Rosalie is getting married in July. As you might expect, in preparation for the "big day," our eating habits in A50 are, well, healthy. Very healthy. Our diet is best described as low fat (except when I have a bad day and end up topping whatever it is I just made extremely low fat with 2 TB butter - which I have done on several occasions this semester). We are not about to give up, completely, the foods we love, so I've invented low fat versions of almost everything I make. Still pretty inspired to cook thanks to the weekend in Miami, here is my newly invented low-fat lasagna. In honor of my betrothed roommate, I call it:
Rosalie's Lasagna
12-16 whole wheat lasagna noodles
3 links Italian turkey sausage
3 cups nonfat cottage cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 jars Barilla tomato & basil marinara sauce
2 cups low-fat mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 400.
Cook lasagna noodles in large pot of boiling, salted water, 10 minutes. Do not overcook. When noodles are done, remove from water, place on baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, and allow to cool slightly.
In the meantime, brown sausage in nonstick pan, about 10 minutes on medium heat.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper.
Layer ingredients in a 9 x 13 pan in the following order: 1/2 cup marinara, 3 lasagna noodles (may need 3 1/2 depending on size of pan), 1/2 cottage cheese mixture, 3/4 cup mozzarella, 1/2 sausage, 1 cup marinara, 3 more lasagna noodles, remaining cottage cheese mix, 3/4 cup mozzarella, remaining sausage, 1 cup marinara, 3 more noodles, 1/2-3/4 cup marinara, remaining mozzarella. Bake for 1 hour or until bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
This makes enough to serve at least 6(or 2 hungry grad students for an entire weekend), and if you only get 6 servings out of it (which you should get way more than that), it turns out to be somewhere around 14 grams of fat per serving. If you are on extremely low-fat diets, this lasagna is the one for you. It's lower-fat than the competition because of the cottage cheese. While I can find low-fat ricotta, I can find fat free cottage cheese. I have shunned using cottage cheese in my lasagna for a long time, but I really didn't mind it here. I also cut fat grams by swapping my usual pork sausage/ground beef combo for a small amount of turkey sausage. While pork sausage has about 18 fat grams per serving, turkey sausage only has 9. What a nutritional bargain, as my new friend Ellie Krieger would say! It's also a very "saucy" lasagna, which is another reason I named it after my roomie. She's a saucy lady! And she likes her pasta loaded with sauce. It's definitely appropriate. I think spinach would be a nice addition (or substitute for the turkey), as long as it's very thoroughly drained. Otherwise, you'd get a watery lasagna, and who wants that?
Whoever said fat free eating isn't yummy clearly never lived with us for a semester before a wedding.
Showing posts with label low-fat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label low-fat. Show all posts
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
"Cook That Again" Turkey Soup
I made a HUGE mistake today. Well, ok, I made a big mistake yesterday by deciding not to go to Kroger's. Not only did I have more free time yesterday, but yesterday was not the day before February Freeze 2008 - or a major winter storm warning for central Kentucky.
Now since moving "all the way up north" to Lexington, I have many a time called my mother or other random family members to brag about how "it snowed all night last night and I drove right through it to school today!" or said "nope, we are almost out of milk and bread and I didn't even think about going to wal-mart to stock up! That's how they do it up north, y'all" or even taken pictures of my car, buried in a good 1/2" of snow in my parking lot, with the cell phone to send to Dave, just to let him know what a skilled driver I was to navigate out of a parking lot covered with a blanket of white stuff I once dreamed for as a child in north Alabama, where it never snowed (unless you count the great blizzard of 1987, when we all went sledding at the elementary school and my dad pulled us around the hills of our pasture in a plastic swimming pool tied to the back of our 3-wheeler. I'm serious about this. Redneck fun!). However, today, it really is snowing. For real. "They" are saying it's going to get pretty bad, with ice, and actual accumulations over 1". So, that is a sign, even for seasoned snowbirds like Lexingtonians, to head to the nearest grocery store, immediately.
That's what I got in the middle of tonight when I went to Kroger after class. I went to the one off Chinoe, thinking it'd be less insane than the one on Euclid. I was wrong. Everyone in Lexington was at the Kroger on Chinoe. I wouldn't have gone tonight, but we are almost out of milk (seriously! not just saying that because of the snow), and I can't eat my daily cereal without milk, and I was craving a turkey chili. I generally make full-out grocery runs in 30 minutes - door to checkout - and today, it took 45 minutes for a shortened run and wait time in line. It wasn't all that bad, as I got an insight as to what people think is really important in times of stress. I'll consider it an informal participant observation. Should've taken field notes! I saw frantic people getting things like cat food. Lean Cuisines. Gallons of Hawaiian Punch (I'm guessing for addition to vodka and not for their kids?). Bottled water. Milk by the gallon. Ice cream. Toilet paper. By the time I got back out to the parking lot, the lot was covered, it was icy, and I had to scrape my windshield.
