Penne With Sausage & Peppers

_{THIS WAS SO GOOD! I served it to my family and everyone loved it! Mom, Dad and Nick gobbled it down! My dad was so surprised that something made with turkey sausage could taste so good. Nick didn’t even realize it was turkey sausage.}

_{I omitted the mushrooms because I hate them, and I added 8 ounces of tomato sauce because my mom has this weird need for everything to be extra saucey. I also used orange peppers because they were on sale and I like a little variety now and again.}

_{1 spray(s) cooking spray}

_{2 medium green pepper(s), cut into thin strips}  

_{1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced}

_{1 medium uncooked onion(s), thinly sliced}  

_{1 cup(s) fresh mushroom(s), sliced}   

_{1 pound(s) uncooked turkey sausage(s), spicy-Italian flavor  (I used sweet Italian)}

_{1/8 tsp dried oregano, crushed}   

_{1/4 tsp table salt}   

_{1/8 tsp black pepper}

_{1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes}   

_{14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes}  

_{3 cup(s) cooked whole wheat pasta, penne, kept hot}   

_{6 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese}   

_{Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set pan over medium-high heat. Add green pepper, garlic, onion and mushrooms; cook, stirring frequently, until almost tender, about 7 to 8 minutes.}

_{Remove turkey from casings; add turkey to skillet and brown until no longer pink, stirring occasionally, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 6 minutes. Add oregano, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes; stir in tomatoes. Simmer until heated through and to allow flavors to blend, about 5 minutes.}

_{Spoon penne into a deep serving bowl; top with sausage mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.}

_{This recipe is from the WW site and has 7pts per serving; makes 6 servings.}

Spinach Pesto Pasta

I love spinach! Spinach salad, spinach dip, spinach pizza, give me the spinach! I need to find my Popeye to marry and we'll have a wonderful marriage filled with bags of spinach....

The other week this was the recipe of the week on the WW website. I realized I had all the ingredients on hand, so I whipped it up. I loved it, but that might be because I did jazz it up in the end. 

Here ya go spinach lovers. 

Spinach Pesto Pasta

6 pts per serving, 4 servings

 

1 1/4 tsp table salt, divided, or more to taste     

8 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, spaghetti or linguine recommended     

4 1/2 cup(s) fresh baby spinach

2 Tbsp water   

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic

2 1/2 Tbsp low fat cream cheese   

1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste

 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (use 1 teaspoon salt). Add pasta and cook as package directs.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, process spinach, water, oil, garlic and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth; set aside.

Reserve 1/4 cup pasta cooking water and then drain pasta. Return pasta to pot; add cream cheese and stir until melted. Add pesto sauce and toss to combine, adding reserved cooking water if a thinner consistency is desired. Season with fresh lemon juice and salt, if desired.

Okay, I didn’t need to add the whole ¼ cup of reserved water, I think I added about half back in the mixture.

What made this recipe PHENOMENAL, was adding feta cheese on top. Reduced fat feta is 2 pts for ¼ cup. Add as your points allow.

Other suggestions of mix-ins; Parmesan cheese (1pt per tablespoon of regular parm) or cherry tomatoes… Maybe even throw in a chicken breast. I don’t know. I just know that I LOVED it with feta. Without feta, this couldn’t be a “main” dish for me. It was too bland; it was be okay as a side dish. With feta, I ate it for lunch 3 days in a row and didn’t complain one bit, or one bite.

Chicken Fajitas

Okay, so I know some of you are groaning that I'll be sharing Weight Watcher recipes, but don't worry I picked this out because it will be a smash... And it coincides with Cinco de Mayo! I wish I could say I planned that, but sometimes I just have a little luck. So without further ado, here is one hell of a chicken fajita recipe. It is so yummy!! It's all about the marinade for fajitas and this one is pretty darn good.

Chicken & Pepper Fajitas

2 T lime juice
1 T reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t cumin
pinch red pepper flakes
3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut on diagonal into thin strips)
4 t canola oil
1 green pepper, cut in thin strips
1 red pepper, cut in thin strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 (6 inch) fat free flour tortillas
1/2 C salsa
1/4 C fat free sour cream

1. Make marinade by combining lime juice, soy sauce, chili powder, cumin, & red pepper flakes in large ziplock bag. Add chicken. I marinaded the chicken overnight (at least do 2 hrs).

