Olive Garden Style Breadsticks

I love the breadsticks at Olive Garden, so when I found this recipe on Pinterest, I knew that I had to try them. They actually are pretty good.  Not as good as Olive Garden's, but pretty close. 

Dough:
1 1/2 C hot water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened
4-5 C flour
1 tablespoon yeast

Topping:
3 Tablespoons butter melted
sea salt {I used kosher salt instead, because it's what I had}
1/4 teaspoons garlic powder



For the dough, pour the water into a stand mixer with the sugar and yeast. Add salt, butter, and 2 cups of flour. Mix the dough on low. Add the rest of the flour a half cup at a time, until dough scrapes the sides of the bowl clean. Mix the dough about 5 minutes on medium speed, until its soft and easy to work with. Roll the dough out into a long log, spray a knife with cooking spray and cut the dough into 16 pieces. Roll those pieces into long snakes. Spray 2 large cookie sheets with cooking spray, and lay the breadsticks out leaving about 2 inches between each one. Place them in the oven with the temperature turned to 170 degrees. Let them rise for about 15 minutes, or until doubled in size. Once risen, brush them with the 1 1/2 T of melted butter and sprinkle them with salt. Return them to the oven and heat to 400 degrees. Once it's preheated to 400 degrees bake them for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. While they are baking combine the rest of the melted butter with 1/4 t garlic powder. When the breadsticks are golden brown, remove them from the oven and brush them with the butter/garlic mixture.

One breadstick is  4 Points+

:::Emily:::

Tender Grilled Pork Chops

4 boneless pork loin chops
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Montreal Steak Seasoning


Mix olive oil, soy sauce and Montreal Steak Seasoning ingredients in a small bowl and pour into a one-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the pork chops and set the bag in a baking dish in a way that the pork chops get a healthy dose of the marinade (it may be advantageous to flip the bag over halfway through the marinating time). Marinate in the refrigerator for 3-8 hours (no more than 8). Heat the grill to medium and grill the chops 6-8 minutes per side (depending on how thick they are) until they are no longer pink in the center. Remove the chops from the grill and tent them with foil and allow them to rest for 5-7 minutes. Slice the chops in 1/4 to 3/8 inch slices across the grain and serve.

Colorful Chicken Alfredo

I got this recipe from kevinandamanda.com.  It was pretty good.  Although, I thought it was a little salty, I would add less salt to the alfredo sauce next time.  It also would've been better with some French Bread, but it was Sunday, and I forgot to buy some.

1 lb boneless-skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp chicken bouillon granules
2 cups Rafaellle pasta
1/2 cup reserved chicken broth
4 tbsp butter, divided
1 cup half and half
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 red, 1 yellow, and 1 green bell pepper
6 leaves fresh basil, chopped

Add chicken to a large pot and cover with 2 quarts of water and the bouillon granules.  Bring to a boil and then simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until chicken is done.

While chicken is simmering, slice up the bell peppers into thin strips.  (I only used half the bell peppers and put the remaining half in a bag to use later.  You can freeze them up to a year.)

When the chicken is done, remove chicken to plate to cool.  While the chicken is cooling, boil your farfalle according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, get started on the Alfredo sauce. Now for the creamy alfredo sauce… Heat 3 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup of the reserved chicken broth to a sauce pan over medium heat until the butter is melted. Then add 1 cup half and half. After the half and half, add the minced garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and then slowly whisk in 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese. Simmer over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally.

While the sauce is simmering, melt 1 tbsp butter over medium high heat. Saute bell peppers for 5-6 mins, stirring occasionally until they’re crisp tender and look a little brown.

While the bell peppers are sauteing, chop up the chicken.  Don't forget to give your sauce and peppers a quick stir every once in a while.  Add the chopped chicken to the bell peppers, sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir to combine.  Turn the heat down to low, then pour the alfredo sauce over the chicken. 

 Let it simmer to combine flavors while you drain the noodles.  Add the sauce to the noodles.  Chiffonade the basil and add on top.

Makes 6 one cup servings.


Each serving is 10 points+.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

These were really good, another great recipe from Our Best Bites cookbook I bought.  I did accidentally use too much lime juice in the chicken mixture, so if I were doing it again I'd measure that instead of eye balling it. I also liked the flour ones better than the corn, but both are good.

