Light Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

Serves 4
2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (12 to 14 ounces each)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups low-fat (1%) milk
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 phyllo sheets (each 12 by 17 inches), thawed

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper.

Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly; discard skin and bones. Shred meat, and set aside.

While chicken is roasting, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium.
Add carrots, onion, and thyme; season with salt and pepper, and cook until carrots are crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add flour, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer and thickens.
Remove from heat; stir in peas, lemon juice, and chicken, and season with salt and pepper.
Pour filling into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.
Stack phyllo on a work surface. Using a paring knife, cut out an 11-inch circle from the stack; discard trimmings.
Stack 2 circles on work surface, and brush gently with 1 teaspoon oil; repeat with remaining circles and oil.
Place phyllo stack over filling, and press down about 1/2 inch from the edge so phyllo fits inside rim of pie plate.
Bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.
Let potpie cool 15 minutes before serving.

Vegetable and Cheese Filled Shells

It's hard to find tasty yet good for you dishes. I think you'll like this one. It's creamy and full of flavor.  To make it even more healthy you could use wheat or whole grain pasta shells.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup grated cheese, parmesan and romano
1 tspb black pepper, freshly ground
1 1/2 Tbs Olive oil
1 cup shredded, part skim mozzarella cheese, divided
16 oz nonfat cottage cheese
1/2 tsp dried thyme
16  jumbo macaroni shells
1/2 cup onions, peeled, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
3 cup diced fresh tomatoes
1 cup zucchini, unpeeled and chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup chopped fresh broccoli
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil

Directions:

1. In a large pot, bring 1 gallon hot water to a boil over high heat. When water boils, sprinkle in 4 tsp. salt. Add pasta shells and cook until al dente, or according to package directions, about 12 minutes. Drain in colander and cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with nonfat cooking spray.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onions, cooking about 3 minutes. Mixture should be golden and almost translucent. Add broccoli, zucchini, and mushrooms, cooking and stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Set aside to cool to room temperature. 

4. In a large bowl, mix together cottage cheese, Parmesan and Romano cheeses, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella.
5. Add cooled vegetables to cheese mixture. Add black pepper, oregano, basil, thyme, and red pepper flakes and mix well.
6. Cover bottom of prepared pan with 1 cup of the diced tomatoes or pasta sauce.
7. Stuff each shell with about 2 1/2 Tbsp. of the cheese-vegetable mixture. Place stuffed shells on top of tomatoes in pan. Cover with remaining 2 cups of tomatoes, then sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella on top.
8. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes. Shells and top layer of cheese should be pale gold. Remove from oven and serve hot.

Source: Courtesy of Hannaford Fresh Magazine, Jan/Feb 2008

Patsy's Stuffed Meat Loaf

Cook Time:

1 hour
Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup Salsa
1/4 cup bread Crumbs
1/4 cup canned jalapeno, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 cup baby spinach- Chopped
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 1/2 lb ground turkey, 93 percent lean

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with nonfat cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together ground turkey, egg, bread crumbs, onion, and jalapeño pepper. Add mustard, oregano, sage, black pepper, and salt and mix well.
3. Place half the meat mixture in prepared pan. Make a shallow well down the length of the meat.
4. Prepare stuffing. In a medium bowl, mix together spinach, mushrooms, and cheese. Place in well.
5. Cover with remaining meat mixture; pinch sides of meat together to seal well.
6. Cook at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. If liquid from vegetables seeps out of stuffing, that`s OK, just drain it off. If desired, remove meat loaf from oven after 40 minutes and top with salsa, then continue baking for an additional 20 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.

Source: Courtesy of Hannaford Fresh Magazine, Jan/Feb 2008

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup

This recipe is great when you have that pasta craving but don't want the calories and carbs associated with it. Kids will love this. While it may take a tad more time to prepare because of the veggie chopping, it is still relatively quick and cooks in a very short time. Of course if you have more time, you can prepare earlier or on the weekend ( just add spaghetti at the time you are actually ready to put dinner on the table). Okay- here goes

Spaghetti and Meatball "Stoup" (thicker than soup, thinner than stew) Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray and Ginger

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and chopped into a small dice
1 medium skinned onion, chopped
1 -2 small rib celery from the heart, chopped
1 small green pepper or 1/2 of a large one
1 small red pepper or 1/2 of a large one
3 cloves garlic, crushed and cut in half lengthwise
1 large can of crushed tomatoes or diced in thick puree
1 tbsp of tomato paste
3 cups lower in sodium chicken stock, available in a box on the soup aisle
1/2 to 3/4 can of lower in sodium beef broth
1/4 tsp cayenne (red) pepper ( if you like a little spice)
1/2 -1 tsp paprika
1/2 or 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup grated cheese, Parmigiano or Romano, plus more to pass at table
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, a few handfuls
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
1/3 to 1/2 pound spaghetti, broken in half ( I used whole wheat pasta or whole grain, better for you and higher in fiber)
3-4 leaves of basil, cut up (or dried if no fresh available)
1 loaf Italian crusty bread, for dunking (optional of course)

Instructions:

Preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, saute garlic on low to medium heat for 5 minutes or so. Careful not to brown as it will get bitter.
Add carrots, onions, celery, peppers and saute 10-15 minutes until soft.
Add can of tomatoes, tomato paste sauce and stock, cover pot. Turn up heat and bring to a fast boil. Turn to low heat and simmer about 1 hour. (the original recipe calls for only 10 min but I like to let it cook awhile- either 1 hour or longer or shorter as time allows)
While soup is simmering, mix the ground meat with cheese, bread crumbs, egg and parsley. Roll into 1 1/2 to 2-inch balls. Brown on high or medium heat on all sides (do not cook through) Remove lid from soup and slide balls into soup. Bring back to a boil then stir in spaghetti. Reduce the heat and simmer soup 10 minutes more, until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through. Stir in basil and remove "stoup" from the stove. Serve with bread and cheese.
Tip for leftovers: The soup will thicken upon standing so when reheating, simply add more beef or chicken stock to thin.

Now for the exercise tip if the day:

In prior posts, I've given arm (triceps) and hamstring exercises. Today we will do a simple waist exercise. Take those 5 or 10 lb barbells, 1 in each hand and stand straight with legs shoulder width apart, knees relaxed. Slowly bend sideways, do not lean forward. Raise to upright position and bend to the opposite side. Repeat to other side until completed 15 on each side or 30 altogether. Increase reps and sets as endurance increases. THis a an exercise that is great for those love handles. You may want to get your significant other involved. This is a great exercise while watching the evening news and waiting for "stoup" to finish simmering.