Baked Chicken Parmesan - nice and light!

I am on a quest to lighten up our menus at home. I know that not all of my recipes will be light but I will try to add more to our favourites list. And for those recipes that aren't "light", I usually change up what I can for lighter versions.
I have quite the collection of new and old cookbooks (healthy and not), and I want to put them to good use. But before I head to those, I thought I would share a recipe from a great site that has incredibly flavourful recipes, www.skinnytaste.com. It is wonderful! Be sure to check out her light recipes, both savoury and sweet. I decided to make chicken paremsan as I was totally craving my Uncle Frankie's marinara sauce (it's to die for) and chicken of course ;)
There are a few steps to the process but definitely worth it.

Baked Chicken Paremsan
source: www.skinnytaste.com

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts halves, sliced in half
3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup light mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup marinara sauce
cooking spray

   Preheat the oven to 450F. Spray a large baking sheet lightly with spray.
   Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumbs mixture. Place on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken.
   Lightly spray a little more cooking oil in top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over and bake another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, spoon sauce over chicken and top it with some shredded cheese. Bake another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
I served this with a little pasta on the side with some marinara sauce and a salad.

Happy Cooking!

Menu Plan for the Week of February 27, 2012

Wow another week already!! I have a lot planned for the week but I'm not sure how much of it I am going to get through. I'm just going to do what I can. With all the stuff that I have to get done, planning my meals takes some guess work out of supper time making me less stressed. On top of my meal plans, this week I will be making some tacos in sleeping bags to freeze and some zero point soup for me. And of course in addition to all this, I am working on various sweets recipes, getting them ready and deciding which ones I will be selling. Yes, I am finally going to sell my baking. More on this in another post though. Back to the task at hand, this week's menu. Nothing really over the top, but there is one new recipe for us: chicken souvlaki, rice pilaf and lemon potatoes.
It's going to be a good week!!

Monday: Ham dinner (was supposed to be Sunday but it didn't happen), potatoes, broccoli

Tuesday: Chicken Souvlaki, rice pilaf, lemon potatoes, salad and maybe a veggie (recipe to come)

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: BBQ Steaks (salmon for the kids), baked potato, carrots, salad

Friday: Homemade Pizza (recipe to come)

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Open for suggestions :)

Have a great week!

Quick Kids Lunch Idea - Chicken Wraps

My kids love chicken nuggets/strips. LOVE them. I haven't found a recipe for homemade nuggets that I (and the kids) love yet. Until we find it, we buy whole wheat chicken strips from one of those big bulk stores and just cut the strips into nuggets. To change things up for the kids, I like to offer the nuggets in a wrap. When I ask what they want for lunch these days, they both say wrap!

Chicken Nugget Wraps

Ingredients

cooked chicken nuggets

shredded light cheddar cheese

lettuce (if your kids like it)

light ranch dressing

flour tortillas

Warm your chicken and tortillas. I cut my chicken nuggets into 3 tiny strips (or chicken strips into bite size pieces). Place some cheese on the tortilla, add the chicken. Then I put some ranch dressing and lettuce. Roll up so that both ends are closed and cut it in half. It's that simple! I usually serve this with some cut up veggies and some dip or a nice greek pasta salad that I make chock full of veggies. 

And just yesterday, I used chicken that we had grilled on the BBQ instead of nuggets. The kids just love it. The options with this are endless.  

Happy cooking!

Chicken Quesadillas

This is only my second time making chicken quesadillas and it's the first time I've liked them! It was a low fat recipe but not all my ingredients were low fat, so it was sorta low fat LOL. But this recipe is big on flavor.
My hubby couldn't stop gushing about how great it smelled and I was only cooking the onions, peppers and garlic. He loves garlic! We did take an extra step and grill our chicken on the BBQ but as the original recipe says, you can just cook the chicken in your skillet as well. We are year round BBQ people. We just love it! When I have this recipe on my menu again, I will be sure to pre-cook the chicken with something else on the BBQ so that I have it at the ready come meal time.

