Slutty Low-Carb “Pasta”

Slutty Low-Carb “Pasta”

 

I have been seeing recipes all over Pinterest that require the use of a tool that cuts veggies into spiral noodles. I gave in and bought one months ago, yet it sits in my kitchen in the original packaging begging to be used. Well…until tonight that is! I was inspired by a recipe I pinned on my Lighter Fare board. I went to the grocery store with my weekly menu in hand and when I came home, I couldn’t wait to get started on my creation.

 

This is a low carb, sugar free, delicious meal that combines delicious veggies, ground turkey and a little bit of heat. The outcome ….. I can’t even tell you how good this was.  The name for this recipe is pulled from the inspiration recipe on pinterest. Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is an old school Italian recipe that translates into “spaghetti a la whore”. The name works and it’s catchy so I decided to keep it.

 

So let’s get started. This was enough for me to have dinner and lunch the next day.

2 ripe zucchini’s

97% fat free ground turkey (I used ½ pound)

Olive Oil

½ cup diced red bell pepper

¼ cup diced yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon capers

Pine nuts

Lemon juice

15oz can of fire roasted tomatoes, diced (not drained)

Seasonings

 

To start, brown your ground turkey in a pan (add a touch of olive oil if the meat sticks to your pan). Season with sea salt, pepper, dehydrated onion and garlic powder. Add in red bell pepper and onions and cook until turkey is cooked through and veggies are translucent. Toss in a handful of pine nuts and cook for a few minutes to sort of toast them. Add in garlic and capers, cook for a few more minutes.  Add the can of tomatoes and turn up the heat to medium high. Once the skillet is pretty hot, squirt some fresh lemon juice around the inside edge of the pan and stir. I love adding lemon to tomato sauces/mixtures because it really brightens up the flavor of the veggies. Turn down to medium and let simmer while you cut the zucchini noodles.

 

Use your spiral veggie cutter to cut 2 zucchinis (wash and dry them first). Once the sauce is hot and bubbly, I add just a pinch of red pepper flakes and toss. Put your “noodles” in a bowl, top with a few ladles full of the tomato sauce and garnish with parmesan cheese.

 

You could add other veggies as you see fit. Mushrooms would be delightful, other bell peppers, asparagus even. The possibilities are endless. Then you could change up the spices to make the flavor completely different.

 

 

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Sausage and Tortellini Soup

If I had to pick one soup and designate it as my absolute favorite, I think it would be a tie between this soup and French Onion Soup. But because my boyfriend is not a fan of French Onion Soup, I make this soup a lot. More than any other soup. As I build my blog, you'll notice that my soups are broth based. I believe that you can get a great soup without all the extra fat and calories and I love that wine is so easily used in soups and the flavor it adds is unbeatable. What I love most about this soup, besides its incredible flavor, is how easy it is.

I like a little bite to this soup so I use Italian hot sausage and sweet sausage. Feel free to use whichever fits your taste buds the best though.

Sausage and Tortellini Soup

(photo courtesy of all recipes.com)

1 lb. Italian sausage (sweet, mild or hot), casings removed (or you can use ground)

1 medium Vidalia Onion, roughly chopped

3 cloves Garlic, minced

6 cups beef broth

1 cup dry red wine (I use a dry Cab or shiraz)

4 cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes (I like to get ones seasoned with garlic or basil for more flavor)

(if you want to use fresh tomatoes, you'll need about 4 large tomatoes, seeded peeled and chopped)

1 cup sliced carrots

3-4 large basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 - 8 ounce can tomato sauce

2 cups sliced zucchini

8-10 ounces of fresh tortellini (frozen or bagged work also)

1) In a stock pot, brown the sausage until cooked through. Remove sausage and reserve 2 tablespoons of grease from the sausage. Sauté onions and garlic in the drippings from the sausage.

2) Add beef stock, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil (I make it look like confetti), oregano, tomato sauce and sausage to the onion mixture. Bring to a boil for about 20 minutes, then reduce to a simmer and allow it to simmer for 3-4 hours. (you can do less cooking time, I prefer my soups that get to sit in the pan for a while and get happy)

3) Stir in the zucchini and cook for another 30 minutes. Add tortellini during the last ten minutes. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese

4) ENJOY!

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Lightened Up Corn and Potato Chowder

When it comes to soup, I like very much prefer broth based soups over its cream based competitors. I love the comfort of soup but I don't think you need to load a soup with calories and fat for it to be delicious. This is the reason I've never had a love affair with cream of _____  or  _____ chowder or ____bisque....you get my drift.

But I was inspired by a lightened chowder recipe that I got in one of my Weight Watchers Weekly's that I got from a meeting last fall and thought I'd use it as a starting point.

