On My Hearth: Last Minute Chicken Fajitas

This is an older Weight Watchers recipe using the former POINTS system so if you follow that program, you may want to plug this into your Recipe Builder to determine Points Plus. I had fresh peppers on hand so I used them instead of frozen, also topped the finished fajitas with a little bit of fat-free sour cream...sloppy & spicy and oh-so-delicious!!

Last Minute Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:
Cooking Spray
1 pound skinless chicken breast tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon Fajita seasoning
1 (16-ounce) package frozen bell pepper stir-fry (such as Birds Eye)
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1/2 cup (2 ounces) reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
Salsa (optional)

Directions:
1. Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken and seasoning; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add bell-pepper stir fry; stir-fry 2 minutes or until chicken is done.

2. Warm tortilla according to package directions. Spoon 1/2 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon cheese.

Roll up. Top with salsa, if desired.


Yields 4 servings (serving size: 2 fajitas)

Enjoy!

Rapunzel~

On My Hearth: Cheesy Taco Supreme

Cheesy Taco Supreme

PointsPlus™ Value: 7
Servings: 6

Capture the flavors of a taco or enchilada with crunchy nacho chips, seasoned beef, and rich enchilada sauce. Serve with spicy salsa for an extra kick.




Ingredients
1 pound(s) raw extra lean ground beef
1/2 cup frozen chopped onions
1 1/4 oz reduced-sodium taco seasoning
8 oz Del Monte Tomato Sauce, No Salt Added
10 oz canned enchilada sauce
1 1/4 cup(s) Reduced Fat hredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese, divided
3 oz baked low-fat tortilla chips, crushed, (about 1 1/2 cups crushed)
Cooking spray

Instructions:

Cook beef and onion in large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until beef crumbles and onion is tender; drain well.

Return meat mixture to pan; stir in taco seasoning, tomato sauce, and enchilada sauce. Layer half of meat mixture, half of cheese, and half of tortilla chips in an 11x7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Repeat layers with remaining meat mixture and cheese. Cover and chill up to 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 350.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining chips, and bake an additional 9 minutes or until thoroughly heated.


Note: to make this vegetarian, I substituted Boca Crumbles for the beef, bringing the PointsPlus™ Value down to 6. I also added a tiny bit of fat-free sour cream and salsa to the top.

Per Serving (original recipe): Calories: 309; Carbohydrate: 20.3g; Fat 14.3g (saturated 6.3g); Fiber 1.7g; Protein 25.1g; Cholesterol 44mg; Sodium 815mg: Calcium 240mg; Iron 2.3mg.

Recipe courtesy of Weight Watchers Shortcut Cookbook

Enjoy!

Rapunzel~

On My Hearth: White Bean and Tomato Salad

Beren and I are going to pack a little picnic lunch, it's much too beautiful to be indoors today! He'll likely be eating fried chicken (groan) but my contribution will be considerably healthier!

I'll pair this salad with some fresh fruit, bit of cheese and crackers and an indulgent glass of chardonnay. It's a day for celebrating, after all!

White Bean and Tomato Salad

POINTS® Value: 3
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 12 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

To store fresh sage, wrap it in a paper towel, seal in a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to four days.

Ingredients
15 3/4 oz canned great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
3 cup(s) tomato(es), seeded and chopped
3 tbsp celery, chopped
2 tbsp scallion(s), sliced
1 tbsp olive oil, extra-virgin
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp fresh sage, chopped
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

* Combine all ingredients in a bowl; toss gently. Garnish with sage, if desired. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup).

Weight Watchin' Wednesday: Baked Chicken

Beren and I may be going out to see our friend's band tonight and since they start early (6:30 pm) it's going to be a quick & simple dinner tonight. I'll be serving this with leftover egg noodles for him, "faux" mashed potatoes for me, and some type of fresh veggies of course.


Baked Chicken

POINTS® Value: 3
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 35 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Use fresh herbs and lemon juice to give plain baked chicken fantastic flavor.

Ingredients

* 1 sprays cooking spray
* 1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4 oz halves
* 1/2 tsp table salt
* 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
* 1 tsp olive oil
* 2 tsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
* 2 tsp rosemary, fresh, chopped
* 2 tsp parsley, fresh, chopped
* 1/4 cup canned chicken broth
* 1/2 medium lemon(s), quartered (for garnish)

Instructions

* Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a small, shallow roasting pan with cooking spray.

* Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken to prepared pan and drizzle with oil; sprinkle with lemon juice, rosemary and parsley. Pour broth around chicken to coat bottom of pan.

* Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes. Garnish with fresh lemon and serve. Yields 1 chicken breast half per serving.

Monday Menu Planning

Since I never finished posting recipes from this cookbook (where did the time go?), I'm focusing on it again this week as well as some old favorites.

Meatless Monday - We just enjoyed my own version of vegetarian chili that we didn't get around to last week

Take-out Tuesday: Pizza or Leftovers

Weight Watchin' Wednesday: Vegetable Soup

Thirsty Thursday: Malibu Breeze with TGI Fridays Buffalo Chicken Wings , & big green salad

Fishy Friday: Tuna Noodle Casserole

Slow-Mo Saturday: Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole

Social Sunday: Old-Fashioned Sunday Supper

On My Hearth, Weight Watchin' Wednesday - Shrimp with Bean-Tomato Ragu

Yes, I cook with shrimp a lot; it's healthy, it's one seafood that my kids will eat, and I happen to love it! Also, it goes on sale fairly often at my favorite grocery store; this week it was BOGO!

Even though this recipe is really healthy on it's own, I'll be using Shirataki noodles to cut down on the POINTS value for myself; the kids and Beren will enjoy the pasta version.





Shrimp with Bean-Tomato Ragu

4 servings
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 9 minutes

Ingredients

* 5 ounces uncooked whole- wheat angel-hair pasta
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1-1/2 pounds large, frozen, shrimp, thawed, deveined
* 3/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
* 3 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1 can (15 ounces) white beans
* 1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
* 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions

1. Cook pasta following package directions. Drain and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Keep warm.

2. While pasta is cooking, season shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon of the lemon pepper. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until cooked through, turning once. Remove and keep warm.

3. Drain and rinse the beans and add to the skillet along with tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat.

4. Serve the ragu over the pasta and shrimp.


Note: I'll be using 1 pound of shrimp and cutting the olive oil in half; family can add more oil as desired. This revision brings my portion down to 6 POINTS according to WW's Recipe Builder.