Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

I think I need to work on my food photography skills....but it sure tastes good!!!

Feeding Finley as been quite the learning experience. She is a *little* independent and has NEVER let us feed her baby food or put utensils up to her mouth. She has wanted to do it all on her own. So the challenge has been to find foods that our toothless darling can eat. We were amazed at the way should could put down steamed broccoli, peas, even grilled chicken without any teeth.

In the last week, two little teeth have just begun to break the surface of her lower gums and it has opened up a whole new world of eating for our little darling. I'm not a big fan of having special foods just for the baby, instead I try to just feed her what we are having for dinner. I was SUPER surprised when she gobbled up this enchilada recipe. The tortillas were a bit too difficult for her to manuver without full teeth but she gobbled up the chicken and black bean filling. Now I know that spicy food is right up her alley (although this dish isn't too spicy, just a little kick from the chiles).

The original recipe is from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I like it because all of the ingredients are things that I typically keep on hand. These enchiladas are jam packed! So I said that it makes 6 servings, which would be 1.5 enchiladas per person. The original recipe would provide:

723 calories
40.5 g fat
55.3 g carbohydrate
6.4 g fiber
35 g protein

I made a few basic changes like using reduced fat cream cheese and sour cream. I also only sprinkled the top with a 1/2 cup cheddar, instead of putting a few tablespoons of Monterey Jack in each enchilada plus cheese on top. I also substituted good old La Tortilla Factory Low Carb tortillas.

This recipe would be great for doubling and freezing or just halving and freezing, depending on your family size. I will definitely be making it again!!!

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
2 (4 oz) cans green chiles
1 pkg reduced fat cream cheese
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp light margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp flour
1/3 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. skim milk
1 can (7 oz) green chile enchilada sauce
1/2 c. reduced fat sour cream
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
8 La Tortilla Factory tortillas

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, combine softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine, set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the margarine over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 2-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute until all the flour is cooked and nutty. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and has thickened. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Spread about 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down on the prepared baking dish.

Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with shredded cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Top with chopped cilantro, if desired.

Makes 6 servings:

620 calories 26 g fat 67 g carbohydrate 15.7 g fiber 37.3 g protein

Poppy Seed Chicken

I have a love for anything with a good crust, any good casserole and anything that can be made ahead or frozen. I feel like I'm always bringing a meal to someone who just had a baby and I find it easiest just to make a big batch of what we're having for dinner and split it up so I have some for the new momma as well.

One of my coworkers had a baby a few weeks ago and I wanted to make some good old comfort food (i.e. an awesome casserole). I've made poppy seed chicken before and assumed I could make it ahead of time and freeze it before baking. So over the weekend, I made up a batch of the awesome casserole - put half of it in an 8x8 for Paul and myself and put the other half in a foil 8x8 for my coworker. The day before I brought it over to her, I cooked up a big batch of brown rice to split between the two of us and picked up an extra bag of broccoli Steamers. Voila -instant comfort meal.

Poppy seed chicken is one of those recipes that you see all over the blogosphere. I decided to go with The Girl Who Ate Everything's rendition. I like that she provides a bunch of different ways to kick it up a notch. I added Worcestershire sauce and celery seed. I've made it with cheddar cheese before too (although that definitely doesn't help the healthful factor).

I guessed that each 9x13 pan would provide about 8 servings of the casserole. Each serving of the original recipe would provide:

511 calories
29.1 g fat
17.1 g carbohydrate
0.1 g fiber
44.9 g protein

I made a few substitutions that you could easily do at home. First, I used fat free sour cream instead of full fat sour cream. I don't really care for fat free sour cream as a topping, but in recipes its usually a pretty good substitute. Next, I used reduced fat Ritz crackers. Lastly, I only used 2 Tbsp of melted butter, instead of 1/2 a cup. I sprayed the top with nonstick spray to ensure that it browned nicely. Overall - pretty AWESOME.

Poppy Seed Chicken - BETTER

5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 cup fat free sour cream
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups crushed reduced fat Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls)
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
nonstick spray

Additional ingredients to make it fancier (and not included in the nutrition facts):
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper

Boil raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper until done. I usually do this in a crockpot with frozen chicken breasts and a 1/4 cup of water on high for a few hours. Let chicken cool and cut into one inch cubes. Place cubed chicken in a 9x13 casserole dish. (If splitting, use two 8x8 pans).

