My Healthy Alternative Favorites

My Healthy Alternative Favorites

Chicken Parm

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Part skim mozzerella

1 tbs freshly grated parmesean cheese

1 Morning Star chicken patty

1/3 cup-cooked Whole grain pasta (any style)

4 tbs low sugar marinara sauce (or any low sugar pasta sauce that you fancy) 

2 good sized basil leaves-chopped

Microwave the chicken patty for one minute.  Flip over, top with 3 tbs marinara sauce, mozzerella & parmesean cheese.  Microwave for 45 seconds.  Top with basil and a few twists of freshly ground pepper.  Put remaining sauce on top of your whole grain pasta of choice then stack your chicken parm on top.  Serve with a side salad & a healthy dessert. Yum!

*I always skip the pasta- the veggies & the chicken patty have plenty of carbs in them

Stuffed Mushroom Caps

Ingredients:

4 portabella mushrooms  (three whole, one chopped)  

12 oz bag- prewashed- baby spinach

1/2 red onion-coursely chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 cloves garlic- minced

1/2 cup part skim mozzerella shredded cheese

1/8 cup freshly grated parmesean

1 tbs I CANT BELIEVE ITS NOT BUTTER

1 tbs olive oil

2 tbs white cooking wine (or any white wine you may have on hand)

salt & pep

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Clean out the mushroom caps with a spoon, being careful to reserve all that you remove.  Allow the cap itself to remain at least half its original thickness so that it is strong enough to hold the filling after being cooked down.   

Saute the onion & mushroom pieces on medium high heat in 1 tbs olive oil for about 3 minutes (or until just softened).  Add white cooking wine, saute for about 2 more minutes.  Covering the pan loosely between stirring will keep the steam trapped in the pan and will allow you to saute the veggies with a lot less oil.  Remove from pan. 

Toast the pine-nuts over medium-low heat.  The pan will already be quite hot & have yummy flavors in it.  Do not add anything to the pan.  Constantly move the pine nuts around, turning them over and over and over so that they are golden NOT BURNT.  This is a very quick process...do not leave them-even for a second!!!  When toasted, add to the filling mixture.

Give the pan a quick non-stick spray and saute the caps for just a few minutes to soften them a bit.  Place them in a baking dish.

Wilt spinach with 1 tbs olive oil & 1 tbs I CAN'T BELIEVE ITS NOT BUTTER for about 3-5 minutes- just until barely wilted.  You don't want it to turn to mush, looking like it does out of the can.  Use tongs to gently turn the spinach contantly while over medium-low heat so that you coat it with the oil/butter and evenly wilt it.  Add garlic, salt, pepper, mozzerella and parmesean.  Gently turn with tongs to mix through. 

Place in oven for about 5-10 minutes.  Make sure you watch your mushrooms- you don't want them to collapse from the heat.

Mushrooms need a bit more TLC then your typical meat n potatoes but they are SO worth it!  Serve with a side salad & bit of long grain rice (cooked in beef consumme & all the mushroom scrapings).