Shabby Chic Gourmet

My camera ate the picture for this one, but it's too yummy and easy not to share. I promise to come back and add the photo the next time I make it.

Ingredients

6 chicken breast halves (about 3lbs.)
6 slices Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup (I used 98% fat free.) 1/4 cup water 1 box stuffing mix (I used Stove Top reduced sodium chicken.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Place chicken breast halves in a single layer in a greased 8x8 inch baking dish.

3. Top each piece of chicken with a slice of swiss cheese.

4. Combine cream of chicken soup & water. Pour evenly over the chicken & cheese.

5. Layer the dressing mix evenly over the top of the dish.

6. Bake for 1 to 1 and a half hours or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

Note: The leftovers are as delicious as the original meal! This would be an easy dish to make ahead and reheat a day or two later when you're short on time.

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 15.5-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon(?) Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon(?) cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

2. Add the shrimp and cook until they are pink.

3. Stir in the beans, parsley, lemon juice, chicken broth, and all seasonings. Cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Ingredients

2 cups chicken breasts, cooked & chopped
4 oz. cream cheese (I use reduced fat.) or 4 wedges of Laughing Cow Swiss cheese
2 tsp. butter or margarine, melted
1/2 of a small onion, chopped
1 glove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. hot pepper sauce (increase/decrease to your taste)
1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Combine all ingredients (except the crescent rolls) until well blended. You can put it all in the food processor or just stir it together in a bowl.

3. Divide crescent rolls into 4 equal pieces (2 triangles per piece) and seal the seams together to form 4 squarish rectangles.

4. Place 1/4 of the chicken mixture (about 1/2 cup) onto each piece of crescent roll.

5. Fold corners or each crescent roll over the top of the mixture to form a pouch.

6. Place “baseballs” on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake until the crescent rolls are done, about 20 minutes.

Here's what the "innards" look like:

(makes 4 servings of approximately 1 1/2 cups each)

Ingredients

3 teaspoons dark sesame oil, divided
1 pound frozen shrimp, thawed & tails off (cut these in 1/2 if they’re big)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup asparagus, cut into small pieces (I cut each stalk into thirds.)
1 cup small broccoli florets
1 cup yellow or orange pepper, seeded & chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I used reduced-sodium.)
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 egg
1 egg white

Directions

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet, dutch oven or wok over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and garlic and stir fry until the shrimp are heated through and pink, about 4 minutes. Move the shrimp to a bowl and cover to keep warm.

2. Add the other 2 teaspoons of oil to the skillet and stir-fry all of the veggies for 3 minutes.

3. Add the rice, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and cayenne. Stir fry 3 minutes or until everything is heated through.

4. Whisk the egg and egg white together in a small bowl. Add them to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are set. Do NOT overstir or the veggies and rice will turn to mush.

Ingredients

~1lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
~1 can cream of chicken soup (I used 98% fat free)
~1 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
~2 cloves garlic, minced
~1/2 cup milk
~1 package Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
~6 pieces turkey bacon, cooked and crunched into small pieces

Directions

Dump it all in the crockpot and cook on high 3-4 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice or pasta.

(makes 4 servings of about 2 cups each)

Ingredients

1 package Asian rice noodles (6-7 ounces)
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice (fresh is best)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 clove minced garlic
1 egg
8 ounces extra-firm tofu, diced into 1/4-inch cubes (I bought mine pre-diced.)
2 1/2 cups fresh bean sprouts
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Prepare the noodles as directed on the package.

2. In a bowl, combine the broth, sauce, vinegar, lime juice and tomato paste. Set aside.

3. In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil over medium heat and saute the garlic about 2 minutes. Add the egg and scramble it into small pieces. Bump the heat up to high, add the tofu, saute 3 minutes while gently stirring. Add the sauce mixture and cook until it comes to a boil, about 1 minute (maybe less).

4. Reduce the heat to medium and add the rice noodles, sprouts and cilantro to the skillet. Toss gently until everything is heated through and coated with the sauce.

This is great served over any type of lettuce or greens.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
3 tsp. dark sesame oil, divided
1lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 bell pepper (any color) seeded and sliced into strips
1/2 a medium onion, cut into strips
1/3 cup sweet & sour sauce (any variety)

Directions:

1. Combine the cornstarch, garlic powder, salt & pepper together in a small bowl. Drop the chicken pieces into a large resealable bag, add the cornstarch mixture and shake until the chicken is evenly coated. Set aside.

2. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Once up to temp, add 1 tsp. of the sesame oil.

3. Cook the garlic, peppers, and onion until tender. Move from the wok or skillet to a large bowl and cover to keep warm.

4. Add the other teaspoons of oil to the wok or skillet. Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink. (If using a skillet, make sure it’s in a single layer. In a wok you can’t so much do this.)

5. Add the veggies back to the skillet and cook until everything is heated through.

6. Put the mixture back in the large bowl and add the sweet & sour sauce. Toss gently to coat.

My sister-in-law and I found this recipe in an issue of Real Simple magazine this past summer and decided to try it. It was very refreshing and, as we quickly discovered, pretty potent. Last night was the big Christmas bash with my father-in-law's side of the family. It's always lots of fun. Good food and even better company. I decided to make up another batch to share. Yes, it's a bit out of season. Seriously though, is there ever a bad time for a margarita? I don't recommend this if you don't like beer because it does have a bit of that taste. It's still much more margarita than beer.

Ingredients

2 12oz. bottles Corona (Light or Extra)
1 12oz. container limeade concentrate, thawed (from the frozen juice section of the grocery)
1 and 1/2 cups tequila

Directions

Stir all of the ingredients together in a pitcher. Serve over ice.

WARNING: Do not attempt to mix the ingredients together using a blender. I know from experience. It was ugly and very, very messy. Plus, people (like my husband and sister-in-law) will make fun of you for a really long time.

This meal was so quick and easy! My husband declared it "a keeper." He took some of the leftovers for lunch the following day and said it was just as tasty after being heated up in the microwave. Definite comfort food for a cold winter evening. I also think it would be good for the summer because there's no oven required. You really can't see the pork chops. They really are under the onions. I promise.

The original recipe came from Kraft Food and Family, a FREE quarterly magazine published by Kraft. All of the recipes use one or more of their products and are usually pretty easy to make. There are also tons of great Kraft coupons in every issue. If you don't already receive this I'd highly recommend signing up. You can have it delivered to your mailbox or e-mail inbox. You can also opt to view the archived issues via the kraftfoods.com website.

(Makes 6 servings.)

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 lbs. boneless pork chops, 1/2 inch thick (I used 3 thicker chops. See the note on cooking time.)
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 package (6 ounces) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken (I used reduced sodium.)
1 and 1/2 cups hot water
1 cup shredded cheese

Directions

1. Spray a large, nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium-high heat.

2. Add the pork chops and onions. Cook until a meat thermometer in the pork reads 160 degrees Fahrenheit, about 5 minutes per side. NOTE: With my thicker pork chops the cooking time was about 10 minutes per side to reach the desired temperature.

3. Remove pork chops from skillet.

4. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and stir.

5. Return pork chops to the skillet and pile the onion mixture on top of the chops.

6. Mix together the stuffing and water. Spoon the mixture around edge of skillet.

7. Top with cheese and cover skillet. Cook until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. NOTE: The original recipe called for Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella. I used 2% Mild Cheddar because that's what I had. I say use whatever you have/like/want and it will still be good.

My sister-in-law (whom I adore) hosted a holiday "Girls Only" evening this weekend. She prepared the main course, a delicious rubbed turkey breast, along with a few festive accompaniments. Each guest was asked to bring an appetizer to share and an ornament to exchange. I think it's fair to say that we all had a great time. This dish was my offering for the event and it was a hit with everyone except the artichoke haters. They're weirdos anyway. LOL

Ingredients

cooking spray
24 pieces wonton wrappers
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
14oz can artichoke hearts, without oil, drained and chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat 2 muffin pans with cooking spray.

2. Gently press 1 wonton wrapper into each muffin hole, allowing ends to extend above cups a little.

3. Combine cheeses, cayenne pepper and mustard in medium bowl, mix well. Stir in red pepper and artichoke hearts.

4. Spoon approximately 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cheese mixture into each muffin cup.

5. Bake until cheese mixture is set and edges of wrappers are lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

MODIFICATIONS: To lighten things up a bit, I used 2% shredded cheddar cheese and fat free cream cheese. I also used Sweet Red Pepper Jelly from Tastefully Simple in place of the chopped red sweet pepper.

SOURCE: I was given the original recipe for this dish at my Weight Watchers meeting. It calls for two 16-cup mini muffin tins for a total of 32 pieces with 1 teaspoon of filling in each.