Pappardelle with Baby Spinach, Herbs, and Ricotta

This is from the Cooking Light Magazine that you so graciously signed me up for!  I couldn't find papardelle but they said that you could use fettuccine in its place.  So, that is what I am planning to do.  I had a ton of dried dill and chives so I am using them instead of the fresh.  Trying to keep that grocery bill a little lower each week!

Ingredients: 

-  8 ounces uncooked pappardelle (wide ribbon pasta)
-  1 tablespoon Kosher salt
-  1/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese (I only have part skim so that is what I shall use!)
-  3 cups baby spinach
-  1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
-  1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
-  1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
-  3 tablespoons grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese
-  2 tablespoons olive oil
-  1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-  1/4 tsp Kosher salt

1.  Cook pasta with 1 tablespoon Kosher salt according to package directions, omitting adding additional fat.  Drain in a colander over a bowl, and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

2.  Combine 1/2 cup reserved hot liquid and ricotta cheese in a food processor or blender, and process until well blended. 

3.  Combine hot pasta, cheese mixture, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl;  toss gently to coat.  Add additional cooking liquid to moisten, if needed. 

Serves 4 (Each serving 1 3/4 cups)

Calories:  329  per serving

Banana Protein Muffins

Well, it has been quite a while!  Sorry Mom!  I am going to catch up, I promise.   I figured that I would start with what we were doing tonight and then work my way back.  First up, I am making a few snacks for the week/weekend.  We are always looking for snacks to take to work with us, but never really find anything that is filling, but still somewhat healthy.  This is from a book I bought called The Best of Clean Eating.  These are low in fat and sodium, but high in protein and fiber!  And...only 85 calories per muffin, and they are full muffins! No minis.  There's not even any flour in them.  I am hoping these will be easy and delicious and something we can make every week.  Plus, you get to use a blender!  What a nice change from the mixers.  ;-) 




Ingredients:
-  12 egg whites (I bought the Egg Beater egg whites.  Couldn't see wasting all those yolks.)
-  2/3 cup uncooked oatmeal
-  2/3 cup high-fiber cereal (I used Fiber One Honey Clusters)
-  2 fresh bananas
-  6 Tbsp low or no sugar jam
-  Dash vanilla extract (I used about a teaspoon)
-  Cinnamon (Again, I did a teaspoon and added a teaspoon of nutmeg)
-  1 tsp baking soda
-  1 tsp baking powder
-  6 packages SteviaPlus Fiber packets or 8-12 drops Stevia Clear Liquid Stevia (I used 2 packages of regular Stevia in the Raw because I was afraid it was going to be too sweet.)
-  Olive Oil cooking spray
-  1 oz raw chopped pecans

Directions: 
    
-  Preheat the oven to 350.  In a blender, mix everything but the cereal.  Fold the cereal into the batter.

-  Line muffin tins with aluminum cupcake liners (this affects the consistency) and spray with cooking spray.

-  Pour the mixture evenly into the liners and top with chopped pecans.  Bake for 30 minutes.

** These freeze well, but be sure to let them cool before freezing.**

Pizza With Tomato and Basil

Mags...found a recipe in "Cooking Light" Magazine for a white pizza with tomato and basil and was going to give it a try, however, after reading the ingredients, I knew your Dad wouldn't be too keen with pesto being used in place of a tomato sauce. Sooooo, I came up with my own. I'm sure I'm not the first to put this combo togehter, but I have to say...it was really good. And your Dad had absolutely no problem with the fresh basil; kept asking what's that green stuff? Figured I wouldn't say anything until he finished! As I pointed out to him, the calories are a little higher than I thought, but I consider them "healthy" calories..hahaha! I would really like to try the original recipe; maybe we'll have to get just us girls together for pizza night. After taking the picture, I noticed that I had not done a very good job on spreading very evenly....I did fix it, just forgot to take another picture.

Ingredients:

. 1 (10 Ounce) Whole Wheat Thin Pizza Crust (Used Boboli)

. 1/2 Cup of Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded

. 1/2 Cup of Marinara Sauce (Used Colavita)

. 1/2 Cup Sliced Tomatoes (Used Peeled Plum Tomatoes)

. 1/4 Cup Basil Leaves (Sliced)

. 1/4 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning

. 1/4 Teaspoon Oregano

Directions:

. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

. Apply remaining ingredients as follows:

- Spread Marinara Sauce

- Sprinkle Italian Seasoning & Oregano Over Sauce

- Sprinkle Mozzarella Cheese

- Place Sliced Tomatoes Evenly Around Crust

- Sprinkle Sliced Basil

. Cook for 8-10 minutes.

Yields 6 servings...Calories per slice approximately 162 Calories

Grilled Chicken with Warm Mango Salsa

From Rocco Dispirito's Now Eat This:

This is what we had last night!  I have to say though, I royally messed up this recipe.  It ended up tasting pretty good, but I made it more difficult than it needed to be.  I should have cut up everything first.  I figured I'd try to cut the mango while the onions were cooking.  Mistake number one!  I couldn't get the mango opened and ended up burning the onions a little.  So, I threw them away, but since that was my only red onion, I used a Vidalia onion.  I couldn't get the mango apart so I just peeled it and then cut pieces away from the core.  Also, I did not have any tomato, so I chopped up some roasted red pepper.  I think that mistake might actually have worked to my advantage.  That was tasty.  All in all, it was a pretty easy recipe.  I think I just started it a little too late after after the gym.  

