These make a great side dish to a chicken or fish dinner. Or make a double batch and serve as appetizers at your next get together. Warm and homey without being a heavy dish and these make a really nice presentation – just perfect !

Zucchini Quiche Cups

12 servings
115 calories per serving

2 c zucchini, in small cubes
2 t olive oil
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
12 slices light wheat bread, crusts removed
12 grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup soft low fat cream cheese spread
¾ c egg beaters
1/4 c light cream
2 T chopped fresh chives
Salt and pepper to taste
Pam

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix zucchini with oil and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper them bake until tender, about 15 minutes. Spray a cupcake tin with Pam. Flatten bread with a rolling pin or the bottom of a heavy pan and cut out a notch in the top so that when you place it in the cucpcake tins, it will wrap around nicely.

Zucchini Quiche Cups

Then press into the bottom of the cupcake cups. Mix zucchini and tomatoes and spoon into the cups. Beat eggs, cream cheese, cream, chives, salt and pepper. Pour into the cups and bake 15-20 minutes or until they are set.

I am very passionate about my sauce ! My Italian Grandma and Mom taught me well I have been making my own since I was 16 and over the years developed a recipe that is LOVED and CRAVED by many. That recipe included cooking sausage and meatballs in the sauce – and that gives it a very rich flavor. But it also adds calories. So in my quest to keep things lower cal, I’ve been trying a few batches of sauce without meat and this one is really, really good. It comes quite close to my regular recipe !

I’ve added beef bouillon to make up for some of the lost flavor from the meat, I’ve added roasted garlic which gives a great depth of flavor (much different than dropping in raw or sautéed garlic) and I make sure to use tomato paste. Tomato paste is to tomatoes what lemonade concentrate is to lemonade – - it is highly concentrated and adds a different flavor than any other tomato product out there. And finally I add 2 secret ingredients – shhhhhhh ! Fennel and anise seeds add the flavor you would get if you cooked sausage in the sauce. It is the finishing touch that so many sauces are missing. You only get the slightest hint of taste of the seeds in the finished product. But let me tell you, without them, the sauce is just not the same.

If you’ve never tried sauce before – try !! This one starts from canned products, not raw tomatoes – so it is NOT labor intensive. And even a bad batch of homemade is better than a jar of Ragu It’s what makes a pasta meal special, so do it up !

Basil Garlic Marinara Sauce

12 servings
58 calories per serving

8 cloves roasted garlic, minced
2 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
¾ c water
1 T oil
2 t basil flakes
6 basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1 t oregano flakes
½ t red pepper flakes
½ t garlic powder
½ t onion powder
½ t whole anise seeds
1 t whole fennel seeds
2 packets or 2 cubes beef bouillon
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ c parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients in a crock pot, cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours.

You can also put this in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes or simmer stove top for 2-3 hours.

The length of time does make a different – the sauce tastes much richer when simmered for hours than a quick sauce (which have their place in some recipes, but don’t equal a traditional slowly simmered sauce).

Freeze your extra portions and next time it’s pasta night, just defrost in the frig over night and quickly reheat in a sauce pan.

Let me know how you like it !

Another super quick soup that tastes like it’s been simmering for hours, but it’s just a ½ hour meal. Try using Perdue Shortcuts turkey strips if you don’t have any leftover turkey on hand.

Turkey Noodle Soup

2 servings
156 calories per serving

2 c water
¾ c cooked cubed turkey breast
1 rib celery, sliced
Leaves from top of celery
2 cloves garlic minced
Salt to taste
1/8 t marjoram flakes
1/8 t pepper
1 bay leaf
½ t onion powder
½ c canned diced potatoes
¼ c frozen peas and carrots mix
¼ c yolk free egg noodles
Dash Kitchen Bouquet

Mix water, turkey, celery, onion, garlic, salt, onion powder, marjoram, pepper and bay leaf and bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Then mix in the potatoes, peas and noodles. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Potatoes, cheese and sour cream – they are just meant to go together ! The little bit of baking gives the potatoes a nice crispy crust and this is a great side to anything – especially a grilled meat such as Grilled Chili Rubbed Sirloin.

