Chicken Marsala With Linguine and Mushrooms w/ Whole Grain Bread

Today's Menu: Progresso Kitchen Favorites Chicken Marsala With Linguine  andMushrooms w/ Whole Grain Bread

Tried another of the Progresso Kitchen Favorites tonight for dinner, Chicken Marsala With Linguine. I just had the Lasanga dinner last night and it was delicious so I was looking forward to this tonight. Like the other one it was easy to prepare and just as delicious! The dinner kit included Linguine Pasta, Marsala Sauce Seasoning, Marsala Cooking Wine, and Seasoned Flour. I just added the Boneless Chicken Breasts, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Mushrooms, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, and Hot Water. I've left the ingredients and full instructions at the bottom of the post. It's ready in about 20 minutes. Just boil your pasta, prepare the Chicken, and serve! There's 330 calories and 30 carbs.

The dinner came out mouth watering delicious! The Pasta was tender and the Chicken with the Mushrroms and Marsala Sauce and seasoning is incredible! I'm a huge sauce lover and this Marsala Sauce is one of the best I've had. These Progesso Kitchen Favorites are going to become part of the dinner menu's for us. We also had Aunt Millie's Whole Grain Bread. For dessert later a Jello Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding.



Progresso Kitchen Favorites Chicken Marsala With Linguine

*Progresso Kitchen Favorites Chicken Marsala With Linguine:
*Made with quality ingredients
*Ready in about 20 minutes
*Just add chicken

Product Details
Add chicken! Quality Foods. Quality ingredients included. Linguine pasta; marsala sauce seasoning; marsala cooking wine; seasoned flour. Exchanges: 2 starch, 3 lean meat, 1 fat. Carbohydrate Choices: 2. Made with quality ingredients. Progresso Kitchen Favorites dinners combine high quality ingredients to create delicious meals that become family favorites!


Ingredients

Enriched Linguine Pasta (Semolina Wheat, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sweet Marsala Wine, Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid). Contains 2% Or Less of: Corn Starch, Salt, Butter (Sweet Cream, Salt), Molasses*, Dextrose, Roasted Garlic*, Maltodextrin, Sugar, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Yeast Extract, Nonfat Milk, Spices, Hydrolyzed Corn And Wheat Gluten, Chives*, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Xanthan Gum, Parsley Flakes, Cream of Tartar, Caramel Color, White Wine*, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Chicken Fat, Chicken Powder, Chicken Broth, Sulfiting Agents, Lactic Acid, Egg Yolk*, Citric Acid, Sodium Phosphate, Onion*, Freshness Preserved By Potassium Sorbate, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate. *Dried. Contains Wheat, Milk And Soy; May Contain Egg Ingredients.

Directions
Ready in about 20 minutes. You Will Need: 1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 3/4 cup hot water; 1 tablespoon butter. Pasta: Fill 3-quart saucepan 2/3 full of water. Heat to boiling; stir in Pasta. Gently boil uncovered 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pasta from heat; let stand up to 5 minutes before draining. Drain pasta before serving; cover to keep warm. While water is heating and pasta is cooking, continue with chicken. Chicken: Cut each chicken breast into 5 or 6 pieces (3 x 1 inch). Empty Seasoned Flour into medium bowl or food-storage plastic bag. Coat chicken with flour; discard any remaining flour. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over Medium-High heat; rotate skillet until oil covers bottom. Carefully add chicken to hot oil; cook 2 to 5 minutes on each side or until deep golden brown. Reduce heat to Medium. Cut off 3/4-inch corner of Cooking Wine pouch. Carefully pour wine into skillet with chicken; cook uncovered 30 seconds. Stir in Seasoning and hot water. Simmer uncovered about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center. Serve: Stir butter into chicken and sauce until melted (if sauce becomes too thick, stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons hot water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Remove from heat. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta. Refrigerate leftovers. Kitchen Tip: Kitchen Tip: While chicken is simmering, stir in 4 to 6 oz sautéed fresh mushrooms or canned (drained) mushrooms.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 53 G
Servings Per Container 5
Amount
Per Serving 1 Cup Prepared
Calories 140 330
Calories from Fat 10
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1 G 2 20
Saturated Fat 0 G
0
16
Trans Fat 0 G
Cholesterol 0 Mg 0 20
Sodium 410 Mg 17 20
Total Carbohydrate 30 G 10 10
Dietary Fiber <1 G
4
Sugars 2 G
Protein 4 G

