This can be modified several ways.  I used 99% FF ground turkey, whole peppers & onions, several cloves of garlic, didn’t drain the tomatoes….and I was bad and used real cheddar cheese.  oh well…this is pretty good!

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Beef and Veggies

INGREDIENTS

1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup diced red onion

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 1/4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place squash on a baking sheet, and bake 40 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, cool, and shred pulp with a fork.

Or, use Roni’s method to cook the squash in the microwave.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a casserole dish.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until evenly brown.

Drain, and mix in the green pepper, red pepper, red onion, and garlic. Continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.

Mix the shredded squash and tomatoes into the skillet, and season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until heated through.

Remove skillet from heat, and mix in 2 cups cheese until melted.

Transfer to the prepared casserole dish. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and continue baking 5 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Tonight’s dinner…

except I didn’t have peppercorns but I had capers, so I used those.  It was yum-dilli-icious!  Although, I didn’t flip the tilapia so well, so they broke…not so pretty, but very tastey!!!

Sauteed Tilapia with Lemon-Peppercorn Pan Sauce

FROM COOKING LIGHT

Ingredients

3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons drained brine-packed green peppercorns, lightly crushed
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 (6-ounce) tilapia or sole fillets
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons butter
 Lemon wedges (optional)

Preparation

Combine first 3 ingredients.Melt 1 teaspoon of butter with oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat.

While butter melts, sprinkle fish fillets with salt and black pepper. Place the flour in a shallow dish. Dredge fillets in flour; shake off excess flour.

Increase heat to medium-high; heat 2 minutes or until butter turns golden brown. Add fillets to pan; sauté 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove fillets from pan. Add broth mixture to pan, scraping to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in two teaspoons of butter with a whisk. Serve sauce over fillets. Garnish with lemon wedges, if desired.

Yield

2 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and 2 tablespoons sauce)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 282(26% from fat); FAT 8.3g (sat 3.2g,mono 2g,poly 2.1g); PROTEIN 35g; CHOLESTEROL 92mg; CALCIUM 43mg; SODIUM 739mg; FIBER 0.8g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15.3g

i made this a couple of weeks ago.  it was pretty good.  i think it’s better / thicker the 2nd day (and 3rd & 4th…sorry, there’s only 2 of us to eat this!)

i got this from the ww boards on line - i think from the core board….

Spicy Black Bean Soup

Core Recipe

Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 30 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
The key to thickening this soup without flour? Pureeing some of the beans before cooking it. You’ll love the stick-to-your-ribs texture that results.

Ingredients
1 sprays cooking spray
1 medium onion(s), finely chopped
4 medium garlic clove(s), minced
45 oz canned black beans, undrained, divided (three 15 oz cans)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 tsp ground cumin
14 1/2 oz fat-free chicken broth, or vegetable broth
10 oz canned tomatoes with green chilies, such as Rotel Tomatoes
11 oz canned yellow corn, drained

Instructions
Coat bottom of a large stockpot with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes.

Place one can of beans in blender; add sautéed onion mixture, red pepper flakes and cumin. Cover and blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour mixture back into stockpot.

Place second can of beans and broth in blender and puree until smooth; add to stockpot.

Stir third can of beans (do not puree first), tomatoes and green chilies, and corn into stockpot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
 
Yields about 1 1/2 cups of soup per serving.

If you haven’t seen Heather’s collection of (CORE) recipes, I recommend checking it out.

She has this HUGE collection of core recipes… http://www.freewebs.com/hwc1973/index.htm

 I made these last night, w/some modifications… YUMMY! And DH liked them, too!

Barley pilaf:

½ onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp olive oil
1 c pearlized barley
3 c FF chicken broth
½ tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sprinkle of fresh or dried rosemary and thyme
Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375.

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Spread barley into 1.5 qt baking dish. Add the cooked onion and garlic. Bring broth to a boil, then immediately stir in seasonings and pour liquid over barley. Cover baking dish tightly with doubled layers of foil. Bake barley 1 to 1.25 hours, until tender. Remove dish from oven and uncover. Fluff barley with a dinner fork, and serve.

– From WW core board

Note on the pilaf — it seemed to take forever for the broth to get absorbed. I think the pilaf was in the oven for about 1.5 hours - then again, I was still waiting for DH to come home, so it was fine…

Honey dijon chicken with brown rice (core)

Honey is not core, but per serving, 1 TBS = 0 points.

3 cups cooked brown rice
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
3 cups chopped fresh broccoli
2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon tarragon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook, stirring 3 - 5 minutes or until chicken is brown and partially cooked. Add broccoli, mushrooms, onion and garlic; cook 4 - 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in rice, mustard, honey, vinegar, tarragon, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring 3 - 5 minutes or until well blended. Serves 6

-Uncle Ben’s brand recipe (posted by DoraLisa2005)

Note on the chicken - since I was making the pilaf, I didn’t use the brown rice. And I didn’t have tarragon, so I threw in a little rosemary & marjoram. And…I only had canned mushrooms. One thing I noticed last night - not sure if this is always the case or not…but since the veggies were mixed in w/the chicken, it seemed like we both didn’t eat as much. Granted…we also had the barley pilaf, which can be filling. We get our chicken (breasts) from Costco & freeze it…and I take out 2 at a time…and we’ll normally have the chicken breast whole, with a veggie. And we’ll both eat our chicken + some veggie — usually no leftovers. But when I cut it up and added lots of veggies (this also happens when I stir fry), there are always leftovers!

i made this today in my slow cooker.  it was YUMMY and totally hit the spot after the gym tonight…

3/4 c barley

3/4 c lentils

1/2 onion

2-3 carrot sticks

2-3 celery sticks

1 potatoe

baby bella mushrooms

3-4 cloves garlic

2 bay leaves

64 oz chicken stock

cut up vegetables & garlic into smaller pieces…throw everything into the slow cooker.  put on low for 8 hours.

serve up & eat.

