Comfort Food

Mona’s Southwestern Chili

Mona’s Family Favorites: This chili may look like it contains a lot of ingredients, but many of them are staples that you most likely already have in your pantry and fridge. Everyone has their own secret ingredient for their chili recipes, and mine is freshly chopped basil! I find it adds even more herbaceous punch than the cilantro you’d typically use in a Southwestern dish.

Mona's Southwestern Chili
 
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Recipe type: Casseroles & One-Pot Meals
Makes: 5 Lunch or 4 Dinner portions
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound 93% lean ground beef
  • 2 cups chopped bell peppers
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
  • 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
  • ¾ cup frozen corn kernels
Directions
  1. Heat the olive oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat.
  2. Brown the ground beef until fully cooked. Add the bell peppers, onion, jalapeño, and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes, just until the onion and peppers begin to soften.
  3. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper to the pot, and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes.
  4. Add the black beans and corn to the chili, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes before serving.
Perfect Portion Mona's Southwestern Chili

HELPFUL TIP: Topping a bowl of this chili with 1 tablespoon of sour cream will add 30 calories. Topping it with 1 tablespoon of reduced-fat sour cream will add around 25 calories, depending on the brand.
Serving size: ½ cup Calories: 100

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French Toast

Mona’s Family Favorites: The winner of all French Toasts! The secret? Better Butter Batter! Mix melted butter right into the batter to make sure that each bite has big butter flavor. The combination of maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon makes this French Toast naturally sweet. Pair with fresh berries for a great breakfast.

French Toast
 
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Recipe type: Breakfast
Makes: 4 breakfast portions
Ingredients
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg white
  • ½ cup 2% milk
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • 8 slices “light” bread (see tip)
Directions
  1. In a wide mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg white, milk, butter, sugar, honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt.
  2. Spray a large griddle or nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray, and place over medium heat.
  3. Working in batches of as many pieces of French Toast as you can fit on the griddle, dip each bread slice into the egg mixture to coat both sides before placing on the hot griddle.
  4. Cook each piece until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.
  5. Serve garnished with fresh berries (about 25 calories per ¼ cup) or topped with pure maple syrup (50 calories per tablespoon).
Perfect Portion French Toast

HELPFUL TIP: Light bread is sold in loaves in the normal bread aisle. It usually contains only 45 calories per slice and far more fiber than ordinary white bread.
Serving size: 1 slice Calories: 100

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Chicken Pot Pie

**Update: Anson did a great job demonstrating this yummy dish on the Today Show this morning.This is a must try comfort food ‪#‎recipe‬. If you’d like to, watch Anson from this morning.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Chicken Pot Pie
 
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Bob's Farm to Table: My mom’s Chicken Pot Pie was wonderful. Over the years I have learned more about how to achieve deeper, more complex flavors in my recipes. I have adapted my mom’s original farm to our table recipe to make it even more delicious, while reducing the calorie count from over 550 calories per 1 cup serving to an even 300.
Author:
Recipe type: Casseroles & One-Pot Meals
Makes: 10 Lunch or 8 Dinner portions
Ingredients
  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • 2 russet potatoes, cut into ½-inch cubes
  • 1 ½ cups carrots, cut into ½-inch cubes
  • ¾ cup celery cut into ¼-inch rounds
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ½-inch cubes
  • ¾ cup diced yellow onion
  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups 2% milk
  • ½ cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 8 ounces of frozen or fresh corn
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Unroll the puff pastry, and use a pastry or pizza cutter to cut into 32 pieces by slicing 4 rows on the shorter end by 8 rows lengthwise. Transfer to a sheet pan, placing them 1 inch apart. Brush top of pastry with beaten egg.
  2. Bake the pastry pieces for 10–12 minutes, until they are fluffy and golden brown “croutons.”
  3. Spray a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chopped potatoes, carrot, and celery on sheet pan, and roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, just until potatoes are lightly browned. Set aside.
  4. Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes, lightly browning on all sides. Add the onion to the pot, and sauté for an additional 2 minutes.
  5. Stir the flour into the pot, coating the chicken and onions, and let cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  6. Stir the chicken broth, milk, roasted vegetables, and all of the remaining ingredients into the pot. Stir constantly as you bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce is smooth and creamy.
  7. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Measure your perfect portion into a soup bowl, and top chicken pie mixture with croutons.
Perfect Portion Chicken Pot Pie
Serving size: ⅓ cup + crouton Calories: 100

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100 Calorie Cheesecake Minis

Add this decadent and ultra-creamy 100 calorie dessert to your holiday table, by serving this Perfect Portion recipe from celebrity, Anson Williams, New York Times best selling cookbook author, Bob Warden, and nutritionist, Mona Dolgov. Their new cookbook, “The Perfect Portion Cookbook”, using the 100 calorie counting system, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com and will be available for Advance Order Purchase on QVC.com soon.

100 Calorie Cheesecake Minis
 
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Mona’s Family Favorites: My Aunt Pearl really inspired me to create this wonderful dessert! The cheesecake’s ultra creamy texture is out of this world. Forget about leaky springform pans; we use muffin tin liners to make quick work and “perfect portioning.” Plus the fresh raspberry topping takes this dessert to the next level of decadence.
Recipe type: Desserts
Makes: 18
Ingredients
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • 2 (8-ounce) packages reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • ⅓ cup sour cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 300°F, and line standard muffin tins with 18 paper or aluminum (recommended) liners. Lightly spray the insides of the liners with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
  3. Add all the remaining ingredients to the cream cheese in the mixer, and beat until fully combined.
  4. Fill each prepared liner with the cheesecake batter until about ½ of the way full.
  5. Bake for 15–17 minutes, or until the sides of the cheesecakes are beginning to rise, but center is still soft.
  6. Let cool on the counter for 30 minutes. Cover, and refrigerate for an additional 2 hours before removing the paper liners to serve.
Perfect Portion Cheesecake Minis

TIP: Make a fresh raspberry sauce topping by lightly mashing 1 cup of raspberries with 1 ½ tablespoons of honey. Topping each Cheesecake Mini with 2 rounded teaspoons of the sauce will add only 10 calories to the full dessert.
Serving size: 1 cheesecake mini Calories: 100

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Home-Style Mashed Potatoes

Home-Style Mashed Potatoes
 
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Some would say that you can’t have a holiday meal without perfect mashed potatoes! Yukon Golds are our preferred potato for mashing because of their natural creamy, buttery texture. And since half of their fiber is in the skin, we leave the skins on for our mash, giving you the maximum nutrients at a fraction of the work. What could be better than that?
Recipe type: Holiday Favorites
Makes: 8 side dish portions
Ingredients
  • 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¼ cup butter
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives
Directions
  1. Chop potatoes (with skin, unless undesired) into 1-inch pieces, and add to a large pot.
  2. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt to the pot, and fill with enough water to cover potatoes.
  3. Place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Cover, and cook for 15–18 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain well, and return the potatoes to the pot.
  4. Add sour cream, butter, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt to the potatoes, and mash with a potato masher, just until mostly smooth.
  5. If potatoes have cooled, place the pot over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, just until hot. Stir in chopped chives before serving.
Serving size: ⅔ cup Calories: 200
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