Roasted Red Pepper Dip (YUMMY!!!) - 2 points

This one is from the new WW cookbook - it's fantastic with Carrots!  It makes 4 servings, 2 points each.  It's great for taking to a game, or munching on when guests are coming over - they'll never know it's Weight Watchers!

2 large red bell peppers

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp tomato paste

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1.       Line rack of broiler pan with foil and preheat broiler

2.       Cut bell peppers in half, remove seeds.  Arrange peppers, cut sides down, on prepared pan.  Broil 5 inches from heat until skin is blackened, about 10 minutes.  Transfer peppers to large zip-loc bag.  Seal and let steam for 10 minutes more.

3.       When cool enough to handle, peel the peppers and cut into large pieces.  Put in a food processor.  Add all the remaining ingredients and puree, add a little water if it’s too thick.  Serve at once, or refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms - 3 points

I made these the other night.  They were FANTASTIC!!!!

Ingredients
2 ounces of feta
2 ounces of light cheese
1 Tbsp Newmans Own Balsalmic Vinigarette Dressing
1 package of frozen chopped spinach (you could probably use fresh, too, if you prefer)
leek
3 portabello mushrooms
garlic and herb marinade
salt
1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
2 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Directions
Wash the mushrooms, remove and coarsly chop the stems.  Place mushrooms in a large plastic baggie with about 1/4 cup of garlic and herb marinade.  They don't need to sit too long - even 30 minutes is long enough.

Cut up some leek as well.  spray a pan and sautee the leeks and mushroom stems.  Add a dash of salt.  Remove from heat.

Thaw and drain the spinach.  Squeeze dry, removing as much of the liquid as possible. 

In a bowl, mix spinach, cheeses (except parm) leek and mushroom mixture, 1 Tbsp balsalmic vinagrette dressing, salt and pepper. 

remove your mushrooms from the marinade and pat if there's too much staying on the mushroom - just for good measure, to avoid too many points. (so, if it's pooling inside the cap, you might want to get some of that out).  Stuff the mushrooms with the spinach mixture. 

Mix panko and parm.  and sprinkle on the top.  Hit each cap with a bit of olive-oil or cooking spray.
I cooked mine on the grill, medium-low heat, for about 20 minutes.  You could do them in the oven as well, I suppose.  But keep in mind with mushrooms - LOW HEAT, longer time.  You need the mushroom to release it's water into the cap, to moisten the filling, you also want the filling to heat through, and be cheesey and good - so be patient!  It's worth it!

Mashed "Potatoes" - 2 points per serving

This is from Weight Watchers - it's 2 points per decent sized serving, the recipe makes 4 servings.
The best part is, you really don't need ANY extra butter on these babies!  maybe a little extra salt, but that's it!

Ingredients
8 oz cauliflower, fr3esh, or frozen, raw, florets
3 small yukon gold potatoes, uncooked, peeled, cut into small pieces for boiling
2 cloves garlic - fresh, peeled
1 tsp salt, table, divided (I use more than this!)
1/4 cup milk (lowfat or light)
2 tspButter, regular, with salt
pepper to taste
chives to taste

Directions
Place cauliflower, potatoes, garlic and 1/2 tsp of salt in medium saucepan and add enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil and cook until vegetables are tender (about 10-15 minutes).  Drain and return to pan.

Stir in milk, butter, a bit more salt, pepper, and mash with potato masher until smooth.  Stir in chives and serve. 

This says it yields about a half cup per serving, and maybe I used more cauliflower than called for, because I get close to a full cup per serving.

Vegetarian Fajitas - 5 points (chicken variation - 6 points)

Here's another great meal idea . . .

You can get low carb, high fiber tortillas that actually taste good at Costco (they're by La Tortilla Factory), 2 points each
Stir Fry up some veggies - lots of em - zuccini, yellow squash, onion, peppers, mushrooms, maybe even asparagus, and add in fresh cilantro and a packet of fajita seasoning mix (0 points if you use a spray instead of oil)
1/2 cup fat-free refried beans - 2 points

You can add a Dollop of Sour Cream (1 point) and some salsa (0 points) and you've got yourself a fajita! 

If you prefer, you can also cook up some boneless, skinless chicken breast, shred it and add more fajita seasoning, and use that instead of the refried beans.  1 full breast is 3 points.  I doubt you'd even USE that much. . .but if you did, you'd be looking at a whopping 6 points per fajita, and I bet you can't eat more than 2 of 'em!

