Bistro Chicken Pasta Salad

I got this recipe from kraftfoods.com and it is a great recipe for entertaining. The only warning that Mike and I could come up with is that if you don't like feta, this dish is definitely not for you...the feta makes the entire dish so it isn't something you could "do without".

yield: 4 servings

2 cups cooked penne pasta
1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes (I cut up one roma)
1 pkg (4 oz) feta cheese
half a cup of light italian dressing (I used even less...probably more like a quarter cup)
1/3 cup basil leaves: cut into strips (I used a couple dashes of italian seasonings instead)
1/4 cup red onion: chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I didn't use these)
2 chicken breasts: cooked and cut into slices

1. toss all ingredients
2. serve warm or chilled (we had it warm)

This is an awesome dish for entertaining. It tastes like a lot of work but takes almost none. You could even use the precooked chicken breasts that they sell by the lunch meat if you were in a real hurry. We tossed everything together in a large frying pan so the cheese would melt a little. One of Mike's first comments on this dish was, "I'm going to over eat." It has a lot of flavor and at 290 calories a serving - is shockingly healthy!
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Manwich (a healthy option)

Okay, so don't laugh... I tried manwich last night for the first time at the recommendation of a friend. And while I'd say that overall it isn't really my sort of thing - what a great way to change up a meal! So this isn't really a recipe, persay, but it is an idea if you're working on healthier meals when you are craving something a bit heavier.

yield: 4-6 sandwiches

pkg of village hearth italian buns (80 cals a bun, if you can beat that, let me know)
2% american cheese slices (or go fat-free if you can)
1 lb hamburger: browned
1 can manwich

1. stir the manwich in with the hamburger
2. toast each bun in the toaster (adds a little flair), you could also broil with spray butter and garlic salt for a little more flavor
3. top bun with cheese and manwich
4. pig out

After I added everything up on calorieking.com, I was happy with the results. It comes out to 350 calories per sandwich...and they are filling. The buns are big and 4 ounces of manwich goes a long way. We had our manwiches with a serving of baked chips (90 calories). So for 440 calories, I was feeling pretty full...definitely worth posting about :)

At the 4 servings...if you use the 2% cheese it is 6.5 ww pts, with ff cheese it is 6.25 ww pts.
At the 6 servings...if you use the 2% cheese it is 4.5 ww pts, with ff cheese it is 4.7 ww pts.

In conclusion, just use the 2% cheese if it's cheaper...

Taco Salad

This is sort of one of those "no brainers" but I'm sharing it because it is a staple in our house...ESPECIALLY when we're trying to eat more healthy.

yield: ~4 salads

1 bag of salad (or shredded lettuce, I go for whatever is on sale)
1 can of black beans: drained and rinsed
1/4 cup shredded cheese
salsa
baked doritos (we get the bundle with the lunch size packs so those work perfectly): crushed
jalapenos
salsa
1 lb ground beef: browned (I season with s & p and then some onions)

1. place desired amount of salad/lettuce on plate
2. top with black beans, cheese, doritos, jalapenos
3. throw some beef on there
4. top with salsa
5. ENJOY

We figured that if you did a plate-sized salad like this, it'd be right about 300 calories. Where can you go wrong with a plate full of food for 300 calories?

Got any special taco salad tips that you use?? Make sure to share if you do!

Oh, sometimes - throw a can of corn in with your black beans...and a final "P.S." - if you don't love the salsa you're using, this could ruin the dish. Normally I love it but last night I was out of my normal salsa so I used another kind and while the salad was still tastey, it wasn't all it could be for me.

As this recipe goes, it'd be 10 ww pts per serving. If you switched from ground beef to the precooked Louis Rich chicken breast strips (southwestern flavor is perfect for this), then you drop down to 8.5 ww pts.

Garlic Bread

I would say I'm still playing around with this recipe but only because I like to...homemade garlic bread is a staple in our household (but not for much longer with our diet looming on the horizon). Feel free to play around with this recipe, but the base to it is a keeper!

yield: lots of slices depending on the size of your loaf

one french loaf (sliced or not, doesn't matter)
1 stick of butter: softened
3/4 cup of ricotta cheese (I used the low-fat version)
1/2 cup of shredded italian cheese mix (romano, parmesan & asiago)
~ 1 tsp or so of garlic salt (this is to taste so it'll take some taste testing)
~ 1/2 tsp or so of paprika
1 tsp of dried parsley flakes (moreso for looks than anything)

1. Preheat the oven to 375-degrees.
2. Mix the butter with the cheeses and spices. Taste a little to see if it is salty enough or not and adjust with your garlic salt measurements...trust me, a bland garlic bread is no good. We use salt sense so for a little extra health kick, I'd recommend that.
3. Once it is all good and mixed, set the mixture aside.
4. If your loaf is not sliced, go ahead and either cut in half (like it is a sandwich) or slice.
5. Go ahead and spread the mixture evenly on your bread.
6. Bake about 10 mins, you really need to watch it so it doesn't get overdone and become a crouton.
7. Once your 10 minutes is up, turn your oven to broil on low and broil for an additional 3-5 mins. 8. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving, enjoy!

We do this with pasta, pizza, steak...you name it and we like garlic bread with it! Perhaps that is why we are going on a diet, ha! Here is the before and after...

My return :)

I am returning to the food blog for 2009...hopefully I'll keep it up and going throughout the year. Mike and I are on a quest for a healthier lifestyle (again, blah blah blah) and we're determined to make it stick this time. We love roller coasters but are sick and tired of looking back at our "thinner days" and wondering what happened. So this is it. Here we go. My intention is to update this food blog weekly (give or take, of course) and hopefully you'll get some healthier recipes from it, similar to what I was originally trying to do...then I found that taco soup recipe and fell off the wagon - haha! So, with all that said - welcome back to our food blog and let's hope this try is a success! Feel free to email me or post comments if you have any questions or suggestions or even if you've changed the recipe up a little differently - PLEASE SHARE :)