Chicken in Garlic Bacon Cream Sauce

Tonight's attempt at making dinner was laughable, but at least we ate! Sometimes things get a little unpredictable with two little ones. This dish always seems to be eaten cold (by me at least!) by the time I get everyone else situated and served.

Anyway, this is an adaptation of a Kraft Food and Family recipe that has the same ingredients, but slightly different preparation (I LOVE garlic, so it needed some garlic. Okay, maybe a LOT of garlic). This can be made as a one skillet recipe (in various steps), but I found it was really hard to keep the chicken warm while you make the sauce, so here is my version:

Chicken in Garlic Bacon Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

Pam Cooking Spray

8 Chicken Breast Tenderloins

4 Slices Bacon (use regular cut, not thick)

3/4 c. Chicken Broth

1/2 c. Cream Cheese

2 cloves Minced Garlic or 2 tsp Garlic Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Whole Wheat Pasta

(side note: my hubby loves the cream sauce so I double that part of the recipe when I cook it)

Preparation: Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. Place 8 slices of bacon on shallow baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until crispy. (side note: I love this method of preparing bacon - no splatter, no turning, and evenly cooked every time).

While bacon cooks, combine broth, cream cheese and garlic in sauce pan. Heat on medium low, stirring occasionally until well combined and smooth. Cook pasta according to instructions. By the way, I am not a big fan of whole wheat pasta  but it tastes great in this recipe!

When bacon is crispy, remove from oven, drain and crumble. Add bacon to cream sauce.

Spray Pam in large skillet. Heat on medium high; add chicken tenderloins. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook about 4 minutes each side until browned and no longer pink inside.

Drain pasta. Plate pasta and chicken, drizzle sauce over top. Enjoy!

This recipe makes 4 servings. One serving is 2 chicken tenders, 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Penne, with 1/4 cup sauce. Weight Watchers points value is 8.5.

Beef Stroganoff

So I just finished with dinner and made a family favorite tonight - Tri-Tip Beef Stroganoff. It's super easy to make and the recipe and photos are below. Would you like to try it? Make it at home and let me know how yours turns out!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

Pam Cooking Spray (or 2 tsp Olive Oil if you prefer)
1 Tri-Tip Roast (about 3 lbs) (Choice cut, $2.99/lb)

1 Package Lipton Onion Soup Mix ($1.99 for two pouches)

1 Cup Water

4 Tablespoons Flour

1 Cup Light Sour Cream ($.99, 16 oz container)

Wide Egg Noodles, cooked according to package ($.99, 12oz package)

Spray Pam in large pot or dutch oven. Heat over medium high heat. Add Tri-Tip Roast.

Sear 1 minute on each side to brown. Add Lipton Onion Soup Mix and 1 cup Water. Cover and lower heat. Simmer for 20 minutes. Turn Roast and simmer an additional 20 minutes.

Once Roast has reached internal temperature of 165 degrees, remove from pot and place on baking sheet. Cover with foil. Meanwhile, pour juices from pot into 2 cup measuring cup. If you need to, add water until you have 2 cups of liquid. Pour back into pot and heat over medium. Whisk in flour.

Whisk mixture until smooth. Add in sour cream and heat until bubbly.

While Cream sauce heats, slice Tri-Tip against the grain, to desired thickness.

Place noodles on plate, top with Tri-Tip and drizzle with sauce. Enjoy!