Turkey and Zucchini Bolognese

This past sunday I started Weight Watchers, the points plus program.  It's been 2 full days and I've already planned out my whole week of food.  I know that's totally insane but for me it's totally normal.  I'm kinda of crazy like that and love to plan and be organized.  I have been brainstorming some recipes that are great and low in points. Here's one to try, with or without pasta! This can also be done all in one pan or pot, less dishes to clean!  Yay!

Turkey and Zucchini Bolognese
(serves 1)
1 cup store bought Marinara Sauce ( I like Rao's, 3 points)
1/4 pound lean ground turkey (3 points)
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced thinly (0 points)
Olive Oil flavored Pam Non-Stick Spray (0 points)

NOTE: If you use one serving of pasta, which is 2 oz uncooked, add 6 points, 5 points for whole wheat. Also you can omit the pasta and replace it with 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa for 4 points.  Another idea is to omit the pasta or quinoa and use another 1/4 pound ground turkey. For this add 4 more points.  If you are forgoing the pasta or quinoa, try adding 1/2 cup canned cannelini or black beans,  add 2 points.   The more vegetables the better, mushrooms would be a good addition!

Measure out 1 cup of store bought marinara sauce and put aside.  Next spray a nonstick pan with Pam and saute the zucchini until browned and cooked through, place in the measuring cup along with the marinara.  (If you'd like to add more veggies, saute them in the pan with the zucchini.)  In the same pan place the ground turkey meat and use a wooden spoon to break it up while cooking. Cook for about 10 minutes. Pour marinara and veggies into the pan or use another pot (if adding beans, do so now), let sauce simmer for about 10 minutes to let the flavors combine.  Pour over pasta, quinoa, rice, or eat alone! ENJOY!

Aioli on Your Burger?

Roasted Red Pepper Aioli

6 garlic cloves

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cups light mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste

1 15oz jar of roasted red peppers, drained

Finely chop garlic cloves in a food processor. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Then add the mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper to taste and blend until smooth. (This is your basic aioli.)

To make red pepper aioli, blend peppers and 1 cup basic aioli in processor until mixture is smooth. Can be made 1 day ahead, keep covered and refridgerated.

Pack in the Protein

Sorry for being a little MIA lately. I've been dealing with some stuff (as I like to call it) and been pretty busy. I'm here, and still cooking, but just a lot less. Now that the Summer is approaching I am going to try to focus on some light and healthy recipes. To begin, I'm starting with a very simple meal that is packed full of protein and hardly no fat, if any. For dinner last night I made broiled tilapia with tzatziki sauce and sliced tomatoes.

This is almost like a no-recipe recipe. All you need to do is get yourself a tilapia fillet from your closest fresh fish market. Sprinkle the fillet with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a light drizzle of olive oil. Place it in a baking dish or pan or on tinfoil handmade thingamajig....below is a picture of what I'm talking about.

Place the fillet into the oven about 10 inches below the broiler and broil for about 15 minutes on high. The fish should have turned from translucent to an opaque white. You can flip the fillet after 8 minutes to cook the other side. Now that the fish is cooked place some tzatziki (for recipe click here) on the fish and serve it with a side of sliced tomatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper! That's it! Easy, tasty, and light and healthy!

Tzatziki Sauce

Tzatziki Sauce

0% fat Fage Greek Yogurt

2 tablespoons chopped dill

juice of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove finely chopped

1 persian cucumber peeled and finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

2 dashes or red wine vinegar

Mix all ingredients together and let it sit in the fridge so the flavors marry.

Eggplant Mozzarella

Eggplant Mozzarella (not parmesan)

serves 4

2 eggplants sliced into rounds and grilled

2 cups baby spinach leaves

2 cups real easy tomato sauce mixed together with 1 cup Rao's Marinara sauce

3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Pour some tomato sauce into the bottom of the baking dish of your choice. Place grilled eggplant on top, covering the dish's surface area. Sprinkle 1/2 the spinach leaves on the eggplant slices and then sprinkle with cheese, salt, and pepper. Pour more sauce on top of the cheese and then repeat layering ingredients until you run out making sure the top layer is cheese.

Bake at 375 for about 40-50 minutes. Enjoy!

Real Easy Tomato Sauce

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion

I saw this recipe on a blog called Rachel Eats. It originally was adapted from Marcella Hazan’s The essentials of classic Italian cooking. I adapted it a tad further, see recipe below.

Serves 4

• 28oz tinned whole San Marzano tomatoes (used chopped tomatoes)
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion cut in quarters
• salt to taste
• crushed red pepper to taste
• 5-8 basil leaves julienned

Peel the onion and chop it in quarters.

Put the tomatoes, onion, and butter in a heavy based saucepan and put the pan on a modest flame.

Allow the sauce to reach to a gentle simmer, adjust flame if necessary so the sauce cooks at a slow but steady simmer for 45 minutes. You need to stir every now and then, gently squashing and crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pan with a wooden spoon. (I didn't have to do this step because I used crushed tomatoes. The original recipe says to discard the onion after the sauce is cooked but I left it in for extra flavor!)

Add salt, crushed red pepper, and basil and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and use on your favorite pasta dish.

I imagine this would be great for a pizza sauce, an eggplant parmesan recipe, etc. The ideas are endless!