THRIFTY LIGHT RECIPE OF THE DAY

Each day we will be posting A Thrifty Light recipe from one of our readers. At the end of the month, one of you will win a $25.00  Gift Card. For all the details click here. Keep those thrifty and healthy recipe tips coming!!!

Please submit your recipes on this post HERE, or to our email with the  word Thrifty Recipe on the subject line.

Thanks to Tara for this recipe,

Chicken Parmesan

– Enough boneless chicken pieces (breasts and thighs) for your family (breasts you will want to cut in half to make cutlets)
– One jar of your favorite Spaghetti Sauce
– Some fresh grated parmesan
– Fresh Garlic to taste (I use 2 Cloves)

Spray a glass casserole dish with olive oil cooking spray and add your cleaned chicken pieces.  Mix the jar of spaghetti with the garlic and pour over the chicken.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 min (until chicken is cooked).  Serve the chicken by itself or over whole wheat pasta and sprinkle each piece with one tablespoon of Parmesan cheese.  I like to serve this with a light green salad.
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Thanks to Kim for this recipe,

Summer Salad

3 large ripe tomatoes
1 large cucumber
1 medium onion
1/4 cup black olives
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/2 Italian dressing (fat free or light)

Dice vegetables and combine in bowl with feta cheese. Pour Italian dressing over and toss to coat. Refrigerate for 2 – 4 hours before serving to allow for flavors to marinate together.

Quick, easy and TASTY!

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Thanks to Karma for this recipe

Strawberry Smoothies (from the Change One Readers Digest diet)

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup (8 ounces) fat-free vanilla yogurt
1 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons reduced-sugar strawberry fruit spread
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Cover and process until smooth. Pour into glasses; serve immediately.

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Thanks to Brecca Shaffer for this recipe

Zucchini Pizza
I love this in the summer when we have an abundance of large Zucchini in the garden…The kids loved it!

1 Large Zucchini from Garden
Spaghetti or Pizza sauce
variety of vegtables you like on pizza…I use:
mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and my husband like Jalapenos (also from our gardern)
Non-Weight loss:
top with Meat of your choice…My family prefers Pepperoni
Then top with shredded cheese and cook at 350 for 20 min….
If you like crusty top Broil on High for about 1-2 min following cooking.

I serve with Salad…Enjoy!

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Thanks to Emilee for this recipe

This is a yummy family favorite from KRAFT-its a bonus because it uses lots of coupon deals!

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake


1 1/2 cups multi grain penne pasta, uncooked (Rotini pasta often free)
1 pkg (9oz) fresh spinach leaves (or I often use frozen that I got for free)
1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces (1.99 lb at Albertsons)
1 tsp basil leaves
1 jar (14 1/2 oz) spaghetti sauce (Free Prego)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) dices tomatoes, drained
2 oz cream cheese (Free last week at Albertsons)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (Free cheese from this summer)
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese (free from this summer)
Heat over to 375. Cook pasta, adding spinach to boiling water for last minute (ommit if using frozen just add it to the mixture). Cook and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet on med-high for 3 minutes. Add sauce and tomatoes, bring to a boil. Simmer 3 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in cream cheese. Drain past mixture and return to pan, stiring in chicken and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Pour into 2-qt baking dish. Bake 20 minutes then sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.