Gorgonzola Fettuccine with Asparagus

Tonight was our second time making this and we really like this meal because it can be a good compromise. Husband doesn't love gorgonzola so the first time we made it he used Parmesan instead and this time he used feta. Both tasted good but the feta was much better. I might actually consider using that variation once in a while when I don't have gorgonzola on hand. I like to put a little extra asparagus and like always we roasted the asparagus instead of boiling it. 4 out of 5 stars.

 

Recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 8 Oz uncooked fettuccine
• 3 cups (1 inch) diagonally sliced asparagus (about 10 oz)
• 2 tsp butter
• 4 garlic cloves minced, or 2 tsp bottled minced garlic
• 1 TBS all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
• 1/4 cup (2 oz) 1/3 less-fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (2 oz) Gorgonzola or other blue cheese crumbled
• 2 TBS chopped walnuts toasted

Directions

1. 1. Cook pasta in boiling water 6 minutes, ommitting salt and fat. Add asparagus; cook 2 minutes or until tender. Drain pasta and asparagus; place in large bowl.
2. 2. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook 3 minutes. Add flour, cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in cream cheese and 1/4 tsp salt; cook until thick (about 3 minutes) stirring constantly.
3. 3. Add sauce to pasta, tossing to coat. Serve with Gorgonzola and walnuts; sprinkle with black pepper, if desired.
4. Yield: 4 servings (serving size 1 1/4 cup pasta, 2 TBS cheese and 1 1/2 tsp walnuts)

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 399

Fat: 12.8 g

Cholesterol: 28 mg

Sodium: 467 mg

Carbohydrate: 54.3 g

Protein: 18 g

Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Ever since I was pregnant with Thing 2 I've been craving good Oatmeal Raisin cookies. I tried a different recipe when we started this healthy eating thing and it was only ok. I decided to google 'cooking light oatmeal raisin cookies' and this is what I found. Since we had all of the ingredients thing 1 and I strapped on our aprons and tried it out tonight. It is a great kid-helper recipe since it is mostly just measure, dump and mix and of course then you have someone who actually needs the extra calories to lick the beater. Husband non-verbally protested oatmeal raisin when I suggested it but later said they "hit the spot." He and thing 1 both had 2 cookies. 4.5 out of 5 but remember to only eat one cookie... per day.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter or stick margarine softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup regular oats
• 1/2 cup raisins
• Cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Beat first 6 ingredients at medium speed of a mixer until light and fluffy. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Add flour and oats to egg mixture; beat until blended. Stir in raisins. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on pan for 3 minutes. Remove cookies from pan; cool on wire racks.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 101

Fat: 28%

Cholesterol: 16mg

Sodium: 43mg

Carbohydrate: 17.3g

Fiber: 0.6g

Protein: 1.5g

Chilaquiles

Tonight's dinner is another favorite. The great thing about this dish is that it serves 8 so you either can make it when you have company or have lots of yummy left overs. It is a sort of Mexican lasagna or enchilada casserole. We love that this recipe doesn't taste healthy AT ALL. It's a total comfort food. We used fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies and they made all the difference. 5 out of 5 stars.

 

Recipe from The Juan-Carlos Cruz Calorie Countdown Cookbook

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• Salt
• 1 red onions chopped
• 4 garlic cloves -- minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 (15 ounce) cans tomatoes with green chilies with juice
• 1/2 to 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
• cooking spray
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1/2 pound light cream cheese softened
• 2 cups shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
• 1 bunch green onions sliced

Directions

1. 1. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the canola oil and add the ground turkey. Brown the meat, breaking it up as it cooks until there is no trace of pink, about 7 minutes. Drain off liquid from the pan and transfer the meat to a bowl. Season to taste with salt.
2. 2. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of canola oil to the pan and turn the heat to medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin and stir together for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Return the meat to the pan and stir together with the onions and spices until well coated. Add the tomatoes and juice and additional chilies (to taste) and simmer for 15 minutes, or until thick.
3. 3. Preheat the oven to 350*F. Spray a 2 quart casserole with cooking spray and line with half the tortillas. Top with half the meat sauce. Add half the cream cheese, using a spoon to dollop it over the sauce, then sprinkle on half the cheddar and half the green onions. Repeat the layers. Spray the top layer of cheese with 1 second's worth of pan spray.
4. 4. Bake 30 minutes, until bubbling. Serve hot or warm.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 290

