Chicken a la King

Sometimes when I surf the blog food world I feel like there are recipes that everyone else have been eating their whole lives and for some reason I've missed out on it since I've never heard of it. Chicken a la King is one of those recipes. A few weeks ago I put this on my "To make" list and since that time I have seen variations of Chicken a la King on several different food blogs. Ultimately, I ended up choosing the recipe posted by Real Mom Kitchen.

As posted, this recipe provides:
412 calories
21.0 g fat
11.8 g carbohydrate
1.4 g fiber
43.1 g protein
(Just the chicken topping, not including whatever you serve it on)

Unfortunately this recipe calls for mushrooms which are a no-go for the husband. So I substituted carrots for mushrooms. (I know this is not an equal substitution but I was just trying to use up some of the crisper drawer). I will post the recipe with mushrooms, however.

There were two big substitutions that I made. I substituted 2 Tbsp olive oil for the 1/2 cup of butter. a.) olive oil is made from monounsaturated fats which are heart healthy fats vs. butter which is full of saturated fats or artery clogging fats and b.) 1/2 cup of butter seemed like a WHOLE HECK OF A LOT of butter to saute and I felt I could get the job done with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. I may have missed out on the richness in taste but I think my heart thanked me. I also substituted skim milk for half-and-half. This obviously cuts out on a ton of fat and calories. Another substitution would be to buy fat free half-and-half. It would make it a little more creamy like the original recipe.

I served this on reduced fat Grands biscuits but you could also cut down on calories/fat by serving on whole wheat toast or other low fat/high fiber carb.

Chicken a la King - BETTER

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced celery
1 cup fresh mushrooms
2 cups diced onion
5-6 Tbsp flour
3 1/4 cup chicken broth
1 (4oz) jar diced pimento
2 cups skim milk (or fat free half-and-half)
3 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken breasts
puff pastry shells, toast points, biscuits, rice or noodles to serve over

Saute celery, mushrooms, and onion in olive oil over medium-low heat to reach desired tenderness.

Gradually add 5-6 tbsp flour, stirring constantly to incorporate.

Turn up heat. As mixture thickens, add chicken stock and milk.

Then stir in chicken and pimento. Spoon chicken mixture into puff pastry shells or over toast points, biscuits, rice or noodles to serve. Makes 8 servings.

Per serving (not including whatever you serve it over):
283 calories
6.0 g fat
12.2 g carbohydrate
1.4 g fiber
43.3 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

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

Apparently everyone knows that if you are trying to take good food pictures you just cart your dish out onto your back porch and take a picture. Well, I actually tried that and - what do you know? - this is by far the best food picture I've taken so far. Too bad that it's winter and when I'm usually making dinner it's pitch black outside so I can't guarantee good pictures every time, just when I cook in the daylight :)

My husband loves cinnamon raisin bread. He honestly got a little giddy when I told him I made a loaf of it this day. When I saw the recipe from Annie's Eats for Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread, I knew I would get this reaction from him.

As originally posted, each slice (1/16 of the loaf) provides:

200 calories
4.3 g fat
36.8 g carbohydrate
1.2 g fiber
4.1 g protein

As I've said before, baking with yeast requires precise chemical reactions. So I am often afraid to make HUGE changes to a recipe which includes yeast. So I just made sure I used skim milk and I substituted 2 cups of the flour for wheat flour. Did it taste awesome? YES .... Did it make a huge difference? Not so much but at least you save 10 calories, 0.3 g fat and gain 1.4 grams of fiber per slice.... ehhh, I tried.

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread - BETTER

1 1/8 tsp instant (rapid rise) yeast
1 cup warm SKIM milk (105-110 degrees)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 tsp coarse salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
vegetable oil

For the filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp water
1 egg, lightly beaten

In the bowl of a standard mixer, combine the yeast, warm milk, both flours, butter, sugar, egg, salt and cinnamon. Mix briefly until a dough forms. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed until the dough is mostly smooth and clears the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes. Add in the raisins and allow to continue kneading about 3 minutes more, until the dough is smooth and supple and the raisins are evenly incorporated.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl; turning once to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat into a round circle. Fold the bottom third of the dough up and fold the top third down, in business-letter fashion. Then fold the right and left sides into the center in thirds, forming a rectangle. Press down to seal. Return to the bowl, cover and let rise again until doubled, about 40 minutes. (See Annie's Eats for a GREAT picture guide to this step).

