Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This is one of the best soups I have ever made and it only has about 280 calories per serving and it is a big serving (1 1/4 cups). It is also an easy fairly quick dinner and reheats great later in the week for lunch or another dinner.

1 cup uncooked quick cooking wild rice

cooking spray

1 cup chopped onion

2-4 cloves garlic depending on their size minced or put through garlic press)

3 cups fat free chicken broth

1 1/2 cups peeled baking potato

3 cups 2% milk

1/3 cup all purpose flour

10 ounces light processed cheese (i use the Velveeta made with 2% milk)

2 cups chopped roasted chicken ( I get rotisserie chicken from Sams and just pull it apart into pieces- I also usually just end up using the whole thing)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

cook rice according to the pkg (omit salt and fat)

heat large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat- coat with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; saute 3-5 minutes. Add broth and potato; bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5-8 minutes - you want the potato tender (I have found it takes about 8 minutes)

Combine Milk and flour in a separate bowl-while the potatoes are cooking- mix well with a whisk. Once the potatoes are done add the milk mixture to the large pot (whisk it once more before you add it)- cook 8 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until it melts. Stir in rice, chicken and pepper.

back to blogging

Alright I know right now I have no followers so it does not really matter that I have completely abandoned my blog, but I decided this morning that I am going to get back to it. My new years resolution this year is to keep up with my blogs and maybe even start a new one- we will see about that. So my plan for this cooking blog is to post at least one recipe a week that should not be too hard that is only 52 recipes this year and a good excuse to be looking for some good ones and trying them out to see if they are worthy of posting. Check soon for this weeks recipe I have already found a good one.

Breakfast for Dinner

who doesn't enjoy a good breakfast casserole?  With being so busy these days it is easier to do it as a dinner or you could have nice brunch with these lower calorie versions of the original recipes

Sausage and egg Casserole-

1 lb of turkey  breakfast sausage (at my grocery store this is in the freezer section so you will have to plan  ahead about a day so your turkey sausage can thaw out

3 Cups of  cubed white bread (about 6 slices)

2 cups skim milk

1 1/2 cups egg substitute

1/2 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese

vegetable oil spray

cook sausage in a skillet until cooked though- stirring to crumble drain when done

in another bowl combine the rest of your ingredients leaving the bread for last then add your sausage pour mixture into a 9x13 or other similar size baking dish coated with the cooking spray

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes- it is done when you stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean

this recipe makes 9 servings and one serving is 157 calories

Hash brown Casserole-

1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese

2 T butter

1/4 tsp pepper

1 32 oz pkg of  frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (thawed)*

1 16 oz container fat free sour cream

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup- 98% fat free kind

cooking spray

combine all ingredients adding the potatoes last just so that everything mixes together more easily then put in a 9x13  or other similar sized baking dish coated in cooking spray and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until it is bubbly around the edges

this makes 9 servings and it is 146 calories per serving it matches up perfectly with the sausage and egg casserole- you can have the whole meal for about 300 calories  I will sometimes even do a slice of whole wheat toast with this meal or some type of fresh fruit if I am using it more as a brunch menu

*make sure your potatoes are completely thawed otherwise it will not cook through very well and you will have crunchy potato bites not very yummy 

herbed pork with Sauteed mushrooms

this is a yummy recipe and tastes great with some mashed potatoes and green beans with almonds

Pork with Sauteed Mushrooms-

1 tsp vegetable oil 

cooking spray

8 oz pkg mushrooms sliced- you can purchase sliced or slice them yourselves

1 1/2 tsp Montreal steak seasoning

1 tsp dried thyme

4 4oz boneless center cut pork chops about 3/4 inch thick

1 cup 98% fat free chicken broth 2 tsp cornstarch

1.  Heat oil in a large non stick skillet on about medium to medium high heat and add your sliced mushrooms saute about 3-5 min or until tender pour into a bowl and set aside when done

2.  rub pork with the seasoning mixture-  I usually combine the seasoning in a small dish before rubbing onto the meat  then cook the pork on each side until cooked through I usually have my stove on the high end of medium heat  as the pork is cooking combine the chicken broth and cornstarch  Once the pork is done remove from pan and turn up heat a bit and dump in your chicken broth mixture and mushrooms  stirring with a whisk and being sure to scrap up bits stuck to the bottom of the pan bring to a boil and cook one minute until slightly thick

this will yield 4 servings

1 pork chop with 1/3 cup of the Sauce is 181 calories not too shabby for a main dish and one that taste like it came straight from a nice restaurant!

Green beans with almonds-

this is an easy side dish that is a great combination with the main dish

take a bag of frozen french style green beans and cook as directed on the pkg

as the green beans are cooking take one table spoon of butter and about 2-3 T of lemon juice and cook in a small frying pan add a small pkg of almond slice and cook until toasted once you have drained your cooked green beans dump in your almond mixture and toss

Chicken & Mushroom kebobs with Disney Veggies

Chicken & Mushroom kebab-

1 pkg boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 8 oz pkg mushrooms

marinade-

6 garlic cloves- pressed through a garlic press

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 T olive oil

1tsp kosher salt

1/4tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

mix all the marinade ingredients in a large plastic container with tight fitting lid

cut 1 pkg of chicken breasts into cubes and take the stems off the mushrooms throw into marinade put on the lid and shake it up so everything is coated- put in refrigerator for about 2 hours shake it up about every 30 minutes

put meat and mushrooms on skewers 2 chicken cubes 1 mushroom alternating till skewer is full place skewers on a broiling pan and broil in oven 4 minutes on each side then repeat- 16 minutes total cooking time

Disney Veggies-

(this is a mixed vegetable recipe we had at Disney world it is very yummy)

3 medium zucchini

3 medium yellow squash

about half a small bag of baby carrots

small onion

3-4 cloves of garlic- put through a garlic press

salt

pepper

2 T butter

wash and cut zucchini and squash set aside

slice onion and chop carrots ( I use a food chopper for my carrots)

in a skillet melt the butter and then add onion and carrots- saute for about 5-6 minutes then add the garlic and other veggies put lid on and cook/steam over medium heat until veggies are the tenderness you desire

eat up and enjoy this yummy dinner- I will sometime also prepare some oven roasted potato wedges with this meal

welcome!

I have decided to start a blog of all the yummy recipes that I make for my family- Most of what I include on here is also going to be lower in calories.  You can eat yummy food and be healty at the same time.  Occassionally I might put a meal on here that is not super low in calories, but if I do I will make a note at the top of the recipe.