Chicken and White Bean Salad

Vinagrette:
1 medium clove garlic
1/4 tsp salt
5tbs extra virgin olive oil
6tbs orange juice
1/4c white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tbs Dijon Mustard

Salad:
1 - 15 oz can white beans, rinsed and drained
2 1/2 c cooked chicken breast
2 c Zuchinni or Summer Squash
1/4c feta cheese
1/3c sun dried tomatoes
1 c basil
4 c Fresh Baby Spinach or Romaine

Vinegarette: smash garlic, using a fork mash garlic with 1/4tsp salt in a small bowl to form a paste.  Whisk 5 tbs in of oil. Add orange juice, vinegar and mustard. Whisk until well blended. Set aside at room temperature

Salad: Combine beans, chicken, zuchini, cheese and sun dried tomatoes in a large bowl until well blended. Add basil and 3/4 cup vinegarette; toss until combined. Mix together with spinach or romaine and add the rest of vinegarette.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 428
Fat: 23g
Sat Fat: 5g
Mon Sat. 15g
Cholesterol: 79mg
Carbs: 24g
Protein: 34g
Fiber: 8g
Sodium: 667mg
Patassium: 648mg

Eggplant Parmesan for 318 calories

Ingrediants Needed:
2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbs water
2 cups whole wheat panko
1/4 grated Parmesan
2 Eggplants , peeled and cut crosswise in to 1/2 thick slices
Cooking Spray

Filling:
1/2 cup basil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp red pepper
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1 16 oz container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 large egg

Topping:
1 jar pasta sauce
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz mozzerella

1. Preheat oven to 365
2. To make eggplant: combine 2 large eggs and water in shallow dish.  Combine panko and parmesan in second shallow dish. Dip eggplant in egg mixture and then follow by dipping in panko mixture. Pressing firmly to adhere panko to the eggplant. Place eggplant on a baking sheet coated in cooking spray and cook for 30 min or until golden, turn once at 15 min.
3. To make filling: combine all ingrediants
4. To assemble: spoon 1/2 c pasta sauce in bottom of a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer half of slices over the sauce.  Top with about 3/4 c pasta sauce and spread half of ricotta over eggplant and top with a 1/3 c mozzerella.  Repeat layers once ending with about a cup of pasta sauce spread on top.  Bake at 375 for 35 min with foil on top. spread the rest of the cheese on top and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes or until chesse is melted and sauce is bubbly!

Nutrition Facts: Calories: 318
Fat 15.1g
Sat fat 8.2g
Mono Saturated Fat 2.7g
Polysaturated: 0.6g
Protein 19.3g
Carbs: 26.8g
Fiber: 4.8g
Cholesterol: 99mg
Iron: 1.6mg
Sodium: 655mg
Calcium: 365mg

Vegetarian Santa Fe Enchiladas (Freezer to Oven)

Another easy but yummy dish that is great for the freezer when you need a quick meal to pull out.  This is even a great dish to take if you have that "I signed up for dinner and forgot" night!

What you need:
1 pkg 8-10 Tortillas (I used flour)
1 pkg Morning Star Crumbles
1 container Philidelphia Santa Fe Cooking Cream
2 c Cheese

Heat crumbles either on stove or in microwave.  Add 1/2 container of cooking cream to mixture.  Fill each tortillas with a large spoonful of crumble mixture roll and repeat until pan filled.  Warm additional cooking cream to a saucy consistency (in microwave about 30sec).  Spread over enchiladas and top with cheese.

If going from dish to freezer there is no need to preheat your crumbles. 
When going from freezer to oven thaw for a couple of hours in fridge before cooking on 350 for 25 min.

ENJOY!

Spinach and Crab Bake (Freezer to Oven)

Okay this is one that may not sound as great as it taste, but this was  FREDIN KID FAVORITE!

Here is what you need
1 package crab delights
2 c Low Fat Cottage Cheese
1 C Cheddar Cheese
1/2 pkg Frozen Spinach
2 eggs
1 C Texas Toast Croutons

Layer your baking dish with spinach to fill.  Mix your Cottage cheese, Cheese and eggs in to a cheese mnixture.  Cut delights in crab in to bite size pieces and spread over the spinach.  Layer croutons across the top of your crab spinach mix.  Top with cheese mixture.
Bake on 350 for 30mn

If you choose to freeze this, cover and freeze and pull out to thaw for 12 hours in fridge before baking.

Sweet Potato Bacon and Beef Stew in a Bag

Last week in preparing for surgery, I made several meals that I could put in the freezer and have available for my husband to pull out and pop in the oven or in the crockpot without any fuss.  In preparing, I also chose to use what was in my freezer to also get rid of some of my stockpiled meat collection :) I found a deliciously easy recipe for stew in a bag.
Here is what you need
1 Large ziplock Bag
1 Package Beef Stew Meat
2 Sweet Potatoes (cleaned and cut in pieces)
1 small onion

6 pieces of bacon (pre-cooked)
1 can of beef broth
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1 can sliced mushrooms

Dump all in your ziplock bag.  Pull out the night before you plan on using it and place it in the fridge to thaw.  Dump in crockpot and cook on low 8 hours!
Enjoy!

Freezer to Oven Lasagna Casserole

What you Need:
1 Box of Rotini Noodles
1/2 Carton Fat Free Cottage Cheese
1 PKG Fat Free Italian Cheese
1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 Can Crushed Tomato
1pd Ground Beef (or we use the Morning Star Crumbles for a vegetarian lasagna)

How to Make it:
Boil noodles until tender
Combine cottage cheese and crushed tomatoes until fully mixed
Brown ground beef or warm your Vegetarian Crumbles
LAYER:
Begin layering with the noodles followed by the cottage cheese mixture, the beef or crumbles, spaghetti sauce and top with cheese (add one more layer)

You can either take this straight to the oven at 350 for 30 min or cover tightly and put in the freezer for an easy go to meal.
Today, I doubled the recipe and made one for dinner tonight and the other for the freezer.  I love to cover and write on the top what it is and how to bake it if freezing. 

Why did I not use the regular lasagna noodles?  They weren't on sale! I only buy FREE pasta! If I can't get it free, I don't get it is my rule!!! Rotini was FREE had homeland (2 boxes of Smart Taste with coupon)!!!!!

Broccoli and Tuna Cheese Bake

Before you turn your eyes away from this one, let me say upfront - MY 3 YEAR OLD DEVOURED THIS!!!!
The titel doesn't sound to yummy, but the taste was quite good.  Good enough this mom ate it straight out of the pan instead of washing the left over down the drain.
What you Need:
1 Can of Tuna
1 Pkg of broccoli (thawed and drained)
2 C of Cottage Cheese
1 C Cheddar Cheese
3 Eggs

Layer a baking dish with your broccoli and then add a layer of tuna on top of the broccoli.
Mix the cottage cheese, cheese and eggs together until you have a saucey substance.
Pour Cheese Mixture evenly over the tuna and Broccoli

Heat at 350 for 20 min

Now, see how easy that was.  It's even easier if you make an extra to freeze so next time your in a rush you can just pop one from freezer to oven.

This was a last minute meal at our house last night.  It was alsi one I had all the ingrediants right there in my own pantry!

Try it out and share your thoughts.