Mexican Spaghetti Sauce

Mexican Spaghetti Sauce 4 pts 10 servings (3/4 c. sauce)

Made April 27th. I was afraid this sauce would end up being too spicey for the children, but they actually liked it and there wasn't too much of a bite. I did hold back on the salsa and only put like 1/4 c. in (I ran out). I think that some grated cheddar cheese on top would make a really great addition to the flavor and help tone down the spice if one thought it had too much bite.

Other variation from the recipe - I didn't rinse the meat with the hot water. I have never even heard of doing that before, plus there was so little grease that I didn't even need to drain it (I happened to use venison).

While putting the sauce together, I was a little concerned about how far the sauce would stretch. The recipe says it would yield 10 servings (which is why I made it), but I wasn't convinced. Once I added the meat though I was glad I reused the big pot I cooked the noodles in. There is no doubt it would serve a large group.

I am curious how the flavors will set over night and look forward to the leftovers!

Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

Cheesy Broccoli Casserole 4 pts for 1 cup

Made April 24th. This poor casserole. I had been planning on making this for three days. I started putting the ingredients together on Wed, but didn't get it finished before piano lessons started. Since it takes an hour to cook, I made the chicken sandwiches instead. Then Wednesday we tried again and Matthew finished putting it together but through a miscommunication didn't put it in the oven to cook. So, I made the pancakes. Then Friday I'd planned to get it in the oven, but I was gone all day and we didn't have the hour to cook it so we had Papa Johns. FINALLY Saturday it made it to the oven. Unfortunately it had had all the wet ingredients mixed in so the stuffing was pretty soggy. We really liked the flavor, but the texture left something to be desired. Oh yeah, I burned the bacon on top too. Oops.

I may try it again without all the oops. It has great potential.

Three Step Taco Salad

Three Step Taco Salad 4 pts for 1 1/2 c.

Made April 19th

Spinach Turkey Roll

Spinach Turkey Roll, 4 pts for 8 servings
published in Light & Tasty August/September 2004, p29

Ingredients

1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce, divided
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup soft whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce, eggs, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, basil, oregano and mustard. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well.

On a sheet of waxed paper, pat turkey mixture into a 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Sprinkle with spinach and cheese. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side and peeling waxed paper away while rolling. Seal seam and ends. Place seam side down in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165°. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Heat remaining spaghetti sauce; serve over turkey. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1 each) equals 230 calories, 11 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 137 mg cholesterol, 395 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 20 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 2 vegetable.

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Made April 5th. This has been on the menu since I went through the cookbook and I finally had the time to make it. The hour-long cooktime makes it challenging because the heating is off in our oven, making it so everything takes longer. I was pleasantly surprised when this dish was ready in an hour and a half.

I used 99/1 ground turkey, which I'm sure helped keep the points low. I ran out of mozz cheese, so I mixed some cheddar in with it too. My spaghetti sauce was leftover from spaghetti I had made previously. I prefer Del Monte's Four Cheese, so that was what I used. I don't think I spread it out quite as much as the recipe calls for because I was able to fit it in a 7 x 11.5 pan (or whatever the size is just under 9x13. I cut the loaf into 8 slices too. For 6 servings the points would have been 6.

I am quite pleased with the final product. Jared said it was ok, but I enjoyed the meatloaf flavor without all the points. It is a good healthy option to meatloaf. I think next time I might try fresh spinach instead of the frozen because I don't care for the frozen spinach taste, although it wasn't very strong in this recipe.

Waffled French Toast

Waffled French Toast 4 pts

Ingredients

1 egg
1 egg white
1/4 cup fat-free milk
4 slices whole wheat or white bread
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1/4 cup reduced-calorie pancake syrup

Directions

In a shallow dish, beat the egg, egg white and milk. Dip bread into egg mixture, coating both sides. Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions until golden brown.

For sauce, in a bowl, crush the strawberries; stir in the pancake syrup. Serve French toast with the strawberry sauce. Yield: 2 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (2 pieces French toast with 6 tablespoons sauce) equals 261 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 107 mg cholesterol, 401 mg sodium, 45 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 11 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2-1/2 starch, 1 lean meat, 1/2 fruit.

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Made April 2nd. I used 2 slices of Nature's Own 7 Grain bread (wouldn't recommend it), 2 slices of Whole Wheat bread (much better), and 1 slice of white bread (there was enough of the mix to make one more slice).

