Chicken Noodle Soup

I have been in the mood for chicken noodle soup for awhile.  I have a cold and what a better time to make this!!  It turned out great!!

Chicken Noodle Soup
(adapted from allrecipes.com)
4 cups cooked chicken breasts
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 cups chicken stock
7 cups Swanson's Low Sodium Chicken Broth
4 cups water
2 bags of Reames Yolk-Free Frozen Noodles

1.  In a large stock pot, saute celery and onion in butter.
2.  Add in chicken, carrots, pepper, bay leaves, garlic, chicken stock, chicken broth and water.  Simmer for about 30-45 minutes.
3.  Add in the frozen noodles and then simmer for 20-30 more minutes or until noodles are cooked.

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
The entire recipe was a total of 84 Points Plus.  I made around 20 servings which was about a 1/4 cup.  That made each serving 4 Points Plus.

Notes for making next time:
Really good but too much noodles.  Only add one bag of the noodles.  When I went to put it in the fridge, the noodles sucked up most of the liquid!  Also, don't use butter but spray oil to save some Points Plus.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

What to do with left over Bananas??  Well, I looked at different recipes and I was also in the mood for cookies.  I found Banana Cookies but I really didn't want to used nuts.  So I found some with Chocolate Chips!!  Yum!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
( adapted from allrecipes.com)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 & 1/2 cups mashed bananas (3 ripe bananas)

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease cookie sheets.
2.  Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda together.  (I do not have a sifter, so I added all together and whisked all together).  Then set aside.
3.  Cream the butter with the sugar (white and brown) until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla.  Mix the mashed bananas.  Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared greased cookie sheets.
4.  Bake for 12-25 minutes.

After eating a couple, I decided to frost some of them.

Frosting
(adapted from landolakes.com - Glaze)
2 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons 2 % milk
1 & 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1.  Melt butter in pan over medium heat.  Add brown sugar and milk.  Cook until mixture is at a boil (1-2 minutes).
2.  Remove from heat.
3.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla.
4.  Beat until will mixed
5.  Cool slightly then frost cookies.

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
Cookies without frosting:  The entire recipe for the cookies only was a total of 142 Points Plus.  I made 45 cookies.  That made each cookie 3 Points Plus.

Frosting:  The entire recipe for only the frosting was a total of 27 Points Plus.  I frosted 16 cookies (that's 16 servings).  That made each serving 2 Points Plus.

Cookies with frosting:  Since I didn't frost all the cookies, I just decided to add the 2 together.  That made each cookie that was frosted 5 Points Plus.

Notes for making next time:
These are OK but I only like them with the frosting (hubby liked them without).

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

So I wanted something that was a gooey pasta creation this week and got it!  I'm not a big fan of Alfredo sauce - well, I'm not sure if I have ever really had it.  See, I know that it is suppose to be really good but also fattening.  So when I saw this healthier version, I decided to try it.  I think it was really good.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo
(adapted from campbellskitchen.com)
8 oz dry spaghetti
1 bag of Birds Eye Steamfresh Broccoli Cuts
1 lb cooked chicken breasts
1 can (10 3/4 oz ) Campbell's Healthy Request Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup Milk 2%
1/2 cup of reduced fat grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1.  Cook chicken breasts if need
2.  Cook spaghetti as directed on package and drain
3.  Cook broccoli as directed on package and drain
4.  Mix together soup, milk, cheese and pepper
5.  If chicken is not hot, heat up in a sauce pan.
6.  Add the rest of the ingredients in sauce pan.  Mix thoroughly together and cook until mixture is hot and bubbling.

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
The entire recipe was a total of 51 Points Plus.  I made each serving size 1 cup that totals 9 servings.  That made each serving 6 Points Plus.

Notes for making next time:
This was good but the miture was thicker than I thought it would be.  Maybe make it thinner by adding a litte more milk.

Baked Jalapeno Poppers

So I wanted to make a couple of appetizers for my husband for the Superbowl.  He loves hot and spicy foods, so I thought that Jalapeno Poppers would be great.  I really like skinnytaste.com and Gina just posted  Skinny Baked Jalapeno Poppers.  Great timing!!  I used her exact recipe, so go to skinnytaste.com for step by step instructions with pictures!!

Now, when I made my Chili, I forgot to wear gloves but this time I remembered!

  Here's how mine turned out (Thanks Gina!!):

Baked Jalapeno Poppers

( from skinnytaste.com)
12 jalapeño peppers, sliced in half lengthwise
4.5 oz light cream cheese
5 medium scallions, green part only, sliced
2 oz shredded low fat sharp cheddar (Gina used Cabot 50%, I did not)
1/2 cup egg beaters or egg whites, beaten
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp chili powder
Salt and Black Pepper
Spray Oil

1.  Preheat oven to 350°. Wearing rubber gloves, cut peppers in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and membrane.
2.  Combine cream cheese, cheddar and scallions in a medium bowl
3.  Combine panko, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper in another bowl.
4.  Fill peppers with cheese filling with a small spoon or spatula.
5.  Dip peppers in egg beaters
6.  Place pepper in panko mixture, using a spoon to make sure all the seasoning doesn't fall to the bottom of the bowl
7.  Spray a baking pan with oil spray. I lined my pan with parchment for easier cleanup. Lightly spray the peppers with a little more oil spray
8.  Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, until golden and cheese oozes out
9.  Remove from oven and serve immediately. Serve hot

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
Since Gina already calculated the Points Plus, I did not have to (Thanks again)!  There are 24 servings and each serving is 2 Point Plus!

Notes for making next time:

These were great!  The only thing I would change would be to remove some of the membrane of the jalapeno so that it would not be too hot for me.

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf

Never heard of Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf?  Me neither.  I was hungry for the meatloaf I make and also chicken parmesan.  I did a search on the web and found this wonderful combination of both!! 

I varied the indigents only since the weather was bad (didn't want to go out) and just used what I had in the house. 

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf
(adapted from What's Cookin, Chicago?)
1 lb ground chicken
1/3 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup reduced fat grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu's Old World Traditional)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese made with 2% milk
parsley for garnish

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  I put foil on the bottom then cooking spray for easy clean up.
2.  In a separate bowl, mix the following together:  ground chicken, egg, bread crumbs, basil, thyme, oregano, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.

3.  In the 9x13 pan, form the meat into a loaf

4.  Pour spaghetti sauce over loaf

5.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Then top with cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.  If want, sprinkle with parsley.

Weight Watcher Points Plus:
The entire recipe was a total of 29 Points Plus.  So I had 6 servings from my loaf.  Each serving was 5 Points Plus.

Notes for making next time:
I DO NOT like ground chicken!  While my hubby did eat the rest of this, the ground chicken left a bad taste in my mouth.  I would like to try this with ground turkey or ground meat.