what for dinner 10/19/10:Potato Kielbasa Skillet with buttered Spaghetti Squash

Tonight's Feingold friendly meal was a hit with the family...Potato Kielbasa Skillet with spaghetti squash w/ butter and cheese.

 Potato Kielbasa Skillet
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound red potatoes, cubed
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3/4 pound smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cups fresh baby spinach
• 5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions

• Place potatoes and water in a microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until tender; drain.
• In a large skillet, saute kielbasa and onion in oil until onion is tender. Add potatoes; saute 3-5 minutes longer or until kielbasa and potatoes are lightly browned.
• Combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, thyme and pepper; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Add spinach and bacon; cook and stir until spinach is wilted. 

 VERDICT: My family loved this but for me it was a little to sweet and too much fat.  I would probably next time half the oil and spray with cooking spray to saute and I didn't think the bacon did anything for it but overall it was good.
 

 

what for dinner 10/18/10: Danish Meatballs, Whole Wheat Egg Noodles & California Blend Veggies

Tonight's Feingold dinner is a family favorite...it is from the original blue program book you get when you purchase the program (very worth every penny)...my family loves it and so I do and tonight we made it with ground venison...YUMMY

Danish Meatballs

Serves 6

Meatballs:

1 1/2 lb ground beef (I used ground venison)

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tbsp grated onion

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup soft acceptable breadcrumbs

Dill Sauce:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups approved chicken broth

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp dried dill (I use fresh)

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degree

In a large bowl, combine beef salt, pepper, egg, onion, milk and breadcrumbs.  Shape into 1 inch balls (the one's my hubby made were so NOT 1 inch LOL) and arrange on a rack in a broiler pan.  Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, until browned.

While meatballs are cooking prepare dill sauce by melting butter in a medium saucepan and stir in flour.  Stir in broth, salt and dill.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened.  Remove from  heat and stir in sour cream or yogurt. 

Serve with rice or noodles and pour sauce over meatballs

VERDICT: these are good, a family favorite I liked them even better made with venison. My kids are them all up and my daughter had seconds.  You can even make this as an appetizer.

what for dinner 10/18/10: Ham Carbonara and Fresh Whole Wheat Bread

So tonight's very pretty & colorful Feingold friendly meal was ham carbonara...yummy and I got this recipe from Taste of Home's website.  I love looking for new recipe, I love trying new recipes and I am very lucky my family doesn't mind  telling me how they feel about it, is it a keeper or do I toss it...

 

 

Ham Carbonara Recipe
Serves 4-6 ( large servings)

 

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 small yellow summer squash, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 pound thick sliced deli ham, cubed
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

• Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the zucchini, summer squash, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add ham and peas; heat through. Remove and keep warm.
• Reduce heat to low; add eggs to the skillet. Cook and stir until egg mixture coats the back of a spoon and reaches 160° (mixture will look like a soft frothy egg). Drain spaghetti and place in a bowl. Add eggs; toss to coat. Add the vegetable mixture, 1/4 cup cheese, thyme, salt and pepper; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

 
VERDICT: very good and a keeper.  The servings are big and it's so colorful and creamy

 

what for dinner 10/17/10: Sour Cream Enchiladas with Asparagus

Tonight's Feingold friendly meal is complements of halfmysize.com (but of course I had to adjust it to go with the program).  So tonight we had sour cream chicken enchiladas with asparagus...

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Serves - 6 (2 enchiladas each)

Ingredients

Sauce:
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Enchiladas:
12 corn tortillas (I used flour)
12 oz. skinless boneless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup salsa (I omited this since we can't have tomatoes)
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. chili powder (I omited since chili powder is not part of the program)
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

In a small saucepan, whisk together sauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer over medium-high and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until mixture is thick and bubbly; set aside.
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 
In a medium non-stick skillet, combine chicken, cream cheese and salsa. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 6 minutes, or until mixture is warmed through and cream cheese has melted, stirring occasionally.
 
