Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage

Every Saturday morning, after weighing in, I eagerly grasp for my weekly. I rush to my seat, and flip through it to discover the recipe. The recipe in the week of January 8th-14th had a DELICIOUS sounding baked ziti meal with turkey sausage, and I thought with a few tweaks it would please my taste buds. Boy, was I right.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes / Cook Time: 35 Minutes / Serves: 8

Ingredients:

3/4 lb raw, spicy turkey sausage, casings removed

1 medium onion, chopped 

(I used around a 1/4th-1/2, and next time I'll probably use onion powder. I'm not the biggest onion fan.)

1 medium green pepper, chopped

28 oz canned diced tomatoes

(Might swap it out for half diced and half sauce, or full sauce next time.)

10 oz frozen green peas, thawed

(I didn't use those.)

2 tbsp canned tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

/2 tsp fennel seed

1/2 tsp table salt, or just to taste

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

12 oz uncooked whole-wheat ziti

6 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees and prepare your pasta according to package directions.

Crumble the sausage meat into a large saucepan and brown over medium heat, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Drain off any fat, then add the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened about 3 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, peas, tomato paste, oregano, basil, thyme, fennel seed, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook uncovered 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the cooked pasta and half the cheese. 

Spread evenly in a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Top evenly with the remaining cheese.

Bake until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes at room temperature before slicing into 8 pieces.

Yields 1 piece per serving.

PP: 8

Turkey Meatloaf

Turkey Meatloaf

Way back when I initially joined Weight Watchers (okay, maybe more like a little more than a year ago!), one of the first recipes I made was a turkey meatloaf. I'm unsure of it's origin, unfortunately, but, it really is one of the best meatloaf recipes I've discovered, and it is incredibly filling. The meat is cooked to perfection, the green peppers and onions add great texture, and to top it all off, the ketchup topping is absolutely mouthwatering.

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup onion, finely chopped*

1/4 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced.

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp ketchup

1 1/2 tsp italian seasoning

1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup low-fat shredded cheddar

1 tbsp brown sugar (topping)

1/2 cup ketchup (topping)

1 tsp mustard (topping)

*Could substitute with onion powder!... just no where near as much.

Preheat your oven to 350.

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium to high heat.

Add in your chopped onion/onion powder, green bell pepper, and garlic.

Saute! This should only take about 3 minutes, you'll be looking for the onions to become 

translucent, fragrant, and fairly soft overall. 

Allow it to cool off before continuing.

Once your mixture has cooled off, it's time to mix them up a bit!

Combine the mix, cheese, egg, pepper, salt, ketchup, italian

seasoning and seasoned breadcrumbs in a bowl. Afterwards, crumble

your ground turkey over the mix and blend well (I use my hands).

Coat an 8x4 loaf pan with cooking spray, and pack your mix within it.

Bake it for approximately 35 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the three topping ingredients: ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. Spread the topping mix over the loaf and bake for an additional mix.

Cut it into 8 slices.

P+: 7

Serves: 4

2 slices per serving.

Job is demanding

My job is really demanding but that doesn't mean it stops when I get to leave at 6 PM. Before I graduated college and got out in the real world I thought that jobs were something you only had to do 40 or 50 hours per week but then you have free time to decompress and not have to think about work. Boy was I wrong! My boss is constantly e-mailing me on my Westport 4g internet connection at home because he knows I check my e-mail probably more often than I should. I know I dug this hole for myself and I'm the only one who's going to be able to put up some boundaries between myself and the office but it's really hard when you know you're next in line for a big promotion. The last thing I want is for my boss or any of his superiors to think that I'm not dedicated to the job so I feel like for now I have to keep letting them invade my personal time.

Tortilla Cheese Pizza

So I'm fairly big on pizza, I'm constantly craving it in one way or another and wanted to figure a way to feel like you're eating more than just a slice, but keep the points low. That's when I pulled out the tortilla wraps.

