Salmon Pasta with Poppy and Dill

Adapted from Rachel Ray
Serves: 2 large servings

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked pasta
7 oz salmon
1 Tbl olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 Tbl poppy seeds
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup dill, chopped

While you're cooking the pasta, season the salmon with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil over med-high heat. Add the salmon and cook until just done, about 6 minutes. Let cool. If salmon has skin, remove skin. Flake salmon into small pieces.

In the same skillet, heat 1 Tbl olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook 3 minutes. Stir in the poppy seeds for 1 minute, then pour in the wine and cook until slightly reduced, 1 minute. Stir in the cream, lower the heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Toss the pasta with the salmon, sauce and dill. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

SUNDAY SLOW COOKER: Bolognese Sauce

Even though this looks a lot like spaghetti sauce it has a very different taste. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped

1 celery rib, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey

salt and pepper, to taste

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup white wine

1- 28oz can crushed tomatoes

1. Spray skillet with cooking spray and saute carrot, celery and onion 5 minutes. Add beef and cook stirring until no longer pink. Season with salt pepper and nutmeg.

2. Pour in milk and wine; bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook at a lively simmer until most liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. 3. Transfer to slow cooker and stir in tomatoes. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Stir, and then cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 30 minutes longer.

I served mine over pasta with some garlic bread. Yummy!

Note- a serving of sauce is about 3/4 cup.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients: Serves 6

2 cups cooked pasta- penne preferably
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 tsp olive oil
4 med. garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup yellow onions, finely chopped
1/2 lb extra lean ground beef or turkey
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

*Preheat oven to 350.
*Heat oil over medium heat; add onions and garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned; drain fat and set pan back over medium heat.
*Add the oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and mushrooms and bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Layer as follows:
1. Small about of beef mixture in bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish (just enough to slightly cover the bottom)
2. Half of cooked pasta
3. Half of remaining beef mixture
4. Half of mozzarella cheese
5. Remaining pasta
6. Remaining beef mixture
7. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese

Bake until cheese is golden and bubble, about 30 minutes.

Note: I didn't have any regular tomato sauce so I used some that basil, garlic and oregano and it was most delicious!

Orzo and Broccoli Risotto

Ingredients: Serves 2
1 can reduced sodium vegetable broth (or chicken)
1 cup water
1 tsp olive oil
¼ cup coarsely shredded carrot
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup orzo
½ (10 oz) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and patted dry
2 Tbl fat free half and half
3 Tbl freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring the broth and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat and keep at a simmer.

2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until the carrot is bright orange and garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the orzo and cook, stirring until it is lightly toasted, about 2 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add ½ cup of the broth mixture and stir until absorbed. Continue to add the broth mixture, ½ cup at a time, stirring until it is absorbed before adding more. Cook until the pasta is just slightly firm, adding the broccoli when you add the last addition of broth.

4. Stir in the half-and-half; heat 1 minute. Stir in the cheese. Spoon into shallow bowls and serve at once.

*The first time I made this, the last of the liquid, I thought was never going to absorb so I didn’t use it all. It kind of turned out hard. So the second time I made it, I didn’t rush it and added all of the liquid to the orzo and it turned out much better. Enjoy!

Spaghetti and Meatball "Stoup"

"Stoup"- according to Rachael Ray is thicker than soup but thinner than stew and this is a great recipe for your first adventure into stoupland. I've adapted mine from Rachael's recipe and I think I did pretty good.

Source: adapted from Rachael Ray

Serves: 2- her original recipe is written for 4, but I am firm in believing only cooking the amount of servings you have people. Feel free to double or make alterations for you and your family/guests

Ingredients:

10 baby carrots, sliced

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 small or 1/2 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 8oz can of tomato sauce and 1/2 of another small can

2 cups chicken/vegetable broth

1/2 ground beef/turkey/venison

1/8 cup bread crumbs, Italian if you have them. If not, add a tsp or two of Italian seasoning

1/8 cup plus 2 Tbl egg beaters

2 cups egg noodles

Preheat a med. soup pot over med. heat. Add a tsp of olive oil, carrots, onions, celery, garlic and saute 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and broth and cover pot. Turn up heat and bring to a fast boil.

While your soup is warming up, start making the meatballs. Mix the ground meat with the bread crumbs and the egg beaters. Roll into meatballs. I try to make an even number for easy splitting.

Once the tomato and broth mixture is reached the boil, slide the meatballs into soup. Bring back to a boil and then stir in spaghetti. Reduce the heat and simmer soup 10 minutes more stirring one or two times, until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through.

Feel free to serve with crusty bread but I have never chosen this route. Enjoy!

Sausage and Kale with Rigatoni

Oh wow, this was so easy and yummy!! I can't wait for the next time.... Very simplistic with the added seasoning (more like non-existent) which made me a little leery of bland food, but not the case with this wonderful dish. Please try and enjoy!

Source: Weight Watchers, serves 4, 7 points per serving

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked rigatoni
1/8 t salt for cooking pasta
8 oz raw turkey sausage, sweet Italian variety (two links)
4 cups kale, roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup canned chicken broth
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

*Cook rigatoni in salted water according to directions. Drain.
*Meanwhile, remove sausage from casing and cook in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking up sausage as it cooks, about 3 minutes. Add kale; cook, stirring frequently, until limp, about 3-5 minutes.
*Add broth to skillet and scrape up browned bits on bottom of skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cover skillet and reduce heat to low; cook until kale is tender, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in rigatoni; heat through.
*Sprinkle each portion with 2 T of cheese before serving.

Notes: Next time I would double or triple the amount of kale. It cooks down and I could have eaten way more for the small amount of calories. I also used the Gruyere cheese left over from the Chicken Cordon Bleu and it was perfect! If you can, use freshly shredded cheese....it really does make a difference in the flavor.

SLOW COOKER SUNDAY: Lasagna

With the weather changing outside nothing says fall and winter better than the crock pot. This one is perfect for a Sunday evening meal while NFL football is on. Takes a little more time to put together and doesn't cook as long as a workday crock pot meal....enjoy with a nice glass of red!

Source: Weight Watchers, serves 6

Ingredients:

1 lb uncooked lean ground beef (7% fat)

1 small onion, chopped

1 med. garlic clove, minced

28 oz canned crushed tomatoes

15 oz canned tomato sauce

1 t salt

1 t dried oregano

1/2 t dried basil

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups part-skim mozzarella, shredded, divided

6 dry lasagna noodles, no-cook

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese such as Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano

*Heat a large non-stick skillet over med-high head. Add beef, onion and garlic, cook; stirring frequently breaking up meat as it cooks about 5-7 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil and red pepper; simmer 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

*Meanwhile, in a med bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup mozzarella.

*Spoon 1/3 of beef mixture (about 2 cups) into a 5 quart slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture; top with half of ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer and finish with remaining 1/3 beef mixture.

*Cover slow cooker and cook on low setting for 4-6 hours. Remove cover; turn off heat and season to taste, if desired.

*In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and Parmesan; sprinkle over beef mixture. Cover and set aside until the cheese melts and the lasagna firms up, about 10 minutes

Notes: I used cottage cheese instead of the ricotta and didn't add any of the Parmesan cheese. If you have them, use a crock pot liner for easy clean up. You can put together the lasagna the night before and just turn on when you're ready. If you happen to cook it for more than 6 hours, it will still be good but the noodles will be just a little more mushy.