I digress. When I got home, I was tired, hungry, and craving a beer for some reason. Turkey chili/soup with a miller lite hit the spot. I changed the name from "chili" to "soup" because of our apartment's definition of chili. What I made tonight just doesn't qualify as chili. Chili-a-la-Rose is hearty, with little soup to it. Turkey chili-a-la-me is more like a soup. Hence the name change. Here is the recipe.
1/2 TB olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced, seeds removed
3 italian turkey sausage links
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 12 oz can of beer (I used Miller Lite, what was in the fridge)
1 can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 chipotle in adobo, diced, seeds removed
In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sautee onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno with salt & pepper until tender, about 10 minutes. Add in the turkey sausage links removed from casings. Add in chili powder and cumin. Break up the sausage with a wooden spoon and cook until sausage is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Add in the can of beer (what better way to deglaze a pan?). Add in the tomatoes, beans, broth, and chipotle. Salt and pepper again to taste. Cook over medium heat until all flavors have incorporated and liquid starts to reduce, anywhere from 15-45 minutes, depending on how hungry you are. Top with sour cream, cheese, and crushed up crackers or tortilla chips.
Once I called it a soup instead of chili, Rose decided it was much better. I don't blame her. It is more of a soup, come to think of it. Either way, we both got seconds and it's going in regular rotation. I based this off a recipe I found on food network's website, but since I just threw things together in a pot based on what I had in the pantry, I am taking full credit for this one. It's also very healthy. There's only about 34 grams of fat in the entire pot, and there are at least 4-6 servings in one recipe. Using turkey sausage instead of regular sausage cuts out a ton of fat, and gives more flavor than just plain ground turkey. It certainly hit the spot on this cold, snowy night.
Now, we are sitting around, useless, praying they cancel school for tomorrow (they won't) and that we get a snow day (we won't). It's not that I even have a lot to do tomorrow, but who doesn't like a snow day?
Now since moving "all the way up north" to Lexington, I have many a time called my mother or other random family members to brag about how "it snowed all night last night and I drove right through it to school today!" or said "nope, we are almost out of milk and bread and I didn't even think about going to wal-mart to stock up! That's how they do it up north, y'all" or even taken pictures of my car, buried in a good 1/2" of snow in my parking lot, with the cell phone to send to Dave, just to let him know what a skilled driver I was to navigate out of a parking lot covered with a blanket of white stuff I once dreamed for as a child in north Alabama, where it never snowed (unless you count the great blizzard of 1987, when we all went sledding at the elementary school and my dad pulled us around the hills of our pasture in a plastic swimming pool tied to the back of our 3-wheeler. I'm serious about this. Redneck fun!). However, today, it really is snowing. For real. "They" are saying it's going to get pretty bad, with ice, and actual accumulations over 1". So, that is a sign, even for seasoned snowbirds like Lexingtonians, to head to the nearest grocery store, immediately.
That's what I got in the middle of tonight when I went to Kroger after class. I went to the one off Chinoe, thinking it'd be less insane than the one on Euclid. I was wrong. Everyone in Lexington was at the Kroger on Chinoe. I wouldn't have gone tonight, but we are almost out of milk (seriously! not just saying that because of the snow), and I can't eat my daily cereal without milk, and I was craving a turkey chili. I generally make full-out grocery runs in 30 minutes - door to checkout - and today, it took 45 minutes for a shortened run and wait time in line. It wasn't all that bad, as I got an insight as to what people think is really important in times of stress. I'll consider it an informal participant observation. Should've taken field notes! I saw frantic people getting things like cat food. Lean Cuisines. Gallons of Hawaiian Punch (I'm guessing for addition to vodka and not for their kids?). Bottled water. Milk by the gallon. Ice cream. Toilet paper. By the time I got back out to the parking lot, the lot was covered, it was icy, and I had to scrape my windshield.
I digress. When I got home, I was tired, hungry, and craving a beer for some reason. Turkey chili/soup with a miller lite hit the spot. I changed the name from "chili" to "soup" because of our apartment's definition of chili. What I made tonight just doesn't qualify as chili. Chili-a-la-Rose is hearty, with little soup to it. Turkey chili-a-la-me is more like a soup. Hence the name change. Here is the recipe.
1/2 TB olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced, seeds removed
3 italian turkey sausage links
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 12 oz can of beer (I used Miller Lite, what was in the fridge)
1 can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 chipotle in adobo, diced, seeds removed
In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sautee onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno with salt & pepper until tender, about 10 minutes. Add in the turkey sausage links removed from casings. Add in chili powder and cumin. Break up the sausage with a wooden spoon and cook until sausage is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Add in the can of beer (what better way to deglaze a pan?). Add in the tomatoes, beans, broth, and chipotle. Salt and pepper again to taste. Cook over medium heat until all flavors have incorporated and liquid starts to reduce, anywhere from 15-45 minutes, depending on how hungry you are. Top with sour cream, cheese, and crushed up crackers or tortilla chips.
