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

Breakfast Broccoli and Pasta Pie

Breakfast Broccoli and Pasta Pie
Makes 4 Servings

Recipe adapted from Cooking with My Kid

6 oz. angel hair (dry)
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli (200 grams)
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1 cup 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese (112 grams)
2 tsp minced garlic, jarred
2 tsp olive oil
3 large eggs
3/4 cup fat-free milk
¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
dash of paprika

Preheat oven to 375. Cook pasta per package instructions. Sauté onions in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. In a large bowl whisk together eggs and milk. Add broccoli, cheese and onions. Add pasta, salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 9 inch pie dish and sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 25 to 30 minute or until egg is set and top pieces of pasta are slightly crunchy and brown. Remove from oven and let rest before slicing.

Nutritional Information: 348 calories, 38 carbs, 11 fat grams and 24 protein grams.

Review: Yum!! SUCH a fun breakfast idea, and come on, who doesn't love pasta! I enjoyed it and think lots of variations would work (meat versions like ham & onions or sausage & basil; other veggie versions like tomato, feta & spinach, etc.). I can't wait to make it again - and what a cheap "quiche crust" - pasta! It stayed together well and cooked up perfectly. The original recipe didn't call for bread crumbs, but we agreed it needed something crunchy and landed on bread crumbs so I factored them into the nutrition above. YOU GUYS - I'm so excited I found this - bring on more breakfast pasta pies!

whole pie!

Crabcakes with Tzaziki sauce

Recipe adapted from For the Love of Cooking
Crabcakes with Tzaziki sauce
Makes 2 Servings

1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp mayonnaise
½ tbsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp dried mustard
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tspBay seasoning
Juice of 1/4 a lemon
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
10 oz crab meat
½ cup plain panko crumbs
1 tbsp olive oil
Tzaziki sauce (her recipe below for 1 cup!)

Combine all ingredients except crab and panko crumbs. Carefully add crab to mixture then gently fold in panko crumbs. Form into desired size crab cake by hand (we made 4!). Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the crab cakes in skillet and cook on each side until golden brown. Serve with tzaziki sauce on the side.

Tzatziki Sauce: 1/3 cucumber (peeled, seeded and diced), ½ tsp salt, 3 oz. non-fat fage Greek yogurt, ¼ lemon (juice and est), ½ garlic clove. Peel cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and, using a spoon, remove all seeds from both halves. Dice into small pieces and place in strainer, Sprinkle salt over cucumber and let it sit in strainer for 30 minutes. Pat cucumber dry with a papertowel. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until blended. Refrigerate overnight.

Nutritional Information: 301 calories, 24 carbs, 12 fat grams and 23 protein grams.

Review: I ate 2 crab cakes and about 2 tbsp of the sauce – she was right, the crab is so good the sauce is not really needed! Ours got a little burnt (but still tasted AMAZING!), so I recommend cooking for 1 to 2 minutes on each side and flipping often to avoid them getting too brown.

Chicken Scallopini

Chicken Scallopini
Makes 4 Servings
Adapted from a Cooking Light recipe

16 oz. chicken, diced
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp bottled lemon juice
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1/3 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
½ cup fat-free chicken broth
¼ cup chardonnay
1 tbsp land o’ lakes light butter with canola oil
8 oz. penne

Set pot of water to boil. Add noodles and cook per box instructions. Set medium pan over medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Put chicken on a plate and spread it out. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Use hands to mix it well. On another plate, spread bread crumbs to single layer. Pick up a quarter of the chicken and spread in the breadcrumbs. Coat on both sides and add to pan. Repeat three times until all chicken is in the pan. Cook 3 minutes on each side until chicken is done. Remove from pan. Add broth and wine to pan, and cook 30 seconds stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in butter. Drain now-cooked pasta and divide into 4 servings. Top each with a quarter of the chicken and a quarter of the sauce.

Nutritional Information: 395 calories, 45 carbs, 5 fat grams and 37 protein grams.

Review: GREAT. Love the addition of breadcrumbs – make my life carbtastic. And the lemony flavor is strong, but not overwhelming. The sauce is thin, so know that it’s not a thicker sauce but that it’s flavorful. I found this to be super filling and will definitely eat it again!

Chicken Tetrazzini

Adapted from For the Love of Cooking

Chicken Tetrazzini

Makes 4 Servings

7 oz spaghetti noodles, cooked per instructions
16 oz. chicken, cooked in salt and diced
1 tsp olive oil
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 12 oz can of low fat evaporated milk
3 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
3 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp dried parsley
4 tbsp Italian flavored panko crumbs

Prepare noodles per instructions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté for 3-4 minutes; add minced garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes. Remove mushroom mixture to a bowl and return skillet to stove. Add all but 1/4 cup of milk to the skillet along with the cheese and nutmeg, cook, stirring constantly, until sauce gently boils. Mix remaining 1/4 cup of evaporated milk with cornstarch and mix thoroughly, then add to the sauce, mix well and remove from heat. Season mixture with sea salt and pepper. Add noodles, chicken, parsley and mushroom mixture to sauce and mix well. Pour mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle top with panko crumbs. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.

Nutritional Information: 456 calories, 53 carbs, 6 fat grams and 45 protein grams.

Review: Wow! We thought it was totally restaurant quality! We didn’t even get to eat it “fresh” – we refrigerated it and heated it up and it still had so much flavor. Almost like an alfredo sauce without all of the fat/calories! There is nothing I would do different next time – the portion sizes were very generous and it was super filling. This would be a good one to bring in for lunch too, and the bread crumbs make it look so fancy and sinful – love! P.S. Pam included peas and a shallot if you're interested!