Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Date Night--November 5, 2013

Now that's Italian!

That's how I would like hubby to respond this evening.  Emily Bites really came through for me on this one.  All portions of the meal were found on her website (emilybites.com).

Cocktails:  
The jury is still out on this one.  It could be Manhattans.  Or it could be Martinis/Gibsons (a martini with an onion garnish instead of an olive). Or assuming I have the necessary ingredients, I could make Josh a Negroni, in which case I would have some sparkly water.

Appetizer:
Pizza Cups
 

My plan is to make four pizza cups and one mini loaf of french bread.  We'll see how that works for me.

Dinner:
Chicken Parmesan Casserole--Josh loves his chicken parm.  I love the idea of a one pot meal.  Sorry, Babe, no pasta side.


Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Source: adapted from Food.com

Ingredients:
2 lbs raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ t crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste if you want it hot)
¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
2 cups marinara/pasta sauce (I used Wegmans Tomato Basil)
1 ½ cups 2% reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (I used the smallest holed side of my box grater), divided
3.5 oz garlic croutons, roughly crushed, leaving some larger pieces (I used New York Texas Toast brand Garlic & Butter)

Directions:
1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2.    Spread the cubed pieces of chicken across the bottom of the baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle the minced garlic, red pepper flakes and basil evenly over the chicken. Spread the sauce evenly across the top. On top of the sauce layer, sprinkle ¾ cup of the Mozzarella and one ounce of the Parmesan evenly across the dish. Sprinkle the crushed croutons across the top and follow with the remaining cheese.
3.    Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Yields 8 servings. WW P+: 8 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per serving from myfitnesspal.com: 303 calories, 15 g carbs, 11 g fat, 37 g protein, 1 g fiber
Vegetable:
Salad.  Dressing choices are available.  Maybe Caesar for my man and blue cheese for me.  I might have to boil some eggs.  Good thing I'm writing this blog now.

Dessert:
Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cups.  I've made these before and they are Oh-So-Good.  I will make the whole recipe of filling but only thaw 5 shells (2 for me and 3 for he who loves me).  This way I'll have more filling for more nights this week.


Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cups
Source: inspired by Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients:
15 Frozen Mini Phyllo Shells (I used Athens brand)
2 oz Marscapone cheese (I used BelGioso brand)
2/3 cup fat free Ricotta cheese
3 T powdered sugar
¼ t vanilla
A pinch of cinnamon (a little goes a long way!)
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, divided

Directions:
1.    Place phyllo shells* on the counter to thaw for at least 10-15 minutes.
2.    In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the marscapone, ricotta, powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and stir together until thoroughly mixed. Reserve a small pile of the chocolate chips for topping and stir the remainder into the cheese mixture.
3.    Spoon the filling evenly between all the phyllo shells. Sprinkle reserved chocolate chips over the tops and serve. *I recommend you only defrost/fill as many as you plan to eat at once so that the shells stay crispy.

Yields 15 cups. WW P+: 2 per cup (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per cup from myfitnesspal.com: 63 calories, 7 g carbs, 3 g fat, 2 g protein, 0 g fiber
That brings me to the end of my date night dinner plans.  I do realize it's Tuesday.  WW bonus points reset tomorrow and I have to take into account a weekend of eating/drinking in SC with my family.

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore

happy cooking