Eggs and toast

I know, I know, you already know how to make toast and eggs. Of course you do. But, I like to have reminders on here of some easy and quick lunches if I'm ever struggling with some new ideas for meals.

The other day I was home and trying to figure out what to have for lunch. I saw a picture of eggs on toast and it sounded so yummy! I just cooked two eggs in a skillet with some cooking spray and ate that along with some leftover black beans from the night before. Serve it up with some apple slices and a glass of milk ... you've got yourself a fast, yummy lunch!

Tilapia with Rice

We had tilapia for dinner last night. You can buy a big bag of frozen tilapia at Sam's Club for about $13, and there are about 12 pieces individually wrapped inside so they don't get freezer burn! They're great.

Ingredients:

2 frozen tilapia fillets (thawed)
2 T butter
2 T lemon juice

Directions:

Warm the butter in a saute pan. Place thawed fillets in the pan and cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Sprinkle 1/2 T lemon juice over each side of each fillet. Transfer fillets to plates, and put over cooked, brown rice.

We had this with salad and some yummy home-made bread. It was a great and filling dinner!

Peanut Butter Cup Pie!

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
7 large T sugar, divided
2 large egg whites, slightly beaten
Cooking spray
1 1/4 cups skim milk
2/3 cup reduced-fat crunchy peanut butter
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 cup fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 container frozen fat-free cool whip

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine crumbs, 3 T sugar, and egg whites; toss with a fork until moist. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate coated with cooking spray.

3. Prick crust with a fork before baking. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack.

4. Combine milk and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly; transfer mixture to a bowl. Add peanut butter and vanilla, stirring with a whisk until combined. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

5. Place cream cheese in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add milk mixture, beating on low speed until combined. Fold in whipped topping; pour mixture in to prepared pie crust. Freeze, uncovered, 8 hours or overnight until hard. Transfer pie to refrigerator 30 minutes before slicing.

***Lightly coat your hands with cooking spray to press the sticky crust into the pie plate. The filling might be thin after you mix it, but it will harden in the freezer.

***The 30 minutes in the fridge before slicing is perfect. It's still very cool and hard enough to eat like a pie, but doesn't taste "frozen".

Creamy Chicken Pasta

This is a standard in our home. Today was rainy and cold and seemed like the perfect meal for us after church.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast (cooked and shredded)
1/4 cup green pepper (chopped)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk cooked pasta

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta according to directions.

2. While the pasta cooks, combine the chicken, green pepper and chopped onion in a skillet with a little water to combine the flavors. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

3. Add the soup, sour cream and milk. Continue over med-low heat until simmering and all is combined to a creamy sauce.

4. Stir in the pasta.

5. You're done! Serve with a green salad. Yum. This served both of us with a nice, big serving. Plus leftovers for about 1-2 more servings.

Stuffed Green Peppers

This is a recipe that I just kind of ... created. So, the measurements are not exact, but as close as I can recall. If you have some good green peppers, this is a great use for them! We got some beautiful ones at the Farmer's Market and they worked great. They were VERY filling. I think half a pepper would do for one person.

Ingredients:

2 green bell peppers
1 cup (uncooked) brown rice
3/4 cup chunky salsa (I used a salsa with black beans and corn already in it)
1/2 can diced tomatoes
1/2 can refried beans (not quite half a can, a little less than that)
1/2 cup finely chopped green peppers
1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken
1 clove finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

Cook the rice as directed. Set aside. Chop the chicken into tiny pieces and cook over low heat until no longer pink in the middle. (I always put a little bit of water in my pan so it stays moist...a trick learned from Mom.) Remove the chicken from heat. Add the rice, salsa, tomatoes, beans, chopped pepper and garlic. Put back over low heat until all heated through and chopped vegetables are crisp tender.

Cut the tops off of the green peppers. Stuff with the rice mixture. Place both stuffed peppers on one plate, cover with saran wrap. Microwave on high for 3 minutes or until peppers are soft and warm.

Remove saran wrap (don't forget that step, haha) and top with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.