I put my thinking cap on and I looked around to see what I had in the pantry: we are pretty stocked up at the moment thanks to some really good sales at ACME (my local grocery store)!AND, a friend had just dropped off a huge ziploc of cubed cheese because his mother had some gathering and had all this cheese leftover.

I browned the ground turkey (I added salt, pepper, garlic pwder, and crushed red pepper flakes), drained the meat and set aside.

Boiled a pound of pasta (I just happened to have large elbow noodles!)

I made a quick cheese sauce using fat free evaporated milk, 1/8 cup of butter, 10 ounces of mixed cheese, salt, pepper & tabasco.

I then microwaved two boxes of frozen veggies (one was broccoli and other was mixed with broccoli, peppers, & carrots).

I threw it all together and put it in the oven just long enough to make sure everything was hot!!

Here is what it looked like:

The verdict: For a quick, no idea, throw together this worked fantastical!! My family loved it!! Even my picky (most of the time) kid ate her whole plat and asked for seconds.

I loved it but will make it with reduced fat or fat free cheese to lower the points value!!

When asked last night on twitter what I was making for dinner, I sarcastically replied with “a mess” which is exactly what I was making: A MESS! But, it was a delicious mess!!

"I don't know where you buy your flour, but mine don't come seasoned!" Emeril Lagasse

dredge chicken thighs in seasoned flour, brown on both sides in about 2 tablespoons of canola oil

remove chicken, add can crushed tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, and basil. simmer on low.

add the chicken back into sauce

cut very small so they get soft quicker! into the pot they go!

everybody in the pot! lid on and simmer for 20 minutes.

if you so not own an immersion blender you are seriously missing out!! remove chicken and blend peppers mixture to desired texture/consistency.

I felt that mine needed more tomatoes so I added a big can of crushed tomatoes. this is definitely a taste thing.

cut the chicken into bite size pieces. chicken and mushrooms go into sauce to simmer while your pasta cooks and your mushrooms are desired doneness.

This recipe made a bunch!! 10 1-cup servings to be exact. According to WW (I used the recipe builder), 1 serving is 3 points.

my plate! 1 cup of spaghetti, 1 cup veggie ragu (7 points!)

We all had a salad without dinner!

The best part: my daughter loves spaghetti and chicken so she ate this up!! Plus she had a salad!! The kid is loaded with yummy, healthy veg and I didn’t have to fight her! (Q will eat any veg raw but almost none if they are cooked….shhh! don’t tell her she just ate tons of cooked veg!)

Second best part: Even though the boys ate up every bit of this, I have a half-serving and a nice salad for lunch tomorrow!

]]> http://www.jeninreallife.com/2009/10/25/chicken-veggie-ragu/feed/ 2 http://www.jeninreallife.com/2009/10/14/cheese-steaks-fries/ http://www.jeninreallife.com/2009/10/14/cheese-steaks-fries/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:20:05 +0000 jen http://www.jeninreallife.com/?p=245 I made cheese steaks for the family tonight! Trying to lose weight, eat healthy, and stay on budget means that we have put a kabosh on the ordering of take-out! Cheese Steaks are almost a staple of south Jersey living and I had just avoided them …

fried onion, mushrooms, red peppers

My cheesesteak, before I added the lettuce and tomatoes!

The last of the Jersey tomatoes!

OMG! How have I not tried this before

BigMan's Cheesesteak!

"Fries"

OK, I am now in heaven!

Cheese Steaks and Fries ~ the “healthy” Jen way!

So here is what I came up with:

Ingredients

3 cups mashed overripe bananas
1 egg
6 oz vanilla yogurt (I like Yoplait in the blue container)
1/2 cup Splenda
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup applesauce
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1&1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and lightly grease a loaf pan.

2. Mash the bananas and mix with the egg, yogurt, brown sugar, applesauce and vanilla extract.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, oats, cinnamon and nutmeg together. Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.

4. Combine dry and wet until just mixed. If you like nuts or chocolate chips in your banana bread you can fold those in now. Spoon the mixture into your prepared loaf pan.

5. Bake in preheated oven at 350F oven for about 1 hour. Check to see if the loaf is ready by inserting a knife or toothpick into the center of the loaf. It should come out completely clean when it’s ready. **Note-I experimented here with cupcakes and bread. Banana bread always seems to turn out better in the loaf pan but can be done in muffins. Just don’t use cupcake papers – dough is too sticky! Muffins will only take about 30 minutes**

6. Allow to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes and then remove from the loaf pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.

