Menu: March 16-23

Here is my attempt at planning a healthful week of dinner!

SUN: Rich Cooks! BLTs, Roasted Asparagus, and Baked Sweet Potatoes (check out howtobakeapotato.com for the best way to bake a potato)

MON: Pizza - Ultra-Thin-Crust Pizza with Onions, Mushrooms, and Ricotta (everyday food magazine 2/07 page 98) and salad

TUE: Weight Watcher's Shrimp Scampi with thin spaghetti (5 Ingredient 15 minute Cookbook Feb 2007 Pg 49)

WED: Chicken and Rice Casserole

THURS: Ellie Krieger's (Food Network) Chix Fingers, Fries, Sauteed Asparagus

FRI: Leftovers or Rich Cooks!! Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas

SAT: Easter Dinner: Ham (Smithfield makes a "Paula Deen" Ham), Spinach Salad, Broccoli & Cauliflower salad, scalloped potatoes, rolls, salad delight desert, and home made carrot cake

SUN: Leftovers!!!

The Recipes:

Ultra-Thin-Crust Pizza with Onions, Mushrooms, and Ricotta Recipe

Olive oil
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 tortillas - I used whole wheat found in the "Mexican" Aisle
1 cup shredded Asiago cheese (about 2 ounces)
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
6 mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced - I used baby bellas
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a small sauté pan on medium hight heat. Add the sliced onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften. Cook for a few more minutes until the onions are thoroughly softened and translucent. Remove from heat.

Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and brush with olive oil. Place a tortilla on each baking sheet and brush each with olive oil.

Sprinkle each tortilla with half a cup of shredded Asiago cheese. Add bits of ricotta cheese, 1/3 cup for each tortilla. Sprinkle with mushrooms and with the slightly caramelized onions. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Place the baking sheets in the oven. Bake until the crust is crisp and brown all over (the time varies, depending on the oven and if your cookie sheet has already been heated, start with 10 minutes and check), rotating the sheets to ensure even baking.

A seriously delicious pizza. Not at all traditional, but so yummy!

SHRIMP SCAMPI

1 & 1/2 T olive oil
1 & 1/2 t bottled minced garlic (or about 7 cloves of fresh minced garlic)
1 & 1/2 lbs peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp (I just used the already cooked bagged variety)
1/4 c finely chopped fresh parsley
1 & 1/2 T lemon juice
1/2 t salt
1/8 t ground red pepper

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat; add garlic, and cook 1 minute. Add shrimp, and cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done, stirring occasionally; remove pan from heat. Stir in parsley and remaining ingredients. Serve over top of cooked angel hair or thin spaghetti.

Chix and Rice Casserole:

1/2 cup light butter or margarine (I didn't use this much!! I only used about 6 tsp)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 c rice (I used brown rice), uncooked
1 can reduced fat cream of chix coup (i substituted cream of mushroom b/c that is what I had)
1 & 3/4 soup cans of water
4 to 5 chix breast

Grease deep casserole dish with margarine and cut remaining margarine in pieces, leaving it in bottom of casserole. Cover this with dry onion soup mix. Add rice.

Dilute chix soup with water and pour in casserole. Mix lightly. Mixture will be thin. Arrange chix on top, being sure each pice is coated with the liquid first.

Bake in dish at 400 degrees for 1 hr and 15 min.

Very, very yummy!!!

CHX FINGERS:

1 1/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut across into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
Cooking spray
4 cups whole-grain corn cereal (recommended: Corn Chex or cornflakes)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the chicken and buttermilk in a shallow dish. Cover and chill for 15 minutes.
Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Put the cereal in a sealed plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Transfer the crumbs to a shallow dish. Season the chicken with the salt and a few grinds of pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in the cereal to fully coat and arrange on the baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Leave the chicken on the baking sheet to cool slightly. It will become crispier.

(http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_34076,00.html)