Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale.
--- Elsa Schiaparelli
That's something I've noticed about food: whenever there's a crisis if you can get people to eating, normally things get better.
--- Madeleine L'Engle
Main Course
Bruschetta Chicken Bake
1 can (14 ½ oz) diced tomatoes, undrained 1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
½ c water 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 t dried basil leaves
1 c 2 % milk shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1. Heat oven to 400°. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.
2. Layer chicken, basil, cheese and stuffing in 9 x 13 or 3 qt baking dish.
3. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Enjoy now or cover and refrigerate. To reheat, microwave each serving on HIGH 2 – 3 minutes.
4. Serving suggestion: Serve with a bagged green salad tossed with your favorite reduced fat dressing.
Prep time: 10 minutes Total time: 40 minutes 6 servings, 1 c each
Chicken Pasta
2 c uncooked pasta ½ c balsamic vinaigrette dressing
boneless chicken breasts 1 can rotel tomatoes (undrained)
1 can sliced mushrooms (drained) 6 oz velveeta, cut up
1. Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile…
2. Cook meat and onion in 2 T of the dressing in large skillet until tender, stirring periodically. Then stir in rotel tomatoes, mushrooms & remaining dressing. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 10 minutes.
3. Put cheese in sauce; cover. Let stand 2 – 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Stir cheese in well. Serve over hot drained pasta.
Chicken Pot Pie
1 can cream of chicken soup 1 large can chunk chicken
1 can mixed vegetables (partially strained) 1 or 2 cans of biscuits
½ can water
Mix soup, water, vegetables & some juice and chicken in casserole dish. Mix thoroughly. Salt & pepper to taste. Bake at 350° until it boils (about 20 – 25 minutes). Stir. Bake biscuits so they will be done about the same time. Serve over the biscuits.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 cans of cream of chicken soup 2 cans of fiesta nacho cheese soup
1 can of enchilada sauce 2 cans of milk
chicken – you can stir-fry chicken or use a can of chicken
When serving soup, crunch up tortilla chips & put on top along with shredded cheese.
Fettuccine Alfredo
1 lb spinach fettuccine or linguine 1 T unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced 3 T flour
2 c fat-free half and half ¼ t each salt, pepper and ground nutmeg
¼ c grated parmesan cheese
1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling water as box directs.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add garlic; cook over low heat 1 minute or until fragrant.
3. Whisk in flour, then slowly whisk in half and half until well combined. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg, and bring to a boil, whisking frequently.
4. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted.
5. Drain pasta; return to pot. Add sauce and toss to mix and coat.
Lasagna
1 jar (26 oz) marinara sauce 1 can (14½ oz) diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
1 tub (15 oz) part-skim ricotta cheese ½ c plus 2 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg ¼ c chopped fresh basil
¼ t pepper 1 box (8 oz) no-boil lasagna noodles (12)
3½ c (12 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese 1 pkg (24 oz) fully cooked turkey meatballs,
coarsely chopped (we used sausage)
1. Heat oven to 375°. Have a 9x13″ baking dish ready. Mix marinara sauce and diced tomatoes in a medium bowl. In another bowl, mix ricotta cheese, ½ c Parmesan, the egg, basil and pepper.
2. Spread ½ c sauce over bottom of baking dish. Put 3 noodles crosswise, not overlapping, on sauce. Drop 3 T ricotta mixture down center of each noodle and spread to cover noodles. Sprinkle evenly with 1 c mozzarella and about 1⅓ c chopped meatballs. Spoon 1 c sauce evenly over top.
3. Repeat layering noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, meatballs and sauce twice. Top with remaining 3 noodles, remaining sauce, mozzarella and the 2 T grated Parmesan. Cover with nonstick foil or foil coated with nonstick spray.
