Stuffed Cabbage Casserole (the healthy version)

 

      Mike LOVES cabbage. I had never had cabbage until I met him. (I guess my parents didn't like it??) The first time I had cabbage his mom had fried it. It was delicious. Then, we tried stuffed cabbage that, once again, his mom had made. Again, very good. We don't have it very often, but when I came across this recipe on Skinnytaste I immediately thought it was something that I would do for him. While also, ultimately, keeping it healthy for me. ;)

     The recipe didn't seem that difficult, however, it definitely took some time. In fact, after rereading the recipe, Mike ended up having to make this one. We wouldn't have eaten until 8 o'clock if I did it.

My schedule is awful these days. Mike works nights, I work days,

and I have an hour drive home from work every day. So, on the days Mike

goes into work, I hit up the gym when he heads into work. On the days Mike doesn't

work, I hit up the gym on my way home from school. This leaves little time

for meal preparation. Luckily, I have an awesome man who doesn't mind cooking

and is actually really good at it. Is that how you wanted me to say 

that, babe?

     The casserole turned out really good. I even made the comment to Mike that it was one of the first things that we made that actually looked like the picture!! What an accomplishment!! It tasted good, too. I have to admit it isn't my favorite cabbage recipe (or maybe that's just because someone else didn't make it) but it was definitely good. And it makes a ton!! Plenty of leftovers, for sure. 

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole (the healthy version)

INGREDIENTS:

     1 lb. 95% lean ground beef

     2 tsp. olive oil, divided

     1 large onion, diced

     1 tbsp minced garlic

     1/2 tsp. dried thyme

     1 tsp. paprika

     salt and pepper, to taste

     1 head green cabbage, coarsely chopped

     1 can (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes, undrained

     1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce

     1/4 cup water

     2 cups brown rice, cooked

     2 cups low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:

     Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a large baking pan with nonstick spray. 

     Brown ground beef in a skillet, remove and set aside. In the same pan, add 1tsp olive oil and diced onion and cook until onion is translucent. Add the minced garlic, dried thyme, and paprika. Cook an additional 2 minutes. Then, add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and ground beef. Pour in water. Simmer about 15-20 minutes or until slightly thickened.

     Cut cabbage in half and cut out the core. Roughly chop into 1 inch pieces. Heat remaining olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the cabbage. Cook over medium heat until cabbage is wilted and half cooked turning frequently. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When meat mixture has cooked and thickened, stir in brown rice. Add half the meat mixture to the casserole dish, then top with half the cabbage. Then layer again. 

     Cover tightly with foil and bake 40 minutes or until casserole is starting to bubble. Remove foil and sprinkle on cheese. Bake another 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

     

Spinach and Sausage Quiche

     As I mentioned before, Mike and I are really trying to eat a lot healthier. It seems like we had gotten into a rut with our food and it was mostly whatever we had around the house. Unfortunately, what we had around the house wasn't all that great for you. 

     Mike is very body-conscious and works out all the time. Working out doesn't easily fit into my schedule but I've been back at it for about a month now. I'm starting to feel really great about myself, especially because this is the first time we have worked out AND eaten right while doing it. We always seem to kind of mix up the two. Either we eat right, or work out. As hard as it is to say, I have gained about 20 pounds since we got married. No it's not the typical marriage weight, it's being lazy (mixed A LOT with a new medication to prevent another O'Neil from coming into the world too soon. lol.) so I'm determined this time to get myself right once and for all.

     I have been mentioning making quiche forever, but for some reason Mike always kind of blows it off. I guess I made a good argument last night when I started talking about how it would be a nice change for our healthy meals. Such a good argument Mike suggested we make it tonight!! :)

     I can't take the credit fort his meal, however. I came up with what we would put into the quiche, but Mike actually made it. It's hard work driving an hour to and from work, working all day, then hitting up the gym after school for about 90 minutes. Our dishes have been put off for about 4 days now, so that was my job. I didn't hear too much complaining out of Mike. 

     Anyway, this was AMAZING!!!! Mike and I both admitted being a little skeptical seeing as how we have never made quiche before, but Oh My Goodness!!! I've already started thinking about what can go into our next one!!

