Baked Cheesy Chicken Chimichangas...

This one was my sole Pinterest special of the week.  The original can be found at menu managed.  It got really good reviews, and it was pretty easy to throw together, and is promising based on the ingredients.  Here's the recipe:

Baked Cheesy Chicken Chimichangas
8 servings - 352 calories each

Ingredients
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
8 oz. pepperjack cheese, shredded
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 lb. cooked chicken, shredded
8 flour tortillas
Cooking spray
(shredded cheddar, green onions, and sour cream for topping, if desired)

Directions
Mix cream cheese, pepperjack, taco seasoning, and chicken together.  Place 1/8 of the mixture on each of the tortillas, fold in ends, and roll up.  Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet.  Spray tops with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Flip and bake an additional 15 minutes.  I added some cheese and baked for another 5 minutes, but that's up to you!

And that's all for this month!  Back to crafty posts for the next few weeks before we start all over again!

Baked Chicken Panzanella...

Guess who's a little lazy this month?  That's right...it's me!  Not only did I pick recipes that were on Betty Crocker because they had the calories listed already, but they also tend to be a lot less labor intensive than some of the more *ahem* "foodie" sites out there.  Whatever...I like a good 20 step recipe somtimes...when I have time...and preferably when I'm cooking for more than just myself.  But it's good to have a recipe on hand that takes literally 6 minutes to prepare and not much more to cook.  And this is the recipe for THAT :)  You can find the original at Betty Crocker.  Here we go!

Baked Chicken Panzanella
6 Servings - 290 calories each

Ingredients
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I bought the kind in a bag for salads...cuz I'm lazy this month!)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with garlic, onion & oregano, drained (I may have forgotten to drain)
1/4 c. sliced green onions
1 pkg. (5 oz.) Italian seasoned croutons
1/4 c. Italian dressing
3/4 c. parmesan cheese
1/4 c. sliced fresh basil leaves (Peapod was out of stock, so I added some Italian seasoning instead)
Seasonings to taste

Directions
Put the chicken in the bottom of an ungreased 11x7 baking dish.  Layer tomatoes, seasonings, green onions, and croutons on top of the chicken.  Drizzle with Italian dressing.  Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Uncover, add parmesan cheese, and bake and additional 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with basil (if you have it!).  And that's it!  Couldn't be easier, right? 

I'm serving mine with a piece of garlic bread for a total of 443 calories per serving.  I'm slightly less optimistic about the croutons staying crispy due to the fact that I forgot to drain the tomatoes, but I'm still feeling okay about it.  I think it'll be tasty either way.  I'll let you know when I update later in the month.  It smells delicious for sure :)

Cheesy Chicken and Rice...

Okay, this recipe was originally Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken and Rice, until I realized I had a brain fart and scheduled myself two slow cooker recipes this month, when I only have one slow cooker.  Sooooo...it is now Stovetop Cheesy Chicken and Rice.  Although, if I make it again, I'll probably do the slow cooker thing, the info for which can be found on the original recipe at Christy Jordan's Southern Plate (it's pretty much the same, except the chicken, onions, and cream of chicken soup go in the slow cooker on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours).  That said, here's the recipe as I made it today:

Cheesy Chicken and Rice
6 servings - 375 calories each

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I actually used a package of tenderloins instead)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 large onion, diced
1 package Zatarains Yellow Rice Mix
2 T margarine
2 1/2 c. water
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can corn, drained

Directions
Put the chicken, cream of chicken soup, and diced onion in a pot on the stovetop and set on low/med. low.  Make sure to watch it!  I burned mine a bit because I was multi-tasking.  While the chicken is cooking, prepare the Zatarains according to package directions with water and margarine.  When chicken mixture and rice are cooked, mix together and add corn and cheese.  Heat until the cheese is melted and everything is combined.  And you're all set :)

Creamy Chicken Casserole...

