Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

Monthly a new book display decorates our break room for a week.  The staff of Book Are Fun bring a wide selection of reading materials and other neat products.  Cookbooks are always hot sellers.  My dad picked me up this 3 in 1 cookbook by Kraft, Nabisco, and Velveeta a few years ago from his work display.  I never really had time to go through the book.  But when he brought me over 3 pounds of cooked, cut chicken breasts, I opened right up to the casserole main dish section. I found this quick and easy recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (14 1/2 oz)
  • 1 package stuffing mix (6 oz)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite-size pieces)
  • 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Stir tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.
  2. Place chicken in 9x9 inch baking dish.  Sprinkle with seasonings.  Top with stuffing mixture and cheese.
  3. Bake 30 minutes or until heated through.


Difficulty: Easy
Time:10 minutes prep, 30 minute baking time
Source: Kraft Cheese Casseroles & More copyright 2009



Thursday, March 13, 2014

Overnight German Chocolate Oatmeal

I don't know why it took me over half of the school year, but I finally bought my son a insulated container so that he can take hot foods to school for breakfast.  This simple $5 purchase has opened a world of possibilities for healthy breakfasts for him.  As an oatmeal fan myself, the first morning we had the container, I made him a packet of oatmeal.  It was great, but the packets have their limitations, including cost and sugar content.  Enter steel cut oats cooked overnight.  Chocolate steel cut oats cooked overnight.  Chocolate steel cut oats with brown sugar and walnuts.  So. Good.  And even though you add brown sugar as a topping (it melts so perfectly), you control the sugar content and there is still less than in most packets of oatmeal.  This recipe makes a large quantity, so after the first day all I do is heat it up in the morning and throw on some toppings.  Who wouldn't like (healthy) German Chocolate for breakfast?

INGREDIENTS:
The only other ingredient is water (plus some optional toppings)!
  • 2 c. steel cut oats
  • 7 c. water
  • 1 (13.5 oz.) can lite coconut milk
  • 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
Optional toppings:
  • Brown sugar
  • Chopped pecans or walnuts
  • Sweetened, shredded coconut
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Stir together oats, water, coconut milk, and cocoa powder in a slow cooker.
  2. Cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  3. To serve, top (in order) with brown sugar, pecans, shredded coconut to taste.
My husband calls this "No Bake Cookie Oatmeal."

Difficulty: very easy
Time: 5 minutes to prep, 6-8 hours to cook in slow cooker


Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Lemony Tuna Toss

I generally take leftovers to work for lunch, but we have been on a toasted turkey and avocado sandwich kick lately (and we have been doing our best to squeeze out an extra evening meal using our leftovers).  Knowing that I will soon tire of that easy lunch and that avocados won't be so inexpensive for much longer ($0.49 at Aldi!), I decided to try something new.  The origins of this recipe are foggy - I remember reading an article on healthy living that I stumbled upon while I was checking my e-mail one day, seeing a variation of this recipe, copying and pasting it into a doc to check out later, and then forgetting about it for quite a while.  When I finally made my own version of it, I vowed to make it at least once a month.  It doesn't take much to throw together and then lunch is already ready to go for several days.  It is a nice change of pace and makes for a delicious, healthy, and filling mid-day meal.

INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 cans (4-5 oz) tuna
  • 1 can artichoke hearts - chopped
  • ~20 halved grape tomatoes
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1/3 cup chopped red onion
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
DIRECTIONS:
 Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Serve with a whole wheat roll.  (This makes about 4 nice-sized servings.)


Difficulty: Easy
Time: ~10-15 minutes
Source: sorta kinda from a recipe on Yahoo!