BBQ Chicken Pizza Cups

BBQ Chicken Pizza Cups
Makes 4 Servings or 12 appetizers
Recipe Inspired by For the Love of Cooking

Cooking spray
1 tube of refrigerator biscuits
2 oz. 75% reduced fat Cabot cheese, grated
2 oz. reduced fat mozzarella cheese, grated
6 oz. cooked chicken
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
¼ cup parsley, finely diced

Preheat the oven to 375. Coat a 12-hole muffin tin with cooking spray. Cut each biscuit in half then press dough into the bottom and sides of each muffin tin. Repeat with remaining dough. Shred chicken. Add 2 tbsp BBQ sauce to chicken and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Add 2 more tbsp of BBQ sauce and microwave for 15 seconds. Stir. Spoon 2 tbsp BBQ chicken onto each biscuit. Microwave remaining 4 tbsp BBQ sauce for 20 seconds. While it cooks, mix together cheeses, and top each BBQ chicken biscuit with 10 grams cheese and 1 tsp red onion. Spoon a dollop of BB sauce on top of each. Bake for 10 minutes; remove from onion, sprinkle on parsley, then bake for remaining 5 minutes or until the crust is brown. Let sit for 5 minutes to cool down, then use spoon around edges to ensure each biscuit stays in tact.

Nutritional Information (for 3): 448 calories, 49 carbs, 16 fat grams and 25 protein grams. For 1 (appetizer): 149 calories, 16 carbs, 5 fat grams and 8 protein grams.

Review: LOVED THESE LITTLE GUYS! I had 3 for a meal and was filled up and happy - the flavor was great, the fresh parsley gave it a nice twist and I really liked that BBQ chicken flavor, especially with the blend of cheeses. Awesome little bites - think they would make a great appetizer and tested them - they reheat well. I'm loving the biscuit cup idea I got from Pam, and hope to try more mix ins to the biscuit bites! Try these if you're a fan of BBQ pizza.

Asian Peanut Pesto

Spicy Asian Peanut Pesto
Inspired by Café Lynnylu
Makes 4 Servings

40 basil leaves
1 tbsp soy sauce
7 tbsp Jif extra crunchy peanut butter
1 tsp siracha hot chili sauce
1/4 cup hot water (or pasta water)

Add all ingredients and pulse until well blended. If too thick, add more hot water and pulse.

Additional Items to make Meal:

12 oz. chicken, diced and sprinkled with salt
8 oz. pasta, cooked per package instructions

Heat large pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray over medium heat. Add chicken. Cook for 5-6 minutes until chicken is just cooked, still a little pink. Add pesto. Stir until blended well. Add cooked, drained noodles. Stir until well coated. Add 1 tsp of hot water at a time to loosen up the mixture if need be. Divide into four servings. Top with additional basil as garnish if desired.

Nutritional Information (with Chicken & Pasta): 464 calories, 49 carbs, 16 fat grams and 34 protein grams.

Review: Really good recipe, but definitely not a normal/standard pesto! It has the consistency of a pesto, but it has a heavy peanut taste. The peanut butter provided a solid base, and you could tell that PB is in there, so if you're not a PB fan stay away! Austin said it's like pesto with an infusion of heavy peanut flavor. We liked that it was so saucy due to the water, and that it was different. It made a lot of sauce, froze well, and reheated well. - we'll definitely make this again!

Hot Chicken Salad Pasta

Hot Chicken Salad Pasta
Adapted from a Fabulessly Frugal recipe
Makes 4 Servings

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup fat-free mayonnaise
½ cup celery, finely diced
1 can fat-free cream of chicken soup
½ tsp minced onion, dried
28 grams Cabot 75% cheddar cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
1 oz. potato chips, crumbled
8 oz. pasta, cooked

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all the ingredients except cheese, potato chips and chicken. Add chicken and stir well. Place mixture in baking dish and add cheese then chips to the top of mixture. Bake for 20 minutes.

Nutritional Information: 446 calories, 57 carbs, 8 fat grams and 37 protein grams.

Review: So I had originally made this recipe but without pasta - instead it was in a wrap. I liked it, but wanted to try it with pasta - it just sounded good! So I tweaked the recipe a bit and here goes! It was super creamy, and I liked the little bites of celery - gave it some flavor but make SURE to dice the celery very finely so it adds flavor without too much crunch/vegetable awkwardness. I think what I liked best about this one was that it was really creamy. I think if you wanted to avoid potato chips, you could easily put panko bread crumbs on top, or even crushed reduced fat ritz crackers! I like it and will make it again!

whole dish

Quinoa Crusted Quiche

Quinoa Crusted Quiche
Inspired by a Lynn's Kitchen Adventures recipe
Makes 6 Servings


1.5 cups quinoa cooked in chicken stock
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 pound (5 links) Italian Turkey Sausage, cooked
3 oz. 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 tbsp Frank’s cayenne pepper sauce
3 eggs
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1 tsp minced garlic

Cook quinoa in chicken broth per package instructions. Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Remove sausage from casings and cook until no longer pink, 7-8 minutes. Once quinoa is cooked, press quinoa into the bottom of a rectangular pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Drizzle with melted butter. Combine sausage, cheeses, and hot pepper sauce and spread over quinoa. Beat eggs, milk, garlic powder,
onion powder and garlic. Pour over sausage over mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information: 405 calories, 32 carbs, 18 fat grams and 28 protein grams.

Review: I loved it. Austin said, "it's good, but it's weird to eat quinoa for breakfast." hehe I personally like a grain at breakfast time, it kind of reminded me of the breakfast risotto. Anyway, I thought the spicy sausage added a lot of flavor, and as usual the Cabot cheese melted well and tasted great without adding too many calories and fat grams. I couldn't really taste the egg, but it did help keep it all together and made the quinoa a bit more crispy than usual. All in all, i'd make it again, but maybe next time in a rectangular dish so it would be easier to eat then the deep oval dish!

One serving!

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli & Rice Bake

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli & Rice Bake
Found on Meet the Dubien’s
Makes 4 Servings

1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 can water
3 oz. shredded cheddar cheese, plus additional for topping if desired
1 cup uncooked regular white long-grain rice
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped small
16 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, raw/defrosted
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup Italian Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together soup and water in a large bowl until there are no lumps. Add shredded cheese, broccoli and rice and mix well. Stir in salt and pepper. Place raw chicken in a square baking dish and add soup/rice mixture. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Cover with foil. Bake for 55 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

Nutritional Information: 435 calories, 48 carbs, 6 fat grams and 39 protein grams.

Review: Cheesy is right! The cheese soup with shredded cheese made a great sauce that went well with the rice and broccoli. I loved that this one pot meal cooked the chicken and the rice in the baking dish - awesome! The bread crumbs also added a nice crunchy kick. This was easy to put together, and great for pre-cooking as I could make other meals on the stovetop while this one baked! We'll be having this again for sure - it reheated well, too!

Whole pan of yumminess