I think I have just made the best pasta sauce I’ve ever made. Granted, I had help from the nice folks at Classico, but it’s what I added to the sauce that really made it, I think. To cut back on fat, I used ground turkey for this meat sauce, instead of beef and only used half, creating more volume by adding chunks of quartered mushrooms and onion.
-
1 jar of Classico Cabernet Marinara
-
1/2 lb extra lean ground turkey
-
1 container of white mushrooms, quartered
-
1 white onion, cut in chunks
-
2 cloves of minced fresh garlic
-
2 tbsp olive oil
-
1 cup of red wine
-
1/2 cup fat free parmesan or romano
-
1 or 2 tbsp each of basil, oregano and crushed red pepper (to taste)
Cut the onions in chunks while heating the oil in the pan to medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, start browning the turkey and the onions (don’t let the onions get too carmelized—turn down your heat if you see this happening) and add your minced garlic. While this is going on, quarter your mushrooms.
Once all that’s going, dump in your jar of sauce, add the spices, cheese, and wine. Incorporate it all, then reduce your heat to low and cover. Let simmer as long as you want, checking on it periodically. The longer you slow-simmer, the richer the flavor becomes since the veggies and meat absorb the flavors.
Serve with pasta of your choice. Remember portion sizes… I don’t buy traditional spaghetti because unless you have a pasta measure, it’s hard to gauge what one serving is. So I’m using farfalle (bowtie) pasta, which is easy to control portion sizes with a measuring cup.
This recipe makes roughly 8 generous servings of sauce at 4 points a serving, according to my calculations on Weight Watchers Online. (for the sauce only—pasta is additional).
This stuff is so good, it’s taking great restraint to not eat it directly from the pot. You could easily eliminate the meat, which would probably cut the points in half.
Yum.
I had a whole meal of new recipes I tried last night (Grilled Chicken with Whiskey-Ginger Marinade and Ginger-Sesame Asparagus), but these were my favorite part of it. They were also the easiest! And if a guy who loves junk food scarfs ‘em down, you know they’re good.
-
1 tbsp olive oil
-
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
-
3/4 tsp paprika
-
1/4 tsp dried thyme
-
1/2 tsp table salt
-
1/4 tsp black pepper
-
1 1/2 pound potato(es), new, quartered
Instructions
- Coat a 9 X 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat oven to 425°F. Whisk together oil, mustard, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add potatoes and stir until they are coated.
- Transfer potatoes to the baking dish and roast 15 minutes. Stir and roast another 15 minutes.
Don’t make extra because you will eat them, I swear to you.
POINTS® | 3
Servings | 4
Preparation Time | 10 min
Cooking Time | 30 min
Level of Difficulty | Easy
Recipe from Weight Watchers Online
I hate when low fat low calorie food tastes like I am chewing on my welcome mat. Food should taste good. I went apple picking recently and wanted to bake something with our winnings and didn’t want to make something that would add 3 inches to my ass. I found this recipe and kicked it up a notch (a la Emeril) and it came out delicious. My husband ate the whole friggin’ pan.
Baked Apple Streusel
Ingredients:
-
4 medium apple(s), peeled, cored and thinly sliced (use firm apples)
-
1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
-
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
-
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg*
-
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
-
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
-
1/4 cup uncooked old-fashioned oats
-
3 tbsp reduced-calorie margarine
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Stir together apples, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice; pour into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
Cut flour, oatmeal, remaining brown sugar and margarine together with a pastry blender or fork in a medium bowl; sprinkle over apple mixture.
Bake until apples are tender and top is browned, about 45 minutes. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.
WW Points: 2 pts per serving. Suggestion… top with a dollop of frozen fat free cool whip. It’s 0 points for the cool whip which is a bonus.
* Recipe originally from here... I added the nutmeg for kicks. I’m crazy like that.
