Spaghetti Squash Alfredo-

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo 

So I've been eying up making a recipe like this for a while, and today spied some squash and took the plunge.

Ingredients: 

1 medium size squash (it feeds more than you think!)
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp Velata Lemon Garlic Rub
1 tbsp Light Cream Cheese
1/2-3/4 cup Parmesean
1 cup skim milk
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Flour (we used gluten free)

Turn oven on to broil: (500 F)
1- cook the squash- I choose to pierce it, microwave for 10 minutes. Then cut it in half- scraped out the stringies and seeds then placed cut side down on a cutting board and then microwaved until done (about 10 more minutes) let rest for another 5-10 minutes.
2- while the squash is cooking in a pot melt butter and garlic.  Whisk in the flour. Add milk slowly whisking to prevent lumps. Add remaining ingredients and cook on medium stirring until melted.
3-Take squash, scrape the sides to get the spaghetti strings down.  pour in a portion of the sauce- lifting the squash strings around to make sure sauce gets all the way down.
4- top with parmesean cheese and place in oven under the broiler until it's bubbling.

Enjoy! We paired this up with some pork loin seasoned with Velata Lemon Garlic rub as well. Delicious.  I had doubled the recipe and have enough left overs for the entire family tomorrow.

Calories 223/servings

Butternut Squash Lasagna

So on impulse I bought a squash the other day.  Then I realized i had no clue what to do with it.  So I tracked down a recipe and this is what I came up with.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk
Pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese - part skim
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

In a large skillet heat oil and toss in the squash with salt and pepper (be generous with the pepper for more flavor later). Pour in the water, cover and simmer until soft. Cool slightly then transfer to the food processor and blend until smooth. Place in a container until time to layer the lasagna.

In a sauce pan melt the butter and then add the flour and milk whisking over medium heat. Heat until a boil stirring occasionally until it thickens. Mix in the nutmeg, cool slightly then move to the food processor and blend in the fresh basil. Now i'll admit mine never got very thick- but it thickened up great in the oven so don't fret!

Pour a thin layer of the mixture into the lasagna pan, layer two layers of noodles over.  Then spread a thin layer of Squash then a sprinkle of cheese. Sauce, noodles, squash.  Finish off with a healthy layer of cheese. 

Cook in the oven at 375 F until cheese is melted and noodles are soft. You can substitute fresh lasagna noodles for the oven ready version.

Total calories 311/serving.  Serves 9

Tourtiere- aka french meat pie

This is really one of my favorite things of all time.  They are hard to find.  Years ago when my family was dealing with quite the tragedy my local horse community pulled together and brought us frozen meals.  It's what kept my kids fed for the weeks my then husband was in the hospital and kept me from eating nothing but fast food.  Someone ( I yet to know who) made us a Tourtiere.  I had never heard of them before and it became a favorite of our family.  Occasionally I've found them frozen, they usually pale in comparison. A local bakery makes them and they are awesome, but expensive, and only come in single servings. 

This recipe is very close to the local bakery.  This recipe makes 3 Pies. I cheat and use premade pie shells.

6 Pie shells (1 for base and one for the top of each pie)
1.5kg ground pork
2 medium potatoes- shredded
1tbsp Butter
1 large onion
2tsp All spice
1tsp Cinnamon
2tsp pepper- to taste (Seriously don't go easy on this- the stronger the pepper the more flavor it has)
Water
 (The original recipe had 1tbs Vinegar but I forgot it and it still was awesome- so I say it's optional)


Thaw your pie shells but do not cook them.
Pulverize your onion-I used my blender.  Take out your largest sauce pan, heat the butter and add the onion heating until the onion becomes clear.  Add in your ground pork and thoroughly cook.
While it is cooking shred your two potatoes and add them to the ground pork.
Add your spices. Ample spices keep this from being a boring dish- be generous with that pepper!
Add just enough water to cover the meat (and vinegar if you choose so) and turn down to a simmer.  Simmer for 45-60 minutes until water is evaporated stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 425F.  Fill your 3 pie shells with meat then use your remaining 3 pie shells to create a top. (I'll admit the pie in the picture had the best crust- but was not filled as high).  Cook until shells are cooked.  If your going to freeze and reheat later on leave them just a bit under cooked (not quite golden brown shell) so you can reheat in the oven with out burning the crust!)

