Sweet Baby Ray BBQ Chicken Nuggets

I am sharing this recipe at Foodie Friends Friday.

Head over and see all the foodie goodies they have.

 We all love chicken nuggets, right?

Especially the kiddos......

These are so easy to make and I'm sure they will please any kid.

Even the over-grown kids.

 I had about a half a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray Sweet and Spicy 

in my fridge. 

I thought I would put it to good use and create these chicken nuggets.

I had two barbecue marinated chicken breast that I bought from the grocery.

All I did was cut them into chunks,

smear on the Sweet Baby Ray,

roll them in crushed salt and vinegar chips,

and baked them in a 375 degree F. oven for about 30-35 minutes. 

They were perfect!

Very satisfying for a quick meal.

And it's always fun to dip chicken nuggets in ranch dressing.

These will be made time and time again.

And it's a real good way to use up the last crumbs in the chip bag.

Weight Watchers Monday: Creamy Chicken Mushroom Soup

 Today is Memorial Day, and let's not forget why we celebrate this day.

With the weather being so unpredictable....

cold one day

raining the next

I decided to slip in one more soup recipe.

This soup is out of this world fantastic.

I am a creamy mushroom soup fan, and the chicken added is a super bonus.

This will certainly warm your soul.

This creamy soup is only 5 WW points per serving (1 cup).

So if you want to end your day with a warm heart, this soup will do the trick.

Creamy Chicken Mushroom Soup

1/2 lb. mushrooms cleaned and sliced

2 1/2 c. cubed cooked chicken (I used Tyson ready to use grilled chicken (1 1/2 packages))

1/4 c. onions, chopped

1/4 c. celery, sliced thin

1/4 c. carrots, sliced

5 1/2 c. chicken broth (I used chicken soup base)

1/4 c. butter

3 c. half and half 

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. pepper, add to your liking

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. white pepper

1 pinch dried tarragon

1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce

1 TBS minced parsley

1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt, add to your liking

In a large Dutch oven, saute mushrooms, onion, celery, and carrot in butter until tender.

Stir in flour until blended. Add broth and seasonings, mix well. 

Bring to a boil, reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. 

Stir in half and half, chicken, parsley, lemon juice, and salt. Heat 5 more minutes on low heat.

WW points per serving: 5 

Nutritional information per serving: 205 calories, 13.5 g fat, 0.6 g fiber

Healthy Taco Salad (low calorie too)

This is my version of a healthy. low calorie taco salad.

Come along, I'll tell you what I did.

I tore up about a cup of romaine lettuce,

topped that with a handful of baby spinach.

I browned a 1/2 pound of ground chicken
along with 1/2 of a jalapeno chopped fine,
and 1 slice onion chopped fine,
and then seasoned with my favorite taco seasoning without draining.

Place six tortilla chips along the side of bowl (Trader Joes organic).

2 TBS lite sour cream

2 TBS guacamole 

2 TBS pico de gallo

Absolutely NO dressing. 

Eat and enjoy.....

I did!!

Chicken Burgers with Guacamole on a Pretzel Bun

 Have you seen or tried the becoming very popular pretzel buns?

I have seen many restaurants adding this scrumptious bun to their menus.

They are soft, and definitely a pretzel.

I found a package of them on the same day bakery rack.

I grabbed them, paid for them, gently carried them home, and then stuck them

in the freezer for later eating. 

I wanted to do some studying and research something special to place in the

amazing pretzel buns.

 Look what I found.....

Chicken Burgers with Guacamole.

And yes, I found this awesome recipe on Pinterest.

Which lead me to What's Gaby Cooking?

 Once I got my burgers assembled, I had to stand back and really

look at these beauties.....

And then all of a sudden it hit me.

How am I going to eat these?

How am I going to get my mouth around these giant burgers?

Not only that, how am going to pick them up to GET them to my mouth?

This is how I had to eat the burger.

Yup, I had to cut it in pieces.

Then I had guacamole dripping off my elbows.

For real!

I did!

Chicken Burgers with Guacamole

1 1/2 lbs. ground chicken

1/2 c. finely chopped vadalia onion

1/4 c. finely chopped fresh cilantro

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tsp. (a half of a jalapeno) chopped jalapeno

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1/3 c. finely shredded cheddar cheese

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

In an olive oil coated skillet heat over medium heat.

Transfer the ground chicken to a medium bowl.

Add onion, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, cumin, paprika, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Using your hands, incorporate everything together. Make sure everything is evenly incorporated without over mixing the ground chicken.

