A Spinach Salad

I know I said we weren’t really trying any new recipes this week but I lied!  Tyler requested I buy a bag of spinach last weekend and since we’d gone 4 days without using it I figured it was time I took matters into my own hands.  So I got a recommendation for what to do with this salad from another blogger and was led to this tasty looking recipe!  I made a few changes to lighten it up (removed the bacon grease from the dressing) and Tyler and I think it’s a winner!

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing (original recipe courtesy of Alton Brown)

8 ounces baby spinach
2 large eggs, hardboiled
4 pieces bacon cooked and chopped
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 T EVOO
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large white mushrooms, sliced
3 ounces red onion (1 small), very thinly sliced
1/4 c. crumbled blue cheese

Remove the stems from the spinach and wash, drain and pat dry thoroughly. Place into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Whisk together the red wine vinegar, EVOO, sugar and Dijon mustard. Season with a small pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper.

Add the mushrooms, sliced onion, and blue cheese to the spinach and toss. Add the dressing and bacon and toss to combine. Divide the spinach between 4 plates or bowls and evenly divide the egg among them. Season with pepper, as desired. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Approx WW pts. per serving = 4

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Pine Nut Pasta

Oh sweet mercy this pasta was so so so good!  The toasted pine nuts truly made the dish, they are small but packed with so much flavor!  Kind of high in WW points, but worth it!  Tastes great reheated for lunch the next day too!

Spinach-Feta Pasta with Pine Nuts (adapted from recipezaar)

Ingredients:

8 oz pasta (I used campanelle)
1.5 T extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz crumbled low fat feta cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 T toasted pine nuts
fresh spinach to taste (I used 5 big handfuls, I love the stuff!)

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.  Heat olive oil in large deep skillet or wok, add garlic and saute over medium heat for about 30 seconds, being careful not to let garlic brown.  Stir in cooked pasta.  Stir in feta and Parmesan cheese and cook for 2-3 minutes, until feta cheese just starts to melt and pasta and cheese is thoroughly melted through.  Stir in spinach and continue to heat until spinach barely starts to wilt.  Take pasta off heat and stir in the pine nuts.  Transfer to serving dish and serve.

Serves 4

WW pts per serving = approx. 8

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A WW winner

Love this recipe! Hallelujah! I actually didn’t make it since Tyler is the “stir-fryer” in this household, but I chopped up some stuff and “supervised” and ate it and oh my it was delicious! This is from the “15-minute dishes” portion of the cookbook. Can’t wait to have it again

Stir-Fried Beef and Snow Peas

Ingredients:

3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T minced peeled fresh ginger
3/4 lb boneless sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into thin 2-inch-long slices
1/2 lb fresh snow peas, trimmed, or thawed frozen snow peas
1 cup canned sliced water chestnuts, drained
2 T reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 T orange juice
1 t cornstarch
1 T water

Directions:

1. Spray a large nonstick wok or deep skillet with nonstick spray and set over high heat until a drop of water sizzles in it. Add the scallions, garlic, and ginger; stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the beef and stir-fry until browned, about 3 minutes. Add the snow peas and stir-fry about 1 minute. Add the water chestnuts and stir-fry 30 seconds. Stir in the soy sauce and orange juice; bring to a simmer and cook 20 seconds.

2. Stir together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl until smooth. Add to the wok and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce bubbles and thickens, about 30 seconds.

serving size = 1 cup (recipe serves 4)

WW points per serving = 2 (wow!!)

I had mine over brown rice and Tyler had his over some leftover whole wheat spaghetti we needed to use up.

Source: Weight Watchers All-Time Favorites, 2008. p.251

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Hearty Lasagna

I don’t think I cooked a single meal last week, I was in another cooking slump. Tyler thankfully stepped in to make dinner last night (don’t ask me what we ate Monday-Friday last week, it’s honestly a blur of cereal and take out). I had been in search of a healthier lasagna recipe for awhile. I love cheese and Italian food and I love big dishes of it that you can eat for days, makes for good lunches! This lasagna was very good, although I can’t say it was as flavorful as the last lasagna I made.

