Queen Mother Blog

The other night I had my parents over for dinner & I was not feeling very inspired on what to make. My mom can be a bit finicky and I knew I would need precious pre-dinner time to straighten the house, etc. so whatever I made, it better not be complicated. I decided to try to make something in the Crock Pot, so I made this chicken & stuffing (I really am not a stuffing fanatic, it is a coincidence I've made two chicken & stuffing recipes in the last week!) recipe that tasted a good deal like Cracker Barrel's chicken & dressing lunch special. You know the one they only serve on Mondays? Have it any night of the week :)

My Fake Cracker-Barrel Chicken & Dressing

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 c. of parmesan cheese
10 3/4 oz. can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of water
6 oz. package of chicken stuffing mix

Spray the crockpot with non-stick spray and arrange the chicken in a flat layer on the bottom (the crockpot I used is short and wide). Sprinkle chicken with cheese and any other seasonings you might want. Evenly spread soup on chicken. Top with stuffing mix and dump in can of water. Cover & cook on low for 6 hours. (Towards the end I also stirred up the stuffing on top so it wouldn't get too dry).
I calculated this to be 7 pts. for one chicken breast and 1/6 of the stuffing & gravy.

Then, last night I was feeling extra un-inspired for making dinner and didn't want chicken again. Since chicken has been on sale, it seems like I have tons of it. Defrosting beef seemed like too much of a hassle, so I concocted this recipe which was the easiest thing in the world and I didn't have to defrost the tilapia. I buy those club packs of it at Wegman's & I make the same old 'breadcrumb & caper topping' recipe every single time. Thought I would try something new with this & my husband loved it like I spent hours on it.

Southwestern Corn Tilapia

4 4oz. tilapia filets, frozen
1 box of Campbell's Gold Select Southwestern Corn soup

Preheat oven to 350. Spray bottom of 11x13 inch dish with non-stick spray and arrange the frozen tilapia filets in a single layer on the bottom. Season with whatever seasonings you want (I used Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning because it seemed like it would go). Evenly spread the box of soup on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until the tilapia flakes in the center. Serve over rice.
The tilapia and 1/4 of the soup is 6 points. Don't cheat and try to include the rice in there!

I hope you like them! Love, Bay

I have to say, I love getting the Kraft Food & Family magazine. It is a full-size magazine put out by Kraft Foods that promotes their products and provides recipes, tips, etc. Sometimes they even have coupons; a few issues back there was a coupon inside for a free full-size salad dressing of your choice.

To sign up for Kraft Food & Family, get on their mailing list here.

The last issue, Fall '08, had a bunch of great recipes that I have used, especially since they included the nutrition information and I could easily figure out the Weight Watchers points. Now, the recipes aren't gourmet, but they are very quick and easy and so far, pretty darn good!

This one is 6 ww points per serving, and it makes 6 servings.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top stuffing mix for chicken
1/2 c. water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 c. Kraft 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese (I used Wegman's part-skim)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.

Layer chicken, basil, cheese and stuffing in 13x9" or 3 qt. baking dish. (I put half of the cheese, then the stuffing, then the rest of the cheese)

Bake 30 mins. or until chicken is cooked through. Enjoy now or cover and refrigerate. To reheat, microwave each serving on High 2 to 3 min. (I have also prepared the dish in advance, refrigerated and then popped in the oven. I think it is hard to mess this up.)

Enjoy! Love, Bay