Pasta with Pizazz

So this isn't about the pasta, I didn't make that from scratch.  Just a suggestion on how to add some pizazz to it.  Sure, it's easy enough to put store bought pasta in boiling water, pour on some store bought sauce, sprinkle a cheese and call it good.  But what if you want something a little more filling?  Or if you're watching your calories/carbs and want to figure a way to work in some pasta but keep the carbs down?  Well, that is what this is about.

So really adding any vegetables at all will help.  I've used:

• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Asparagus 
• Spinach
• Bell Peppers
• Broccoli
• Sweet Potatoes (Ok, technically this is a starch)
• Butter Nut Squash

But it's your dinner, what are you craving? 

Cooking:

The ravioli I used were mushroom from Costco.  4 ravioli per serving.  But I've also used butternut squash and chicken ravioli.   Just cook according to the packages instructions.

If you're using sweet potato or butternut squash, I recommend cooking that in the oven cut into small pieces and adding it to the pasta in the last stages. 

For the veggies, start with the onion and anything thick like the asparagus.  Saute them with a little olive oil at a medium/medium-low setting until tender.  At that point add anything not so thick like mushrooms, spinach, garlic, etc.  Continue cooking until onions are caramelized. 


Olive Oil calories got you wincing?  Here is my trick: I use an olive oil sprayer.  There are several varieties out there.  Misto makes a good one that is available quite a few places.  But this allows me to spray just enough to cover what I am cooking rather then sit it in a puddle of oil.  So I only used about 2 tablespoons for the whole recipe instead of 8.


Sauce Suggestions: 

• Olive Oil, Basil and Garlic (Spritz a little oil on the finished pasta. Make sure to add quite a bit of garlic to your veggies and add some chopped fresh basil just before the veggies finish cooking.)
• Pesto - I used my simple home made pesto, post to come on that.
• Butter and sage- melt a little butter and throw in some chopped sage.  Cook only enough to slightly crisp the edges of the sage. 

Don't forget the cheese! I love Romano and parmigiana.  I wait until it's on the plate and then sprinkle each serving, otherwise it gets lost in the bowl.  Also makes for a better plating experience. 

There you go, a beautiful plate of many colors to mix up your drab pasta dinner. 

Home Made Pop Tarts!

Ok, so maybe they aren't EXACTLY like a pop tart, but they are WAY more healthier.  My niece spent the day with me so I made these for breakfast.  She really seemed to enjoy them...

 

Nom Nom Nom

So this isn't so much of a recipie as it is a tutorial becase really all these are is toasted BP & J sandwiches... with a fancy tiwst.  I heard that the chef at the White House did something similar for the the Easter brunch they do each year, and this was inspired from that.  

 

Indredients:

• Bread - sans the crust
• Peanut Butter
• Berries (I used Raspberries and sliced Strawberries)
• Butter/Butter Spray

 

Directsion:

 

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. 

 

Spread Peanut butter around the middle of a crustless slice of bread, leaving about a half inch margine on all sides around this.  Place a couple berries in the middle.  Cover with a 2nd slice of crustless bread and use a fork to press the sides down so they stick together.  Repeat for as many tarts as you are wanting to make. 

 

Place these on a pan and spray each side with the butter spray (I can't beleive it's not butter) or melt some butter and use a pastry brush to spread butter on each side.  Place the pan in the over and cook each side about 10 minutes, or until browned.  Total of around 20 minutes.  You can do this faster at a higher temperature, however the lower temperature/longer time is better for really cooking the berries and getting them nicely warm and soft. 

 

Notes: 

• Peanut Butter- I suggest using an organic dark roast peanut butter, with only peanuts and salt listed in the ingredients.  Not only is it healthier, but you'll get a lot more flavor out of a small amount vs. using Jiff or Skippy, etc etc... My personal favorite is Santa Cruz brand creamy dark roast. 
• Berries vs Jelly- You can use jelly instead for a PB&J if you don't have berries.  I prefer the berries as there is less sugar and more berry flavor.  When the berries cook they melt into the PB so it comes out really nice in my opinion. 
• Frozen vs. Fresh- If you have frozen berries, defrost them first!  Get out all the excess water that happens in the defrosting period prior to using them so that you don't wind up with soggy tarts. 

 

 

Nutrition: This will really depend on the bread you use and if you use real butter vs the spray substitue.  If you do as I suggested with the Sarah Lee Delightful, 2 tsp of peanut butter per tart, real fruit, and the spray, each one will have a value of 4 WW 2012 PointsPlus.

Lemon Garlic Chicken Salad

Unfortunately it's harder than I expected to find time to write a post, so I've gotten behind.  But let's play a little catch up with a simple recipe I created.  I was inspired by a salad sold at Trader Joe's that while very yummy was much higher in calories and fat than necessary.  So I decided to make my own version and like it even more than the original.  This is super simple and won't take long at all.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

•  1 can Chicken Breast Chunks, canned in water, not oil (about a cup)
• 4 Tbsp Light Sour Cream
• 3 Tbsp Light Mayonnaise
• 1/2 a Lemon Juiced
• 1-2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2-3 scallions thinly sliced
• 2-3 tsp Garlic Salt (To taste really, I just estimated. It depends on how much you like garlic!)
• Pepper

 

Optional:

• 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
• 1 Cup Red Grapes, quartered

 

Directions:

In a bowl flake the chicken chunks into stringy pieces.  Add the Sour Cream, Mayo and Lemon juice.  Stir until mixed.  Add the celery, scallions, garlic salt and pepper.  Mix and taste to ensure the right garlic salt and pepper ratio.  Let it sit a few minutes for the Lemon juice to really set into the ingredients.  And voila! 

 

Serving Suggestions:

• Simple: with crackers- I prefer the Special K multi grain ones. 
• As a Salad: Over mixed greens, serve with cherry tomatoes, grapes, red onion, a few pecans... what ever sounds good.  Use a light vinaigrette for dressing- I prefer Trader Joe's Pear & Gorgonzola Champagne Vinaigrette.  (2 WW Points) 

 

Notes:

• It's really important this is fresh Lemon Juice. If you use the concentrate stuff bought in the plastic Lemon, you won't get the Lemon taste this really needs
• You might gage at the thought of canned chicken, but for simplicity sake and because it flakes really nicely I use canned.  You can use freshly cooked chicken breast if you like.  I'm sure it will taste better!
• Non-fat verses Light Sour Cream and Mayo- You loose the potency of the flavor if you switch to non-fat and this turns out a little like Greek yogurt.  If you wish to use non-fat, go ahead.  But for best flavor use the light.  It's a difference of 1 WW Point per serving. 

 Nutrition: I have this set at 3 servings.  According to Weight Watchers Points Plus 2012, this is 3 Points per serving.