Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Today was the hubby's 35th birthday.  Since Esther dog got her own dog cake (I made her the peanut butter delight) yesterday, I figured it was only fitting that Mattie got a special meal too.  On the menu,

Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Breasts and semi-homemade cupcakes.

Verdict?  Both were delicious!!

I found the chicken recipe via Pinterest the other night and hubs thought it sounded good so he decided that  would be his birthday meal.  No problem!  And the cupcakes, well, that was just a little extra goodie!

The recipe is super simple.  I altered it some though.  For one, I was making it just for Matt and I so I cut the chicken down to just 2 breasts.  Second, I bought the red pepper but didn't realize that I had to broil them first and didn't feel like doing that.   Happened to have sundried tomatoes in the pantry so I subbed those instead.  I calculated the points on ww online and came out to be 8 ppts per chicken.  Not too shabby and definitely tasted like a more elaborate meal than it was!

Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Breasts-8ppts/serving

2 chicken breasts

Kalamata olives, chopped (I used about 8)

2 TBSP sundried tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup reduced fat feta

2 TBSP fresh basil

salt & pepper

1) Preheat oven to 350.

2) Cut a pocket into the thickest part of the chicken.

3) Mix together all other ingredients.

4) Stuff the chicken with the olive mixture.  Close up chicken and hold together with tooth picks.

5) Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper a lightly drizzle with olive oil.

6) Bake at 350 for approximately 20 minutes or until juices tun clear.

We served ours with a nice green salad and some garlic mashed potatoes!  Great birthday dinner or for any night! :)


And in case you are in the cupcake mood....I used this recipe I found over at Plain Chicken for her Best Birthday cake...just turned it into cupcakes!  Soo tasty!  Cupcakes were semi-homemade since they used a box but were moist and delish, and the chocolate frosting....yum yum.  Just smelling it I think I gained 2lbs!  All three of my men loved them.  Think I may have to send a dozen to work to get them out of my house! :)

Crockpot Chicken Sloppy Joes

Found this while pinning, was from a Better Home & Garden article.  Hubby thought it sounded like a great choice to eat while watching Cowboys football.  I liked it because it was extremely easy and fairly low in points.  Win win! (and the cowboys did win too!)

Here goes:
1lb ground chicken or turkey
14 oz can pizza sauce
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 bag frozen pepper medley with onions (thawed and chopped)

1) Brown the ground chicken or turkey
2) Dump all ingredients into the crock pot.
3) Stir and go!  6-8 hrs on low or 3-4 hrs on high.

I served ours on a low cal wheat bun for 3 points and a slice of lite provolone!  I put the meal (just the sloppy joe mixture, not the bun and cheese) into recipe builder and calculated it to be 6 servings for 4 ppts each!  YUM!  So, bun+cheese+joe=8ppts.

 I served with a side of baked sweet potato fries.  The ones in picture happen to be frozen ones...apparently the ones I had chopped up to make myself ended up either being cooked too high or too long and were burnt to a crisp when I got out from putting Mark to bed.  OOPS!

We have plenty left over too.  Am thinking it would be really good on a baked potato later in the week!

banana bread!

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup margarine
1 egg
1 1/2 mashed very ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
1/2 cup buttermilk (don't have any?  Make your own!)
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

1. Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2 inches, or 1 loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.
2. Mix sugar, applesauce and margarine in large bowl. Stir in egg product until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour into pans.
3. Bake 8-inch loaves about 1 hour, 9-inch loaf about 1 1/4 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days

Mine made one large loaf and I calculated points based on 12 slices....6ppts a slice!  It was delish!

Dijon Parmesan Chicken Breasts

This is another good one from Betty Crocker!  Really nice taste and easy to prepare!

Ingredients:

3/4

cup Fiber One® original bran cereal

2

tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1

teaspoon dried basil leaves

1/4

teaspoon garlic salt

1/4

teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

1

egg white, beaten

2

tablespoons Dijon mustard

4

boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb)

1

tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

• 1Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 15x10x1-inch pan with cooking spray. Place cereal in resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag and finely crush with rolling pin or meat mallet (or finely crush in food processor).
• 2In shallow bowl, mix cereal, cheese, basil, garlic salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, mix egg white and mustard until blended.
• 3Dip chicken into egg white mixture, then coat well with cereal mixture; place in pan. Drizzle oil over chicken.
• 4Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F).

Mexican Meatloaf

You know how it goes....quick, easy, and VERY tasty!  Hubby loved it too, one of my best tests for knowing if it is good! :)  I make it into 4 servings and calculated it at 7pts/serving!

Mexican Meatloaf

1 lb lean ground beef
2 egg whites
2 oz cornbread stuffing dry mix, (about 1 cup)
1/2 medium onion(s), chopped  
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
4 oz canned green chili peppers, diced

8 oz canned enchilada sauce Instructions: Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix beef, turkey, egg whites, stuffing mix, onion, chili powder, cumin, chilies and half of enchilada sauce together. Shape into an oval with your hands and place on prepared broiler pan. Cook for 1 hour, top with remaining enchilada sauce and bake for 5 minutes more. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.