Spinach and Pepper Jack Stuffed Chicken Breasts

**I really enjoyed this recipe.  My family is out of  town this week and I didn't make it for my youngest daughter, so I don't know how friendly it will be to the entire family, but if you like spinach and pepper jack cheese, you will enjoy this. This recipe came from Food, Friends and Fun**

1 9oz pkg fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - pounded to 1/2 inch thickness.
1 pinch ground black pepper
8 slices bacon (optional)  *I did not use**

Place spinach in a large glass bowl and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes, stirring every minute or so, or until wilted.  Stir in the sour cream, pepper jack cheese, and garlic.

Lay chicken breasts out on a clean surface, and spoon some of the spinach mixture onto each one.  Sprinkle with pepper.  Roll up the chicken to enclose the spinach, then wrap each chicken breast with two slices of bacon.  Secure with a toothpick or 2 and place in a 9x13 baking dish.

Bake uncovered for 35 minutes, then increase the heat to 500 degrees and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes to brown the bacon.

Inside Out Jalapeno Stuffed Cheeseburger

**This recipe comes from The Dashing Dish. It was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!! It had so much flavor. YUM. You've got to try it. Oh, and the picture I took for this dinner was so terrible that it did it no justice. So, this is just a random picture from a Google search that shows more what the burger looks like. When I make it again, I will take another picture and repost a new one. :)**

ALSO...go check out this link for another variation that looks like it would be good too.

http://www.mommyhatescooking.com/2011/06/mexi-burgers-with-corn-salsa.html

Inside Out Jalapeno Stuffed Cheeseburger

1 1/2 lbs Lean ground turkey

2TB Dry Fiesta ranch dip mix

1/4 cup Salsa

4oz Jalapeno or Pepper Jack Cheese. (1 oz per burger. You could cut up a jalapeno cheese stick or just cut the blocked cheese into cubes)

Lettuce to wrap your burger in or you can use hamburger buns.

Salsa for garnish

Directions:

**I cooked mine on the stove in a skillet. If you BBQ them or do them over the stove, you don't need to turn on the oven.**

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Place the ground turkey into a medium sized bowl with dip mix and salsa. Mix until well combined. The mixture should be pretty moist.

Form into 8 equal sized patties.

Place 4 of the patties on the foil lined baking sheet and place the cheese in the middle of the patty. Then place the other patty over top of that and seal the sides together.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Turn the burgers over and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Top the burger with salsa and wrap in a lettuce leaf.

For a LEAN AND GREEN meal with Medifast

This is Cindy, the Registered dietetic Technician on the Nutrition Support Team here at Medifast. This recipe makes 4 servings and is:

1 lean protein

2 1/4 condiments

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes, Feta and Basil

**If you are trying to heat healthier, this was really a good flavorful dish. I am finding that I really like Feta cheese. I've never really used it much in the past, but I have a few recipes that call for it now. You can pair this with some chicken, shrimp or bbq steak of some kind**

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes, Feta and Basil

Live Better Health Coach - Facebook

3 cups prepared spaghetti squash

1 TB olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped zucchini

3/4 cup crumbled, reduced fat feta cheese

3 TB sliced black olives (I did not add this)

1 tsp basil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Cut your spaghetti squash in half long ways, and place each side face down on sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a sharp knife can be inserted with only a little resistance. Remove squash from oven and set aside to cool enough to be easily handled. Scoop out the seeds, then use a large spoon and scoop out all the stringy cooked squash. Place in a medium sized bowl.

In a skillet, heat oil and saute garlic until browned. Stir in tomatoes, zucchini and olives. Cook until the zucchini and tomatoes are warmed through. Toss squash with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese and basil. Serve warm.

For Lean and Green:

This recipe has 3 servings. Each serving is 1 complete green, 1 condiment and 1 healthy fat. You will still need to have 3/4 lean such as beef, chicken or shrimp.

***I ended up cutting my chicken in cubes and added it to the spaghetti squash. Yum. Lots of flavor.

Meat Lasagne

**This is a great recipe with the taste of Lasagne, but without all the added calories. It also does not have any pasta so it is low carb. This came from Sandy at Light Recipes.**

Meat Lasagne

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey or beef

1 can Italian flavored diced tomatoes

¼ tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Cheese filling:

½ cup Part Skim reduced fat Ricotta Cheese

1 ½ cups Mozarella cheese – DIVIDED

3 TB parmesan cheese

2 TB Egg beaters

¼ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground turkey or beef in a skillet. Add the tomatoes and seasonings. Simmer for 2 minutes. Pour into an 8x8 baking dish.

