Spaghetti Casserole

So today, we need to make a dish that we can use that wonderful Pasta Sauce from yesterday in. Like I said, the official taste tester loves pasta.... which is not healthy in any way, shape, or form. Sooooooo I did a little experiment to see how I could reduce the "bad stuff" in this recipe and make it a little healthier.

First step in this process: to go low-fat or not? To me, when you see something that says "low-fat" or "reduced fat" you can automatically assume that its going to have a ton of chemicals and unnatural things in it to make it that way. I didn't want to replace calories with chemicals in my husband's body SO I only chose alternative options that were naturally low-fat. What does this mean? For example, a lower fat version of cottage cheese would be one that's made with 2% milk instead of whole milk. Options like this reduce calories and fat naturally without giving your body a lot of synthetic materials.

OK so here are the ingredients for the spaghetti casserole. As promised, I will tell you how to make this the regular way, without all the healthy stuff for those of you that want the regular version. For everything listed, unless I have specified otherwise, just use the regular version of that product. You can also check out the original version here but please note, I made some MAJOR revisions.

Ingredients:
1 lb. Ground Turkey Breast (Regular Version: Use Ground Beef)
Homemade Pasta Sauce
8 oz. Neufchatel Cheese, softened (Regular Version: Use Cream Cheese)
1/4 Cup Light Sour Cream
1/2 lb. 2% Cottage Cheese
1/2 Stick Country Crock Margarine (Regular Version: Use Butter)
8 oz. Whole Grain Pasta
1 cup of your favorite cheese

To start off, preheat your oven to 350 and boil your noodles according to package directions. This is also a good time to brown your turkey meat and set it aside. In a 13x9 pan, spray your pan with non-stick cooking spray and then take half of you country crock margarine and cut it into small squares (set the other half aside). Dot these little square onto the bottom of your spaghetti pan like this:

 

Next, in a medium sized bowl, mix together your neufchatel cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese until well mixed and set aside. Drain your noodles and put 1/2 of them into the pan on top of your margarine squares. Next, take your sour cream mixture and pour it over the top of your noodles, and then spread it out evenly. It should look something like this:

 

Next, place the rest of your noodles on top of the sour cream mixture in the pan. Grab the rest of your margarine, cut it into small squares and dot it on top of the pasta like you did before. Here is a picture.

Now, mix your pasta sauce with your turkey meat and pour the whole thing over your noodles in your 13x9.

Bake your casserole in the oven for 30 minutes. Once that 30 minutes is up, take your casserole out, sprinkle your cup of cheese on top, and then bake for an additional 15 minutes. Here are some pictures of your finished product:

This casserole is great and the substitutions and reductions I made didn't sacrifice any taste at all! Below is the comparison of the original and healthier version.

Original Version (Servings: 8)
595 calories/serving

Healthier Version (Servings: 8)
390 calories/serving

WOW, that's a savings of 205 calories! A savings of 205 calories a day would equal about a pound lost every 17 days. That doesn't seem like much but that's 21 pounds lost in 1 year, without sacrificing any taste.

Also, the healthier version has a ton more fiber and protein, and has about half the fat and cholesterol. You can't beat that!

TIP: I couldn't really taste the margarine/butter in the recipe at all so next time I will probably omit that all together. This would save you an additional 40 calories per serving.

What are some ways you make your recipes healthier? Let me know in the comments section below!

Happy Cooking

& Enjoy!!

 

Pasta Sauce

Hey Everyone! Recently the official taste tester went to the doctor and was told we need to get healthier and eat more fiber (kinda hard when his wife has a blog that's mostly dedicated to food!). SO, I am making an effort to make my food healthier. Don't worry, for all of you out there that don't want to follow the healthy diet, I will still include the regular version :)

The official taste tester loves pasta...how do you make pasta healthy? That is a tough one. Well, the first step is making your own pasta sauce. This is something I have been doing for awhile, but recently I started looking into the health benefits. Making your own spaghetti/pasta sauce has about the same calories as the pasta sauce you can buy in the store BUT the sodium is reduced by about 230 mg or 10% or your daily sodium allowance. We all could use a little less sodium in our lives, not to mention a low sodium diet is recommended to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease.

