Lightened up Fettucine Alfredo

A friend of mine raved about a recipe she made for Chicken Alfredo, wherein you used greek yogurt in place of heavy cream. I couldn't remember the last time I'd even had alfredo sauce since changing my diet! So I found a recipe by Rocco Dispirito for a light fettucine alfredo, and went to work.

This recipe was incredibly easy and I had most of the ingredients on hand. I grilled some chicken and added it on top. Mixing in some broccoli or peas would be a nice way to get in extra veggies.

Sorry, again, I didn't get a picture!

LIGHT FETTUCINE ALFREDO, recipe adapted from Rocco DiSpirito
8 ounces whole-wheat fettuccine **big top secret: I don't like whole wheat pasta! I subbed regular pasta. Shh...
1 tablespoon butter
2-3 garlic cloves, minced (*Note: I used 3 fresh cloves and it was too much garlic, stick with 2)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Pinch of ground nutmeg
3/4 cup low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3/4 cup 5 percent Greek yogurt (*I used fat free greek yogurt and it was still plenty rich and tasty)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine; cook according to package directions.

While pasta cooks, melt butter in a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook two minutes.

Combine cornstarch and nutmeg in a small bowl; whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Pour into saute pan, raise the heat, and bring sauce to a simmer, whisking occasionally.

Whisk in 1/2 cup of the cheese until melted. Remove pan from heat.
Whisk in yogurt until smooth.

Toss fettuccine with Alfredo sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Top pasta with remaining cheese. Serves four.

Shepherds Pie

We don't really eat red meat in our house anymore due to health reasons, so I'm always looking for recipes where I can sub in ground turkey or chicken. For the most part, either meat serves as a fine substitute and you can't taste much difference, with the exception of Shepherds Pie. I have tried 2 or 3 recipes previously, and the end result is usually pretty bland and I want some robust flavor in my Shepherds Pie.

I took to the internet for a new version, a saucier and more savory version. I found a contender at SkinnyTaste. I made a few changes and the outcome was pretty close to the flavor I was looking for. Sorry there is no photo because we took most of this dish to some friends in need, and we devoured the rest!

Shepherds Pie (adapted from SkinnyTaste)

Potatoes:
1-1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, diced
3/4 cup fat free chicken broth
4 tbsp fat free sour cream (*original recipe calls for 2 tbsp, but I like my potatoes creamy)
salt and pepper
paprika
*grated parmesan cheese, to taste (*not included in original recipe)

Filling:
1 lb lean ground turkey (*original recipe calls for lean ground beef)
1 tsp oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
*8 oz mushrooms, diced (we are not mushroom lovers, so I cut these out entirely)
10 oz frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, peas, green beans)
2 tbsp flour
1 cup fat free beef broth
4 tsp tomato paste (*original recipe calls for 2 tsp, but I was wanting more robust flavor and added more)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dried rosemary (*original recipe calls for 1 tsp freshly chopped rosemary)
1/2 tsp dried thyme (*original recipe calls for 1 tsp freshly chopped thyme leaves
salt and pepper

Boil potatoes in water until cooked and soft. Drain and mash with chicken broth, sour cream, salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400°.

In a large saute pan brown meat. Season with salt and pepper. When cooked, set aside on a plate. Discard any fat in the pan, add oil, onion and garlic and sauté on medium heat about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and celery and sauté another 3-4 minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper and mix well. Add frozen vegetables, beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme, chopped meat and mix well. Simmer on low about 5-10 minutes.

Spread the meat mixture on the bottom of a 11x7 glass baking dish. Top with mashed potatoes, using a fork to scrape the top to make ridges and sprinkle with paprika and grated parmesan. Bake 20 minutes or until potatoes turn golden. Remove from oven and let it cool 10-15 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin granola bars

please excuse the iPhone photo

In an attempt to make granola bars, I stumbled on a recipe for pumpkin granola bars on Two Peas and their Pod. The recipe was straight forward, didn't contain too much sugar and my oven was already preheated from dinner. So I gave them a try and was pretty pleased with how easy and tasty they were.

Much like the last pumpkin recipe I shared, I don't feel that the actual pumpkin flavor is that strong in these bars, which isn't a bad thing. They are spicy, applesauce-y, and cinnamon-y. 3 cheers for made up adjectives!

Pumpkin Granola Bars (adapted from Two Peas and their Pod)
3 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 by 8 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk oats, spices, and salt together. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour over oats and stir well, until all of the oats are moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Evenly press oat mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. The pumpkin keeps the bars moist, so make sure they are golden and set-you don't want them to be under baked. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

5. Using a sharp knife, cut into bars. Remove from pan and enjoy!

Baked Pumpkin Donut (holes)

I woke up wanting a donut. And something pumpkin flavored. Since I don't own a donut pan (Note to self: add 'donut pan' to Christmas wish list), I searched online for a recipe of donut holes. I found quite a few recipes, but settled on a simple, baked, spice-filled recipe. The original recipe is from Craving Chronicles.