Ingredients

1/4th Cup Hunt's Tomato Sauce (seasoned!) or Pizza Sauce

1/4th Cup Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese (I used Sargento)

2 Mission Carb Balance Tortillas

Non-Stick Cooking Spray

*In the photo, chicken is shown, which you could add but it would add to the total PP listed in this recipe.

Preheat your oven to 375.

Spray one side of one of your tortilla wraps with non-stick cooking spray and lay that side down on foil.

Sprinkle half of your cheese and cover with second tortilla. Layer it with your sauce, cheese and any other toppings you might be desiring.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until it reaches a golden brown with melted cheese.

Enjoy!

PP: 7

Taco Seasoning

I've always experimented with my taco seasoning, but I think this will be as perfect as it gets. This seasoning is not only great for tacos, but also for omelets, scrambles, pork loin, chicken, etc. Enjoy!

    

  Ingredients

2 tbsp onion powder

3 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Makes a bunch. o_o

Tangy Orange Beef & Broccoli - 5 POINTS! (9 with rice)

Ever since I got into broccoli, I've absolutely adored beef and broccoli. I was skimming one of my older Weight Watchers books the other day and decided I've give their orange beef and broccoli recipe a go. Let me just start off by saying this turned out delicious, but the points are a TAD bit high, and I assure you my posts in the future will be filled with numerous low point meals. Anyways, on to the recipe:

Prep: 25 minutes / Cook: 10 minutes / Serves: 6

               Ingredients

• 1 large bunch broccoli
• 4 navel oranges (I made by with 2!)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 (1 1/4 pound) flank steak, trimmed, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/3c water
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced (I did without it this time. :( )
• 3 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 large garlic gloves, minced
• 1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
• 3 bags boil in a bag brown rice

Cooking Directions      

1. Remove florets from stems of broccoli and cut into bite-size pieces. Trim, peel and thinly slice stems.
2. In a  decently sized pot, fill with water and heat until boiling.
3. Place the rice in the boiling water until cooked.
4. Grate 1 tsp orange zest from 1 orange, then squeeze *3/4 cup juice (from about 2 oranges) into measuring cup. Stir in cornstarch, pepper flakes, orange zest, and 2 tbsp soy sauce. Remove peel and white pith from remaining oranges and cut into segments.
5. Spray nonstick wok or large deep nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Toss beef with remaining 1 tbsp of soy sauce in a large bowl. Add half of beef to wok; stir-fry just until beef is no longer pink, about one minute. Transfer to plate. Repeat with the remaining beef.
6. Add broccoli florets and stems and water to wok. Cover and cook 1 minute. Uncover, add bell pepper and then stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in scallions, garlic and ginger; stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in beef and cook until heated thoroughly through. Spoon mixture onto platter on top of your rice and top with orange segments.

(Without rice) Fat: 5g / Carbs: 19g / Fiber: 5g / Protein: 23g

(Without rice) Weight Watchers PP: 5  (Serving - 1 2/3 cups)

(With rice) Weight Watchers PP: 9 points (1 2/3c of mixture, 1c of rice)

Uh-oh! Fried Pickles

 

 I did something bad last night as a treat for my will-never-gain-weight boyfriend. I fried up some pickles.

I never deep fry anything, so this was something foreign to me, it took a while to realize what would be the perfect time to remove them, etc.

Regardless, I'm unsure of the point plus value for them. Help??

 Ingredients:

Vegetable Oil 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp pepper 

1 tsp sugar 

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

4 cups pickle chips

Serves 4-8

                                                                                     
Heat your oil in a deep fryer, or a deep pan until oil sizzles when water is flicked into it. Combine the flour,, salt, pepper, sugar and cayenne in a large mixing bowl and mix until well blended.





Toss in wet (but drained) pickles into dry mix. Shake off excess flour mix. Place the pickle chips in the hot oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the pickles are floating. Remove from oil and place on a plate lined with paper towel.  Repeat until all pickles have been cooked.