This is another recipe from Kayotic Kitchen that looked delicious.  I could've picked all recipes from her website this month, but I thought that would be a little narrow of me, plus all the ones I liked had potatoes...and as much as I like potatoes, having them for every meal for an entire month is still not the best idea in the world.  Anyway, I like how she talks about swapping things in and out to make the same dish with a bunch of different variations so it can more easily transition for seasons, who's coming to dinner, what your kids are willing to eat (if you have kids, which I don't), etc.  I used the recipe as it was, but I'll be keeping in mind alternatives for future use.  Also, I didn't realize she was using a large can of cream of mushroom soup instead of a small one, so I had to recalculate calories with the addition of another small can, so it's now 362 calories per serving (as opposed to the 330 in the menu plan).  That said here's the recipe as I made it today!

Creamy Chicken Casserole
8 Servings, 362 calories each

Ingredients
- 2 oz. bacon
- 1 lb. potatoes, sliced
- 1 lb. chicken breast tenderloins (usually 8-10 strips)
- 8 slices ham (I bought the thin cut Budding ham, so I wound up using 4 slices for each roll instead of 1 of the regular thicker cut ham, for a total of 32 thin slices)
- 8 slices cheese (I used colby jack, but you can use whatever you want)
- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
- 4 T. sour cream
- 1/2 c. shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar, but use what you like!)
- Seasonings, to taste

*Note:  I used microwave bacon because I didn't read the directions thoroughly before I made my grocery list...and yes, I'm aware that's one of those lessons you're supposed to learn in grade school, but sometimes I forget...either way, it worked out fine, so use whatever you want :)  Also, there's only one can of soup in the picture, but I DID use two. 

Directions
Pre-boil the potatoes (I went ahead and did that in the microwave in a casserole dish...12 minutes on high).  Lay the bacon out on the bottom of a baking pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Assemble the rolls:  Lay out your piece(s) of ham, top with a slice of cheese and a chicken strip, then roll up and put on top of the bacon in the pan.  Repeat for the other 7 strips.  In a separate bowl, mix together cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and seasonings.  Spoon 2/3 of mixture over rolls.  Top with pre-boiled potatoes.  Top potatoes with remaining soup mixture.  Top the whole thing off with the shredded cheese.  Bake at 400 degrees (uncovered) for approximately 45 minutes.

I've gotta say, I hate handling raw chicken.  Normally I just dump it directly from the package into the hot pan without ever touching it, so actually touching it kinda bothered me.  I don't anticipate this to be an issue for most people...I'm just a little cuckoo, I guess.  Other than that hurdle to overcome, this recipe was totally easy to make.  Plus it looks/smells super tasty.  I'm adding a crescent roll to each serving for a total of 462 calories per serving.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Santa Fe Enchilada Bake...

This recipe is from Kraft Foods, which I've historically had really good luck with.  The added bonus of recipes from this website, is they already have the calories figured out for you (Hooray!  No  searching through each ingredient on CalorieKing.com for this one!).  I really like enchiladas, but I find that they're a pain the butt to make...so with the introduction of a casserole version of the enchilada...problem solved!  Plus I'm always looking for some sort of Mexican food to add into the rotation for my freezer meals to change it up a little.  This one was super easy (as is a requirement for the bulk of the meals I make, I guess...lol), and with the addition of the salsa that I used, I feel like it's gonna bring a lot of flavor to the table.  I used Desert Pepper Salsa - Roasted Tomato, Chipotle & Corn - Medium Hot.  I'm sort of obsessed with Desert Pepper Salsas lately.  Salsa = low calorie snack = my favorite thing.  lol :)  They've got a massive array of flavors, but I figured the chipotle corn one would work well with this recipe.  Here we go:

Santa Fe Enchilada Bake
8 servings - 370 calories each

Ingredients
- 1 lb. chicken breast tenderloins
- 1 lg. onion, chopped
- 1 lg. green pepper, chopped
- 2 c. salsa
- 1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen corn
- 12 corn tortillas (6 inch)
- 1 c. sour cream
- 1 1/2 c. shredded mexican style cheese

Directions
Spray large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat to med/med-high.  Add chicken and sear on both sides (season to taste).  Add onions and peppers and cook until tender.  Stir in salsa and corn.  In baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, arrange six tortillas.  Layer on half of the chicken mixture, half of the sour cream, and half of the cheese.  Top with another 6 tortillas and repeat layers.  Cover with foil (make sure to tent it so you don't melt all your cheese onto the foil), and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional ten minutes.