The Reviews:

Cupcake papers are not needed with banana bread. In fact, I now do not recommend the papers. The banana mixture kind of stuck. But at least it tasted good! The banana bread was moist and yummy! The husband likes my other recipe better (of course he likes the 5 pt/slice better than than the 2 pt/slice ~ d’uh). The kid just thought I had put nuts in my banana bread. When I promised her there were no nuts she ate 2 little baby muffins. She loved them.

I will make this recipe again. I will tweak it a bit more but there is definite potential!

MY TAKE: I only had a 2-pound pork loin so I used less of the liquids but I think I should have kept the liquid as the recipe called for since my family seems to like it a bit wetter. Even still, the bbq pork was AMAZING!! It had great flavor!! Barbecuey without being too sweet or too spicy.

I served mine on Arnold’s Sandwich Thins (these are a new must-have) with about an 1/8 cup of 2% shredded cheddar cheese. The husband really enjoyed this sandwich!! He had 3 sandwiches plus had some of the meat on top of his mashed potatoes. The kid can be such a pain at dinner time but she ate a half-sandwich in record time!!

If you are wondering, this is a 6 point sandwich!!

And worth every one of those pesky points!!

Tonight I was on my own for dinner. The husband and the kid wanted leftover Lasagne I made last night for dinner. I had to use veggies in the fridge and I just did not want Lasagne again and they did not want stir-fry. I made a smaller stir-fry & the rest of the chicken I was going to use I I will have grilled tomorrow night. I am working the menu plan! LOVE IT!!

So, here is the recipe…sort of:
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in thin strips
1/4 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow squash
1/2 can water chestnuts
1/2 can bamboo shoots
1 small handful of snow peas
1/2 small head of savoy cabbage
teriyaki sauce, to taste
soy sauce, to taste
minced fresh garlic
grated ginger
2 cups cooked rice

Heat your wok and a small amount of oil. I had canola on hand but peanut or sesame would probably be nicer. Start with your bigger veggies (save snow peas and cabbage until after chicken). Add some sauces and saute for about a minute or two, add chicken and brown, then add remaining veggies, garlic, ginger, and more sauces (to taste).

Serve over rice.
Looks yummy, huh??

Here are some Jen-style side notes:

** I simply used what I had in the fridge leftover from my last venture to the produce store. Add whatever you like. Substitute your preference of chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, tofu (if that is your thing), or just veggies.

**I prefer white rice. I have tried brown and I just don’t like it. Maybe I need to grow up but I know that if I am going to lose weight and keep it off for life and truly live happy & healthy I have to lose weight eating the foods I know will always be a part of my life.

The way I made this stir-fry I wound up with one large, dinner size portion at 8 points and 2 lunch portions at 5 points. I am very excited about the leftover lunches I already have set out in the fridge. Healthy living at it its best!!

I found this recipe in Marlene Koch’s 375 Sensational Splenda Recipes

Ingredients:
Filling:
4 ounces tub-style light cream cheese
4 tablespoons Splenda Granular
2 teaspoons 1% milk
1/8 teaspoon almond extract (I didn’t have almond so I used vanilla and it didn’t feel like something was missing.)
Muffin Batter:
1 large egg
3 tablespoons margarine, melted
1/4 cup 1% milk
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces regular nonfat lemon yogurt

I found this recipe in Marlene Koch’s 375 Sensational Splenda Recipes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup 1% milk
1/4 cup applesauce
1 egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups low-fat baking mix (like Reduced-Fat Bisquick)
1/2 cup Splenda Granular
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk (Trust me buy the big box, you will think this is crazy but after you and your family eat these muffins you will make it frequently)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray 10 muffin cups in standard muffin tin with nonstick spray. (I stretched mine to fit all 12 cups)
2. In a small bowl, whisk together milk, applesauce, egg, canola oil, brown sugar, and vanilla. Be sure to dissolve any brown sugar lumps. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Stir; make a well in center and add milk mixture. With a large spoon or spatula, stir until dry ingredients are moistened.
4. Spoon into prepared muffin cups.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

My Review: These muffins are insanely easy to make and insanely delicious. At 3 points per muffin these are a great treat!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs (you can use seasoned, I just prefer to season my own)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
seasonings (use the kinds you like – I used garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika, parsley, and basil)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients. Form into balls – I used a small scooper (think ice cream scooper but way smaller)
Fry in a nonstick pan with 1-2 teaspoons of canola oil (or bake in oven at 375°F for approximately 20 minutes or until a nice golden brown color.)

I wound up with 70 turkey balls

2 balls = 1 WW point

Misc. Info – ground turkey needs to be seasoned more than ground beef (in my opinion)