Chicken Quesadillas
original source: www.skinnytaste.com

Ingredients
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
cumin
oregano
garlic powder
salt and fresh pepper
cooking spray
1/2 small onion, cut into strips
1 bell pepper (red or green or both), cut into strips (I actually used 2 peppers)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp oil
1 1/3 cup cheese, shredded (I used a combo of light old cheddar and light mozzarella)
1 cup salsa or pico de gallo
8 flour tortillas

   Slice the chicken breast in half so that you have 4 cutlets. Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt, pepper, cumin, oregano and garlic powder. It may be easier to mix an amount of each in a bowl and then sprinkle on your chicken.
   If using a skillet, lightly spray your pan with cooking spray on medium heat and cook on both sides. If using a grill, cook on both sides as well. Remove from heat, cut chicken in slices and set aside.
   Add 1 tbsp of oil to the skillet and cook the onions and peppers; season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes,  then add garlic and continue cooking until vegetables are soft being careful not to burn the garlic. Set aside once cooked.
   Heat skillet on medium heat and lightly spray with oil. Add a tortilla, top with cheese, chicken, onions, peppers, and salsa or pico de gallo. Top with another tortilla. Cheese should be melted and the bottom of the tortilla should be golden brown. Put a plate on top of the quesadilla while in the skillet and flip it over so that your quesadilla is now on your plate. Gently slide it back into the skillet with the golden side up, allowing the other side to become golden brown, approx 1-2 minutes. Slide it onto a plate and cut into wedges and serve with sour cream and additional salsa if you like.

Happy cooking!

Menu Plan for the week of February 20, 2012

So I'm a little late getting this out there. I had it completed on Sunday as I always do but I never got around to posting it up here. I have this great weekly calendar that I received as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law that is on my fridge. It is awesome! I take it down on Friday or Saturday and then work on my plan for the week. I go through what's in my fridge, what's in the freezer and what we need to pick up. This week, I didn't have much to pick up. Just some fruits and veggies. This week's menu came together pretty quickly and I'm a little disappointed, but we are only trying 1 new recipe this week. I'll have to make it up next week!

Monday: Chicken Quesadillas (recipe here)

Tuesday: Steak subs (quick and easy recipe - to come)

Wednesday: Ribs or salmon on the BBQ

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: Homemade pizza (recipe is coming soon)

Saturday: BBQ Steaks

Sunday: Maple & brown sugar ham

It's a simple week. When I made this menu, I was still sick. I am actually still sick but getting better at least. Here's hoping that next week I will have new recipes to try!!

Have a great week!

My Favorite Roast Pork Recipe

I discovered this recipe back in 2004 (maybe even 2003) when I was working evenings/nights (ok, all hours!) and spent time browsing the net while attending cooking school during the day. I made it once and actually never looked back. I made it for my boyfriend (who is now my hubby) and he said I could never make any other kind of pork roast, it was that good!
With our crazy lives this past year, and hubby being gone for most of it, I hadn't made it in quite some time. But we made it a Sunday meal recently and it is still my go to recipe for pork roasts. Tender, tasty and a nice au jus just tops it off (sorry no photo of it). I thought I would share the recipe with you as even my picky toddlers LOVED it! It's a family favorite for us and maybe it will be for you too!

Roast Pork Loin with Garlic and Rosemary
source: epicurious.com (here)

Ingredients
4 large garlic cloves, pressed
2 tsp dried or 4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt (I use kosher)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 1/2lb bonelss pork loin roast
Olive oil (optional)
red wine or chicken stock (optional)

   Preheat oven 400F. Mix first 4 ingerdients in bowl. Rub a minimal amount of olive oil over roast if you like, makes it easier to rub the mixture onto the roast but is not necessary. Then rub the mixture all over the roast. Place the pork fat side down in the roasting pan. Roast for 30 min. Then turn the pork fat side up and continue roasting for 25 min. longer. Remove from pan and let stand 10 min. If you choose to, start your jus while the pork is resting.
   Deglaze the pan with red wine or chicken stock to make your jus. Cook and reduce a little. Strain if you like. Slice pork and serve au jus.