Hearty Lasagna (adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:
1 pound 93% lean ground beef
Vegetable cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups nonfat cottage cheese
1/2 cup (1 ounce) finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 (15-ounce) container nonfat ricotta cheese
1 egg white, lightly beaten
12 cooked lasagna noodles
2 cups (8 ounces) part skim mozzarella cheese
Fresh oregano sprigs (optional)

Preparation:

Cook meat in a large saucepan over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble; drain and set aside. Wipe pan with a paper towel. Coat pan with cooking spray; add the onion and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes. Return meat to pan. Add 2 tablespoons parsley and next 7 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Uncover; simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Combine remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, cottage cheese, and next 3 ingredients in a bowl; stir well, and set aside.

Spread 3/4 cup tomato mixture in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 noodles over tomato mixture; top with half of cottage cheese mixture, 2 1/4 cups tomato mixture, and 2/3 cup provolone. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread the remaining tomato mixture over noodles.

Cover; bake at 350° for 1 hour. Sprinkle with remaining provolone; bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with oregano, if desired.

1 serving = 1/12 of lasagna

WW pts per serving = approx. 5

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Two New Foods

New recipe tonight, with 2 ingredients I’ve never used before! Turkey sausage and polenta. I was more unsure about the turkey sausage than the polenta initially, sausage kind of grosses me out sometimes, but this turkey sausage was very lean. Tyler actually cooked this for us on our grill pan, which we’ve only used a couple of times with less than stellar results. It’s just really hard to get meat cooked through before burning the outside first. He squished the sausages down though to help them cook faster and we were able to get them cooked all the way through just before they were burned beyond repair. Oh how I long for a gas grill someday when we are free from apartment life! The grill pan also smoked up our apartment and we smell like sausage now, mmmmmmmmm tasty. I’m sure I’ll smell great at the gym later tonight! The peppers and onions and sausage were great, I was a little unsure on the polenta though. We didn’t get it cooked until crispy, maybe that was the problem. The texture was a little weird, but it didn’t taste bad. I think we’ll make it again. I was happy to have a recipe from this WW cookbook turn out since the last one we tried out of this cookbook was awful (burnt to a crisp pork in the slow cooker). I will keep working my way through the cookbook and try to stay optimistic. We will make this again! It’s a very complete meal for only 6 points. And it grills up fast.

Turkey Sausage with Peppers and Polenta

Ingredients:
4 (3 oz) hot Italian-style turkey sausages (we used sweet because our store didn’t have hot)
3 t extra virgin olive oil
1 t red-wine vinegar
1 large onion, cut into 1 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut length wise into 8 strips
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut lengthwise into 8 strips
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 (8 oz) tube refrigerated fat-free plain polenta, cut into 8 rounds
4 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Spray the grill rack with nonstick spray; preheat the grill to medium or prepare a medium fire.

2. Place the sausages on the grill rack. Grill, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 12-15 minutes. Transfer to a platter and keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together 2 teaspoons of the oil and the vinegar in a small bowl. Brush the onion and bell peppers with the oil mixture and sprinkle with the salt and ground pepper. Place the onion and bell peppers on the grill rack. Grill until softened, 6-7 minutes on each side. Transfer to the platter; keep warm.

4. Brush both sides of the polenta slices with the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil. Place the polenta slices on the grill rack. Grill until crispy and golden, about 3 minutes. Carefully turn the polenta slices and sprinkle with the Parmesan; grill until crispy and golden, about 3 minutes longer. Add the polenta to the platter and serve at once.

