Easy Chicken Pot Pie

 1 bag of frozen chicken tenderloins

2 cans of cream of potato soup

½ cup skim milk

1 bag of frozen mixed veggies

1 tsp thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can of Pillsbury light crescent rolls

Thaw the chicken. Mix all ingredients in the crock pot, except for the crescent rolls. Add the thawed chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the chicken is done. Transfer the cooked chicken mixture from the crock pot to a corning ware dish. Roll out the crescent roll dough and press the triangles together to form one large sheet of dough. Top the chicken mixture with the crescent roll dough and back according to direction on the Pillsbury package. Easy and delicious chicken pot pie! Serves approximately 8, or a family of 4 twice.

Italian Chicken in the Crock Pot

1 bag of frozen chicken tenderloins

1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

1 can of diced tomatoes

Smart Taste spaghetti noodles

Fresh shredded Parmesan cheese

 

Thaw the chicken. Mix all of the ingredients, except for the cheese and noodles, in the crock pot and then add the chicken. Cook this on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is done. I served this over pasta. Add the fresh Parmesan cheese after plating. Superb! Serves approximately 8, or a family of 4 twice.

Creamy Mushroom Chicken in the Crock Pot

 

1 bag of frozen chicken tenderloins

1 can of light cream of mushroom soup

1 container of fresh mushrooms sliced and washed

1 onion sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

Shredded light cheddar cheese

 

Thaw the chicken. Mix all of the ingredients, except for the cheese, in the crock pot and then add the chicken. Cook this on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is done. I usually serve this over brown rice or barley. Add some light cheddar cheese after plating. Scrumptious! Serves approximately 8, or a family of 4 twice.

Chicken and Dumplings in the Crock Pot

1 bag of frozen chicken tenderloins

1 can of light cream of chicken soup

8 oz. chicken broth

5 celery stalks cut sliced

1 small bag of carrots sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

I small can of Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits

 

Thaw the chicken. Mix all of the ingredients in the crock pot and then add the chicken. Cook this on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is done. Now for the dumplings! Tear the biscuits in half and toss them in to the crock pot. Turn the crock pot on high and let cook uncovered for one hour. The dumplings will probably be ready in a little under an hour. Delicious! Serves approximately 8, or a family of 4 twice.

Apricot Chicken in the Crock Pot

 

This recipe was shared with me from my sis. It is delicious! I usually serve it over brown rice or barley.

1 bag of frozen chicken tenderloins

1 jar of apricot preserves

1 package dry onion soup mix

1 fresh onion sliced

 

Thaw the chicken. Mix all ingredients in the crock pot and then add the chicken. Cook this on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is done. Yum! Serves approximately 8, or a family of 4 twice.

BBQ Chicken in the crock pot

This is one of our family favorites! You can use this BBQ chicken to make tasty sandwiches or quesadillas.

 

1 bag of frozen chicken tenders

1 jar of your favorite BBQ sauce ( I use Kraft Honey BBQ sauce)

1 onion sliced

Half a can of Coke or Dr. Pepper

 

Thaw the chicken tenders first. Sometimes I just take the bag out of the freezer and let it sit out for a bit. Or, if I'm in a hurry then I place the frozen tenders in a large bowl in the sink and run luke warm water over them until they are thawed. Mix all of the ingredients in the crock pot and then add the chicken. I put a good coating of salt and pepper on the chicken too. Usually I let this cook on low for most of the day. By the time I get home from work it is ready. Wonderful! Serves approximately 8, or a family of 4 twice.

 

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas:

 

BBQ chicken cooked in the crock pot

pineapple chunks sliced in half

provolone cheese (I use the light)

Your favorite tortillas!

 

You can assemble these and then use the microwave or you can warm them in the oven. I like my qusadillas to be a tad bit crispy so I use the oven. You will love this tasty and easy dinner!

