Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Bake

Kudos to the creative mind that thought it would be a good idea to turn Chicken Cordon Bleu into a casserole! Brilliant! This version, courtesy of Emily Bites is absolutely divine! It's like a Swiss cheese version of Mac-n-cheese with some protein added in! Enough said. Yum.

Source: Emily Bites


Ingredients:

• 8 oz uncooked wheat pasta (I used elbows)
• 4 TBSP light butter, divided
• 3 TBSP flour
• 2 cups skim milk
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 8 oz 2% Swiss Cheese slices, torn into strips
• 1/3 cup fat free sour cream
• 2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken breasts
• 6 oz lean cooked ham, diced
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Cook pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
3. While the water is boiling for step one, melt 3 tablespoons of the light butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour to the butter and stir to combine. Add the milk a little at a time and whisk the flour mixture into the milk until smooth. Add the salt and pepper and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium and add the swiss cheese to the milk mixture. Whisk together for about 5 minutes until smooth and thick.
4. Combine the cooked pasta, chicken, ham, sour cream and cheese sauce and stir until well mixed. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish.
5. Place the remaining tablespoon of light butter in a skillet over medium heat until melted. Add the bread crumbs and Parmesan and brown breadcrumbs for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle the bread crumb/Parmesan mixture over the top of the casserole and bake for about 30 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Yield: 8 servings (1 ¼ cup)  

Nutrition Info per serving: 336 calories, 31 g carbs,  10 g fat, 31 g protein, 3 g fiber

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas

Of all the nights my husband wants to help me cook he picks the night I try to sneak in a vegetarian meal. Go figure. The good news is that he was more inclined to eat it after helping and I got to blame him for how spicy the dish was since he left the seeds in the jalapeño when he diced it. : ) HOT! The even better news.....we LOVED it! A huge thanks to Skinnytaste for coming up with this great dish!




Source: Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red enchilada sauce (I used canned)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups peeled butternut squash, cut 1/2-inch-dice
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced (unless you like A LOT of heat...then leave the seeds in)
• 10 oz can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 1/2 cups reduced sodium canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 medium low-carb whole wheat flour tortillas (I used La Tortilla Factory)
• 1 cup reduced-fat shredded Mexican cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped scallions, for garnish
• reduced-fat sour cream, for serving (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place 1/4 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish.

2. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in large skillet. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeno and cook a couple of minutes until onions become translucent and garlic is fragrant. 

3. Add cubed butternut, Rotel tomatoes, black beans, water,  cilantro, cumin and chili powder and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 

until the squash is tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.

4. Place about a generous 1/3 cup filling in the center of each tortilla and roll, place on the baking dish seam side down. Repeat with the remaining filling. 

5. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese and bake, covered with foil until hot and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Top with scallions and eat with sour cream if desired.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutrition info per serving: Calories: 185 • Fat: 6 g • Protein: 13 g • Carb: 29 g • Fiber: 13 g 

Buffalo Meatloaf

 My husband told me when we first got married that he did not eat meatloaf.  Now he requests this meal weekly. This is quite possibly my signature dish....yum! Tonight I made it with some Asparagus topped with carmelized onions  and blue cheese crumbles. Comment below if you want the side dish recipe.

Source: Amy Hart

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground buffalo
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup Eggbeaters (or 1 egg lightly beaten)
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup fat free milk
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 TBSP minced onion
• 1/8 tsp thyme
• 1/8 tsp rosemary 
• 4 oz tomato sauce
• Hot Sauce (to taste)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine all ingredients except tomato sauce and hot sauce in a large bowl and mix together. DO NOT over mix! Transfer meat mixture to a loaf pan packing down the meat.

3. Mix tomato sauce and hot sauce together. (I use about 1 TBSP of Frank's) Spread over loaf.

4. Bake uncovered for 45 mins to 160 degrees the turn on broiler and broil for 3 minutes. Remove and let rest for 5-10 mins before slicing.

Yield : 6 servings
Nutrition info per serving: 227 calories, 13g fat, 4g carbs
(Calculated using myfitnesspal.com)