2. Heat 2 t oil in skillet over medium heat. Add peppers and onion; cook until softened (about 5 mins). Add 1-2 T water if skillet becomes dry. Transfer onion and peppers to plate and keep warm.

3. Increase heat to medium high. Add the remaining 2 t oil. Remove chicken from marinade and place in skillet. (Do not use remaining marinade; throw away). Cook until cooked (LOL).

4. On each tortilla add 1/4th of the onions/peppers and 1/4 of the chicken.

5. Each tortilla gets 1 T sour cream and 2 T salsa.


Each fajita is 6 points.
Nutrition:
247 Calories, 7 g Fat, 1 g Saturated Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 48mg Chol, 547 mg Sd, 23 g Total Carb, 7 g Total Sugar, 4 g Fib, 22 g Prot, 87 mg Calc. 



It's surprising to see what a real serving size is; just 1 fajita!? Are you kidding me?! LOL, I allotted myself 2 fajitas for dinner by conserving points earlier in the day for this meal.

There are a lot of peppers for this recipe, but veggies fill ya up without using any points. You  might not need so much pepper, or you might actually just want to up your chicken if you aren't counting points,





This recipe is from WW New Complete Cookbook

Heavy Cream....

Heavy cream is never good for the waistline.... I'm not saying that creating my own soups has lead to the demise of my waistline, it just helped perpetuate a problem. A problem that around this time of year, I get nervous about. Bathing suit season is just around the corner and I'm on the heavy side of the bell curve. Last year and two years ago I participated in "The Biggest Loser" challenge at my work. I think I dropped 15-20 pounds both times I did this event. However, the weight always crept back on when the challenge was over.

Why? Well, who wants to constantly be on a diet and watching every ounce that goes into your mouth? Not me! I know how to work out, eat right, yadda, yadda but sometimes I get lazy. Okay, more than sometimes I get lazy. I lose motivation fast. I have to be honest, I'm gotten to a stage in my life that if my clothes fit, I am happy with my weight. Once things start getting tight, I get antsy.

However.... I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and she came into the room and said "The computer says you are overweight." No shit! I'm 5'4", I'll always be overweight--the charts want me at 117-140. I suppose being 140 is somewhat attainable, but 117? LOL. What enraged me was that the doctor hid behind what the computer said; if she took the time to look at my chart she could clearly see for the last five years my weight has gone up and down, up and down. She never bothered to mention anything before. She waited until the medical group installed this new fancy computer system to say something about my weight; bogus. I wish she was truly concerned. She asked if I wanted a referral to a nutritionist, I declined.

I already had a plan in mind. I asked her her thoughts on Weight Watchers; I have more friends on it then I can count. I need to be ACCOUNTABLE to a program. I am not accountable to myself. I can't pep myself up into thinking "I want a longer, healthier life" to motivate my ass to do the right thing. I get serious when money is equated in the process; if I'm winning  money or if I'm spending money--I dedicate myself to it. My doctor said she highly recommends the program and that her patients that use it are the ones who are able to keep the weight off in the long term.

So it was set, I geared up for my first weight in. I just finished my first week on the program and I know I've lost weight. I'm counting points like a mad woman and I'm absorbing all the information I can so it can become second nature and not diet mentality. All in all, though, I don't feel like I'm on a diet, I am eating what I want and CHOCOLATE, too!!!

I know the soup recipes were short-lived, but as my life changes, the route of the recipes I post will change, too. Therefore, except some yummy weight watchers recipes from a cookbook I bought. I won't post icky ones, just the yumm-o ones. I know most people want healthy versions of their favs, so maybe you'll stumble onto something delicious.

So continue to pass the pepper (because a few shakes is zero points!) and I'll keep in touch!

Cream of Chicken and Fennel Soup

Do you ever have one of those days when you feel like people are plotting against you? And then--you found out you were right! Being paranoid is one thing, but having that gut feeling is a completely different feeling (it has a hint of validation to it :)   I feel like I'm in a pickle and I am not sure what my next steps should be... Obviously, they should be very carefully plotted. I've got caution lights blinking all around me, I'm hesitant.

