January 27, 2012: Buttermilk Chicken With Mushroom Sauce Recipe

I bought some low fat buttermilk recently because I swore I’d seen a main dish entrée I wanted to try. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the recipe so I was on the hunt for a dish I could make to use the buttermilk sitting in my fridge. I found this one online and it wasn’t loaded with calories – at least after I put my own twists on the recipe.

Buttermilk Chicken with Mushroom Sauce served with Skinny Mashed Potatoes and Sugar Snap Peas

Buttermilk Chicken With Mushroom Sauce

1 T. olive oil

8 white mushrooms, thickly sliced

4 pieces bone-in, skinless chicken pieces (breasts and thighs)

2 cups buttermilk, divided

Salt and Freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup flour

½ t. dried sage

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Place chicken pieces in one cup of buttermilk. Let sit in refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Add olive oil and place in oven to heat. When heated through (about 5 minutes), add sliced mushrooms to bottom of pan.

Remove chicken from buttermilk. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and dredge with flour.

Place chicken pieces on top of mushrooms. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, turn chicken over and bake 10 more minutes.

Mix together remaining cup of buttermilk, sage and cream of mushroom soup. Pour over chicken. Bake another 10 – 20 minutes, until juices from chicken run clear.

To serve, place a piece of chicken on each plate. Whisk sauce in pan and spoon over the top of each piece of chicken.

Serves 4

January 20, 2012: Semi-Homemade Meatloaf Pizza Recipe

It’ difficult to make a whole meatloaf for two people and not have tons of leftovers. That doesn’t stop me from making it when I’m craving this comfort food, however. What it does mean is that I have to be creative about using up those leftovers. While I love meatloaf sandwiches slathered with mayo, those aren’t too diet friendly. This recipe is surprisingly not high in calories, if you can limit yourself to one sixth of the total recipe.

Semi-Homemade Meatloaf Pizza

1 canister refrigerated Pillsbury French bread

1 cup canned tomato pasta sauce (I used Bertolli’s healthy variety)

1 t. dehydrated garlic

6 white mushrooms, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped red bell pepper

4 thin slices leftover healthy meatloaf

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Unroll the French bread dough and pat it into place on the cooking sheet. Spray surface with nonstick cooking spray. Place bread in preheated oven and bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven.

While bread is cooking, place pasta sauce in a saucepan and add garlic. Heat over low and cook until reduced by half, about 15 minutes.

Spray a small skillet with nonstick cooking spray and heat to medium. Add mushrooms and peppers, spray with nonstick cooking spray. Sauté for 5 minutes, or until veggies start to soften.

Spread pasta sauce on bread dough. Top with veggies, crumbled meatloaf and cheese. Return to oven and cook an additional 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and edges of crust are browned.

Serves 6 with approximately 325 calories per serving.

January 16, 2012: Roasted New York Strip Steak with Wine Mushroom Sauce Recipe

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a good steak. Yes, I know, steak is best when it’s grilled but it’s also good when you roast it like this recipe. Give it a try and see what you can think.

Roasted New York Strip Steak with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce

2 (4) ounce, thick cut New York strip steaks

Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 t. olive oil, divided

1 T. minced shallot

4 mushrooms, quartered

¼ cup dry red wine

¼ cup beef stock

2 t. Dijon mustard

¼ cup fat free half and half

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle both sides of steak with Montreal Steak Seasoning. Heat an oven-proof skillet (cast iron is ideal) to medium heat. Add one teaspoon of the olive oil. Sear the steak on both sides in the skillet, about one minute per side. Transfer skillet to oven and roast for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer steak to cutting board; tent with foil.

While steak is resting, add remaining teaspoon of olive oil to skillet and heat on top of stove to medium. Add shallots and mushrooms to pan and sauté for about one minute, until veggies are slightly softened. Add wine and beef stock. Cook, stirring frequently, until reduced by half. Add Dijon mustard and half and half. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 2 with calories of about 294 per serving

October 18, 2011: Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

Well, my resolve to eat lower fat foods didn’t last too long… When my husband got home after working out of town for a while, I wanted to give him a special dinner so I fixed his favorite steak sauce, baked a couple potatoes, and made these stuffed mushrooms as an accompaniment. Actually, this recipe isn't very fattening and if you use fat-free cream cheese (blah! yuck!) it might even be a good diet dish. :-)

Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 t. diced pimiento

1 green onion, minced (both white and green parts)

1 t. finely minced garlic

Freshly ground black pepper

8 – 10 white mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed

1 t. olive oil

Cooking spray

French fried onions (about 4 teaspoons)

Balsamic vinegar

Mix together cream cheese, pimiento, green onion, garlic and black pepper.

Spray inside the cups of the mushrooms with the cooking spray. Fill each with cream cheese mixture (go ahead and mound it over the top if you wish).

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium low. Add mushrooms, cheese side up, cooking for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften on the bottom. Splash a bit of balsamic vinegar in bottom of the skillet and cover. Cook another 5 minutes. Remove lid from pan and sprinkle French fried onions over the tops of the mushrooms. Place pan under broiler for about a minute, just enough to heat the onions.

Serves 2