Serves 4

1 Serving = 1 sausage, 2 slices polenta, and 1/2 cup vegetables

WW points per serving = 6

Source: Weight Watchers All-Time Favorites

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Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Well I just couldn’t wait to try another Dorie recipe! The first one I bookmarked in my new cookbook was this recipe for lemon poppy seed muffins with a tasty looking icing. It didn’t take long at all to whip up a batch and they are SO GOOD. They are the perfect balance of tart and sweet, leaning more towards sweet with that delicious icing. Good news is that they are not terrible WW points wise! Much better than a muffin from Starbucks! I used fat free sour cream, that probably helped. I took most of these to work today and they were gobbled right up. My favorites were the ones with the raspberry jam in the center, I will probably put that in all of them next time.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours pp.10-11)

Ingredients:

For the Muffins:
2/3 cup sugar
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
3/4 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
2 large eggs
1 t pure vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 T poppy seeds

For the Icing:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2-3 T fresh lemon juice

Directions:

To Make the Muffins:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and the lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and hte fragrance of the lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whish the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the wish or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough-a few lumps are better than overmixing the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean (I baked mine for about 17 minutes since my oven cooks hot and my muffin pan is the horrible dark kind, which can make the bottoms burn if you’re not careful). Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Cool the muffins completely on the rack before icing them.

To Make the Icing:
Put the confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 1/2 T of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough additional lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon. You can then drizzle lines of icing over the tops of the muffins or coat the tops entirely, the better to get an extra zap of lemon.

Best if served at room temp, plain or with jam.

Variation: fill the muffin cups with half the batter and top each with a teaspoon of jam (I used raspberry in half the muffins) then spoon in the rest of the batter

Serving size = 1 muffin

approx. WW points per serving=4
(note: this is for the ones without jam in the center, depending on the jam you use it may or may not increase the points value)

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Parmesan Dijon Chicken…revisited

I’m posting this recipe again but with no changes, except to add the approximate WW points and a much better picture than last time   This is one of my tried and true recipes, from Betty Crocker’s Cooking Basics, the cookbook I learned to cook with and still hold dear to my heart!  This chicken takes just a few minutes to prep before you bake it, giving you plenty of time to whip up some quick sides, like couscous and roasted asparagus, my recent go-to side dishes!  With this easy meal I had time to bake some lemon poppy seed muffins (stop in for those tomorrow!), watch American Idol, get in a 3 mile workout, and read a few chapters of a book.  Thanks again Betty!

Parmesan Dijon Chicken

Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts, cut in half.
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 T melted butter
2 T dijon mustard

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix melted butter and dijon mustard in a large bowl or flat dish. Mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a large ziploc bag.
3. Dip the chicken into the butter/mustard mix making sure to thorougly coat it. Then toss into the bag and coat with crumb mixture. Place chicken in single layer in an ungreased rectangular pan.
4. Bake uncovered 30 minutes, making sure to flip the chicken over halfway through baking. Chicken is done when juice is no longer pink when you cut into the center of the thickest piece.

6 servings (1/2 breast per serving)

Approx. WW points per serving = 5

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5 Cheese Stuffed Shells

I’ve made stuffed shells before, but this time I wanted to make a more WW friendly recipe. I had a tub of fat free ricotta cheese that needed to be used up so that was my inspiration. In general, I think fat free cheese is terrible. The shredded stuff certainly is. When “melted” (I use that term lightly) it often comes out waxy. I can’t stand it. Ricotta is a different consistency, but I was a little nervous about the taste, so I made sure to add plenty of other things to this mixture to give the filling a great taste. I think I succeeded!

5 Cheese & Spinach Stuffed Shells (made up by me!)

12 oz package pasta shells
15 oz fat free ricotta cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 of a small onion, chopped
1/3 cup Kraft grated parmesan and romano cheese
1/4 cup grated asiago cheese
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze dry
1 egg
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce (26 oz, I use Tyler’s favorite Classico Spicy Tomato and Basil)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese or italian cheese blend

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place shell pasta in the pot, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 glass pan.

Mix ricotta, garlic, onion, spinach, parm/romano, asiago cheese, oregano, salt and pepper, and egg in a bowl.

Stuff the cooked pasta shells with the cheese mixture (I used my medium Pampered Chef scooper, made stuffing them quick and very easy!) , and arrange in the prepared baking dish. Cover evenly with the 2 cups of marinara sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake 15-25 minutes in preheated oven, or until bubbly.