There is no regular version for this, this is my every day pasta sauce. Now this is a "change" I can get used to! :)

Also, I put quite a few spices in my pasta sauce. If you don't have all of them, don't worry about it! You can add as many or as few of these spices as you want. The only ones I would definitely not skimp on would be the garlic powder, salt, & pepper.

Ingredients:
28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Cilantro
1/2 tsp. Basal
1/2 tsp. Parsley
1/2 tsp. Salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp. Onion Powder (or 1/4 cup diced onions)
1/4 tsp. Dill Weed
1/4 tsp. Thyme
1/4 tsp. Rubbed Sage
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper (or to taste)

Place your crushed tomatoes in a medium pan on medium-low heat. Next, add in all your spices and stir together. Stir occasionally until heated.

That's it! You are done! This can be tossed with your favorite pasta for a simple meal, or included in a more extravagant dish that calls for pasta sauce.

Happy Cooking

& Enjoy!!

 

 

**DISCLAIMER: I am in no way qualified to give advice on health problems. For medical advice, consult your family physician.

Blog Love

Hey Everyone! I think today is some time for some Blog Love :)

I don't have anything to post for today BUT you should roll on over to my cousin's blog. Rachel at Bubbly Nature Creations is an awesome veteran blogger that has some really good stuff! Check her out by clicking on the link!

She just posted a recipe for some Kale chips which sounds AWESOME and are REALLY healthy. These are definitely something I could get used to!

Happy Blogging Everyone! Share a little blog love once in a while ;)

Pad Thai

I LOVE Thai food.... but I had never made it before and I was scared! Let me assure you, this recipe is easy and tastes pretty good. One thing I may have done differently would have been to add a little more sauce (I have adjusted the recipe accordingly below). Other than that, it was awesome! Read through the directions before you attempt to make this because once you start cooking things will go FAST.

Ingredients:
-16 oz. Wide, Flat Rice Noodles (see picture) - I couldn't find these at Wal-Mart but Target had them, so does Kroger

-water for soaking your noodles in
-2-3 Tbsp. Olive oil
-2 cloves minced garlic (or 1/2 tsp. pre-minced garlic)
-3-4 eggs
-1/4 cup-1/2 cup onions (regular or green onions), diced
-1/3 cup brown sugar
-4 Tbsp. lime juice
-2/3 cup soy sauce
-2 squirts of Sriracha (optional) - this gives your noodles a little more flavor. Trust me, if you don't have any of this stuff, you should get some. I use it ALL the time. Here is a picture to help you find it in the grocery store:

To start off, soak your noodles according to package directions. The brand I used had to be soaked in near boiling for 25 minutes. Here is a picture of mine:

Once your noodles are done soaking and have been drained, combine your brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and Sriracha in a small bowl and set aside. Next, put your olive oil in a large pan or wok and cook your onions and garlic on medium-high heat for about a minute or two. Using green onions is A LOT more authentic but I didn't have any so I just used regular onions and it turned out fine. If you do use green onion, put the white parts in here and add in the green parts when you add in your noodles. Next, crack your eggs into your pan and scramble until they are ALMOST done. In a little while you are going to add them back into your pan and they will cook a little more so you don't want them to be all the way done yet. Here is a picture:

See how they are really soft? Once your eggs are almost cooked, take both your eggs and onions out of the pan and set to the side on a plate. Add your noodles into the pan. Some of the noodles may be stuck together so try to pull them apart. If you don't, the ones that are stuck together won't get done all the way. Saute your noodles in the pan for about 30 seconds-a minute and then add in your sauce and sautee them some more. You want your noodles to be completely covered in sauce and cooked through. This should take about 2-3 minutes. Finally, add in your egg mixture and sautee for about 1-2 more minutes to mix your eggs through out and finish cooking them.

Now comes the best part.... Eating it! Here are some pictures of the final product:

 

Happy Cooking

& Enjoy!!

This recipe was adapted from here

Quick & Easy Alfredo Sauce (with or without Chicken)

So today I thought I'd give you a good recipe that both vegetarians and meat lovers can agree upon. This recipe is really quick and easy to make, and best of all, DELICIOUS! Get cha some of that Alfredo pasta! I'm going to give you this recipe with chicken BUT my veggie friends can simply omit that part.

