Beef & Cabbage Casserole~7 PP+

So tonight we had my version of deconstructed cabbage rolls...Beef & Cabbage Casserole and it's only a total of 7 points.  This was really good and my kids loved it and there is enough for lunch tomorrow for hubby & I...can you say bonus!









Beef, Rice & Cabbage Casserole
Serves 8




1 lb extra lean ground beef
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp regular paprika
S&P to taste
1 large head of cabbage, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 large can tomato sauce
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups 2% mozzarella cheese

preheat oven to 350 and spray a baking dish with cooking spray.

saute onions & ground beef until cooked.  Spoon into a bowl and place aside.  In same pan add 1 tsp olive oil and heat, add in garlic and saute a few minutes.  Add in thyme & paprika and cook a few minutes longer.  Add in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce & beef mixture.  Simmer until slightly thickened.  Put meat mixture in the bowl again and set aside.

Rinse out pan and place back on stove.  Add in remaining olive oil and then cabbage and S&P.  Saute cabbage until wilted.

In sprayed baking dish put cabbage on the bottom, add 2 cups of of rice then the meat mixture on top of that.  Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.

Uncover and add cheese and cook until cheese is melted.

Calories: 257
Fat: 10
Carbs: 19
Fiber: 2
Protein: 23
WW PP+ 7



Verdict: Yummy and big servings with enough left over for lunch.  Also if you only use 1 cup of cheese it drops the points to 6 and if you hold out the cheese all around it brings it down to 5 points
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Chicken & Mushroom in a White Wine Sauce

So tonight's dinner was one that everyone loved, cleaned their plate and asked for more...that sounds like a seal of approval to me!



Chicken & Mushroom in 

a White Wine Sauce
Serves 5

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast (cut into strips)
3 tsp butter
3 tsp olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced (or is you are like me just a scoop)
12 oz sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp white wine
1/2 cup organic fat free chicken broth
S&P
Chopped fresh parsley (I actually use the freeze dried stuff)

Season Chicken to your own liking...heat a large pan and add in 1/2 of the butter and 1/2 of the olive oil.  Add sliced chicken breast and cook until no longer pink. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

Add remaining butter and olive oil to pan and add garlic.  Cook a few minutes till the garlic is cooked.  Add in mushrooms & S&P and cook for about 5 minutes. Add in white wine & chicken broth and simmer until the mushrooms are cooked and broth is reduced.

Add back in chicken and heat a few more minutes...sprinkle with parsley and serve while hot.

Calories: 180
Fat: 7
Carbs: 1
Fiber: 0
Protein: 28
Weight Watchers Points Plus: 4
 
VERDICT: like I said everyone loved the chicken and even asked for 2nds...I will be doing this again.  I served this with high fiber butter noodles & steamed broccoli & cauliflower for a dinner that was worth a total of 7 points...can't beat that now can you.
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Shrimp & Asparagus in a Garlic Herb Cream Sauce

I love shrimp & asparagus and if it comes with a creamy sauce...Oh Baby!!!

Tonight for dinner was sweet shrimp, crisp asparagus & pasta in a garlic herb cream sauce...YUMMY!  My family loves shrimp and since it's low in calories I usually add more than the original recipe calls for so adjust as you wish...

Shrimp & Asparagus with Pasta
in a Garlic Cream Sauce
Serves 6

12 oz thin spaghetti (I used Ronzoni's Garden Pasta)
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp Garlic Herb Alouette (try to find light)
2 lbs shrimp, peeled & cleaned
3 cups asparagus, lightly steamed (I used a steamer bag)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup fresh basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water.  Drain pasta and stir in Alouette then stir in basil, S&P

When pasta is cooking heat oil in a large skillet and add garlic, sautee for about 1 minutes but don't let garlic burn.  Add in shrimp and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add in broth and asparagus and heat for a few minutes and then turn off till pasta is ready.  

Combine the shrimp mixture & pasta mixture and serve.

Serves 6
WW points plus: 10
Calories: 406
Fat: 10
Carbs: 41
Fiber: 4
Protein: 41



VERDICT: this was really good and your points may change is you use whole wheat/high fiber pasta and light alouette (I couldn't find it). 
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Slow Cooker Tuesday: Shredded Korean Beef Tacos

So there is nothing I love more than a walking into my house after work to a wonderful smelling home!!! Today was no exception...it's Crock Pot Tuesday and today we went for Taco Tuesday...


Korean Beef Tacos
Serves 10+ 





3-4 lb chuck roast (trimmed of all visible fat)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
lots of garlic
1/2 onion, diced
fresh ginger root
2 tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil

In a large crockpot cover it with a Reynolds Crock Pot Liner (makes for super easy clean up) and place your roast in it.  Add the remaining ingredients on top and cook on low for about 8 to 10 hours depending on your cooker.