Spinach and Sausage Quiche

INGREDIENTS:

     3 links of Sweet Italian turkey sausage, removed from casing and cooked (use whatever kind of sausage you want but the turkey sausage is healthier!!!)

     1 premade pie crust, the roll out kind

     5 eggs

     1 1/4 cups milk

     1/4 cup red pepper, diced

     1/4 cup onion, diced

     1/3 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

     small handful of spinach leaves

     few dashes of garlic powder, salt, pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray your pie pan with non-stick spray. Prepare your crust in your pan.

2. In a small mixing bowl, blend the eggs and milk. Then stir in onions, peppers, sausage, half the cheese, spinach, and seasonings. (You can also wait and sprinkle these in after adding about half of the egg mixture to your pie, then cover them up with the rest of your egg. Your choice.)

3. Pour egg mixture into pie. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

4. Bake for about an hour or until pie browns on top. When you take it out give it a little jiggle and make sure nothing is moving. You want to be sure the egg is cooked all the way through.

Then, enjoy!!

*A suggestion...The pie crust was still a little underdone on the bottom. Mike and I thought it might work better if you bake the pie crust for a few minutes before adding the ingredients. Quiche is typically softer on the bottom, but if you like yours a little crispier, this might be a good idea. *

...I also read where you can partially bake these and then freeze them!!

     

Skinny Mini Chicken Pot Pies

     Mike and I have been eating healthy for about 2 weeks now. There isn't much variety in our meals. Salad, cheeseburger wraps, chicken and rice, salad with chicken, salad with tuna, etc. Boring...so I made it a point today to find something that would be completely different yet still healthy.

     I have been keeping a board on my Pinterest page for healthy ideas. It's just any exercises, food, inspiration, etc that I come across to keep this healthy living up. A few days ago I came across this recipe for these mini chicken pot pies. They seemed pretty east and looked delicious so...I went for it!!

These were AWESOME!! You would never even guess they are skinny!! Supposedly only 185 calories!!!

Skinny Mini Chicken Pot Pies
INGREDIENTS:
     1 can Pillsbury Grands Jr. (10 count)
     1lb chicken, cooked and diced
     1 10.75 oz can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
     1 cup frozen mixed veggies, thawed
     3/4 cup shredded cheese
     1 tsp dried italian seasoning
     1 tsp onion powder
     1/4 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a 12 cup muffin pan, spray 10 of the cups with cooking oil. Pour a little water in the other two when baking.

2. Separate the biscuits and flatten out each so when they are placed in the muffin tins they create a cup.  The dough should come up the sides of the muffin cups.

3. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the chicken, soup, mixed vegetables, cheese, and seasonings. Spoon the mixture into the "biscuit cups" evenly.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and let stand for 2-3 minutes. Serve right away. Use a knife to help you pull each "pie" from the tin.
   

Mini Pizza Bites

     This was another one of the hor d'oeuvres I served at our Book Club meeting this month. (Ok, I could have said "appetizers" but, i just really wanted to use that word. :P) I wanted something that was easy, but also didn't taste like they were from a box. I found this recipe off of, yes folks, Pinterest. Surprised??? Probably not.
     I don't usually get home from school until about 5pm and I scheduled Book Club for 6 this month so I knew I didn't have a whole lot of time. I decided to prepare all of the dry ingredients on Sunday so all I would have to do was add the wet ingredients and put them in the dish. This worked out great and I even had some down time to change before people came over. Always a plus when I can get out of my work clothes first!!
     Not only were they easy but they were also very tasty. (At least, in my opinion.) I should have warmed up the pizza sauce but I think I got too lazy by then. I recommend it, however, because it's a good way to keep the bites warm when you eat them.


Mini Pizza Bites
INGREDIENTS:
     3/4 cup flour
     3/4 teaspoon baking powder
     1 tablespoon italian seasoning
     pinch of salt
     pinch of red pepper flakes
     1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
     1 egg, lightly beaten
     3/4 cup milk
     1 cup shredded mozzarella
     1/4 cup grated parmesan
     1 cup cubed pepperoni
     1/2 cup pizza sauce

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, italian seasoning, salt, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder in a large bowl. Whisk together. 