Form the mixture into four 1/2"-thick patties. Cook burgers over medium heat until cooked through, 5-7 minutes per side.

Serve each patty in pretzel burger buns topped with guacamole, pico de gallo, and fresh spinach.

Pesto Chicken Casserole

 Pesto Chicken!

One of my favorites!

Actually, anything with pesto is a favorite of mine.

I made a trip to Trader Joe's and found a package of pesto chicken breasts.

I took it home, cooked it up, ate one piece for dinner, and found out

quickly that one person absolutely cannot eat 6 pieces of chicken....

Well, maybe one person can, but this ONE person cannot.

So, I had 5 pieces left over. 

 This is what I did with my leftover pesto chicken....

Pesto and pasta are awesome together,

so I created a Pesto Chicken Casserole.

 This is what it looks like before entering the oven.

The tomatoes were an awesome addition.

It kind of looks like something you would get at the Olive Garden, right?

I was thinking the same thing....

I sided it with a Caesar salad. A kit that I picked up at my local Meijer store.

A kit! Did you catch that?

But when I went to prepare the kit there was no Caesar dressing.

Are you kidding me?

Parmesan cheese, croutons, but no Caesar dressing. 

I had to use what I had on hand, ranch.

Now let me see if I can get this into recipe form for you.

Pesto Chicken Casserole

5 pieces fully cooked pesto chicken breasts

1 c. onion, chopped

3 TBS butter

3 TBS flour

salt and pepper to taste

1 TBS balsamic vinegar

3 c. chicken broth

1 1/2 c. heavy cream

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 TBS dried parsley flakes

2 c. chopped fresh tomato

1 box cooked spaghetti

Place the chicken in a lightly greased casserole dish.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a Dutch oven place the butter and onion. Cook over med/high heat until the onion is translucent and beginning to caramelize. Add the flour and stir for one minute. Slowly add the broth and cream stirring constantly. Bring to a light boil and stir for 2-4 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and add the vinegar, cheese, salt and pepper, and parsley flakes. Stir well, and then pour over chicken. Place the chopped tomato down the center of the casserole and bake in oven for 25-30 minutes. Cook pasta during the last 10 minutes of baking time. 

Plate the pasta and spoon casserole on top. Serve.

Weight Watchers Monday ~ Chicken Penne & Asparagus

 This is another Weight Watchers recipe where you will have to have

willpower to push yourself away. 

This is fabulous!

Only 6 WW points per 1 3/4 cup serving.

And fresh asparagus will be here before you know it.

I will for sure be making this again and again.

You can also make this with lean ham,

but my choice is chicken.

Give this a try.

I know your family will love it, and they won't even know it's Weight Watchers.

Chicken Penne & Asparagus

2 c. penne, measured uncooked

1 TBS olive oil

3-4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite sized pieces

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed to 2 inch lengths

1 c. chicken broth

1 TBS lemon juice

1 TBS dried basil

Parmesan cheese for topping

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add chicken, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook until chicken is brown (while chicken is cooking, cook pasta according to package directions). Add the asparagus, broth, basil, and lemon juice to chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover and simmer until asparagus is fork tender (5-10 minutes).

Add cooked pasta and toss.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese when served.

This recipe is linked to:
Foodie Friends Friday

Weight Watchers Monday ~ Greek Pita

 Are you a Greek food fanatic like I am?

Whenever I see or hear Greek I get all giddy....

I love this recipe. 

It is so simple and satisfying.

Let me walk you through the steps to putting this fabulous pita together.

 I cooked my chicken and de-boned it. 

I cooked a large family size package of chicken legs.

Only 3 c. of chicken was used in this recipe, so I had enough leftover for soup.

That recipe will come later.

Anyway, I made the sauce for the pita topping.

2 c. Greek yogurt, plain

Juice of 1/2 of a lemon

3 small garlic cloves, minced

1 TBS chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix.

 Next, take 1/2 c. of the sauce and stir it into the picked chicken.

Stir until all the chicken is coated.

 Chop 1 cucumber

and tomatoes of your choice.

I used the tri-color grape tomatoes.

Just because I think they're cute......

Place about 1/2-3/4 c. of chicken in your pita.

Sprinkle with tomatoes and cucumber.

There you have it.

Stuff your pita and enjoy. 

Top the pita with a little more sauce and it is out of this world fantastic.

1/2 of a pita is 5 WW points.

This is awesome next to a bowl of low calorie soup.

