Recipe: Asparagus Risotto
Source: Interwebs, via WW

Servings: 6
Serving Size: 1 scant cup

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp table salt, for cooking water
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
2 sprays cooking spray
1/2 T unsalted butter
1 cup uncooked arborio rice
1 T fresh lemon juice
4 cups canned chicken broth
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp table salt, to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Add asparagus to pot; blanch for 2 minutes. Immediately remove asparagus from pot and place them into ice water (to stop them from cooking and help retain their bright green color); set aside.
2. Coat a medium pot with cooking spray and set over medium heat; melt butter. Add shallots; cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add rice and toss to coat; cook for 2 minutes. Add lemon juice; cook, until all lemon juice has been absorbed, stirring continuously so rice does not stick to sides of pot, about 1 minute.
3. Meanwhile, bring broth to a simmer; keep warm.
4. Add 1/2 cup of hot broth to pot at a time; stir until absorbed. Repeat with remaining broth, making sure each addition of broth is absorbed before adding more. This process takes about 20 minutes.
5. When rice turns creamy and just done (should be slightly chewy and not mushy), remove pot from heat; add cheese and stir well. Stir in asparagus; season with salt and pepper.
   

Our Thoughts:
This risotto tasted really good.  I really liked the flavor and the asparagus.  But for me, I just couldn't wrap my head around the actual rice.  Scott tried and tried and tried to get it "cooked" enough for me, and eventually I said it was good enough (and it was...I could eat it), but it still felt too firm for my tastes.  But, maybe it was because it was our first foray into risotto.  I'm going to rate it higher than I felt at the time because I believe it could be fantastic.  It just wasn't that night.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Nutritional Information (per serving):
Calories: 190

Fat: 3.9g

Protein: 9.2g
Carbohydrates: 29.2g

Fiber: 2.5g
Cholesterol: 7mg
Iron: 9% DV
Sodium: 849mg
Calcium: 9% DV

Recipe:  Turkey Enchilada Casserole
Source:  Sunset, 2002 via myrecipes.com

Servings:  8
Serving Size:  1/8 of casserole

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey breast
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salad oil
1 can (29 oz.) red enchilada sauce
Salt
10 flour tortillas (small fajita size)
2 cups shredded reduced-fat jack cheese (8 oz.)
Chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, stir turkey, garlic, oregano, and cumin in oil until turkey is crumbly and no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup enchilada sauce. Add salt to taste.
2. Meanwhile, cut tortillas in half. Arrange a fourth of the halves evenly over the bottom of a shallow 3-quart casserole, overlapping to fit. Sprinkle a fourth of the cheese evenly over the tortillas, then top with a third of the turkey mixture and a fourth of the remaining enchilada sauce, spreading each level. Repeat to make two more layers of tortillas, cheese, turkey mixture, and sauce; top with another layer of tortillas and sauce, then cheese.
3. Bake in a 425° regular or convection oven until cheese is melted and casserole is hot in the center, 18 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Our Thoughts
This was super tasty.  At first, we didn't think it was going to taste like much because the enchilada sauce/turkey mixture was a bit bland, but something about putting it in the oven really spiced it up.  We added a dollop (haha...1 tablespoon) of light sour cream to each serving because, well, we love sour cream.  We ate it with a fantastic salad on the side (have you tried Cardini's light balsamic vinaigrette?  it's awesome!).  This was our first of many "Sunday Night Dinners" Scott and I are hosting for our friends, Drew and Kelly, who come over to watch HBO Sunday programs with us.  It was quite fun and this dish fed us all (the boys had 2 servings each, the girls had 1.5 servings each) and I was stuffed afterwards!  I think you should try it for sure!

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Nutritional Information**
Calories:  249 (20% from fat)
Protein:  27g
Fat:  5.7g (sat 3.1)
Carbohydrate:  23g
Fiber:  1.7g
Sodium:  1048mg
Cholesterol:  58mg

These might be a bit off because we altered the recipe some, but for the most part, it's right.

Recipe:  Blue Cheese-Stuffed Chicken with Buffalo Sauce
Source:  Cooking Light, March 2010

Serves:  4
Serving Size:  1 breast half and 4 tsp sauce

Ingredients
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
1 tablespoon reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, divided
6 tablespoons finely chopped drained bottled roasted red bell peppers
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff cheese mixture evenly into pockets.
3. Place flour in a shallow dish. Combine milk and egg in a shallow dish, stirring well with a whisk. Place panko in a shallow dish. Working with 1 chicken breast half at a time, dredge chicken in flour, then dip in egg mixture; dredge in panko. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken, flour, egg mixture, and panko.
4. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan; swirl until butter melts. Arrange chicken in pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; place skillet in oven. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until done.
5. While chicken bakes, combine remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons butter, bell peppers, water, Worcestershire, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer; cook until butter melts. Remove from heat, and stir in hot sauce. Serve sauce with chicken.

Our Thoughts
Honestly, this wasn't my favorite.  Scott followed the recipe to the T, except for one big difference.  We chose to use the light blue cheese crumbles we had in the fridge instead of the full-fat kind.  I suppose this could have been the downfall of the dish, but I usually really like the light blue cheese.  I thought the dish was kind of bland.  The cheese wasn't evenly distributed (although, Scott blames this on himself, since he started with semi-frozen chicken breasts) and the sauce looked way less than appetizing (it was very, very thick...I suggested at the end of the meal that if there's a next time, we should food process it to make it more sauce-like).  I ate my entire serving, but I most definitely did NOT go back for seconds.  Scott ate another half-breast, but I'm pretty sure it was because he was hungry.  Scott and I are not food wasters and we always eat leftovers...but the remaining 1.5 breasts sat in our fridge for a week before we threw them out.  Not very green of us, but it just wasn't worth it!