Fat: 11 g

Cholesterol: 58 mg

Carbohydrate: 21 g

Fiber: 4 g

Protein: 25 g

Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies

We stumbled across this at Sunflower Market and fell in love with it. We have a lot of recipes that call for diced tomatoes with green chilies and we use to just buy any brand we could find at Walmart or another store thinking they were all the same. Not true. We made the same recipe with just any old tomatoes and then with these and these took it from a 4-4.5 to a BIG 5 stars. Find them and use them. They are great.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Last night was girl's night so we made a girly meal. This Mediterranean Pasta Salad was good but I think our proportions were a little off. Some bites were great and other's not so good. Too many artichoke hearts in my opinion. I think I will make it again sometime and scale back on some of the more powerful flavors. I will definitely add more tomatoes, asparagus and kalamata olives. I do recommend it though. One change, I roasted the asparagus instead of boiling it since I think the texture is better when roasted. I just did 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Somewhere between 3 and 4.5 stars (depending on which bite you are judging.)

Recipe from Cooking Light

Serves: 3

Ingredients

• 1/2 9 oz package refrigerated rainbow three cheese tortellini
• 1 quart water
• 1/4 pound asparagus spears trimmed
• 1/3 cup chopped red pepper or roasted red pepper, depending on preference
• 1 ounce Pepper Jack cheese cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 6 drained canned quartered artichoke hearts
• 8 grape tomatoes or 3 seeded and diced tomatoes
• 8 black or kalamata olives
• 2 thin slices prosciutto cut crosswise into strips
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons light balsamic vinaigrette

Directions

1. 1. Cook pasta in 1 quart boiling water 6 minutes. Add asparagus to boiling water, and cook 1 minute. Drain in a colander, and rinse with cold water until cooled. Drain.
2. 2. While pasta and asparagus cook, combine bell pepper and next seven ingredients into large bowl. Add tortellini and asparagus; toss gently.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 304

Fat: 16.2g

Cholesterol: 28mg

Sodium: 876mg

Carbohydrate: 29.7g

Fiber: 2.2g

Protein: 11.2g

Turkey Antipasto Panini

Today's lunch is another Panini. We are obviously big panini fans in this house. I've made this a few times and the thing I love about it is you can customize it to each person. Leave out the red bell peppers or artichoke hearts, swap out the turkey for some good ole' prociutto and use any kid of cheese you like! And if you don't have a panini maker it's not a problem. We use our foreman but we've also done them on the griddle. Just a yummy quick sandwich. 5 out of 5 stars.

Recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 8 (0.9-ounce) slices crusty Chicago-style Italian bread
• 8 ounces shaved lower-sodium deli turkey (such as Boar's Head)
• 1 (6-ounce) jar quartered marinated artichoke hearts drained and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup moist sun-dried tomato halves packed without oil and sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced bottled roasted red bell peppers
• 12 basil leaves
• 4 (1-ounce) slices reduced-fat provolone cheese (such as Alpine Lace)
• Cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat panini grill.
2. Spread mayonnaise evenly over each bread slice. Top each of 4 bread slices evenly with turkey, artichokes, tomato, bell pepper, basil leaves, and cheese. Top with remaining bread slices. Coat both sides of sandwiches with cooking spray.
3. Place sandwiches on panini grill. Grill 3 to 4 minutes or until bread is browned and cheese melts. Cut panini in half before serving, if desired.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 361

Fat: 10g

Cholesterol: 35mg

Sodium: 1087mg

Carbohydrate: 39.8g

Fiber: 4.5g

Protein: 26.9g

Another plus is that while you are making a sandwich for you it's super easy to slap together a fancy grilled cheese for the kiddo. Thing one ate this before I could even say slow down!

Play with your food!

Today for breakfast we decided to have a little fun with the cousins and play with our food. We saw this on an episode of PeeWee's Playhouse (pancakes with fruit faces instead of waffles) and decided it would be fun. Everyone's was a little different but awesome and I thought it went great. Give it a try and let us know what the kid's think.