3.Whisk in egg and milk. Stir in parmesan, shredded mozzarella, and pepperoni.

4. Let stand for 10 minutes.

5. Stir the batter and divide between the mini muffin cups. Bake until golden; about 20 to 25 minutes.

6. Heat up the pizza sauce and serve. :)

Enjoy!!

Chicken Corn Chowder

 

   Last Saturday seemed to be a very uneventful eventful day. I guess what that means is, although nothing was really going on, the day seemed to be quite a busy one. I woke up early in order to get to my hairdresser so she could chop 10 inches of my hair off. After that, I made a few stops in town at our local farmers market, the consignment shop, and then a few stores to pick up some groceries.

   Mike decided on Friday that he wanted to go race the car at the track one last time before winter. He left early Saturday morning in order to get the car ready and inspected before testing. While I was walking around the farmer's market I realized how cold it was getting and decided I would make some soup. Mike would be outside in the cold all day and figured he would enjoy something to warm his bones. The only problem was that I wasn't exactly sure what soup to make, nor did I have a recipe in mind, so, I bought a few different things that I figured would get me started at least.

   When I got home I checked our stock and noticed we still had some potatoes left from the potato soup we made last week. I also knew I wanted some kind of corn chowder so I got to work on both my Pinterest board and the web. I finally came across this soup from Tasty Kitchen and, judging by the picture, it looked AMAZING!!! I read through the ingredients and had everything but the bacon. (bummer!!) I kept looking but eventually decided I would just suck it up and go get the bacon because this soup looked awesome! AND IT WAS!! I changed the recipe a little, as usual, but I'm hoping it only made it better.

Chicken Corn Chowder
INGREDIENTS:
     1 lb cooked chicken, shredded (The recipe didn't tell me whether to cook it first but better safe than      sorry)
     1 cup chopped onions
     1 cup chopped red pepper
     2 cloves of garlic, minced
     1 4oz. can chiles (I used Rotel chiles and tomatoes)
     5 cups of chicken broth
     2 cups russet potatoes, peeled and diced
     1 can whole kernel corn, drained
     1 14oz. can creamed corn
     1/2 cup all-purpose flour
     1 cup skim milk
     1 1/2 cup grated cheese
     a couple hits of hot sauce
     salt and pepper to taste
     3 slices of bacon

DIRECTIONS:
Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon and let it drain on a paper towel. Place off to the side. Keep drippings in the saucepan.

Add chicken, onion, red bell pepper, and garlic to the saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or so. Add diced chiles and cook for another minute. Add chicken broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add whole kernel corn and creamed corn, stir well.

Pour flour into a medium bowl. (I use a mason jar instead, easier to mix.) Whisk in the skim milk, or pour it into the mason jar and shake. It should get to be like a pancake mix consistency. Add the milk mixture to the soup and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens. Stir in grated cheese and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with crumbled bacon and extra cheese.

Enjoy!!
   
   
   

Easy Cheesy Chicken Casserole

So, Mike decided at about 1pm today that he was going to drive to New Jersey in order to get a new tire for his race car, therefore, I needed something easy for tonight. Because he works tonight, he only had 30 minutes home, and that is including the time it took us to drop his car off at the shop. I have been craving this dish for so long, but we never have the items on hand and Velveeta is so expensive at the local grocery store. Luckily, a brand new Wal-Mart has just opened across the street from my school!!! (P.S. Velveeta is WAY cheaper at Wal-Mart.)

Disclaimer: When you eat this, you will want more...and more. It's not exactly healthy for you, but, who cares?!?! It's delicious! And even better re-heated up!!

Easy Cheesy Chicken Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

     1lb cooked chicken, shredded

     1 can cream of chicken

     1 packet of stuffing

     8 oz Velveeta

     1/5 can corn (optional)

     Enough breadcrumbs to sprinkle (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

     1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 2qt casserole dish with cooking spray.

     2. Prepare stuffing as directed on the package.

     3. Mix together all ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl.

     4.  Spread mixture into casserole dish.

     5. Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.