Shred the beef with 2 forks and serve with fixings..I used flour tortillas & cabbage

VERDICT: everyone was asking for me to make this again but it won't be an every day thing as it's high in points for me.  It's sweet and stands along on it's own without the need for extra fixings...


Nutritional info (based on my ingredients)Calories: 430
Fat: 14
Carbs: 2
Protein: 61
Fiber: 0
Weight Watcher's PP: 9 (not including your fixings)

Simple & Point Friendly Pizza

So do you love pizza but hate how many points just 1 slice is.  Does everyone in your house want a different type of pizza, someone doesn't like mushrooms, someone wants plain cheese, someone wants vegetarian...well the solution in our house is Tortilla Pizzas...it's not only fast and easy it's point friendly and flexible.


Here are some of our favorite stuff to put on tortilla pizzas...

Flat Out Wraps (3 points)
Smart & Delicious Low Carb Tortillas (2 points)

Olives
Mushrooms
Boar's Head Pepperoni (1oz = 4 points)
Trader Joe's Pizza Sauce (1/4 cup = 1 point)
Artichoke Hearts (free) (these were marinated ones that were 1/3 cup = 3 points)
Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese (1/4 cup = 3 points)


So as you can see you can get what you want and stay low in points.  On my pizza I had a Smart & Delicious tortilla, 1/4 cup pizza sauce, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, olives, mushrooms, 1/2 a servings of artichoke hearts & 1/2 oz of pepperoni all for a total of  10 points and 1 pizza filled me up.

The tortilla turns out very similar to the skinny crust pizza that is out there and you get a lot more food and not feeling guilty if you eat the whole thing and everyone is happy in the house.  So next time you want pizza but don't want all the points try a tortilla pizza and experiment with all the stuff you can put on it but just remember to count your points.
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Vegetable Soup- 5 points

So what do you do when you have a lot of veggies and the weather is turning cold...you make vegetable soup...this was a quick throw together and very filling and yummy!



Vegetable Soup
Serves 6 large servings
5 WW points plus




1/4 cup olive oil
3+ crushed garlic cloves
9oz of diced zucchini (about 3)
8oz diced carrots (about 3)
8oz diced leeks (about 1)
6oz diced celery (about 2)
6oz green beans cut in bite size pieces
4 cups organic vegetable broth
1 large can crushed tomatoes
S&P
3oz whole wheat macarroni


In a large pot add olive oil, garlic, zucchini, carrots, leeks & celery and cook for about 15 minutes.


Add in broth, tomatoes & zucchini and simmer for 30 minutes.  


Add in the pasta and the S&P to taste and let sit for 10 minutes.


This is so good and you can add what you want or what you have on hand.  It's yummy and filling.
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Asian Vegetable Pasta & Snow Peas w/ Mushrooms

So tonight you get 2 recipes...Oh yummy...for dinner was Asian Vegetable Pasta (found the recipe in the Comfort Food Diet cookbook, not sure why it's called asian but I think it's more thai to me), grilled chicken tenderloins & snow peas & mushrooms (a recipe I found a while ago on allrecipes.com).  The kids loved it and it was a large servings.  Lots of veggies and nothing like a peanut noodles...YUMMY!!!



Asian Vegetable Pasta
Serves 5

Ingredients:8 oz high fiber pasta (I love Trader Joe's high fiber pasta)
1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup julienned carrots (I used my mandolin slicer and got my finger, be careful)
1/3 cup reduced fat peanut butter
3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
3 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Directions:
In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 4 minutes, add asparagus; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in carrots; cook for 1 minute or until pasta is tender. Drain and keep warm.

In a small saucepan, combine the peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour over pasta mixture; toss to coat.
 
Nutritional Information:Calories: 313
Fat: 9
Carbs: 47
Protein: 12
Fiber: 6
WW Points Plus: 8
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Snow Peas w/Mushrooms
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 TBSP sesame seeds

2 Tsp sesame oil9 oz snow peas
10 oz fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tsp teriyaki sauce

Directions:
In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the sesame seeds about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until lightly browned. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Heat oil in the skillet over medium high heat. Stir in snow peas and mushrooms, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until tender.

Transfer snow peas and mushrooms to a medium bowl. Toss with sesame seeds and teriyaki sauce, and serve warm.

Nutritional Info:
Calories: 93
Fat: 3
Carbs: 11
Protein: 5
Fiber: 3
WW Points Plus: 2

Verdict~ Okay what kid doesn't like peanut butter and pasta.  This was so good and the snow peas side dish is a recipe I found a while ago and my family just loves it and it makes ordinary veggies much more interesting.

NOTE: I have a spreadsheet I have created to calculate my nutritional informaion based on the ingredients I use and so far it has matched up points wise with my e-Tools.
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