Hot turkey and gravy out of the oven are good enough along – but add in bacon and cheese and you definitely have a winner ! I can’t believe this is only 293 calories – it tastes so decadent.

Turkey Melt

4 servings
293 calories per serving

8 slices wheat bread (45 calories per slice or less) toasted
1 lb. sliced cooked turkey
1/2 c water
1 c condensed low fat Cream of Mushroom soup
1 c shredded low fat sharp cheddar cheese
8 slices lightly cooked turkey bacon

Preheat broiler. Lay toast on a baking sheet and distribute turkey slices among bread. Mix water and soup and heat thoroughly. Spoon heated soup over turkey and sprinkle with the cheese and then top with bacon. Broil 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve up your tuna in a pita and it just become a whole different animal ! This is one of my favorite ways to eat tuna – with lotsa celery bits. But if you don’t like celery, substitute chopped up pickles or onions. The addition of the lemon pepper seasoing gives this extra special flavor !

Tuna Pitas

1 serving
373 calories per serving

6 oz. light tuna packed in water, drained
2 T light mayo
3 T chopped celery
½ t onion powder
¼ t salt
¾ t lemon pepper seasoning
1 Sahara Pita bread (or any other brand that comes in at 170 calories or less)

Mix tuna, mayo, celery, salt, onion powder and lemon pepper. Spoon into pitas and serve.

Stock up on Bobolis when they go on sale and you always have a great dinner ready to go – I add some sauce and layer mine up with all the different leftovers from the week. This time I skipped the sauce and did a ‘white’ boboli using up left over ricotta and spinach. It was scrumptious !

White Boboli

6 servings
206 calories per serving

1 Boboli shell
½ c sliced canned mushrooms
½ c packed with baby spinach leaves
1 c broccoli florets
1 c part skim ricotta cheese
½ t garlic powder
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Red pepper flakes
Oregano flakes
Parsley flakes
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread ricotta cheese over Boboli leaving a ½ inch edge. Sprinkle with garlic powder, parsley, oregano and red pepper flakes. Lay spinach leaves on top of cheese and then layer on the mushrooms. Finally add the broccoli florets then sprinkle with salt and parmesan cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until heated through. Cut into 6 pieces.

Sometimes serving a sandwich hot makes it sooooo much more special. This is one of those times. The melted swiss just gives it a whole other dimension.

Hot Chicken and Swiss Sandwich

1 serving
295 calories per serving

1 small club roll
4 slices thin sliced deli chicken breast (Oscar Mayer pre-packaged meats are great)
1 slice low fat swiss cheese
1 t light mayonnaise
1 t mustard
¼ t parsley flakes
¼ t basil flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
½ c spinach leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix mayo and mustard and spread on bread. Add chicken and cheese and sprinkle with the spices. Wrap in foil and bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven, add spinach leaves and enjoy !

Such a great Asian inspired soup ! This makes a great lite lunch and all the veggies and shrimp really fill you up – it’s amazing, but you CAN feel full after just 125 calories !!

Asian Soup with Shrimp

6 servings
125 calories per serving

6 c fat free chicken broth
1 c water
1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
16 oz. package frozen Japanese style vegetable blend
3/4 lb. peeled and cleaned shrimp
1/4 c sweet rice wine or water
Salt and pepper to taste
½ t garlic powder
½ t sesame oil
3 T soy sauce
2 T lemon juice

Bring broth, water and ginger to a boil. Remove ginger and discard. Add veggies, shrimp, rice wine, soy sauce, spices and lemon juice. Cook 6-7 minutes and then add the sesame oil and serve immediately.

I love orzo and it is great in cold pasta salads. The goat cheese really melts in from all the lemon and it gives the whole dish a great flavor. Very satisfying !!

Chicken and Pasta Salad

4 servings
275 calories per serving

¾ c orzo
¼ t grated lemon zest
3 T lemon juice
1 T oil
½ t Kosher salt
1 t minced garlic clove
¼ t pepper
1 c shredded grilled boneless skinless chicken breast (Perdue Shortcuts work great here !)
½ c cubed English cucumber
½ c chopped red bell pepper
½ c sliced scallions
½ c crumbled goat cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, then drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process and cool it down. Mix lemon zest, juice, oil, salt, garlic and pepper and mix with the orzo. Add chicken, cucumber, peppers, and onions. Garnish with goat cheese and serve.

This sandwich has so much flavor going on ! Artichokes, roasted peppers, ham, turkey – oh my !

Combo Sandwich with Chokes

1 serving
249 calories per serving

1 Arnold Select Thin rolls (100 calories)
4 thin slices deli ham (Oscar Mayer pre-packaged meats are great)
4 thin slices deli turkey (Oscar Mayer pre-packaged meats are great)
1 slice Kraft fat free cheese
2 T chopped marinated artichokes
2 T chopped marinated Italian peppers
¼ c baby arugula leaves
1 T low fat mayo

Toast bread (if desired) then spread on the mayo. Top with meats and cheese, then the artichokes, peppers and arugula.

The jalapeno peppers really kick it up here and add some nice heat. If you don’t like spice, use pickles instead !

Tuna Melt

2 servings
180 calories per serving

6 oz. can tuna in water, drained
1/2 t onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
12 slices pickled jalapeno
2 light English muffins (100 calories each), split
4 slices Kraft Free Singles cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix tuna with salt, pepper and onion powder and divide onto muffins. Top with peppers and cheese and bake 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Using matza as your crust is a great change up from your typical personal pizza. This one is light and crunchy and definitely something I will be making again.

Crunchy Matza Pizza

1 serving
158 calories per serving

1 matza
2 T tomato paste mixed with 1 T water
3 T low fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 T diced green pepper
2 sliced mushrooms
1 t oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread tomato mix on matza. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano. Top with cheese and veggies. Bake 10 minutes or until cheese melts.

This is just as great served fresh as it is chilled and served the next day. A great side salad for dinner or lunch !

Couscous with Tomatoes and Cucumbers

6 servings
126 calories per serving

1 c uncooked couscous
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped (I like to use the virtually seedless English cucumber)
¼ t oil
¼ t vinegar
¼ t garlic powder
¼ t onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil 1 c of water, add couscous and stir well, then cover and remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and stir in the tomatoes and cucumbers. Then stir in the oil, vinegar and spices.