Stir together condensed soup and sour cream. IF you wish to add the additional flavorings, add them in now. Stir well and pour over the chicken.

In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce. Evenly spray with nonstick spray.

Cover with foil and place in freezer if keeping for later. When ready to bake, thaw completely in the fridge. Uncover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over brown rice.

Makes 8 servings. Per serving:
393 calories
12.4 g fat
21.6 g carbohydrate
0.1 g fiber
45.4 g protein

On another note.... I'm hosting 15 people over at my house on Sunday and want to make something in the crockpot that will be ready after church... any suggestions?

Orange Pecan French Toast

I was talking with my mom on the phone a few weeks ago, discussing what I should bring for Christmas. I offered to bring baked French toast but she was thinking more along the lines of a breakfast casserole. So I agreed and made a breakfast casserole instead. Well my husband overheard this conversation and I watched his eyes light up with sheer joy at the thought of Baked French Toast. I then watched his face turn to utter disappointment at the thought of a breakfast casserole instead. I decided to treat him to French Toast Casserole when we were doing our little family of three breakfast and presents on Christmas Eve.

The recipe that I use for Baked French Toast is ridiculously rich and sinful. I think it might call for at least 2 sticks of butter and 2 cups of brown sugar - really not worthy of being on my healthy food blog. So the night before I our breakfast, I went to make our Baked French Toast and realized that I had used up all of the brown sugar earlier in the afternoon making Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. Whoops! I didn't want to leave Paul disappointed, so I searched the internet for a baked French toast recipe which did not require brown sugar.

I came across this recipe for Pecan French Toast on allrecipes.com. It actually looked pretty healthy (or at least WAY healthier than my original recipe). As posted, each serving provides:
533 calories
32.3 g fat
48.5 g carbohydrate
2.8 g fiber
13.6 g protein

I didn't make too many changes as I still wanted this to be a treat for Paul. The only substitution that I made was I left out the butter and simply sprayed the top with non-stick butter flavored spray instead. You could also substitute whole grain bread, egg substitute or low-calorie OJ if you were looking for additional ways to healthify this recipe.

Overall, it was a hit! Definitely a different baked French toast, but tasty nonetheless!

Orange Pecan French Toast - BETTER

4 eggs
2/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 pound Italian bread, cubed
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 Tbsp grated orange zest

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, orange juice, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. Place bread slices in a tightly spaced single layer in the bottom of a flat dish or baking pan. Pour milk mixture over bread, cover and refrigerate overnight, turning once.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Spray casserole dish or jelly roll with butter-flavored nonstick spray. Arrange soaked bread slices in a single layer on pan. Sprinkle evenly with orange peel and pecans.

Bake in preheated oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Check during last 10 minutes of baking time to avoid burning.

Makes 4 servings. Each serving provides:
398 calories
17.1 g fat
48.5 g carbohydrate
2.8 g fiber
13.5 g protein

HOT and creamy enchiladas

I make a menu plan each week before I go grocery shopping. It is super helpful in a.) knowing what ingredients to buy and b.) preventing us from going out to eat or getting pizza ALL THE TIME! I'm usually pretty ridiculous when it comes to my meal plan, grocery list, coupons, etc. Well apparently when you throw working full time, a 3 month old and Christmas shenanigans into the mix, sometimes your grocery list forgets a few items.

I planned on having tacos for dinner the other night but figured out that I didn't have any lettuce (How'd that happen?). I really don't like tacos without lettuce. But I REFUSE to go to the grocery store more than once a week for a single item. So I needed to come up with some kind of baked enchilada type dinner that didn't require lettuce. I pulled all these ingredients together from the pantry and made it up as I went.

I must warn you, my husband and I like spicy food and this was pretty much at the top of my comfort level of hotness. You can alter the hotness though by what type of tomatoes you put in. Just plain diced tomatoes for wussies, mild Rotel for moderates and HOT Rotel for the adventurous. I must also note that when I had leftovers for the lunch the next day, THEY WERE AWESOME! Like even better than the original night. So keep that in mind.

Add a vegetable to these enchiladas and you have a complete meal!