Serve with vegetable of your choice. A dab of sour cream is a nice addition as well.

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken: Fried Rice

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken

Warning- this is REALLY good.  And worth the effort.  It's easy but takes some time to cook (1 hour) So get it into the oven then make the rest of your meal. Which for me gives it 1 more star of awesomeness.  Preheat oven to 325F 

• 3-4 chicken breasts cubed
• 1/2 cup corn startch
• 2 eggs beaten 
• salt and pepper 
• 1/8 cup oil 

Sauce:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 4 tablespoons Ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Soya Sauce

 Take your cubed chicken and season with salt and pepper. Then take each piece, dip into cornstartch, then egg and set aside.  Once every piece is done heat your oil in a large saucepan and then brown the chicken.  Turn several times and try to keep the pieces from sticking together

ready to go into the oven

Place into a 9x13 greased pan. Whisk together the sauce ingredients- pour over top and place into the oven.  Cook for 1 hour. Every 15 minutes stir the chicken so it gets covered again by the sauce.  Cook the entire hour it takes that long for the sauce to start to cook down to the proper texture. Serve spooning sauce over top

All done and ready to eat!

Fried Rice

This is my son's favorite thing.  I mixed it up a bit by using the non traditional veggies (Carrots and peas).

• two cups rice cooked
• 1/8 cup soya sauce
• 2 eggs
• veggies- frozen
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons oil (Sesame if you have it)

Heat the oil put in the frozen veggies and garlic over medium heat. Beat the eggs.  Move the veggies to one side of the sauce pan and poor the egg to the other side.  Think scrambled eggs. Cook the eggs for a minute or two then mix in with the veggies. 

Add the Rice, soya sauce  Stir and cook for a couple minutes then remove from heat and serve.

Giant Meat Balls

These turned out pretty good.  I was thinking Meatloaf but wanted something different so meat balls it was.

• 1lb ground meat- I used a mix of ground pork and lean beef
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• bread crumbs- Italian Style
• 1/2 tsp Oregano
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 red onion chopped

 Preheat oven to 350F
YES I'm terrible at chopping onions.  No comments on the photos please.  It's easy- Beat the eggs then add wtih all remaining ingredients into a bowl. Mix with your hands.  Form into ball size- Golf ball will take 30 minutes to cook Tennis ball size that I did took closer to 45 minutes.

Place in oven- cook- Enjoy!

Beef Dip Crescent Rolls

I saw this idea on pinterest and had been chomping at the bit to try it.

Total time start to finish? 20 minutes. Can't get much better then that! Pair it up with a salad and voila easy meal. Kids loved it.

• package crescent rolls
• sliced or shaved roast beef
• swiss cheese 
• horse radish
• beef bouillon
• Worcestershire sauce
• Soya sauce
• tbsp chopped red onion

Ingredient hint: I used shaved roast beef from the meat counter. This would be great with left overs from a roast though (Truthfully probably even better tasting).  

That's my son rolling these up!

 Pretty easy- preheat oven to 375F.  Roll out the crescent rolls place a slice or two of roast beef folded on the wide end  A slice of cheese, a dollop of horse radish. Roll up. Don't worry the ends won't be covered it works out fine! Cook until brown- needs a minute or two longer then usual to cook through.

While they are cooking get out a small sauce pan.  You'll need about 1/4 cup of bouillon per person.  Add a good dash of the Worcestershire sauce (I put about 1tbps) and soya sauce in as well as the onion.  Let simmer on the stove while the crescent rolls cook. 

Serve!

Cheesey Cauliflower Cakes & Baked Chicken Tenders

Yes it's time for another confession- I do not like cauliflower. Now I've tried roasting it and that was marginally better...but really I need something drenching it with cheesy goodness to make it even slightly edible.