This recipe is linked to:
Feeding Big ~ In and Out of the Kitchen
Foodie Friends Friday

Weight Watchers Monday

Everyone likes a good stir-fry, right?

And when it's simple and tasty it's even better....

This is a Weight Watchers stir-fry that will knock your socks off.

Literally! 

I couldn't believe the flavor burst in this dish. 

And when I called home on my dinner break,

this was the response:

"I hope you don't want to eat any of this when you get home (with a full mouth)" 

Which, this recipe makes four servings.

I ate one serving, and the person at the other end of the phone, with

their mouth full, ate three......

On my plate is 1/2 cup lavender rice cooked in chicken broth,

1 c. WW chicken stir-fry,

and 1/4 c. low fat cottage cheese topped with a little sea salt and lavender pepper.

Perfect meal!

WW Chicken Stir-Fry

5 chicken thighs (skin removed and meat cut off bone), (I boiled the bones with remaining meat until done. Gave me enough meat for a single chicken salad sandwich)

1 TBS olive oil

1 TBS cornstarch

just a pinch of cayenne pepper

2 TBS low sodium soy sauce

2 TBS orange juice

1 (12 oz.) bag Birds-Eye steam fresh Asian Medley

Hot cooked rice

Cut chicken off the bone into small pieces. In a large skillet heat oil over medium/high heat. Add chicken; cook 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine cornstarch, cayenne pepper, soy sauce, and orange juice; blend well (with whisk) and set aside. Add vegetables to the chicken; cook 5-8 more minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Stir in soy sauce mixture; cook 1 minute or until heated through. Serve over rice.

WW Points: 5

Calories: 299

Protein: 38 g

Carbohydrate: 11 g

Total Fat: 8 g

Saturated Fat: 2 g

Cholesterol 96 mg

Dietary Fiber 4 g

This recipe is linked to:
Weekend Potluck ~ The Better Baker
Foodie Friends Friday

Weight Watchers Monday ~ Garlic Chicken

 It's a new year,

a new you,

and to help you out,

I'm going to bring you Weight Watchers recipes on Mondays.

Monday is a good day, right?

That way we cover the weekend binges and get back on track

for the week.

And it's okay to binge. 

You just get back on track the next day.

One of the hardest things to accomplish is change of habit.

When I gave up drinking pop (soda, Pepsi), I thought I was

going to die.....

For real! I didn't think I would make it.

And yes, I fell quite a few times before I was finally able to change

that habit of drinking Pepsi.

I have not drank any pop for over 17 years.

And my body thanks me for the change.

 This Weight Watchers Garlic Chicken is over the top awesome.

There is so much flavor.....

Let me tell you what I did to make this.

I used chicken tenders instead of half chicken breasts.

I used 8 of them and browned them in a little olive oil and garlic.

The recipe below will walk you through it.

 I decided to serve my garlic chicken on top of a bed of fresh baby spinach.

I used maybe a cup and a half of spinach.

Just enough to cover the bottom of my salad bowl.

Then I drizzled the spinach with Balsamic Vinegar.

You can see that I didn't use much vinegar, just a sprinkle for flavor.

I then laid 2 chicken tenders on top of the spinach and used some

of the lemon sauce to drizzle on top.

The hot chicken and sauce wilted the spinach to perfection, while

there were still some crisp leaves.

I also served this dish with a slice of Asiago Cheese Take and Bake bread.

Which, I will give you calorie details below.

There is 10.5 calories in 1 1/2 cups of raw spinach

The one slice of bread has 80 calories

Weight Watchers Garlic Chicken

8 chicken tenders

Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced or sliced

Zest of half a lemon

1/2 c. fat-free chicken broth

1 tsp. lemon juice (from the half of lemon used for zest)

Fresh baby spinach

Balsamic Vinegar

Pepper to taste

Using a nonstick skillet smeared with just enough olive oil to coat the pan. Slowly saute garlic and lemon zest over low heat. Add chicken tenders and cook over medium heat, about 10 minutes or until brown on both sides. Add broth and lemon juice.

Heat to boiling and then reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 - 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan and place on a plate. Line salad bowls with about 1 1/2 c. fresh baby spinach. Drizzle spinach with balsamic vinegar. Place two chicken tenders on top of spinach and drizzle with sauce left in pan. Sprinkle with crushed black pepper and serve.

The chicken recipe alone without the spinach and bread is 3 WW points

Calories: 153

Fat: 3g

Fiber: 0g

Carbohydrate: 1g

Sodium: 432g

Cholesterol: 40mg

Protein 31g

This recipe is linked to:
Weekend Potluck ~ The Better Baker

2012 Was a GREAT Year: 6 Most Popular Recipes

2012 was a GREAT year,

and I'm here to review with you the top 6 recipes of the year.

