Tilapia and Sweet Potato Fries

Tonight was a big step in my cooking career, I made a meal without a recipe! I've been making sweet potato fries for a while now but I've always used a recipe for cooking fish. Tonight, I wanted to create a healthy recipe with ingredients I already had at home. Overall, I was a quick meal to prepare, inexpensive, and yummy! Derek said the tilapia tasted like fish sticks! The sweet potato fries were the perfect combination of salty and sweet. This dinner will make an appearance again very soon!

Tilapia
Ingredients:
2 pieces of Tilapia
4 Reduced Fat Ritz Crackers
4 Tbs. Egg Beaters
2 Tbs. Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 tsp. Paprika
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Lightly spray pan with cooking spray.
3. In a plastic bag crush Ritz crackers. Mix in paprika and salt.
4. Dip fish in eggs beaters and coat with cracker mixture on both sides.
5. Place on baking pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:
2 med. Sweet Potatoes
2 Tbs. Light Cooking Oil
1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/8 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt

Directions:
1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1 inch wedges.
2. Place cut sweet potatoes into an empty bowls.
3. Stir in the oil, spices and salt into the sweet potatoes.
4. Place sweet potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet.
5. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

Tuna Cakes

Here is another healthy and fabulous recipe for the week from Kraftfoods.com. I was a little apprehensive about this one, but I loved the way it came out. We omitted the carrots because we didn't have any, but I still thought it was great. It was not too fishy and went perfectly with steamed veggies. If you are looking for a filling but healthy meal, this is it!

what you need!
2 cans (6 oz. each) light tuna in water, drained, flaked
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
3/4 cup water
1 carrot, shredded
1/3 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. CLAUSSEN Sweet Pickle Relish
make it!

1MIX all ingredients. Refrigerate 10 min.

2HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Use ice cream scoop to add 1/3-cup portions of tuna mixture, in batches, to skillet.

3FLATTEN into patties with back of spatula. Cook 6 min. or until golden brown on both sides, carefully turning patties over after 3 min.

**We cooked our on a griddle to eliminate some calories.

Chicken Parmesan Bundles

With my wedding just around the corner and the house process moving along, I am looking for two things when planning my dinners for the week: affordable and healthy. I went to Kraftfoods.com and found a few recipes that I am excited to try this week. The first one was a great success, it was amazing! I used reduced fat cream cheese, parmesan cheese, ritz crackers, and served the chicken with whole wheat pasta. Those are the only changes from the recipe, other than that we followed it to a T and will make it again!

what you need!
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1-1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
6 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1 egg
10 RITZ Crackers, crushed (about 1/2 cup)
1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, heated
make it!
HEAT oven to 375ºF.

MIX cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella and 3 Tbsp. Parmesan until well blended; spread onto chicken breasts. Starting at one short end of each breast, roll up chicken tightly. Secure with wooden toothpicks, if desired.

BEAT egg in shallow dish. Mix remaining Parmesan and cracker crumbs in separate shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg, then roll in crumb mixture. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF). Remove and discard toothpicks, if using. Serve topped with spaghetti sauce and remaining mozzarella.

Mexican Chicken

This wonderful recipe came into my life last year. Derek and I were looking for a meal to make for Valentine's last year and we knew just who to call, my soon to be mother in law! This recipe has a few steps to it, but it is absolutely delicious and worth the time. We loved this recipe so much, it has since turned into our "special occasion" meal.

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup parmesan grated cheese
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (set aside 1/4 of it for topping)
3 tbs. El Pinto green chili (or any green chili)
1 can black beans (rinsed & drained)
Yellow rice
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Salt to taste
Wax paper
Cooking Spray
Toothpicks

Directions:
1. Mix black beans, green chili, and cheddar cheese in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
2. Butterfly the chicken breasts and pound them out with a meat tenderizer until they are thin. Cover meat with sheet of wax paper to prevent an unwanted mess.
3. Spray a lg, cooking sheet with cooking spray.
4. Bread both sides of the chicken with the parmesan bread crumbs. Use your hands to massage in the bread crumbs, no egg is needed.
5. Scoop 1/4 cup of the bean mixture onto one side of the butterflied chicken. Do this to each piece of chicken and set aside the rest of the bean mixture.
6. Fold over the other side of the chicken breast and secure with toothpicks.
7. Bake chicken for 20 minutes at 350 until cooked through.
8. Take out chicken and spread the remaining bean mixture over the top of each piece of chicken. Put back in the oven for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted.
9. Take toothpicks out and serve with yellow rice.
ENJOY!!

Derek and I use El Pinto green chili.

Sugar Cookie Bars

Sugar Cookie Bars
This semi-homemade cookie recipe was a hit for New Years Eve. I wanted something quick, simple and delicious. I think I found the recipe I was looking for! Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 tube (16-1/2 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Directions
Let dough stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften. Press into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Sprinkle with chocolate chips, coconut and pecans. Bake 10-12 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 2 dozen.

Annie's Fruit Salsa

MUST TRY RECIPE!!! I found this recipe a few years ago on AllRecipes.com and it has become a must have for every party. The dip is simple to make and takes no time at all. Instead of making home made cinnamon chips (which I attempted once), I buy Stacy's Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips. They are the perfect match for this delicious dip, and half the work. ENJOY!


Ingredients:
2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
8 ounces raspberries
1 pound strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves.
2. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.

Cinnamon Chips:

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.
Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Tomato Mozzarella Tray

I love the tomato mozzarella combination. It's always easy to make and is the perfect addition to any party.

Tomato Mozzarella Tray
Ingredients:
4 large tomatoes
2 packages of fresh mozzarella
Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing
Fresh basil (1 TBS)

Directions:
1. Wash then slice tomatoes.
2. Slice mozzarella cheese the same way you sliced the tomatoes.
3. Chop basil
4. Layer cheese and tomatoes one after another on a tray.
5. Sprinkle basil over tray.
**I put a little dressing over the tray and also put a little bowl of the dressing on the side**