Chicken Spaghetti

One of the meals I crave all the time is the chicken spaghetti from Orlando's. Since moving from Lubbock I had been on a mission to find or make a comparable recipe that could help me with my cravings. I'm surprised I've forgotten to share this recipe before but I made it last night for my sister and nephew so I was reminded to post it. I've played around with this and I'll admit this isn't Orlando's chicken spaghetti but it's the best recipe I've made so far. And I do like the fact that I actually know what goes into it so I'd actually bet that my chicken spaghetti has less calories and fat then the drooled about restaurant meal. Vegetarian feel free to omit the chicken and the recipe will still be just as delicious!

Chicken Spaghetti
2 chicken breasts, cut into bit size pieces
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium/large onion, diced
1 can Campbells Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup
1 can Campbells Healthy Request cream of chicken soup
3/4 can Ro-tel (tomatoes and green chilies)
splash of tomato sauce
1/2 package of spaghetti noodles
shredded cheddar cheese

Cook spaghetti until al dente, pasta will continue to cook some in the oven and you don't want it too mushy. Meanwhile saute chicken, peppers, and onion until chicken is cooked throughout and vegetables are softened. Add soups, Ro-tel, and tomato sauce. I typically just adjust the Ro-tel and tomato sauce to preferred taste, and I always make sure to get out all of the green chiles from the Ro-tel. (When using Healthy Request you might need to add a touch of salt to the sauce.) Simmer until sauce is completely mixed and warm throughout. Mix sauce and spaghetti together in casserole dish. Or I find it easiest to mix together in the pot I cooked the noodles then transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

I was looking through my Mom's GoodHousekeeping because I always look through all the recipes when she gets them and I came across an article on things to do with applesauce. I thought this dressing sounded super clever with the applesauce!

Autumn Vinaigrette
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp tarragon vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt/pepper as needed

Well I didn't have any tarragon vinegar lying around (does anyone???) so I decided to try it with red wine vinegar. I think I used the wrong kind of vinegar because that's really all it tasted like (and I'm a vinegar lover!) I also don't think it mixed wonderful w/ the more summery salad I was eating but I'm still intrigued by this idea and want to try it on a more appropriate autumn salad and possibly play around with the vinegar a little bit. Okay now the word vinegar looks weird because I've typed it so much...

Olive Garden Stuffed Mushrooms (Copycat)

*comments after recipe

Olive Garden Stuffed Mushrooms
8-12 fresh mushrooms
1 (6 ounce) can clams (drained and finely minced, save 1/4 cup of clam juice for stuffing)
1 green onion, finely minced
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon finely grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoons finely grated mozzarella cheese for stuffing
1/4 cup finely grated mozzarella cheese for garnish
1/4 cup melted butter
fresh parsley for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Gently wipe and stem mushrooms; pat dry
3. Combine clams, onions, garlic salt, minced garlic, butter, and oregano into bowl and mix well
4. Add Italian bread crumbs, egg, and clam juice and mix well
5. Add Parmesan, Romano, and mozzarella cheeses to the stuffing and mix well
6. Place approx. 1 1/2 teaspoons of the stuffing mixture into the mushroom cavity and slightly mound
7. Place the stuffed mushrooms in a lightly oiled baking dish. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over the top of the mushrooms
8. Cover and place in over for about 35-40 minutes
9. Remove cover; sprinkle the 1/4 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese on top and pop back in oven just so the cheese melts slightly
10. Garnish with freshly diced parsley. Serve hot

Makes 4 servings.
1 serving = 297 calories, 12.2g saturated fat, 391mg sodium, 14.6g protein

I wouldn't consider this a "healthy" dish but its not horrible either so if you're okay with the nutritional values or you're making it for a party go ahead! However this is The Healthy Bite so there are some easy suggestions to make this a bit healthier (along with my "two cents" about the recipe).
-First of all this is a great way to get those mushrooms in! Lots of B vitamins (great for metabolism and energy) and selenium (promotes antioxidant activity). My aunt suggested your basic white mushrooms and that is what we used but I personally love the flavor of brown mushrooms (baby portabella or crimini) so use whatever mushrooms you like!
-Don't be scared of the clams or clam juice!! Really even the people who don't like clams like this recipe. And because you mince them you can't even tell they're there.
-We used a bag of mix cheese instead of buying 3 different cheeses so it saved us some money. You might already have all 3 cheeses, in that case go for it. My suggestion if you want to cut back on the saturated fat and calories is to cut the cheese in half. Or even keep the cheese in the stuffing the same but don't sprinkle the 1/4 cup over the top.
-Also to cut back on the saturated fat and calories: spray w/ Pam instead of oiling your baking dish. And you do NOT need to pour 1/4 cup butter over the top...your mushrooms will bake fine if you don't and you'll let go of some of that unneeded stuff
-For all those fellow mushroom lovers out there, these are a great hors d'oeuvres at a party or side dish for dinner