As always, let your casserole sit for at LEAST 5-10 minutes before cutting into it.  That way it has a chance to set up so you have a nice slice when you cut it, instead of it collapsing when you plate it up.  Looks/smells very tasty...I'll be excited to try this one, and I'll let you know how it tastes when I update later this month!

Penne Rosa with Chicken...

Well, it's that time again...time for a month's worth of cooking in an afternoon!  Woot!  There are a couple of unusual things about this month: 

1) Calories are a little higher than I typically plan for (still not unreasonable for a lunch or dinner, but higher than normal)...partly because I had a mathematical error on the Tortellini with Walnut & Mascarpone (posted later), partly because I found some recipes that I really wanted to try (calories be damned), and partly because I've been finding myself more prone to snacking between meals lately, and I'm hoping having something a little more substantial will curb the urge to snack...those snacks add up!

2) I found myself substituting a quite a bit for recipes this month.  Chicken for shrimp (I have a texture issue with shrimp...I know, I'm crazy), swiss chard for spinach (my sister's visiting this weekend and she's deathly allergic to spinach, so I prefer not to have it in the house at all when she's here to avoid potential disasters), etc. etc.  Before I started this whole cooking en masse thing, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to substitute (I love me a good recipe...I'm great at following directions!), but the further along I get, the more comfortable I'm feeling with it.

That said, this was one of the recipes I altered most.  I found the original at Back to Her Roots.  It featured spinach and shrimp, so if you're not deathly allergic to spinach and you don't have a massive texture issue with shrimp, I highly recommend you try the original.  lol :)  It looked delicious in the pics, and the calories were pretty reasonable, so I knew I wanted to make it this month!  Here's the recipe:

Penne Rosa with Chicken
6 servings, 375 calories each

Ingredients
- 12 oz. whole wheat penne
- 1 T olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 med. tomatoes, chopped
- 4 c. swiss chard, roughly chopped
- 1 lb. boneless chicken breast tenderloins
- 1/2 c. pasta sauce
- 1/3 c. Greek Yogurt (0% plain)
- 1/4 c. shredded parmesan
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions
Cook penne according to package directions (skip the salt and/or any oil they suggest to add).  In a large skillet (one that you have a lid for!) over medium high, heat the olive oil.  Add chicken (seasoned to taste) and sear on each side.  Add tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, and seasonings and let cook down until chicken is tender and vegetables have released liquid.  You could leave the chicken pieces whole, since they're pretty small, but I just grabbed two forks and pulled mine apart into smaller pieces in the pan.  Add in swiss chard and cover to let wilt for 2-3 minutes.  Turn heat to low.  Stir in drained pasta, greek yogurt, and pasta sauce.  Top with shredded parmesan for serving.

I thought the portion size was fine to not need any other side with it, although if you wanted to squeeze 8 portions out of it, you could add some garlic bread or some other side dish pretty easily.  It looks and smells delicious, but I restrained myself from tasting it...we'll see when I heat up my first portion in a couple of days.  As always, I'll update sometime mid-month to let you know how it turned out!

Chicken Pillows...

Weird name, huh?  I thought so too.  But the picture looked good, and there were rave reviews on Pinterest (oh, Pinterest...how I love thee), so I figured let's give it a try!  I found the original recipe at Chef in Training.  The original also has a recipe for a sauce to put on top, but since that doesn't lend well to reheating (things got soggy), I went ahead and skipped that.  If you're eating them right out of the oven though, definitely check out the link, because it sounds tasty :)  One thing I learned in the midst of this recipe...crescent rolls will hold WAY more filling than you would expect.  If you let them warm up just a tiny bit, they'll stretch like crazy, and you can fill them right up.  Initially, I didn't see how I could possibly fit all that filling into 8 crescents, but it was no problem at all.  Here's the recipe:

Chicken Pillows
8 servings, 335 calories each

**I forgot to put eggs in the picture**

Ingredients

1 can crescent rolls
8 oz. package cream cheese
2-3 c. shredded chicken, cooked
1/4 c. butter
1 egg
Crushed crackers for breading (whatever you have...Club, Ritz, Saltines, etc.)

