cauliflower mash (dairy free)

This is a basically 0 point side, and it tastes great. My hubby liked it and he hates cauliflower.

Ingredients

1 bag frozen cauliflower 1/2 chopped onion 1 crushed garlic clove 1/4 cup chicken broth (reduced sodium) 2 tbsp coconut milk-1 seasonings to taste (I added paprika, pepper, and cayenne)

Directions

place frozen cauliflower, onion, garlic, broth, and spices in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 7 minutes or until hot. spoon into blender or food processor and blend until smooth, adding coconut milk as you blend.
Drain excess liquid and serve.

Serving Size: Makes 4 portions

Stuffed Portabellas - 3 points plus (could be 1.5)

 These are great for the entree or the side dish.
 
Makes 6 mushrooms - 3 points plus per mushroom

Ingredients
6 large Portabella mushrooms.-0
1 bag steam in bag rice and veggies- 10
1/2 avocado (chopped)-4
1 can chicken (drain water)- 2.5
1 laughing cow light cheese (chopped)- 1
diced garlic to taste
salt and peper to taste

heat oven to 350

Place bag of rice in microwave as directed on package. While it cooks, remove stem and clean brown gills from portabella mushrooms and prepare other fillings listed above.. Mix avocado, chicken, cheese, seasonings, and rice mixture together in a large bowl. Place mushrooms on   cookie sheet and stuff with mixture until mixture is gone.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until brown and smelling delicious.

You could also omit the rice in favor of other veggies and cut down on the points, but it will be a little less filling if, like me, you have a man who eats like a horse to feed. lol.

Chicken and Veggie Fritatta 3.5 points

 This makes a great light lunch or snack. You can use any veggies you like for this recipe, but I like artichoke stir fry. For a few extra points you can add 1/4 cup of cheese (just before you put it in the oven) and a medium avocado cut in slices (before you serve), but this isn't a super filling meal, so don't add too much. For fun, you might even try adding a laughing cow light cheese wedge (1 point), cut into chunks and sprinkled over the top before you put it in the oven.
Be sure to use an oven safe skillet.

4 servings - 3.5 points

3 egg whites - 3 points
2 eggs - 4 points
2 chicken breast tenderloins (cut in chunks) - 4 points
1 bag frozen veggies (thawed, drained, and patted dry with a paper towel) - 0 points
1 cup 1% milk - 3 points
Seasonings to your taste.

Turn on your broiler.
Cook tenderloins in a pan until they are cooked through and browned. Add veggies and let cook while you crack eggs and whites into bowl. Add milk and seasonings. I like to use red pepper, lemon pepper, or Italian seasonings, but you can use whatever flavors you like best. Pour egg mix over the top of the veggies and chicken. Use a rubber spatula to gently push cooked egg from the bottom of the pan as it firms. When most of the wetness has firmed into solid egg (kind of like an omelet) toss the whole pan in the oven.

Broil for 3-4 minutes until the top is browned. Cut in quarters and serve.

Black bean casserole - 3 points

I love black beans. They're tasty, and 0 points. Who could complain about that. So I'm sure that over time, you'll notice that I use black beans a lot. Here's a great and super fast casserole you can pull together quickly for a fast and healthy dinner. You can pair with rice or serve larger servings, up to you. It's great on tortillas too. You could also top with light sour cream, fresh cilantro, avocado, etc... Just make sure you configure points for these extras.

4 servings 3 points per serving

1 can black beans - 0 points
1 tsp garlic - 0 points
1 tsp garlic - 0 points
1 tsp red pepper flakes - 0 points
2-3 grinds of pepper - 0 points
1 tsp lime juice - 0 points
1.5 cups water - 0 points
1 can diced tomatoes with lime and cilantro (drained) - 1 point
2 chicken tenderloins - 4 points
2 tbsp sliced olives - 1 point
6 fresh mushrooms (sliced) - 0 points
3 slices cheese - 6 points

Heat oven to 350.
Bring water to boil. Add chicken, 1 tsp garlic, red pepper flakes, pepper, and lime juice. While this is cooking (about 15 minutes until it's cooked through) put beans in small casserole dish. Mash with fork and stir to mix so you have an almost refried bean texture. Combine olives and mushrooms in a bowl with garlic and mix well. layer atop beans.
When chicken is done, cube it and place it atop the casserole, then cover with tomatoes and top with cheese.
Cook for 20-25 minutes.

Reuben Casserole - 6 Points Plus

I love reuben sandwiches, but with all that fattening cheese and sauce, plus butter, they aren't worth the points. So I came up with a low points version of the recipe. This is a really simple and quick dinner.

serves 4 - 6 points plus per serving

Ingredients
6 slices of corned beef (cut into strips) - 6 points plus
1 jar of sauerkraut (drained) - 0 points
4 slices rye (cut into chunks) -- though I use sourdough - 8 points (might be more. check your brand)
2 tbsp thousand island - 3 points
1 tsp mustard - 0 points
1 tsp relish - 0 points
1/2 cup swiss cheese (though any white cheese works, and some are lower in points) 6 points


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix mustard, relish, and thousand island in casserole dish. Add corn beef strips and mix thoroughly, so corned beef is mostly coated and covers the bottom of the dish. Spread jar of sauerkraut over the top, then top with bread cubes and finally the cheese. 

Cook for 15 minutes until bread is brown and cheese is melted.

Stuffed Mushroom Caps - 1 Point

I love stuffed mushrooms, but it's hard to find a delicious mushroom cap for so few points. Here's what I've come up with. If you want to drop a to 0 points, you can use spray instead of oil and omit the cheese, but I find the flavor suffers.

3 caps per serving = 1 point per serving

12 large mushrooms - 0 points
1 bag fresh spinach (coarse chopped) - 0 points
1 tsp olive oil - 1.5
1 tbsp garlic (or to taste) - 0 points
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan - 3 points
(salt and pepper to taste)

Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Spray cookie sheet with pam. Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Place the caps on the cookie sheet and chop the stems. Heat oil in a pan and saute garlic with stems until garlic just starts to turn brown. Add the spinach, salt, pepper and turn once or twice until spinach starts to wilt. Toss with cheese until mixed well, then stuff into mushroom caps. Cook for 12-15 minutes.