Ingredients:
For the chicken:
-2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken breasts
-2 eggs (optional)
-1/2 cup milk (optional)
-1 cup flour
For Alfredo Sauce:
-1 stick of butter
-8 oz. cream cheese
-2 tsp. garlic powder
-2 cups milk
-6 oz. grated Parmesan cheese
-Basal, Parsley, Cilantro (optional)
-salt & pepper to taste
-package of your favorite pasta noodles

To start making your chicken, cut your chicken breasts into bite sized pieces. In a bowl, combine your eggs and 1/2 cup milk and mix together. Drop your chicken pieces into your egg wash and then dip into flour. I usually just put my flour in a Ziploc bag, throw my chicken in there, and then shake everything until coated. Also, the egg wash helps hold the flour coating to the chicken better, but if you don't want to mess with this, you can just wet your chicken with water. Once your chicken is ready to go, brown it in a medium non-stick pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. I like to cover my chicken while it's cooking to help cook the insides. It should look something like this:

Now, it's time to get your Alfredo sauce going. You can set your chicken to the side, you will add it at the end. This is also a good time to start cooking your favorite pasta noodles. They will take about as long as the Alfredo sauce.

In a large saucepan, add your stick of butter and let it melt on medium heat. Then add in your cream cheese and garlic powder and stir until smooth. Your butter and cream cheese may not fully mix together but that's OK. As long as the cream cheese is melted you are good. Next, add in your milk slowly, stirring as you go. This should make your sauce WAY more smooth and creamy. Once your milk has been added and stirred, add in your Parmesan cheese and whisk together. You can also add in your basal, parsley, cilantro, and salt & pepper to your taste preferences. I usually just sprinkle a little bit of spice on top and it is enough. Once your sauce is all melted together, add in your chicken and toss with your favorite pasta. Here is a picture of your finished product:

 

The official taste tester even requested that we add this to our weekly menu. :)

 

Happy Cooking

& Enjoy!!

 

This recipe was adapted from here

Crockpot Apple Crisp

Happy Tuesday everyone!! It's officially Fall here in TX (well as fall as it gets) and so I thought I'd give you an awesome fall recipe to start the week. This recipe will make your whole house smell like fall and it tastes awesome!!

Ingredients:
6 cups apples, peeled, cored, and diced (about 12 small apples)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 cup & 1/3 cup sugar, divided
1 tsp. Cinnamon (divided in half)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. lemon juice (optional)

TIP: The lemon juice keeps the apples from turning brown and make the apples more moist while cooking. You can substitute in lime juice or water if you don't have lemon juice.

To start off, peel core and dice your apples until you have 6 cups (about 12 small apples). I admit, this part takes awhile but it's worth it. Also if you have an apple corer the process go 20x faster. Once you have all your apples cut up, throw them in your crockpot. It should look something like this:

Next, in a separate bowl, mix together 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, ginger and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Add this mixture to your apples and toss to coat. Next add in your lemon juice (or lime juice or water). and toss your apples to coat. Your apples should look like this:

In a separate large mixing bowl, mix together your flour, brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Next, add in your butter. You want to mix the butter together with the flour mixture until it is crumbly. You can do this with a fork, but I found it easier just to mash it together with my fingers. Then, add your walnuts into your flour mixture and mix together. Pour your flour/walnut mixture over the top of your apples but DO NOT mix together. You want the flour mixture to sit on top while your apples cook. This is what your recipe should look like at this point:

Cook your apple crisp on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours (cooking on low is better!). When there is about an hour left in cooking, partially uncover the top of your crockpot so some air can escape and the top of the apple crisp will harden some. After the 4 hours are over, enjoy!! Here is a picture of the final product (sorry it's so dark, my lighting wasn't very good)

 

 

Happy Cooking

& Enjoy!

 

 

This recipe was adapted from here

 

Conference - No post today or tomorrow

Hey everyone! I'm at a conference for grad school today and tomorrow so there won't be a post. I will miss y'all this weekend, see ya Monday!