Directions

Soften butter and cream cheese.  Stir together until creamy.  Add chicken (and seasonings, if desired) and stir. 

Get two bowls prepared, the first with the egg and 2 T. water beaten togther, and the second with the crushed crackers in it.  Roll out crescents on a cookie sheet.  Stretch out the first crescent, put a large spoonful of filling in the center, and then fold the crescent in around it so the filling is fully enclosed.  Dip the top of the packet in the egg and then in the crackers and place in cookie sheet.  Repeat with the next 7 crescents.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

I'm serving mine with Potatoes ala Boulangere for a total of 452 calories per serving.  

Chicken & Broccoli Pie...

Thank goodness for Pinterest, eh?  I'm a very visual person, and I literally do not make recipes unless there's a picture.  So there's this beautiful picture of a chicken and broccoli pie on Pinterest, and I decided I MUST make it.  The original recipe is on eatbetteramerica and they definitely healthified it a little more than I did.  If you want to reduce the calories even more, go ahead and check out their recipe for the original.  Or you could get 6 servings out of it instead of 4, which would also help.  Also, I forgot to take a before picture...I was totally off my game the day I cooked this month!  Here we go:

Chicken and Broccoli Pie
4 servings - 306 calories each

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. frozen broccoli florets (the original recipe said to thaw them first, but I didn't)
1 c. shredded cheddar
1 c. diced cooked chicken
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 c. bisquick
1 c. milk
2 eggs
Seasonings, to taste

Directions:
Layer broccoli, 1/2 c. cheese, chicken, and onion into greased 9 inch glass pie plate.  In a separate bowl, whisk together Bisquick, milk, seasonings, and eggs until blended.  Pour into the pie plate.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. of cheese and bake an additional 5-10 minutes.  Let cool at least 5 minutes before cutting.

So I'm serving mine with a crescent roll, for a total of 406 calories each :)  Yum!

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches...

I love chicken caesar salads.  However, the problem with salads when you're cooking for a month at a time, is that romaine lettuce lasts for MAYBE a week, if you're lucky.  So when I saw this recipe on The Girl Who Ate Everything it intrigued me.  First off, it's intended to be served hot, which is new.  And also, it was originally intended to be a slow cooker meal.  I was feeling majorly impatient this week, so I adapted it to be done on the stovetop instead of the crock pot, but if you're not in a time crunch, feel free to check out the original recipe at the link above to see how that changes cooking times, etc.  The original also calls for dark meat, but I'm not a dark meat girl, so I used white...whichever you want is fine :)  I went ahead and had a sandwich for lunch when I was done cooking it, because I hadn't had a chance to eat yet, and it was delicious.  I had it hot, but I'm sure it would be delicious cold too.  And putting a nice crisp piece of lettuce on top (for as long as you have crisp lettuce, anyway), would top it off great too.  Also, I had a brief memory lapse and forgot I was supposed to be taking pictures, so there's only two for this one...sorry! Without further ado, here's the recipe:

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches
6 Servings, 321 Calories Each

Ingredients:

- 3-4 chicken breasts

- 1/2 c. shredded parmesan

- 1/4 c. chopped parsley

- 1 c. Caesar dresing (I used Ken's Steakhouse Lite Creamy Caesar.  My absolute favorite is Ken's Steakhouse Lite Caesar (not creamy)...but I thought the chicken may get dry in the reheating if I didn't switch to the creamy.)

- Pepper, to taste

- Buns

Directions:

I boiled my chicken breasts in salted water.  You could do them in a skillet if you wanted, but I think they stay a little more moist when you boil them, plus, I've found they're a little easier to shred when you're done.  Once chicken is done, set aside to cool, and empty pot of water.  Shred chicken with a fork and put back into pot.  Add parmesan, parsley, Caesar dressing, and pepper, and mix.  Turn heat on low till everything is warm and parmesan is starting to melt.  Serve hot or cold.

I'm having mine with an little Cutie's orange for a total of about 400 calories.  Oh, and a tip on the buns, if you keep them in the refrigerator on a wire rack, they'll last easily 3 weeks without getting stale.