Polenta Pizzas

It's polenta time again!! This is a fun appetizer and interesting take on pizza.  Using a polenta 'crust' you are able to customize and top with whatever pizza toppings you like!  I chose to use marinara, mushrooms, onions and cheeeese.  This conbo of flavors is sure to impress your guests!

Servings: 6

Size: 2 Pizzas

Points Plus: 4pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Rating: 4 - Very Good

Ingredient List:

1 tube polenta

1 cup marinara sauce (I love Trader Joes brand!)

1 cup raw mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup raw onion, chopped

1/2 cup reduced fat shredded Parmesan cheese

Dried basil

Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut polenta into 12 even round slices.  Place plenta rounds on top of sprayed cookie sheet.  Bake 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, spray a sautee pan and cook onions for about 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms and sautee another 3 minutes.  When polenta has baked for 20 minutes remove it from the oven and evenly distribute marinara, veggie mixture then cheese on each one.  Tip with a quick shake of dried basil. Place little pizzas back into oven and bake for 10 more minutes.  Place on a pretty tray and serve hot!

Tip: 

Another great variation to try would be small caprase pizzas!  Use marinara, mozzarella and fresh basil for a delish summertime appetizer!

XOXO Katie

Buffalo Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Stuffed chicken breasts are a fun spin on chicken.  These use traditional buffalo wing flavors of hot sauce, celery, carrot and blue cheese.  This recipe is from Skinnytaste with some slight adaptations – I chose to cut out the shredded cheddar in the stuffing mixture, used sour cream instead of mayo for breading the chicken and slightly increased the size of each chicken breast.

Note: If you buy thicker chicken breasts, have the butcher at the grocery store slice them in half length-wise to end up with 4 thinner chicken breasts which will work great for stuffing!

Servings:  4

Size:  1 stuffed chicken breast

Points Plus: 6pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredient List:

4 thin chicken breasts (4 oz. each)

⅓ cup carrot, minced

⅓ cup celery, minced

⅓ cup green onions, chopped

4 wedges Laughing Cow blue cheese

Salt and pepper

15 Ritz crackers, reduced fat

1 Tbsp. light sour cream

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Frank’s hot sauce

Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Use cooking spray to lightly grease a baking dish.  In a small bowl, mix together the carrot, celery, green onions and Laughing Cow cheese.  Divide this mixture evenly between the 4 thin chicken breasts, then roll-up each cutlet to make a stuffed chicken breast.  Crush the Ritz crackers in a ziplock bag to make a crumb mixture for your chicken breading.  In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, lemon juice and 1-2 Tbsp. of hot sauce based on your preference.  Set up an assembly line for breading your stuffed chicken breasts.  First roll each in the hot sauce mixture, then the cracker crumbs, making sure the crumbs evenly coat the chicken.  Lay the chicken in a baking dish, seam side down so they don’t open up.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  Drizzle the top with additional hot sauce for more buffalo flavor.

Tip:

An easy side dish to serve with this meal that doesn’t require many extra ingredients is a side salad of cucumbers, celery and carrot with light blue cheese dresses.  We had it just as an all veggie salad, but you could serve it over romaine lettuce too.

XOXO Megan

Fried Wild Rice

Have you ever thought about stir frying wild rice?? I haven't...until today!  This is a simple twist on traditional fried rice, and like many recipes you find on EAT ME, it can be customized based on what is in your fridge. I experimented with an interesting spice combo and I think the dish turned out great.

Servings: 2

Size: About 1 1/4 cup

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooke Time: 25 minutes

Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:

1 box wild rice

1 egg

1/2 cup peas

1 cup raw onion, cut in long stips

1 cup raw carrot, diced

1 garlic clove, chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

Dash of red pepper flakes, curry powder, garlic powder & cinnamon

Low sodium soy sauce, optional

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions.  Prep veggies. Spray a medium sized wok. Start with carrot and  sautee about five minutes.  Add onion and sautee for 3 minutes more.  Add peas, garlic and spices and sautee for about 2 more minutes.  Remove wok from heat and spray a small sautee pan.  Scramble egg and cook it until, well, it resembles a scrambled egg! Add scrambled egg to veggie mixture and return to stove. When rice is cooked add one cup to veggie mixture and sautee for about one more minute.

Tip:

A dash of cinnamon is an excellent addition to curry.

XOXO - Katie

Scallion, Egg & Tomato Sandwiches

Looking for a quick lunch idea?  These sandwiches are easy to make and don’t take too many ingredients. I took a Skinnytaste recipe found here, and made some modifications.  I substituted reduced fat cream cheese in for the mayo and used English muffins instead of sandwich rolls.  We almost always have English muffins on hand so these were an easy change – I rarely buy sandwich rolls.  These would make a great light dinner on nights when it’s hot and you don’t want to turn the oven on!

