Delicious Dinner

These stuffed chicken breasts have been popping up on quite a few blogs lately, although I first saw it on Brooke's blog. I just made a few small changes based on what I had on hand. The original recipe is from Rachel Ray, you can check it out here. Unfortuately I was not able to wrap it in bacon, because I had none thawed in time, next time though, and there will be a next time, it was certainyl good enough to make again!



Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Black pepper
4 ounces cream cheese, softened ( I used 4 oz of laughing cow ligh garlic and herb cheese)
A handful baby arugula, chopped (I omitted but I will add next time!)
A handful baby spinach leaves, chopped
8 slices bacon ( I used just about 2 TB of bacon bits as my bacon was frozen :()

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using a small sharp knife cut into the thick end of the chicken and make an incision reaching 2/3 the way down the breast. Loosen up the incision with your fingers to make a hole. Combine the cream cheese with arugula and baby spinach, season with salt and pepper and stuff into the breasts. Wrap the breasts with the bacon tightly to cover the meat evenly. Place chicken on a nonstick baking sheet and roast 20 to 25 minutes until bacon is crispy and chicken is firm.

Serious comfort food...done lighter!

This recipe for alfredo sauce is all over the Weight Watcher's website for good reason. It is incredibly easy, and delicious. We added some sauteed scallops, shrimp, and sun dried tomatoes and served it over tomato flavored fettuccine. Something else that I also love about this recipe is that it is just for 2 servings, since alfredo sauce left overs are never great warmed up. Enjoy.

LAUGHING COW ALFREDO SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:
3 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Garlic & Herb
3/4C skim milk
1 tbsp reduced fat Parmesan cheese
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder


INSTRUCTIONS:
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine all the ingredients over a low heat, until everything is melted and the sauce is velvety smooth, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately over hot cooked pasta of your choice

Homemade pesto, the Weight Watchers way!

We love pesto in our house on sandwiches, in wraps, on pasta, you name it and we have probably tried it. But it is expensive to buy prepared and it is SO fattening, so I did some investigating and found this wonderful recipe that lightens it up quite a bit, yet it still tastes great! We made ours into a cream sauce (which was not Weight Watchers friendly) and served it over tortellini with chicken and broccoli. It was excellent! Pesto also freezes really well, my favorite method is to freeze it in ice cube trays, then you just pop out however many you need, instead of defrosting a whole batch. I actually intend to freeze some today if I ever get off the nest and my blog. Enjoy the lighter side of pesto!

Pesto

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp pine nuts
2 cup basil, leaves, fresh
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium garlic clove(s), peeled
1/2 tsp table salt


DIRECTIONS:
Place pine nuts in a small skillet and set pan over medium heat. Cook until nuts are golden, shaking pan frequently to prevent burning, about 3 minutes. Transfer nuts to a plate to cool.
In a blender or food processor, combine nuts, basil, broth, cheese, oil, garlic and salt; process until smooth and thick. Yields about 1/4 cup per serving at a points value of 2. Makes 4 servings.

*If you want to make it into a cream sauce as we did, we mixed 2 cups of 2% milk with 1/2 cups of pesto and let simmer on stove top. I added a little cornstarch to help it thicken up.*