Lasagne Soup

Justin isn't a fan...but it's on my top 5 for sure. I LOVE this, I get so excited for it to get cold outside so I can enjoy this yummy goodness. Just a side note, I can't find the noodles it calls for so I have used a few different ones. But the best is just crunch up some lasagne noodles! AND...I think if you boil them first and then put them in at the end, it makes it where day 2 Lasange soup is still soup. The noodles like to soak up all the good juices! Don't leave out that cheesy yum it calls for. It's the best part!

Ingredients

for the soup:
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
• 3 c. chopped onions
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 c. chicken stock
• 8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
• 1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
for the cheesy yum:
• 8 oz. ricotta
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• pinch of freshly ground pepper
additional cheesy yum:
• 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Roasted RedPepper and Basil Pesto Penne

This was really good and super easy. We put some italian sausage in with this and I was so suprised with how quick and good this meal was. I also left the heavy whipping cream out. To many WW points in my opinion. I didn't use pine nuts, cuz nuts are expensive (and i don't know what pine nuts are, or if they are good So i figured we wouldn't miss out.)

Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup roasted red bell pepper (fresh or jarred)
• 1 cup basil leaves
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. penne pasta
• ¼ cup heavy cream, optional

SO for this recipe Get that good ol' food processor out. In that put in the garlic and pulse until its chopped up nice. Then add the roasted red peppers, parmesean, basil, salt, pepper. While you pulse all this pour in the olive oil. Mix with the cooked penne. SO good. Add the sausage, you will thank me. ;)

WW points: Ill look it up too, it can't be to bad either.

Chicken Parmesean Bake

So good and SO cheap

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
hot red pepper flakes, to taste
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 5, but they were huge!)
2 cups marinara sauce
1/4 cup chopped basil
8 oz mozzarella, shredded
4 oz Parmesan, grated
1 (5-oz) package garlic croutons 

So at the bottom of the caserole dish (i used a 9x9 and only 2 big breasts) spread olive oil and garlic and hot red pepper flakes. Lay chicken on top and cover in marinara sauce (I seasoned a can of crushed tomatoes - super cheap) layer with basil, mozzarella and parmesean. Don't make this layer of cheese to thick. Next sprinkle the crutons on and kinda push it into the sauce. Top with remaining cheese and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. We had it with salad and it was so good! and WW points? I am not sure but it can't be too bad at all. I will look it up;)

Corn Salsa

We love Corn Salsa, if you know Justin....go figure huh? We like it with anything mexican.

Corn Salsa with Lime

Servings: 12 • Size: about 1/2 cup • Old Points: 1 • Points+: 1 pts
Calories: 52.5 • Fat: 0.7 g • Carb: 11.7 g • Fiber: 1.8 g • Protein: 2.0 g • Sugar: 1.8
Sodium: 10 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups (20 oz) cooked sweet yellow corn, cut
• 2 vine ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 scallion, diced
• 1-2 jalapeños, diced (remove seeds unless you like it really spicy)
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 1/2 limes, juice of
• chipotle chili powder, to taste
• salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for about an hour. Makes about 6 cups

**Chipotle Chili powder is a little hard to find, I found it at Albertson's in with the fancy seasonings. It's HOT, so watch out.

Barbacoa Beef

This last weekend while we were in the valley we ate at Chipotle and just for kicks and giggles I tried the barbacoa beef to see how similar mine was to this and Justin and I were in shock. The taste was almost identical, the only difference was Chipotles was a little more saucy and creamy, but I guess that's because mine is the "light" version. I got this recipe off Skinnytaste.com I love that website, she is awesome! We have it with cilantro lime rice and corn salsa (Justin likes it burrito form)


Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 4 oz • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 161.4 • Fat: 5.0g • Protein: 24.9 g • Carb: 2.8 g • Fiber: 0.7 g

Barbacoa Beef 

• 3 lbs beef eye of round or bottom round roast, all fat trimmed
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1/2 lime, juice
• 2-4 chiptoles in adobo sauce (to taste)
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• salt and pepper
• 3 bay leaves

Directions:
Place garlic, onion, lime juice, cumin, oregano, chiptoles, cloves in a blender.


I put mine in the crock pot with all the seasonings and water for a couple hours. Take it out of the crock when it's done and shred and put it back in the juicy juice and let it warm for an hour or so longer. At this time you may need to add more salt and cumin or chipotle juice (from the peppers). The chipotle peppers are spicy so add accordingly!

Lasagne Soup

I made this on a cold day and I was in pure Heaven and every time I go to Show Low because it makes alot and it's not on Justins top 100 :), it will be on yours though I promise. I love this. I have tweaked it a little. I can't find the noodles it calls for so I just use lasagne noodles and break them up. Watch it really close, over cooked noodles are ewww. I also use more tomato paste than it calls for because HEY...I can't open a can for one tablespoon, so I use about 3. I also put a little more parmesean in the cheese topping than it calls for because I have a small problem with parm. cheese. I left the basil out becuase it's really expensive and didn't miss it. My mom tried it once and used regular breakfast sausage and said it worked too. Oh and this is not WW but it can't be tooo bad, Can it?

Lasagna Soup
(print recipe)
for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta ( used regular lasange noodles and just broke them up)
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Servings:  8

Chicken Pot Pie

Midterms are over, trips are over (gas is to expensive to go anywhere anyway!) SO....we are back in cooking mode. I have a pretty sweet little weight watchers menu planned so I will post as I go.