I will say this was ALMOST as good as mashed potatoes drenched in butter,made with real cream.  And with the sour cream it was not just edible- it was good.

Cheesy Cauliflower Cakes

• head of cauliflower
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese 
• salt
• chili powder or hot sauce to taste
• 2 eggs (Don't skimp I did and used 1 and they fell apart)
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• oil (olive oil is my preferred)

Boil the cauliflower until soft- about 10-15 minutes. Drain and while still warm mash.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix together.

Heat oil in a large sauce pain/skillet. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup scoop out and drop into the oil.  Press flat and let cook until brown- then flip and cook the other side.  Really these are best warm- place into the oven to keep warm while you finish up cooking the rest.
We served them with a dollop of sour cream.

What would I change? I'd use a stronger cheese- shredded marble though delicious didn't add much flavor to this. Really I'd do anything I would with mashed potatoes- next time I think I'll try a parmesan/asiago with roasted garlic.

 

Baked Chicken Tenders

This was an easy recipe and really turned out well.  Baked not fried so much healthier.

• 2-3chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup bisquick 
• 1 egg
• paprika 
• salt and pepper
• garlic

Preheat oven to 450F. Slice the breasts length wise so they are even in thickness.  Whisk the egg with a couple tbsp's water and on another plate mix the rest of the ingredients.  Pretty simple dip into egg- roll in the mixture and place on your baking sheet.  You could place on a grate or one of those fancy silicone nubby matts that I'm currently lusting after.

These dipped fabulous into the Aioli I posted the other day.

Steak sauce, Crushed Potatoes and Baked Asparagus fries

Yup tonight was a big one 3 newish ideas. I'm going to list them in the order I made them.

Crushed Potatoes

This is a Pioneer Woman inspired recipe.

• Potatoes- small red choose same number as you would if you were baking potatoes for the meal.  For us that meant 3-4 medium size potatoes. 
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• Rosemary or some other favorite herb
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

preheat oven 450F

Get your big pot out and boil the potatoes until they are firm but a fork can go through.  Place them onto a  non stick pan that you've lightly brushed with olive oil.  Don't cheat- don't use spray stuff.  Use the good stuff TRUST ME! Use your potato masher (or anything hard and flat ish) and squash that potato until it's sorta flat.

Brush with olive oil, sprinkle generously with salt (Really no go add some more trust me you'll thank me after), pepper, your rosemary. I tossed some parmesan on because well I love my cheese.
Place in the oven top rack for 20-25minutes.

Baked Asparagus 

• Asparagus- 1/2 to a whole bunch of it
• bread crumbs (I used a blend of panko and Italian)
• seasoning (As I used Italian breadcrumbs this step wasn't necessary!)
• Parmesan (Optional)
• 1 egg

This is an easy peasy way to bake asparagus. Tip them so you have just the good parts (I personally use the bend them and they snap at the right spot method).  Mix your egg and a couple tbsp water. Mix your bread crumbs on another plate. Now I don't own grated Parmesan so I sprinkled my shaved Parmesan over top of them at the end.  If you have grated mix it on in with the bread crumbs. Dip in the egg mixture, roll in the bread crumbs place on your non stick pan. (and if your some lucky gal who a rack-use a rack over your pan to get them even crispier). 

Bake at 425 for 10 -15 minutes until crispy brown.  (Note since I had my potatoes in already I lowered the temp on the oven to 425F when I put these in and it took just 10 minutes.

Restaurant 'ish' style steak with sherry sauce

• Steaks- the thicker the better
• Soya sauce 
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Spice (I use montreal steak spice personally- but for sure salt and pepper)
• Butter (Not margarine!)
• Sherry or Red cooking wine.
• flour

I've been won over to cooking steaks this style- so easy and if the oven is on gives really nice taste.  My steaks marinated  (while defrosting) in  the Soya Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce and montreal steak spice mixture.  In a cast iron pan (That can be placed in the oven) put a couple tablespoons of butter, a bit of salt and sear the steaks 2minutes on each side.  Spoon the butter back over the steaks and place into the oven at 425F. Leave in the oven for 6-7 minutes (gives me a medium well done steak when about 1" thick).

