Egg Bake, part 2

Recipe From: my mom, recipe was posted here before, here it is

Ingredients: same as before, minus bacon

With a side of fruit.

Rating: still delicious

Notes:

• Today I used regular eggs, fat free cottage cheese, reduced fat cheddar, reduced fat margarine - the rest was the same (swiss cheese, green onions...).
• Used 1 1/4c of each of the cheeses.
• Still made them in muffin tins, 18.

WW PointsPlus*: 4 per "muffin"


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Cheesy Cauliflower Puree

My new recent online obsession is Pinterest. I use it to find DIY ideas, things for my classroom, fitness inspiration, and MUCH, MUCH more! It's also a wonderful place to find recipes of all kinds. This is the second recipe I've tried from Pinterest.

Recipe From: found on Pinterest, here's the original page

Ingredients & Directions: Please see webpage (link above) for ingredients and directions.

Rating: Delizioso! I had to stop myself from eating the whole bowl. Creamy like mashed potatoes, but also light.
Warming Up: warms up perfectly
Notes:

• I used skim milk and reduced fat cheddar cheese, but did not skimp on the butter. I also only used the floret part, barely any stems. (next time, I will use more stem so I would have more puree) 
• I added some garlic powder during the food processing stage. 

WW PointsPlus*: 3 servings, 4 PointsPlus each

Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

Recipe From: found on Pintrest, here's the original page

Ingredients & Directions: please click link above

Rating: pretty tasty
Warming Up:
Notes:

• I didn't use the poblanos, and used a green pepper instead.
• I'll probably use less cumin next time.
• I baked in a 11"x7" baking dish and got 6 servings.

WW PointsPlus*: as I prepared, 10.

Eggplant Parmesan

Recipe From: My cousin Cari

Ingredients:
Eggplant
Eggs
Flour
Milk
Parmesan cheese
Oil
Optional ingredients: pasta sauce and shredded cheese

Directions:
1. Put your oil in a shallow pan and start to heat.
2. Mix eggs, milk, flour, and shredded parmesan cheese until it is a paste like consistency.
For one eggplant I typically use 2 eggs, maybe about 1/2c of milk and 1/4c cheese. Then I add enough flour to get to paste.
3. Remove peel from eggplant and slice eggplant in to disks.
4. Set disks on a piece of paper towel, flipping to the other side after a few seconds.
5. Dredge eggplant disks in the paste-like mixture and fry in hot oil.
It is important to make sure the oil is hot before frying.
6. Flip once so both sides are golden brown.

Optional steps:
7. Cover the bottom of a pan with pasta sauce.
8. As eggplants are cooked, layer them in the pan, like lasagna noodles - alternate eggplant, shredded cheese, sauce.
I normally make an 11x7 pan out of one eggplant, with about 4 layers.
9. Bake pan until cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

Rating: SO good!
Warming Up: Warms relatively well, eggplant gets slightly soggy, but still delish!
Notes:
You can leave the skin on before slicing, it's a matter of taste.
The disks can also be enjoyed on their own, out of the pan, over pasta or just with a side of sauce.

Squash Mac 'n Cheese

My grandfather was a chef (his pictures joins mine in the header of this blog) and made the best homemade mac 'n cheese I've ever had. But, like many chefs, he didn't write down many recipes and I have been trying for years to match the recipe I had on sleepovers to my grandparents' house (his mac was SO good I'd pick at it and eat it cold all night). While the following recipe doesn't even come close to matching his, I truly believe that my appreciation of a good bowl of mac 'n cheese started with my grandpa, whose laughter and cooking I continue to miss.

(On a side note, my house smells like his would while his mac was baking - more than any other version I've made.)

Recipe Adapted From: Skinny Bitch in the Kitch

Ingredients:
1 pound wheat elbow macaroni
2 10 oz packages frozen, pureed winter squash

 

Bubbly and delicious!

2 cups skim milk
4 oz shredded, reduced fat cheddar cheese
2 oz shredded, reduced fat marble jack cheese
4 oz fat free cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp powdered mustard
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 c wheat bread crumbs
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish.
2. In a pan, bring water to a boil, add salt, and cook the macaroni according to directions.
3. In another saucepan, over medium heat, combine squash and milk. Stir and break up the squash, eventually bringing it to a simmer.
4. Remove sauce from heat and add cheeses, mustard, and pepper.
5. When the pasta is done, drain, and add to the sauce.
6. Transfer everything to the baking dish.
7. In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Top the pasta with this mixture.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 2-3 minutes, until the top is browned.

Rating: one of my favorites!
Warming Up: warms up as well as any other pasta dish
Notes:

• I don't tend to buy the frozen squash for this recipe, and instead use leftover acorn squash I bake for a different meal.
• I have never found wheat bread crumbs, so I make my own with wheat bread in my food processor. This time I also put chunks of Parmesan in the food processor with the wheat bread instead of using shredded or ground Parmesan.
• For pasta I use rigatoni because I think it does a great job of sucking up the cheese.

Upside-Down Pizza Remix

This weekend I decided to revisit the Upside-Down Deep Dish Pizza recipe. I really liked the original way of making it, but thought I'd switch it up a little this time.

