Trying New Things

In my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I've been looking for and trying new things and ideas for dinners. I really don't mind cooking too much, however, I must add that I don't mind cooking too much IF I can focus on it, pay all of my attention to it and just have some peace and quiet without interruptions while in the kitchen. So basically, its very rare that I enjoy cooking because none of the pre-requisites seem to ever exist. I've really fallen in love with crock pot cooking because the beauty in it is that I get all the "hard" parts of the cooking out of the way when I have one child at home and there's no fighting between the two, less distractions in the earlier part of the day because there are no cranky, tired children around needing me every second. I am not complaining about Nate and Grace. I understand Nate's 2 and kids are kids, and at the end of the day they are cranky and tired. I don't mind them needing me, but it makes it hard for me to cook when they want me with them. So with the crock pot, when the end of the day starts getting a little hectic, I am able to be more useful and dinner is happily cooking away by itself in the kitchen, and it makes for a less stressed evening for all parties involved.

Now, not all recipes I've been discovering have been crock pot based, unfortunately. However, I have found one VERY easy recipe that I just tried last night and I must say, I was very surprised by how yummy it was. Even Ray, who is not a fan of the dish usually, said it was quite good. I liked it so much that I wanted to share it on my blog for all to enjoy. **I take no responsibility though if you do not like it =) I put the recipe below, and in bold italics is what I did. The nutrional info is if you follow the recipe to the T....however, to figure out the info on what you use, just add info for the can of soup, the crescent rolls, the vegetables, and the chicken, then divide by 4 since the pie serves 4. If you need to feed more than 3 people, I suggest doubling the recipe. You can also use other pans than just the pie plate if you need to.

Bon Appétit!

Chicken Pot Pie:

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. raw boneless skinless chicken breast; cut into bite-sized pieces (I used about 1 lb)
• 3 cups Petite Mixed Vegetables (or any other frozen mixed vegetables) (I bought a small bag and added some little by little so I didn't add too much)
• 1 can (10.75 oz.) Campbell's Condensed Soup, 98% Fat Free Cream of Celery
• 3 Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls (unprepared) (I used 4 on top and I also used some to put on the bottom. However, the recipe only calls for these to be on top and is less in calories if you follow the recipe)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute chicken pieces for several minutes in a pan spritzed with nonstick cooking spray, until chicken is light brown/cooked but still tender; set aside. Heat frozen veggies in microwave according to package. Mix chicken, vegetables and soup together and put in a 9" round baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place dish in oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly (stir about halfway through). While dish is cooking, unroll 3 crescent rolls. Combine pieces together with hands to make one large ball of dough. With a rolling pin, roll dough out into a circle to cover top of dish. Add dough to the top of the dish and cook for an additional 15 - 20 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serves 4.

Serving Size: 1/4th pie (approx. 7 oz.)

Calories: 210

Fat: 6g

Sodium: 800mg

Carbs: 24g

Fiber: 2.5g

Sugars: 6g

Protein: 16.5g

*Weight Watcher Points: 4 Points

This in my opinion is just as good as the ones you buy in the freezer for WAY less calories, fat and sodium! You can also alter this to use biscuits or whole wheat products as well. This was VERY simple and very fast! I'm trying some other recipes this week, so look for more recipe blogs!