Remove from the oven and place the steaks aside to rest.  In the pan pour a 1/2 cup sherry/wine, a couple tablespoons flour and heat over low and whisk until thickened. Remove from heat. Spoon sauce over the steak.



Now I must say- I impressed myself with the fact I was able to time all this.  I got the potatoes into the oven.  The steaks had marinated while defrosting.  I prepped the asparagus and had it ready to place into the oven. I put them and the steaks into the oven at the same time.  And that lined up just about right time to remove the potatoes!


This meal turned out great. My kids all had seconds of the potatoes and fought over the last steak.  If there was more asparagus (We only had 1/2 a bunch to use) they would have had more of those too. I was hoping this would be lunch left overs for me tomorrow I thought wrong.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

This turned out really delicious.  I've made it once before with a different recipe and wasn't won over to the idea of eggplant but this recipe did it for me.

2 eggplants
2 eggs
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs*
2-3 tbsp Parmesan
1 cup Shredded Mozzarella
1 can tomato based pasta sauce

*if you don't have Italian breadcrumbs mix in some herbs of your choice 

Yes I'm missing an eggplant in the photo two would have made this way better!

Preheat oven to 375F.
Peel and slice the eggplant.  In a flat bowl whisk the eggs and a couple tbsp water. On a plate spread some bread crumbs and mix in the Parmesan.  Take your slices of eggplant and drench in the egg, then roll through the bread crumbs.  Place slices on a non stick cookie sheet and into the oven.  Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the eggplant and bake another 10-12 minutes until soft through.

Remove from oven spread one layer on bottom of a baking dish (9x13) pour 1/2 the tomato sauce and 1/2 the mozzarella cheese.  Repeat another layer Eggplant, sauce, mozzarella. Place back into oven and bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.

I choose a tomato sauce with spinach and cheese in it.  Sneaking more good greens into me and the kids. I paired this up with a steak for supper but word on the street is that it's delicious with roasted potatoes as well which would be oh so easy to roast along side while making this!

Kids liked it so much they took left overs to school for lunch- leaving me with none.
Calories per serving (8 servings) 185! 

Turkey Walnut Meatloaf & Asparagus

Turkey Meatloaf.  This comes from an inspiration recipe here. I followed it pretty close- but I came home to not able to find my sage. Eek! So we tweaked
The walnut taste was not very apparent- my plan is to up the walnut content next time and to use sage as planned not rosemary! Paired it up with saute asparagus and parmesan mashed potatoes (we tossed some asiago cheese in those this time to add a bit different taste) 

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 large carrot, grated- we used several smaller ones straight from our garden
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 1 egg beaten- we used from our own chickens
• 1.5 pounds extra-lean ground turkey breast (99% fat-free)
• 1/2 tsp Parsley (Dried)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp Rosemary (dried) 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

 Preheat Oven to 350F
In a sauce pan heat oil and carrot, scallions and garlic until soft.
Chop until fine walnuts and bread (I toasted mine to make it easier) with a blender/processor.
In a bowl mix milk and the eggs. Add in turkey, an slowly gently mix in the  mixture from the sauce pan and the bread crumbs/nut mixture and any remaining ingredients..

Transfer to a loaf pan and cook until 155F in center or around 45-50 minutes.

While this was cooking and we got the potatoes boiling we got the asparagus started.

Did you know easy way to tip them is to just hold each end and bend.  They magically will snap where the woody area starts (If you think it through really this makes total sense).
Place a small amount of butter in sauce pan, I added some minced garlic (1 clove) as well.  Saute until the tenderness you prefer. Remove from heat- add parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Delicious meal folks!

Pastry wrapped stuffed chicken

Ok folks this was another winner with the kids. And pretty easy to do.

Original inspiration recipe is here.

