Chicken Cordon Bleu

For a couple months now, the Hubs and I have agreed that if we eat chicken we will only eat chickens that were Free Range. (The same also goes for eggs).

My mom used to make a rather tasty Weight Watchers Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe when I was in High School. However, I haven’t been able to find it. After Googling and finding several different recipes, I made this up. Meaning, I didn’t come up with this out of thin air, but it’s not a variation on a specific recipe, rather several recipes making a common dish.


How do you make it?

(Click Recipe to Enlarge)

Are you making an effort to buy free-range chicken and eggs? Do you local markets carry it?

Cooking Light: Butternut Squash Lasagna

Every Wednesday Hubs and I go over to our friends house for dinner and to watch Lost. Jane and I trade off making the main dish and the other is usually in charge of salad. When I was in school, the last couple months, Jane did most the main dish cooking and I made up for it with some tasty salads.

Yesterday was the first Wednesday, in awhile, I made the main dish. Since, as you know, I haven't been able to cook much lately, I really wanted to make something I'd never made before... Oh, and it needed to be low cal too! Jane and I always cook low cal options on Wednesday due to the amount of wine we all consume. Mmmmm wine.

So I looked high and low on Cooking Light's website for s dish that looks tasty, involved mostly ingredients I already owned and could be cooked easily at someone else's house or easily transported. This recipe won and it involves my butternut squash friend from above.

*Side note: We have an awesome farm about 2 miles from our apartment that sells organic and local produce... remind me to tell you about it soon.

This recipe calls for a specific kind of marinara sauce, "Smokey Marinara", so I'm going to give you the recipe for that first.

Smoky Marinara
Recipe adapted slightly from here on Cooking Light

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (28-ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained

DIRECTIONS
1 - Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

2 - Add garlic, basil, parsley, and oregano; sauté 1 minute, stirring frequently.

3 - Stir in vinegar and remaining ingredients.

4 - Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

Now that you've made the sauce you won't curse me when you get to that part of the lasagna process. "Damn it Allison, now you tell me about the sauce!" <-- See it's done, so you're good :) Butternut Squash Lasagna
Adapted slightly from this recipe on Cooking Light

INGREDIENTS
3 cups chopped onion
10 cup fresh spinach
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese
1/2 cup parsley flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
2 (15-ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese
3 cups diced peeled butternut squash
6 cups Smoky Marinara (recipe above)
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
1 - Preheat oven to 375°.

2 - Heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add spinach; sauté 1 1/2 minutes or until spinach wilts.

3 - Combine provolone, parsley, salt, pepper, eggs, and ricotta cheeses in a large bowl.

4 - Place squash in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and cook on high 5 minutes or until tender.

5 - Coat the bottom and sides of 2 (8-inch-square) baking dishes with cooking spray.

6 - Spread 1/2 cup Smoky Marinara in the bottom of one prepared dish. Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; spread 1 cup cheese mixture over noodles. Arrange 1 1/2 cups squash over cheese mixture; spread 3/4 cup sauce over squash.

7 - Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; spread 1 cup cheese mixture over the noodles. Arrange 1 1/2 cups onion mixture over cheese mixture; spread 3/4 cup sauce over spinach mixture.

8 - Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; spread 1 cup Smoky Marinara evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan.

9 - Repeat procedure with remaining ingredients in remaining pan.

10 - Cover each pan with foil. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes.

11 - Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Cooking Light: Enchilada Casserole

I LOVE enchiladas, mmmmm red sauce, but I know that restaurant enchiladas are not that good for you. I've also been dying to make a casserole, don't ask me why, I just really wanted to make one. Anywhoodle, last night I looked up Enchilada recipes on Cooking Light (where else, right?) and came across this recipe. Enchiladas? Check! Casserole? Check! 5 Stars? AWESOME!

Light Turkey Enchilada Casserole

adapted from this recipe on Cooking Light

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey breast
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic (or more, I like a lot of onion)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 can (28 oz.) red enchilada sauce (Cooking Light's recipe calls for a 29 oz. can but my store only carried 28 oz. cans)
Salt
12 corn tortillas (6 in. wide)
2 cups shredded reduced-fat jack cheese (8 oz.)
Chopped spring onions

Directions
1 - In a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, stir turkey, onion, garlic, oregano, and cumin in oil until turkey is crumbly and no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

2- Stir in 1 cup enchilada sauce. Add salt to taste.

