Tasty Tuesday: Cook Once, Eat Thrice!

I love bulk cooking.
It's easy and a HUGE time-saver.
And lets not forget the money that can be saved!

This week we're talking about a staple of the Weight Watchers Diet: The Chicken Breast.
Most stores now have huge two or three pound packages of breasts for super cheap. Sometimes you can find them on special for less than a dollar a pound. When this happens, I stock up! Most of the time, I separate them into one and two breast portions, but this time around, I was out of baggies and food saver bags. So I had to freeze the whole thing. Thus, I had to cook the whole thing.


The first meal I made with them is a simple crock-pot recipe that I got off the Weight Watchers message boards. The second is a simple chicken and chili enchilada.. Finally, there's a great chicken pot pie that will blow you away!

Meal 1:
Crock Pot Chicken (served with cous cous and green beans on Monday)
Servings: 9-10

1 market special package of chicken breasts (9-10 breasts/pkg.)
2 low-sodium/low-fat cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup (I used both!)
1 C chicken broth
1 packet low-sodium onion soup mix
1 T Herbes De Provance or your favorite herb mixture

Combine soups, broth, soup mix, and herbs in a large crock pot (5 qt). Add chicken and toss to coat entirely. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until chicken is tender and shreds easily.

See?? Easy, right!

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Meal #2:
Cheesy Chicken Chili Enchiladas (I served with vegetarian refried beans and fajita-sauted peppers and onions)

2 chicken breasts, shredded
1 low-sodium/low-fat cream of mushroom soup
1 can chopped green chilis, drained and rinsed
1 C shredded low-fat cheddar cheese, divided in half.
1 small can red or green enchilada sauce
8 fajita size whole wheat tortillas

In a large bowl, combine chicken, soup, chilis, and 1/2 the cheese. Mix well to combine.
Place tortillas on a microwave-safe plate and cover with a moist (NOT wet!) paper towel. Microwave on high 30 seconds to 1 minute or until heated through.
Cover the botton of a rectangular glass baking pan with 1/2 the enchilada sauce.
Place 1/8 the filling into a tortilla and roll gently.
Place seam side down into the pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
Top with remaining sauce and cheese.
Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned.
Allow to rest for at least ten minutes to allow for the filling to set.

This is made even easier if it's made in advance! It's also slightly tastier, as the flavors will have had time to meld!
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Meal #3:
Chicken Pot Pie

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg white
3 chicken breasts, shredded
2 can cream of chicken soup
1 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c chopped carrots
1/2 c frozen peas
1 T Herbes de Provance, or your favorite herb blend

In a large bowl combine chicken, soup, herbs and vegetables. Turn out into a 9X9 glass baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Top with puff pastry. Beat the egg white slightly, then brush onto the puff pastry. Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly and puff pastry is puffed and browned.

There you have it! Three meals from one package of chicken. The best part about all of these is that they can be assembled beforehand and stored in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to bake them. Be sure to adjust times accordingly though. PS: if you do this with the pot pie, be sure to add the puff pastry later, when you're ready to bake!


Enjoy!

Here's To Being Losers in 2011!

Tasty Tuesday - Taco Taters

When I was at my Weight Watcher's meeting this weekend, our Fearless Leader, Christie, inspired me.
She told me that you can bake potatoes in the CROCK POT.
I just about died.
You see, I am the
CROCK POT QUEEN
You tell me I can cook something in the crock pot and I am all over it like white on rice.
THEN she proceeded to tell me what she does with said potatoes.
She makes a big batch of taco meat and then stuffs the potatoes with it.
Oh.
My.
HOLYCOW.
My two favorite things in the world combined to create a luscious little pocket of spicy, starchy, taco-tater LUV.

I will be making these tomorrow to celebrate my very last day - EVER - of college classes.

Here's the recipe!

Taco Taters I
Serves: 4
Points Plus Value: 10

4 medium baking potatoes, washed
1 T olive oil
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 packet commercial taco seasoning OR you can make your own
1/4 c water or chicken broth
1 can ranch-style beans (or any bean, really) OR 1 can corn, drained

Toppings:
cheddar cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, onions, scallions, cilantro, avocado, salsa, etc.

Wrap potatoes in foil and place in crock pot, making sure they don't touch the sides of the crock (bottom touching is acceptable here). Cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove from crock pot, remove foil, and set aside.

In a 12 in skillet brown meat in 1 T olive oil. Add taco seasoning and water or broth. Allow to reduce for about 5 minutes. Add beans and cook for another five minutes or until beans are heated through. Remove from heat.

Split potato and scoop out part of the middle (optional, but it gives you more room for filling!). Fill potato with 1/4 meat mixture and top with desired toppings. Repeat with remaining potatoes.

Enjoy!

Another recipe was born from this inspiring nummy creation.

Taco-Taters II
Serves 4
Points Plus Value: 4

2 medium baking potatoes, washed and cut into wedges to make about 16 wedges.
1 packet commercial or home made taco seasoning
2 T olive oil

In a large bowl, toss potatoes, olive oil, and taco seasoning. Turn out onto a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 425 for ten minutes, then turn the potatoes and bake for a remaining 10 minutes, or until browned all over. Serve with light sour cream, if desired.

Life on Weight Watchers . . . On Plan, On a Budget - Gettin In Your Daily Five on the Cheap

Both here and my other blog, I have done several posts about healthy eating on a budget. With doing a plan like weight watchers, I thought I'd revisit that idea, from a Points Friendly Perspective:

Fresh Fruits and Veggies:

This is the center of the Weight Watchers program. All fruits and most veggies are free foods. But they can be quite pricey. But what you might not know is that even frozen and canned fruits and vegetables count - as long as they're packed in water. So that is something to consider when shopping.

Frozen mixed vegetables and stir-fry mixes are great for in a hurry stir fries, to mix into soups or casseroles, or to just steam (*hint* steam in chicken broth for even more point-friendly flavor!). The bonus is, you can stock up on these for a fraction of the cost of all the veggies it would take to make up one bag.

Frozen fruits are also wonderful additions - berries and peaches are a lot less expensive on the frozen food aisle, and you can quickly and easily thaw them for a quick mix in for oatmeal or cereal, for a topping for pancakes or waffles, or for a delicious fruit salad.

Canned veggies are perfect quick side dishes, and you can also add these to soups and casseroles, like their frozen counterparts.

Applesauce and canned fruits (packed in water) are great quick snacks.

And lets not forget the bargains in the fresh fruits and veggies aisle - apples, oranges, and bananas are often on sale, as are lettuces and tomatoes. Fresh carrots, cabbage and celery are also less expensive then the gourmet veggies that are en vogue right now.

Try taking a non-buying trip to you local grocery store. Look at your favorite fruits and veggies and write down their prices - fresh, frozen, and canned. You may be surprised to see that getting in your daily Five WON'T break your budget.

Here's To Being Losers In 2011!!