4oz Cream Cheese
1 tbsp Scallion
Parsley
Salt& Pepper
Garlic
Chicken Breasts (3-4)
1 can crescent roll or frozen puff pastry sheets
1 egg 

Mix cream cheese, scallion, some parsley and garlic. You can do any combination of flavors here. My next time I'm going to try some Ranch dip mix. The cream cheese flavor is strong- so go hard on those seasonings!
Slice a deep slit in the Chicken (Note my chicken breasts look horrible as I accidentally got bone in breasts :( ) and stuff with the cream cheese mix. 
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place stuffing side down on your pastry sheets. IF needed roll them out a bit and squish them together to make bigger sheets.

Mix up the egg in a bowl and brush edges of the pastry to help it stick and roll upcovering the chicken.  Baste remaining egg lightly over top.

Cook for 400F for about 30 minutes- watch to make sure the bottom doesn't get burnt.

We served with mixed veggies.

Wicked Thai Soup

This soup became a favorite of mine this year.  They serve it at the University and it became a total addiction.  Normally I'm not one for HOT but this one has just the right amount of kick.  Kids loved it!

Original inspiration recipe here

I had trouble in this wasteland of the prairies finding some of the ingredients so we had to tweak.  This is how we made it.  I may tweak more next time- but it turned out great!

My daughter helped make this- and did all the prep (IE chopping and dicing) so pieces are quite large- I would suggest chopping everything smaller.

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (a standard size tray package)
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into small dice
• 2 Tbsp. Gourmet Garden™ Lemon Grass herb paste (the stuff in the tube or the real thing, if you can find it)
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup half and half (10%) cream
• 1/2 cup red curry sauce (Or red curry paste and 1/2 cup coconut milk) I used Presidents Choice Brand
• 1 1/2 tsp. Siracha sauce
• 2-3 Tbsp. tomato paste (to taste)
• 2 cups cooked rice (long grain white or brown rice or try a mix of long grain with wild rice for some added texture)

Start off by getting your rice going.  Also chop/dice/etc all the onons, mushrooms, chicken.
1tbsp oil into a sauce pan (or like i did- right into my soup pot!) and saute until soft.  Remove and place on a plate to hold until they get added later.  Onions into the pan/pot and saute until soft.  Add thec hicken and 4 cups chicken sauce.  Simmer for several minutes until chicken is almost cooked.  Add back the mushrooms, the half and half, tomato paste and curry sauce.  Add Siracha sauce to taste.  Add the rice. It should have your lips tingling but not running to the kitchen for some more milk :)

Let simmer a few more minutes to meld the flavors.  Serve and enjoy!

Ranch Pork Chops and Parmesan Garlic Potatoes

I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while.  The original inspiration recipe is here.  That said i think next time i'm not going to make them in the crock pot- but in a sauce pan... or maybe in the oven.  Since we had to turn it on anyway.  This was my first time trying to roast garlic too- success!

Crock Pot Pork Chop Portion:
Our crock pot uses a probe to measure temperature- but it worked out to approximately 2.5-3 hours on high.

1 can ready to serve cream of chicken soup
1 packet Ranch dressing mix
4-6 pork chops.  (We used bone in and fairly thick- but thinner boneless would work well too)

Potatoes:

First roast a bulb of garlic: oven at 350F lightly wrap the garlic in tinfoil and roast for 45 minutes- 1 hour.  let cool for 15 minutes and then peel the skins off and mash.  I used 12 cloves total (about one bulb)

4lbs potatoes cubed skins on
roasted garlic
1 cup parmesan- shaved or grated- fresh is best
Milk (approx 1 cup)
5 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes until soft. Drain. Now you have the option hand mashing or transferring to your stand mixer and mixing there. Mash and add in the butter and milk until the consistancey you want.  Add in the Parmesan and mix until well distributed.  Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the pork chop over a bed of potatoes.  Garnish with parsley

Sherry Strawberry "Jam" and Brie Grilled Cheese

Well I've been sitting on this recipe for a couple weeks as anyone who follows this blog will know.  Between being away from town camping, and then kids being gone we've been working through left overs and truthfully a fair bit of eating out. 