Serves 5 (4 shells per serving)

WW points per serving= approx. 8
(kind of high, but they are very filling. You could decrease the points by decreasing the amount of parm/romano and asiago you use, I plugged in all the info into etools to approximate the pts. value.)

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Another Orzo Salad

My first issue of Cooking Light finally came this week! I was so excited to see my very own copy in the mailbox last weekend and quickly thumbed through it, then later sat down and bookmarked all the recipes I wanted to try. It is a fantastic issue, with a section about growing your own tomatoes and basil (two things I want to do this summer!) and a section about making your own pasta with K.C.’s own Lydia! I am trying to do a better job about bringing my lunch to work this week. I had been taking Lean Cuisines for the last couple of weeks, and although they are easy, pretty tasty, and easy to track w/WW, they aren’t that healthy with all that sodium and preservatives. So I chose this recipe so that I would have plenty of leftovers for lunches. Each serving is over a cup of salad which is more than enough! I really loved this recipe. It is easy on the dressing, and Tyler would prefer more so next time I might divide it and do double the dressing for him. I found the flavors that stood out the most were the red pepper, the goat cheese, and the arugula. This would be a great recipe to take to a summer picnic.

Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese (adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

2 cans fat free chicken broth
1 1/4 cups uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
3 cups chopped grilled chicken breast strips (such as Tyson)
1 1/2 cups trimmed arugula
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup prechopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano (I used dried)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

Preparation:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well. (I cooked mine in 2 cans of chicken broth instead of water for added flavor)

2. Combine pasta, chicken, and the next 6 ingredients (through oregano) in a large bowl; toss well.

3. Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle vinegar mixture over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

Yield:6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups salad and 1 tablespoon cheese)

WW points per serving = 6

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Roasted Broccoli

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a long long time, I’m not sure what took me so long to make it, but here ya go!  It was delicious!  Definitely a keeper.  I love roasting veggies, so easy and they taste so good!  My favorite way to eat broccoli is of course, covered in cheese.  Covers over the broccoli flavor.  Well cheesy broccoli isn’t exactly figure friendly, so I wanted broccoli infused with flavor.  This recipe delivers on flavor!  Plus you can add a smidge of parmesan cheese on top, perfect!

Oven Roasted Broccoli with Lemon, Chili-Garlic Oil and Parmesan
(as seen on Shawnda’s blog, originally from Pinch My Salt)

Ingredients:

1 bunch of broccoli (approx 3 cups)
¼ C. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed
¼ t. crushed red pepper (optional)
Juice of ½ lemon
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Heat the oil and garlic in a small saucepan over low heat. Make sure the heat is low and that the garlic is not cooking too fast. Set timer for five minutes.
3. While garlic oil is heating, wash and cut your broccoli into pieces. I cut the flowerets into halves and/or quarters and leave a couple inches of stem attached to each piece.
4. After the oil and garlic has heated for five minutes (the garlic should be turning golden brown, not burning!), add the crushed chili if using, heat for an additional minute then turn off stove.
5. Strain chili-garlic oil into a large, heat-proof mixing bowl then add the broccoli.
6. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the bowl then add a pinch of coarse salt (keep in mind that the cheese will add more saltiness) and several grinds of black pepper (if you don’t have a pepper grinder, why not??).
7. Toss everything together well with a big wooden spoon so that each piece of broccoli has a thin coating of oil.
8. Using tongs, so that the excess oil drains off, remove the broccoli to a rimmed baking sheet and spread it out in a single layer.
9. Place broccoli in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes. If your oven tends to be hot, check the broccoli earlier. If you like it to be extra tender, leave it in longer. At 10 minutes, the broccoli will have started to caramelize on the bottom and may even look a little burnt but don’t worry, it will taste good!
10. While the broccoli is roasting, grate some fresh Parmesan cheese (I prefer parmigiano reggiano).
11. When the broccoli is done to your liking, immediately toss it with as much cheese as you desire and enjoy!

Serving =  1/2 cup broccoli

WW points per serving = 3

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