Kichen Hint of the Day

Let raw potatoes stand in cold water for at least half an hour before frying to improve the crispness of french-fried potatoes.

Starting the day light..

The lazy, hazy, days of Summer have kicked in here in Ohio and about everywhere else also. It's been in the high 90's to over 100 degrees for a while now. Hopefully a break from all this heat soon! Started today with a light breakfast. I had a toasted Healthy Life Whole Grain English Muffin topped with a Poached Egg and a side of Bob Evan's Turkey Sausage Links. Filling and healthy and all for 220 calories! Hope everyone stays cool and if outside USE THAT SUNSCREEN!!

Know your healthy numbers

A very good and informative article on Cholesterol, Blood Sugar, and Blood Pressure.


Know your healthy numbers


Written by
Connie Midey
Gannett



The American auto inustry has its Big 3. So do colleges and golf. Here are the Big 3 of health numbers, what they mean and what you can do to reach the targets.

BLOOD PRESSURE

Target numbers:

Less than 120/80.

In recent years, readings between 120/80 and 139/89 have been labeled as pre-hypertension, “a warning that the numbers are creeping up and you need to make lifestyle modifications,” said physician Gregory Johns, a Phoenix internal-medicine specialist.

Readings of 140/90 or higher are considered high blood pressure, or hypertension. (Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury.)

Why they matter: “High blood pressure is probably the biggest risk factor for stroke, the (consequence) people are most concerned about,” Johns said.

Sustained high blood pressure makes the heart work harder and can damage heart muscle, and it’s a risk factor for congestive heart failure, heart attack and peripheral artery disease. It also can damage blood vessels in the kidneys, greatly increasing risk for kidney failure in people who also have diabetes, he said.

What you can do: “High blood pressure is extremely common,” Johns said, “but most people have no symptoms. You have to see your doctor on a regular basis to get a blood-pressure check or you won’t know until it may be too late.”

Control blood pressure by maintaining a healthy weight, exercising for 30 to 45 minutes four or five days a week – enough to elevate your heart rate – and following a healthful diet, he said.

In a trial, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan – low in fat and rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products – lowered hypertensive patients’ top blood-pressure number an average of 11.4 points and bottom number an average of 5.5 points. Lower salt intake improved results, too.

If lifestyle changes aren’t enough, your doctor may prescribe blood-pressure medicine.

CHOLESTEROL
Target numbers:

Total cholesterol: Less than 200.

HDL (good) cholesterol: 40 or higher for men, 50 or higher for women; 60 or higher is considered protective against heart disease.

LDL (bad) cholesterol: Less than 100.

Triglycerides: Less than 150.

Ratio: Less than 5 when the total cholesterol number is divided by the HDL number.

Helen Hilts of DiabeVita Medical Center sets more ambitious goals: HDL of at least 45 for men and 55 for women, and triglycerides of less than 100.

And she’d add another target number: fewer than 1,000 LDL particles, as measured in a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) lipid profile. Most cardiologists order the NMR routinely, she said. With other doctors, you might have to request it.

Why they matter: Cholesterol and triglycerides are measured in milligrams per deciliter as part of a lipid profile to assess heart health. The NMR lipid profile measures the size and number of LDL particles.

“For preventing or reversing heart disease,” Hilts said, “the most important (goal) numbers are high HDL, low triglycerides and low LDL particles.”

What you can do: Researchers “are looking very hard for medicines to raise HDL cholesterol, but they haven’t got one yet,” she said. “The best way to raise it now is through exercise.”