Blueberry Yogurt Pancakes

You can use any flavor yogurt in these pancakes. The original recipe, found at this link,

http://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2013/01/greek-yogurt-pancakes.html

uses blueberry and we like blueberry too, so that's what I used. The only modification I made in this recipe is that I used King Arthur white whole wheat flour. These pancakes were absolutely delicious! I will definitely make these again as my boys loved them!

 

Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

I made these yummy treats this weekend. They are packed with protein and chocolate flavor! When you're looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth these would be a great choice! My modifications are below but you can find the original recipe on this website. Enjoy!

 

http://ittybitsofbalance.com/2012/01/28/double-chocolate-chip-protein-cookies/

 

Yields: 10 cookies (depending on size)

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats (not quick-cooking oats)
• 1/2 cup protein powder of choice (I used chocolate)
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup light peanut butter
• 1-1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp honey (I used buckwheat honey)
• 2 tsp Stevia
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Combine all ingredients in a single bowl. Stir to combine.

3. Spoon out balls onto greased baking sheet and form into cookies. Bake for 5-8 minutes, depending on size of cookies.

4. Enjoy!

Apple Raisin Bread

I made this yummy bread on Friday. It really turned out wonderful! It is moist and very flavorful! I modified this recipe just a bit.

My modifications include:

1. vanilla flavored Greek yogurt instead of plain

2. all whole wheat flour and not any white

1/2 cup of dates instead of raisins (I had dates on hand but no raisins) :)

And, I used 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1/4 cup of Stevia instead of 1/2 cup of white sugar

 

http://www.peanutbutterandpeppers.com/2012/04/10/apple-raisin-bread/

 

Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

I made these yummy cookies Sunday afternoon for JP and Merit. They were a big hit! Merit's favorite part was pouring the chocolate chips into the mixer and JP's favorite part was eating them of course! Thanks to Cookie and Kate for the recipe!

http://cookieandkate.com/2011/chocolate-chip-banana-cookies/

December Art!

We made some really pretty art work during the month of December. Here are a couple of my favorites. The Santa sleigh and reindeer turned out so cute! Merit loves to have his hands and feet painted so this was perfect for him. He also had a great time decorating and building the snowman.

 

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Bars

Do you love bananas? What about peanut butter? And, chocolate??? Oh yes! These bars are amazing and very healthy!

The original recipe is from this site. She has some other delicious looking recipes on her site! Check it out.

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/03/29/peanut-butter-banana-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-bars/

My healthy modifications include: 1/3 cup of light peanut butter instead of regular. You could also use the pretend peanut butter. 1/2 cup of skim milk, 3 ripe bananas instead of 2 and I didn't add in the peanut butter chips. So, these indeed are a healthy on-the-go snack or breakfast! Enjoy!



Paula Deen's Cobbler

This cobbler is amazing and pretty healthy too! Well, it's fairly healthy the way I make it but not the way Paula Deen makes it. :) Tonight I made this recipe but used Cooper Farms canned peaches; it may have been even more delicious then the pear!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/grilled-pear-cobbler-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 8 Bosc pears, peeled, halved and cored
• 2 cups pear nectar
• 1 stick melted butter (I used 4 T of Smart Balance Light), seriously, you don't need all of that butter!
• 2 cups biscuit mix (I used Hodgson Mill whole wheat baking mix)http://www.hodgsonmillstore.com/en/Mixes/Whole-Wheat-Insta-Bake-Mix-/71518-02020-001_Group.aspx
• 2 cups sugar (I used less, about 1 1/2 Cups)
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half (I used skim milk)
• Cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling
• Vanilla frozen yogurt, for serving

Directions

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large resealable plastic bag, add the pears and pear nectar. Seal the bag, and marinate for 1 hour. Remove the pears from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Grill the pears for 5 minutes per side. I didn't grill the pears or the peaches. Maybe it would make this cobbler even better?