In a separate bowl, add all the ingredients for the the cheese filling. (only use ¾ cup mozzarella cheese at this point) Stir well and spread over the meat mixture. Now sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over top.

Bake for 35 minutes until the top becomes bubbly.

Serves 4

Low Carb Pizza - Cauliflower Pizza

**This is a recipe where if you are really wanting pizza, but are watching your weight, it will fill that craving without the guilt!!! It DOES stick though even with spray, so I started using the no stick foil which has helped, a silpat may work, or parchment paper also. **

Cauliflower Pizza

Crust:

1 cup raw cauliflower grated or just chopped up smaller

1/4 cup egg beaters

1/4 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese or mexican cheese blend

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp basil

Topping:

1/4 cup low carb pizza sauce or pureed diced tomatoes (I just use pizza sauce)

1/4 cup mozarella cheese

1/4 cup lean italian turkey sausage, turkey pepperoni, vegetarian sausage crumbles

1/4 cup chopped up peppers, mushrooms etc..

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place non stick foil on cookie sheet. Combine cauliflower, egg beaters, cheese, garlic powder and basil into a blender. Blend until smooth. If you grate the cauliflower, you could just mix this well instead. Pour onto the foil and create a circle crust. The thinner the mixture the less chance of it being soggy. Bake for 30 minutes. Carefully flip the pizza crust over. (remember that it does stick so be careful while loosening it from the foil UNLESS you are using NON-stick foil which seems to help a lot!). Bake an additional 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and place all ingredients on top of pizza. Place back in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.

Makes 1 pizza

Healthy Versions of Chili

**Here are 3 recipes of different versions of Chili for those that are watching their weight or want some lower sodium recipes. Each of them are recipes that I really like**

Turkey Chili

1 lb ground turkey

2 cups water

2 packets HERBOX sodium free Chicken bouillon

5 fresh tomatoes diced up (I use 2 cans no salt added diced tomatoes)

5 green onions diced

1 garlic clove

½ TB chili powder

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp mortons lite salt

½ tsp pepper

Brown turkey bresast in a large skillet. Add to a large saucepan with remaining ingredients. Stir to combine all ingredients. Bring chili to a boil and then simmer over medium heat for 30-45 minutes. (If you use canned tomatoes, you don’t need to simmer as long)

Serves 3-4

Chili

1 lb ground beef

5 green onions diced

1 garlic clove

1 TB chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

dash of red pepper flakes

2 cans no salt added diced tomatoes

3 cups water

3 packets HERBOX sodium free Beef bouillon

Brown Ground beef in a large skillet. Add to a large saucepan with remaining ingredients. Stir to combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Serves 4

Mexican Chili

1 lb lean ground turkey or beef

¼ cup and ½ cup reduced fat Mexican blend cheese

1 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles

6 tsp low sodium taco seasoning

3 wedges Laughing Cow Queso Fresco and Chipotle Light cheese

Brown ground beef in a skillet. Add to a medium saucepan. Add ¼ cup Mexican cheese, diced tomatoes, taco seasoning and 3 wedges of cheese. Stir and heat to boiling. Serve with remaining cheese sprinkled over top.

My Big Skinny Greek Turkey Burger

**This recipe came Sandy's Kitchen. We really enjoyed these and thought they had great flavor, especially for being on the healthy side. The BUMMER is as I am typing this up I realized I FORGOT to add the Feta cheese!!!! Oh, that would have made it so much better than it already was. But the fact that it was great without it, is really good news too.**

My Big Skinny Greek Turkey Burger

1 lb LEAN ground turkey (I used 93%)

1/4 cup reduced fat Feta cheese

1 heaping tsp oregano

1/2 heaping tsp salt

1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped red pepper

1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped fresh spinach leaves

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and and mix together well. Form into 4 patties. You can grill these inside or outside.