I really liked the simplicity of the recipe. I enjoy making french toast because it's so quick and easy, so waffling it adds a unique texture. The strawberry syrup was ok too.

Because I used three different types of breads, the point value came to 4. It might be different depending on the types of bread being used. 100% whole wheat is going to yield the lowest amount of points though.

I served the waffles with Seasoned Scrambled Eggs.

Creamed Spinach

Creamed Spinach, LT04, 4 points

Ingredients

1/4 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups fat-free half-and-half
4 ounces fat-free cream cheese, cubed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 package (16 ounces) frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

Directions

In a large nonstick skillet, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually whisk in half-and-half until blended. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Add the cream cheese, salt, nutmeg and pepper, stirring until cream cheese is melted. Stir in spinach and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese; heat through. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately. Yield: 5 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1/2 cup) equals 131 calories, 4 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 12 mg cholesterol, 704 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 10 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 fat, 1/2 fat-free milk.

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Made March 6th. I used neufchatel cream cheese instead of FF, so the points may be a little bit different. I thought about buying the FF, but decided to go with the product that had more natural ingredients.

I made this as a side dish to the Grilled Mango Glazed Ham. This reminded me a lot of a spinach dip. I felt like it needed artichoke hearts :) In fact, I ended up putting chips and crackers on the table. It's ok by itself, but my favorites were with the Ritz Whole Grain crackers and tortilla chips.

I didn't get shredded parmesan for this but used the grated I had on hand. The asthetics probably would have been a bit better for the final look with the shredded vs the grates.

Ham and Noodle Casserole

Ham and Noodle Casserole LT04, 151, 4 pts for 8 servings

Ingredients

6 ounces uncooked yolk-free fine noodles
1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) 1% small-curd cottage cheese
1 package (10 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
1 cup cubed fully cooked lean ham
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup fat-free milk
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dill weed or 1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Add noodles and toss to coat. Transfer to a 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1-1/2 cups) equals 266 calories, 5 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 21 mg cholesterol, 702 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 21 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 2 lean meat, 1-1/2 starch, 1 vegetable.

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Made Feb 24th. The recipe was pretty easy to put together, and it got a thumbs up from everyone but Aaron.

I accidently added the whole 8 oz bag of noodles when it only required 6, and the same happened with the mixed vegetables. I ended up using the entire 16 oz bag instead of just 10 oz. As for effecting the recipe, it didn't really - only in the point value. But, it evens out because it creates more servings which in turn lowers the point value.

I have no idea how the published nutritional info only equals 4 points for 4 servings because there are a lot of high calorie items in the recipe: ham, sour cream, cottage cheese, even the noodles are pretty high point. Oh well. This recipe is a keeper.

Taco Soup

Taco Soup LT04, 40, 4 pts

Made on Feb 11th. I happened to have exactly the 4 cups of V8 sitting in my fridge which is one of the reasons I chose this recipe. This tasted similar to a crockpot taco soup I like, but it was so much quicker. I added a can of kidney beans and a can of corn to give it so more umph. Matthew said it made it seem more like a chili though. We all really liked it. Definitely a keeper!

Roasted Vegetable Ziti Bake

Roasted Vegetable Ziti Bake LT02, 183, 4 pts

Made on Feb 6th. I picked this recipe out because it looked like a hearty meatless meal. It's like a lasagna, but it uses ziti noodles, eggplant and sweet peppers as its filler. This recipe makes a LOT of food. I didn't realize it until I'd already started the process that it makes two 2 QT dishes. One could easily put it all in one 9x13 pan, but I went ahead and prepared it in 2 8x8 square pans. My intent was to freeze one, but this recipe was such a bomb for everyone but me that I ended up giving away the second dish to a friend (who happened to really like it).

One of the things I really liked about this recipe is that an 8x8 square pan divided into 6 servings creates VERY LARGE portions for just 4 points.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Cream of Cauliflower Soup LT02, 36, 4 points

Made on Feb 9th. This is a recipe I pulled because I had a bag of cauliflower in the freezer from an Angel Food order. I thought it would made the perfect use for it, and I was right. We liked it.

Apple Chicken Quesadillas Recipe | Taste of Home Recipes

Apple Chicken Quesadillas Recipe | Taste of Home Recipes

Made Feb 25, 2010. Calculated at 4 points. I used 6 inch tortillas and ended up with 10 servings (1 quesadilla = 1 serving). This recipe was really easy to put together and delicious! Definitely one I'd make again.