"Healthy" Chili

Prep Time: 5 min
Start to Finish: 15 min
Makes: 2 servings
82% less sodium~37% less sugar~270 calories

1 cup water
1 (14.5 oz) can of no-salt added diced tomatoes
1 cup no-salt added black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup no-salt tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheese

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine: water, un-drained tomatoes, beans, onion, tomato paste, chili powder, and cumin.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, covered for 10 minutes.  Ladle into bowls and if desired sprinkle with cheese.

I have a lot of chili recipes, and though this one is not my favorite of them all, it is a quick and easy dinner, and is pretty good.  I would give it like a 7 probably.

"Healthy" Spinach Artichoke Dip

aPrep Time: 15 min
Start to Finish: 45 min
Makes: 10 servings (1/4 cup each)
50% less fat~50% less sat fat~36% fewer calories~120 calories

4 cups lightly packed fresh spinach leaves (4 oz)
1 package (8 oz) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened
1/4 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
4 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese (1oz)
1/4 cup fat-free milk
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
Baguette slices, if desired
Assorted raw vegetables, if desired

1.  Heat oven to 350F.  Spray 1-quart shallow glass baking dish with cooking spray.

2.  Place spinach in microwavable casserole dish; add 1/4 cup of water.  Cover; microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Drain well, pressing spinach with paper towels to remove excess liquid.  Chop spinach.

3.  In large bowl, beat cream cheese with spoon until smooth.  Beat in mayonnaise, 3 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese, milk, garlic, and basil until well blended.  Stir in spinach and artichokes.  Spread evenly in baking dish.  Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon cheese.

4.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through.  Serve with baguettes or raw veggies. 


This is just as good as the non healthy version.  Totally worth a try!

Mexican Lasagna

Prep Time: 40 min

Start to Finish: 1 hr 10 min
Makes: 8 servings
300 calories per serving

1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken breasts cut into strips
1 large onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
2 cups (16 oz) fat-free ricotta cheese
1 cup (8 oz) reduced-fat sour cream
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1/2 cup chopped, fresh cilantro (if desired)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups salsa
8 corn tortillas (6-inch in diameter), cut in half
1 1/4 cups shredded low fat Monterey Jack cheese (5 oz)



1. Heat oven to 350F. Spray 13X9 inch rectangular baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Spray large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 5 minutes or until no longer peak. Remove to medium bowl. Wipe skillet clean with paper towel. Spray with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 7 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Add to chicken bowl.

3. In another medium bowl, stir together ricotta, sour cream, green chilies, cilantro, cumin and salt.

4. Spread 1 cup of the salsa across the bottom of prepared baking dish. Arrange half of the tortillas evenly over salsa. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over tortillas. Top with half of the chicken mixture. Top with 1 cup of salsa and 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat layering with remaining tortillas, ricotta mixture, and chicken mixture. Sprinkle with remaining salsa and 3/4 cup of cheese.

5. Bake 30 minutes or until heated through. Loosely cover with foil if the cheese brown too quickly.

Ryan and I both really like this one. It is one of my new favorites, especially for low calorie.  I have used reduced fat-free flour tortillas instead of corn, and I also have just put in a little bit of cilantro flake seasoning.

Crockpot Pork Chops

This one is not exact measurements.  It is really easy and really good though!

What you will need:

Cream of Chicken Soup
Ketchup
Worchestshire Sauce
Pork Chops

1. Brown both sides of the pork chops in a skillet.

2. Mix the sauce together. For every can of soup add: 1/4 cup of ketchup & 3 to 6 tablespoons of Worchestshire Sauce. Mix well

3. Place a small amount of the sauce in the bottom of your Crockpot. Add some pork chops. Cover with the rest of the sauce. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

We LOVE this one as well. It is very good. You serve it with white rice. I always at least double the sauce. We use the sauce on our pork chops and the rice. I have cooked this with as little as 3 pork chops and up. So you can really make it is a big or little as you want. I cooked this on Sunday with 13porkchops, and 5x the sauce. It was perfect.

Chicken Parmesan with Linguine

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Start to Finish: 30 minutes
Makes: 5 servings
Calories: 340
From: Eat Better America

1/2 cup Fiber One original bran cereal
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 egg white
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken breast, cut into 1-inch thick strips
1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
6 oz uncooked whole grain or regular linguine
2 cups garden vegetable pasta sauce
Chopped fresh parsley if desired

1. Heat oven to 400F. Line pan with foil; spray foil with cooking spray. Place cereal in resealable food storage plastic bag; seal bag and finely crush with rolling pin or meat mallet (or finely crush in food processor).

2. In shallow bowl, mix cereal, cheese, Italian seasoning, and garlic salt. In another shallow bowl, mix egg white and milk until blended. Dip chicken pieces into egg white mixture, then coat well in cereal mixture; place in pan. Drizzle oil over chicken.

3. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp and chicken is no longer pink in the center.