3 - While turkey is simmering in enchilada sauce, cut tortillas in half. Arrange a fourth of the halves (6 halves) evenly over the bottom of a 3-quart casserole, overlapping to fit.

4 - Sprinkle a fourth of the cheese (1/2 cup) evenly over the tortillas.

5- Top with a third of the turkey mixture and a fourth of the remaining enchilada sauce, spreading each level. (I poured the remaining enchilada sauce in a large measuring cup to see how much I had left and then divided it that way)

6 - Repeat to make two more layers of tortillas, cheese, turkey mixture, and sauce; top with another layer of tortillas and sauce, then cheese.

7 - Bake in a 425° regular or convection oven until cheese is melted and casserole is hot in the center, 18 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped spring onions.

You'll notice my cheese is EXTRA crispy, that's because A) Hubs was playing Mario Bros and didn't hear the timer go off; and B) I like my cheese a little crispy ;-)

Monkey Bread!

I wish I could describe to you, interwebs, the way I sing Monkey Bread... it's like do, da, dooooo, which makes sense to me, but probably makes no sense to you. Oh, well it makes me smile.

Monkey Bread is another recipe Hubs had been bugging me to make. Geez this weekend was awesome for him! Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars AANNDD Monkey Bread? SCORE!

I had looked all over the internet for a Monkey Bread recipe where I could make my own biscuits instead of just buying the pre-made stuff in the can, and I was fully prepared to go all Martha Stewart and make her recipe, found here, but then a friend told me Hungry Girl had a recipe and I decided to make those instead. As much as I like to make things from scratch as much as possible, with in reason... I chose calories.

Less Monkey Business Monkey Bread
adapted very slightly from this Hungry Girl recipe

Ingredients
3 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated), divided
2 tsp. cinnamon, divided
2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)
2 tbsp. sugar-free pancake syrup
2 tbsp. Splenda brown sugar mix (not packed)
1 package Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheet
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Directions
1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 - Mix 1 tbsp. Splenda and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a large bowl or container. Set aside. Spray six cups of a muffin pan with nonstick spray, and set pan aside as well.

3 - Place a small pot on the stove, but do not heat it. Add butter, syrup, Splenda brown sugar mix, 2 tbsp. Splenda, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Leave this on the unheated stove, to be melted and mixed later on.

4 - Roll out the dough on a clean dry surface, and sprinkle evenly with baking powder. Gently smooth baking powder into the sheet with your fingers.

5 - Cut dough sheet widthwise into six strips equal in size. Cut each strip into four squares. Roll each square into a ball, for a total of 24 dough balls.

6 - Place 12 dough balls in the bowl with the Splenda-cinnamon mixture. Lightly toss to coat.

7 - Place them gently in the muffin pan, with four dough balls in each of the 6 cups.

8 - Bring the small pot on the stove to medium heat. Stirring frequently, heat just until butter has melted and contents are mixed well.

9 - Evenly spoon the butter mixture over the dough balls.

10 - Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until puffy and firm. Allow to cool slightly, and then plate and enjoy!

Fifty Foot Checca

Yesterday on Twitter I saw @fiftyfootbride (aka Miss Scissors) mention to @songbirdcreative (aka Mrs Cookie) she had a fantastic Checca recipe.
I love a good recipe (have you noticed?) so I jumped in and asked for the recipe as well. Lauren kicks arse (naturally) and posted the recipe on her blog (I Love You Much) like an hour later.

Fifty Foot Checca
Recipe from Lauren @ I Love You Much found here

Ingredients
– big bunch of fresh basil
– head of garlic
– 2 really large ugly ripe (or other heirloom) tomatoes
– buffalo mozzarella
– good extra virgin olive oil
– kosher salt
– garlic salt
– freshly ground pepper

Directions
1 - Peel and finely chop the whole head of garlic. (She uses a food processor, and I just used the already copped garlic you can buy in a jar)
2 - Take out about two tablespoons of the garlic and put it in whatever you’re serving the pasta in. (A big big bowl works well).
3 - Pour in about a quarter cup… or less… of olive oil.
4 - wash and sliver the basil, put it in the bowl, stir around.
5 -Throw i a few pinchfulls of kosher salt.
6 - Wash and chop the tomatoes in big chunks. (About 1″ square pieces). Throw those guys in the bowl.