Strawberry Banana Muffins (Lightened Up)

Hilary sent me a link to this recipe. Although I'm not much of a baker these muffins sounded yummy and we had the ingredients so I thought I'd try them out. I LOVED that the recipe only made 6 muffins which is perfect for smaller households or single people. Plus it can easily be doubled, etc if you need more muffins. I don't really consider 217 calories low for a small muffin so just keep that in mind when you're eating 2 or 3 :) But the taste was great and I thought it was a good way to use overripe bananas if you're tired of banana bread. The pics above were of the muffins I baked.

Strawberry Banana Muffins (Lightened Up): Recipe here

Mandarin Orange Salad with Orange Vinaigrette Dressing

This salad is very similar to the Berry-Madarin salad I posted last year but a different dressing and the salad is slightly different. I think I like parts of one salad with parts of the other! Both are good I just thought I'd give another option! (Plus this one has one of my favorite ingredients - Jicima!)

Mandarin Orange Salad

Red leaf lettuce
Green leaf lettuce
Purple onion - sliced in rings
Jicima - sliced in sticks
Mandarin oranges
Almond slices

Orange Vinaigrette Dressing:
1 Tbsp dry Italian dressing mix
1 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup orange juice (from orange)

Fusilli with Shrimp, Orange, and Arugula

This is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe from the Food Network that my Dad made last night. I LOVED how light the vinaigrette was. It was a perfect summer dish! He made it with white pasta but I'd love to try it with wheat pasta. We ate it as a main dish but it could easily be served as a side pasta salad as well. I didn't think it needed the green olives for flavor but I like green olives so I didn't mind them.

Fusilli with Shrimp, Orange, and Arugula
Serves 4-6

1 pound fusili pasta
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
Freshly ground salt & pepper
2 Tbsp white wine (or pasta water)

1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice from lemon (~1 lemon)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground salt & pepper
2 large oranges
5 ounces arugula (or spinich)
15 (5 ounces) large pitted green olives, halved

For the pasta:
Cook pasta as directed until desired tenderness, drain pasta.
In a large saute pan, heat 2 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and white wine (or pasta water) to the pan. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.

In a seperate large bowl combine the lemon zest and lemon juice. Slowly add the oil, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth. Use paring knife, remove the peel and white pith from oranges. Over the bowl, cut between the membranes of the oranges to form segments. Allow the juice to drip into serving bowl and squeeze out excess juice from membrane portion of orange into the bowl before discarding. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the arugula and olive to the serving bowl. Toss lightly to combine.

Add the hot pasta and shrimp to the vinaigrette and toss until the arugula is wilted and all the ingredients are combined and lightly coated with vinaigrette.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas - By Cheryl Parham

Last night, I put together green chili chicken enchiladas that came out really good and were so easy. Then, today I had leftover chicken so I made red chili chicken enchiladas and they were also so yummy!!! Enchiladas are really easy, but if you are like me I never really make them even though I love them. Anyway give these a try sometime!!!

First, best trick ever for super easy great recipes is buying a rotisserie chicken. It is cooked and has that great rotisserie taste and you woud be amazed at all the recipes you can do with that chicken!!

What you need:
1 rotisserie chicken- shredded
chopped onion (fresh or frozen)
2-3 cups Pepper jack cheese or another mexican cheese I am sure would be good too!
1/2 - 1 cup sour cream
corn tortillas
1 can or more of green enchilada sauce- Your preference. I used the Albertson's brand, but I have used Old El Paso too.
1 can diced green chile

**I eyed the measurements to fit my taste and only made six so do what works for you!!

Preheat oven to 350F
Spray a casserole pan w/ non-stick spray- mine is fairly small since I only made 6
Set casserole pan aside
Shred/cut up rotisserie chicken- need about 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups in a medium bowl
Add to the bowl of chicken- diced onions about 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup sour cream, diced green chiles(I used canned) and 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese.
Mix together and set aside.
In your sprayed casserole pan pour 1/2 of the green chili enchilada sauce to the bottom of the pan.
Take all the torillas you are going to use. Put on a plate then cover with another plate turned upside down. Microwave for about 30-40 seconds depending on how many.
Now take each tortilla dip into casserole pan, put the filling in it, roll it and repeat with all the tortillas and filling til finished.
Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas.
Spread shredded pepper jack cheese on top and bake in oven for 15 min. longer if more than 6.

* I like red sauce with ground beef, but the chicken was really good with the red sauce. The only thing I didn't use with the red was the diced green chilis.
Also, I am sure you can use ground beef, crab meat, shrimp, pork, ground turkey. Whatever