BBQ Chicken Pizza w/ Black Beans and Jalapeno

Yum... I really love pizza :)  Making it at home cuts the calorie and fat factor down tremendously too :)

Whole wheat pizza crust (I used Boboli) If you are really ambitious you could make your own!
Sweet Baby Ray bbq sauce (I used less than half the bottle)
1.5 cups reduced fat shredded Italian blended cheese (Sargento is the BEST)
1/2 can reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
2 thin style sliced boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped
diced jalapeno (amount to your taste)
Olive Oil
garlic powder
pizza seasoning

1. Cook chicken in skillet, season with garlic powder and pizza seasoning, until no longer pink.
2. Brush olive oil all over pizza crust; sprinkle with garlic powder and pizza seasoning.
3. Brush on BBQ sauce.  Add cheese, chicken, black beans, and jalapeno.  Sprinkle with more cheese and a little more BBQ sauce.
4. Heat directly on rack for 8-10 minutes.

This was AWESOME!  and it was ready in less than 20 minutes... can't beat that!  Of course, Brandon and I killed this entire pie, but it's whole wheat so it is OK ;)

Buffalo Chicken Chili

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 pd ground chicken breast
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped (I used a bunch of chopped baby carrots)
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs ground cumin
1 Tbs paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup hot buffalo wing sauce (I just used Frank's Red Hot because I had some leftover)
1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
1 (28oz) crushed tomatoes
1 (15oz) can white kidney beans (cannellini beans), drained and rinsed
1 (15oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1. Heat olive oil in pan and add ground chicken breast.  Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Transfer to a large stock pot and add carrot, celery, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and salt and pepper. Cook until onions are translucent (about 3-4 minutes)

2. Stir in hot sauce, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and white and red kidney beans.  Bring to boil; and simmer over medium low heat for about an hour.

This turned out really good!  Like I mentioned, I just used plain old Frank's Red Hot and it still have an abundant buffalo taste.  Next time I will try out the Franks Hot Wing Sauce and see if there is much difference (I am assuming it is more of a texture difference than taste difference between the hot sauce and wing sauce).  This chili seemed heartier than the others that I make, not that it is a bad thing, but normally I think thinner chili's.  This was still excellent, and I look forward to eating the leftovers this week while Brandon is out on work travel.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup chili powder
One 16z jar salsa
1/4 water
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pound cooked boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, shredded
Six 10 inch tortillas
1 cup refried beans (I used fat free)
Olive oil

Sorry, used my  phone.. bad quality picture :(

Preheat oven 425F.  Grease a rimmed 15 by 10inch baking pan.  In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender.  Stir in chili powder, 2/3 jar salsa. water, cumin, and cinnamon.  Pour the mixture into a blender or food processor, process until smooth.  Pour back into the saucepan; stir in chicken. 
Working with one tortilla at a time, spoon a heaping tablespoon of bean down the center of the tortilla.  Top with 1/2 cup of chicken mixture.  Place the chimichangas in the greased baking pan, seam side down.  Brush all sides with oil.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp, turning every 5 minutes.  Serve with remaining salsa (or sour cream and guacamole).
-To shred the chicken, I boiled the breast until cooked.  Then used to forks to shred the meat.

Recipe adapted d from: America's Most Wanted Recipes- Chi Chi's

These were really really good!  Brandon loved them!  I served them with a side salad instead of guacamole or sour cream.  I will be making these again!

Chicken Penne with Homemade Cheese Sauce

One thing I need to do better is plan... or pantry shop.... I never seem to have the right ingredients on hand for the recipes that sound good. Honestly, I wasn't going to cook dinner tonight because Brandon is at band practice, but leftovers, Lean Cuisine's, or canned soup where not sounding good.

I came across Rachel Ray's Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli recipe, and since I didn't have all the ingredients needed, I decided to make my own version. Although it didn't turn out to be a mouth watering masterpiece... it was still pretty good...

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound chicken breast, chopped
salt and pepper
1 pound penne pasta
3 tablespoons Smart Balance Light
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 cups skim milk
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar (reduced fat)
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend (reduced fat)

Place a pot of water to boil for penne.

Heat oil in pan. Add chicken salt and pepper to taste. Saute until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Turn off hear and reserve.

Add pasta to boiling water. Cook until al dente.

While pasta is cooking, melt butter spread in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add flour, cayenne pepper, and paprika and whisk together until roux bubbles. Cook for one minute. Whisk in milk and stock, raising heat to bring to a quick boil. Simmer sauce for five minutes until thickens.

Drain pasta. Add back into pot and add chicken.

Add cheese to the milk sauce and stir to melt. Pour sauce over chicken and pasta.