4. Bake 50 – 60 minutes until hot and bubbly, removing foil for last 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Active time: 10 minutes Total time: up to 1 hour 20 minutes Serves: 6
Manicotti
1 pkg manicotti noodles (1 pkg is 14 noodles) 8 oz shredded mozzarella
1 lb cottage cheese mayonnaise
parsley flakes (optional) 2 lb sausage
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Boil noodles ( a couple minutes short of being completely cooked). Mix cheeses & mayo. Brown sausage, drain. Stuff noodles with cheese mix. Sprinkle meat onto noodles & cover with sauce. Bake at 350° for 30 – 45 minutes.
Potato Soup
3 c fat free milk 1 can cream of potato soup
2 c frozen southern-style hash browns 1 c cheddar cheese
2 slices bacon, crisply cooked, drained & crumbled
¼ c thinly sliced green onions (optional)
• Mix milk and soup in large saucepan. Stir in hash browns. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Ladle into 6 soup bowls.
• Top evenly with the cheese, bacon and onions. Serve with a crusty whole grain roll or bread.
• Makes 6 servings, 1 cup each.
• Jazz it up: Serve each bowl with a crusty whole grain roll or bread.
Taco Soup
2 cans pinto beans, with liquid 1 pkg. taco mix
2 cans red kidney beans, with liquid 1 pkg. ranch style dressing, dry
1 can Rotel tomatoes 2 cans whole kernel corn
1 large onion, diced and sautéed 2 lbs. lean hamburger meat
Brown hamburger and onion. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer and serve. Will freeze and keep indefinitely.
Tortellini and Chicken in Cream Cheese Sauce
1 c frozen vegetables (any type) 1 pkg (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 oz cream cheese ½ c low-fat milk
8 oz chopped cooked chicken breast (about 2 c)
Place frozen vegetables in a colander in the sink. Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine cream cheese and milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until cheese melts and sauce is warm. Stir in chicken and heat until warmed through. Drain pasta over vegetables in colander. Return pasta and veggies to pot; toss with cheese-chicken mixture.
Prep time: 15 minutes Total time: 15 minutes 4 servings
Desserts
Carmel Revel Bars
1 pkg (14 oz) caramels 1 c chocolate chips
¼ c milk 1 pkg (22.5 oz) brownie mix
Heat caramels & milk in sauce pan til melted. Prepare brownie mix as directed on pkg. Spread 2/3 brownie mixture in 9 x 13 greased pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over mixture. Drizzle caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Dot remaining brownie mix over caramels. Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes. Cool then cut.
Dirt Cake
1 bag of Oreos 1 large box Instant Chocolate Pudding mix
2 c milks 1 large container Fat-Free Cool Whip
1 small bag Gummi Worms
Prepare pudding according to box directions. While chilling in the refrigerator, put Oreos in a food processor or a plastic bag will work. Grind Oreos to desired dirt texture (this is a very satisfying activity if you’ve had a hard day). The white filling will disappear. Fold Cool Whip into chocolate pudding. Place ½ of ground Oreos in the bottom of a pan and pour the pudding mixture on top. Stick Gummi Worms in the pudding so their heads are poking out and top with the remaining Oreos. Chill until serving.
Heavenly Cake
1 cake mix - Butter Pecan, Spice or Caramel cake mix
1 small carton of Cool Whip
Caramel Ice Cream topping (in squeeze bottle)
2 Heath Candy Bars
Make cake according to directions. Cool for about 3 minutes. Take a wooden spoon and using handle - poke holes in top of cake. Take caramel topping and fill holes until they won’t hold anymore. Spread cool whip over top and chop up Heath Bars and sprinkle on top of cake.
Refrigerate
Lemon Cake
1 pkg Lemon Supreme Cake 1 pkg Instant Lemon Pudding (sm box)
4 eggs ¾ c oil
¾ c water
Do not need to grease and flour pan. Bake 350° for about 40 minutes. As soon as out of oven, fork it and add topping.
Topping: 1/3 c Lemon juice 1 t oil
2 scant cups powdered sugar
Mix with mixer.