Cheesy Elbow Lasagna

This recipe is a mixture of a few different pasta recipes I've thrown together. There's really endless possibilities you can add to this dish - including using mushrooms and other veggies to make a delicious vegetarian dish. Just be creative. Use more vegetables... or add some spicy Italian sausage to give it a kick! You can eat on this all week and a perfect one dish meal to feed an entire family. Enjoy!

Cheesy Elbow Lasagna


Ingredients:

1 -1/2 pound lean ground turkey
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1-2 medium zucchini, sliced
2 carrots, peeled & chopped
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 can (14 oz.) of diced tomatoes
1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups of dry elbow pasta
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1 cup fat-free soft ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
3 fresh basil leafs, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon of dried



Directions:

1. In a nonstick skillet, cook the ground turkey, onions, garlic, zucchini and carrots over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink.

2. Drain the skillet of any excess liquid. Add canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and spaghetti sauce. Stir. Add fresh basil and oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

3. While the pasta mixture is simmering, boil two cups of elbow pasta - according to the directions of the pasta box. Drain.

4.  Place half of the pasta in an ungreased 13-inch x 9-inch baking dish. Top with half of the meat sauce, then top that with half of the sour cream, soft ricotta cheese and Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers. Finish with topping with the mozzarella cheese.

5. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes... or until the cheese begins to brown.

6. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Slow Cooked South Carolina BBQ Pork Loin

If you've read my cooking blog before, you know how much I enjoy my slow cooker. This recipe was a real winner the other night. I had a thawed out pork loin and wanted to try a new recipe. I narrowed it down to two slow cooker BBQ recipes - North Carolina BBQ Pork Loin or South Carolina BBQ Pork Loin - though I'm pretty sure both North & South Carolina would not consider this an actual BBQ recipe and probably would scoff at the idea that it's cooked in a crockpot. Anyway, I flipped a coin and, unlike the Civil War, the South won. If you enjoy a sweet tang to pork loin, you'll love this recipe. Makes for a nice Sunday dinner. Fix it in the morning and leave it alone for 8 hours. Perfection!

Slow Cooked South Carolina BBQ Pork Loin


Ingredients:

4-6 pound pork loin
2 medium onions
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper


Directions:

1. In a bowl mix finely sliced onions, brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper. Coat the loin with this mixture. Put loin in the slow cooker with onions and seasoning.

2. In a bowl mix vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, dry mustard, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper. Mix. Pour a third of the sauce on loin, then refrigerate the rest.

3. Cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours... or HIGH for 5 to 6 hours

4. Add one more third of the sauce to the loin and cook for 30 minutes.

5. Pour off excess liquid and serve. Top with the cooked onions. 

Happy National Ice Cream Day

Weight Watcher Brownies

Ok... I'm on a diet, believe it or not. It's nothing out of the ordinary... I usually try an watch what I eat during the Summer... because by the time Fall and Winter come around, I'm "packing on" for the colder months after Thanksgiving and Christmas. But I digress...

As I was searching through my Weight Watchers Cookbook, I came across a recipe for brownies!! I had been craving something that was chocolate and sweet for weeks and, for only 3 points a brownie, I HAD to try these... and, surprisingly, they're very good. I had never added cinnamon to brownies before... but I really enjoy the subtle hint of it in this recipe.

They do tend to get dry if left out, so be sure to put them in a air-tight, ziplock bag when not enjoying them.

Weight Watcher Brownies


Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 egg white
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons unsalted butter



Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray an 8-inch-square baking pan with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; mix well. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, egg white, sugar, and vanilla; beat well to dissolve the sugar.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter and chocolate chips, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Let cool for 1 minute, then stir into the egg mixture; beat well to combine. Stir the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, 20-22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before cutting into 16 brownies.

per serving (1 brownie): 127 Cal, 5 g Fat, 3 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 34 mg Chol, 54 mg Sod, 20 g Carb, 1 g Fiber, 2 g Prot, 15 mg Calc.

Weight Watcher Points value:  3

Happy National Fried Chicken Day!!

Turkey Cabbage Casserole

As my journey continues in finding delicious low-fat dishes to prepare, I came across this wonderful turkey cabbage casserole recipe on Food.Com that was beyond my expectations, in terms of flavor. It a perfect combination, lowfat, easy to prepare, relatively cheap prepare, and makes a great dish for the family to enjoy. For those interested, it's only 7 Weight Watcher points per serving, and renders about 4 servings all together. Try it out... I'm sure you'll agree... it's a keeper!

Turkey Cabbage Casserole


Ingredients:

1/2  head of cabbage, shredded
1 pound lean ground turkey
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup of diced tomatoes
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups shredded cheese (any type will do) 
1/ teaspoon oregano
salt & pepper



Directions: 

1. place shredded cabbage in a lightly greased 2 quart casserole dish.

2. In skillet, saute onions and garlic with a touch of olive oil for a few minutes. Add turkey and cook until brown and no longer pink in color.  

3. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, oregano, salt & pepper. Stir.

4. Place turkey mixture over cabbage in casserole dish. 

5. Top with shredded cheese.

  

6.  Cover and bake 350 about 1 hour.