HOT and Creamy enchiladas - Original recipe

3/4 pound ground sirloin
1 small onion, diced
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with chilies (I used HOT)
4 oz. fat free cream cheese
1 Tbsp taco seasoning
4 oz. 2% Cheddar cheese, divided
6 flour tortillas (I used the 6" small size)

Brown ground sirloin in skillet. Once cooked, drain any excess fat. Add diced onion and saute until translucent. Add can of Rotel, do not drain, and taco seasoning. Allow to simmer for a few minutes to reduce a little bit of the liquid. Add the cream cheese and stir until combined.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Assemble enchiladas by scooping 1/6th of the filling into each tortilla, sprinkle with a little cheese (reserving 2 oz cheese for later), roll and place seam side down in baking dish. Spray tops of tortillas with nonstick spray so they get a little crispy in the oven. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Take out dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Makes 4 servings (1.5 enchiladas each).

452 calories
19.9 g fat
31.7 g carbohydrate
2.2 g fiber
27.9 g protein

Super Easy Spaghetti Pie

Pasta is often my go-to dinner when short on time or I don't have anything planned for dinner. I always have an abundance of pasta, sauces (gasp! I RARELY make homemade) and protein to add on hand, so its something I can quickly throw together. For my real job, I came across this recipe on The Pioneer Woman's recipe site Tasty Kitchen. Sounded like a good variation of my traditional pasta dishes, so I gave it a try!

As listed, each serving (6) of this recipe provides:

607 calories
38.9 g fat
38.1 g carbohydrate
3.2 g fiber
24.8 g protein

Like usual, I was making this the night before. I put half of the recipe in a 9x5 loaf pan for the next night and kept it in the fridge. I put the other half in a foil lined 9x5 loaf pan for a freezer meal. Afterall, there's only two of us eating real food in the house and I figured that it would be enough for the husband and myself, plus leftovers for lunch the next day.


I made quite a few changes to the recipe but I think I still got the same tasty outcome:

• substituted whole wheat spaghetti for traditional
• used 4 egg whites instead of 2 whole eggs
• used 1 green + 1 red pepper instead of just one pepper
• used 3/4 of a pound of Italian sausage instead of a full pound
• Omitted the olive oil as there was plenty of oil in the pan from the cooked sausage
• used reduced fat sour cream instead of full fat
• used part-skim mozzarella instead of whole milk mozzarella

I know that sounds like a whole lot of change, but really, it was what we already had in our house - so it was no big deal. I also omitted mushrooms because I'm pretty sure my husband might die if a mushroom crossed his lips, or so he makes me believe.

When all was said and done, this was delicious! The sausage gave the dish a really powerful flavor. I'm sure I could have decreased the fat even more if I had used turkey sausage, but that's not always so easy to find. The peppers also added a lot of flavor. I'm looking forward for when I pull the other half out of the freezer!
Super Easy Spaghetti Pie - BETTER

1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti, cooked
4 egg whites
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 whole onion, chopped
1 red + 1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup mushrooms (optional)
3/4 pound Italian sausage
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese

Combine 1/2 pound of cooked spaghetti while it is warm with beaten egg whites and Parmesan. Pour coated pasta into a deep dish pie pan or a 9-inch baking dish. Set aside. (I put half in a loaf pan for now and half in a loaf pan for the freezer).

Saute Italian sausage in a large pan. After about 5 minutes, move sausage to the side. Cook the chopped onion, peppers and mushroom in the same pan. Saute until veggies are soft. Remove the sausage and set aside.

Take pan off of the heat and add about a 1/2 cup of reduced fat sour cream and stir into the veggies.

To assemble the pie - pour the creamy vegetable mix onto the spaghetti "crust". Next cut up the sausage and place a layer of pieces on the vegetables. Cover it all with a layer of spaghetti sauce and then a layer of shredded mozzarella.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Makes 6 servings, per serving:

436 calories
25 g fat
31.3 g carbohydrate
5.1 g fiber
23.8 g protein

Chicken Spaghetti

I recommend putting a baking sheet under this as mine OBVIOUSLY bubbled over :)

I work a weird schedule. I alternate between working 6am-2pm one day to 10 am - 6pm the next. On the days I get out at 2 pm, I try to make ahead a meal for the following day when I get out at 6pm so we can actually eat at a decent hour, instead of 9 pm. I am always looking for meals that can be made ahead or frozen. When reading the Pioneer Woman's post for Chicken Spaghetti, she talked about it freezing well, so I assumed I could just make it a day ahead as well.