If you are doing the Medifast program:

7oz lean ground turkey

1 oz feta cheese

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp salt (I've been subbing garlic powder for the salt)

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh spinach leaves

1 lean, 3/4 of 1 green, and 3 condiments

Enjoy!

Italian Ground Beef Squash Casserole

Okay, so I forgot to take a picture of this before we cut into it, so this is the best you get. :)

This recipe came from Facebook - Live Better Health Coach This is a recipe that is a lean and green meal with Medifast. We really liked it. It had alot of flavor and is healthy.

Italian Ground Beef Squash Casserole

Recipe says serves 2 if you are following the Lean and Green program

5oz cooked 93% lean ground beef (could also use ground turkey)

2/3 cup reduced fat mozarella cheese

1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese (I only had non fat so I used that)

1/2 cup tomato puree. (I pureed a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles and used 1/2 cup of that and froze the rest)

1 cup sliced zucchini

1 cup sliced yellow squash

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

2 tsp reduced fat parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray casserole dish with pam and set aside. Combine tomato puree, garlic powder, salt, basil, and oregano until well blended. Brown ground beef and measure out 5oz of ground beef. Add to tomato mixture and stir until blended together. Layer the sliced zucchini and squash in the bottom of a 8x8 casserole dish. Pour ground beef mixture over vegetables. Spread the cottage cheese over meat mixture. Top with mozarella cheese and then sprinkle parmesan cheese over that. Bake for 25 minutes.

Bruschetta Chicken

This recipe comes from my friend Rachel who shared it when we were altogether in a recipe group. I haven't made it in a while, but I'm glad I found the recipe to try out again. My whole family enjoys this one.

**If you are doing a Medifast lean and green meal, this recipe will work, just make sure to measure out your portions correctly. You will need a smaller oz chicken breast to make up for the cheese**

Bruschetta Chicken
4 chicken breast
8 Tbsp Sun Dried Tomato Dressing - Divided (Kens has a really good Fat Free one that tastes great with this recipe and there are some Lite ones that are good also)
1 cup finely chopped tomato
1 cup mozarella cheese
Fresh basil chopped or 1 tsp dried

Marinate Chicken Breasts in 4TBSP dressing. I put mine in a bag in the morning and marinated all day. The recipe says for 20 minutes.

Combine 4TBSP dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil in a seperate bowl. Set aside.

Place large sheet of aluminum foil on half of grill. Grill one side of chicken on un-foiled grill for approx 6 minutes. Then flip over onto foil and evenly divide tomato mixture onto each of the 4 chicken breasts. Close the lid of the BBQ and cook for approx 8 minutes or until chicken is done.

Yum! Enjoy!

Taco flavored Shepherds Pie

Shepherds Pie
1 lb ground beef
1 taco seasoning packet
1 can golden sweet corn-drained
instant mashed potatoes (I used the recipe on the box to serve 6-7)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese-divided

Start boiling the needed ingredients for the mashed potatoes. In a round skillet (mine is a 10") cook the ground beef and add taco seasoning packet according to packet directions. Immediately layer the corn over the top of the meat. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over corn. Finish up the mashed potatoes and spread over the meat, corn, and cheese mixture. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over mashed potatoes. Serve.

MADE HEALTHIER
I just made this for dinner tonight for my family, but I revamped my corner of the meal.  I did not add any of the corn or vegetables and made a "Cauliflower mashed potato" for the top.

1lb ground beef
2TB Mc Cormick 30% less sodium Taco Seasoning
1/2 cup water
Prepared "Cauliflower mashed potatoes" (see recipe below)
1 can corn, or peas, or green beans DRAINED.....whichever you prefer.
grated cheese (optional)

Cook the ground beef.  Drain all the fat.  Add the taco seasoning and 1/2 cup water.  Cook until it has thickened up.  At this point, if you are doing vegetables, you would pour your can of drained vegetables over the top of the meat.  Now take your "cauliflower potatoes" and spread them evenly over top.  Optional: You can sprinkle some grated cheese over top.

Cauliflower Potatoes - 1 serving.  If you are going to make this for over the entire shepherds pie, you would probably do this recipe x 4.
1 1/2 cups cooked cauliflower
2 light laughing cow cheese wedges (I used one garlic and herb and one swiss)
dash of salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or magic bullet or blender.  Mix until creamy.