So how many points plus do you think that'd be? Let's say we  used 3 cups of vegetable oil.

This week I'm going to experiment with baking them to avoid the oil.

Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

For all of my Weight-Watchers readers out there, I wanted to eliminate the fear of pork. Personally, for a while I kept my meals exclusively to chicken or turkey; beef and pork were danger zones in my head. I'm sure I'm not alone on that.

Anyways, my boyfriend was begging me to make something other than those two things as our protein portions and I finally looked some into pork. I was surprised to see for 4oz. of tenderloin it's only 4P+.

Ingredients: 

1 pork tenderloin (apprx. 1lb)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsps smoked paprika

2 tsps ground cumin

2 tsps salt

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Makes 4 servings

 

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

In a shallow dish, combine paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin and salt. Drizzle your tenderloin with the olive oil and rub so it's even and moist. Roll your pork in the spice mix and shake off any excess spice. Place your pork in a roast pan and roast for roughly 15-20 minutes; your meat should read to be about 145 degrees with a thermometer.

When the pork is finished, allow it to rest outside of the oven for about 5 minutes. Cut and serve with desired sides.

(4oz/serving)
Protein: 23.29 / Fat: 6.13 / Carbs: 0 / Fiber: 0

4 Points Plus / Serving

PB Rollaways

This is a real great recipe for someone that is constantly on the move. It's quick and versatile, I've done it plain, with oatmeal, with bananas, etc. The lowest in points plus would plain, or maybe with the bananas, but the oatmeal makes it that much more filling.

Today, I'll be going over the oatmeal version.

Ingredients

2 Whole wheat tortilla wrap (I used chichi's whole wheat tortillas [4pts/wrap])

2 tbsp of Peanut Butter, reduced fat (I used jif creamy reduced [5pts/2tbsp])

1 package of Oatmeal (I used a store brand instant one, [3pts/packet (regular flavor])

Water

Makes 1 serving.

Prepare your oatmeal as instructed. While you're waiting for the water to boil, heat up a skillet. Once skillet is nice and warm, place tortilla on it for approximately 10 seconds, flip it and repeat. You're just wanting to warm the tortilla and nothing more than that.

On your warm tortilla, spread 1 tablespoon on peanut butter, per wrap. Try to get as close to the edge as possible, without making it too messy to handle, this helps the tortilla stick better. Once this is done, place a layer half of the oatmeal on top of the peanut butter. Personally, I like centering mine, but you could also make the layer as thin as possible over all of the peanut butter, besides the edge areas, so you can roll it properly.

Next, we tuck and roll! Roll it as tight as you can.

After rolling, your product should resemble this. :)

Exclude the oatmeal if you want it plain, or for an equal points plus value to plain, chop up some bananas and add them in!

P+ (with oatmeal!): 6-8

Fat: 11

Carbs: 45

Fiber: 5

Protein: 11

Sneaky, sneaky!

Everyone knows restaurants are the worst case scenario to go to when you're trying to eat better.  You might have the best intentions in the world and stick to what you planned on getting, but is that really the best choice?

The first thought that comes to mind when you're going to eat well when going out is a salad. Not only for you, but your friends I'm sure will tease you whether you get it or not.

If you get it, "Of course you're getting a salad, lighten up a bit, eat whatever tonight."
If you don't, "Aren't you on a diet?"

It's a lose-lose situation.

So, say we go for that salad at Uno's. It's the Honey Crisp Chicken Salad, alright, fantastic.

We feel good about it, then we get home and look it up...
Calories: 480
Fat: 31g (8g Saturated)
Cholesterol: 75mg
Sodium: 930mg
Carbs: 30g
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 9g
Protein: 26g
Total P+: 13

Okay.. well... we think to ourselves it could be worse, but wait. You notice a little "2" up in the right hand corner. 2 servings.

