Veggie Mexi Cassarole

ok, april, this one's for you! so anyone that knows me knows how much I LOVE mexican food... and lots of it! I decided to not eat meat for a week and wanted to make something mexican to eat! I was so happy when I came up with this recipe. The filling was so good we alsmost ate it in some tortillas like tacos!! who knew mexican food could be so yummy and with so little calories!!!

Veggie Mexi Cassarole (1478 calories total/4 servings at 370 calories each)

1 tablespoon EVOO*

2 cups diced onion/bell pepper/mushrooms*

2/3 cup corn *(220 calories)*

1 cup diced rotel tomatoes (40 calories)

1 19.75 ounce can whole black beans drained and rinsed (140 calories)

6 teaspoons taco seasoning (60 calories)

2 cups shredded cheese (660 calories)

8 corn tortillas (208 calories)

1 cup red enchilada sauce (60 calories)

3 pablano peppers seeded and cut in half (90 calories)

- preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- in skillet cook down onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, and corn in EVOO.

- combine cooked veggies in a bowl with diced tomatoes, beans, and taco seasoning

omg this stuff was good all by itself!!

- spray a 3 quart cassarole dish with nonstick cooking spray.

- spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish.

- cut 4 tortillas in half and dip them in the sauce and layer the bottom of the dish.

this part is a little messy

- on top of the tortillas, pour 1/2 of the bean and veggie mixture.

- layer the pablano peppers next and top with 2/3 cup shredded cheese.

if you don't like pablanos, you can use any pepper you like, or none at all!

- after the peppers and cheese, add the remaining bean and veggie mixture.

- cut the 4 remaining tortillas in half and top the bean mixture.

- spread the last 1/2 cup of red enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas.

- cover with the remaining 1 1/3 cup cheese.

- bake covered at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, then uncover and cook an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese is nice and bubbly. everything is cooked, except the pepper. it was a little crunchy when I took it out after 45 minutes. you may try roasting the peppers before assembling the cassarole so it won't have to bake as long. then all you have to do is heat it through and melt the cheese!

mmmm... cheesey mexican goodness!!!!

Zuppa Toscana

This is for my sweet friend, Alissa. I'm sorry it took so long to post it for you!!! This isn't exactly the same because I don't use bacon and I try to make it a little lower calorie than the original. However, in my opinion, it tastes just as great!!!

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Copycat)

1 tablespoon EVOO

1 pound ground turkey

3 tablespoons italian seasoning

1 large onion chopped

8 cups water

2 cans chicken broth

2 teaspoons diced garlic

1 cup cream

1-2 pounds washed and sliced potatoes (I use Russet and leave the skin on)

1/4 of a bunch of kale

- in a large soup pot brown onion and ground turkey in EVOO. season ground turkey with garlic and 1 tablespoon italian seasoning (this makes it more like italian sausage).

- add water, chicken broth, and sliced potatoes and bring to a boil. cook about half an hour or until potatoes are soft.

- add cream and kale and simmer for another 30 minutes.

- serve with parmesan cheese and breadsticks

I don't have the calories for this but I do know that it is lower in calories and fat due to using ground turkey instead of pork sausage and omitting the bacon.

Low Cal Chicken and Tortellini Alfredo

I didn't get a picture of this one. I didn't actually plan on adding it to the blog, but after we ate Kevin insisted that it was so good and I had to blog about it. Who doesn't LOVE alfredo sauce?!? This is a great LOW CALORIE alfredo sauce!!! So you don't feel guilty about enjoying it!

This recipe comes from some ideas I got from Hungry Girl (http://www.hungry-girl.com/). I was kind of in a hurry so I didn't measure everything!

for those who haven't heard of it before...

Low Cal Chicken and Tortellini Alfredo (1850 calories total or 4 servings at 462.5 calories per serving)

Alfredo Sauce (370 calories total or 4 servings at 92.5 calories each)
10 tablespoons powder creamer (80 calories)
4 wedges garlic and herb laughing cow cheese (140 calories)
1 tablespoon olive oil (120 calories)
1 tablepsoon flour (30 calories)
garlic powder*
onion powder*
italian seasoning*
salt and pepper*

*sorry I didn't measure these... I always taste as I cook, and usually don't measure it out*

4 servings tortellini (760 calories)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (720 calories)

- prepare tortellini as directed on packaging
- season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and italian seasoning
- in a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil
- brown chicken breasts until done
- remove chicken from skillet and set aside
- add flour to skillet and brown slightly
- in a bowl or cup disolve powder creamer in 2 cups hot water and add to skillet
- add laughing cow cheese and stir to melt
- season to taste (onion powder, garlic powder, italian seasoning, salt, and pepper)
- let simmer until well blended then add drained tortellini and stir
- top each serving of tortellini and sauce with sliced chicken breast

I'm sure I will make this again sometimes, so when I do, I'll add a photo!

