Ingredients:

• 1/2 a batch of gluten free pizza dough
• 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 3 ounces finely shredded smoked gouda cheese
• 1 bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce
• olive oil

Special equipment:

• parchment paper (You will thank me for this later)
• pizza stone or pan

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  If you’re using a pizza stone, pop it in during the preheat.
2. Tear off a piece of parchment paper that’s approximately the same size as  your stone or pan.
3. Oil your hands.
4. Plop the dough down on your parchment paper and press into a thin rectangle (you’re looking at about an eighth of an inch thick at the most).
5. Brush a layer of barbeque sauce down the center.
6. Sprinkle the chicken down the center.
7. Add a little more barbeque sauce.
8. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the chicken.
9. Now, here’s where you’re going to thank me for that parchment paper.  Carefully lift one side and fold it over the middle.  You should be able to peel the parchment paper back (not off, as it’s going to bake on it–you’re just folding).
10. Repeat on the other side and press seam closed.
11. Carefully transfer the stromboli to your pizza stone (I recommend using a pizza peel so you don’t drop it) or place the pan in the oven.
12. Bake for 10 minutes.
13. Slice into chunks all the way down.
14. Serve with more barbeque sauce for dipping.

Printable version.

The pasta itself has a lovely flavor, though not quite enough on its own to enjoy with just a touch of olive oil, IMO.  It paired beautifully with the lemon and garlic in this cream sauce.  The texture was properly pasta-like and did not become overly gelatinous on sitting (we had half for leftovers) as so many gluten free pastas do.  Overall, I was very impressed with the quality of this product!  Thank you J.D. Gourmet for this opportunity.   I’ll be writing about the tomato basil fettucini and the wild mushroom linguini as I try them.

I make no secret of the fact that I am a food snob.  Or the fact that I really like to eat.  So when I think of Lean Cuisine, the first word that comes to mind historically is DISAPPOINTED.  They never ever look as good as the picture on the box.  The portion sizes are miniscule and hold me over for about half an hour.  And the food itself was usually fairly tasteless and unimpressive, often with a rubbery, overcooked texture that I have come to expect from a microwave dinner.

But I’d been hearing noises about the Chef’s Pick collection.  This is a thing the last few years with the insane popularity of the Food Network and the Cooking Channel.  People bringing in chefs to overhaul their food and raise the bar for what people expect.  So when the opportunity came up through the Tastemakers program to try some of Lean Cuisine’s new Chef’s Pick dinners, I signed up.

I’d checked out the list of possible flavors on the website and was EXCITED.  Among them:

• Spinach Artichoke Ravioli
• Chili Lime Chicken
• Mushroom Mezzaluna Ravioli
• Chicken Makhani
• Chicken Carbonara
• Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce
• Chicken Pecan
• Thai-Style Chicken

It took me a while to find them in my local Walmart.  We have gobs of Lean Cuisines but only ONE SHELF (out of about 10) of the Chef’s Pick options.  Sadly MOST of the ones I’d wanted to try weren’t here.  Small town, what can I expect.  But I did pick up the Chicken Marsala and the Ranchero Braised Beef.

First, the chicken marsala.  As you can see from the box, this is a beautiful dish in its base form.  I know something about staging and food photography and this is something Lean Cuisine actually has always done well…making what’s supposed to be in the box LOOK appealing.  But hint hint.  This thing is only 220 calories and 6 grams of fat.  That dish you see there is about the size of a saucer from a tea set.  Again, this is expected.  It’s part of that restricted calorie thing.  But what about what’s inside the box?

Um, yeah…this is not what the picture looked like.  Not really anything they can do about that.  It’s part and parcel of the whole microwave dinner phenomenon.    So I grabbed a salad plate and scooped it out in an effort to see if I could, in any way, replicate the picture.

Clearly there’s WAY more gravy in this box than they used in the shoot, and I’m fairly certain there was more risotto in the shoot than is in the box.  But I’m not really grading them for presentation.  I do not expect to eat a frozen dinner with my eyes first.

So what about the most important question: How did it taste?

I was…shocked.  This was truly delicious.  I had no idea it was possible to pull chicken out of the microwave that was this moist and flavorful.  The flavor combinations tasted fresh and very, very appealing.  The portion size is still only enough to feed a half starved pixie, but pair it with a big green salad or another veggie and you might actually have a solid lunch.

Now for the Ranchero Braised Beef.  Same kind of thing. Pretty on the box.

Not so much on the inside.

Tiny portions, though a bit more filling than the chicken marsala.

The flavor here wasn’t bad.  I really enjoyed the chipotle mashed sweet potatoes (I love the combination of chili powder with sweet potatoes in general).  The beef didn’t fair quite as well as the chicken in the reheating department, though it still was better than such things usually are in a frozen dinner.  I didn’t find this over spicy, though some people might.  There are no jalapenos in the box, in case you were worried.

The verdict:  I think Lean Cuisine has really upped their game with this line.  Much better flavor, much better texture and quality of food.  Kudos for that.  My only gripe is that it’s not enough food for me.  Never has been.  This is a snack, not a meal, IMO.