3 ounces cream cheese (I used neufchatel cheese, to lower the ww points.)
1/4 cup green salsa
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I used grilled taco chicken.)
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese (I used a Mexican cheese blend.)
6-inch corn or flour tortillas (as fresh as possible; the longer they sit, the more likely they are to crack... which mine did, oops!)  I used half of the homemade flour ones I made last night and half corn.
Nonstick cooking spray
Kosher Salt

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it lightly with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir.  Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro, green onions, chicken and cheese.

Wrap 3-4 tortillas at a time in damp paper towels and microwave for 20-30 seconds so they are soft and pliable.  If you find your tortillas are cracking when rolled, use damper paper towels and increase the microwave time.

Place 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on the lower third of each tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges and then roll it up.

Place seam-side down on the baking sheet in a single layer.  Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkler with a pinch of kosher salt.  Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.  Cool for 5-10 minutes and then serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, or pico de gallo.  Makes about 14 taquitos.

1 taquito is 4 points+ with corn tortillas or 5 points+ with homemade flour tortillas.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

I got this recipe from the Our Best Bites cookbook. I am pretty sure that these were easy enough and good enough that I'll have hard time buying store-bough tortillas again. 

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4-1 cup very hot water
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 cup shortening

 In a bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour and salt.  Add the shortening and combine until crumbly.

With the mixer running slowly add 3/4 cup of hot water.  Mix until the dough starts to come together, adding more water if necessary; the dough should be the consistency of Play-Doh.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  While the pan is heating, divide dough evenly into 8-10 balls ( I did 14 because I wanted fajita-sized tortillas.)  Roll the balls as thinly as possible into circles. (Mine were weird shaped, but still tasted good.)

Place a raw tortilla onto the hot skillet and cook until large bubbles appear and the tortilla looks slightly oily, about 1 minute.  Flip and cook another 30 seconds to a minute or until tortilla is cooked through but not brown or burned.  Repeat with remaining tortillas, keeping the cooked tortillas under a clean kitchen towel.  Serve immediately if possible.

1 tortilla (when making 14 small ones) is 3 points+.

Flank Steak Marinade

I got this recipe off of Food Network from Alton Brown.  It is so, so good!  I will probably be using this as the marinade every time I make steak fajitas!

1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 scallions, washed and cut in 1/2 (I didn't have any and used an onion instead and it turned out fine.)
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons dark brown or Mexican brown sugar (I only had light so that's what I used.)
2 pounds flank steak cut into 3 equal pieces.

In a blender, put in oil, soy sauce, scallions, garlic, lime juice, red pepper, cumin, and sugar and puree.  In a large heavy duty, zip top bag, add steak and then pour the marinade over the meat.  Seal bag, removing as much air as possible.  Allow steak to marinate for 1 hour in refrigerator.

Remove steak from bag and discard the marinade.  Cook on a preheated grill over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes per side.

Let steak sit for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

3 ounces of steak is 6 points+.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

 I am on the search for the perfect homemade spaghetti sauce.  This one was pretty good, but I don't know if it's perfect. I halved it and we still had more than we knew what to do with, it made a lot, so I froze some, I also left out the balsamic vinegar, because I didn't have any, and since I don't like vinegar, I didn't want to buy some just for this.

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups onion, chopped and divided
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
1 pound extra lean ground beef or ground turkey
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 12 oz. can tomato paste
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 teaspoons dried oregano
3 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 14-oz. can Italian-style diced tomatoes
2 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 carton fresh mushrooms (optional)
1 1/2 cups beef stock or beef broth
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add 1/2 of the onions and saute until translucent and slightly browned. Add garlic and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add beef and cook until no red is showing. Drain beef slightly. Blend up the remaining onions and red pepper in a blender or food processor until mostly smooth. Add mixture to the garlic, onions and beef and stir to combine, cooking for another minute. Add tomato paste and spices and cook for 1 minute, stirring until combined. Add tomatoes, beef broth and sugar (and mushrooms, if using). Stir until combined and add the bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Fifteen minutes before serving, stir in the balsamic vinegar.

The sauce will seem watery at first but will reduce to perfection after simmering for an hour.

1/2 cup of sauce is 3 points+.