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 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…

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.