7 - Take the buffalo mozzarella out of it’s watery bin, and chunk that up like the tomatoes and throw it in the bowl.
8 - Put in about a teaspoon of garlic salt, and grind in however much pepper you like. (I just swish the garlic salt over the top).
9 - Stir around and if everything doesn’t seem coated enough by the oil, add some more. Let all of that hang out in the bowl.

Lauren uses the left-over garlic for garlic bread and serves the Checca over about 1 lb of her favorite pasta. I made the Hubs favorite ghetto garlic bread and served it over spaghetti squash, instead. Either way THIS IS TASTE-EE! Thanks Lauren!

He Cooks - Lighter Twice Baked Potatoes

The year on Christmas Day we spent the day at my parent's house. (Like we've done every year since we've met). This year we were in charge of an appetizer, side and dessert. The side was the Hubs job and he decided to make twice baked potatoes, something he normally can't eat because of all the dairy, but he managed to alter enough for his picky stomach. I'm not gonna lie, he did a GREAT job on these - the were Taste-EEE!

Twice Baked Potatoes
Adapted from this recipe from Hungry Girl

Ingredients
5 medium sized baking potato

Olive Oil
3/4 cup reduced fat shredder Cheddar Cheese

3/4 cup Tofutti Sour Cream
1 oz. Fat Free Original Liquid Coffee-mate
Paprika, salt, pepper, parsley

1 - Rub oil olive on potato skins, poke holes with a fork and bake Potatoes at 350 for about 1 hr

2 - Peel the skin off the top side of the potato, scoop out the inside of the potato, leaving behind an empty potato "shell."

3 - Take steaming hot potato, add cheese, sour cream, Coffee-mate and a little salt & pepper. Mash it all together until the cheese melts and you're left with a creamy, cheesy mashed potato mixture.

4 - Place potato mixture back into the potato shell, sprinkle with paprika & parsley.

5 - Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until top is nice and brown.

Eating Tips I Can Get Behind!

I read this over on Crafts and Cardigans yesterday. I already told Anne, not to be surprised if it ended up over here because I LOVE it! Back to Cooking Light after the Holidays.

10 Holiday Eating Tips

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat step #3.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello!

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table--like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa--position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over. But hurry--January is just around the corner!

Happy Holidays!

Cooking Light: Fresh Tomato, Sausage, & Pecorino Pasta

Source

I'm leading with the photo of this recipe from the Cooking Light website because, as you'll see, mine didn't turn out as pretty.

Heirloom Tomato, Sausage, & Spaghetti Squash
Adapted from this recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients

1/2 Large Spaghetti Squash
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup vertically sliced onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/4 pounds tomatoes, chopped
6 tablespoons grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

Directions

1 - Pre-cut onion, garlic and tomatoes

2 - Cook spaghetti squash, for directions check out this post I did on Vegetarian Spaghetti.

3 - Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add sausage and onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring to crumble sausage.

4 - Add garlic; cook 2 minutes.

5 - Stir in tomatoes; cook 2 minutes.

6 - Remove from heat; stir in pasta, 2 tablespoons cheese, salt, and pepper.

7 - Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and basil.

Wine note: Italian sausage craves a clean-tasting wine with the substance to complement the rest of the dish without overwhelming it. The smoky 2006 San Lorenzo Verdicchio Vigna Delle Oche ($23) is a great choice. -Gary Vaynerchuck

Mine doesn't look quite as colorful. I thought we had WAY more fresh basil than we did... well we did have more it was just all brown. I also let the 'sauce' sit on the stove WAY too long while I tried to salvage the little bits of green basil I could.

I also made sad pieces of garlic bread (which were tasty, just not visually appealing) with Weight Watchers bread, margarine and Lawry's garlic salt.

