Recipe: Creamy Tomato Goat Cheese Pasta with Green Peppers and Mushrooms

This was one of those "on the fly" recipes which turned out surprisingly good. For those who aren't tomato fans, I'll let you in on a secret: I'm actually not a fan of them, either. However, I've found that if I buy cherry or grape tomatoes and quarter them, they cook down and become more of a sauce than actually pieces of tomato.  When the goat cheese mixes in, the resulting sauce is reminiscent in texture and color to a vodka sauce, but its much lighter and has a delightful "tangy" flavor that's absolutely addictive.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz dry pasta
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, washed and quartered
• 1/2 green pepper, sliced into thin strips (or color of your preference)
• 1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 oz creamy goat cheese (I'm using Vermont Creamery)
• salt/pepper/garlic powder -- to taste

To Make:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Spray a pan with non-stick spray, and saute pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes until tender. The tomatoes should break down. Season with salt/pepper/garlic.
3. Add pasta to pan with sauteed vegetables. Add goat cheese and mix to fully incorporate. 
4. Remove from heat and serve.

Servings: 1

Per Serving: 333 Calories, 60 g carbs, 6 g fat, 15 g protein, 9 g fiber; 9 WW Pts

Recipe: Roasted Asparagus & Ricotta Pasta with Red Pepper Flakes

This is a simple vegetarian meal, with -- added bonus -- just a few ingredients.

Ingredients:

• Bundle fresh asparagus
• 4 oz dry pasta (any variety)
• 1/2 cup fat free ricotta
• 1 TBS olive oil
• Red pepper Flakes
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

To Make:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Clean and prep asparagus on a sheet pan, coated with non-stick spray. Season asparagus with salt, pepper and 2 tsp olive oil. When oven is preheated, roast asparagus for 20 minutes, or until tender.
• Cook pasta according to directions on box
• Serve roasted asparagus on top of cooked pasta. Flake ricotta cheese onto pasta/asparagus mixture. Drizzle remaining olive oil over pasta, ricotta and asparagus. Top with red pepper flakes and serve.

Servings: 2

Per Serving: 325 calories, 50 g carbs, 8 g fat, 15 g protein, 8 WW Points Plus

Recipe: Black Bean Chicken Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette

I found this recipe and (with most of my recipes) tried to cut down on the fat, salt, etc. This recipe originally had 3/4 cup of olive oil in the dressing -- which added an additional 477 calories to the recipe. I cut the oil down to half a cup, and I encourage you to cut it down further if you want to experiment further.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp ground cumin

To Make:

• Combined cubed chicken, black beans, scallions, and celery
• Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and cumin, and pour over chicken and bean mixture.
• Stir together and chill for at least an hour before serving

Serves: 8

Each Serving: 281 calories, 10 g carbs, 16 g fat, 24 g protein

Recipe: Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

I found this recipe on this great blog I just started following, called "Peace, Love, and Low Carb".  I LOVE stuffed peppers, but I usually make mine with rice -- this is a really easy recipe that looks absolutely delicious. I cannot wait to try it!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. thinly sliced roast beef
• 8 slices provolone cheese
• 2 large green bell peppers (Or your favorite variety)
• 1 medium onion
• 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms
• 2 TBS butter
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS minced garlic

To Make:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Slice peppers in half lengthwise, remove all seeds and "ribs"
• Slice onions and mushrooms. Saute over medium heat with butter, oil oil, garlic, (and salt and pepper if you like) until caramelized.
• Slice roast beef into strips and add to onion/mushroom mixture. Keep over flame for 5 minutes to allow flavors to marry.
• Line the inside of each pepper half with a slice of provolone cheese
• Fill each pepper half with meat/mushroom/onion mixture
• Cover each pepper with second slice of provolone
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the slice of cheese on top has cooked to a golden brown.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Parmesan and Parsley Crusted Cod

At the request of one of my readers, Louise, I am posting this recipe for the parmesan and parsley crusted cod that I referenced in my Seasonal Foods of March post. I often pair fish dishes with rice and a side salad because it is so much lighter than chicken or beef, but that’s a personal choice.

I buy individually packaged frozen fish from Ocean Market, so for this, and other fish recipes, I’ll be referencing a single serving, but feel free to double at your discretion.

Also, I’ve used both dry and fresh parsley when making this dish. I think fresh parsley tastes better, but if you can’t get it, it’s really not a problem – using dry parsley tastes good as well. Just remember:

1 tsp. dry Parsley = 1 TBS Fresh Chopped Parsley = 2 sprigs of Parsley

Happy Cooking, Fellow Foodies!

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. portion of cod
• ½ TBS Light Miracle Whip
• 1 ½ TBS grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 TBS Fresh Chopped Parsley

To Make:

• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees
• Lightly spray a baking pan with non-stick spray
• Combine 1 TBS Parmesan cheese, parsley, and Miracle Whip and spread over the top of the cod filet
• Place cod on baking pan and sprinkle the remaining ½ TBS Parmesan on top of Parmesan/parsley paste
• Bake 6-8 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork

Per Serving: 123 Calories, 1 grams carbs, 6 grams fat, 17 grams protein

This Parmesan crust works very nicely on most white fish because of their mild flavor. Try it on flounder, tilapia, or haddock!