chicken and shred.  Place in square casserole dish.

Add broccoli to dish...

Then add cream of mushroom & mayo...

Mix all the ingredients together and top with cheese - 1/2 cup - 1 cup depending on how cheesy you like it!

I topped it with about 10 Low Fat Saltine crackers because I had them in the pantry and they don't taste all that great on their own so I was looking for something to do with them - but it's not necessary.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Easy as that!

This makes enough for both of us for dinner and lunch the next day, so if you feeding more than 2-3 people, I would probably double it...FYI!

ENJOY!

Chicken Fettucini Alfredo

This is by no means the healthiest thing out there...not even a close second! But it does beat the 1500ish calories this dish will cost you at a restaurant. My husband loves this dish so I went on a mission to make it healthier...and easy of course! I don't have pics, so use your imagination!

First things first, get out your slow cooker and handy crock pot bags.

Things you will need:

About a pound of frozen chicken breasts

1-2 jars of light alfredo sauce

About 2-3 cups of fresh or frozen chopped veggies (whatever you have around will work, I usually use squash, zucchini, carrots and/or broccoli)

Whole wheat pasta

Place the chicken breasts from the freezer into the crock pot. Pour the sauce over the top of the chicken, enough to totally cover them - usually between 1-2 jars. 

This is the kind i usually get - it only has 5 grams of fat per 1/4 cup versus 10 grams of fat in the regular sauce. 

Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours - it may be done faster, but I usually just leave it in all day while I am at work.  Before serving, you will need to steam your chopped veggies.  You can either boil them on the stove for a few minutes or do it in the microwave.  Stir the veggies into crock pot with the chicken, the chicken will basically just fall apart.

Serve over whole wheat pasta. DONE!

You can always add more sauce if you like it saucier or add more veggies if you like it healthier!

ENJOY!

Mmmm...Chili

Since it's "winter" - or 70 degrees in December if you live in Houston - what is more fitting than a hot bowl of chili???  I tried this recipe the other night and it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!  I also subjected some friends to my experimenting this time and they liked it too!  I found this recipe on one of my favorite recipe websites, but I changed it up a bit to make it healthier, and because I didn't have all the things it called for.

The original recipe called for 6 oz of hot turkey Italian sausage.  By leaving this out you save 280 calories, 18 grams of fat and 1080 milligrams of sodium (which is the main reason I left it out, well, that and I don't like it!).  So, instead of the sausage I substituted 1 cup of chopped carrots - 50 calories, no fat, barely any sodium and lots of beta carotene.  No one knew about the carrots until after the fact...so sneaky!

Here is what you will need - it looks like a lot of ingredients, but there a quite a few spices so stay with me!

2 cups of chopped onion

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

8 minced garlic cloves

1 chopped jalapeno pepper

1 cup chopped carrots

1 pound lean ground beef

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cumin

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried basil (I didn't have oregano)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 c fruity red wine (which I only used because I had some, otherwise I would have used low sodium, low fat beef broth)

2 cans chopped tomatoes (28 oz) (low sodium, preferably)

2 cans kidney beans (15 oz) drained and rinsed

I am not a fan of chopping veggies, but I have a mini food processor that I threw all the veggies in and it was done in no time!  Once all the chopping is done, you will have 4 CUPS of veggies to put into your chili - not including the tomatoes...delicious AND nutritious!

Start by throwing all the chopped veggies and the ground beef into a large pot and saute until the meat is brown.

Next, add the rest of the ingredients into the pot and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about an hour stirring occasionally.  Uncover and cook for 30 more minutes.

Easy as that!  It's not super spicy, which I am TOTALLY ok with, but my husband likes it hot so he added some extra chili powder and Tabasco to his bowl for an extra kick!

On a side note, I made this a day before we were going to have it for dinner and it was even better heated up the next day.

ENJOY!

