Sauteed Chicken with Sage Brown Butter

This Cooking Light recipe is a nice chicken dish that pairs well with with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

SAUTEED CHICKEN WITH SAGE BROWN BUTTER

Recipe Notes

You can do the pounding yourself, but I would recommend having your butcher turn a couple of chicken breast halves into cutlets for you. It will save you a bunch of time.

Nutritional Information (per serving - serves 4)

326 calories - 11.1 g. fat - 41.1 g. protein - 13.1 g. carb - 0.5 g. fiber

Ingredients

• 4 six-oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I recommend premade cutlets from your butcher)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 2 sage sprigs
• 1 tbsp. minced shallots
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (I used dried)
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice (1-2 small lemons)
• Fresh sage leaves (optional)

Instructions

1. If pounding yourself, place each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch thickness.

2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray.

4. Place flour in a shallow dish and dredge chicken breasts in flour.

5. Add chicken to pan and saute for approximately four minutes per side or until done. Remove chicken from pan.

6. Add butter and sage sprigs to pan. Cook over medium heat until butter is browned. Discard sage.

7. Add shallots and thyme, cook for 30 seconds. Add lemon juice and cook for 30 more seconds.

8. Serve sauce with chicken.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

This casserole was so good, I've taken it in my lunch the past two days at work. It has tons of vegetables hiding inside, so it helps you get your daily allowance of vegetables, too! Sorry for the sloppy picture - don't let it dissuade you from trying this recipe!

MEXICAN CHICKEN CASSEROLE

Recipe Notes

I cooked and shredded the chicken for this Cooking Light recipe in advance. Also, I didn't have the time to make the charred tomato salsa suggested by the recipe, so I used Pace Chunky Salsa instead (and it tasted great). The recipe modification below uses Pace. If you'd like to make your own, the original recipe can be found (here).

Nutritional Information (per serving - serves 8)

331 calories - 12.3 g. fat - 26.1 g. protein - 30.8 g. carbs - 4.2 g. fiber

Ingredients

• Pace chunky salsa (I used mild) - 2 jars
• 1 c. chopped onion
• 1 c. fresh or frozen corn kernels (I used frozen)
• 1 c. zucchini, diced finely
• 1 c. chopped red bell pepper
• 3 c. shredded, cooked chicken breasts (2-3 chicken breasts)
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 10 oz. can green chile enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso)
• 1, 4-oz. can chopped green chiles (I skipped this because I don't like green chiles)
• Twelve 6-in. corn tortillas
• 1 c. shredded monterrey jack cheese
• 1 c. crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray and add onion, corn, zucchini, and red bell pepper. Saute 6 minutes or until tender.

3. Add chicken and next five ingredients (through green chiles, if you are adding them). Saute 2 minutes or until heated through, remove from heat.

4. Spread 1/2 c. salsa in the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange six tortillas over salsa. Spoon 2 c. chicken mixture over tortillas. Top with 3/4 c. salsa and 1/2 c. of each cheese (monterrey jack and feta).

5. Repeat another layer, beginning with six tortillas. End with remaining cheeses.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Rosemary Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Shallots

Wow! Time has gotten away from me. Between the holidays and two active babies, I have been repeating some of my easiest, fastest recipes all holiday season. But it's time to start trying new things again! This Cooking Light recipe is a great use of sweet potatoes while they are in season.

ROSEMARY MASHED SWEET POTATOES

Recipe Notes

Creamy mashed potatoes without butter or cream! I actually used less oil than the recipe calls for (did not drizzle any over the top).

Nutritional Information

202 calories - 6.3 g. fat - 2.9 g. protein - 34.9 g. carbs - 4.8 g. fiber

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil (I skipped the 2 tsp part)
• 3/4 c. thinly-sliced shallots
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 tbsp fresh, chopped rosemary
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a skillet over low heat. Add shallots and cook for 5 minutes (stirring occasionally).

2. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cook for 20 minutes more or until shallots are golden and caramelized.

3. Boil potatoes and cook for 8 minutes or until tender. Drain.

4. Place potatoes in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until smooth. Stir in rosemary, salt, and pepper and beat until well-blended.