Cooking Light: Sloppy Joes

My favorite commercial on TV right now has to be the Manwich commercial below where this little girl puts corn in it's place!



About 7 years ago when I started working where I am now, I had to break the news to my co-worker that corn and potatoes weren't vegetables. Sadness, I know :( She was especially upset because she hates all things green and nutritious and thought she was eating vegetables by adding corn and potatoes to her food. We always laugh when this commercial comes on at lunch, since I look a little bit that the Manwich girl, she says that's me.

So in honor of my co-worker and the Manwich girl I decided to make the Hubs Sloppy Joes the other night. (He was beyond excited) Yes, I could have just purchased the Manwich Sloppy Joe 'stuff' but I wanted to try and make them 'lighter' and what fun would it be to blog about making Sloppy Joes by adding a can to ground meat? Not as fun :-P


Sloppy Joes
Adapted from Cooking Light's Sloppy Joe Recipe

Ingredients
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped zucchini

1 tsp chopped garlic
3/4 pound ground beef (7% fa)
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
12 (1 1/2-ounce) rolls, split (I like to get these Orowheat Sandwich Thins)

Directions
1- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

2 - Add first onion, zucchini, garlic and ground beef ingredients; cook until beef is browned. Stirring to crumble.

3 - Stir in tomato sauce and next 8 ingredients (tomato sauce through black pepper); reduce heat to medium-low.

4 - Cover and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5 - Spoon 1/4 cup beef mixture over bottom half of each bun. Cover with top halves.

Cooking Light: Classic Banana Bread

About 3 years ago, when the Hubs and I just started dating, we were grocery shopping and I saw the CUTEST cherry baking dish for like $20. A week later, it was mine.

Yes, it gets even cuter. Inside it reads...

"Baked with Love" Awwwww

So, in those 3 yrs that I've had this dish, I've never baked in it. In fact, I didn't even take it out of the box. What? I lived with my parents, it was just easier to keep my stuff in a box and use their stuff. I took it out of the box last night, threw away the mix that came inside (you know, because it expired in 2007) and made the Hubs Banana Bread. Mmmm, tasty banana bread.

My Grandmother makes the best banana bread, but I don't have her recipe... although I think my mom does, I need to get on that. Anyway, since I didn't have her recipe I thought I might as well make a "healthier" version of banana bread. I turned to my go to healthier recipe source and decided to make a variation of Cooking Light's Classic Banana Bread. I say variation, because you know me, I can never follow a recipe exactly.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3.5 bananas)
1/3 cup light sour cream (Cooking light calls for plain low-fat yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Directions

1 - Preheat oven to 350°.

2 - Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

3 - Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute).

4 - Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

5 - Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended.

6 - Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist.

7 - Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.

8 - Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

9 - Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

I will definitely be making this recipe again, the Hubs loves it, he had 2 slices. Check out how moist this bread is!

Do you have the same problem I do? Can you make a recipe straight or do always have to add your own little twist too?

Cooking Light: $5

Thanks to Laura, aka MeSooLaLa, aka Miss Mojito (mmm Mojitos sounds good), I'm letting you in on a little secret...

Yep, $5! And, since it is a magazine you don't have to pay shipping, it's really just $5. Crazy huh?

I've been cooking from Cooking Light since the giveaway and I've lost weight! I'm talking, like I'm wearing jeans I couldn't fit into before the wedding! I'm not hungry either, because the recipes are really good. (Sheesh, Cooking Light needs to hire me or pay me for this or something).

So, if you have $5 and need some tasty recipes, I recommend hopping over to Amazon and getting your subscription to Cooking Light.

Cooking Light: Pumpkin Pie

All last week anytime the Hubs and I went to the grocery store (which was more than anyone one couple should go in one week) he would stop at every pumpkin pie he saw and say, "Ooo Pumpkin Pie". Which was his hint that he wanted one. Sure we could have just bought him the store pumpkin pie and he would have been happy, but they aren't difficult to make and let's be honest, a blog about a pumpkin pie you bought at the store isn't very interesting.