This is a staple around my parts. Chicken Pot Pie. NOW....the first time I made this I used the bagged precooked chicken. It's quick easy and cheap but even better than that would be to cook and freeze your own chicken and have it on hand, but what do you do? ENJOY

WW Pointsplus: 4 per serving (there are 6 total servings so like 3/4 cup?)

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

- 1 cup Bisquick All Purpose Baking Mix, Reduced Fat

- 1/2 cup skim milk

- 1/4 cup egg substitute

- 2 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies, thawed

- 1 1/2 cups grilled skinless chicken breast

- 1 can Campbell’s Fat Free (Healthy Request) Cream of Mushroom soup

- 1 can Campbell’s Fat Free (Healthy Request) Cream of Celery soup

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8 x 8 casserole dish with non-fat cooking spray. In a separate bowl, combine chicken, vegetables and soup. Pour into casserole dish. In another bowl, combine Reduced Fat Bisquick, milk, and egg. Pour over the top of chicken mixture in the casserole. Bake for about 30 min, or until crust is golden.

Our Chile Verde

I had a pork roast that was needing to be used, yesterday was a test day (so that means I'm fried for the day) So crock pot day again. Lazy you say? I'm really fine with that.

WW points: I don't know yet i'll type it in the website and let ya know

Chile Verde

1 Pork Roast cut into cubes

1 carton of thawed Beuno mild green chile ( you could use the bigger one and just use one)

1/2 carton of thawed Beuno Hot green chile (I already had these so it worked for us)

1 small can of green enchilada sauce

cumin, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and garlic salt to taste.

High for six hours or low for eight!

We shreded this and had them in Quesadilla's with sour cream and pico de gayo. We loved it.

French Dip Sandwhiches

Wednesday is Crock pot day around the Lewis quaters. On weeks that I have a test (which happens to be this week) I have a review on Wednesday nights and then we head straight to mutual, oh yeah and I have class from 1:00 to 5:00. So we love our crock. This recipe is from pinterest and we have found that we like it on cibatta buns from the bakery at Wal-Mart, they are a little harder and don't get as soggy.

NOW...my calculations are not always perfect, but I have figured that your Bun is about 3 points, cheese 2 and this recipe entered into ww says that about 4 oz (which is like 1/2 cup) is 6 points, so the whole sand is 11 points

Ingredients:
3-4 lb. Beef Round Steak (or any type of beef roast)
1 packet Onion Soup Mix
1 packet Au Jus Seasoning
1 (15 oz) can of Beef Broth or Stock
½ cup water
4 slices mozzarella cheese
Sub rolls (I like Bolillo Rolls)

Directions:

Put beef roast in slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine Beef broth, Onion soup mix, Au Jus seasoning and water and stir until combined. Pour mixture over beef, put cover on slow cooker and cook on low for

about 8 hours. An hour before serving, shred meat with two forks or take it out and slice thinly.  Place meat back in the slow cooker for another hour.

When ready to serve, place several slices of beef on roll, add sliced mozzarella cheese and place under the broiler (or use broil option on toaster oven). Watch carefully, broil for just a couple of minutes until cheese is melted and roll is just slightly toasted.

Serve sandwich with a bit of Au Jus from the slow cooker (you may want to strain it first). Also, I added just a bit more beef broth to our Au Jus.

 I don't use beef stock. I just use beef bullion powder because it's a whole lot cheaper!

Southwest Egg Rolls

So last night southwest salad was on the menu, black beans, corn, spicy ranch, pico, chicken. Mmm sounds good right? Well daytime TV is horrible and so if Jett is sleeping you will probably find the food network on. So there I was sitting and watching and BOOM, it hit me. Southwest egg rolls, That sounded so good. I googled it, found a cheap receipe, loaded my nugget in the car, threw weight watchers out the window and to Food Basket we went. Here it is:


SOUTHWEST EGG ROLLS

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half
• 2 tablespoons minced green onion
• 2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1/4 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 tablespoons diced jalapeno peppers
• 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 5 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 quart oil for deep frying

Directions

1. Rub 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over chicken breast. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook chicken approximately 5 minutes per side, until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in green onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until tender.
3. Dice chicken and mix into the pan with onion and red pepper. Mix in corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese so that it melts.
4. Wrap tortillas with a clean, lightly moist cloth. Microwave on high approximately 1 minute, or until hot and pliable.
5. Spoon even amounts of the mixture into each tortilla. Fold ends of tortillas, then roll tightly around mixture. Secure with toothpicks. Arrange in a medium dish, cover with plastic, and place in the freezer. Freeze at least 4 hours.
6. In a large, deep skillet, heat oil for deep frying to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Deep fry frozen, stuffed tortillas 10 minutes each, or until dark golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Don't be fooled by six steps, its not that bad. chop the veggies, cook the veggies spoon the veggies in a small four tortilla and fry. I also used mexican cheese blend because that is what I already had in my refrigerator. I personally left the parsley out and put garlic in I grated a carrot and threw that in too. And I used the bagged pre-cut, pre-seasoned chicken. We were going to have these with our salad but abandoned the salad all together. Next time I'll do rice and beans with it. Dip in sour cream and ENJOY (and boy did we!) You could also just bake these babies to have them not be so fattening.....Or you could not:)

Funny Side Note: I was knee deep in this recipe when I discovered we were out of toothpicks. I was not about to go to the store. So being so resourceful I grabbed a few spaghetti noodles to do the job. Great Right? NO. they cook when you put them in the hot oil. So....moral of the story. Have some toothpicks on hand for this one.