ENJOY!!!

Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

I know this is really late but I promised I would do it so here it goes...

These stuffed peppers were REALLY good. I even took another one for lunch the next day and it was still just as good as the first day. These were a little more time consuming that I would like seeing as how I always do crockpot stuff before work, but it still wasn't that bad. Probably could have at least cooked the rice before hand which would have saved some time.

I used a mixture of a few different recipes in order to do these so I'm going to try my best to remember exactly how I did it. But, I definitely recommend these if you like stuffed peppers.

Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

INGREDIENTS:
     4 peppers
     1 lb. of ground beef
     1 cup cooked rice
     1 small onion diced
     1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
     3 tsp. ketchup (many recipes called for diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes which we don't like, so we added a little more ketchup.)
     1 cup shredded cheese of your choice
     1 tbsp. minced garlic
     1 jar spaghetti sauce
     1/2 cup water (or enough to coat the bottom of the crockpot)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine the ground beef, rice, onion, worcestershire, ketchup, cheese, and garlic in a small mixing bowl. Use your hands to incorporate everything together. (We kept out the spaghetti cause because we didn't want the stuffing to get too mushy.)

2. "Stuff" the peppers with the mixture and place in the crockpot.  I left the tops on but it's up to you what you want to do.

3.  Pour the water into the bottom of the crockpot to surround the peppers.

4. Set on low for 6-8 hours. About an hour before eating top the peppers with spaghetti sauce. (We heated up the rest and used it at our leisure while eating.)

Enjoy!!!!

   
   

Alice Springs Chicken (Outback Knockoff)

 

On Tuesday, Mike had to have surgery on his shoulder. Too many years of MMA fighting and working out, plus the motorcycle accidents, has left him with no cartilage in between his shoulder bones. So, they had to break off a piece of his collarbone in order to make some. (Something like that, I'm not a good listener.) So, being the nice wife that I am...I love saying that word...I decided to make him an amazing dinner!! 

Alice Springs Chicken from Outback is Mike's favorite meal. I found this recipe for a knockoff of Alice Springs Chicken so I thought, what better way to make him feel better?!? I haven't had much luck with those "Just like insert popular restaurant item" recipes so I didn't have high expectations, however, I was totally wrong. This was awesome!! Mike loved it, too (although he didn't have that much of an appetite...figures). It was even great reheated the next day. So, if you like bacon, chicken, honey mustard, and cheese, TRY THIS OUT!! 

"Alice Springs" Chicken
INGREDIENTS:
    4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
    Salt
    6 bacon slices
    1/4 cup regular mustard
    1/3 cup honey
    2 tbsp. mayo
    2 tsp. dried onion flakes
    1 cup slices fresh mushrooms (We're not mushroom fans so...no mushrooms for us)
    2 cups shredded Colby/Jack cheese (We used cheddar)
    
DIRECTIONS:
Sprinkle and rub the chicken with salt. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

While the chicken is in the refrigerator, cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside *DO NOT DISCARD GREASE*

Saute chicken in the bacon grease for about 3-5 minutes on each side or until browned. Place the chicken in a 9"x13" casserole dish or pan.

In a small bowl, mix the mustard, honey, mayo, and dried onion flakes.

Spread some of the honey mustard mixture over each piece of chicken, then layer the mushrooms, bacon, and shredded cheese. (I kept the cheese off until about 15 minutes before the chicken was ready. Then I even added a little more right before I served it and put it under the broiler for a few. I thought the cheese would melt all off if I put it on too early.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Serve with leftover honey mustard for dipping.

Recipe Courtesy of: Debrapate blog


   

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This is another one of those recipes where you can really change up what you decide to "stuff" your chicken with. I like this kind of thing because then you can kind of do the same things each week for dinner but it doesn't get as boring so quickly. It still seems different.

