A quick recipe

Chicken enchiladas (store leftovers in fridge for a quick lunch tomorrow!)

2 cups greek yogurt
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 lb grilled chicken breast, chopped
2 cups broccoli, chopped
2 sm cans chopped green chilies
1/2 cup low calorie cheese*
8 tortilla wraps**

Stir yogurt and soup together. Mix in broccoli, chilies, and chicken. Divide into 8 wraps and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until golden brown. About 215 calories per enchilada. Top with salsa for more flavor.

*Shreiber shredded cheese from Costco is 80 calories per 1/4 cup. Recalculate if using a higher calorie cheese or reduce the amount used.
**La Tortilla Factory wraps available at Costco are low carb, high fiber, and only 80 calories each. If you buy wraps with more calories, add the difference to each serving.

Tip: Yesterday I made dip for a party. Instead of buying a large container of plain yogurt of which I only wanted to use 8 oz I opted for Greek yogurt. I found a brand at Target called Fage which is a strained Greek yogurt and cost less overall (of course, per ounce was a lot more) than the larger container of regular yogurt. Into the 6 oz, I mixed 1 Tbs (about 1/2 pkt) of the Harvest Dill and OH. MY! It was creamy and delicious! You will NOT miss your sour cream! I will actually splurge on the Greek yogurt for this dip from now on. Definitely worth it.

Recipe
Somewhat Authentic Shepard's Pie

1 lb lean beef
2 cups free veggies (recommended: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery)
1 pkt mushroom gravy
garlic powder
lemon pepper
Cavendar's Greek seasoning
Worcestershire sauce
1 pkg Four Cheese mashed potato mix

Slow cook beef in water until tender. Remove lingering fat and drain. Mash a little or shred. Prepare mashed potatoes with hot tap water and set aside. Gather six 2 cup baking containers (such as a ramekin) and put 2-3 oz of beef on the bottom of each container. Spread 1/4 veggies on top of the beef. Dash garlic powder, lemon pepper, and Greek seasoning over the top of each. Mix together the water and gravy packet without cooking into a small bowl. Use about 2 Tbs over each serving, then dribble 1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce over the top (depending on how much bite you like). Dollop with mashed potatoes (do not smooth out on top) and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until top is dark brown.

Depending on how lean the meat is, these are around 170 calories per serving.

Start Simple (breakfast)

Yogurt
I am pretty picky about my yogurt. I will only eat Yoplait and I only like certain flavors. Well, We switched to light and tried several of those dessert flavors and I have to admit, it makes a nice breakfast. My personal favorites are pineapple upside down, boston cream pie, orange sunrise, strawberry, and strawberry shortcake. I was not as impressed with the black forest cake or lemon. I downright disliked the cinnamon bun. It just did not work for me. Experiment!

English Muffin
The other breakfast I tend to have is an English Muffin with just a light brushing of lemon curd. An English muffin is around 110 calories so if you can afford a little more, have both! (don't forget to add the lemon curd. It's almost as much as jam, but I am very careful to do half a serving spread over both which, for the brand I buy, adds just 35 calories.

Egg substitute
It's come a long way from that rubbery concoction of a few years ago. We buy 'Real Egg' in bulk at Costco. It cooks a little different, too and sticks to the pan (we prefer stainless steel so might not be a problem for coated pans), but if you soak it immediately, it will come right out after a few minutes. Throw in peppers, mushrooms, and a dash of garlic powder without adding calories. Can you afford a bit more? Toss in chopped tomatoes or a measured amount of low calorie grated cheese (Shrieber, pre-grated from Costco is very good cheese).

Mmm. Baco’
I like bacon and all, but I’m not a bacon fiend. He, however, loves bacon and would be happy to eat it every morning. At Costco we buy this delicious pork bacon that is 90 calories for two slices. Fine if you want a treat, but what about turkey bacon?

Well, the first turkey bacon we found was Jennie-O. It said 40 calories, but upon further inspection, we saw that was for one slice. Two slices is 80. What’s the point? Well, it turns out that is their breakfast bacon. They also have an Extra Lean variety that is only 20 calories per slice. Butterball also has a 25 calorie per slice turkey bacon. As far as taste, both are good, but I think I prefer Butterball. (This, of course, is one of those examples where simply cutting calories will lead to lower fat intake.)

Notes on preparation: When I have pork bacon, I don’t like it too crunchy (unless it’s on a sandwich). I like it well cooked, but still tender. I have learned, however, that with turkey bacon, I prefer it to have a bit of crispy crunch to it. It tastes meatier that way.

Hmm. What about sausage?
Morningstar makes a wonderful breakfast sausage patty. It tastes great and smells a little like KFC! At only 80 calories, you can enjoy a nice bit of protein without guilt.

Notes on preparation: Microwave for 1 minute, turn it over, then add a drop of Yoshida's gourmet sauce and cook another minute. Even better taste, cook on the George Foreman for 5 minutes.

McMuffins anyone?
He loves to make one serving of the egg substitute and two pieces of bacon or one sausage patty, then put them on an english muffin with a slice of low calorie cheese. At less than 300 calories it is filling enough to get you through the morning.

Waffles
Use egg substitute and LIGHT soy milk in your Bisquick waffle mix and each 4 inch square is only 120 calories. (Two for 240 is a fair enough breakfast if you can avoid calories in your toppings.) Note: Mrs. Butterworth's sugar free syrup tastes the best and is sweetened with molasses instead of saccharin.