Tag Archives: side

Drinks, FiberGourmet, Kid Friendly, Pasta, Sides

Baked Mac and Cheese

December 3, 2011 admin Leave a comment

Add a layer of healthy spinach, use low fat cheese and FiberGourmet pasta and quickly you have a healthy alternative and a fan favorite 🙂

4 servings
366 calories per serving

3 T breadcrumbs
1 t oil
½ t paprika
20 oz. frozen spinach, thawed
1 3/4 c skim milk, divided
3 T flour
2 c shredded low fat extra sharp Cheddar cheese
1 c low fat cottage cheese
1/8 t nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces FiberGourmet penne or elbow pasta
Pam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 2 quart baking dish with Pam. Mix breadcrumbs, oil and paprika. Squeeze out spinach in a colander so it is very dry. Mix ¼ c milk with flour. Heat 1 ½ c milk until steaming and them whisk in the rest of the milk and continue whisking until it is thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar until melted. Then stir in cottage cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook pasta about 4 minutes (do not cook all the way or it will be too mushy after it bakes). Mix pasta and cheese and place half of it in the baking dish. Then add the spinach and top with the rest of the pasta. Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mix and then bake 30 minutes or until golden.

Dinner, Kid Friendly, Sides, Vegetables

Broccoli AuGratin

November 28, 2011 admin Leave a comment

I like when you can take a healthy vegetable and disguise it enough that you can get a picky kids to eat it 🙂 This one has enough cheese and crumbly topping to make it disappear !

8 servings
120 calories per serving

3 c water
2 c baby carrots, cut in half
4 c broccoli florets (very small pieces)
10 whole wheat Ritz crackers, crushed
3 T grated parmesan cheese
1 T butter, melted
4 oz. light Velveeta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 oz. light cream cheese

Preheat broiler. Boil water and add carrots. Simmer for 8 minutes then add broccoli and simmer another 3 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl.

Microwave Velveeta and cream cheese on high 1 minute then stir and cook another 30 seconds or until completely melted. Pour on top of veggies. Mix crackers and parm and butter and sprinkle on top of the veggies and cheese and place under broiler for 2-3 minutes to brown the crumbs.

Dinner, Kid Friendly, Sides, Vegetables

Corn Salsa

November 21, 2011 admin Leave a comment

This can be eaten as a side, or use in smaller portions as a salsa over the top of broiled fish or chicken. Very savory, very easy to put together and very healthy !

4 servings
58 calories per serving

4 small tomatoes, chopped
1 c corn kernels (frozen and thawed or fresh)
¼ c chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno or ¼ of a green bell pepper, chopped finely
¼ c fat free zesty Italian dressing
Squirt of lime

Mix all together and chill at least 1 hour.

Dinner, Sides, Vegetables

Green Beans and Pepitas

November 17, 2011 admin Leave a comment

This is one of THE best veggie side dishes I have made in a long time. I bought a bunch of pepitas to make them for snacks and then came up with some other great ways to use them – this is one of the best ! The flavor and texture of the pepitas goes so well with the beans and the very simple seasoning. This is a special one !

6 servings
121 calories per serving

1 pound green beans
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 c pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
Kosher salt
Pepper to taste
1 t rosemary
1 garlic clove, minced

Boil water and add some regular salt and cook beans 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water then cut them into 1 inch pieces. Heat 1 T oil in a skillet. Saute pepitas until they start to brown and pop, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and remove to a bowl. Heat the rest of the oil and cook garlic and rosemary 30 seconds. Add beans and pepitas and cook 2 minutes to heat through. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Dinner, Sides

Cheesy Stuffed Potatoes

November 15, 2011 admin Leave a comment

Whether you serve these as a dinner side, a snack or an appetizer, you’ll be in love. Cheese and potatoes are just meant to go together !

16 servings
142 calories per serving (1 serving = ½ potato)

3 1/4 pounds russet potatoes (equaling roughly 8 potatoes)
1 c milk
1/3 c light sour cream
1/4 c low fat buttermilk
1 c shredded fontina or swiss cheese
1/4 c finely chopped chives (or 1 t dried chives)
2 T butter
Salt and pepper to taste
6 T grated parmesan cheese
paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean potatoes and pierce them then bake one hour or until tender. Let cool a bit and then cut in half lengthwise and scoop out most of the flesh leaving a shell and about ¼ inch of potato on it. Preheat your broiler at this point. Mix the scooped out flesh with milk, sour cream, buttermilk, salt and pepper then stir in the fontina, chives and butter and place potatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with parm and paprika. Broil 3-5 minutes or until cheese is all melted.

Dinner, Kid Friendly, Pasta, Sides

Orzo Primavera

November 7, 2011 admin Leave a comment

This is a great recipe. It has my favorite pasta, orzo ! Plus is has lotsa healthy veggies and a simple parmesan sauce. I could eat this every day !!

8 servings
120 calories per serving

14.5 oz. can chicken broth
1/3 c water
1 c orzo
2 1/2 c fresh vegetables, diced very small (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery, green onions, red peppers )
1/3 c grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring broth and water to a boil then stir in orzo and cover and cook 7 minutes. Add in veggies and cook another 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in cheese, salt and pepper.

Dinner, Mexican, Sides

Sofrito Beans

November 6, 2011 admin Leave a comment

Sofrito is filled with just incredible spices – when you add that and bacon to beans, there is nothing better ! The creamy texture of the beans mixed with the spicy sofrito is just perfect.

8 servings
290 calories per serving

2 c canned black beans, rinsed and drained
6 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 c sofrito sauce (In the Mexican section at your grocer)

Cook bacon then add beans along with sofrito and cook 15 minutes.

Dinner, Kid Friendly, Sides, Vegetables

Coconut Corn

October 31, 2011 admin Leave a comment

This creamy corn dish has a sweet, mild flavor – one the whole family will enjoy. Though the ingredients sounds very Thai inspired, the flavors are mild and you can pair this with anything.

4 servings
148 calories per serving

2 c frozen corn, thawed
1 c lite coconut milk
1/4 t salt
2 T chopped cilantro
1 T lime juice
½ t red pepper flakes

Mix corn, milk and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until milk has mostly evaporated. Stir in cilantro, lime and red pepper.

Dinner, Sides, Vegetables

Veggies and Noodles

October 30, 2011 admin Leave a comment

Cooking the garlic in the dressing gives this dish a great flavor, so full of garlic, but the flavor is not biting, it is mellow and perfect.

4 servings
105 calories per serving

2 large zucchini
2 large carrots, peeled
1 c egg noodles
1/4 cup light Italian dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel zucchini and carrots into long ribbons using a vegetable peeler. Cook noodles according to package instructions and add veggie ribbons to the boiling water the last minute. Drain and return to pot.

Saute garlic and dressing 2 minutes and then pour over the noodles and veggies and sauté 2 minutes to heat through. Add salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Dinner, Sides, Vegetables

Lemon Cauliflower

October 29, 2011 admin Leave a comment

This is so lemony and so refreshing – a perfect cauliflower dish !

6 servings
82 calories per serving

1 large head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into small florets
2 lemons
2 T oil
2 T chopped basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Steam cauliflower 4-6 minutes. Remove skin from a lemon and then cut out the segments without any membrane
(LINK FROM CITURS SALAD)./ Make sure you work over a bowl so you catch all the juice. Then squeeze the leftover membranes into the bowl to get out all the remaining juice. Chop the segments and add to the juice. Add oil, basil, salt and pepper. Stir in steamed cauliflower and serve.