Best part is - you'll have lots of left over veggies cooked up for snacking, and they'll have great flavor.  Put them with some brown rice the next day, for lunch!

Yummy Crock Pot Chicken - approx. 4 points

This comes to us from Jen Bertino - I figured the points just for the chicken.  If you go this route, it's approximately 5 points per chicken breast, if you only have half a breast, you're looking at 2 points.  obviously if you add a low-carb tortilla, add points for that, and for the sour cream and/or cheese, but I'm guessing even with ALL of those things, you could still have a meal with 1/2 a breast, for 7 or 8 points!!

 

Soooo easy! 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (they can be frozon), 1 can tomato sauce, one jar LaVictoria Thick and Chunky Salsa verde in a crock pot for about 6 hours. It's amazing!

 

It's good on low carb whole wheat tortillas or corn tortillas with lowfat sour cream, avacado, and a touch of low fat cheese (we use Sargento). I've eaten it with just sour cream and it's still amazing. I put it on in the morning before I leave for work and through them together than night. The leftovers are also fabulous. WW peeps will have to figure the points, but it's low fat and low cal.

Lasagna with Homemade Sauce - 7 points

Lasagna with Homemade Tomato Sauce

PointsPlus Value: 7

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 195 minutes (this can be cut down, see how, below!)

Level of difficulty: Moderate

** I'm going to give you how WW says to make this - then at the bottom, I'll put "notes" about how I made it differently, with much less time!

A real crowd-pleaser that can be prepared a day ahead and then popped in the oven when you’re ready to eat.

Ingredients

5 spray(s) cooking spray , divided

1 Tbsp olive oil

6 clove(s) garlic clove(s), minced (or to taste)

2 large onion(s), Spanish-variety, cut in half and thinly sliced 70 oz plum tomatoes, whole, canned, mashed into pieces

6 oz canned tomato paste

6 leaf/leaves basil, fresh

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp table salt

3/4 pound(s) whole milk ricotta cheese, fresh recommended

2 large egg(s), beaten

1/4 cup(s) parsley, fresh, chopped

1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese, high-quality recommended, divided

12 item(s) dry lasagna noodles

1/2 pound(s) whole milk mozzarella cheese, fresh recommended, shredded, divided

Instructions

1. To make sauce, coat a large heavy pot with cooking spray; set over medium heat. Add oil; when it starts to shimmer, add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic begins to soften and become fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions turn translucent and start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, sugar, red pepper flakes and salt; stir to combine. Bring sauce to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, stirring every 20 minutes, scrapping bottom and sides of the pot, until sauce reduces slightly and thickens, about 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a large lasagna pan with cooking spray.

3. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, eggs, parsley and 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese; stir in about 1/3 cup tomato sauce so ricotta mixture turns pink.

4. Spoon about 1/2 cup of sauce on bottom of prepared pan. Cover sauce with 4 lasagna noodles, breaking up some noodles to form a single layer, if necessary. Cover noodles with 1/2 of ricotta mixture and 1/3 of mozzarella cheese; spoon 1/3 of remaining sauce over top.

5. Add another layer of noodles and remainder of ricotta mixture; sprinkle with 1/3 of mozzarella cheese and another 1/3 of sauce.

6. Add the final layer of noodles and cover with remaining sauce; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and remaining tablespoon of Parmesan cheese.

7. Bake until noodles are cooked through, cheese melts and sauce begins to bubble in bottom of dish, about 35 or 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let lasagna sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into 12 pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.

NOTES

This sauce can be made ahead and kept for up to two days in the fridge.

I used canned, diced tomatoes and did not crush them.  I wanted a chunkier sauce.  I also used MORE red pepper flakes, which gave the sauce a lot of heat.  I'm a vegetarian, but it made me almost think of sausage. 

I also did NOT cook this for 2 hours.  Instead, I let it boil while I was prepping everything else.  I was short on time.  I made the lasagna with no boil noodles, and the sauce which was extra thin, and it turned out beautifully.  The sauce thickened significantly in the oven, when it was cooking, and it was truly fantastic. 

I'm a fan of really cheesey lasagna - probably why I look the way I do - I need to give that up, and this is a GREAT substitute.  You could easilly add any veggies you want in this - I'd suggest maybe some red bell peppers (oooo - if you've got 'em, fire roast them first!!!), mushrooms, maybe spinnach.  I would avoid high starch/high sugar veggies like carrots, mostly because it just doen't need them!

ENJOY!!