Rating:  2.5 out of 5 stars

Nutritional Information
Calories:  392
Fat:  12.9g (sat 6.7g,mono 3.4g,poly 1g)
Protein:  47.4g
Carbohydrate:  18.5g
Fiber:  1.1g
Cholesterol:  175mg
Iron:  2.3mg
Sodium:  421mg
Calcium:  120mg

Recipe:  Oregano and Lime Roasted Chicken Breasts
Source:  Cooking Light, March 2010

Servings:  4
Serving Size:  1 chicken breast half and 2.5 T sauce

Ingredients:

Chicken:
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons grated lime rind
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (about 3 pounds)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sauce:

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon tequila
1/2 teaspoon lime juice

Preparation:

1. To prepare chicken, combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Loosen skin from breast halves by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub the oregano mixture evenly under loosened skin of each breast half. Arrange chicken breasts in a shallow dish; cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 375°.
3. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt. Add chicken to pan, skin side down; cook 5 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over, and transfer to oven. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan, reserving 1 1/2 tablespoons drippings; set chicken aside, and keep warm.
4. To prepare sauce, heat reserved drippings in pan over medium-high heat. Add flour and 1/4 teaspoon cumin to pan, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add chicken broth, 1 tablespoon tequila, and lime juice, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to about 2/3 cup (about 2 minutes), stirring occasionally. Serve with chicken.

Our Thoughts

Okay, okay...we still haven't made this.  I keep finding other chicken recipes Scott would rather make.  Soon, though, I promise!

Rating:  X out of 5 stars

Nutritional Information:

Calories:  446
Fat:  18.8g (sat 4.9g,mono 8.1g,poly 3.8g)
Protein:  60.2g
Carbohydrate:  2.9g
Fiber:  0.7g
Cholesterol:  167mg
Iron:  2.6mg
Sodium:  534mg
Calcium:  46mg

Recipe:  Black Bean Soup
Source:  Eating Well, January/February 2010

Servings:  4
Serving Size:  1.25 cups

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
3 cups water
1/2 cup prepared salsa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lime juice
4 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Preparation:

1. In a large saucepan, add chili powder, cumin, beans, water, salsa and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in lime juice.
2. Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree (use caution when pureeing hot liquids). Stir the puree back into the saucepan. Serve garnished with sour cream and cilantro, if desired.

Our Thoughts

So, there's very little I like more than black beans and very little Scott likes less than soup as a meal.  It took me awhile to convince him to make this for dinner, and in the end, he loved it!  We had to make a couple changes to the recipe (we used taco sauce instead of salsa and we had to cook longer than the recipe calls for because all of the water made it runny--we like thicker soups).  Next time we make this, we'll probably cut the water back to 2 cups, and cut the serving size to 1 cup per person.  The soup has a nice spice without being too hot, tastes great with a dollop of light sour cream, and we paired with cheese quesadillas (Mexican grilled cheese!) for a great and filling meal!  We will definitely make again!

 

Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars!

 

Nutritional Information:

Calories:  191

Fat:  4g

Protein:  9g

Carbohydrates:  1.5 servings

Fiber:  9g

Cholesterol:  unsure

Iron:  unsure

Sodium:  408mg

Calcium:  unsure

Recipe:  Spaghetti with Sausage and Simple Tomato Sauce
Source:  Cooking Light, March 2010

Servings:  4
Serving Size:  1.25 cups pasta, 2 T cheese, 1 T basil

Ingredients
8 ounces hot Italian turkey sausage links
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1 (28-ounce) can no-salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup torn fresh basil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Arrange sausage on a small baking sheet. Broil sausage 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove pan from oven (do not turn broiler off). Cut sausage into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in a single layer on baking sheet. Broil sausage slices 2 minutes or until browned.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
4. Place tomatoes in a food processor; process until almost smooth. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add crushed red pepper and minced garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, and salt; cook 4 minutes or until slightly thick. Add sausage and cooked pasta to pan; toss well. Top with fresh basil and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Our Thoughts
Wow! We both really liked this.  But, as usual, we made a few changes.  I'm not a fan of link-style sausage, so Scott de-cased the sweet italian (we couldn't find hot) turkey sausage and crumbled it, then cooked it on top of the stove instead of under the broiler.  We also used our favorite high-fiber pasta rather than regular.  The rest we made per directions.  It was super yummy.  You can always tell when Scott really likes something because he comments on it over and over while he's eating it.  This meal was no exception.  It's a little higher in calories than I typically like in a meal, but the good news is that while I usually have more than one serving, with this, one was perfect!  We'll definitely make this again, and soon!

Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars

Nutritional Information
Calories: 460
Fat: 16.9g (sat 5.1g,mono 8.1g,poly 2.8g)
Protein: 24.4g
Carbohydrate: 53.3g
Fiber: 4g
Cholesterol: 57mg
Iron: 4.7mg
Sodium: 895mg
Calcium: 253mg