Avocado Turkey Burgers

This is for my dear friend Debi! It's an easy recipe, nothing fancy, but we like them! I didn't take a picture, though! The next time I make them I will take a picture and post it for you! I normally only make half of the recipe, but we had company so I made more. I also added a little extra ranch powder... I like a stronger flavor, so you can adjust it for your tastes.

Avocado Turkey Burgers

2 pounds ground turkey (1360 calories)
3 tablespoons ranch dressing powder (40 calories)
3 tablespoons crushed ceasar croutons (70 calories)
1 egg (70 calories)
(1540 calories total or 8 servings at 192.5 calories each)

toppings -
avocado
lettuce
tomato
red onion

- combine ground turkey, ranch dressing powder, crushed croutons and egg
- form the meat mixture into 8 patties
- grill or broil until done (we eat ours well done... not big on undercooked burgers!)
- build your burger! i like mine with mayo and topped with sliced avocado, lettuce, tomato and red onion

Pan Grilled Salmon with Honey Lemon Glaze and Mushroom Brown Rice

Such a nice meal for a hot summer day!! It fills you up but it isn't all greasy and heavy!



Pan Grilled Salmon with Honey Lemon Glaze

1 14 ounces salmon filet (600 calories)
2 tablespoons olive oil (240 calories)
1 tablepsoon rosemary
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon sage
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon dill
1 tablespoon basil
salt and pepper to taste
(840 calories total)

glaze -

¼ cup lemon juice (30 calories)
4 tablespoons honey (240 calories)
1 tablespoon paprika
(270 calories)

- rub salmon filet with rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, dill, basil, salt, and pepper
- let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes
- heat skillet with 2 tablespoons olive oil
- sear salmon about 7 minutes on each side
- wrap salmon in foil to keep warm
- in the same skillet combine lemon juice, honey and paprika
- once the glaze is warm, return salmon to skillet to coat then serve


Mushroom Brown Rice (380 calories total or 2 servings at 190 calories each)

½ cup uncooked brown rice (320 calories)
1 chicken bullion cube (10 calories)
1 tablespoon rosemary
8 brown mushrooms diced (30 calories)
1 teaspoon butter or margarine (20 calories)
salt and pepper to taste

- follow instructions to cook rice
- when you add the rice to the boiling water, also add chicken bullion, rosemary, and mushrooms
- once rice is done stir in the butter, salt, and pepper and serve!

Lemon Pepper Pork Tenderloin and Oven Roasted Veggies

This is a very light and low calorie meal! Pretty tasty too! I used one of those injector needles to get the lemon pepper all through the tenderloin, but if you don't have one, just marinate it!




Lemon Pepper Pork Tenderloin (530 calories total or 2 servings at 265 calories per serving)

1 16 ounce lean pork tenderloin (430 calories)
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine (100 calories)
4 tablespoons lemon pepper (0)
1 tablespoon rosemary (0)

- mix melted butter, lemon pepper, and rosemary then marinate the pork tenderloin in the mixture
- grill on medium heat about an hour to an hour and a half


Oven Roasted Veggies (790 calories total or 6 servings at 132 calories per serving)

2 small zucchini (40 calories)
2 small squash (40 calories)
10 small mushrooms (40 calories)
1 medium red pepper (30 calories)
½ medium onion (20 calories)
1 head cauliflower (140 calories)
4 tablespoons olive oil (480 calories)
1 tablespoon each of rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, dill and basil
salt and pepper to taste

- preheat oven to 350 degrees
- clean and cut all veggies into chunks
- toss veggies in olive oil and spices
- coat a 13" x 9" baking dish with non-stick spray
- spread veggies in dish and bake for 30-45 minutes

lemon icebox pie

This is by far the EASIEST pie to make! It is a little tart, but a nice treat on a hot summer day! I also changed it up a little and made a "cherry limeade icebox pie"... it was so cool!!!! I had some problems with it taking a while to set up but if you leave it in the freezer for at least a day it will be fine! LOL!!!! I also didn't include the calories for this recipe... I added them up... and all I'm gonna say is there are a lot of calories in this pie!

Lemon Icebox Pie

1 can frozen lemonade
12 ounces cool whip
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 keebler 2 extra servings graham cracker crust (or 2 regular crusts)

- whisk lemonade, cool whip, and sweetened condensed milk together and pour into crust

- freeze overnight

Cherry Limeade Icebox Pie

1 can frozen limeade

12 ounces cool whip

the juice from a small jar of maraschino cherries

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 keebler 2 extra serving graham cracker crust (or 2 regular crusts)

- whisk frozen limeade, cool whip, cherry juice, and sweetened consdensed milk together and pour into crust

- freeze overnight

- garnish with cherries and limes