When we found the canned pumpkin, my original plan to just make the recipe on the can, (What? I've been sick!) but I had the Hubs grab the non-fat sweetened condensed milk to cut some calories. Luckily, I thought ahead because that was exactly what the Classic Pumpkin Pie recipe on Cooking Light called for.

Ingredients
FILLING:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I didn't have a whole 3/4 cup of brown sugar. I used maple syrup to get my 3/4 cup. I got the idea from here)
1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated low-fat milk (I actually used non-fat)
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin

CRUST:
1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
Cooking spray

Directions:
1 - Preheat oven to 425°.

2 - To prepare filling, combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add pumpkin, and stir with a whisk until smooth.

2 - To prepare crust, roll dough into an 11-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under and flute.

3 - Pour pumpkin mixture into the crust. Place pie plate on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet on lowest oven rack. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove pie from oven); bake an additional 50 minutes or until almost set. Cool completely on wire rack.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 222 (30% from fat)
Fat: 7.4g (sat 3.7g,mono 0.7g,poly 0.1g)
Protein: 4.1g
Carbohydrate: 35.3g
Fiber: 3g
Cholesterol: 32mg
Iron: 0.8mg
Sodium: 241mg
Calcium: 104mg

I'm not gonna lie, that is the best crust I have ever fluted. I was so bummed when I nicked the pie with the oven mitt when I was taking it out :(

Verdict: This is probably one of the best pumpkin pies, I've tasted ifIdosaysomyself, and the Hubs LOVES it. He said, "it is very creamy and pumpkiny" - SCORE!

Nutritious & Delicious - Vegetarian Spaghetti

A couple weeks ago the Hubs and I had were hanging out at home. We'd have a late lunch so around 8ish I wasn't starving, but I was hungry again and wanted a light dinner. I whipped up this little dinner because we had all the necessary ingredients on hand. Since then the Hubs has asked me to make it about 5 different times, so last night I picked up some Spaghetti Squash and mushrooms on my way home and surprised him.

Ingredients

1/4 c chopped Onion

1/4 c sliced Mushrooms

1 clove Garlic, minced

EVOO

Red Wine

2 8oz cans Tomato Sauce

12 Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs

1/2 Spaghetti Squash

Squash Directions
1 - Cut the squash in half, longways. I have to have the Hubs do this, I'm just not strong enough.

2 - Put 1/2 of squash cut-side down in a glass baking dish with about 1/4 cup of water. Cover with plastic wrap.

3 - Microwave for 10-12 mins. You may need to microwave longer depending on the size of your squash.

4 -Use a fork to scrap and remove the squash.

Source

Sauce Directions

1 - Thinly coat the pan with EVOO and sauté onion, mushrooms and garlic in a little red wine. The longer you can sauté, the better this will taste. You may need to occasionally add water to the pan.

2 - Add Meatless Meatballs, continue cooking.

3 - Mix in tomato sauce and continue cooking until hot.

It looks like a ginormous amount of food because it's on a little plate... I promise.

Taco Tuesday - Light Turkey Tacos with Veggies

Last night I was craving tacos, but healthy ones of course. I looked all over Cooking Light, since that is my go to recipe source right now, but the Hubs found a great recipe on Gina's WW Recipes.

These Turkey Tacos with Veggies is adapted from Gina's Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps. Which, if your interested are 3 Weight Watcher's points, but I have no idea how many points are in my adaptation.

Ingredients
1.3 lbs 99% lean ground turkey
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano

1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 small onion, minced
3/4 cup water
4 oz tomato sauce
1 large zucchini cut longways about 1" long
1 tomato chopped
8 large lettuce romaine lettuce leaves

Directions

1. Brown turkey in skillet, breaking into desired pieces, until there is NO pink.

2. Add garlic, cumin, salt, chili powder, paprika, oregano, mushrooms, onion, water & tomato sauce. Mix well and simmer for 10 mins.

3. Add zucchini and and tomato. Continue simmering for 10 mins.

4. Wash and dry lettuce. Place meat in the middle of lettuce and add your choice of toppings. We chose 2% reduced fat shredded cheese, a tiny bit of avocado, salsa and a little Tofutti Sour Cream.*

I cannot believe a meal with absolutely no carbs was this tasty! AND that the Hubs discovered it! We will definitely be making this again :)

* The Hubs has a very picky stomach... he is lactose intolerant, but can handle cheese with lactaid pills. However, no amount of lactaid can save him from ice cream, sour cream, butter or cream. This makes cooking for him very interesting.