Ingredients:

- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of all fate (I use the thin cutlets.)
- Nonstick cooking spray.

- Salt and freshly ground pepper

- 1 medium red onion, cut into small dice

- 1 small jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine (I used a slightly milder pepper.  It was still spicy, but not quite as much as with a jalapeno.)

- 1 large tomato, cut into small dice

- 1 large mango, seeded and skin removed, cut into small dice

- Grated zest and juice of 2 limes

- 2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I left this out.  I do NOT like the taste of cilantro.)

- 1 small avocado, seeded, peeled, and sliced

Directions:  

- Preheat a grill or grill pan over high heat.

- Spray the chicken breasts lightly with cooking spray, and season them with salt and pepper to taste.  Grill the chicken until it is just cooked through, about three minutes per side.  Transfer the chicken to a platter, and cover it with foil to keep it warm.  

- Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet saute pan over medium-high heat.  When it is hot, spray the pan with cooking spray and add the onion.  Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost tender.  Add the jalapeno, tomato, and mango, and cook the salsa, stirring it occasionally, until it is just heated through, 4-5 minutes.

-  Add the lime zest, lime juice, and cilantro to the salsa.  Season to taste with salt, if desired.  Serve the chicken with the warm salsa and avocado slices on top. 

Nutritional Info:
Original Recipe:  33 Grams of fat, 590 calories
Roccos' Version:  7.2 grams of fat, 274 calories, 35 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber

Italian Dinner Frittata

Well, I told you I would try and get caught up with some posts this weekend.  We made this, oh, about two weeks ago.  We had planned it for a night when we both had classes at the gym.  It was perfect for a quick dinner, and because we would be eating after the gym, we wanted something easy.  It makes four servings, and each serving is super filling.  I was a little leery about reheating an egg dish for leftovers the next day, but Andrew said that it was still really good the next day.  I would definitely make this again during the week.  I can always go for breakfast food for dinner!  This is from Pillsbury Fast and Healthy Cookbook.

Ingredients:

- 1 tablespoon canola oil

- 8 medium green onions

- 1 carton (16 oz) fat free egg product or 8 eggs, beaten (I used Egg Beaters)

- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used low fat)
- 1/2 cup chopped, seeded tomato (one small)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese ( I used Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, I already had it in the fridge.)
- Addition chopped tomato or parsley, if desired

Directions: 

-  In a 10 inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot.  Cook onions in oil 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently until tender.

-  Stir in egg product, mozzarella cheese, tomato, parsley, and pepper.  Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook 9-11 minutes or until egg product is set around the edge and light brown on the bottom.

-  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.  Cover; remove from heat and let stand 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Garnish with additional chopped tomato and parsley.

Servings:  4

Nutritional information per serving:  Calories:  180, Fat:  9 grams, Carbs:  4grams 

I think ours had a little less fat because I used a lower fat cheese and less oil.  That might just be wishful thinking though.  :-)

Mags....just wanted to mention to you that your sister may be giving up going out to dinner for Lent...we may have to get busy cooking up some "simpler" recipes for her to use! Looking forward to your newer posts over the weekend.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Sorry Mom.  Got a little behind on my updating.  I have made two or three good ones I think you'd like to try.   My goal is to add them this weekend.  However, what I made for tonight was pretty easy and I thought I'd share it!  It's from our friend Rocco DiSpirito's Now Eat This.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup low fat, low calorie Stir Fry Sauce
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
- Shredded skinless breast meat from 1 rotisserie chicken or roast chicken
- 4 cups shredded cabbage
- 4 ounces snow peas, strings removed
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
- 6 tablespoons TVP (textured vegetable protein) such as Bob's Red Mill (optional)

In a large bowl, whisk together the Stir Fry Sauce, lime juice, and chili garlic sauce.  Add the shredded chicken, red cabbage, snow peas, cilantro, and sesame seeds.  Toss the salad to combine.  Chill in the refrigerator until serving time, up to 6 hours.

If desired, sprinkle the salad with the textured vegetable protein right before serving.

** A coupe notes about this one.  First, I haven't eaten yet, so I will have to get back to you on the end result.  However, I tasted a piece of the chicken after it was all mixed and I have to say it was pretty tasty.  Also, the whole thing took about 10 minutes to make.

     I went super easy on this one and bought pre-shredded cabbage and pre-washed and cut snow peas.  I also left out the cilantro, I just do not like that flavor!  This was a really good quick meal.  Good for gym nights!  However, I am already a little worried that Andrew might say, "Is there anything else?"  I question how filling it will be.  I bought some spinach to serve underneath of it.

     Also, the TVP.  Haven't tasted it yet, and it took us a couple of tries to actually find it.  I thought I was looking for a spice, but they are actually flakes.  It almost looks like oatmeal.  We found it in an organic grocery store we happened to be in.  Bob's Red Mill is an organic company.  It is supposed to replace the fried noodles that typically goes in the Chinese chicken salads.  Basically it is a byproduct of making soybean oil and it is high in protein, but low in fat.  (This also made it appealing for a gym night when I have training.  Build those muscles right?!)

    Here is a picture of it with the TVP.  Figured you might want to see what those crunchy little bits look like.

Here's the fun info:

Original Version:    Fat:   21.6 grams       Calories:  801
Rocco's Version:    Fat:    5.5 grams          Calories:  221 (I think that's a pretty decent savings!)

Also, Rocco's version has 25 grams of protein, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 44 mg of cholesterol and 5 grams of fiber.