Chicken with Creamy Chive Sauce

- 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 ½ lbs).

- ¼ cup butter

- 1 0.7-oz. package Italian salad dressing mix

- 1 10 ¾-oz. can condensed golden mushroom soup

- ½ cup dry white wine

- ½ of an 8-oz. tub cream cheese with chives and onion (I usually just use the full 8 oz. tub; it depends how creamy you want the sauce)

- Whole wheat pasta

Place chicken in a 3 ½ or 4-quart crockpot.

In a medium saucepan melt the butter. Stir in the dry Italian salad dressing mix. Stir in the mushroom soup, wine and cream cheese until combined.

Pour over the chicken that is already in the crockpot.

Cover and cook on the low heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

Serve chicken and sauce over the whole wheat pasta. Sprinkle with fresh chives if desired.

**This is a recipe from a good friend, that we LOVED. It's so easy in the crockpot!

Chocolate Banana Bread

• 1 cup margarine or butter, softened
  
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 6 bananas, mashed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup lite sour cream
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar and eggs. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking soda and cocoa; mix well. Blend in sour cream and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

Amount Per Serving Calories: 278 | Total Fat: 12.1g | Cholesterol: 39mg

**YUMMY! Very moist "bread!" Almost cake-like. Everyone loved it!

Tex Mex Calzones

We tried Kristi's recipe for Tex Mex Calzones tonight; LOVED it all! Thanks for sharing:)

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
• 1/3 cup fat-free milk
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Martha White)
• 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
• Cooking spray
• 1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Nutritional Information

Calories:354 (36% from fat)

Fat:14.1g (sat 7.1g,mono 3.3g,poly 1.2g)

Protein:18.9g

Carbohydrate:36.3g

Fiber:2.5g

Cholesterol:58mg

Iron:1.7mg

Sodium:620mg

Calcium:179mg

**Super! Different, very easy!

Reese's Ice Cream Cake

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup egg substitute
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups low-fat Peanut Butter Cup ice ceam (such as Edy's/Dreyer's Slow-Churned Light), softened
• 3 cups frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
• 8 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped
  

Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray. Line bottom of each pan with wax paper.

Combine cocoa, water, and butter, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cool.

Combine sugars in a large bowl, stirring well until blended. Add egg substitute; beat 2 minutes or until light and creamy. Add cocoa mixture, and beat for 1 minute.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to bowl; beat for 1 minute or until blended. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pans. Wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for 2 hours or until slightly frozen.

Spread ice cream in an 8-inch round cake pan lined with plastic wrap. Cover and freeze 4 hours or until firm.

To assemble cake, place one cake layer, bottom side up, on a cake pedestal. Remove ice cream layer from freezer; remove plastic wrap. Place ice cream layer, bottom side up, on top of cake layer. Top with remaining cake layer.

Stir whipped topping until blended. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Freeze until ready to serve. Let cake stand at room temperature 10 minutes before slicing.

Nutritional Information

Calories:251 (24% from fat)

Fat:6.8g (sat 3.3g,mono 2.1g,poly 0.4g)

Protein:4.3g

Carbohydrate:44.4g

Fiber:1.7g

Cholesterol:19mg

Iron:1.6mg

Sodium:207mg

Calcium:63mg

**This is an AWESOME cake! It is originally a Peppermint Ice Cream Cake from Cooking Light, but I altered it to our taste. It's way easier than it looks! The cake is a little dry, but the ice cream and cool whip mixture balances it out. Make sure it's wrapped tightly in the freezer so it doesn't dry out faster.

Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 stick margarine
8 chicken bouillion cubes
6 c. water
3/4 c. flour
1 c. milk
1 c. salsa
3 chicken breasts(cooked and cubed) I sometimes use 1/2 rotisserie chicken, shredded
6 drops hotsauce
1 c.sour cream
1 lb. Velveeta cheese(cubed)

Topping:

Grated cheddar cheese and chips

Melt butter in large kettle. Dissolve 8 bouillion cubes in 6 cups of water in the microwave, then add water and bouillion cubes to the melted butter in the kettle. Mix flour and milk together in separate
bowl. Add to kettle. Mix well until smooth. Add salsa,chicken, hot sauce, sour cream and
velveeta. Stir until smooth and all the cheese is melted. Bring to a slow boil, stirring constantly so it doesn't scorch as it thickens. Serve topped with cheddar cheese and chips. Makes 10 plus servings.


***Always a hit!

Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

Allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon—a combination often found in cold-weather baked goods—accent the savory rub mixture. Turn the pork frequently in the pan so the spices don't burn and grow bitter. The rub also works well with heritage pork such as Duroc or Berkshire. If you don't have whole allspice berries, preground allspice will work.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces pork)

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine first 9 ingredients; rub over pork. Let stand 20 minutes. Heat oil in a medium ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan; cook 4 minutes, browning on all sides.

3. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155° (slightly pink), turning after 7 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut pork crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Nutritional Information

Calories:166

Fat:6.3g (sat 1.7g,mono 3.4g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:24g

Carbohydrate:2.1g

Fiber:0.5g

Cholesterol:74mg

Iron:1.7mg

Sodium:500mg

Calcium:13mg

**The flavor is unbelievable!