Friday, March 28, 2014

Kentucky Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

I used a 3 lb rotisserie chicken from the store to reduce the prep-time for this recipe. I served this casserole with asparagus. This casserole has only 300 calories and 10.4 g of fat per serving. It is also a good source of protein and potassium - and it is yummy!



5 cups diced cooked chicken
1 (8 oz) pkg Cremini Mushroom slices (cut slices in half)
2 pkgs. (6 oz each) Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice Original Recipe
2 cans (10.75 oz each) cream of celery soup (don't substitute a different flavor)
1 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing (don't use mayonnaise)
1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 jar (4 oz) sliced pimiento peppers, drained
1 package (9 oz) frozen French-cut green beans, thawed and drained
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the chicken, rice with its seasonings, celery soup, salad dressing, water chestnuts, pimientos, green beans and chicken broth in a large bowl. 

Transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13 (3- quart) glass or ceramic baking dish and top with the Parmesan cheese.  Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.

Bake the casserole until it is bubbling and the rice has cooked, 30 - 45 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes, then serve.

Serves 12

This casserole freezes well, either baked or unbaked, and it can be doubled or tripled for feeding a crowd.  If you freeze it unbaked, don't add the Parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle it on before baking.

Source: The Dinner Doctor - Anne Byrn
(My recipe is a modified version of the original recipe from The Dinner Doctor)

Kimberly 

Best Oven Fried Chicken

The combination of spices, coating and the way this is prepared really makes this taste like fried chicken.  Oven fried chicken is so much better for you than deep fried chicken.  This chicken recipe is only about 255 calories and 8 grams of fat per piece compared to deep fried which is about 460 calories and 28 grams of fat.  Quite a bit of difference. This was delicious!











2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion  powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 1/4 cups cornflake cereal
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS flour
1 1/2 pounds skinned chicken pieces (such as 2 legs, 2 thighs and 1 large breast cut in half)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the egg whites with the garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, sage and thyme.

Place the cornflakes in a Ziploc bag and crush thoroughly with a rolling pin.  Place in a shallow bowl and mix together with the breadcrumbs, pepper and salt.

Place the flour in a third shallow bowl.

To bread the chicken pieces, first dredge the chicken in the flour to coat.  Next, dip each piece of chicken into the egg white mixture, followed by the crumb mixture.  Make sure all surfaces of the chicken are covered.  Repeat until all the chicken has been coated.

Place the chicken pieces on the rack and bake for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and registers 180 degrees when tested with a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken.

Serves 4

Source:  Eat What You Love - Marlene Koch

Cindy

Friday, March 21, 2014

Pistachio-Chai Muffins

Pistachios and Chai are such a wonderful combination of flavors.  I just purchased a new Cooking Light cookbook and I knew this would be the first recipe I needed to make from it.  So delicious served warmed!  Enjoy with a hot cup of Chai for the "total Chai experience".











1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (my addition)
1/2 tsp ginger (my addition)
1/4 tsp nutmeg (my addition)
2 Chai blend tea bags, opened (I used 3 tea bags)
1 cup low-fat butter milk (if you don't have buttermilk, you may add 1 TBS lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk and let it sit for several minutes)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking Spray
1/3 cup shelled salted dry-roasted pistachios, chopped (I used about 100 nuts...yup,100)

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 TBS water
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices into a large bowl.  Stirring with a whisk.  Cut open the tea bags and add to the flour mixture, stirring well.  Make a well in the center of the mixture.  Combine buttermilk, butter, vanilla and egg in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk.  Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Place 12 muffin-cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray.  Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.  Sprinkle nuts evenly over batter.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, water and vanilla, stirring until smooth.  Drizzle evenly over muffins. 

Serves 12

Source:  Cooking Light: The Food Lover's Healthy Habits Cookbook

Janice