Take good-for-the-heart fish-oil supplements and keep blood sugar at safe levels. High blood sugar sticks to cholesterol molecules, she said, and makes them more likely to clog blood-vessel walls.

A low-carbohydrate diet “will raise HDL a little and lower triglycerides a lot,” Hilts said. “And it shifts the population of your LDL from the small, dense kind, which is bad, to the light, fluffy kind, which is good.”

If lifestyle changes aren’t enough, your doctor may prescribe cholesterol-lowering medicine.

BLOOD SUGAR (GLUCOSE)
Target numbers:

Fasting: Below 99.

Non-fasting: Below 140.

Hemoglobin A1c: 5.6 or lower three-month average.

For people with diabetes (and not pregnant), numbers indicating good control of the disease are 80 to 120 fasting, below 150 non-fasting and below 6.5 hemoglobin A1c.

Why they matter: Hitting the first target number, measured in milligrams per deciliter in a fasting glucose test, means you’re avoiding the high blood sugar that damages blood vessels.

“The higher the numbers, the higher the risk of complications that can happen with diabetes,” said Dr. Chandana Mishra of Endocrinology Associates in Phoenix.

Microvascular complications involve the kidneys, eyes and peripheral nervous system, the latter sometimes leading to amputations, she said. Macrovascular complications cause heart attacks and stroke.

What you can do: “Diet and exercise give tremendous benefits,” Mishra said. A Diabetes Prevention Program study found that 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity and a 5 to 10 percent weight loss reduced the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 58 percent.

If more help is needed, your doctor may prescribe pills or insulin to control glucose levels. People with diabetes can avoid complications and hospitalizations by closely monitoring their blood sugar, Mishra said.

Probably no Big 3 will play a more central role in our lives over the long term than the numbers that define our blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.

Good health is the payoff for making time to monitor those numbers, understand what they mean and take steps to balance them.

“Of course, there are medicines that help with all these conditions,” said Scottsdale family physician Helen Hilts of DiabeVita Medical Center.

“But if you can do it naturally, with lifestyle changes, and let your body do its own balancing act, that’s better.”

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20120705/LIFE07/307050042/Know-your-healthy-numbers?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs

Progresso Kitchen Favorites Classic Lasagna w/ Whole Grain Bread

Today's Menu: Progresso Kitchen Favorites Classic Lasagna w/ Whole Grain Bread

Tried something new for dinner, Progresso Kitchen Favorites Classic Lasagna. Some Lasagna sounded good I haven't had any any in quite some time. It was very easy to make as the dinner kit contained the Lasagna Pasta, Tomato Herb sauce, Ricotta Sauce Mix, and Grated Parmesan Cheese. I added 1 LB. Lean Ground Turkey, 1 Cup water, 2/3 Cup 2% Milk, 1 (8 oz.) Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (2 Cups), and I also added a bit more seasoning (McCormick Grinder Italian Herb). Basically you just layer your ingredients in a 8" square baking dish and cover and bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes and bake an addtional 10 minutes uncovered.  The product description along with full instructions are at the bottom of the post.


Prepared by the instructions it was 390 calories but I cut that and the carb count down by using Honeysuckle White Extra Lean Ground Turkey instead of Beef and Sargento Reduced Fat 2% Mozzarella Cheese. The Lasagna came out delicious! Everyone really enjoyed it. I've got a quick and easy way to have Lasagna now. The flavor was excellent. The Sauce was thick and well seasoned and the same for the pasta, perfect. I'll add another recipe to dinner menu. I had a side of Aunt Millie's Whole Grain Bread that I buttered with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and then sprinkled Shredded Parmesan Cheese on it. Then I baked for 10 minutes until the the bread was toasted. For dessert later a Yoplait Chocolate/Banana Smoothie. Happy 4th all!



