Baked Italian Tilapia

Why did I not try this sooner? It's so simple and delicious - not "fishy" at all!

6 small tilapia fillets
1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

Heat oven to 350.  In a 13x9 baking dish, put a little bit of the juice from the tomatoes in the bottom, lay fillets down in a single layer.  Combine Italian seasoning with diced tomatoes and pour over fish. Bake 20-30 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Almond and Parmesan Crusted Whitefish

Course: main meals P+ Value: 11 Servings: 4 Preparation Time: 5 min Cooking Time: 10 min Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients

	3 fillet(s) whitefish fillet(s)
	1/2 cup(s) almonds, ground
	2 item(s) egg white(s), beaten
	1 oz Parmesan cheese, fresh grated
	1 serving(s) old bay seasoning, 1 tsp
	2 Tbsp olive oil
	2 Tbsp Shedd's Country Crock Soft Margarine

Instructions

Heat oil and butter in large saute pan over medium heat.

Using a food processor or blender, grind almonds.

Set up a breading station, with beaten egg whites in one shallow dish and ground almonds, parmesan cheese and Old Bay in another shallow dish.

Rinse and pat fish dry. If fillets are large, cut in half. Dip in egg whites, then in almonds to coat.

Cook fillets in saute pan 3-4 minutes on each side or until fish is firm and browned.

Serve with green beans and slivered almonds and rice if desired.

Peanutty Chicken Skewers

WW pts Value: 4 Servings: 3 Preparation Time: 20 min Cooking Time: 10 min Level of Difficulty: Easy Course: main meals

Ingredients

	12 oz Chicken breast, skinless, boneless, raw, Sliced into thin strips
	1/3 serving(s) Peanutty Chicken Marinade, Use full recipe as marinade, much will get discard

Instructions

Soak skewers for at least 15 minutes if wood.
Combine ingredients to make Peanutty Chicken Marinade in Classic Batter Bowl. Stir in chicken strips and set aside to marinate 15-20 minutes.
Preheat grill or grill pan over medium heat. Skewer chicken and grill 4-5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.

Italian Broiled Whitefish

WW Pts Value: 5 Servings: 4 Preparation Time: 5 min Cooking Time: 15 min Level of Difficulty: Easy Course: main meals

Ingredients

	2 fillet(s) whitefish fillet(s)
	1 cup(s) canned Italian style stewed tomatoes, finely diced
	1/3 cup(s) onion(s), finely diced
	1 clove(s) garlic clove(s)
	2 tsp olive oil
	1/4 cup(s) white wine
	2 Tbsp basil, chopped
	1 oz romano cheese, finely shredded

Instructions

Preheat broiler to High.
In a small saucepan, heat EVOO over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until soft. Add in wine and cook until almost all liquid has evaporated. Stir in tomatoes. BTB, RTS.
Spray broiler pan with cooking spray. Arrange filets on pan and spray. Broil 6 inches from top 5-7 minutes or until edges of fish are cooked.
Remove from oven, spoon sauce evenly over fish. Sprinkle cheese over sauce. Return to broiler 4-5 minutes or until fish flakes.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

One of my favorites whenever I go to Pizzaria Uno, here's my take on the super-easy, super-tasty treat!

1 tube refrigerated pizza dough
2 cups cooked chicken (I use leftovers)
1 cup your favorite bbq sauce, divided
1 small onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
5 strips center-cut bacon, cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded 2% fat cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425. In 10" saute pan, cook bacon over medium heat until cooked through. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Keep 1 Tbsp of bacon fat in pan. Return pan with reserved bacon fat to medium heat, adding peppers and onions. Saute veggies until onions are translucent and peppers are soft.

Brush a little bit of vegetable oil over Large Bar Pan (this will help the bottom of the crust get crunchy). Spread out pizza dough to edges of pan. Using Silicone Basting Brush, spread 3/4 c of the barbecue sauce over crust. Top with chicken, veggies and bacon. Drizzle remaining sauce over, then top with cheese, spreading all ingredients to the edges.

Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is lightly browned.

Mac & Cheese, lightened up

I'm working on perfecting my healthy mac & cheese. I think I'm getting closer with this one. I will probably adjust it a little next time I make it.

1 package steam-in-bag broccoli/cauliflower mix
4 oz whole-grain pasta
3 wedges Laughing Cow light original cheese
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
3/4 cup skim milk
2 oz sharp white cheddar, shredded
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta to al dente. While pasta is cooking, steam veggies in microwave according to package directions.

Remove veggies when cooked, and separate cauliflower into a small bowl. Mash with a fork and stir in Laughing Cow cheese wedges.

Drain pasta when done, and leave in colander. In the saucepan you cooked the pasta in, melt the butter. Sprinkle flour over melted butter and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute then whisk in milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until it starts to thicken, then stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Stir in cauliflower, pasta and broccoli to combine. Eat up!

If you want to have a hot dog on the side, make it a low-cal one ;-)

Makes 4 servings.