Generously butter a 9x5" loaf pan. To make the filling, combine the sugar, cinnamon and water in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into a 10x12" rectangle. Brush lightly with the some of the beaten egg. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture, leaving a thin border around the edges. Fold in the edges of the long sides of the dough about 1 inch. Beginning with the short ends, roll the dough up into a tight spiral log, gently pressing as you go.

Pinch the seam shut and place the loaf, seam side down, in the prepared baking pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rise until dough rises just above the edges of the pan, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the loaf has risen, brush the top of the loaf lightly with the remaining beaten egg. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the loaf is golden brown, about 45 minutes. If the surface seems to be browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil (I did this about 15 minutes into baking). Cool in the pan 5 minutes, then turn the loaf out and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Makes 16 slices, per slice:
190 calories
4.0 g fat
35.9 g carbohydrate
2.5 g fiber
4.6 g protein

Fit Friday's Guest Post

I'm stepping away from the recipe revamps today and guest posting over at Sweet Treats and More. Kristy is starting a feature called "Fit Friday's" every Friday and I thought I'd discuss pre and post workout eating. Check it out!

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

Sometimes I get in a potato rut. In the summer, I like to slice potatoes into thick coins, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and throw them on the grill. In the winter, my husband LOVES mashed potatoes. But I'm always looking for a variation.

The Sisters' Cafe provided me with that variation when I was making this chicken dish. It looked pretty straight forward and would compliment my meal nicely.

As stated in the original recipe, each serving provides:

172.9 calories
4.1 g fat
30.5 g carbohydrate
3.7 g fiber
4.3 g protein

I didn't really make a whole lot of changes. I omitted the olive oil and just used nonstick spray instead. I also swapped the amounts of the bread crumbs and Parmesan - didn't make a huge difference in nutritional content, I just wanted them to be more Parmesan-y. They turned out tasty and a great alternative to the old potato stand-bys.

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes - BETTER

4 red potatoes (or 8 new potatoes)
nonstick spray
1 Tbsp bread crumbs
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
Various seasonings (I used garlic powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice potatoes into wedges and place in bowl. Spray with nonstick spray for just a second or two. Add all the other ingredients and toss until evenly coated. Bake in preheated oven 30-40 minutes or until desired degree of crispness, turning the wedges over halfway through baking.

Makes 4 servings, per serving:

142.2 calories
1.0 g fat
29.4 g carbohydrate
3.6 g fiber
4.6 g protein

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Chicken

In the summer, we grill A LOT of chicken. In fact, one summer we ate grilled chicken sprinkled with Montreal Steak seasoning with grilled green peppers, onions and potatoes probably 3 or 4 nights a week and we called it "summer meal". Since that summer, I've tried to be a little more creative with my grilled chicken.

My meal plan for the week called for grilled chicken with potatoes and vegetables one night so off I went in search of a great grilled chicken recipe. I found this recipe on Real Mom Kitchen for Sweet and Spicy Grilled Chicken and thought I'd give it a try.

To be honest, I made no nutritional changes to this recipe! The rub itself is pretty healthy and plain old chicken breast can't really be made healthier. The recipe does, however, call for a 6 oz chicken breast per person. Traditionally I recommend 3-4 oz protein portions at meals. I had a pretty hard work out after work on this day and ate the full 6 oz portion myself.... so I can't judge if you do too!

I did make one small change to the recipe. I didn't grill the chicken. See, we live in Michigan and we have this thing called CRAZY winters that last forever. And since it was December, I kind of forgot that we had moved the grill to the storage area since winter grilling on our deck is out of the questions as it is freezing and crazy windy all the time. So I seared this chicken in a dry frying pan instead.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each... or I used chicken tenders)

Combine the first five ingredients; rub over chicken. Coat grill rack with cooking spray for grills or brush with olive oil before starting the grill. (Or just put it in a dry nonstick pan, like me). Grill chicken, covered, for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.

Makes 5 servings, per serving:

209 calories
2.4 g fat
6.5 g carbohydrate
0.7 g fiber
39.6 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