Happy Sunday!

Quick and Easy Chicken Enchiladas

I do my best to menu plan on Sundays. I will actually start posting my menu plan here on a weekly basis so that I can share it with you and maybe you can share back with me some time. I hope that it will give you some new meal ideas for your families. I do have some recipes that I have cooked in advance and keep in the freezer and there are others that are great last minute recipes. This is one of those recipes. I actually discovered it when I was living on my own in St. Henri, near downtown Montreal. I didn't have cable and was working full time (and then some) and going to cooking school full time. I needed something quick and any leftovers would have to freeze well. This did the trick. It is now a favorite in our house as we all really enjoy it. And the best thing is that you can use a rotisserie chicken! This definitely speeds things up.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas
source: adapted from Kraft Canada

Ingredients
3/4 - 1 cups sour cream (I use light), we use 3/4 cup and if the chicken is still dry, we add more.
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken (I use rotisserie chicken - saves so much time)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup salsa, divided
1 tsp ground cumin
12 6-inch flour tortillas (I use only 8 of the medium Old El Paso flour tortillas)
1 tomato, diced (optional - we don't use)
Some shredded lettuce (optional - we don't use)

   Preheat your oven to 350F. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
   Mix sour cream, cooked chicken, 1 cup of cheese, 1/4 cup of salsa and cumin in a bowl. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture into each tortilla and roll up.
   Place the tortillas seam side down in the greased baking dish and top with remaining salsa. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and sprinkle with remaining cheese and put back into the oven until cheese has melted.

This comes together in next to no time and cooks just as fast as you can see. I like to buy rotisserie chicken when it is on special or at the end of the day when they are 50% off. Simply de-bone the chicken and freeze it. I made this recipe on Monday using chicken that I had frozen back on Dec 18 and it was perfect!!

Happy cooking!

Menu Plan for the week of Feb 13, 2012

I'm hoping that by posting my menu for the week, it will keep me a little more organized. But we'll see. I'm also hoping that it may give you a few new ideas for meals. And if you share your menu plans with me, I can add to my go to recipes.
So here we go. Breakfast in our house is pretty much the same every day. It varies between toast, bagels and sometimes pancakes. We aren't a cereal house. I don't know why, we just aren't. And we haven't done oatmeal in a while. I may have to try that again with the kidlets. I try to keep my lunches quick and painless as the kids usually nap right after. And supper, well sometimes they eat it and most times not.
So here we have our suppers for the week:

Monday - Easy Chicken Enchiladas (recipe here)

Tuesday - Spaghetti (recipe for an awesome marinara sauce coming soon)

Wednesday - Paté Chinois/Shepherd's Pie (another great recipe to share soon)

Thursdsay - Leftovers

Friday - Homemade pizza (recipe to come from OAMM)

Saturday - Ribs on the BBQ with salad and veggies

Sunday - Chicken Bruschetta bake (recipe to come from kraftcanada.com)

The only meal that I'm not quite 100% happy with is our Sunday dinner. I think I would rather do a roast of some sort but I guess we will see. So that's the plan! I'll keep you posted on how it goes. And I better get cracking on sharing these recipes with you hehehe! I'll update with links as soon as I can.

Happy eating this week!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake bars

I love anything chocolate chip.  When I found this recipe on Pinterest (I can send you an invite if you're interested in joining), I had to make them ASAP.
Now, I love all desserts but when there are chocolate chips added, it just seems to make the dessert that much better LOL. After making this dessert and sharing it with my family, I realized that I have officially passed on my love of chocolate chip anything to my DD. She's only 3 and already knows how these little bits can make any dessert wonderful. She told me after having her piece that she LOVES chocolate chips. I told her, "so does Mommy" hehe.