Cooking Light: Quick Meat Loaf

As promised I started cooking recipes found in my Cooking Light Magazines. This Sunday, the Hubs and I made Quick Meatloaf, smashed potatoes and green beans. Well, I made the meatloaf and he made the potatoes & beans.

You may be thinking - smashed potatoes don't sound like the most healthy option. The hubs is lactose intolerant (if you haven't figured that out already) so we make them with chicken broth and a little margarine.

Sadly, I forgot my camera's memory card in my printer at work over the weekend so you'll have to imagine that my meatloaf looked as good, or better, than the one on Cooking Light's website.

Source

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 2 slices)

Ingredients
1/3 cup chopped green onions
3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 pound ground sirloin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons ketchup, divided
Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine first 9 ingredients in a large bowl; add 1/4 cup ketchup. Mix beef mixture with hands just until combined. Shape beef mixture into a 9 x 4–inch loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Brush top of meat loaf with remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup. Bake 7 additional minutes or until done. Slice loaf into 8 equal pieces.

3. About 10 mins into baking the meatloaf I added thinly slices mushrooms to the top of the meatloaf. If I can add more veggies to something, I'm all over it!

Wine note: A value-priced cabernet or merlot, like Crane Lake Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($4), tends to be straightforward, lighter-bodied, and lower in tannins, ideal with the lean ground beef in this traditional baked meat loaf. --Jeffery Lindenmuth

Nutritional Information
Calories: 267
Fat: 13.1g (sat 5.1g,mono 5.5g,poly 0.7g)
Protein: 25.6g
Carbohydrate: 10.8g
Fiber: 0.7g
Cholesterol: 127mg
Iron: 3.4mg
Sodium: 679mg
Calcium: 44mg

I still cannot get over how freakin' tasty this meatloaf is! But, I guess I shouldn't be surprised because everything I've ever made from this Magazine has been tasty. The Hubs liked this so much I made him a container to take to work w/ a little smashed potatoes and 2 slices of meatloaf. He just emailed and told me how he was dreaming about his lunch.

Cooking Light Tip: One thing I've noticed when cooking the recipes in this magazine is they don't add a lot of salt. Totally understandable because sodium intake is something a lot of people watch. I however choose to watch other things more closely so, most the time, I'll add more salt than the recipe calls for. In the case of this recipe I doubled it.

And the Winner is...

Sorry this announcement didn't go up earlier this morning, I've been having serious technical difficulties with my work computer. I got in at 8am this morning and now (at 10am) I can use it to its full capacity, grrrrr.

Happy Monday everyone! I couldn't wait to get up this morning and announce the winner of my first Giveaway EVER! Thank you to everyone who commented with great healthy eating tips. I was really inspired by all your tips, especially the ones about smooties and fruits and veggies. The mister and I made meatloaf from the September issue of Cooking Light last night and I went out this weekend and bought apples for breakfast and/or snacks. I had one on my way to work this morning. I'd forgotten how much I loved apples.

Okay Allison, get to the winner.The winner is #5 aka Katie (aka The Indecisive Bride aka Latte Love)!!

Katie's advise...

Congratulations Katie, you are going to LOVE your new Cooking Light Magazine! Comments below or hit me up on Twitter with your email address so I can we can get this ordered!

Thanks again to everyone who entered!

Giveaway - Cooking Light

I've been married what a month and a half and I've already noticed my waistline going to crap! So, I've decided to actually start cooking the recipes in my Cooking Light Magazine.

Source

I freakin' LOVE this magazine! I've given gift subscriptions to two friends now and they freakin' LOVE it too!

So, in honor of me starting to eat better (again) I want to give one of you a (1 yr) subscription too.
A) Because I love my readers
&
B) Because I think it will encourage me to stick with it.

How to enter: Simply comment (only once please) below and leave me your favorite eating healthy tip. I'll select a winner using Random.org announce the lucky person on Monday!