These little treats couldn't have been easier to make. I will say that the pumpkin flavor wasn't that strong, but man, are these TASTY! For every dozen I pulled out of the oven, I ate 1. Maybe 2. I only rolled the tops in the butter/cinnamon-sugar combo because my 3 year old was helping and I didn't want to clean sticky sugary fingers.

Ingredients
For Donuts
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup low-fat milk

For Coating
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven 350°F. Spray each cup in a 24-cup mini muffin tin with baking spray or butter generously.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices (through cloves). In a separate, large bowl whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined – do not over mix!

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. (Using a 2-tablespoon scoop will ensure uniform size.) Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the muffins bake, melt butter in one bowl and combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Remove muffins from oven and cool for 2 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle. Dip each muffin in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat.

Teriyaki sauce

I will never buy teriyaki sauce from the grocery store again. That is a promise I made to myself after making this teriyaki sauce recipe. It is the easiest, tastiest sauce.

I got this recipe from my mother in law's copy of the Our Best Bites cookbook. It's a GREAT cookbook. Might add it to my Christmas list this year. That, and a new couch. Take note, Santa. Their website is full of delicious things to make.

I double this recipe when I make it so that I have extra on hand in the refrigerator. I just put sauce in a mason jar in the the fridge and reheat it or use it as a marinade.

TERIYAKI SAUCE, makes 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce (*I use reduced sodium soy sauce)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced (*I use refrigerated pre-minced garlic from a jar, don't hate me)
1/2 tsp ground ginger (*I use refrigerated ground ginger from a jar, not sure if its supposed to be dried ground ginger?)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water

1. Combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and pepper in saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Whisk together cornstarch and water. Once soy sauce mixture has come to a full boil, whisk in cornstarch and stir until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and cool.

We use this sauce for chicken teriyaki bowls so we serve it while it's still hot on top of our chicken, but you can jar it up and refrigerate once it cools. It also makes for a great marinade for grilling. Never buying teriyaki sauce again. Say it with me people!

Shredded mexican chicken + enchilada bake

This recipe comes from Picky-Palate. It's a great website for practical, delicious recipes that even picky little kids will enjoy. YES, PLEASE! This recipe is great because it's stuff I usually have on hand, and it's not a ton of work to make.

I make shredded mexican chicken in a crock pot the day that I'm going to make the enchilada casserole. I usually make more chicken than the casserole recipe calls for and save it for tacos or quesadillas later in the week. Here's all I do for the chicken, and I have no idea where I learned this method/recipe. Been making it this way for years...

SHREDDED CROCK POT MEXICAN CHICKEN
1 1/2-3 lbs boneless skinless breast
3 tbsp taco seasoning (I make my own using a recipe much like this one, 3 tbsp is about the equivalent to a packet of store-boughttaco seasoning)
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup salsa (any kind you like, picante sauce works too)

Place chicken in crock pot, sprinkle with taco seasoning and cumin. Pour salsa and chicken broth over top. Cook on low 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Shred and serve.

CHICKEN & BLACK BEAN GREEN ENCHILADA BAKE, serves 6-8
2 cups white long grain rice
2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
One 15-ounce can mild green enchilada sauce
One 4-ounce can sliced black olives *(I omitted this, no olive lovers in this house)
One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup sour cream *(I use fat free sour cream- use whatever fat content you like)
1 teaspoon kosher salt *(I omit b/c I've already seasoned the chicken thoroughly)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper *("" "" )
1 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Roasted Ground Cumin *("" "")
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese*(I use a reduced fat mexican blend- use whatever fat content you like)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Cook rice according to package directions.
3. Place chicken, enchilada sauce, olives, tomatoes, sour cream, salt, pepper and cumin into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Pour cooked rice into prepared baking dish and layer beans on top of rice. Pour chicken mixture over rice and top evenly with cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until cheese is melted and rice is hot.

*We eat ours with crumbled tortilla chips on top as well, just to add a little salty crunch!

Banana [chocolate chip] bread

We never eat bananas fast enough in this house, so instead of tossing a couple out the other day, I made banana bread. And I sprinkled chocolate chips on top because...it was Tuesday and I felt like it.

The recipe I use is from SkinnyTaste . Love her recipes, it's one of my go-to sites. I made one loaf, so I halved the original recipe.

* = additions/changes that I made from the original recipe

LOW FAT BANANA BREAD (with chocolate chips)
3 ripe medium bananas, mashed
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, softened (I use Land O Lakes light butter w/ canola oil. Cuts down on the fat, and it hasn't effected any of my baking thus far)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
*2 eggs (original recipe calls for 2 large egg whites, but I toss in the whole egg)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 oz chopped walnuts (I omitted)
*handful semisweet chocolate chips
baking spray

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease 9x5 loaf pan with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg, bananas, apple sauce and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick.

Add flour mixture and blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into loaf pan, and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes, bread should be room temperature before slicing.

Note: This bread freezes beautifully! When I do make the full original recipe, I always toss the other loaf in the freezer. It thaws out in a few hours when you're ready to eat it.