4. Meanwhile, cook linguine as directed on package; drain. In saucepan, heat the pasta sauce over medium heat until hot.

5. Place drained linguine on serving platter; top with pasta sauce and chicken. Sprinkle with parsley.

This one Ryan gave an 8 1/2.  I really liked it as well.  It was much better than I thought it would be.  Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

This has been a Hopkins family favorite since I was a kid. I will apologize in advance because this recipe does not have exact measurements. You just kind of mix it up to make the size of casserole you want it to be and to make it to your liking. This is my Dad's very favorite dish!

You will need:

broccoli (Sm head to Lg head just depends on how much you want there to be)
instant white rice (I usually use 4 to 6 servings)
cream of mushroom soup (start with 1 can but you may need more than that)
jar of cheese sauce (I usually buy a Lg one to make sure I have enough)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare the rice as you normally would.

2. Cut the broccoli into little pieces and either steam it or boil it until tender.

3. In Lg bowl mix: the rice, broccoli, cream of mushroom soup, and cheese sauce. You add enough of the soup and cheese until it is as creamy and cheesy as you like it. You want it to be kind of creamy from the soup, this helps it to not go dry when you heat it up.

4. Cook for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Easy Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I like to use lean beef)
1 egg
1 onion, chopped
1 c. milk
1 c. cracker crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbls. brown sugar
2 tbls. mustard
1/3 c. ketchup

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In Lg. bowl combine: beef, egg, onion, milk, and crumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Place in lightly greased loaf pan.

3. In Sm. bowl combine: brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup. Mix well and pour over meatloaf.

4. Bake for 1 hour.

My husband does not like meatloaf, but I do. So to bad for him but he has to eat it every now and then when I make it. I actually really like this one. I only like meatloaf when it does not have a bunch of random stuff in it. This one is also very tender so the pieces almost fall apart as you cut it. It is really good. Sometimes though, it does come out just a little pink still, but if that bothers you then you can just cook it for a little longer. I think it has great taste though.

Three Cheese Manicotti

Prep Time: 30 min
Start to Finish: 1 hr 10 min
Makes: 4 servings
360 calories per serving
52% less fat~59% less sodium


8 dried manicotti shells
nonstick cooking spray
6 ounces fresh spinach
3 or 4 minced garlic cloves
1 cup light ricotta cheese or low-fat cream style cottage cheese
3/4 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese (3 ounce)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning mix
1 can (14.5 ounce) no-salt-diced tomatoes, undrained

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Cook manicotti shells according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, for filling, coat an unheated large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Preheat over medium heat. Add garlic and spinach to the hot skillet. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the spinach is cooked, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Spoon filling into the manicotti shells.

3. For sauce, place undrained tomatoes in blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Spread about 1/3 of the sauce into baking dish. Arrange stuffed manicotti shells in dish. Pour remaining sauce over the manicotti.

4. Bake, covered, for 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through. Uncover and sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese over the top. Bake for 5 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

This would also be good with mushrooms in it (however I hate mushrooms, so I don't use them). My husband gives this one an 8 because it has no meat in it. I think it is really good, and don't judge it just because it has no meat, so I give it a 9. It is becoming one of my favorite new dishes, and has been on my monthly menu the past few months. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

1 lb beef stew meat
1 package Lipton onion soup mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 small can of mushrooms, drained
16 oz sour cream

1. Place the beef stew meat in the bottom of your slow cooker. Sprinkle with the onion soup mix. Pour cream of mushroom and cream of celery soups over the meat. Do not mix. Add the mushrooms. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours.

2. Half hour before you are ready to eat, stir in the sour cream.

3. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

This one gets a 10 for sure from my family. Everyone I have ever given this recipe too has loved it. I originally was given this recipe from my friend/cousin Rachel. I usually serve it with the egg noodles, and have used light sour cream before to try to make it a little healthier. One thing is for sure, you need to try this one out!

Caribbean Chicken and Pineapple Salsa

Prep Time: 15 min
Start to Finish: 30 min
Makes: 4 servings
From eatbetteramerica.com

Chicken
1 1/4 cups Fiber One original bran cereal
2 teaspoons jerk seasoning (dry)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 1 1/4lb)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce

Pineapple Salsa
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped apricots or papaya, if desired
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 400F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place cereal in resealable food storage plastic bag; seal bag and finely crush with rolling pin or meat mallet (or crush in food processor). Place cereal in shallow dish. Stir in jerk seasoning.

2. In large food storage plastic bag, place chicken, buttermilk, mustard, and pepper sauce. Seal bag; shake well. Remover chicken from bag; coat with cereal mixture. Place on cookie sheet.

3. Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until the juice of chicken is clear when center of the thickest part is cut (170F). Meanwhile, mix salsa ingredients. Cover; refrigerate until serving time. Serve with chicken.

1 serving: 300 calories


I told Ryan to rate this from a 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 the best. He gave it a 8 or 9. I thought it was about a 7, but he really enjoyed it. It was pretty good. I had forgot to get jerk seasoning (Walmart was out when I did my monthly shopping), so I used a Chipotle Pepper chicken mix that I had instead. It worked great. I also already had course grained mustard so I used that instead of using Dijon. This one was a keeper though, and we will use it again!