The changes I made:

• added green onions to the meat and cooked them a little before adding the sauce
• mixed low-fat ricotta cheese with the broccoli instead of using mozzarella on top
• used refrigerated crescent sheet instead of pizza crust
• added sliced tomatoes and a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese to the top before baking

This version did need to bake longer - I'm not sure if it was the crescent rolls topping or the tomatoes on top, but I think I ended up baking at 375 for 35-40 minutes, just check on it while it's baking.

This time the dish was equally as delicious and I used the extra crescent sheet to experiment with appetizer options. Maybe I'll have to do a post about that sometime soon. :)

Lettuce Tacos

A few weeks ago I went to PF Chang's with my brother and his wife. When we were there we had some delicious lettuce wraps. On the way home I thought, "I could make tacos the same way." Tonight was the night I did.

Ingredients:
ground turkey
taco seasoning
green onions
reduced fat cheddar cheese
lettuce (I used green leaf)
---------------
salsa
avocado

Directions:

1. Brown ground meat. Add sliced green onions. Cook until onions are semi-soft.
2. Follow directions on taco seasoning.
3. Wash lettuce leaf and pat dry.
4. Top with meat mixture, cheese, and any other taco toppings you like.
5. Wrap lettuce around inside ingredients before eating.

Rating: pretty good, just have to get your brain around the fact that there's no shell
Warming Up: just warm up the meat like you would a normal taco...should warm up fine.
Notes:

• I feel that this recipe has a lot going for it:
• It's healthier than the normal alternative, and if you don't like it the first night you still have everything you need for a nice taco salad.
• The lettuce leaves seem to fit less meat and filling than a taco shell (well, I suppose that depends on the lettuce you use), so there's more calories saved.
• Lettuce tacos are a little messier than normal ones, so maybe you'll eat less because you won't want to get too messy.
• Also, since you're saving some fat, calories, carbs, etc., there's room for dessert. :)
• Next time I'll probably pair it with Apple Straws - one of my new favorite snacks. (I feel a future blog entry coming on...)

WW PointsPlus*: the only points here are the cheese and meat mixture so it depends on how you make it and what additional toppings you use.

Game Day

Today's a pretty big day across the country,

and especially here in Wisconsin

- Super Bowl Sunday - 

complete with our Green Bay Packers!

I'm sure there are countless Super Bowl parties that will be taking place later today, so I thought I'd post some of my favorite standby recipes for a party. Most parties will include finger foods that are easy to eat while watching the game, cheering, and talking with friends. Maybe some will have mini-kabobs (that I've made a couple times myself - with or without meat), or different types of tart cups (another delicious recipe I've tried). I'm also sure there will be plenty of bowls of salsa and chips, countless numbers of chicken wings, and numerous veggie trays (that I hope don't get neglected) eaten today.

Meeting Donald Lee & Allen Barbre

Above I noted two recipes I made at different parties, and the next five posts are additional recipes that would be great for Super Bowl Sunday or any party that you're planning. There are a couple for finger foods, a couple desserts, and there's even a beverage one. Most are not the most healthy items, but we all need a day to indulge.

Enjoy

 and

Go Pack Go!

Cheese Dip / Spread

Recipe From: my friend Mandy

Ingredients:
8oz cream cheese
8oz yellow cheese spread (cheddar)
8oz cheese whiz
1/4 tsp garlic powder 

Directions:
Combine all ingredients. Whip until fluffy.

Rating: good stuff!
Notes:

• Mandy serves this with pretzels. I do that too, but have also found it to be quite tasty on beer bread.
• Since most of the ingredients come in 16oz containers, this is an easily doubled recipe. If you don't need that much for your party, it also freezes.

Chicken Parmesan Bundles

Recipe From: Kraft Food & Family Magazine

Please click on the above link for ingredients and directions.

Rating: Yummy!
Warming Up: warms up well, may want to cut the bundle in half first though
Notes:
(Ok, I didn't actually make this one, but I picked the recipe. My mom and her husband made the bundles and they were delicious!)

• We used fresh broccoli instead of spinach. This recipe lends itself to a lot of variations.
• You could make it healthier with using more veggies, less cheese mixture. Or, as they point out on the recipe, use reduced fat cheeses and crackers.

Egg Bake

Recipe From: my mom

Ingredients:
8 eggs
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup melted oleo
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1 1/2 cups shredded swiss
4 oz mushrooms
1/2 cup diced onion
1 lb browned sausage

Directions:

1. In a bowl, beat eggs until foamy.
2. Add cottage cheese, oleo, flour, and baking powder. Mix well.
3. Stir in cheeses, mushrooms, onions and sausage.
4. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake, covered, at 350 for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes.

Rating: Delizioso!
Warming Up: warms up well.
Notes:

• My latest variation of this recipe is to use one container of egg substitute (equivalent of 7 eggs), one small container of low fat, small curd cottage cheese, reduced fat cheddar, no mushrooms, green onions, and turkey bacon.
• I typically make this and bake it in muffin tins. Then I freeze these mini-bakes for warming up later.

WW PointsPlus*: 4 (based on latest variation, making 18 muffin-sized bakes)