This week - 1/31/12

Olive Garden Week

Tuesday - Grilled Cheese with pasta salad
Wednesday - Pasta E Fagioli (crockpot) with french bread
Thursday - uhhh - it's up to Isaac
Friday - Pizza pockets or personal pizzas
Saturday - left overs and hot dogs
Sunday - Chicken Gnocchi - hopefully a lower fat version using evaporated milk - with raspberry lemonade
Monday - Tacos

French Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups warm water 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour (flour with a little dough enhancer)
• 2-3 teaspoons yeast
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal

Directions:
Mix ingredients in mixer. Add flour a cup at a time to make sure it's not too dry. Knead for 5-8 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Grease pan and sprinkle cornmeal on it. Shape dough into a long french bread roll and let rise on pan for an hour or so. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.

about 20 Slices - 88 calories , .9 g fat, .7 g fiber - 2 points per slice

Spinach Calzones and Pizza Calzones

Use the pizza dough recipe. Divide into 6-8 pieces and roll out into circles.

Spinach Calzones
For filling, heat fresh spinach mix with italian spices
Combine with

• 1 15 oz container ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Fills 8 with about 1/2 cup for each calzone

Pinch edges together, and then bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until browned.

Top with marinara sauce after baking.

Pizza Calzones

Fill with pizza toppings use marinara sauce, pizza sauce, or alfredo sauce.

Pinch edges together, and then bake.

Pizza

Pizza Dough

• 1 cup water
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 cups bread flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons instant yeast

Directions

• Put ingredients in mixer in order. 
• Knead for 5-10 minutes in mixer. 
• Let rest/rise for 15 minutes. 
• Roll out and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Add toppings. 
• Bake 375 for 20 minutes or until toppings look done.

8 Servings - 195 calories, and 2.8 grams of fat - 4 points per serving plus toppings

Pizza sauce

• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 tbs italian seasoning
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder or salt
• 1/2 tsp olive oil

15 calories per serving

Or use mock alfredo sauce

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup spaghetti seasoning
• 1 tbs brown sugar

Mix first 3 ingredients in a blender. Put in sauce pan and add seasoning and sugar. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Serve over pasta or use in Lasagna.

Serves 6, 47 calories per serving, 0 grams fat

Mock Alfredo Sauce

Low-fat mock version of alfredo sauce. Serve over noodles add vegetables and grilled chicken.


Ingredients

• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup fat free cottage cheese
• 1 garlic powder to taste
• 3 teaspoons minced onion
• 1 salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

In a food processor, put the milk, flour, cottage cheese, garlic powder, onion, salt and pepper, and Parmesan cheese. 

Blend until smooth.

Transfer the blended mixture to a saucepan over medium heat.

You can add meat and/or veggies to this and serve over pasta.

4 servings, 135 Calories 3.7 grams fat - 3 points 

30 Minute - Minestrone Soup

Nutritional Analysis: One 1-cup serving (prepared with low-sodium bouillon) equals 88 calories, 178 mg sodium, 0 cholesterol, 14 gm carbohydrate, 3 gm protein, 2 gm fat.
(2 points!)

Ingredients

• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 cup chopped cabbage
• 1 celery rib, thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 3 cups water
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian stewed or diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can kidney beans drained
• 3 cubes beef bouillon
• 1 cup torn fresh spinach
• 2/3 cup cooked shell macaroni
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tbs italian seasoning

Directions

In a 3-qt. saucepan, saute carrots, cabbage, celery, onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes. Add water, tomatoes, beans, and bouillon; bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Stir in spinach, macaroni and pepper; heat through.

Vegetarian Lasagna

Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 9 pieces lasagna noodles - softened
  
• Cottage cheese mixture:
• 1 large fat free cottage cheese
• 1 egg
• 1-2 tbs Italian spices
• 1/2 to 1 cup frozen spinach
  
• 1 Large can Spaghetti sauce or "homemade" (I do: 1 can stewed tomatoes and 1 can of tomato paste, pureed, add some water and spaghetti seasoning, maybe a tbs sugar)
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese - enough shredded to cover top and the rest cut into thin strips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Get the above ingredients ready and layer in this order in a 8x13 pan:

• Sauce (enough to cover bottom of pan)
• 3 noodles
• Lay mozzarella cheese strips crosswise (about 6-8 strips)
• cottage cheese mixture (about half)
• spaghetti sauce
• 3 noodles
• mozzarella strips
• cottage cheese
• sauce
• noodles
• sauce
• shredded mozzarella, throw in a little grated parmesean if you want

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Take off foil and bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted and maybe a little brown. Cool for 5 minutes before you cut and serve.

It is 184 calories and 4.3 grams of fat for each square if you cut it into 12ths.