DH LOVED this.  he said the house smelled so good when he walked in tonight…

notes on this…having this on low for 8.5 hours, then on warm for another 1.5 hours - this was VERY thick and there was not enough liquid to qualify this as a soup.  i guess it was more like a stew.  this was the first time  i used my slow cooker for a soup / stew.  i was still a little worried about leaving it on all day (even though i come home at lunch to let the puppy out), but it turned out fine.  oh, i digress….i guess you could add more liquid (broth or water) or cook it for less time…

i made this the other night. it was yummy!!! it was more stew like, than chili…in that there was a lot of liquid (i also put the lid on the pan while cooking, which may have caused condensation / more liquid in the dish). NI is at the bottom - i think i calculated 5 pts / serving. this can easily be modified for core…

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped red onion (about 1 medium)
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1 small)
8 ounces extralean ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (19-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14-ounce) can low-sodium beef broth
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer (such as Budweiser)
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Preparation
Combine first 4 ingredients in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in chili powder, cumin, sugar, and salt; cook 1 minute. Add oregano and next 4 ingredients (through beer) to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in cornmeal; cook 5 minutes. Stir in juice.
Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 261(20% from fat); FAT 5.7g (sat 2.1g,mono 2g,poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 18.3g; CHOLESTEROL 30mg; CALCIUM 74mg; SODIUM 799mg; FIBER 8.3g; IRON 3.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.3g

Jackie Mills, M.S., R.D. , Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2007

at last week’s meeting, we talked about quick & easy recipes. i won’t post them all until i try them…wouldn’t want to pass along anything w/o knowing what it’s like.

so, the leader mentioned taco soup. i’ve made a similar one before, but i tried hers. w/o meat - it’s 1 pt / cup. with meat (lean ground turkey or 93/7 beef), it’s 2 pt / cup. at least according to my meeting leader. i haven’t put it through any of the recipe builders.

here’s the base of it:

3 cans of beans - any beans (i drained them b/c i don’t like the liquid the beans are in)

2 cups of water

1 can corn

2 cans of diced tomatoes (can use rotel, also…when i made it last night, i used 1 can tomato, 1 can of mild rotel)

1 packet taco seasoning

1 packet of ranch dressing mix - this is optional - i used it

throw it in a pot and heat until mixed and warmed through.

i used meat - ground turkey.  i just ground the turkey, then threw it in the pot w/everything else.

other alternatives…the other recipe i have made used hominy instead of corn.  if it’s about the same nutritional value as corn, then i think i’ll use it next time b/c i like the texture better than corn.

the other recipe i made would ground the meat, then add the taco seasoning & some water to the meat.  then the seasoned meat would be added to the rest of the ingredients in the pot.

anyhow…it’s yummy & quick & easy!!!

Not taking pix yet of my food…but this was last night’s dinner! Very easy to make!

This was one of my favorites before WW. Very yummy…most of the time, I don’t add the wine / chicken stock because I’m too lazy to open either one, and it’s still good. I put this into the recipe builder for 2lbs of chicken. Based on 4 oz servings, it was 4 pts. Based on 6 oz servings with the wine, it was 7 pts, I think. Either way - YUMMY!!!

Garlic Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
6 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves stripped from stems
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Seasoning) or, coarse salt and black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Arrange chicken in a baking dish, 9 by 13-inch.

Add garlic, rosemary, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon zest and grill seasoning or salt and pepper to the dish.

Toss and coat the chicken with all ingredients, then place in oven.

Roast 20 minutes.

Add wine and lemon juice to the dish and combine with pan juices.

Return to oven and turn oven off. Let stand 5 minutes longer then remove chicken from the oven. Place baking dish on trivet and serve, spooning pan juices over the chicken pieces.

ok…like to cook, but don’t necessarily create my own recipes.

(i tried to put this in the recipe page, but didn’t know how…anyone?)

tried these last weekend - after cutting up brownies, i stuck them in the freezer, so we wouldn’t eat them all at once! i think there’s still some there…

i haven’t run this through a recipe builder, but if you believe the nutrition info at the bottom, they’re 2 pts a brownie!

http://health.discovery.com/fansites/devin-alexander/recipes/brownies.html

(how do you make the URL so it is a link?!)

(in case you don’t want to follow the link)

Ingredients
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
Butter-flavored cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8 inch non-stick cake pan with spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, using a sturdy whisk or spatula, mix the applesauce, vanilla, egg whites and sugar until they are well combined.

Add the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir the mixture until it is just combined and no lumps remain. Pour it into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the chips evenly over the top. Bake the brownies for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry (a few crumbs are okay).

Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow them to cool 5 minutes. Cut into 12 equal brownies. Makes 12 (1 brownie) servings.

Each brownie has: 88 calories, 2 g protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 1 g fat, less than 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 133 mg sodium