Anyway, it was definitely a good thing to have some comfort soup at home, with this situation on the radar. This soup comes from "Sunday Soup" by Betty Rosbottom. It has fennel in it, which I had to go shop at the fresh produce market for, as I didn't find it in town. If you haven't eaten fennel, it has a black licorice smell to it. I don't think it tasted much like black licorice when it was all cooked up, so don't let it scare you. I hate black licorice, I wouldn't steer you in the wrong direction.

This soup also calls for light cream. I don't know about you but I have no idea what light cream is.... I know about heavy cream, but not about light. I googled it and some people said light cream is half-n-half, another site did not agree with that and said light cream had a little more fat content than half-n-half. Oy, what's a girl to do? The site went on to say it's a better idea to go "up" in fat content in a recipe than to go down. So I put heavy cream in the soup.

Recipe for 4 servings

2 medium fennel bulbs
4 cups chicken stock, plus 1/2 to 1 cup extra
1 1/2 cups sliced baby carrots
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups light cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup snow peas
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley optional  (guess what, I opted out)

1. Cut off stalks from fennel and reserve tops for garnish if desired (guess what, I opted out again). Halve bulbs lengthwise, cut out and discard tough cores. Chop enough fennel to yield 1 1/2 cups.

2. Bring 4 cups chicken stock to simmer in large pot set over med-high heat. Add fennel and carrots and cook until veggies are tender (around 12 mins).

3. Drain fennel and carrots, reserving 1 1/2 cups of stock. Put fennel, carrots and chicken in large bowl.

4. Melt butter in pot over med-high heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or less. Gradually whisk in cream and reserved 1.5 cups stock. Whisk until mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon (around 4 mins). Stir in lemon juice, fennel seeds, and salt. Stir in chicken, carrots and fennel. If the soup is too thick, thin it with additional stock as needed <I did not have to do this>

5.When ready to serve soup, trim and discard ends of snow peas. Cur the snow peas on the diagonal into thirds. Add peas to soup and cook until tender (2 mins). Taste soup and season with salt as needed.

6. Garnish with stupid fennel or stupid parsley.




Okay, to crush the fennel seeds.. It was a nice therapy session. I put them in a baggie and beat 'em with the meat tenderizer. I had to stop when I thought the neighbors were becoming suspicious...

On chopping fennel, LOL, one would think I would have googled it before I went to town. I didn't, but I was feeling reckless. Turns out, I just youtubed it, and I was good to go.



I'll admit this soup is different, but it's got a nice creamy base. I love cream soups. I'll eat cream of mushroom if it's in a good cream base--and I have a very high dislike of fungus.

So pass the pepper (yup, it needs pepper) and enjoy :)

White Cheddar Creams

Cheese Soup? Yes, please. Cheese, in general, YES PLEASE! I love it, it's a drug to me. So good, but so bad.  This is from "Sunday Soup" by Betty Rosbottom.

6 Serving Recipe:

3 T unsalted butter
1 1/3 C finely chopped onion
1 T minced garlic
1/4 C all purpose flour
4 1/2 C chicken stock
1 1/2 C half-and-half
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 C dry white wine
12 ounces grated sharp white cheddar cheese
Kosher salt
6 bacon slices, cut into 1 inch pieces and cooked until crisp and drained on paper towels
6 green onions, including 2 inches of green tops, coarsely chopped

1. Heat butter in a large, heavy pot set over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and saute until softened for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute more. Sprinkle flour over the mixture and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the stock and half-n-half and bring mixture to simmer.

2. Add cayenne pepper and wine. Add the cheese, a little at a time, stirring until smooth after each addition. Taste soup and season with salt, as needed. (Soup can be prepared 1 day ahead; cool, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat over medium heat).

3. To serve, ladle soup into 6 bowls and garnish each serving with bacon pieces and green onions.



Okay, so my friend introduced me to the "as seen on tv" Vidalia Chop Wizard and I use it all the time to chop onions and green pepper. I no longer need to cry while chopping :)  So I use this thing and I chop, chop, chop onion and then I refrigerate what I don't need (because let's face it most recipes need onion added to it later on in the week). Or you can freeze it and throw it another soup later on, chopped onions freeze nicely. However, I would only put like a cup in a snack size bag or whatever. You can't fill up a sandwich bag with all the extra onion and expect to only take 1 cup out at later date  if it's all frozen in a nice onion cube.  LOL, I just had a mental image of someone taking a big onion ice cube and ice-picking away at it for their correct amount.