5. Top with shallots and drizzle with remaining two tsp. oil, if desired.

Herbed Cous Cous Pilaf

This recipe comes with several variations. Shown here is an adaptation of the Mediterranean variation. I added quartered grape tomatoes, feta cheese, and dill to the basic recipe. It was absolutely delicious with grilled chicken and a big green salad.

HERBED COUS COUS PILAF

Recipe Notes

The more herbs you add to this recipe, the better! This Cooking Light recipe takes less than 15 minutes to prepare. As mentioned above, the Mediterranean version, which adds grape tomatoes, dill, and feta, is terrific.

Nutritional Information

205 calories - 3.7 g. fat - 6.5 g. protein - 2.6 g. fiber

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 c. finely-chopped shallots
• 1 c. uncooked cous cous
• 1 c. fat free chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
  

Instructions

1. Heat a small saucepan over medium high heat. Add oil, swirling to coat.

2. Add shallots and saute until soft (approximately 2 minutes).

3. Stir in cous cous and saute 1 minute.

4. Add chicken broth and salt, bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand five minutes.

5. Fluff with a fork. Stir in parsley and thyme.

Sweet Beans

These beans are terrific with BBQ or grilled or fried chicken. We had them with some awesome pork ribs that my sister sent to Corey for his birthday last week.

Recipe Notes

I cut the bacon up into bite-sized chunks before cooking so that everyone would get bacon on their serving of beans. I believe that the original recipe just indicates to lay the bacon over the top of the casserole dish.

Ingredients

• 53-oz. can of pork and beans in tomato sauce, such as Van Kamp's
• 1/2 white onion, minced
• 1/2 green or red bell pepper, minced
• 6 tbsp. ketchup
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. mustard
• 6 slices bacon, preferably center-cut

Instructions

1. Drain beans and set aside.

2. Saute onion and bell pepper in a skillet until translucent. Add beans.

3. Mix ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar. Stir into beans.

4. Pour beans into 2-qt. casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Top with bacon.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until bacon is browned and crisp.

Ruby Fruit Salad

This Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe is gorgeous when fruit is a bit more in-season during the summer time. It's still tasty even in the fall, just not quite as vibrant and pretty.

RUBY FRUIT SALAD

Recipe Notes

This recipe calls for plums, grapes, blackberries, and blueberries, but you can really use ANY stone fruits (peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, etc.) and any kind of berries.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice (juice of one lime)
• 3 purple or red plums, halved, pitted, and cubed
• 2 c. seedless red grapes
• 1 pint blackberries
• 1/2 pint blueberries
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint (or more for garnish or to taste)

Instructions

1. Stir together brown sugar and lime juice. Let stand 10 minutes so that brown sugar may dissolve.

2. Add fruit and mint, toss to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to one day.

Layered Enchilada Bake

My coworker Angela recommended this recipe as one that is easily freezable. I wanted to take another casserole to my sister in law, who just had a baby, so I cut the recipe in half for serving and froze half of it for her while we ate the other half. Corey loved it!

LAYERED ENCHILADA BAKE

Recipe Notes

Thanks kraft.com. Serve with cilantro (pictured above), chopped lettuce, and/or chopped fresh tomatoes. There is a full-fat version of this recipe and a lower fat version of this recipe. I have shown the lower fat version here.

Nutritional Information (per serving - serves 8)

400 calories - 15 g. fat - 39 g. carbohydrates - 6 g. fiber

Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground beef (I used 93% lean)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 c. salsa
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 c. light Italian dressing
• 2 tbsp. taco seasoning mix
• 6 eight-inch flour tortillas
• 1 c. light sour cream
• 8 oz. package 2% milk Mexican shredded cheese blend

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Brown meat and onions in a skillet and drain. Stir in salsa, black beans, Italian dressing, and taco seasoning.

3. Arrange 3 tortillas in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish (cut tortillas to fit). Top with 1/2 meat mixture, 1/2 c. sour cream, and 1/2 cheese. Repeat.

4. Cover and bake for 40 minutes or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted. Uncover after first 30 minutes and bake final 10 minutes uncovered. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.