I hope these recipes brought joy to your families,

and most of all to your palate.

Here we go.....

Crock Pot Beer Chicken

This recipe was viewed 3492 times in 2012.

I'm sure this recipe created many happy,

satisfied appetites.

 Crab Rangoon Dip

This is the perfect appetizer to serve to that seafood lover.

This recipe was viewed 2898 times in 2012. 

Sausage Gravy Biscuits

This recipe was an awesome challenge in 2012.

A reader challenged me to create a biscuit that has sausage

gravy right in it. An on-the-go biscuit.

And I never refuse a challenge.

This biscuit, I must say, was my most successful moment for 2012.

This recipe was viewed 2721 times.

Peanut Butter Nutella Cake

I remember this one just like it was made yesterday.

This cake made my whole entire house smell like peanut butter.

And everyone loves peanut butter, right?

This cake did not last long, and makes the perfect potluck cake.

This recipe was viewed 1142 times.

Spaghetti Salad

This will make your eaters happy, happy, happy....

It is also the perfect potluck dish.

This recipe came from a great friend of mine, Joelle.

If you have not taken the time to visit with her, you are

truly missing out. She is a wonderful cook and really knows

how to use her spices.

This recipe had 1061 views.

Pizza Pasta Bake

If you are looking for a family pleaser.....this recipe will hit the spot.

This recipe comes from a great blogging friend, The Country Cook.

Every recipe that I have made from Brandie's blog has been wonderful.

She usually has step-by-step instructions, along with pictures to

help you along.

Take some time to visit with Brandie. You will not regret it.

This recipe had 675 views in 2012.

What a great year! And I am looking forward to spending 2013

with all of you.

Don't be afraid to comment with suggestions, recipes you would like

to see, or new ideas that you would like me to apply.

Working together in 2013 is what I am most looking forward to.

Have a safe and happy New Year.

May all your dreams come true in 2013!

Love you all!! 

Pinterest & Spontaneous Treasures Thursday

 The month of December is always crazy for any family.

It seems like December always whisks by without even knowing its there.

So to keep December simple,

I plan on keeping my meals simple.

And try and stick with low calorie since there are lots of 

Christmas feasts ahead. 

I ran across this recipe at Kaylyn's Kitchen. 

I love roasted vegetables, and green beans is one of my favorites.

So when I noticed these green beans and mushrooms I knew I had to make it.

But wait!

I have a mushroom hater in the house.

So quickly I had to come up with a replacement.

I decided to place sliced red potatoes in place of the mushrooms.

This dish is in my oven as I type.

Anything with Balsamic vinegar I tend to love. 

I'm anxious to see how this 

Roasted Green Beans with Red Potatoes, Balsamic, and Parmesan

turns out. 

 Along side my green beans I would love to see this 

Fiesta Lime Chicken from Rachel Schultz.

I think they would pair perfectly.

 And just to keep the holiday in check, these sweet little

Candy Cane Snowballs would be perfect to top off this meal.

This recipe comes from Cooking During Stolen Moments.

I hope you enjoy this as much I KNOW I will.

Crock Pot Chicken Caesar Sandwich

 I found this recipe (in Pinterest, of course) at Cozycakes Cottage,

and when you visit there you will see why I wanted to make this

ASAP.

I didn't have any pretty leaf lettuce.....

 But I had bacon on hand.

Chicken and bacon go great together, and add a little Caesar Dressing....

Masterpiece!

But wait!

Since Thanksgiving is over,

and I know you have lots of left-over turkey in the freezer,

this would be a great way to use up that turkey.

Great idea, right?

I thought so too.

I will for sure be making this again.

Thank you Cozycakes Cottage for this great recipe.

Crock Pot Chicken Caesar Sandwich

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts

About 1 c. water

1/2 - 1 c. of your favorite bottled Caesar dressing, adjust amount to your taste

1/3 c. shredded Parmesan Romano Asiago mix.

Ground pepper

Cooked and crumbled bacon

Place chicken in crock pot with water. Cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours. Make sure you check on the chicken here and there, because you don't want it to dry out. When chicken is done, remove from the crock pot and drain the water. Shred the chicken. Place chicken back in crock pot and add dressing and cheese. Mix well and cook for another 30 minutes to heat. Serve with bacon sprinkled on top in hamburger buns.

This recipe is linked to:
Foodie Friends Friday