Tonight I tried a new Weight Watchers meal with my family. I didn't ask what anyone wanted, I just make it. AMAZING! It's called Cheesy Taco Pasta, and is 9 PPV for 1 cup. That is more than enough (and I'm a big girl) because it is so filling.
Recipe:
1 box Barilla medium shells
1 pound lean hamburger
1.5 cups salsa
.5 cups water
1 package low sodium taco seasoning
.5 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
Boil the pasta. Brown the meat and drain the fat, add in taco seasoning, water, and salsa...simmer while the pasta is cooking. Mix the drained pasta and meat mixture. Add in sour cream and cheese. Melt through and serve immediately.
1 recipe fed all 5 of us for dinner, and my 8 year old, 4 year old, and husband are taking the leftovers for lunch - so it made a lot!
I have found that WW recipes are always fail proof in my house - huge hits!
Does anyone have any great and healthy recipes that I can maybe add to the rotation?
Yum! We will definitely be trying some of these!! Thanks mamas! (Menu's can get so boring, it's always good to get new ones!)
And Cheryl - I can't keep brocccoli in my house. It's eaten as soon as I buy it!
Tonight I made chicken adobo and it was sooooo yummy! I made it once about a million years ago and forgot how good it was. It's super easy and there are a million recipes online, so it's easy to find. I served it with rice, fresh baked bread and corn/lima bean mix.
Thanks for sharing! I will have to try it!
A few favorites in our house...
...ooh, we all love this. Get some thin cut boneless pork loin chops (Bob says they're the "other white meat"!) and bake them for an hour at 350 in a roasting pan with vinegar, lots of apple slices, a little worcestershire, and whatever seasonings you like. This is OH so yummy and generally, a healthy dish.
What else? We like homemade chicken noodle soup...I use organic "Better Than Bouillon" soup base for all our soups (which are all homemade, even the "cream ofs" for our casseroles) for flavor instead of stock, and of course, whatever you like to throw in. I tend to bake my chicken, shred it, and throw it in about five minutes before the soup is done.
My husband makes a really yummy chicken cheesy broccoli rice casserole...we use our homemade powdered soup base (if you're interested, I can give you the recipe...it saves SO SO SO much money for us), a little BTB (see above), brown rice, cheddar or colby jack cheese, lots of broccoli, and of course, chicken...baked separately and shredded in to serve. I LOVE this casserole.
Nice!
My favorite sharing recipe and yes, it is pretty healthy is:
Tortilla Soup
Boil chicken (any you like, I use boneless, skinless breasts) w/chicken boullion/broth until chicken is done, Pull out chicken and let cool slightly then shred chicken and add back to broth. Add salt, pepper & more bouillion, if needed, to taste...'Soup" part is done!
Dice/Chop:
Tomato
Onion (sweet or white or green, we use white)
Avocado
Jalapeno (optional)
Hot sauce (optional)
Cilantro
Limes
*Cotija/Cojita Cheese (Mexican cheese, it's white & round. Crumble it...I forget the exact name but it is one of those :)
Fry up strips of corn (or flour) tortillas in Canola Oil and set on paper towel to dry/drain!
Add veggies and tortillas to your bowl and pour over some soup! Squeeze over a lime and add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce, if you like...I don't add the hot sauce to mine but many in my family do!
Whoala! Tortilla soup! I promise it is yummy and the kids love it b/c they get to 'make' there own bowl to taste! And it is SUPER easy! *The cheese is what makes the dish..you can't substitute it with any other cheese!
Mine love Crock Pot Lasagna.
Spaghetti sauce ,
shredded cheese
Ricotta
pepperoni
uncooked lasagna noodles
Layer it like you would regular lasagna , but in the crock pot. cook it on low until the noodles are tender. it's SOO good.
I got this from allrecipes.com & made changes to my cooking preferances. This is super yummy served w/a veggie medley of pea pods, carrots, broccoli, red peppers. I'm not sure about about the healthy part :\. The longer the chicken has to marinate the better. :)
Orange Chicken
Sauce:
3 cups water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
2/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped green onion (optional)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons cooking oil
Directions
1. Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Season 1/4 cup of cornstarch w/ sea salt and cracked pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.
4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.
5. Wipe out the skillet, and add the remaining sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Tip To keep the chicken crisp keep warm in a 200 degree oven after frying. Instead of adding the chicken back to the pan of sauce I just spooned the sauce over the chicken when serving.
Look up online the Cook Yourself Thin Skinny Spaghetti and Meatballs, Mini Turkey Meatloaves, and the Chicken Enchiladas - if you can not find them online PM me and I will share but it's a lot to type out lol.
This is a Weight Watchers recipe but I'm sorry to say I do not know the current points for it. My whole family LOVES this and has no clue it's a WW recipe:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans of Healthy Request/ lower fat & sodium Campbells cream of chicken (or mushroom or celery or you can make your own cream of something - it all works)
2 8 oz. packages of light cream cheese or neufchatel cheese (word of warning - fat free cream cheese will not work - the consistency does not turn out correctly)
1 package of Good Seasons italian seasoning mix (in the salad dressing aisle)
Throw it all in a crockpot on low/med and cook 6-8 hours or until the chicken falls apart. Serve over rice or noodles. I like to serve it over whole wheat pasta with steamed broccoli on the side. It's SOOO good! Thanks for your recipe - can't wait to try it!
Rachel:
I think I know what we're having for dinner tomorrow night! I have avocados to use up!!
Does your family do broccoli? I have a great broccoli casserole!!
i don't do weight watchers but we eat healthy.
dinner tonight:
chicken drumsticks (about 8) in a pan with 1 cup orange juice and juice from one lemon mixed with 1 packed of onion mix. bake at 350 for 1 hr. so yum.
same oven (350f), take a pan spray some pam, put a few broccoli heads, bake for 35 min. take out put favorite spice.