These will not disappoint. They were fantastic and a definite share.
And they taste as amazing as they look.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake bars
source: Brandy's Baking

Ingredients
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate chip cookie dough:
5 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract (I use pure over artificial)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)

Cheesecake filling:
10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

   Preheat the oven to 325F. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil allowing a little overhang and spray with a non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
   Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs until thoroughly combined. Press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove pan to a cooling rack. Leave your oven on.
   While the crust is cooling, prepare the cookie dough. For the next step you can either use a stand mixer or an electric mixer. If using a stand mixer, please use the bowl that comes with it along with the paddle attachment. In a bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour on low speed and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
   In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla on low speed just until incorporated. Pour the cheesecake batter onto the prepared crust. Using your hand to form teaspoon-sized clumps, distribute the cookie dough on top of the cheesecake batter. Be sure to use all of the dough.
   Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top (cookie dough) feels fry and firm and the entire pan looks set if given a gentle shake. Move bars to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or for at least a couple of hours.
   Lift the bars out by the overhang and cut into squares for serving.

Happy baking!

Finding the time to do it all

For some reason, I have no trouble finding the time to cook and bake. But I can't seem to find the time to sew. I can find the time to go material shopping and buy more material for projects that I hope to tackle soon.
Here's my latest purchases:

The dinosaurs are for a bib or two with the intention to sell them. The green w/ red and white candies are to make a simple skirt for my DD for Christmas next year. The puppies is for another simple skirt for my DD for this spring/summer. And the last material, pink and brown, is to make pillow case dresses to sell and if enough material is leftover, a bib as well. I just love this last material. So much so, that I want to make a dress for my DD with it. I also picked up some inexpensive ribbon and some clips to do mitten clips for my DS who can't seem to keep his mittens on.

Sorry for the glare.

And well, I really wanted to knit and for some reason, can't seem to wrap my head around it. So I picked up a knitting loom in the hopes that I could finally make something. Well, it's working. I am able to work on this when I'm sitting down relaxing at night once the kiddies are in bed. It's a simple scarf but I'm loving how it's turning out. The wool I picked up is so soft and chunky. Just loving it!

So we'll see how the sewing goes.
And of course with DH buying me a beautiful red KitchenAid mixer for my birthday, I really need to put that to good use LOL.
I think that I will have to pick one thing to do each day, either a recipe or a craft, and then work on that one thing instead of trying to get everything done on the same day.
I'll let you know if this works for me ;)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

Just after Christmas, I purchased The Looneyspoons Collection cookbook. It is a combination of old but updated recipes and some new ones.
I made these mostly for my kids but of course my DH and I eat them as well. The only thing that I changed was instead of regular muffin tins, I used my mini muffin tins. The larger muffins were just too much for my kids. And I also have a great stash in the freezer!!
These muffins taste amazing and are very moist. And you can't go wrong with chocolate chips now can you!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
from the Looneyspoons Collection cookbook

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups quick cooking rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup puréed canned peaches (see * below)
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups Nutri Flour Blend (see ** below)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
* Drain the canned peaches well and purée them using a blender, hand blender or food processor.
** Nutri Flour Blend is made by Robin Hood. If you don't have any, you can use a mix of 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour.

   Preheat oven to 375F. Spray your muffin tins (regular or mini) with some cooking spray and set aside.
   Pour the milk over the oats and stir. Let it sit for 20 mins. Once 20 mins have passed, stir in the puréed peaches, egg, butter and vanilla. Set aside.
   Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add oat mixture and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips. The batter should be thick.
   Divide the batter in your 12 muffin cups or your mini muffins. I was able to make 48 mini muffins this last batch.
   Bake for 20 minutes (or approx 10 minutes for the mini muffins), or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Once cool enough to touch, remove muffins from pan and let cool on wire rack.
   If you are lucky enough to have some leftover after the first wave of trying them (over and over again), I suggest freezing some. Just pop 'em in the microwave for a quick warm and they taste like they are fresh out of the oven all over again!

I can't tell you enough how much I love the Looneyspoons books. A definite purchase!! Healthy recipes full of taste makes a great cookbook.

Happy baking!