I was right! My inlaws were watching the little munchkin one day and I wanted to have a home cooked meal to thank them for watching her.... but I wouldn't be there to bake it! So I made it the day ahead and left my mother-in-law instructions for getting it in the oven. It turned out great! I even made a special little dish of it for my father-in-law who doesn't like onions or peppers (although I wouldn't RECOMMEND that, as that takes out a lot of the vitamins and minerals of the dish!).

As prepared by the Pioneer Woman, this recipe provides:
391 calories
19.5 g fat
27.2 g carbohydrate
1.6 g fiber
26.2 g protein

I made just a few little changes to the recipe. First, I substituted whole wheat thin spaghetti for the regular spaghetti. Second, I doubled the amount of green pepper and onion to make it a little more vegetable-heavy. Lastly, I substituted 2% cheddar cheese for the full fat version, and only put 1 cup in the dish, with an additional 1 cup on top.

It was awesome! It also reheated really well. I had it for lunch the following two days after we had it for dinner.

Chicken Spaghetti - BETTER
2 cups cooked chicken breasts
3 cups dry whole wheat spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken, or both!)
1 cup shredded 2% cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely diced green pepper
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 jar (4 oz) diced pimentos, drained
2 cups reserved chicken broth from pot
1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup additional shredded 2% cheddar cheese

Boil chicken breasts in water. Shred the chicken breasts. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. Reserve 2 cups of broth. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup cheese.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until bubble. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

Makes 8 servings, per serving:
269 calories
7 g fat
29.0 g carbohydrate
3 g fiber
22.2 g protein

Chicken Pot Pie

Confession: I’m a dietitian and I LOVE pie crust. I know I could have made this (or any pie recipe) healthier by only doing a top crust and forgoing the bottom crust, but I refuse.

With that being said, YOU (as it is not an option for me) could save 161 calories, 10 grams of fat and almost 15 grams of carbohydrate by simply making it with a top crust only. That is… if crust isn’t your thing.

I am on a comfort food kick and definitely put chicken pot pie in that category. So in search of a chicken pot pie recipe, I came across this recipe from Our Best Bites. It’s the perfect traditional chicken pot pie – no frills or crazy ingredients – just what you imagine your grandma making. As printed in the original recipe (and with a DOUBLE crust), 1/8^th of this pie provides:

578 calories

27.4 g fat

60.3 g carbohydrate

5.4 g fiber

22.6 g protein

I didn’t make huge changes to this recipe. I used 3 potatoes, instead of 5 potatoes and omitted the butter. I also used 98% fat free cream of chicken soup instead of the full fat version. I also tried replacing one cup of white flour with one cup of wheat flour in the pie crust recipe. To be honest, this small change didn’t make that much of a difference in nutritional value, however I was more curious to see if I could still get a flaky crust with whole wheat flour in the recipe. It turned out pretty good! Especially for a savory recipe like this one.

Chicken Pot Pie – BETTER

Crust

1 cup wheat flour

1 ½ cup white flour

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup + 2 Tbsp shortening

Ice water (approximately ½ cup)

Combine flours and salt in a medium sized bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until you get about pea sized pieces.

Sprinkle ice water in about a tablespoon at a time. Very gently, turn the dough with your fingers so it gets exposed to the water. Gradually, all of the flour mixture will be moistened. Divide the dough into two balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

When ready, roll out one ball on a lightly floured surface until it is big enough to fit in your pie pan. When ready for the top, roll out the second ball and place it on top of your filling as desired. For a good picture demonstration of crusts, check out the original recipe here.

Filling

2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into bite size pieces

1 12-16 oz. bag frozen vegetables, thawed

1 onion, minced

3 medium-small red potatoes, diced

2 cans 98% fat free cream of chicken soup

Ground black pepper, to taste.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When ready, add potatoes and boil until tender.

In a mixing bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, chicken, vegetables, onion and potatoes. Season to taste.

Add the filling to prepared pie crust. Top as desired with second crust. (Or save yourself some fat and calories by omitting the bottom crust!) Make sure you cut vents into the top of the crust to let out the steam.

Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Per serving:

536 calories

25.1 g fat

61.8 g carbohydrate

8.1 g fiber

18.0 g protein

***This recipe could also be made ahead or doubled and put in the freezer for up to 3 months. Put the UNBAKED pie in the freezer, covered in foil. When desired, pull the pie out of the freezer 24 hours in advance and put in your refrigerator. You may have to increase the cooking time by 15 minutes or so.