Mashed Potato Bake

3 servings
185 calories per serving

24 oz. potatoes, peeled and quartered (you can use the frozen Oreida Steam and Mash here for a quick alternative)
2 oz. low fat cream cheese, cubed
1/4 c low fat sour cream
1 T skim milk
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t salt
¼ t pepper
Pam
ICBINB spray (I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil them reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Mash the potatoes and add the rest of the ingredients then place in a 13×9 baking dish sprayed with Pam. Spray with a few spritzes of ICBINB. Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

There are some sides that you just make over and over again. This is one of them. At only 50 calories per serving, this also makes a great snack. And it is soooo good for you !

Fresh Cranberry Relish

8 servings
50 calories per 1/2 c serving

Forget Ocean Spray jellied cranberries around the holidays! Instead try this fresh salad that is simple to prepare and a great crowd pleaser.

1 bag cranberries
3/4 c Splenda
2 granny smith apples, cored and in quarters
1 seedless oranges (peel and all !), in quarters

Rinse the cranberries and pick out any bad ones. Place in a food processor and process until they are in small pieces. Remove to a bowl. Place apples in processor and blend until small pieces. Remove to bowl with cranberries. Place oranges in processor and process until all skin is in small pieces. Remove to bowl with cranberries and apples. Add Splenda and mix well. Refrigerate at least 4 hours so flavors blend.

Moist and flavorful ! This is like eating a super moist cupcake with a piece of cheesecake thrown in for good measure.

Pumpkin Muffins

24 servings
190 calories per serving

1 spice cake mix
3.4 oz. instant vanilla pudding
1 c canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix – just regular pumpkin)
8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 c sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cake batter as directed then add in pudding mix and pumpkin. Spoon into 24 paper lined cups. Beat cream cheese with sugar and egg and spoon over the batter. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks. Refrigerate any uneaten portions.

This was sooooo good – it’s like Thanksgiving dinner without all the work. I use the scallopini cut of turkey cutlets so they are nice and thin and you can cook them up quickly so they don’t get dried out. Add a small green salad on the side and you have a great balanced meal that makes the day feel like a holiday

Turkey and Stuffing

4 servings
390 calories per serving

4 slices fresh turkey breast (3/4 lb.)
½ c chopped green pepper
2 T water
2 c fat free chicken broth
12 oz. fat free turkey gravy
3 c dry cubed seasoned stuffing
Salt and pepper to taste
Pam

Spray a skillet with Pam and on medium high heat cook turkey breasts sprinkled with salt and pepper; cook 4 minutes each side or until turkey is golden then remove from skillet and keep warm. Combine pepper and water in pan. Cover and cook 2 minutes. Add gravy, reserving ¼ cup for later use, Add broth to skillet and bring to a boil and then remove skillet from heat. Stir in stuffing and mix well then return turkey to the pan. Cover and let stand 5 minutes and then our extra gravy over the top and serve.

These cook up quick and are just as good as any restaurant fajitas ! Without all the oil that restaurants use for extra flavor, these come in at only 250 calories per serving including the wrap

Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

6 servings
250 calories per serving

1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips (Perdue Shortcuts work great here !)
3/4 c sliced onions
¾ c sliced green bell peppers
Salt and pepper to taste
½ t cumin
½ c salsa verde (or plain salsa works here too)
½ c black beans, drained and rinsed
6 whole wheat tortillas (fajita size)
1 ½ c shredded low fat cheddar cheese
Pam

Spray a skillet with Pam and cook onions and peppers 10 minutes (add hot water a tablespoon at a time if the onions start to dry out). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix then add chicken and cumin and cook another 5 minutes or until chicken is almost done (if you are using Perdue Shortcuts, cook just enough to warm chicken). Add salsa and beans and cook another 3 minutes.

Spoon mix onto one half of each wrap and sprinkle with cheese and fold. Spray a skillet with Pam and cook quesadillas a couple of minutes each side to brown them.

Here is a video that will show you how to fold up a fajita securely

Optionally serve with a bit of no fat sour cream on each.

This is a quick and easy, yet sophisticated and super healthy fish dinner. Any flaky white fish will do. The light breading and sunflower seeds make a great crispy coating.

Sunflower Tilapia

4 servings
208 calories per serving

2 large egg whites
1/2 t pepper
½ t salt
1 t grated lemon zest
1/2 c Panko breadcrumbs
3 T unsalted sunflower seed kernels
4 6 oz. tilapia filets
Pam

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place a baking sheet in the oven to preheat it. Mix egg, half the lemon zest, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix breadcrumbs, sunflowers and the other half of the lemon zest in another both. Dip fish in egg mix then dredge in breadcrumbs. Spray pan with Pam and add fish. Bake 10 minutes or until done.