Servings:  2

Size:  2 open-faced English muffin halves

Points Plus: 6pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time:  n/a

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List:

2 English muffins

2 Tbsp. cream cheese, 1/3 less fat

Tomato

Scallions, chopped

2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Hard boil the eggs, let them cool before slicing.  Toast the English muffins.  Spread about ½ Tbsp. of cream cheese on each English muffin half.  Wash and chop the scallions and slice the tomato.  Assemble each open faced sandwich by putting scallions first, then tomato and finally egg on top.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tip:

Of course you can assemble the sandwich any way you like, but after making these the first time I switched up the order to follow the directions above.  My ingredients were all over the plate instead of staying put on the sandwich.  By starting with the scallions, they will stick to the cream cheese instead of falling off.  The weight of the egg also helps hold the tomato slices in place too.

XOXO Megan

Bacon Wrapped Filet Steaks

It is finally, maybe, grill season! This recipe is a fun and creative take on grilled filet, and helps you get in a veggie serving.  Impress your guests with these bacon wrapped filet stacks, that can be customized for your taste.  Also, who doesn't love meat wrapped in meat?  I actually barely ever cook with meat, but I will for sure make these again this summer.

Servings: 2

Size: 1 steak

Points Plus: 5

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Rating: 4 - Very Good

Ingredient List:

2, 4 oz lean and trimmed uncooked filets

4 slices uncooked reduced fat bacon

1 vadallia onion

1 green pepper

1 tomato

Salt & pepper

Toothpicks

Directions: 

Turn your (outside) grass grill on low. Salt and pepper steaks and seat aside.  Slice green pepper, onion and tomatoes in half inch slices.  Take two pieces of bacon and set on your work surface in an X.  Place one filet in the center of the bacon.  Top with onion slice, green pepper and tomato.  Bring bacon up around filet like a present ribbon, and secure on top of filet with a toothpick.  Repeat with second filet.  Place on grill and cook on low heat without flipping for 40 minutes (depending on how you like your steak).  Enjoy!

Tip: 

If you want you bacon crispy, consider placing under a broiler for a few minutes after removing meat from the grill.  For a few more pp add a piece of cheese to the top after cooking.  YUM!

XOXO - Katie

Leeks Vinaigrette

Have I ever told you how much I looooove onions?  It might sound weird, but they are my 100% absolutely FAV vegetable of all time.  So when I found a recipe for braised onions (leeks) created by the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen I HAD to try.  This is a really tasty and unique side dish for any onion lover. And don't fret, leeks are a lot milder than say, white onions, and in this dish they are transformed into a salty, mustardy (is that a word), eggy combo.

Servings: 6

Size: 1/6 of recipe which is about 1 cup although long leeks are really hard to measure.

Points Plus: 4pp

Level of Difficulty: Medium

P:rep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Rating: 4 - Very Good

Ingredient List:

6 medium to large leeks

3 T. olive oil, divided

1 T. light butter

1/2 t. kosher salt & ground pepper, divided

1/4 c. dry white wine

1 c. water

1 c. chicken stock

5 sprigs fresh thyme

2 T. chopped flat-leaf parsley, divided

1 T. Dijon mustard

1 T. white wine vinegar

2 hard-boiled eggs, whites and yokes separated and chopped

Directions:

Heat oven to 425°. Trim dark-green tops from leeks, leaving root end intact. Remove tough outer layer. Starting 1" above root end, halve leeks lengthwise. Wash leeks, making sure to clean all sand from between layers. Dry slightly on paper towels.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil and butter in a large, deep ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add leeks, season with salt and pepper, and cook, turning occasionally, until light golden in spots, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cook until almost all liquid is absorbed, 3–4 minutes. Add 1 cup water, chicken stock, thyme, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil. Transfer skillet to oven. Bake until leeks are tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk 1 Tbsp. parsley, Dijon mustard, vinegar, and remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer leeks to a platter, drizzle with vinaigrette, top with eggs, and garnish with remaining 1 Tbsp. parsley.

Tip: 

For a reason unknown to me, leeks are a really dirty veggie and a little tricky to clean.  Watch this video for a quick tutorial to make leek cleaning a breeze!

XOXO Katie

Chocolate Chip Scones

Scones are one of my favorite breakfast foods!  A warm scone and cup of coffee is perfect for a Saturday morning.  Here’s a great recipe I found on Skinnytaste for a lightened up version of chocolate chip scones.  The recipes calls for two kinds of flour – if you choose to just use all-purpose flour know that the pp value will increase. 

Servings:  12

Size:  1 scone

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty:  Medium

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time:  20 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

¾ cup cold buttermilk

¼ cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. chilled butter (it must be cold), cut into small pieces

¾ cup chocolate chips

Cooking spray

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1 ½ tsp. sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Combine the buttermilk, ¼ cup sugar, vanilla and egg in a bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender, or you could use a fork, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Gently fold in chocolate chips.  Add the milk mixture, stirring until just moist.

Place dough on a floured surface and knead lightly four times with floured hands.  Form dough into a 9-inch circle on the baking sheet, about a ¾ inch thick.  Using a knife, cut dough into 12 wedges (make sure your cuts going all the way through to form 12 scones). Brush egg white over the top of the scones and sprinkle evenly with sugar.  Bake until golden, about 18-20 minutes depending on your oven.  Serve as warm scones with coffee!

Tip:

Cutting in the chilled butter into your flour mixture takes patience!  Keep at it and your dough will soon resemble the crumbly, coarse texture that is needed for scones. 

XOXO Megan