Put the melted butter in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine the biscuit mix, sugar, and half-and-half. Pour the batter into baking dish over the butter. Arrange the pears on top. Do not stir the pears. Pour the reserved marinade over the top of the pears. Bake until lightly browned, about 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve warm with ice cream and Pear Topping, if desired.

 

 

Pear Bread...delicious and good for you!

I made this yummy bread this weekend. Here is the link to the recipe. My modifications include: 1/4 cup light butter softened + 1/4 cup of applesauce in place of 1/2 butter, 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites, 1/4 cup low fat buttermilk instead of full fat or yogurt, 3/4 cup sugar instead of 1 full cup,  and 2 cups of King Arthur white whole wheat flour in place of 2 cups of white flour. Before placing this in the oven I topped it with cinnamon and a little bit of sugar in the raw.  This bread is so moist and delicious!

http://www.food.com/recipe/pear-bread-2422

Apricot Muffins...delicious and nutritious!

I made these apricot muffins this morning. The link to the recipe is below. My healthy modifications include: all white whole wheat flour instead of mixing white and wheat and 1/4 cup applesauce instead of 1/4 cup melted butter. I added some raisins because we like raisins at our house. You could add another type of dried fruit if you like. They are very moist and delicious! Merit and J.P. loved them!

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/whole-wheat-apricot-muffins-10000000780370/

Coffee Cake Muffins...oh my!

I was in the mood for coffee cake this weekend. Not sure why but I was. I knew the boys in my house would love this breakfast treat! I found this recipe on Little Light Magazine's website.

My modifications include: light butter instead of regular, skim milk, and 2 egg whites instead of one whole egg. Also, I used the King Arthur white whole wheat flour. You will not be able to tell the difference. Seriously delicious!

http://littlelightmagazine.com/coffee-cake-muffins/

Pizza Dip!

I made this yummy dip for the Super Bowl party. Several of you asked for the recipe so here it is!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hot-pizza-dip/

Healthy modifications: I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese, Sargento Light Italian blend shredded cheese, and Turkey Pepperoni. You can use whatever toppings you like on pizza. I chose black olives and pepperoni because those are my favorite. I served this yummy dip with sliced french baguette. I warmed mine in my fondue pot and left it in there so it would stay warm throughout the evening. Delicious!

Great Ideas for Chicken Dinners!

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/chicken-dinner-recipes-00412000073938/

The World's Best Banana Bread!

World’s Best Whole Wheat Banana Bread

1 1/4 cups banana, mashed
1/4 cup buttermilk (I use vinegar and skim milk to make fat free buttermilk)
3/4 cup brown sugar (You can use ½ cup if you’re trying to cut back on sugars)
1/4 cup light butter softened
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur's White Wheat)
1t baking soda
1t salt

Combine banana and buttermilk. Cream together brown sugar and light butter, then mix in egg. Combine dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients and banana-buttermilk mixture to the creamed sugar and butter. Bake in greased 9×5 loaf pan about 60 minutes at 350. Test for doneness with long toothpick, which should emerge clean. May slice while still warm if you just can’t wait!

Recipe adapted from Blueberry Hill

Delicious!

You are sure to love this take on traditional pumpkin bars or pumpkin pie...yum!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Bars

For the bars:

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
8 tablespoons light butter, softened + 8 tablespoons or ½ cup of applesauce
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/3 cup rolled quick oats or regular oats will do

For the filling:

6 ounces light or fat free cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 large egg + 2 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350

To make the bars:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, applesauce, sugar and molasses until creamy. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of this mixture and place in a small bowl. Scoop the remaining mixture into a 10″ x 15″ baking pan lightly coated with nonstick spray.

To make the filling:
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves – mix until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until combined. Scoop the mixture over the uncooked base and use an off-set spatula to evenly spread the mixture over the top. Crumble reserved oat mixture over filling.

Bake until the topping is a golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: I served mine with the new Cinnamon Cool Whip, yum!
By Charissa McLain - Original recipe Adapted from Land O’ Lakes