This is flavorful and as good as you’ll find at any restaurant…I think even better ! It’s what a gourmet burger should be. The sautéed spinach and cheese are heaven. Eat yours without any toppings or add some Dijon or a slice of lettuce and tomato.
Spinach Burgers
8 servings
310 calories per serving
10 oz. baby spinach
2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 c shredded low fat cheddar cheese
2 T Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
Salt and pepper to taste
8 small Portugese rolls
Pam
Preheat grill. Spray a skillet with Pam and heat. Add garlic and sauté 1 minutes. Add spinach and 1 T Worcestershire and cook until spinach is wilted down. Remove from skillet and chop (I find kitchen shears work great here) the cool to room temperature or cooler. Mix beef, cooked spinach, salt, pepper and 1 T Worcestershire. Make 8 burgers and grill to desired doneness.
This recipe makes up a wonderfully flavorful sauce – anything with bacon is good in my book !
Spaghetti Carbonara
2 servings
300 calories per serving
4 ounces uncooked FiberGourmet spaghetti
1/2 cup skim milk
3 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Pam
1/3 c chopped pancetta or thick cut bacon (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large egg
Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain reserving ¼ c of the cooking water. Mix milk, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Heat a skillet and spray with Pam then sauté pancetta 3 minutes. Add onions and garlic and continue cooking another 5 minutes until onion is browned. Reduce heat to medium low and add milk mix and spaghetti to the pan. Whisk egg in a bowl and add the reserved cooking liquid stirring constantly so egg does not start to cook. Gradually add to pan stirring constantly and cook 4 minutes on low until sauce is thick.
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.
Making pierogi dough and getting it the right consistency can be hard. Want to make some quick and easy? Then try using wonton wrappers for the dough – you wouldn’t believe it, but they come out just FANTASTIC !
Pierogies 1-2-3
12 servings (3 pierogies each)
169 calories per serving
2 c cooled mashed potatoes
4 oz. whipped cream cheese with chives and onions
1/2 t pepper
36 wonton wrappers
Water
3 T butter
1/2 c light sour cream
Boil water in a saucepan. Mix potatoes, cheese and pepper. Cut wonton wrappers into circles (if you have to have a pierogi in the typical half moon shape – otherwise just make triangles !) Brush edges of pierogies with water and place 1 T of the potato mix inside. Fold in half and seal edges together. Working in batches, add to boiling water and cook 3 minutes or until they float. Drain and rinse with cold water. Again, working in batches melt butter and cook 12 pierogies at a time. Serve with sour cream.
This is one of those WOW good meals ! And since you are using shake and bake and prepared pesto, preparation is a snap. This makes shake and bake super special and meal you’ll serve to guests.
Baked Italian Chicken with Pesto
4 servings
250 calories per serving
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (5 oz. each)
1 pack Shake and Bake Mix
2 T prepared pesto (available in the refrigerator section of your market)
1/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wet chicken with water and then coat with Shake and Bake and place in a baking pan or on a cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes or until done throughout. Mix pesto and cheese and spoon on top of chicken and bake another 5 minutes.
Some meals are just extra special and this is definitely one of them ! The perfect portion of pasta, chicken and veggies all covered in a scrumptious sauce and layers of cheese. You just can’t go wrong !
Chicken Florentine Casserole
4 servings
270 calories per serving
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 T flour
8 oz. FiberGourmet penne pasta (without FiberGourmet, you have to add 80 calories per serving)
2 T low fat balsamic vinaigrette dressing
1 c chicken broth
2 oz. light cream cheese, cubed
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and drained well (press it down in a sieve to get a lot of water out)
1 c shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
3 T grated parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste
½ t garlic powder
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat dressing in a skillet. Mix chicken with flour and add to skillet and cook 3-4 minutes or until browned. Add broth and cream cheese and cook until cheese is melted. Add the spinach, garlic powder, salt and pepper and heat 1 minute. Remove from heat. Mix drained pasta with skillet mixture and spoon half of it into a 2 quart casserole dish. Top with ½ the mozzarella then add the rest of the chicken mix. Finally top with the remaining mozzarella and the parmesan. Bake 20 minutes to heat through and melt the cheese.