I made it my own by switching up a few things and the end result was a delicious, hearty soup that didn't add inches to my waist line. That's a win-win in my book!!  (Picture courtesy of this website)

Fall Harvest Skinny Corn Chowder

2 medium potatoes (for ease, I opted for the microwavable ones)

1 medium sized Zucchini

1/3 cup chopped onion (i used a Vidalia onion but white would work too)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 c. Roasted Red Bell Peppers, diced

1/3 c. celery, chopped

1 Bag frozen corn (regular sized bag)

6 Strips thick cut bacon, diced

2 C. Skim Milk

1 c. low fat chicken broth (more or less depending on how thick/runny you like your soup) 

Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste

Hot pepper sauce or cayenne pepper, to taste

Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

1) Microwave potatoes per directions on the package. If you use regular potatoes, pierce them with a fork and cook in the microwave on high for about 8 minutes, or until tender. Move on to step 2 while this is cooking.

2) Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Cook bacon until it is crispy. Place on paper towel to allow oil to drain off of it. Drain oil from the skillet but reserve 1 T or so to cook vegetables in. Place celery, onion and zucchini in skillet and cook in oil until tender but slightly crisp. Add frozen corn and roasted red peppers during the last two minutes to bring to temp.

3) In a soup pot on medium heat, pour milk, chicken broth, garlic, bacon, cooked veggies, salt and pepper, and hot sauce. Cut cooked potatoes in spoon-sized chunks (really a preference thing). Reserve 5-6 chunks, and add the remaining potatoes to the pot. Mash the reserved potatoes and add mash to the soup pot. Simmer for 30-40 minutes to allow all the flavors to marry. Do not bring to a boil (you don't want to ruin the milk).
4) Bowl it up and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh parmesan cheese and enjoy!!

(soup is so hard to judge how much it makes because bowl sizes vary. This recipe makes 3/4 of a normal size pot)

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Taco Stuffed Squash

Over the last few years, I have discovered that I really like yellow squash. My mom had a pretty sizable garden for a number of years while I was younger. For a few summers, I remember growing all kinds of corn, tomatoes, and peppers and we would set up a little table at the end of the driveway and sell to the neighbors. I don't think we ever got rich off of it but it was a nice way to get rid of extras and make a few dollars for mom and dad's hard work.

Anyway...Mom was always growing and preparing zucchini and I always liked it. I still do. But I really think these days if I have to choose between yellow squash and zucchini as a cooked vegetable, I'll go with the yellow squash any day!

I stopped at a local farmers market a few weeks ago (ok...maybe a month and a half ago but its all the same the way this summer flew by). I picked up a handful of zucchini and yellow squash, red bell peppers and green onions for an idea that I had.

I also have a fond place in my heart for anything mexican, especially tacos.  I just love tacos!! Well...trying to slim down, eating tacos doesn't really fit into the dinner scenario much. So I wanted to try something that I thought would be good.

Well the result was a pretty awesome and healthy dinner and I wanted to share it with you!!! I will update the post next time I make these with a step by step picture guide because I realize explaining it might be a bit confusing for a step or two. In the meantime, go support your local farms by grabbing these ingredients and have a new twist on tacos!!! I mean it...GO NOW!!!

Taco Stuffed Squash (or Zucchini)

2 - Medium to Large size Yellow Squash or Zucchini, washed

1/2 Medium sized Red Bell Pepper, chopped

1/2 Medium sized Green Bell Pepper, chopped

2 Green onions, chopped (seperate white and green parts)
1/2 Cup Red Onion, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
3/4 Pound of Ground Turkey (or beef if you'd like)
3 Tablespoons of Taco Seasoning (more or less to taste)
1 Cup Shredded Cheese (I used reduce fat Mexican blend)
Sour Cream (for garnish)
Cilantro (for garnish)

(recipe makes 4 stuffed boats)
1) Preheat oven to 400 Degrees.
2) Spray a tad bit of Olive Oil in a medium skillet set to medium heat. Saute bell peppers and onions for 3-4 minutes. Add in the white part of the green onion and garlic. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.
3) Add in the ground meat to your veggies in the pan. Add the taco seasoning to the meat and stir. cook until meat is thoroughly cooked.
4) While your meat is cooking, cut your squash in half long ways. (To create two 'boats'). Take a spoon and spoon out the insides of the squash. (I will post pictures of this part to clear up confusion). If you'd like you can chopped up the scooped out part and add it to your meat mixture. If not, throw it away.
5) Once your meat is cooked, remove from heat. Place the squash on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with olive oil. Sprinkle the hollowed-out squash with just a tad of salt and pepper. Spoon meat mixture into each squash boat. You'll want to make them heap a little because it will settle in the oven.
6) Cook in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pull them out, top them with  cheese mixture and cook to melt the cheese. I have found that if you're using zucchini it tends to cook faster. Reduce cook time by 2 minutes (or keep an eye on them so they dont get soogy)
7) Garnish them with the green part of the green onion, sour cream and cilantro. I like to add a dash or two of my favorite hot sauce too to give it a kick.

This recipe may seem intimidating but its SO easy and is VERY tasty!!!!

 

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