Easy Chicken Nuggets

3T Melted butter
2 whole large chicken breasts (2lb) skinned, boned & cut into 1-inch pieces
50 wheat thins finely crushed
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese grated

In a bowl stir together melted butter & Worcestershire sauce. Add chicken and toss to coat. In a plastic bag stir together crushed wheat thins and Parmesan cheese. Add chicken pieces, a few at a time, closing the bag and shaking to coat pieces well. Place chicken in a single layer in a 15x10x1 inch pan.

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Dip in barbeque sauce, ketchup, or honey.

Healthy Microwave Popcorn

1 brown paper lunch bag
2 TB popcorn kernels

Put the kernels in the brown lunch bag & fold the top over a couple of times. Put it in the microwave until the popping slows, about 2-3 minutes depending on your microwave.

Season to your taste. We like to spray it with olive oil (with the Misto) and sprinkle salt on it. Delicious (and healthy) snack!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/8 c. whole wheat flour- if you have the pastry flour it works best
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. room temperature butter
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg, room temperature
6 oz. chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Method:
Preheat oven to 375* Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Using the paddle attachment beat until creamy and fluffy. Beat in egg. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well. Add chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and let cool on rack. Makes about 20 cookies.

Bell Pepper Casserole

2 large green bell peppers
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey breast
1-2 cloves minced garlic
2 c. cooked brown rice
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
mozzarella cheese
ketchup

Cook the rice according to the directions.

Remove the stems from the peppers and cut in half. Remove the seeds and cores. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the peppers and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and place on a cutting board to cool. Once cooled, cut the peppers into bite sized pieces.

Meanwhile, cook the meat and garlic, breaking the meat into small chunks.

In a bowl, mix the egg whites and rice. Add the cooked meat and a couple tablespoons of mozzarella cheese and mix. Add ketchup to make it a little saucier, about 1/8-1/4 c. (I just squirt it in until I get the consistency I like.)

Transfer to a baking dish and add the peppers. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until a light crust forms on the top and the cheese is melted.

Makes 4 servings.

I adapted this recipe from the Bench Press Bell Peppers recipe in the Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. We like it well enough that it is one of our new staples.

Grandma Cardon's V8 Juice

When Jordan and I were at Grandma's for lunch one day we had a little glass of V8 juice with our dinner. Neither of us are huge V8 fans but we drank it anyway... and LOVED it! It was great! So the next summer I called Grandma and got the recipe from her and this summer we finally made it... and LOVED it. I don't think she ever makes it exactly the same way but this is what she told me. Try it. You'll love it.

Make this in a soup kettle/pot.
Wash your tomatoes and take out the stem. Leave the rest of the tomato. It usually takes a couple dozen tomatoes.

In the bottom of the pot put:
1 stick of celery
a medium onion
garlic (sometimes)
a small carrot
parsley (small amount)
spinach (small amount)
1 jalapeno - no seeds & veins (Add this if you want a little kick. Leave the seeds & veins if you want smoke coming out your ears. :))

Fill the rest of the pot with tomatoes.

Cook until the tomatoes are soft. Blend well in a blender.

For each quart add:
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar.

Enjoy!

If bottling, process in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes.

Buttercream Frosting

4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 c. soft butter

Combine and beat until smooth. Makes about 2 cups.

Edible Playdough

1 box white cake mix
1 stick soft but not melted margarine
+ - 3 tablespoons water

Mix cake mix and margarine in large bowl. When it is well mixed add 1 teaspoon of water at a time and mix until the desired consistency. Store in a plastic zip seal bag (if there's any left!)

Rulon's Barbeque Sauce

2 c. ketchup
1-1 1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. molasses
1 Tbsp. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. celery salt
little bit Tabasco sauce.

Heat and bring to a boil. Serve over any kind of meat.