Spaghetti Squash 101

 

Never tried spaghetti squash??  Well now is the time!  Its a mix between spaghetti & a vegetable...what could be better?!?!  Well its not really a mix, but it is a vegetable that closely resembles spaghetti noodles in appearance, but lucky for you, not in calories & carbs!  1 cup of spaghetti squash has about 40 calories and 9 grams of carbs.  1 cup of spaghetti noodles (whole wheat of course!) will cost you about 175 calories and about 40 grams of carbs.

I like to serve this as a side dish - pair it with some grilled chicken and a salad - DELISH!  My favorite way to fix it is to toss it with a little bit of butter and Parmesan cheese on top, but you can definitely top it with marinara, alfredo sauce, pretty much whatever you like!  It doesn't have too much flavor so you can top it with anything.

Here is how it works...

First, cut it in half long ways, make sure to rinse it off really well first.  If you put it in the microwave for about 3-5 minutes it will be easier to cut.

It kinda looks like a pumpkin inside, so you will want to pull out all the seeds and stringy stuff (maybe it's called pulp?)...

Next, place it face down in a baking dish with about 1/4 c water - enough to cover the bottom of the dish. 

I cook it in the microwave (lazy) for about 10-12 minutes, covered with plastic wrap.  It can also be baked in the oven (uncovered) at 350 for about 45 minutes.  It will be pretty hot so be careful, but it should be soft and flexible when it's done.  Using a fork, pull it away from the skin, it will come off in strings that look like spaghetti...its very strange, but so good!

Next, toss it with whatever topping you like and serve!

ENJOY!

"Sour Cream" Enchiladas

Looks like I am in a Mexican food kinda mood this week!  This is one of my favorite recipes to make, mostly because it's super easy and my hubby always goes back for seconds!  PLUS - its great reheated for lunch the next day!  The first time I made enchiladas I made them exactly how the recipe on the back of the enchilada sauce said to...but that's for the birds!  So after making this dish a few times I have slowly changed it into a much healthier and easier version.

The best part about these "sour cream" enchiladas is that there is actually no sour cream in them.  My secret is Greek Yogurt - which I guess is no longer a secret!  Greek yogurt, if you haven't tried it, is a GREAT alternative to sour cream.  It is much thicker than regular yogurt, pretty comparable to sour cream in fact, and its packed with protein.

Typically you would use about 8 oz of sour cream, at least, for this recipe - 485 calories, 48 grams of fat, 7 grams of protein.  Compared to 8 oz of non-fat Greek yogurt - 130 calories, 0 fat, 24 grams of protein.  HUGE difference in nutrition, no difference in taste!

Over time, my laziness has taken over and I no longer make actual enchiladas - it gets messy and takes forever...so it is more of a casserole.

So here is what you need:

About 1 lb of shredded cooked chicken

2 cans of green enchilada sauce

1 can diced green chilis

8-10 oz non-fat Greek Yogurt

1-2 cups of reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese

18 corn tortillas

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium size mixing bowl mix chicken, about 1/2 can of enchilada sauce, chilis, yogurt and 1/2 cup cheese.

2.  Pour other 1/2 can of enchilada sauce into bottom of 9X13 casserole dish and cover with 6 tortillas.  Layer about 1/2 of the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas.

3.  Repeat step 2.  1/2 can sauce, 6 tortillas, other half of chicken mixture.

4.  Finish off with last 6 tortillas, the rest of the enchilada sauce and a layer of cheese on top.

5.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes.

You can add more cheese in there if you like it cheesier - I don't usually end up using a full two cups.

I know it sounds weird, but no one will have any idea that there is yogurt in your enchiladas...no one in my family did...until now! =)

TIME SAVER TIP:  I always boil my chicken and shred, but I'm sure a rotisserie chicken would work just as well and be super quick!

ENJOY!