Creamy Chicken Pasta

4 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 jar (7 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, undrained
3 cups penne pasta (NOT whole wheat)
4 cups chicken broth
1 head broccoli (2 cups small florets)
2 medium carrots, peeled
4 oz reduced-fat cream cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
Grated fresh Parmesan cheese and snipped fresh basil (optional)


Place 2 Tbsp of the oil from the Sun-Dried tomatoes into the bottom of the Deep Covered Baker. Use Garlic Slicer to slice all 4 garlic cloves into oil, and stir to coat. Cover and microwave 2 minutes, stirring halfway through. Add pasta and broth, stir, cover and return to microwave for 12 minutes, stirring halfway through.

While pasta is cooking, cut broccoli into small florets and place them in the Batter Bowl. Cut carrots in half length-wise then thinly slice on a bias. Add carrots to the batter bowl. Drain sun-dried tomatoes on a paper towel and slice into thin strips. Cut cream cheese into cubes.

When the microwave goes off, remove the DCB, stir pasta and add in broccoli and carrots, salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, stir, add tomatoes and cream cheese, cover and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Stir and serve immediately, garnishing with Parmesan cheese and basil. Stir in some cooked chicken to add some protein and make it a complete meal.

Total time start to finish: 19 minutes!!!

Pasta Bake

1 box pasta (whatever you have on hand - rotini, penne, macaroni)
1 jar (26 oz) pasta sauce
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown meat with onion and garlic, drain. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions for al dente (or 2 minutes shorter than recommended cook time), and drain.

Return pasta to pot, pour in pasta sauce, meat mixture and 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese. Mix well and spread into a 13x9 inch dish (like the Rectangle Baker stone) and spread remaining cheeses over pasta mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and dish is heated through.

Turkey Meatballs

Pulled from Food Network's website, this Ellie Krieger recipe is great! The meatballs stay so moist, plus with the shredded carrot there's a little added nutrition.

For a quick meal, I warmed jarred tomato sauce (doctored up with some fresh basil and oregano) and added the cooked meatballs to the sauce to meld flavors while the whole wheat pasta was cooking.

• Cooking spray
• 1.25 pounds ground turkey meat
• 1/4 cup homemade whole wheat bread crumbs
  
• 1 oz fresh grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 1/2 cup finely grated carrot
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 large cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 tsp italian seasoning
  
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat broiler on Hi, positioning rack in top position in oven. Spray a large sheet pan with nonstick spray. Combine all remaining ingredients in Large Batter Bowl, mixing only until combined. Form meatballs approx. 2 1/2 inches across and place on sheet pan. Broil 10 minutes or until browned on top and almost cooked through (will continue to cook in sauce).

Add meatballs to heated sauce and cook while pasta is cooking.

Yield approx 18 meatballs. 1.3 points per meatball

One-Pot Mexican Mac Skillet

I got this idea from this recipe on kraftfoods.com. I love their search engine that allows you to put up to 3 ingredients and search matching recipes.

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

2 cups water

1 cup Salsa (use whatever you have that you love, or whatever you have on hand)

1 box Macaroni & Cheese Dinner

2 cups frozen corn
1 can black beans

1/2 cup Mexican Style Shredded Cheese

Brown chicken in 12" skillet until no longer pink.

Add water, salsa and Macaroni; stir. Bring to boil; cover. Simmer on low 10 min. or until macaroni is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in corn and Cheese Sauce; cook 2 min. or until heated through.

Top with shredded cheese.

Variations: Excellent with lean ground beef. Can substitute broccoli or other fresh or frozen veggies in place of corn.

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia

Adapted from this recipe on Allrecipes.com

• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (packaged works much better than fresh grated for this)
• 1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
  
• 1/4 cup butter, softened (NOT melted)
  
• 3 Tbsp light miracle whip
  
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  
• 1 tsp Pampered Chef All-Purpose Dill seasoning
  
• 2 pounds tilapia fillets
  

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Spray broiling pan with cooking spray or line pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese,bread crumbs, butter, miracle whip, and lemon juice. Season with garlic powder and Dill Seasoning. Mix well and set aside.Do not refrigerate - keep at room temperature!
   
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Excellent - flaky, moist, tender fish! The whole family loves it! Usually we each eat 2 fillets. Great with baked brown rice and steamed broccoli.

Sausage & Veggie Mac Skillet

Adapted from Kraft Foods Hearty Sausage Skillet

1 lb. Turkey Smoked Sausage, sliced

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced Italian tomatoes, undrained

1 cup water

1 tsp. Pampered Chef Italian seasoning

1 pkg. (12 oz.) Shells & Cheese Dinner Made With 2% Milk Cheese

2 cups broccoli florets(or substitute frozen corn, peas or carrots)

Brown sausage in large skillet on medium-high heat 5 min.; drain.

Stir in tomatoes with their liquid, the water and Italian seasoning. Bring to boil. Add Shells. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover.

Simmer 7 min., stirring twice. Add broccoli; cook an additional 5 min. or until tender. Stir in Cheese Sauce until well blended.

Note: Can also use any other type of sausage, ground beef or turkey, or chicken thinly sliced.