This one got its name because we kept asking each other to pass the mashed things. They were so good that I got my husband to eat carrots and my daughter to eat cauliflower 😉
Mashed Things
2 servings
200 calories per serving
1 red potato, peeled and cubed
1 c small cauliflower florets
1/2 c baby carrots
1 c chicken broth
1 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 t garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 slice Kraft fat free singles American cheese
2 T skim milk
5 squirts ICBINB Spray
Bring veggies to a boil in the broth. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until veggies are soft. Drain the veggies and place them in a bowl with the cream cheese, cheese, garlic, milk, salt and pepper and beat with a mixer until creamy. If they are too dry, you can add more milk. Spray with the I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter spray just before serving.
These are more delicious than regular stuffed peppers – the cream sauce mixes in with the meat and rice so beautifully – every ounce is coated and it makes for a super creamy taste sensation.
Inside Out Stuffed Peppers
6 servings
311 calories per person
1 lb. lean ground turkey
2 green peppers, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 c cooked brown rice or even use a chicken or beef flavored rice mix for extra flavor
16 oz. jarred marinara sauce
1 c shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 c cream cheese cooking creme (I used Philadelphia tomato and basil flavor)
1/4 c chopped basil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown meat, peppers, salt and pepper in a large skillet. Add in garlic during the last minute of cooking. Drain and add rice, sauce, 1/2 c mozzarella and cream cheese. Mix well and spoon into a 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 c mozzarella and bake 25 minutes.
Minestrone meets Stracciatella in this soup full of beans, spinach, cheese and yummy sausage ! To make this a dinner serving instead, just add some pasta or rice to bring it up to 400 calories.
Sausage Soup
4 servings
264 calories per serving
10 oz. sweet sausage
Pam
1 c chopped shallot (onion will do if you do not have shallots)
2 t minced garlic
½ c water
15 oz. cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
24 oz. can fat free chicken broth
2 c baby spinach
1 T fresh basil or parsley, chopped
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Remove casing from sausage (or buy it without the casing). Spray pan with Pam and cook sausage on high heat until brown stirring to break up the pieces well. Add shallot and garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Stir in water, beans, tomatoes, broth, salt and pepper and cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and cook 4 minutes or until it has thickened up a little bit. Remove from heat and stir in spinach and basil and then place in bowls and sprinkle with cheese.
This is one of the most awesome chili recipes I have ever made ! The depth of flavor was amazing. This is a truly authentic, rich, aromatic and spicy chili that is just plain PERFECT. Don’t forget the squirt of lime just before serving – it actually makes a big difference in the total package.
Black Bean Chili (Crock Pot)
10 servings
280 calories per serving
1 lb. dried black beans, rinsed
1 T oil
1 T mustard seeds
2 T chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin seeds
1/2 t cardamom seeds (or ground cardamom)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
8 oz. jarred salsa verde (medium heat)
1/4 c water
4 c vegetable broth
6 oz. can tomato paste
½ t salt
2 T minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 1/4 c shredded low fat cheddar cheese
1/2 c low fat sour cream
1/2 c chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into wedges
Place beans in a bowl with 2 quarts of water and soak overnight. Mix oil, mustard seeds, chili powder, cumin and cardamom and place in a hot Dutch oven for 30 seconds to release more flavor then add in onions, mushrooms, tomatillos and water. Cover and cook 7 minutes then uncover and cook 15 minutes to lightly brown the veggies. Then add broth, tomato paste, salt and chipotles and mix. Place beans in a slow cooker and pour over the vegetable mix. Cover and cook on high 6-8 hours. Place into bowls and garnish with sour cream and cilantro and squirt with lime.
