Chicken Spaghetti

I can't believe I haven't posted in 2 weeks! August is quite the crazy month and I have found that all my extra brain power and down time has gone to thinking about this party I am planning for the Sweet Everleigh's first birthday. It's this weekend and everything is coming together fabulously. I can't wait to get everything set up and take photos and share everything I came up with! In honor of a busy week, I am going to share my absolute quickest, easiest meal in my repetoire. Chicken spaghetti.

I bet you can ask anyone and they have a recipe for chicken spaghetti. But believe it or not, I only started making this in the last year. I have no idea why I never did before. I have a little secret, that I am ashamed to admit. But. I am guilty of all too often using canned chicken in this recipe. I would not recommend it. I was once of the mindset that $7/lb chicken breast was way too good to be boiled and chopped up into a casserole. After all, you use canned tuna in Tuna Casserole, right? Well, then I used regular "fancy" chicken breast and lo and behold, it was better. A lot better. So there you go. However, in a pinch, canned chicken is cheap and FAST.

*As a caveat, I should add: I am now middle of the road when it comes to chicken worthy of a casserole. I buy the 5 lb. bags of frozen chicken breasts from Kroger. They are usually on sale for $6.99 but even regular price they are only $8.99. I can thaw just what I need and it is a good combination of cheap, easy and tasty!

I adapted this chicken spaghetti recipe from Allrecipes.com. My favorite part is that it is super cheddary. However, because the cheese is a star in the dish, it's hard to make it low cal. It is chock full of nutrients though when you use some fortified pasta and add mushrooms. Oh, and check out the beautiful chopped salad as a side dish. I have a feeling that this will be one of E's favorite dishes, it is so kid friendly. I am always tempted to add a green in there too. Peas or broccoli would be nice, but I think my hubby would be displeased. :)

Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti

7 ounces spaghetti
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken (boiling is easiest)
2 cups cheddar cheese, divided
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh sliced mushrooms

Cook Spaghetti.
Combine chicken, 1 cup cheddar, parmesan, mushrooms, soup, milk, salt and pepper.
Drain pasta and add to chicken mixture. Combine and add to greased baking dish.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until heated through.

This is mine and hubby's favorite of the "healthy" pastas. It has a really different, but good texture and flavor.

Simple ingredients.

Pre-cooked mixture.

Cover with cheese.

Fresh out of the oven!

Beautiful chopped salad. Chopped spinach in half the bowl, chopped romaine in the other half.
On top is one chopped hard boiled egg, chopped celery, chopped cucumber and chopped tomato.
This casserole is so rich and creamy it really needs some fresh greens to go with it and this was perfect.

Italian Turkey Bake

I was planning on making baked ziti for dinner with some low calorie changes. I did not have any ziti so I used rotini. But I couldn't call it baked ziti anymore so it's Italian Turkey Bake! This is one of those easy to put together after work meals and if your baby is like mine and still not eating every meal you are, it's easily adaptable for her too.

First, I cooked up the ground turkey. I cooked it in a tiny bit of olive oil with chopped onions, garlic, italian seasoning and balsamic vinegar. Once it was all cooked, I set a bit of this aside for the baby. Although, she tolerates tomatoes fine, they are one of those foods "they" say to hold off until babies turn one. Like citrus fruits, tomatoes are high in acid and can therefore cause tummy upsets. I am obsessed with my baby's tummy. I am very careful with new foods and common "upsetting" foods to watch for reactions and discomforts. For the most part, foods that have upset her at some point, won't after she's eaten them a few times. I have given her oranges and tomato sauces, but in small doses. So, I decided just to set aside the turkey pre-sauced. I mixed in some cooked pasta, cottage cheese and mozzarella for her dinner and she loved it.

While cooking the turkey, I also boiled my rotini. I boil in water only. I use oil and salt during cooking only when necessary so that my daughter (and me and my husband) don't get the extra sodium and calories when they just are not needed. Salt can always be added later.

For the sauce, I combined 1 small can tomato sauce, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 egg, beaten, and 1 cup lowfat cottage cheese in a big bowl. Next, mix in the cooked pasta and turkey. I spoon out half the pasta mixture into a large casserole dish and cover that with about 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Dish out the rest of your pasta and cover with another cup of mozzarella and pop in the oven. It needs to cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

According to my calorie program I use on my phone this dish is only about 700 calories a serving. The way I entered the recipe, one serving is 1/4 of the whole dish. That's a lot of pasta! But I will note, I only used about 2/3 of the box of pasta because I set the rest aside to save for the baby. If you used a whole box, the calories would be higher. Pasta is not the best choice for the calorie counter for obvious reasons, but the pasta that is out there now can provide so many nutrients that if eaten occasionally it is still a great choice. I used whole wheat pasta but most brands also offer an enriched variety that has added nutrients such as protein, fiber and vitamins. I've used and like Barilla Plus and Ronzoni Smart Taste. I also love using all natural veggie pasta, like this from Hodgson Mill. It's an easy and tasty way to add even more vegetables to our diets.

