Southwest Mini Crescent Burritos

These little burritos are so easy to make and very tasty. You can cut them in 1/2 and serve as an appetizer or eat 2 full ones to make a meal. The first time I made them I only used 1/2 a box of spinach and I was one burrito short of a 12 pack. It could have used the whole box so that's what I recommend. Also, it's a loose 1/4 cup of filling, not a packed one. Enjoy!!!


INGREDIENTS:
1 box (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained, rinsed
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese (4 oz)
1 package (1 oz) taco seasoning mix (or make your own)
2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent roll sheets

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, mix spinach, chicken, beans, corn, cheese and taco seasoning mix; set aside.

2. Unroll 1 can of crescent dough. Press or roll into 13x9-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into thirds to make 6 squares.

3. Spoon about 1/4 cup spinach mixture onto center of each square. Bring up one side of dough over filling and roll up, folding in sides as you roll. Pinch seam to seal. On ungreased cookie sheet, place rolls seam sides down and 2 inches apart.

4. Repeat with second can of dough and remaining spinach mixture.

5. Bake 14 to 18 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Serve warm with sour cream and salsa.

Makes 12 servings for a meal or 24 appetizers

Layered Southwestern Chicken Salad

This was a fabulous salad and so very easy to make. A warning about the dressing though. Do not taste the dressing alone. You won't like it. It's very limey sour and you won't want to put it on your salad. However, it is fabulous once it's tossed with the salad and blended with the other flavors in this dish.

Cilantro Lime Dressing:
1/3 chopped fresh cilantro or 2 Tbsp dried
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Salad:
1 package baby spinach leaves
1 container cherry tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 cup frozen corn (thawed)
1 red bell pepper diced
1 cup shredded cheddar or mexican cheese blend
2 servings tortilla chips crushed

2 lbs chicken breast
2 packets taco seasoning

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and place in plastic bag.
2. Add taco seasoning and shake to mix well.
3. Cook in skillet over medium high heat until chicken is cooked through.
4. While the chicken is cooking, layer the salad ingredients in a large glass bowl in the order listed.
5. Top with chicken and dressing and toss to mix very well.

Makes 8-10 servings

**If you won't be consuming the entire salad all at once, let each person toss their own salad with dressing. The remainder of the salad will keep better if it's undressed.

**For use as a side dish, leave off the chicken.

Best Ever Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I just made these tonight for the first time and they came out perfect. No extra flour needed, no other tweaking needed, they were simply perfect. These also work well with M&M's and butterscotch chips.

3/4 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 Tblsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teas. baking soda
1/2 teas. salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips (or one 12oz bag)

1. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
2. Cream together first 6 ingredients until nice and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the next 3 ingredients (don't sift).
4. Add 1/2 the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until fully blended.
5. Repeat step 4 with the other 1/2 of the flour mixture.
6. Mix in the chocolate chips by hand.
7. Using a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop, drop onto a greased cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Grilled Bruschetta

This is my favorite dish of summer, especially when we start getting fresh tomatoes from the garden.

1 loaf french or sourdough bread
1-2 tomatoes sliced
finely grated mozzarella cheese or sliced mozzarella cheese.
fresh or dried basil
olive oil
salt

1. Slice the bread in 1" thick slices. You should get about 12 slices from one loaf.
2. Thinly slice the tomatoes so you have enough to place 1 slice per piece of bread.
3. Brush one side of each slice of bread with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
4. Flip the bread over and top with 1 slice of tomato and a sprinkle of basil.

**Note, if using fresh basil, place one full leaf under the tomato. This is my favorite way to make it.

5. Place the bread oil side down on the grill away from the coals.
6. Top with cheese (if using sliced mozz, you can place the cheese on top before putting on the grill).
7. Grill for 3-4 minutes until the bottom is toasted and the cheese is melted.

Makes about 12 servings.

**Servings can be adjusted depending on the amount of bread, tomatoes and cheese on hand. I always make sure to have 2 pieces per person available because it's just too good to only have 1.

Overnight Oats

I got this recipe from a wonderful girl on the weight watchers message boards (codename Glittergirl).

This is a very easy and very filling breakfast. With 9g of protein you can't go wrong. And when warmed up it tastes just like apple pie and who doesn't enjoy eating apple pie for breakfast??

1/2 cup old fashioned oats (NOT instant)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup fat free vanilla yogurt
cinnamon
nutmeg

1. Mix together and place in fridge overnight.
2. Eat cold or warm in microwave for 45 seconds - 1 minute.

**For other variations you can sub frozen berries for the applesauce and leave out the spices. Or skip the applesauce and add a little bit of maple syrup and brown sugar. The options are endless.

ENJOY!!!

Paprika Chicken with Sour Cream Gravy

I modified this from a Campbell's recipe I found. The original recipe was over 500 calories for one serving because they wanted you to coat the chicken in flour and fry it in butter. This recipe doesn't need that at all and I managed to cut it down to 170 calories per serving. So flavorful too.

6 small chicken breasts (about 24 ounces total)
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
8 ounces fat free sour cream
seasoning salt
ground pepper
paprika

1. Sprinkle each side of the chicken with sesoning salt, pepper, and paprika.
2. Heat a non stick skillet over medium high heat and spray liberally with cooking spray.
3. Cook then chicken for about 6-8 minutes or until brown on each side.
4. Meanwhile mix together the soup and sour cream.
5. When chicken is brown, pour the soup mixture on top, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is done.

Delicious served with long grain and wild rice or my cauliflower mashed potato recipe which can be found here: http://culinarycreationsbyjill.blogspot.com/2009/10/cauliflower-mashed-potatoes.html

Makes 6 servings.

Snicker Apple Salad

This is my low fat version of this yummy favorite dessert. It's a great salad to bring along for all those yummy cookouts coming up this summer. I like to mix up the apples I use. I usually use granny smith and red delicious.

6 medium apples of any kind cut into bite size pieces.
1 pack of full size snickers bars (6pack) or Milky Way if someone can't have nuts.
1 container fat free cool whip
1 package instant sugar free vanilla pudding
1 cup skim milk

1. Mix milk and pudding together and place in fridge.
2. Cut up the apples and snickers (milky way) into bit size pieces and combine in a large bowl.
3. Mix pudding with container of cool whip and pour on top of apples.
4. Mix until thoroughly combined.
5. Chill for a few hours before serving.

Makes about 16, 1/2 cup servings.