Turkey Vegetable Cobbler

Tonight's recipe is another one from my new Pampered Chef cookbook, "It's Good for You". I can't tell you how happy I am that I have found so many great recipes out of this cookbook. Many times I get a new cookbook only to find one or two recipes that I want to try, so this is certainly a nice change. The liquid mixture in it was a lot thinner than I expected it to be but still very tasty, next time I will eat it in a bowl instead of on a plate. Also, next time I think I will microwave the veggies a little longer so they aren't so crunchy and lastly, I used skim milk instead of 2% because that's all I buy. All in all, another success and with the new rating system, Matt gives this recipe 7 out of 10 stars.

Turkey & Vegetable Filling

2 cups diced cooked turkey or chicken

1 cup sliced carrots

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cup broccoli florets

1 can (10 3/4 oz) 98% fat-free reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup 100% fat-free chicken broth

1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

1 garlic clove, pressed

1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Biscuit Topping
1 1/4 cups reduced-fat all-purpose baking mix (I used Heart Healthy Bisquick)

1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

1 egg white

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut carrots into 1/4-inch slices, chop onion, cut up broccoli. In a large Micro-cooker (I don't have one, so I just used a microwaveable plastic dish with cover), combine carrots, onion and broccoli with a small amount of water in the bottom. Microwave, covered, on high 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine soup, broth, milk, garlic, thyme and black pepper; whisk until blended. Stir in turkey and vegetable mixture; mix well. Pour into a deep casserole dish.

3. For biscuit topping, in a small bowl combine baking mix, milk and egg white; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened and mixture forms a soft dough. Using a scoop or large spoon, drop six scoops of dough over filling. Bake 30-35 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

Makes 6 servings, 5 WW points per serving. 270 calories, 6g fat, 2g fiber.

Texas-Style Casserole

So as I'm sitting here getting ready to write about this new recipe I recently tried, I look at the recipe again and notice that it says breakfast on it. Ooops, my bad since I recently made it for dinner and my blog is titled "What's for Dinner?" not "What's for Breakfast?". Oh well, people have breakfast for dinner all of the time, right? I found this recipe on weightwatchers.com, I don't belong to their online service so I don't have access to all of the online recipes but they do put a few out to the general public and sometimes I stalk their site to find the new free ones. After making it, I understand why they say that the frozen peppers and corn need to be thawed before you use them. I didn't do this because I didn't really think it was that important and as a result, my casserole was a little more watery than I think it should have been. All in all, I really enjoyed it, I can't remember how many stars Matt gave it, 3.5 out of 5 I think. He has told me that he needs to start expanding the rating system from 5 to 10 stars because 5 just doesn't give him the flexibility that he needs when judging my creations. I say he can do whatever he'd like as long as he keeps being willing to try the food that I make!

Ingredients:

1 spray olive oil cooking spray

2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes (maybe this should have been my first clue that it was a breakfast recipe :)

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 cup frozen pepper strips, thawed
8 oz casual gourmet turkey sausage - mild Italian or other brand, thinly sliced. (I could find any turkey sausage so I used turkey kielbasa)

1 cup fat-free skim milk

2 large eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

3/4 cups low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch square glass baking dish with cooking spray (I don't have a 9 inch one, so mine is a little bigger and it worked just fine)

Place potatoes and then vegetables in baking dish; top with sausage.

In a small bowl, beat together milk, eggs, salt and pepper; pour over sausage and then sprinkle with cheese.

Bake until casserole is hot and cheese is browned, about 45 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.

5 WW points per serving.

Asian Noodle Bowl

Ahhhh, Ramen Noodles, how you bring back memories of late night buffets in the Pi Phi house during college. One of the sisters actually used to eat a package raw while another was cooking on the stove which I never quite understood but always thought was pretty funny. I can honestly say that I never thought I would eat Ramen Noodles again after college. At .10 cents a package, it certainly was a bargain back then, but I'm a working girl now and certainly I can do a little better than Ramen, right? But when I saw this recipe in my Pampered Chef "It's Good for You" cookbook and saw that you use a package of Oriental flavored Ramen to make it, I was intrigued. Ramen can be a part of a recipe that is healthy and good for you? All of the other ingredients in it sounded good so I decided to go ahead and give it a try. Matt was very skeptical as well, he had pretty much written off the meal before he had even tried it (so you can imagine how much I was laughing to myself when he ate 2 big bowls :) In the end, I think we both really enjoyed it (Matt gave it 3 out of 5 stars), maybe not one of our favorites, but I would make it again. And to the Ramen Noodles, it was kind of nice to "see" you again, thanks for bringing back some memories!

Ingredients:
2 cups diced cooked chicken
2 cups thinly sliced bok coy
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions with tops
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup julienne-cut carrots, 1 inch long
1 1-inch piece peeled fresh gingerroot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
3 cups water
1 can (14 oz) 100% fat free vegetable broth
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 package (3 oz) oriental-flavor ramen noodles

1. Dice chicken and thinly slice bok coy and green onions; set aside. Slice mushrooms, cut carrots into julienne strips. Peel and finely chop gingerroot and crush the garlic.
2. Place mushrooms, carrots, gingerroot and garlic in a large pot. Add water, broth, soy sauce and seasoning packet from ramen noodles; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, boy choy, onions and noodles. Cover; remove from heat. Let stand 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 one cup servings, 3 WW points per serving, 130 calories, 3g fat, 1g fiber.