Progresso Kitchen Favorites Classic Lasagna

Directions
Ready to bake in about 20 minutes. You Will Need: 1 lb lean ground beef; 1 cup water; 2/3 cup milk; 1 bag (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups); nonstick cooking spray and foil. Sauce: Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Brown beef in 10-inch skillet, breaking up beef into small pieces; drain. Stir Tomato Herb Sauce and water into beef; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, mix Ricotta Sauce Mix and milk in liquid measuring cup or small bowl, using whisk or fork. Layer: Spray 8-inch square glass baking dish with cooking spray. Layer lasagna: Spread about 2/3 cup beef sauce in dish. Layer with 2 uncooked Pasta sheets (side by side), 2/3 cup beef sauce (cover Pasta with sauce), 1/4 cup ricotta sauce and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat layers twice, starting with Pasta. Add remaining Pasta, beef sauce and mozzarella. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese. Kitchen Tip: Substitute 1/4 cup dry red wine for 1/4 cup of the water.

Product Details
Add beef & cheese! Quality Foods. Quality ingredients included. Lasagna pasta; tomato herb sauce; ricotta sauce mix; grated parmesan cheese. Exchanges: 2 starch, 3-1/2 medium fat meat. Carbohydrate Choices: 2. Made with quality ingredients. Progresso Kitchen Favorites dinners combine high quality ingredients to create delicious meals that become family favorites!

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 0.167 pkg
Servings per container: 6
Before Preparation

Nutrient Qty %DV

Calories 390 - Prepared
Calories from Fat 10
Total Fat 1 g 2%
Cholesterol -5 mg 1%
Sodium 510 mg 21%
Total Carbohydrate 23 g 8%
Dietary Fiber 2 g 8%
Sugars 6 g
Protein 4 g
Vitamin A 6%
Vitamin C 20%
Calcium 6%
Iron 4%

Kitchen Hint of the Day

Buy a separate freezer if you have room for one and can afford it. It will pay for itself in no time. If you only have one, I prefer the upright, easier to organize and find things, easier to defrost. Reduce waste, cook your own convenience meals (recipies later) save money by buying in bulk. We purchased a separate freezer about 3 years ago and it's been a great purchase.

American hot dog revolution

American hot dog revolution
Let's be frank: Nowadays, it's what's on top that inspires a region

Written by
Polly Campbell

Any list of All-American foods being prepared this Independence Day would have to include the hot dog. It’s a friendly little dish that’s easy to grill, cheap to buy and beloved across the country.

You know what else is All-American? Ingenuity – and taking a good thing and making it better.

That’s what’s been happening to hot dogs lately, as chefs at all levels get creative with the tube steak. They’re topping them with ingredients that likely have never shared a bun with a frank.

At Senate Restaurant on Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine’s Gateway District, they make a new hot dog every day and name it after whatever pop buzz is in the air.

At nearby Tot Dogs, they expand the repertoire by offering Italian, chicken and andouille dogs along with salsas, slaws and all kinds of cheeses.

The Good Dog on Main Street, Downtown, starts with old-fashioned natural casing dogs and goes from there.

Mayday in Northside has beefed up its hot dog menu lately (if that’s the right terminology for a place that includes a vegan dog) with all kinds of toppings, including a house apricot ketchup.

There are two food trucks, Mr. Hanton’s and Gene’s, that specialize in topped dogs (though their toppings are fairly traditional).

Even Great American Ball Park has added fancy dogs at the Machine Room, including one based on a Vietnamese banh mi.

So, for your summer grill-outs, take a tip from those eateries. Keep the grilling simple, but get elaborate with the toppings. You can put out a random selection and let your friends create their own hot dog – and own names.

To get your imagination started, we asked restaurant owners to share with us a their favorite dog topping recipes. They are loosely re-created in our photos.

Note: lot of local restaurants use the all-beef dogs made right downtown at Avril-Bleh & Sons on Court Street. They also make an all-pork and a natural casing wiener.

Read the entire article by clicking the link below:

http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20120704/LIFE01/307040018/American-hot-dog-revolution?odyssey=nav%7Chead