Some things I made but never posted…

Vegetable Napoleon:

Thinly slice veggies, grill, or saute. I think this had, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, & bell peppers.

Stack, and top with argula, goat cheese, and balsamic glaze (balsamic reduction)

Leftover Fajita makes great Quesadilla filling!

I always make enough fajitas to have leftovers. Next time you make them try using the leftovers in a quesadilla. Layer half of a tortilla with refried beans and top with fajita veggies and chicken. Top with a tiny bit of cheese. Cook both sides until tortilla is crispy.

This is from this month’s issue of cooking light - you an see the recipe here. I modified the recipe by using half the oil, and adding twice the veggies. It called for green onions, I also added broccoli and shiitake mushrooms. The recipe calles for one pound of beef also - but I used about half of that. Oh also make sure you watch your portions - the recipe is for a 1 Cup serving!

I also made up a little side salad - romaine, carrots, red onion, chopped peanuts. Dressing was lime juice, chili garlic sauce, honey, olive oil.

Slice evenly, cook in 425 degree oven for 25- 40 minutes depending on fry thickness. I spray mine with Pam, and sprinkle cayenne pepper, paprika, salt and pepper.

Delicious and only 1 ww point for one sweet potato. I also use reduced sugar Heintz ketchup. Just watch the portion with ketchup - it can be a big calorie hit if you are not watching.

Sweet potatoes are so good for you. See this article for proof. I always have them on hand - whether I’m baking them , making oven baked french fries, or eating then for breakfast. Check out this sweet potato hash I made for breakfast this morning:

Ingredients:

• 1 very finely diced sweet potato
• 1/4 finely diced sweet onion
• 1/4 finely diced yellow bell pepper
• salt/pepper
• olive oil
• garlic powder

Heat 1/2 T olive oil in skillet. Add all ingredients and cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Keep skillet covered to keep in moisture. This was such a subtly sweet,warm,  flavorful breakfast. Perfect for a cold winter morning.

I served mine with scrambled egg whites tossed with cooked zuchini, and sun dried tomatoes.

Another experiment with no real recipe.

I pre-cooked a high fiber macaroni pasta. Also pre-cooked the butternut squash in the oven.

In a saute pan, to 1 tsp olive oil - I cooked a shallot, and a clove of garlic. Added in cubed cooked butternut squash. I then added in some fat free milk, Parmesan cheese, greek yogurt, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice,  and 1 C thawed frozen peas, salt/pepper and red pepper flakes.

I then added it to a cooking spray coated baking dish, covered with foil and put into a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Serve with a sprinkle more of grated parm. This was delicious, simple and really comfy feeling.

I promise to post a non-squash recipe soon!

I’ve been making this breakfast often. It is a simple, simple, very satisfying weekend breakfast. (I eat cereal on every weekday and get fancy on the weekends!)

Anyhow, I thinly slice whatever potatoes I have around, and get them into a saute pan with some olive oil. I lay them out flat or as flat as I can so they get to cooking right away. While those are cooking, I finely dice up, onions and peppers. And add those into the pan. I cook this dish for a long time - like 25-30 minutes - I let the potatoes and veggies actually start to stick to the bottom, and get black and sweet and sticky. It is so good - trust me. The only thing I usually add in is some salt/pepper and garlic powder. I cover this about halfway through cooking to keep the potatoes most. In this batch of potatoes - I used a blend of red potatoes and sweet potatoes…

The omelet, is a 3 egg white omelet. Before making the eggs, I sauteed zucchini, yellow squash and mushrooms, and a tiny, slice of ham, chopped into very small pieces.

I topped the omelet with fresh parmesan.

And while I wait for the soup I am snacking on this deliciousness…

I have made this soup twice and am making it again tonight. My recipe is a modified version of Gina’s somehow mine winds up being thinker and I top mine with a few toasted pine nuts, greek yogurt, and even a little fresh grated parmesan. Maybe tonight I’ll take real photos.

Here is a link to Gina’s recipe. Though I see recipes all over the place. Cooking light, Weight watchers etc.. I really recommend making your own from fresh butterntu squash - it is a little bit of work, but I think it is sooo worth it.  http://weight-watchers-points-recipes.blogspot.com/2008/10/butternut-squash-soup-with-sage-1-ww-pt.html

Ingredients:

• spaghetti squash
• zucchini
• peppers
• onion
• 1 1/2 C pasta sauce
• 1/2 C ricotta cheese
• 1/4 C grated mozzarella
• 3/4 C veggie crumble

This was an experiment, and a mashup of a few recipes and throw in a little of “lets cook with whatever we have”. Anyhow, it turned out great. I cooked the spaghetti squash (refer to my earlier post for instructions). After squash is cooked, mash it into a pie pan like a crust. I used two mini deep dish pizza pans, but any kind of deep dish would work.

While that was cooking, I cooked up a  frozen veggie crumble (like a ground beef substitute), with diced green peppers, onions, and zucchini. Once these things were pretty well cooked, I added in about 1 1/2 C of pasta sauce. I really like Muir Glen’s chunky vegetable? (it is the one that is sold in the jar upside-down).

Oh, also I made a ricotta type of cheese (I didn’t have any in the fridge) by cooking 1 C fat free milk on the stove to 180 degrees, and adding 1/4 C vinegar and letting that sit, then straining and putting into a food processor with a few little fresh mozzarella balls and some Parmesan cheese.In total I wound up with about 1/2 C cheese stuff.

I then spread my cheese mixture onto the bottom of the spaghetti squash pie shell. Then I added my veggie/sauce mixture and put it into the over for 45 minutes at 375. Last 10 I added a little grated mozzarella to the top.

This made great leftovers too!!

This was a recipe from Skinny Weight Watchers (Gina’s Blog) I don’t know her, but I love her recipes, and she always takes amazing photos

Here is my version - I only made a half version, and it was plenty for about 3 meals. It was super good - I felt guilty eating it. It was like mac and cheese. I added more mushrooms to up the veggie to pasta ratio too. Anyhow - here is the link to her recipe. Dont judge my iphone photo of my meal  - when you see her great photo.  http://weight-watchers-points-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/10/risotto-is-creamy-italian-rice-dish.html