Truthfully when I do this it's all guesstimation. There are many different options for stuffed chicken. Originally I did the broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken from Eat Yourself Skinny. I followed it almost exactly only I used American cheese instead of swiss. Tonight I made bacon, stuffing, and cheese stuffed chicken, so I'll use that for the recipe, but please be open about what to stuff with. Mike and I literally just sat on the couch tonight and we were like, "I think I'm going to use bacon. " "You should use bacon AND stuffing!! That would be awesome!!" And so it happened. :)

Stuffed Chicken Breasts
INGREDIENTS:
     2 chicken breasts, cut in half
     1 egg
     1-2 cups bread crumbs
     4 slices american cheese or about 2 cups of shredded cheese
     4 pieces bacon, cooked but not crispy (we used turkey bacon)
     3ish cups of stuffing
     salt and pepper to taste
     toothpicks

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a medium sized baking dish with non stick spray.

Pound out chicken breast halves until it's about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

Wisk egg into a bowl and pour bread crumbs into a separate flat dish. I use a small baking dish usually used for making dips. Place to the side until you are ready to dredge.

Now, layer your stuffings on top of each other. I usually break the cheese up into smaller pieces to make it easier to place them where they belong. I break the bacon into two pieces as well. It just seems to make it easier when it comes time to roll. Don't pile on too much stuffing or it will just squeeze out of the sides when you roll.

Now, roll the chicken up so that the ends meet and the stuffings are completely covered. In order to keep in place use toothpicks. I use toothpicks to close up the sides of the chicken as well. It just seems to keep the cheese in better.

You're ready to dredge. Roll the chicken pockets in the egg wash and then place in the dish with bread crumbs. Make sure the entire pocket gets covered in the bread crumbs. Do this with each of the chicken breasts and then place them in the greased baking dish.

Bake about 20-30 minutes or until you see the bread crumbs browning on the top. Enjoy!!

Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Crescent Braid

Came across this recipe while, yes, on Pinterest. :) I've seen a lot of these "braids" and decided I would take it on this evening. While getting my list together to send Mike to the store, however, I remembered I had Book Club tonight, so I double-checked to make sure it would be something easy. It seemed easy enough to me, so off he went. I started on the chicken (which I grilled) while he was gone because these breasts were thick!! I also started steaming some broccoli so that would all be ready by the time he got back.

So, before I give the recipe let me tell you how I changed it. :) ...

First off, as I mentioned, I grilled our chicken. The recipe doesn't say one way or another it just says "cooked chicken".
I chopped up some garlic and threw the broccoli in a saute pan with some butter to steam it.
One more change, and this was kinda big....We have tried a few other recipes with a similar feel and in them it calls for crescent rolls. This was no different. Mike, however, has said that he thinks the crescent rolls are too buttery and sweet. With that being said, we decided to use pizza crust instead for this recipe. And....with that being said....use the crescent rolls.

Here it is...

Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Crescent Braid (whew)....

INGREDIENTS:

     2 cans Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls

     2 cups chicken chunks, cooked

     2 cups cheddar cheese

     2 cups broccoli, frozen, steamed, and chopped

     1/2 cup light mayo (I'm sure you can use greek yogurt with this to make it a little healthier, but to be    honest I have never used it before so I don't know...)

     1 egg yolk (I forgot this)

     fresh rosemary (forgot this too...)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

On a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, spread both cans of crescents lengthwise to form a long rectangle.

Press each of the seams to form a single layer of dough.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, cheese, broccoli, and mayo.

Spread mixture over the center of the crescent dough evenly to create a log. I wasn't sure about this, but this is how I did it...

Using a sharp knife, cut horizontal strips 1 inch apart down each side of the crescent dough.

Fold the dough strips over the top of the chicken mixture, alternating left and right to create a braid.

Brush the top of the braid with a beaten egg yolk and sprinkle fresh rosemary on top. 

Bake for 28-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe Source: foodfamilyfinds.com

Here are my thoughts...this was very good, but I would definitely change some things. I think it would be really good to use Velveeta for this instead of just cheddar cheese. I would also add either more cheese or more mayo then what was suggested. Like I said earlier, use the crescent rolls. It needed the sweetness. I also don't think it would hurt to experiment with some spices in the chicken mixture. It needed just a little something more...

However, with that being said, when I got back from Book Club only about half of the "braid" was left. I think Mike took leftovers to work, which by the Mike-o-meter, means it wasn't that bad!!