Spinach & Artichoke Dip (Hot or Cold)

*Photo note: I made this for Easter for just my husband & me, so I only filled the bowl with half of the dip created by this recipe.  The full recipe will fill the bread bowl appropriately.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

• 
  
• 1 8oz package cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (1 ounce) package ranch-style dip mix
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 2 (16 ounce) loaves King's Hawaiian® Sweet Bread
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 
  
• Blend mayo, sour cream and dip; mix together in a large bowl. Add artichoke hearts, spinach and water chestnuts; mix well. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.
• 
  
• Before serving, Carefully hollow 1 loaf, leaving 1-inch on sides and bottoms. Cube removed bread and additional loaf.

To serve hot: Stir in 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese; microwave on high 4-5 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally.

Transfer dip to bread bowl and serve with bread cubes.

Baked BBQ or Hot Wings

adapted from foodnetwork.com

12+ whole chicken wings

desired sauce

Remove the tips of the wings and discard or save for making stock. Use kitchen shears or a knife to separate the wings at the joint. Place the wings in an electric steamer for 15 minutes (or place a 6-quart saucepan, with a steamer basket and 1 inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.  Add chicken and steam for 10 minutes). 

Remove the wings and carefully pat dry. Lay out the wings on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator to dry, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the paper towels on the pan and replace with non-stick foil or parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven, about 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook 20 to 30 more minutes, or until the meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

When the chicken is almost finished roasting, pour sauce into a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken. Remove the wings from the oven, transfer to the bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve warm.

Freezer Cooking: Egg Muffin Sandwhiches

I don't do much freezer cooking.  I don't have much freezer space nor the desire to actually cook in bulk.  However, having a husband who leaves the house before dawn (commuting 1 1/2 hours each way) for work, has led us to discover that freezer cooking for his breakfast benefits everyone.  He needs something more substantial than cereal and milk or yogurt, so we've gone to making egg muffin sandwiches.  This way he has a hearty breakfast, that he can heat quickly (and quietly) & I don't have to get up 4 hours before the kids to make it.  I spend about an hour a month preparing them & he's got enough to get him through almost every morning for the entire month!

18 English Muffin

18 eggs

1 package of Canadian Bacon (there are only 15 pieces in the pack I buy, so he has 3 that don't have meat)

18 American Cheese slices

I have this adorable little egg frying pan and it works perfectly!  I spray a little non stick cooking spray, crack the egg into the pan, break up the yolk with a tooth pic & cook it.  Since I'll be using the entire carton of eggs, I just put the cracked shells back in the carton :)

As each egg is cooked, I place them on a wire rack to cool. 

As the eggs are cooking, I get out my bread knife and begin to the cut the muffins in half.

Go ahead and toss the box, but keep the bag the box comes in for later.

Then I begin assembling the sandwiches.  I start with the bottom of the muffin, then add an egg, a slice of canadian bacon & the top of the muffin.  We have found that adding cheese at this point is really not the best idea since it heats so much more quickly than the rest of the items.

Once all the sandwiches are assembled, I individually wrap the sandwiches in seran wrap.  Once they are all wrapped, I place the individually wrapped sandwiches into the bag from the english muffins, secure the top of the bag and place in the freezer.

In the morning, my sweet husband takes out a sandwich, unwraps it, wraps it in a paper towel and microwaves the entire thing for 1 minute & 15 seconds.  While it's cooking, he grabs a slice of cheese out of the fridge.  Once it's cooked, he opens it, adds the cheese, lets it sit for a minute or so and enjoys a nice, hot, filling breakfast.

Best part is, there is an entire month of drive thru style breakfasts for about 10 bucks...can't beat that!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2 small or 1 large pizza crust - homemade or packaged
BBQ sauce
Approximately 1 cup of cooked chicken (shredded or thinly sliced) 
1 onion, caramelized*
Mozzarella cheese

Top pizza crust with a generous layer of BBQ sauce.  Top sauce with a layer of chicken, then a layer of cheese.  Add onions to the top and cook according to the pizza crust directions and until cheese is melted.

*caramelize onions by slowly cooking them in a little olive oil until they are richly browned.

