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
Pizza Cups
Source: Emily Bites Original
Ingredients:
2.5 oz fresh white mushrooms, diced
20 slices turkey pepperoni, chopped
½ cup pizza sauce (I used Classico Traditional Pizza Sauce and it was awesome)
1 (11 oz) can Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf refrigerated dough
1/3 c shredded 2% reduced fat Mozzarella cheese
¼ - 1/3 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly mist 8 cups in a standard muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Lightly mist a small skillet with cooking spray and bring over medium
heat. Add diced mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until
wilted/browned. Place the mushrooms in a medium bowl and add the chopped
pepperoni slices and pizza sauce. Stir to combine and set aside.
3. Open the package of French bread dough and lay the log of dough on
a clean, dry surface. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 equal
rounds. Using your hands or a rolling pin, press the dough pieces into
3-4” flat rounds. Press each round into a prepared cup in the muffin
tin, forming the dough into a bowl shape and pressing it up the sides.
4. Evenly distribute the pepperoni/mushroom mixture into each dough cup
with a spoon. Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese over the top of each cup and
follow with a pinch of Italian seasoning on each cup to taste.
5. Bake for 16-18 minutes until bread cups start to brown on the
edges and are crusty to the touch. Let cool 3-5 minutes before serving.
Yields 8 cups. Weight Watchers Points Plus: 3 per cup (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per bread bowl from myfitnesspal.com: 124 calories, 20 g carbs, 3 g fat, 6 g protein, 1 g fiber
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
Mmmm. I can't wait to have an ice cold dry martini. I forget what a Negroni is, but that has the most Italian sounding name. Although, come to think of it, martini sounds like an Italian word too. :) That dessert looks fabulous. Can you pin it so I can re-pin?
ReplyDelete