Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Meatballs With Marinara Sauce -- 10 Smart Points

MOZZARELLA STUFFED CHICKEN MEATBALLS WITH MARINARA SAUCE

12 oz. ground Smart Chicken
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
pinch of garlic powder
salt and pepper
2 pieces Sargento string cheese
2 T. Italian breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups Bertoli marinara sauce
4 oz. uncooked weight, Reisa pasta
3/4 tsp. olive oil
1 T. grated Parmesan cheese

Place ground chicken into mixing bowl; add
the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Using a small disher, scoop out 12 portions of the chicken mixture onto waxed paper.

Cut the string cheese into 12 equal pieces.

Using your fingers, gently press the meat into a small round.  Place 1 piece of string cheese in the center.  Form the meat around the cheese, making sure it's completely sealed.

Using 12 oz. of ground chicken and a small sized disher I got 12 meatballs.

Place meatballs into preheated air fryer 350°.  I misted mine with the 3/4 tsp. of olive oil to help get a nice browning on the exterior.

Bake for 5 minutes, then check them to see if they need to be turned or to adjust the temperature.  Cook an additional 4-5 minutes.

As you can see, some of the cheese melted and came through the meat.

While meatballs are cooking, place the marinara sauce in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Place meatballs into the heated sauce.  Spoon sauce over top of meatballs.  Cover and keep warm while you prepare the pasta.

Spoon the meatballs and marinara sauce over the cooked pasta.  Sprinkle with grated Parmesan if desired.

The casserole dish I used measures 6 1/2 x 9 1/2".   This makes 4 generous servings. 

Next time I make these, I'll use homemade pasta sauce.  It will be zero points and not as sweet as the jarred sauce.



SMART POINTS
chicken                        12
string cheese                 2
bread crumbs                2
marinara sauce           12
olive oil                        1
pasta                           10
Parmesan                     1

Stove Top Pizza Crust -- 8 Smart Points

When I purchased my Cuisinart food processor it came with a really nice stainless steel griddle and a a recipe booklet.  This is from that booklet.

I calculated the Smart Points for the crust only.  Use your favorite sauce and toppings and total up the points for those items.  Divide that total by the number of slices you cut and add it to the points for the crust.

Cauliflower crusts seem to be popular right now but I'd prefer to use the real thing and count the points!

The griddle I use is 12" in diameter and the pizza gets cut into 8 slices.  You could use any non-stick skillet or cast iron skillet.

FASTER THAN EVER PIZZA CRUST

Makes a 12” crust – 25 Smart Points

Cut into 8 slices – 4 Smart Points per slice

1 package active dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 cup warm water

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour

3/5 tsp. salt

1 T. olive oil

Stir the yeast and sugar in warm water to dissolve them.

Use the metal blade of your food processor to process the flour, salt, olive oil and yeast mixture about 60 seconds.

Preheat griddle on stove top.

Roll dough out to fit griddle.  Spray griddle with Pam.  Place dough on preheated griddle.  Set timer for 8 minutes.  Let the crust cook for 1 minute then cover it with your choice of sauces and toppings.

Calculate points for toppings used and divide by 8.  Add the 4 points for the crust to get the points total per slice.

I make my own pizza sauce that's zero points.

PIZZA SAUCE

1 - 8 oz. can tomato sauce

paprika

garlic powder

oregano

salt and pepper

Mix well in a microwave safe container.  Heat about a minute.

Depression Bread -- 24 Smart Points per loaf

This recipe popped up in a Facebook story today about old fashioned recipes people used during the Depression.  The bread recipe only had three ingredients: flour, warm water, and yeast.  I used bread flour and added 1 teaspoon of salt.  Bread without salt has a flat taste to me.  It makes two small loaves.  Since there's no fat in the recipe, I increased the oven temperature to 400°.

photo found online with recipe

DEPRESSION BREAD

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
2 cups warm water
2 Tbsps. yeast

Instructions:
Pour flour into a large bowl and create a hole in the center. Pour the yeast and warm water in the center, then combine with the flour until you form a ball. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until it’s doubled in size.
Knead the dough and split into two loaves, then allow to rise one more time. Bake at 300 °F until golden.

SMART POINTS – 48 for entire recipe -- 24 per loaf

I added 1 tsp. salt – online sources say bread with no added fat should bake at 400° so that's the temperature I used.  I also dumped water into the bottom of the oven for steam to get a crisp crust. It baked around 25 minutes at 400°.

Potato Leek Soup -- 4 Smart Points

If you don't have leeks, use finely diced onion.  This was made using the full fat version of Classico Alfredo sauce, you can shave 7 Smart Points off the recipe if you use Classico Light Alfredo sauce and even more points if you choose to use a substitute for the real butter in my recipe.

POTATO LEEK SOUP

Smart Points 4 per cup

Makes 8 cups

¼ cup butter

2 leeks, cut into ½” slices

¼ cup finely chopped carrot

5 medium potatoes, cubed  (1 lb. raw potatoes = 13 oz. cooked or 2 cups finely diced)

4 tsp. chicken bouillon granules

1 jar Classico Alfredo sauce

2 t. chopped chives

Melt butter in large saucepan, cook leeks and carrots about 5 minutes.

Add 4 cups of water, potatoes and  bouillon granules.  Cover, reduce heat and

Cook for about 25 minutes.

Stir in Alfredo sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes or until hot.  Top with

chopped chives to serve.

**to speed up cooking time, cube potatoes and cook in microwave without water while doing other prep work.  This cuts the cooking time down to about 10 minutes.**

SMART POINTS

Butter                          12

Alfredo Sauce             14

Potatoes                        6

Total                           32

 

Italian Chicken And Rice -- 7 Smart Points

This is something I came up with years ago while on the Weight Watcher program.  We didn't count points, just measured the quantities. 

The total points for the two servings is 13 so I rounded it up to 7 points per serving.

ITALIAN CHICKEN AND RICE – 7 Smart Points

6 oz. cooked shredded chicken breast

4 stalks celery, chopped

¼ cup chopped onion

½ bell pepper, diced

¾ cup uncooked Minute Rice

¾ cup water

16 oz. can stewed tomatoes

Pinch of oregano

Pinch of paprika

Dash of garlic powder

½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

In a non-stick skillet, cook celery, onion and bell pepper in a small amount of water until almost done.  Add spices, tomatoes and ¾ cup of water.  Simmer until vegetables are tender.  Add rice and chicken.  Simmer until rice is fluffy.

Makes 2 large servings.

Smart Points

Chicken                4

Minute Rice          9

Impossible Chicken Taco Pie -- 6 Smart Points

IMPOSSIBLE CHICKEN TACO PIE – 6 Smart Points

Makes 6 servings

2 cups cubed cooked chicken 

            (2 six ounce chicken breasts or use canned chicken)

½ cup chopped onion

Small can chopped green chilies

2 T. taco seasoning

1 cup Jiffy Baking Mix or Bisquick

1 cup skim milk

3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

Mix chicken, onion, green chilies, and taco seasoning.  Pour into a greased 9” pie plate.

Combine the baking mix and milk in a small bowl and pour over top of the chicken.  Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes.

Top with grated cheese.

Smart Points                           37

12 oz. uncooked chicken          6

1 cup Jiffy Baking mix            16

1 cup skim milk                        3

3 oz. Parmesan cheese             12