The Inspiration Recipe: Super Easy Taco Soup

This is the recipe that I shared with my mom, which gave me the idea to start this whole thing!  It is the easiest taco soup recipe you have ever seen - even for you non-cookers out there.  It's mostly canned ingredients so it is fairly high in sodium, which is the only drawback, but there are ways around that.  Anyone know what the daily recommendation for sodium is??  2400 milligrams - about 1 TEASPOON per day!  And, canned products can get you there pretty quickly!  

On to the recipe...get out your crock pot and your crock pot liners - if you don't know about these, you're about to discover the greatest invention EVER!  You just simply put the bag in the crockpot and dump the ingredients in.  As soon as you are done eating, and packaging left overs for lunch the next day, just throw the bag away...dishes DONE!  You can find them anywhere in the food storage section at most grocery stores.

Ok, time for the recipe for real:

1 lb of uncooked chicken breast - frozen or fresh

1 can Great Northern beans 

1 can black beans

1 can red kidney beans

1 can corn

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis

1 packet taco seasoning (I always get the low sodium one)

1 packet ranch seasoning

Dash of cumin

Put the chicken in first, then dump everything else on top.  Cook for about 4 hours on high or 6-8 on low.  You should then be able to shred the chicken with a fork while it's still in the crock pot.  Dinner is DONE!

The original recipe calls for all the cans to be undrained - which hikes up the sodium.  SOOOO...the other option is to drain all the cans and rinse the beans and use about 2-3 cups of low sodium chicken broth.  Might add about 5 minutes to your prep time.  You could also use fresh tomatoes & chilis if you are REALLY feeling ambitious.

Beware - pregnant Sister B said "it was so delicious, but it gave me major heartburn."  So all you mommies to be out there - you have been warned!

TIME SAVER TIP:  I often put all the ingredients into the bag the night before, then keep it in the fridge until the next morning, then all I have to do is put the bag in the crock pot and turn it on!  If you know me, you know I will do anything possible for that extra 5 minutes of sleep.

ENJOY!

Welcome to my Blog!

So I decided to start a blog...I shared a recipe with my mom when she was visiting last and it was a hit!  She sent it to my aunts, cousins and others I'm sure.  I thought it might be fun to share some of my recipes with family and friends.  Don't get my wrong, I am no gourmet, fancy, knock-your-socks off cook - I am more of a throw it all in a crock pot and pray for the best kinda girl!  But I enjoy making quick, easy, healthy dinners!

I was raised in a family where my mom cooked dinner every night (Thanks Mom!) but I never took an interest in cooking...AT ALL!  I'm not quite sure what I ate in college for 4 years (or 6...I love to learn =D) besides the occasional spaghetti dinner - which is my favorite!  Hence the blog name.  I do, however, remember calling Mom once to find out how to cook chicken on the stove...the smoke alarm went off.  Fail. 

BUT...since I got married and got some wonderful kitchen gadgets (and have someone else to eat with) I have come around to the whole cooking thing.  I actually love to cook!

Which is pretty fitting since I am a Registered Dietitian - I talk about food for a living.  My favorite part of cooking is making over recipes - which doesn't always work out so well (which my husband can attest to - such a good sport!).  I love to find ways to add nutritional value, decrease fat and calories, add shortcuts (I can be a little lazy sometimes - I admit it) but I promise to only share the good ones!

I decided to call this blog "Spaghetti with Sprinkles" because I LOVE spaghetti and my favorite dessert is chocolate cake with chocolate icing and sprinkles ( a staple in my family)...not so fitting for a Dietitian, but I can't help it!  Don't get me wrong I love a good piece of fish and I eat all my veggies but there is nothing like a piece of cake for breakfast on your birthday...it only comes once a year, right?!?

My goal is to post at least 2 recipes a week...we'll see how that goes!  Pretty ambitious going into the holidays if I do say so myself, but I guess now that I am putting it out there for all to see I have to!  I am hoping I can figure out how to post pictures and make the blog look pretty...in time...gotta start somewhere!

Enjoy!