Here's the recipe in a more recipe-like form:

Italian Turkey Bake

2/3 box Rotini pasta (about 10 oz.)
1 lb extra lean ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1-2 TB Italian seasonings, to taste
1 TB balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 egg, beaten
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1 can tomato sauce, 8 oz
1 can diced or petite diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz
2 cups mozzarella, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onions in olive oil. Add ground turkey, garlic, vinegar and seasonings. Boil pasta. In a large bowl, combine beaten egg, cottage cheese, tomatoes and sauce. Add cooked pasta and cooked turkey. Place half in a 9x13 casserole dish and cover with half the mozzarella. Dish out the remaining pasta and cover with the rest of the mozzarella. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Yum.

Yum.

Hearty, healthy meal paired with a romaine salad. Yum.

Shrimp Tacos

I wanted shrimp tacos. They are very friendly to the calorie counting dieter. And they are delicious. There are literally TONS of ways you can prepare shrimp tacos. There are numerous ways of doing the shrimp, various ways to top the taco, and many options for the sauce. I put together what I thought would be good, as should you. It's pretty hard to mess up. I took pictures so I can remember how I made them but again, if you are missing an ingredient, dislike an ingredient, like something else better, etc., they are pretty forgiving.

I'd like to mention that I rarely buy fresh shrimp in my grocery store because I am cheap. It's the reason why most of my meals are made with ground beef, ground turkey, bulk chicken breasts, chicken thighs, sausage...you get the picture. If I do venture to the seafood section in the grocery store it is usually for tilapia. But, with shrimp tacos you don't need a lot of shrimp. I bought a pound of medium-large size shrimp from HEB for $8.00. At home I counted out 12 shrimp and froze the rest. It was just under half the whole pound. The rest of the shrimp I am using for a cajun dish next week that will also have turkey sausage, so I don't need a ton of shrimp, just enough to notice it is there. So I cooked up enough for the tacos for Brian and I to each have 2 tacos with 3 shrimp each or 3 tacos with 2 shrimp each. Using small tortillas, and having plenty of toppings, it was more than enough.

One of my favorite parts of seafood tacos is the sauce. They come in all different forms and made with all different bases but usually are creamy and a refreshing complement to the seafood. In my mind I wanted to use a sour cream base. I did not have any sour cream. I have posted before how if you drain plain yogurt it results in a sour cream like product. But I didn't have time to drain yogurt. So, I used mayonnaise. Not as calorie friendly as the yogurt, but since you don't use a whole lot, it's not detrimental either. I'm glad I used the mayo. I mixed it with lemon juice and Sriracha Sauce. Super simple, but the result is something that would be tasty with lots of things. It would be a fantastic french fry dip! Yum!

Based on the ingredients I used on this day, I'll call these Chili-Lime Shrimp Tacos. Enjoy!

Chili-Lime Shrimp Marinade:
1-2 TB Chili Powder
1-2 TB fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 tsp fresh garlic, chopped
The juice of one lime
Salt and pepper

Mix and add shrimp:

Let marinate in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Heat some olive oil in a pan at Medium and add your shrimp:

Cook on medium-high heat for 3 minutes on each side:

Done Shrimp.

Chili Mayonnaise:

2 TB Mayonnaise

2 squirts of Sriracha (Or to taste. It's very spicy so remember you can always add more)

1 TB Lemon juice (I needed the citrus to cut the mayo but I didn't want even more lime juice. The lemon juice worked well. Orange would be good too and cut the spicyness of the chili sauce even more.)

Now for the sides:

I LOVE spanish style rice and we eat it often at my house. Leftover rice always ends up this way. I always do it differently depending on what I have on hand but tomato paste is always the star. Since leftover rice out of the fridge is so dry, I heat it up on the stove with a generous amount of chicken broth. With this rice, I then added a can of diced tomatoes, about 1/2 a can of tomato paste, some hot sauce, dried cilantro, garlic powder and salt and pepper. The chicken broth and tomato paste make it very sticky and creamy which is how I love to eat rice! This makes great leftovers and is super yummy in tortillas. It also works with brown rice of which I have been trying to use more lately.

Second is refried beans. Good old, fat free, generic, cheap refried beans. A dieter's friend. A cheapskate's friend. Friend to all. Except my husband. That's fine, more for me. Solid, cold, refried beans out of the can are not so appealing. True. But heat them up in a saucepan with a little chicken broth and taco seasoning and serve them hot and runny and they suddenly become truly restaurant style, homemade tasting, protein packing, yummy refried beans.



Divine Rice



Divine Beans



Honestly, I could live off of rice and beans. My husband would have a fit.  

Dinner is served:

I used corn tortillas. I wish I would have used flour. The corn have fewer calories and a great flavor. However, I used a cheap brand and they were very dry and fell apart easily. I doubled up on the corn to make the tacos easier to eat, but one flour tortilla per taco would have been basically the same calories and would have been tastier. But if you love corn tortillas, and you have some good quality ones, then by all means go right ahead.

I topped my tacos with romaine lettuce, matchstick carrots, fresh cilantro, and the chili mayo sauce. I think I also topped my rice and beans with that chili mayo sauce! Enjoy!