Shrimp and Linguine

I made this recipe for the first time last night and all I can say is, WOW! Definitely a new favorite and definitely one that I will be making again soon! I found it in my Pampered Chef "It's Good For You" recipe book, it's the first recipe I have tried out of this new book. You would seriously never know that this is a low-fat recipe, the sauce is very thick and creamy just like a regular Alfredo sauce would be. I didn't have fresh Parmesan cheese so I used the grated kind from a jar, next time I will buy some fresh to see if it makes that much of a difference. I also used whole wheat linguine which is healthier for you and I think more filling. It seems like a lot of ingredients when you first look at it, but it's very easy to make, especially if you do all of the prep work before you start to cook. This would be a great recipe to make when you have company, I think they would be impressed, especially when they find out that it's a light entree! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3/4 pound uncooked shell-on medium shrimp (about 20-30), peeled, deveined and tails removed
3/4 cup coarsely chopped carrots (2 medium)
2 large plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 cup sliced green onions with tops
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
8 ounces uncooked linguine
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1/4 cup snipped fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Additional grated fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Peel and devein shrimp; remove tails. Coarsely chop carrots. Dice tomatoes and slice green onions. Grate Parmesan cheese.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Return pasta to pot, cover and keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet. Add shrimp, carrots and pressed garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat 3-4 minutes or until shrimp turns pink; remove from skillet and keep warm.
4. Gently heat sour cream and evaporated milk in same skillet over low heat while whisking it (do not boil). Stir in Parmesan cheese. Add shrimp mixture, tomatoes, green onions, basil, salt and pepper; mix gently. Pour shrimp and vegetable mixture over pasta; toss gently to coat. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Makes 4 servings, 6 WW points per serving, 300 calories, 8g fat, 2g fiber.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love Fall baking. Apples and pumpkins and Halloween treats, I love it all. Unfortunately I haven't had much time yet this Fall to do much baking, so I am trying to make up for it over the long Columbus Day weekend. We had two parties to go on Saturday and I decided to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies for the first time ever for one of the parties, as my sister Allison said it's her absolute favorite type of cookie. Well, it just might now be my favorite cookie as well. I don't know if I've ever received so many compliments before on something I have baked, I left Allison's house with many of my family members telling me that I better blog about these cookies so they can have the recipe as well. I found this recipe on the Maine chat board of thenest.com. Also, I went to the apple orchard today and picked up a bunch of apples, so stayed tuned over the next few days as I share with you some of my favorite apple recipes! Happy Fall!!

Ingredients:

2.5 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1.5 cups sugar

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup pumpkin

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease baking sheets

2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium size bowl.

3. Beat together sugar and butter until well blended.

4. Add in pumpkin, egg and vanilla, beat until smooth.

5. Gradually add in the premixed flour mixture.

6. Stir in chocolate chips.

7. Drop by tablespoon onto baking sheet, bake for 15-18 minutes until edges are firm.

Makes about 3.5-4 dozen cookies.

Mushroom and Blue Cheese Turkey Burgers with Baked Onion Rings and a Guest Judge

A couple of weeks ago, while the weather was still pretty warm, we were able to have one of my closest friends, Dyana, come for a visit. When I talked to her earlier in the day to figure out if she would be there for dinner or not, she immediately said, "Yes and can I please be a guest judge for your food blog for dinner tonight?!?" Well, how could I say no to that? I didn't dare to make something completely new in case it came out really bad (the pressure of having a guest judge and all) so I decided to go with a recipe that I found earlier this summer when I was still trying to find the perfect burger recipe. These Mushroom and Blue Cheese Turkey Burgers were by far our favorites of the summer. I brought them to a BBQ at our friend's house and got rave reviews from there, so I had a good feeling that Dy would like them as well. I did pair the burgers with Oven Baked Onion Rings which was a new recipe that I had never tried and I think they came out really good. My only complaint was that they seemed to get cold awfully fast but I don't know how to fix that except to eat them faster! Dy gave this meal a solid 4 out of 5 stars. Thanks for coming to visit G and for being a guest judge!!

Mushroom Blue Cheese Turkey Burgers

1 pound lean ground turkey (93%)

8 oz mushrooms, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup blue cheese

Mix all ingredients together and form into burgers, I usually get 5-6 good sized ones. Cook on the grill, about 10 minutes on each side. I top each one with a little extra blue cheese. I don't know the points value for these but could probably figure it out. I think it would comparable to other turkey burgers I have made which are usually around 5 points per burger when served with a low calorie bun.

Oven Baked Onion Rings

1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 large onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices

3 egg whites, lightly beaten

1 cup plain dried breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with Pam cooking spray.

3. In a medium bowl add egg whites.

4. In a plastic baggie or on wax paper, mix together flour, salt and cayenne pepper

5. Place bread crumbs in a separate dish or on wax paper.

6. Separate onion slices in rings, dip into flour mixture and toss to coat, then into the egg mixture and then into bread crumbs and place on baking sheet.
7. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

8. Turn rings over and bake 5-10 minutes longer or until lightly browned.

Makes 6 servings, 2 WW points per serving.