Italian Chicken and Potatoes

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1 tsp. Italian seasoning (or mix basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, and garlic powder to equal same)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese *
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

Place chicken in bottom of Crockery Pot. Sprinkle with half of the Italian dressing, spices, and the grated cheese. Put the potatoes on top or around the chicken. sprinkle with the rest of the dressing, spices, and cheese. Cook on low for about 6-8 hours, or until the chicken and potatoes are tender.

*I only put cheese on the chicken (1/4 cup) and sprinkled a little bit on the top of the potatoes, to reduce the fat.

I got this recipe from here. We all really enjoyed this.

Broccoli-Carrot Stir-Fry

Sauce:
2/3 c. chicken or vegetable broth (we like beef)
2 TB balsamic vinegar (2 TB red wine or apple cider vinegar plus 1 tea sugar)
2 tea. cornstarch
Mix & set aside

1 tea. grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 c. thinly bias-sliced carrots (about 3 medium)
2 c. broccoli florets
2 TB chopped walnuts, toasted*

Pour about 1 TB oil into a wok or large skillet (Add more oil as necessary during cooking.) Preheat over medium-high heat. Stir-fry ginger in hot oil for 15 seconds. Add carrots; stir-fry 1 minute. Add broccoli & stir-fry 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender. Push vegetables from center of wok.

Stir sauce and add to middle of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir all ingredients together to coat with sauce. Cook and stir about 1 minute more until heated through. Sprinkle with nuts.

You can add chicken to this if you would like. We accidentally forgot to add the walnuts one time and it just wasn't the same. They really add to it.

*To toast, spread the food in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Bake in a 350 oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown, watching carefully and stirring once or twice so the food doesn't burn.

Italian Crusted Talapia

6 talapia fillets
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (tastes best with homemade crumbs)
1 TB Italian seasoning
1 tsp. thyme
1 1/2 tsp. garlic
2 tsp. parsley flakes
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup melted butter (I usually use less - just enough to moisten the bread crumbs)

Preparation

Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Lay 6 fillets in pan. Set aside.

In bowl combine bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, thyme, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Melt butter and pour into bread crumb mixture. Mix well. Spread over top of Talapia and press it on fairly firm. Spray top with non-stick spray.

Bake in preheated oven at 425 for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on oven.

Rice
1 1/3 c. plus 1 TB cold water
1/2 cup brown rice
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning,
About 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
A couple of shakes of paprika

Stir everything together in a pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover until done. Fluff with a fork before serving.

This makes 2 servings. When making more servings don't double, etc. the extra 1 TB water.

Serve rice & fish with freshly steamed vegetables.

Herbed Tomato-Vegetable Soup

2 cups water
1 14-oz can tomatoes, cut up or 1 1/4 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped (2 cups)
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced (1 cup)
2 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
1-2 potatoes
1 TB instant chicken bouillon granules
Dash of nutmeg (or mace if you have it)
Pinch of Italian Seasoning
Dash crushed Thyme

Stir in water, undrained tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes, bouillon granules, and seasonings. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 40 minutes or till vegetables are tender. Makes 4 servings.

Granola

Mix together:
15 c. old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 c. wheat germ
1/2 lb shredded coconut
3 c. sunflower seeds (raw)
4 1/2 c. chopped nuts (combination of walnuts, pecans, almonds, peanuts and/or mixed nuts)

In a saucepan, combine:
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 c. water
1 1/2 c. oil
3/4 c. honey
3/4 c. molasses
2 tsp. salt
1 T. cinnamon
1 T. vanilla

Heat until sugar and honey are dissolved but don't boil, stirring occasionally. Pour over oat mixture and mix well to coat granola. Spread on cookie sheets (5) approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick, and bake at 325 degrees for 17-20 minutes, or longer if you want it to be crunchier, stirring once. After the granola cools, add raisins or dried fruit if desired.

I usually half this recipe and it makes just under 2 cookie sheets. Mom submitted a different granola recipe... but this is also hers and the one I use. :)