Lightly spray a 9"x13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
 
Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave on high for about 1minute or until hot.

To assemble, pour 1/2 cup of sauce into baking dish; spread to cover the bottom of the dish. Put a tortilla on a plate and spoon about 1/4 cup of chicken mixture onto middle of tortilla. Roll tortilla jelly-roll style and place seam side down in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas. 

Cover with foil. Bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, lemon juice and chili powder. 

When enchiladas have baked for 10 minutes, remove from oven and spread sour cream mixture on top of enchiladas. Sprinkle with nonfat cheddar cheese and additional chili powder, if desired. Bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

NOTES: I added sliced olives to the chicken, a dab of sour cream since we did not add the salsa to the chicken also.  I also added a little bit more cheese in the tortilla before I added the chicken.


VERDICT: very good, cheesy and creamy...see the creamy mess on the plate...that's all cheese and sour cream!

What to look forward to the week of 10/17

So here's my menu for this week...look forward to good food week

Hamburgers

Mac & Cheese

Veggie

Danish Meatballs

Egg Noodles

Veggie

Potato Kielbasa Skillet

Veggie

Ham Carbonara

Salad

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

HM Rice-a-Roni

Veggie

Cheesy Chicken Mac & Cheese

Salad

What's for dinner 10/13/10: Complements from McCormick Recipe Inspirations Shrimp & Pasta Primavera

Okay tonight's pretty Feingold friendly meal is complements of McCormick Recipe Inspirations...these things are so cute and so wonderful and this was just so good and elegant.

Shrimp & Pasta Primavera

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 package of recipe inspiration and that consists of:

     1 1/2 tsp dill

     1 tsp minced garlic

     1 tsp minced onions

     1/2 tsp coarse black pepper

     1/4 tsp thyme

12 oz linguine

1 lb large shrimp, peeled and devained

4 1/2 cups assorted cut-up fresh veggie

1 cup heavy cream (I used half & half)

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1) cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, adding shrimp and vegetables during last 3-4 minutes of cooking.  Drain well

2) mix remaining ingredients in same saucepan.  Bring to boil, stirring constantly with whisk.  Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes.  Add pasta, shrimp and vegetables; toss to coat well.

VERDICT: this is a family favorite, my family eats it all up and my hubby will take a piece of bread and sop up the sauce...this is nice enough to serve company but doesn't take a long time to cook so enjoy!

What's for dinner 10/12/10: Chicken with Creole Gravy and Rice with artichokes

So last night's Feingold friendly meal was a long time family favorite.  I made it Feingold friendly by taking out the creole spice (we can't to red pepper) and using my homemade rice-a-roni mix (in replace of the lipton rice and sauce) and it was still really good and even poor hubby's lunch I put aside was eaten by our daughter...

 Chicken w/Creole Gravy and Rice

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs)

Garlic powder to taste

Black pepper to taste

1 package (4.3 oz) Lipton rice and sauce mix, mushroom flavor (I used 6 oz of homemade rice a roni mix)

2 cups fat-free chicken broth

3 teaspoons Molly McButter (I used butter buds)

Creole Gravy

1/4 cup fat-free chicken broth

1/8 cup evaporated skim milk

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

4 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

1/4 teaspoon Cajun spices (I skipped this due to our diet)

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon Molly McButter (I used butter buds)

Directions:

1) Season chicken breasts with garlic powder and pepper. Brown on both sides in skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray

2) Sprinkle rice and sauce mix evenly over the bottom of a 9x9 baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray (make sure it's approved)

3) Place chicken breasts over the mixture and bake uncovered 35 minutes at 350ºF, or until most of the juice has been absorbed by the rice

4) While the chicken and rice are cooking prepare the Creole Gravy. In small saucepan combine all ingredients and stir over a low heat.

5) Pour Creole gravy over each chicken breast before serving

VERDICT: this is a family favorite I have been making for years...I love the sauce, it's just the right amount of sweet.  The rice is yummy and the chicken is juicy.