Disclosure: I have partnered with Lean Cuisine through DailyBuzz Food to help promote their new line of Chef’s Pick products. I have been compensated for my time commitment to work with this product. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Thank you Lean Cuisine!

I’m always mucking around with my tomato soup recipe.   It’s one of those things that tends to be a “this and that” kind of recipe with some of the same ingredients and some different ones, depending on what’s in the house.  This one gets an out of season flavor boost by roasting the canned tomatoes and some creaminess from neufchatel cheese.  The end result is the perfect flavorful soup to pair with a grilled cheese on a chilly winter day.  Servings: 6 at 147 calories and 7 grams of fat.

Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes
• 2 onions coarsely chopped
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tbs kosher salt
• 4 oz neufchatel cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Prepare two baking sheets by covering with foil (this just makes for easy clean up) and spraying with cooking spray.

3. Open the cans and pour the contents into a sieve over a 3 quart dutch oven.

4. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze the juice and seeds into the sieve.

5. Put the tomatoes onto one of the baking sheet.

6. Toss the onions and carrots with the olive oil and add to the other baking sheet.

7. Toss the garlic cloves in the last of the oil and put them at the other end.

8. Roast for 20-25 minutes (you don’t want things to get too brown).

9. Scrape the roasted tomatoes, onions, and carrots into the dutch oven.

10. After allowing them to cool for a bit (so you don’t burn your fingers) cut the ends off the garlic cloves and squeeze the roasted garlic into the pot.

11. Add the thyme, salt, and pepper and 3 cups of water.

12. Simmer on low heat for an hour.

13. Using an immersion blender, blend the veggies until smooth.

14. Add the cubed neufchatel cheese and blend until creamy.

Printable version.

For Christmas this year, my big present was a 3 quart Le Creuset dutch oven.  My initial intention was to make some beef bourginon a la Julia Child, but that required a few things I didn’t have around the house.  So I opted for some straight up beef stew.  At some point during the last few months, I remember seeing a recipe for a beef stew that incorporated mushrooms and bacon, and since I couldn’t find it when I went hunting, I made up my own.  I also utilized a fabulous bag of cippolini onions I found at Walmart of all places.  The end result made the angels, or at least our stomachs, sing.  Hubby is now a believer in the Power of Le Creuset.  I may have created a monster! Servings: 5 at  678 calories and 45.69g of fat.

Beef Stew With Bacon and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

2. Cut the chuck roast into one inch cubes.

3. Sprinkle with the corn starch, some of the salt and pepper and stir until well coated.

4. Cut the bacon into chunks and cook in a large dutch oven until crispy and remove with a slotted spoon.

5. Pour the bacon grease into a bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons back to your dutch oven.

6. Brown the beef in batches, adding a bit more bacon grease as necessary, then remove to a bowl.

7. Add the carrots and saute until just starting to caramelize.

8. Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds.

9. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up all those lovely brown bits.

10. Add the meat back to the pan.

11. Add the reserved bacon, stock, potatoes, and thyme.  Bring the mixture back to a boil.

12. Cover and place in the oven for 90-120 minutes.

13. Add another tablespoon of bacon grease to a skillet and heat over medium heat.

14. Add the cippolini onions and mushrooms and saute until softened.

15. Add the onions and mushrooms to the dutch oven and cook for another 20 minutes.

Printable version.

The verdict: The overall flavor was good, but it absolutely does not serve 6 as a main course.  I’d set it at serving 4 and then hubby and I were still hungry and split a serving.  I think I’d like to try this again with some grilled chicken added.  It wouldn’t constitute low cal, but certainly healthier than the restaurant version.

Healthier Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup dark cocoa powder (heaping)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup Splenda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup gluten-free flour mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Line an 8 x 8 baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray.

3. Mix everything but the chocolate chips until you have a nice smooth batter.

4. Add the chocolate chips.

5. Pour into prepared baking dish.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes (don’t overcook!).

7. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the foil insert and fold it down to enable easy cutting.

Printable version.

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
• 1 50ml bottle of tequila (the little nip size)
• 50 ml of lime juice (I just refilled the bottle the tequila came in, but you could easily use the juice of two fresh limes)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Toss the chicken, tequila, lime juice, and minced garlic into a ziplock bag to marinate.  You could do this as little as an hour.  My chicken was frozen at the time, so it marinated all day as it thawed.
2. Preheat your grill to approximately 350 degrees.
3. Just before tossing on the grill, sprinkle both sides of the chicken with just a hint of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
4. Grill approximately 5-6 minutes per side (keep an eye on them at 4 minutes in case they’re small).
5. Serve with a salad or some nice Spanish style rice and black beans.

Printable version.

All I can say is…WOW.  With the sea salt, these shockingly actually tasted like potato chips, and I loved the spicy kick from the red pepper flakes.  I inhaled an entire pan’s worth (approximately half a bunch of kale) in one sitting.  They were light, satisfying, and so surprising.  I saved one for hubby to try when he got home.  He wouldn’t touch it, so I popped it into my mouth and learned that these do not fair well too far from the oven.  The bitter really came out after it had been sitting a while.  But straight out after a 14 minute bake they were wonderful.  Cook’s Note: I used my Misto so that they weren’t soggy from the olive oil.

spicy kale chips