Kids are home for a week here and it's time to finish off the recipes from the last eating list.  So today I broke out this recipe and here we go:

Original Inspiration recipe here.

Strawberry Jam:
1 cup sherry (or Red wine)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup strawberries sliced
3 tbs Flour (cornstarch would be preferred!)

Put the Sherry (or Red wine), water and sugar into the pot.  Bring to a simmer for several minutes and then add teh sliced strawberries in. Simmer for a couple more minutes.  While this is going on create the slurry to thicken with mix the flour/cornstarch with just enough cold water to dilute it. First off- flour was NOT the plan.  Cornstarch is the original recipe calls for and what I planned for- until I discovered I am OUT of it.  OK really it possibly has never existed in my pantry.  SO a quick Google panic and I put flour in instead.  They say 2-3tb's for each tbs of corn starch.  So i used 6tbs but ended up only putting 1/2 of that in.  So in the end I only used the 3Tbs so that's what I've got in the recipe. Stir in and once it thickens up a bit remove from heat- pour into a container and place in fridge for a couple hours to set.

Of course after all that panic over not having cornstarch and the completion of the above i found gelatin in my pantry.  Color me embarrassed I guess that could have been an option too!

Creates 2cups- approximatly 16 (2 tbs/servings) servings
WW points/serving: 1!

For the sandwhich- fairly simple make just like a grilled cheese. We make our own bread often so this was standard white bread made via our bread maker. Butter the outside of the bread- place a slice of brie cheese on and then some jam- cook until melted and golden brown!

WW Points for 1 Sandwhich with 1 oz brie, 1tbs butter and 2tbs jam: 10

What would I change? The jam tastes good straight from the container- but a bit more sugar could be used. As well i think this would be TO DIE FOR with a big stronger cheese- especially cream cheese!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Yes the next day in recipes was a bit late coming.  We've been off showing dogs and camping the last two weeks and the kids have been off at their dad's.  So I've been burning through left overs and doing some tent trailer cooking.  We're back home and now ready to get back onto our cooking.

Original inspiration for this recipe comes from here.  By the time I got to cooking this today we were short on a few ingredients so this is what i've tossed in the pot:

1 can Cream of Chicken Condensed
1 can Cream of Celery Condenced
3 medium potatoes peeled and sliced
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 chopped onion
3-4 breasts Chicken- deboned (we used 3)
2 packages Biscuit dough.

Place soups, potatoes, onion, celery, juice and chicken into crock pot and cook on high.  Our crock pot has a meat probe so we cooked until the chicken was almost done (about 4 hours).  Then tear up and put in the two packages of biscuits and cook until no longer raw on low (about 1 hour).

I'd add carrots in and some other crunchy veggies- broccoli would be good in this- to add some more color to the dish.  Kids loved it and everyone had seconds!
This will be great on this rainy day!

Servings: 8
WW Points: 11

Philly Cheese Steak- Sloppy Joe style

This was super easy to make.  Original inspiration here

1 pound ground beef (extra lean)
1/2 softball-sized onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons steak sauce
1 tablespooon Worcestershire sauce
1/1 cup beef stock
Salt and ground black pepper
8 dinner rolls- we used President choice's flat buns

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk 1%
1 cup provolone, shredded (light)

Brown meat, add pepper and onion, and cook until veggies start to soften. Add stock, steak sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Let simmer.

While cooking start the cheese sauce. Melt butter in a pot- mix in the flour.  Add milk and simmer until thickens slightly.  Add in cheese and remove from heat- stirring until melted.

We served it with the Quinoa mac and cheese from yesterday.  I think it would rock with sweet potato fries and some grilled veggies!

Servings: 8
WW Points: 8

Quinoa Mac and Cheese

Well yes- i was going to pair this up with the cheesesteaks- but I've been ditched by my son and me and my daughter are not that hungry- so we'll bump that to another day.  But we did make the Quinoa Mac and Cheese.