Calories: 960
Fat: 62g (16g Saturated)
Cholesterol: 150mg
Carbs: 60g
Fiber: 6g
Sugar: 9g
Protein: 52g
Total P+: 26

If we went with the Herb Roasted Chicken or the Baked Stuffed Chicken, we could have been at 15 P+ (after doubling it, since the majority of Uno's meals are 2 servings... EVEN the children's menu).

So the lesson? Never go for the salad, look into small plated options, or some yummy chicken. Not even the kid's menu is safe anymore for portions.

I'm back!

I'm back, with a new blog title! Pornomgraphy! 

Here's a tease of what's to come:

Cheesy Meaty Pasta Delite 

 

Tangy Orange Beef and Broccoli 

 

Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin 

Cheesy Lasagna Rolls

As of late, I've had a colossal craving for Italian foods. Looking through some blogs, I tried out a wonderful recipe for Spinach Lasagna rolls, but sadly, I dislike Spinach. Regardless, I had to play with skinnytaste.com's recipe.

Prep: 10 minutes / Cook: 50 minutes / Serves: 8

Ingredients
16oz fat free ricotta cheese
3-4oz reduced fat mozarella cheese (I used 4 servings of mine, which was 104g. D:)
2oz romano cheese
1 jar tomato sauce (I got ragu, sugarfree.)
8 lasagna noodles (My choice was Ronzoni Healthy Harvest)
1 egg
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Garlic power (to taste)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare 8 lasagna noodles as it's package informs you.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the ricotta, half of the mozarella cheese, egg, and finally the romano, salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

3. In a medium sized baking pan, coat the bottom with a thin layer of sauce.

4. Take one lasagna noodle and spoon in an eighth of the cheese mix across the center of the noodle. Roll the noodle and lay in the sauce pan, seam side down. Repeat for each noodle.

5. Once all of the cheese rolls are in place, coat the rolls with the remaining sauce and sprinkle the remaining amount of mozarella cheese over them as well.

6. Cover the pan with tinfoil and bake for 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

WW P+: 5 (1 roll per serving)

Turkey Tacos!

There's no denying I absolutely love tacos and these taste just as good, if not better, than beef tacos. :) I've been making these tacos for about two years and for awhile 'Tuesday Tacos!' became a bit routine in my life. Well, today is Thursday rather than Tuesday, but I realized I haven't made tacos in quite a while.

Prep: 5 minutes / Cook: 10-15 minutes / Serves: 4

      Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 2 tbsp onion powder
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• tortilla wraps (I use mission carb balance)
• hard shells (and/or tostitos!)
• 1/4 fat free shredded cheddar (kraft)

     Directions      

1. Heat up a deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, coat it in the tbsp of olive oil.
2. Put the ground turkey in the heated pan. Be sure to 'break' it up with your spatula/spoon. Cook until brown and then drain.
3. While meat is browning, follow your hard shell cooking instructions and mix together all of the seasonings, this includes the onion powder, chili powder, ground cumin, salt, crushed red pepper, cornstarch and the garlic powder.
4. When meat has finished cooking and has been drained,  put in about 1/3rd to 1/2 of the seasoning mix made.. (I never use it all in one batch, it comes out to be TOO seasoned to me) and 2/3rd cup of water. Simmer until the mix has thickened.
5. Add either 2 smashed hard shells (cooked) or a handful of broken tostitos and stir into the meat mixture. Alongside this, add in the 1/4 cup of cheese. *
6. Now prepare with the toppings you like and use your preferred shell (hard vs. soft!)

*I occasionally add in the packets of mild sauce found in taco kits in the mix, but I'm unsure of the exact amount included. =(    

Weight Watchers Points Plus Value: 5 (per 4oz of turkey, value includes cheese and two mashed up shells.)

Fat: 15g / Carbs: 18g / Fiber: 1g / Protein: 31g

I did not include the soft wraps in this total, nor any other toppings I added (sour cream, extra cheese, etc). That's up to you.

:) Enjoy!