Another fun gadget I got to use for this recipe was my KitchenAid chopper attachment (to attach to the stand mixer) to grate the cheese. Blocks of cheese were on sale the week I made this, so I bought a big block and used the KitchenAid to grate away. I should have took a video, it was fun watching the huge swirl of cheese twirl into the bowl. Evidently, it's the stupid, little things that give me joy in life.

I pretty much followed the recipe to a T. I only used orange cheddar instead of white; I don't have time to search around for crap like white cheddar. And I didn't feel like adding bacon, I'm sure it would have been delicious with bacon!! Actually, it needed the bacon. After 2 bowls "plain", it needed the bacon.  I was eating it for lunch and I cracked tortilla chips on top and it was delightful.



I hope you enjoy; I sure did!!!

Heavenly Asparagus Soup with Tarragon Cream

Do you have an immersion blender? WELL, I do! (said in a sarcastic, snotty, jollier than thou tone). Diane gave me one for Christmas. She bought me a Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender w/whisk & chopper attachment. She bought it for me because I mentioned I needed a quick chop type of deal, but what she didn't expect was my favorite part to be the immersion blender.






Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 min
Start to Finish: 50 min


Recipe:
1.5lb medium asparagus
2 T unsalted butter
1/2 C chopped shallots
4 C chicken broth, plus a little extra if needed
1/2 t kosher salt, plus more if needed
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/3 C long-grain white rice, uncooked
1/3 cup creme fraiche (recipe follows below)
1 1/2 T chopped fresh tarragon, plus several sprigs for garnish

1. Cut off and discard tough bases from asparagus. Cut spears into 1/2 inch thick pieces.

2. Heat butter in a large heavy pot (with a lid) set over medium-high heat, until hot. Add shallots and cook, stirring, until softened, for about 2 minutes. Add asparagus slices and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Add broth, 1/2 t salt, cayenne pepper and rice. Bring mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat, cover pot, and cook until vegetables are completely tender, for about 20 minutes.

3. Puree the soup in batches in a food processor, blender or food mill and return soup to the pot. (Or use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot.) Place the creme fraiche in a small bowl and stir in the chopped tarragon. Whisk 1/2 cup of the tarragon creme fraiche, a little at a time, into the soup. Save the remaining creme fraiche for garnish.

4. Taste soup and season with salt, as needed. If soup is too thick, thin it with a few tablespoons of extra broth. (The soup can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Reheat over medium heat).

5. To serve, ladle the soup into 4 soup bowls. Garnish each serving with a dollup of the tarragon creme fraiche and a tarragon sprig.


Creme Fraiche (this makes more than you need for the recipe)
1 C heavy cream
1/2 C soup cream

1, Whisk cream and sour cream together in a medium nonreactive bowl (not metal). Let stand at room temp until thickened, for 6 hrs or longer. Cover and refrigerate. It can be stored in the fridge for 1 week.


Okay... My revisions.
Shallots = green onion to me. Is that true for you?
I could not find fresh tarragon at Berkot's (my grocery store), so I used dried and then halved the amount
I used brown rice b/c that's what I had on hand



This soup is DELICIOUS. I love asparagus and, duh, I love soup. Put the 2 together and like the title suggests it is heavenly. It looks like diaper goo, but you need to quickly get over it and soup it up! I found that kosher salt is worth the extra money, it adds a necessary zing to this soup. It really strengthens the flavor of the asparagus.

The immersion blender? Well, just made making this soup a dream. I didn't have to ladle it into the blender in batches; what a pain in the butt... I've done it before, I'm glad I'll never have to do it again. Especially since, inevitably, there is always an error in the blender process and a mess ensues.


Funny story.. I was talking to my parents about making this soup and how I loved using the immersion blender and suggested to my mom to get one for herself. She replied "I have one. Don't you remember; it was white? I haven't seen it in awhile" and I looked at her, and after a moment, I said "WHAT?! That was the milkshake maker, not an immersion blender?"  LOL, I used that darn thing as a child whipping up shakes; I had no idea it was used for other purposes.


So, don't pass the pepper on this soup, pass the kosher salt and enjoy!