Low Country Boil

From allrecipes.com

Old Bay Seasoning TM to taste

1-1/4 pounds new potatoes

1 (16 ounce) package cooked kielbasa sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces

3 ears fresh corn, husks and silks removed

1-1/4 pounds whole crab, broken into pieces

1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

Heat a large pot of water over an outdoor cooker, or medium-high heat indoors. Add Old Bay Seasoning to taste, and bring to a boil. Add potatoes, and sausage, and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the corn and crab; cook for another 5 minutes, then add the shrimp when everything else is almost done, and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes.

Drain off the water, and pour the contents out onto a picnic table covered with newspaper. Grab a paper plate and a beer and enjoy!

I made this with chicken sausage & no crab. It was easy, delicious and really fun! We didn't have newspaper, so we just dumped it onto a paper towel lined baking sheet. This would be a great crowd pleaser!

Faux-Fried Zucchini

From Hungry Girl

2 large zucchini; ends removed
3/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original); ground to a breadcrumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters)
1 tbsp. powdered ranch dressing/dip mix
1/4 tsp. plus 1 dash garlic powder
1/4 tsp. plus 1 dash onion powder
1/4 tsp. plus 1 dash oregano
2 dashes pepper
2 dashes salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut zucchini into half-inch-wide circles. Blot away any excess moisture with a paper towel.

Fill a medium-sized dish with egg substitute, and season with a dash each of garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. In a separate medium-sized container, combine cereal breadcrumbs with 1/4 tsp. each of garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano -- add the ranch mix and a dash each of salt and pepper, and then mix well.

Set out a baking pan, and spray with nonstick spray. Toss zucchini circles in the egg substitute until they are all evenly covered. One by one, coat zucchini with breadcrumbs (giving them a shake first to remove excess egg substitute), and lay them flat on the baking pan.

Place in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Flip zucchini circles over, and return to the oven for about 10 more minutes, or until outsides are crispy and zucchini is cooked through.

MAKES 3 SERVINGS

WW POINTS® value 1 per serving

Soft Pretzels

Adapted from allrecipes.com

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

5 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup baking soda

4 cups hot water

Spray butter & 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping (optional)

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.

When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope (pretzels in photo above were rolled to about 15-inches before twisting...to get a more 'pretzel' look, you'll probably need to roll them to 20 inches or so) and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a dish towel or paper towels to remove some of the moisture from the bottom. Place pretzels on a parchment lined baking sheet (optional: spray each pretzel with a couple squirts of spray butter). Sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned. Once baked, pretzels can be frozen and reheated in the oven as needed. These are simply AMAZING!! We decided to make them cinnamon/sugar pretzels by dunking each in melted butter and topping with fresh ground cinnamon and sugar after baking. Everyone asked for more :)

Chicken Fajitas

1 medium onion
1-2 bell peppers
3 chicken breasts
olive oil
flour or corn tortillas

Cut onion and peppers into strips. Spray or drizzle a small amount of oil in a large skillet. Add veggies and stir often as you cut the chicken into strips. In a second skillet, cook the chicken and season as desired. Once the veggies are tender and the chicken is cooked through, add chicken to veggie mix, remove from heat & stir.

Place fajita mixture on tortillas and top with desired toppings.

I like to make double the amount and save left overs for Tex-Mex Pizzas :)

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

inspired by the Red Robin Whiskey River BBQ Chicken Burger

Chicken Breasts (boneless, skinless)
BBQ Sauce
Buns
Lettuce, shredded (optional)
Tomato (optional)
Cheddar Cheese, sliced (optional)
Mayo or Ranch Dressing
Crispy Onions/Onion Straws

Place frozen chicken breasts in crockpot and top with a bottle of BBQ sauce. Cook 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Using 2 forks, shred chicken about 20 minutes before serving.

Assemble sandwiches with desired ingredients.

The chicken can be cooked on a BBQ grill or cooked in the oven and then topped with BBQ sauce, but we have found that our favorite, most flavorful (and easy) way is in the crockpot. You can make this for as many as needed...we even made a HUGE batch in a roasting pan for the boys 1st birthday party.

