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With my 10-year high school reunion planning/coordinating over, I have returned to cooking and entertaining for my family. Since there was a left-over pie crust from the Mini Mummies made on Halloween, I decided to make Chicken Empanadas. They are wonderfully delicious chicken and cheese filled pie crust pieces! They make a great party food or easy to grab snack. Now, Paula's recipe makes 12-15 servings, but since I only had one pie crust, I cut the recipe in half. Here is my 1/2 sized Empanada recipe!
CHICKEN EMPANADAS
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
1 refrigerated pie crust
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon salsa
2 ounce FAT FREE cream cheese, softened
1 cup 2% Mexican cheese
1 cup chopped, cooked chicken (1 large chicken breast)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine chicken and next 7 ingredients. Unroll 1 pie crust onto a lightly floured surface. Roll onto a 15-inch circle. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Arrange 1 pie crust round on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush edges of crust with water. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in center of the round. Fold dough over filling, pressing edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadas on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.
THE RESULTS:
Once I served these things...they went fast! I was able to get 14 empanadas out of one pie crust, which was plenty for four adults. I served them with salsa; a fat free, low-calorie condiment. Fat free or light sour cream would have also been good. Paula serves her empanadas with a cheese dip, but for the added calories...it wasn't worth it. They are really tasty just plain. The most you'll need is salsa (for all you dippers out there). I really love the idea of empanadas. I think I am going to experiment with these and try other ingredients for filling the pie rounds. I'll keep you all posted.
ENJOY!!
NUTRITION FACTS (per serving): 150 calories; 10g fat; 3.4g carbohydrate; 11.8g protein; 0g fiber
One of my favorite sandwiches of all time is chicken salad! In fact, I love all mayonnaise-smothered salads; egg salad, tuna salad...you get the idea. Now, if you eat chicken salad out or buy it pre-made, it is more than likely made with real mayonnaise. It is delicious, of course, but it is loaded with fat. Instead, I would like to offer you a light and refreshing twist on Jamie's Classic Chicken Salad. For this recipe, I used little rolls to make a great party food when having guests over. But you can do it however you like; try it on a wrap, wheat bread or on a bed of lettuce. Here's what you need to do to make healthy chicken salad at home...
Jamie's Chicken Salad (Sliders)
Makes 12 sliders
INGREDIENTS:
1.25 lbs. boneless/skinless chicken breasts; cooked & diced
1 cup red grapes; halved
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
2 teaspoon Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Salt
salt & pepper to taste
3/4 cup Hellman's Low Fat Mayonnaise Dressing (green label)
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon chicken salad onto salad, whole wheat bread or roll. If serving on bread, salad can be layered with tomato, onion and spinach.
RESULTS:
It was so good! Even my mother-in-law, who only uses the "real-deal" mayonnaise, could not believe that it was low-fat mayonnaise dressing; which is only 1 gram of fat per serving!! She said, and I quote, "You can't even tell!" That is just music to my ears; another sweet recipe victory.
The grapes that were added gave a fresh, light taste to the salad. You may also choose to add diced apple or mandarin oranges. It's a personal preference that will pretty much make the same impact. I have also seen almonds added to chicken salad as well. What really made a big difference in the nutritional value of this recipe was the mayo switch and leaving out the egg. Hellman's low-fat mayonnaise dressing is the way to go for cutting the most fat and the egg just really isn't needed. It's great without it. I hope you ENJOY!!
NUTRITION FACTS (per serving): 67.42 calories; 1.41g fat; 4.16g carbohydrate; 10.57g protein; .25g fiber
SERVED ON 100% WHOLE WHEAT PILLSBURY DINNER ROLL: 157.42 calories; 2.41g fat; 21.16g carbohydrate; 13.57g protein; 2.75g fiber
Halloween has come and gone. Last night, our house was full of hungry little monsters with big appetites. They needed to fill those tummies in order to sustain all the trick or treating ahead. For a fun, easy and kid-friendly dinner, I made a healthy version of Paula Deen's Mini Mummies.All my friends at MY GIRL PAULA are cooking these little guys this month, in celebration of the season.
With only two ingredients, there really wasn't much room for me to make any drastic changes. But thanks to low-fat varieties of the traditional hot dog, cookin' a lean mummy dog was nothin'!I didn't forget about the parents either. After all, they need their energy too. Below you will also find a grown-up, lean version of the Mini Mummies that can be served any time of the year.
MINI MUMMIES
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS:
1 package of TURKEY hot dogs (Light or Fat Free Beef Franks would also work)
1 package of prepared pie dough
DIRECTIONS:
PreHeat - 350°
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap the pie dough and cut into 1/8” strips. Wrap strips around the hot dog halves in a mummy like pattern. Pinch the ends together on the bottom side of the hot dog. Place on the lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown. Approximately 10 minutes. Serve with mustard and ketchup.
For the "Grown-Up" Version, use turkey dogs and Pillsbury bread stick twists. Wrap 1/2 a bread stick around 1/2 a dog. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
RESULTS:
They were "spook-tacular"! Everyone, both young and not so young, loved the Mini Mummies. Once again, this is another simple dish that is not only tasty, but fun too. It's always fun to have fun with food and make it fit with the occasion. I wish I had found time to try more of Paula's great Halloween ideas. Well, there's always next year. It's time to start thinkin' TURKEY!
ENJOY!!
NUTRITION FACTS (Per serving using fat free franks): 158.75 calories; 7.47g fat; 15.26g carbohydrate; 7.26g protein; .83g fiber
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