Cookbook of the Week: Sheet Pan Suppers

Happy Sunday all!

Just a quick little intro to this week's cookbook of the week!

So basically, Sheet Pan Suppers is a book of recipes that can all be made on a sheet pan.  And there really aren't that many other pans required for most of them!

I played around with 2 recipes from here:

Cheesy Baked Polenta with Fresh Herbs
Quick Chicken and Baby Broccoli with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Keep an eye out later this week for the recipes!

Fantastic Friday Four!

Getting back to this series - a few things that are making me happy this week!

I used to know how to knit, but have long been out of practice - trying to get back into the swing of it with Stitch 'n Bitch!!  Let's be honest, I really just like the name.

Coffee!  Well this particular coffee.  I'm a tried and true caramel macchiato girl - but that sucker went up in points and while it will definitely still be a treat once in a while?  It's no longer on my weekly to do list.  I gave the Cafe Americano a try - definitely NOT sweet (it's just espresso and water!), but I really really like it.  And only 1 Smartpoint for a venti!  (Though someone is going to have to explain to me why given that it's coffee and water - shouldn't it be 0?)

A few weeks ago, in the throes of illness as I later discovered that evening, I headed to Pinot's Palette with mom and some friends.  SUCH a great time.  It's BYOB, and if you are looking for a fun night with great music, wine, and painting that takes on some hilarity when the only artist in the room is the instructor, definitely check it out!

Officially less than 200 days until my cruise!  Talk about motivation for the gym!

What's making you smile this week??

Artichoke and Goat Cheese Strata

So, in case it isn't already blatantly obvious?  I'm a BIG breakfast person.

I also love anything I can make ahead and bring for lunch as leftovers for the week.

This particular recipe I found while thumbing through my cookbook of the week.

So, it's eggs, bread, artichokes and goat cheese.  There is nothing wrong with any of that.

I adapted it to make it a bit more Weight Watchers friendly and so I could calculate the points, but I will link both the original recipe and the adaptation below!

This would be a fabulous brunch dish, one you could easily make ahead and cook off when your guests arrive.  It's hearty, with a bit of salt from the artichokes and tang from the goat cheese.

Artichoke and Goat Cheese Strata
Adapted from Cooking Light

Serves 6
8 Smartpoints Per Serving

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 10 oz package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 3/4 cup skim milk
4 eggs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
6 slices whole wheat sprouted bread, chopped into cubes
1/2 tsp. herbs de Provence
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
3 oz. crumbled goat cheese, divided

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, add olive oil.  Add artichokes and garlic and cook for about 8 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Remove from heat, add herbs, and let cool.

In a bowl, combine milk, eggs, salt and pepper.  Once combined, add bread and parmesan cheese.  Add artichoke mixture and let sit for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.  Add in half the artichoke mixture, then half the goat cheese.  Top with the rest of the artichoke mixture and the rest of the goat cheese. Bake for about 50 minutes.

20 Minute Chicken Enchiladas

This may have been one of the easiest things I have ever made.

I got the recipe from here: 

And it is actually about 2 dishes?  But still worth it!

I actually followed this recipe pretty strictly, except I didn't shred the chicken.  I had some cooked Trader Joe's chicken on hand that was already in cubes so I just used that.

This recipe makes 6 servings, with a serving size being 2 of the enchiladas.  I served it with some roasted veggies and it made a super filling dinner for just 8 Smartpoints, for those counting!

20 Minute Chicken Enchiladas

New Cookbook of the Week!

The next in this series anyway.

To be honest, it's not so much a cookbook as a magazine compilation but hey, it still counts in my book!

I'm all about the easiness of a one dish meal!

Out of this book, I'm experimenting with:

20 minute Chicken Enchiladas
Artichoke, Egg, and Goat Cheese Strata

Stay tuned for recipes this weekend!

Strawberry Avocado Kiwi Salad

Let me be honest.  I'm not the biggest salad person in the world.

Unless you add fruit.  Fruit in salads is the way to get to my heart (or stomach, I suppose!)

This salad was inspired by the lettuce wraps I found in my cookbook of the week, The Busy Woman's Cookbook.  In that book, it was more of a wrap and used different lettuce and just seemed like more work. This was easy!  It serves 1 but could certainly be doubled or tripled for a meal.

 

It was actually perfect as a mid morning snack with a light string cheese, very refreshing and filling!

Strawberry Avocado Kiwi Salad

(Adapted from The Busy Woman's Cookbook)

Serves 1 - 3 Smartpoints 

5 romaine leaves, torn

1/2 cup strawberries, chopped

1 kiwi, peeled and chopped

1/4 of a large avocado, chopped (I weighed it, it was about 30g for those with a scale!)

1 tbsp. orange muscat champagne vinaigrette (or any light citrus dressing of choice)

Place leaves in a bowl, add strawberries, kiwi and avocado on top.  Lightly drizzle dressing!

Taco Baked Chicken

So, to start of the New Year with the best of intentions, I'm really trying to plan ahead and cook on the weekends, thereby having leftovers for lunches and dinners during the week.

In addition, I'm also attempting to actually use the plethora of cookbooks I have (see my recent post on the my new Cookbook of the Week series!).

First up - The Busy Woman's Cookbook!

In thumbing through my first cookbook of the week, the taco baked chicken recipe caught my eye.  4 ingredients - however one was a huge amount of butter.

So I thought about it, and came up with a simple substitution that was much healthier - Greek yogurt.  What ended up happening was that the yogurt not only really helped the "breading" stick to the chicken, but it also kept it super juicy.

The recipe also called for corn chex but the store was out so I improvised with corn flakes!

Great right out of the oven, and great for leftovers!

Taco Baked Chicken (Serves 6)

Adapted from The Busy Woman's Cookbook

1 serving - 5 Smartpoints

6 chicken breasts (I used the thin sliced ones - the total weight was about 24 oz.)

4 cups of organic corn flakes, crushed

1 packet low sodium taco seasoning

1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt

Spray a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350.

Crush the corn flakes (I used a mini food processor - super quick).  Pour into a pie plate and add the taco seasoning, mixing until combined.

Using a pastry brush, brush each chicken breast with the Greek yogurt on both sides.  Then dip each chicken breast into the taco / corn flake mixture until coated on both sides.

Lay back on baking sheet and cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (if using thicker chicken breasts, they will need to cook longer).  Then, broil for another 2-3 minutes to really crisp it up.

As a note, I didn't flip them halfway through - next time I may try that so the bottom gets just as crispy.

Cookbook of the Week: The Busy Woman's Cookbook

So, during my move this summer, I discovered something.

I have a LOT of cookbooks.  A LOT.

With the new year, I decided to make a sort of resolution - use 1 cookbook a week and try (or more likely adapt) 2 recipes from it.

I figured 2 was an easy number.

So this is the first installment!

The first cookbook is The Busy Woman's Cookbook, where all the recipes feature 3 or 4 ingredients max.

So, true facts - this is not the healthiest cookbook in the world.  However, it is easily adaptable to make healthy!

The two recipes I'm adapting this week are taco baked chicken and a strawberry kiwi salad.  Look for those coming up soon!

In the meantime, if you are interested in this cookbook, it is available on Amazon!


Busy Woman's Cookbook

Pinterest and other stuff...

So, it's been awhile.  Let's just blame the holidays.

But it's a new year, and I've got new stuff!  A new series coming, some new recipes, and I've also started the new Weight Watchers plan, so I'm hoping to add Smartpoints to my recipes :)

But for now, I've created a Pinterest account for this blog!  So follow away!

Follow me on Pinterest!