Chicken and Dumplings

Here is a new spin on Chicken and Dumplings.  It’s baked chicken breast stuffed with Havarti cheese and breaded with crumbed pretzels. The dumplings are made with whole wheat pancake mix.

Ingredients for two servings:

1 Large chicken boneless skinless chicken breast 
1 cup whole grain pancake mix 
1 ounce Havarti cheese 
1/2 cup mini pretzels (I like the unsalted ones) 
1/2 cup skim milk

Directions for chicken: 
1. Trim the chicken breast and cut in half widthwise. Butterfly the two halves and place 1/2 once of cheese inside. 
2. Place the chicken in a baking pan and sprinkle with crumbled pretzels. 
3. Bake at 375° for approximately 30mins or until done.

Directions for dumplings: 
1. Combined the pancake mix and milk in a bowl and knead until a stiff dough is formed. 
2. Make golf ball sized dumplings out of the dough.
3. Place the balls into salted boiling water and cook for about 20min flipping then halfway through.

Roasted vegetable wrap with feta and rice with baked potato strips

The other night, I decided to recreate my favorite meal, with some modification of course, from The Mad Hatter, a bakery in Durham. I took the pictures, which is why they aren't very good. Ian's much better at taking the pictures!!! Regarding the nutritional ratio, it's a little heavy on the carb (I tend to do that) and fat sides, but a little light on the protein. You could add chicken to make it a little more balanced.

Ingredients:

1/2 of a yellow squash
1/2 of a zucchini
1/8 of a white onion
1/4 of a green pepper
1 serving of white rice (I like Dynasty for its flavor and consistency)
1 serving of tomato and basil feta cheese
1 medium red potato
1 wheat wrap

Directions:
1. Begin cooking the rice - this probably will take the longest.
2. Cut up the potato into thin slices. Toss in a Ziploc bag with a little oil and paprika.
3. Cut up the vegetables into slices and roast the vegetables and potatoes at 450°F until they are done. I used a cookie sheet for the vegetables and a pizza pan with holes for the potatoes.
4. Place the rice on top of the wrap, layer with the cheese and the roasted vegetables.

Nutritional Information for 1 serving:
432.8 calories
11.63 g fat
25 mg cholesterol
757 mg sodium
62 g carbohydrates
9 g sugars
8 g fiber
13 g protein

Tropical Grilled Chicken and Rice

Here is a fresh and healthy spin on the old chicken and rice.

 
Ingredients (for 2 servings):
2 4 oz. Thin sliced chicken breasts
1 Lime
1 Mango
1 Kiwi
1 Peach
4-5 Medium strawberries
1/4 cup  Fresh cilantro
1/2 cup Whole grain brown rice
1/4 cup Reduced fat feta cheese

Directions:
1. Start cooking the rice as the package directs. I would advise starting this well in advance of the chicken as it will take about 45-50min.
2. Wash, peel, and cut the mango, peach, kiwi, and strawberries into ~1/4” cubes.
3. Dice the cilantro and combined with the fruit and juice from the lime.
4. Grill the chicken.
5. Spoon the salsa on top of the chicken and rice.
6. Sprinkle with feta

Nutritional information (for one servings):
390 calories
6 g fat
75 mg cholesterol
237 mg sodim
52.9 g carbohydrates
6 g sugar
4 g fiber
30.8 g protein