Southwestern Egg Rolls

From: Hungry Girl
This is an awesome, healthy swap of the Southwestern Egg Rolls from Chili's.

3 La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low-Carb/Low-Fat Tortillas, Original (not Large - I find these near the deli in my grocery store)
1 oz. cooked skinless chicken breast; shredded
2 tbsp. canned black beans
2 tbsp. canned corn; drained
1 oz. Fat Free Jalapeno Jack cheese; shredded
1 tbsp. diced red chili pepper
3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach; thawed & thoroughly drained
Avocado Ranch Sauce

Preheat oven to 400. Combine chicken, beans, corn, cheese, chili pepper and spinach in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave. Warm tortillas in the microwave for 15 seconds. On a clean, flat surface, lay out tortillas side by side. Put 1/3 of the chicken-spinach mixture in the center of each of tortilla. To assemble each of the rolls, fold the left and right sides in (so none of the filling escapes during the cooking process), and then roll up from the bottom of the tortilla until you reach the top (so they resemble eggrolls). Place all 3 rolls (seams down) on a baking pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 12 minutes, flipping rolls over about halfway through cooking.

While the eggrolls are in the oven, prepare the avocado ranch sauce. Once the eggrolls are done baking, allow them to cool for a few minutes. Then cut each in half diagonally, arrange them beautifully on a plate, and serve with the dipping sauce.

MAKES 2 SERVINGS
WW points per serving (includes sauce) = 3

I have used a jalapeno in place of the red chili pepper with great success.

Chipotle Restaurant Rice

Tastes just like the rice at Chipotle...so yummy!

1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter

2/3 cup white basmati rice

1 lime (juice)

1-2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons fresh cilantro

1. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.

2. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute.

3. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. **The original recipe calls for 1 cup of water, but I have read reviews that people use 2 and it works well. I used 1 1/2 and I kind of think it could have gone either way. If you like your rice dryer, go with less water; more sticky, go with more.**

4. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

5. Add in the cilantro and fluff rice with a fork.

SERVES 4

Tableside Guacomole

This recipe was inspired by the table side guac at the Iron Cactus...yumm!!

1 Large Haas Avocado
1/4 small onion finely chopped
1 medium jalapeno pepper chopped (membranes and seeds removed)
1 medium orange
1/2 small lime
salt & pepper

Cut the avocado in half length wise. Carefully, but firmly, tap the seed with your knife in order to embed it in the seed. Then, gently twist the knife to pop the seed out. Scoop out the avocado into a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add the onions and jalapeno.

To maximize the amount of juice in the orange, roll it back and forth on a counter with the palm of your hand, pressing firmly down. Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice from both halves into the bowl and then add the juice from the 1/2 lime. Mash all ingredients together with a fork until well blended and to the consistency of your liking. Salt and pepper to taste.

The heat from a jalapeno pepper is in the membrane and seeds. With this part removed, the pepper adds lots of flavor, but not heat...don't be afraid :) Use within 24 hours. If you plan to make the guacamole ahead, reserve the avocado pit and add to bowl to keep from browning.

You can also add some chopped tomato. We are not a tomato loving family so we opt to leave it out :)

Chocolate Chip Calzone Swap

My husband had such a love for the chocolate chip calzone at Claim Jumper that he created a song for it. I have made them with pizza dough and regular size chocolate chips & white chocolate chips at home and they were delicious. Once day I had the idea to try to lighten this favorite dessert and we were amazed at how good it is. Try this one...you won't be disappointed!

Pillsbury reduced fat crescent rolls
mini chocolate chips
no sugar added vanilla ice cream
whipped cream

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out crescent rolls and separate into triangles. Place mini chocolate chips (about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons) at thickest part of triangle and fold into pockets. Be sure to push together all seams to create a seal. Place 'calzone' on ungreased baking sheet. Cook for 9 minutes, or until just barely brown.

In a plate or shallow bowl, scoop 1 scoop of ice cream per calzone. Top with whipped cream and a small sprinkle of chocolate chip if desired.

Be sure to use reduced fat crescent rolls. Regular crescent rolls have an overpowering flavor and are too thick to really work well.