Butternut Squash Pizza

One of my resolutions for the new year is to lose 30 pounds. To lose that weight I have to make healthy decisions in terms of the food I put in my mouth. The meal I had tonight was definitely a healthy choice. It only took about a half hour to make too, so not only was it healthy, but it was also easy! The best of both worlds, yeah?

I really enjoyed the taste of these little squash pizzas. They were also really easy to eat and could be made for lunch or even a snack.

Butternut Squash Pizza

Ingredients
1 butternut squash
1 chicken sausage
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup kale, chopped
4 cherry tomatoes, sliced
Olive oil, salt, and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400.

2. Slice the neck off of the squash. Set the body aside. Slice the neck of the squash into 1/4-inch pieces (mine made 11 slices.)

3. Place the squash on a baking sheet. Brush a small amount of olive oil on both sides of each squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

4. Remove the squash from the oven and flip each piece over. Cover each squash with some sausage, cheese, kale, and tomatoes, splitting the ingredients evenly above your squash pieces. Bake for 15 more minutes.

* serves 2
* about 333 calories per serving
* this post is being shared with Bake with Bizzy at Bizzy Bakes

Chicken Saltimbocca over Noodles with Sauteed Kale and Garlic

Until recently my two favorite vegetables were sweet potato and spinach. Recently a new veggie has made the list: kale. Seeing kale
in the store, I would never suspect that it would be something  I wanted to eat so bad. But having kale for the second time, it’s definitely finding a way into my regular diet.

The chicken saltimbocca required more work than what I would normally put into a weeknight meal, but luckily I still am on break! The sage had such a delicious flavor. And the prosciutto. Basically, the whole dish was YUM!

 

Chicken Saltimbocca

Ingredients
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
8 fresh sage leaves
4 slices prosciutto
1 3/4 cup flour
3 tbsp Brummel&Brown (or other butter replacement or butter)
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. Lay the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap.  With a mallet pound the meat to 1/4 inch thick. Season each breast with salt and pepper.

2. Arrange 2 sage leaves on top of each chicken breast. Wrap 1 slice prosciutto around the chicken like a belt, covering the sage. Pour 1/4 cup of flour in a pie pan. Dredge the chicken in the flour.

3. In a large frying pan, melt 2 tbsp Brummel&Brown. Add the chicken in the skillet and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until cooked all the way through. Remove from the pan and set aside, covering to keep warm.

4. Reduce heat to medium. In the same pan melt the remaining Brummel&Brown and whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp of flour and stir for 1 minute. Whisk in the wine and the broth and cook until the sauce has thickened. Serve the sauce over the chicken.

* serves 4
* 318 calories per serving
* the calorie count does not include the pasta

Sauteed Kale and Garlic

Ingredients
1/2 lb fresh kale, stem removed and leaves chopped
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups water

Directions

 1. In the olive oil saute the red onion and garlic, until they begin to turn brown.

2. In the skillet add the kale with 1/2 cup water. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until all the water has evaporated. Add another 1/2 cup of water and cook the water off again. Repeat one more time.

* serves 4
* 62 calories per serving

Lentil Chicken Soup and Spinach Pinwheels

I’ve written about this before, but I’ll mention it again since it’s relevant right now because of the dish I’m posting. I’ve lost about 50 pounds since August of 2010. This has all been thanks to the website myfitnesspal. Besides the wonderful calorie database, it also has a great community of other individuals also losing weight. I’m part of a group over there called RECIPE SWAP. Each week two members of the group share a recipe for everyone else to cook.

Last week nattiec21 shared this recipe with the group. It definitely pushed me outside of my “normal” ingredients. I have never cooked with kale before and really, I’m not even sure if I’d ever eaten it before. Also, I had an unopened package of lentils in my cabinet, but I had never used them before. The nice thing about the group is I get stuck on the same flavors sometimes, the same ingredients, and the same dishes. This allows me try things I just wouldn’t otherwise.

I made this dish with those cute spinach pinwheels in the picture. They worked similar to croutons and were very delicious. Overall, I’d rank this dish high on the recipe chain and I would make it again.

Lentil Chicken Soup

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tbsp fresh basil
2 cups coarsely chopped kale
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 skinless boneless chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cup dry brown lentils

Directions

1. Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray. Preheat the pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic to the heated saucepan. Cook and cover for 5-7 minutes, allowing the vegetables to begin to tenderize, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the kale and the dried lentils. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and cover for 30 minutes.

3. Stir in the chicken, tomato, and basil. Cover and simmer for 5 more minutes.

* serves 3
* 228 calories per serving
* shared to be by nattiec21

Spinach Pinwheels

Ingredients
1 8-oz package refrigerated reduced fat crescent rolls
2 wedges Laughing Cow creamy Swiss cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
several handfuls of spinach, coarsely chopped (I didn’t measure this)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400.

2. Split the crescent dough in half along the center to form a rectangle. Press the perforated edges of the dough together with your fingers.

3. Spread each rectangle with one block of the creamy Swiss cheese. Sprinkle with garlic powder and spinach.

4. Starting on the long side of the dough, roll together as if you were rolling a cinnamon rolls. Cut into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet.

5. Continue until you have used up all of the crescent roll dough.

6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

* makes 10 servings
* 3 pinwheels per serving
* 165 calories per serving