Original recipe here

Prep 15 minutes- Cooking 35
How I made it

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
• good pinch of salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup 1% Milk
• 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese- Light
• 1/4 Cup Panko bread crumbs (optional)
• Vegetables of choice (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F 
 Cooked the Quinoa per normal in a pot (New for me we've never used it before- other then for the parrots!) One it's sitting and steaming prepare the other ingredients.  


Saute vegetables until soft.  


In a large bowl whisk eggs and milk. Fold in cooked Quinoa, salt, garlic, cheese (reserve some to sprinkle on top) and if chosen vegetables.  Spread onto a large greased cooking dish (9x13)
Top with remaining Cheese and if you choose Panko bread crumbs. 


Cook for 30-35 minutes @ 350F 

Makes an entree or a side dish.  Try different additions- hot sauce, sour cream, different types of cheese! 




Servings: 8 (Side portion size)
WW Points (not including any vegetables or toppings added) but does include Panko: 5

Olive Garden Esque Alfredo

Oh this turned out really delicious! Will make again.  I went full fat this time with full whipping cream and butter.  Next time I will try it with a lighter cream and see how it results.  This did not thicken up much- I've seen recipes with a couple tbsp's of flour in it and that's an option too.

I paired it with fresh pasta delicous!

1 500ml Container whole cream
3/4 cup Shredded/ grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup butter
Garlic minced about 1 tsp
Parsley flakes

Melt in the pan stirring until mixed- then simmer for about 15 minutes stirring to prevent burning. Let cool a bit and serve over pasta.  Garnish with parsley and a bit more Parmesan

Servings: 8 (generous)
WW Points: 9 (Sauce only)

I look forward to trying to make this a bit healthier with my next attempts!

Yummmm Turkey Bugers- the fancy way

These turned out really delicious.  My mom is now on a low cholesterol diet and this was something she could have as well!

Recipe inspiration: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/mozzarella_stuffed_turkey_burgers.html

However I'm a bit lazy we did not make our own marinara sauce- which im sure would have made it way better- but I knew i wouldn't have time.  However it's BBQ season.
How I made them:

• 1 pound 93%-lean ground turkey
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 tablespoons basil
• 2 slices flat bread cut in half. 

Combined everything except the cheese, basil and flat bread.  Make 8 thin patties- place the cheese on top of one and cover with another.  There's no binder in these burgers and they do fall apart so handle with care.
We grilled on the burger and did take the time to oil the grill first- however these stuck like crazy so it did not seem to help at all. I do recommend grill with the lid down- they are quite thick and that helped get them cooking

 I took my store bought marinara sauce, heated up in a small pot while the burgers were grilling.  Toast the flat bread, pour on some marinara pop the burger on and top with a bit more sauce. We paired it up with a Caesar salad.
Servings: 4
WW Points: 5

Uh oh- are you wondering where our Olive Garden Alfredo recipe went? Well we didn't emd up making lunch- we spent too much time playing with the horses to make lunch.  Hoping to make it Monday or Tuesday.

Taco night & Smoothies

Ok this isn't an exciting recipe- it' sorta recipe less if you want to get down to it. But our version of tacos. Missing tonight was fresh tomatoes- our garden needs to get going!

• 1lb ground beef 
• taco shells
• Light marble cheese shredded 
• romaine lettuce
• salsa
• light sour cream

On each taco there is 1tsp of sour cream and about 1tsp of cheese- i shread it super fine so it feels like more.  I admit these were so good I had two.
WW Points: 6/Taco (PS Two = 13 points!) 

Very Merry Berry Smoothies
Love my new Kitchen Aid immersion blender that my Mom and Dad got us this year. (It matches the mixer and toaster :) )

Easy recipe

• 3 cups berries
• 2 cups milk 
• 2 tsp Splenda
• a few drops of flavoring if you want- we put banana and coconut in

Tasty!!! It makes 3 cups- because those berries are frozen- there's lots of space between them to fill with milk.
WW Points:3
Servings: 3