Once I called it a soup instead of chili, Rose decided it was much better. I don't blame her. It is more of a soup, come to think of it. Either way, we both got seconds and it's going in regular rotation. I based this off a recipe I found on food network's website, but since I just threw things together in a pot based on what I had in the pantry, I am taking full credit for this one. It's also very healthy. There's only about 34 grams of fat in the entire pot, and there are at least 4-6 servings in one recipe. Using turkey sausage instead of regular sausage cuts out a ton of fat, and gives more flavor than just plain ground turkey. It certainly hit the spot on this cold, snowy night.
Now, we are sitting around, useless, praying they cancel school for tomorrow (they won't) and that we get a snow day (we won't). It's not that I even have a lot to do tomorrow, but who doesn't like a snow day?
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Hearty Healthy Holiday Soup
Have you noticed all the perfume ads lately? I know that "scents" are quite the popular holiday gift, unless you're me and you hate perfume because it gives you a headache, but seriously people. Lindsey first drew my attention to this at the T.J. Maxx in Auburn over Iron Bowl weekend when we stopped in to get gloves for the cold. There were at least 6 different "celebrescents" (I just invented a word) at the checkout counter. Britney Spears. Shania Twain. Celine Dion. Mariah Carey. Hilary Duff. Who doesn't have a perfume out this holiday season? And are people actually buying them? If any of y'all out there are actually purchasing these fragrances, I need to know about it. This is a critical analysis in the making. Do you want to smell like the celebrities? In the case of Britney, does it smell like a combination between frappuccinos and cigarettes? What's Shania smell like, hay fields from Canada? I bet Hilary smells like cotton candy and bubble gum. And do you actually think the people wear their own perfume, that is mass produced and, I'm sure, cheaply made? I am curious about these things. And I am clearly watching way too much television on my holiday vacation. Wait, wait - oh yeah, it's my job to keep up with television. Nevermind.
In between coming up with more research projects that may help me get tenured some day, I have been doing my favorite thing in the world - cooking. Holiday baking took up a lot of time yesterday, and Dave really threw me for a loop when he called at 4 p.m. and requested "vegetables" for dinner. It's rare that he specifically requests something that close to the night's dinner, so I took it as a challenge. I nixed the chicken enchiladas I had in mind, flipped through a Rachael Ray cookbook, and adapted a recipe based on what I had left from last week's grocery trip. The result: a healthy, hearty soup that was perfect for a cold night like last night. Dave ate two bowls, I personally loved it, and there were leftovers for lunch today. So here's the recipe for LBDelicious Spinach Artichoke Soup.
2 T (approx) EVOO
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, with juice
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 15 oz can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and quartered (do not use marinated artichoke hearts)
salt & pepper to taste
In large soup pot, heat oil, then sautee onion, pepper and garlic, with salt & pepper, until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients, add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 15-20 minutes, until ready to eat. Before serving, make up a batch of cheesy toast or serve with crusty bread. My cheese toast was a kaiser roll split in half, topped with mozzarella, placed in the toaster oven for 3 minutes. MMMM
This is very low-fat, low-calorie, and filling meal, especially if you eat it with bread. No bread laying around? Make it heartier by adding some ditalini, orzo, or any small pasta (pre-cooked, unless you want a thick stew-like consistency). Where have you seen ditalini before? Yep, Jon's Italian Sausage Soup. This recipe was also in part adapted from that one. You probably have all of these ingredients laying around your house. If you don't, and you're broke from all your Christmas shopping and think you can't afford to cook it, these ingredients are all very budget-friendly.
Now, I'm going back to baking some more and prepping walls to paint. Happy Holidays!
In between coming up with more research projects that may help me get tenured some day, I have been doing my favorite thing in the world - cooking. Holiday baking took up a lot of time yesterday, and Dave really threw me for a loop when he called at 4 p.m. and requested "vegetables" for dinner. It's rare that he specifically requests something that close to the night's dinner, so I took it as a challenge. I nixed the chicken enchiladas I had in mind, flipped through a Rachael Ray cookbook, and adapted a recipe based on what I had left from last week's grocery trip. The result: a healthy, hearty soup that was perfect for a cold night like last night. Dave ate two bowls, I personally loved it, and there were leftovers for lunch today. So here's the recipe for LBDelicious Spinach Artichoke Soup.
2 T (approx) EVOO
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, with juice
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 15 oz can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and quartered (do not use marinated artichoke hearts)
salt & pepper to taste
In large soup pot, heat oil, then sautee onion, pepper and garlic, with salt & pepper, until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients, add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 15-20 minutes, until ready to eat. Before serving, make up a batch of cheesy toast or serve with crusty bread. My cheese toast was a kaiser roll split in half, topped with mozzarella, placed in the toaster oven for 3 minutes. MMMM
This is very low-fat, low-calorie, and filling meal, especially if you eat it with bread. No bread laying around? Make it heartier by adding some ditalini, orzo, or any small pasta (pre-cooked, unless you want a thick stew-like consistency). Where have you seen ditalini before? Yep, Jon's Italian Sausage Soup. This recipe was also in part adapted from that one. You probably have all of these ingredients laying around your house. If you don't, and you're broke from all your Christmas shopping and think you can't afford to cook it, these ingredients are all very budget-friendly.
Now, I'm going back to baking some more and prepping walls to paint. Happy Holidays!
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