The Rat(atouille) Pack

This is a Hungry Girl recipe

1 cup cubed eggplant
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced and halved zucchini
1/2 cup canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/4 cup cannted tomato paste
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/8 tsp. salt, or more to taste
dash red pepper flakes, or more to taste
dash black pepper, or more to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.

In a medium bolw, combine all ingredients, and stir until veggies are evenly coated in tomato paste. Set aside

Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil in front of you. Scoop veggie mixture into the center of hte foil Fold and seal thetop and bottom edges of the foil, and then the side edges, to create a well-sealed packet.

Place packet on a baking sheet, and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

Allow packet to cool for a few minutes, and then cut to release steam before opening it entirely. (Careflu -- steam will be hot.) If you like, season to taste with additional salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.


MAKES 1 SERVING.
3 pts per serving

Taco sloppy joes

This one we just made up one night.

1 lb lean ground turkey
1 packet taco seasoning
1 16 oz jar of salsa
Shredded lettuce
Low fat shredded cheese
Low calorie/high fiber hamburger buns

Brown the ground turkey.
Add the taco seasoning.
Add salsa to you reach the sloppy joe consistency that you prefer.

Serve on buns with lettuce, cheese etc.
YUM!

Weeknight Lasagna Toss

This came from a Kraft Food Magazine.

1 lb lean ground beef
2 green peppers, chopped
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 2/3 C water
¼ C Zesty Italian Dressing
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles
Broken into quarters
1 C shredded low-moisture part-skim
Mozzarella cheese

*Brown meat in a large saucepan and drain juices.
*Stir in peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing; bring to boil.
*Add noodles; stir and cover.
*Cook on Medium-low heat 10-15 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.
*Sprinkle with cheese; cover.
*Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serves 4 (2 Cups each)

Jessica's favorite spaghetti

This is a recipe from the Real Simple magazine.

12 oz spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 lb lean ground beef or turkey
Kosher salt and pepper
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup grated parmesan

*Cook pasta according to directions.
*Heat oil over medium.
*Sautee onion, carrot and garlic, stirring occasionally, until soft, 8-10 minutes.
*Increase heat to medium-high. Add meat, a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until no longer pink.
*Add tomatoes and simmer, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

(I generally toss in some seasoned salt, Italian seasoning and if I don't have fresh garlic on hand - I throw in dried garlic.)

The kids LOVE this!

Melanie's Taco soup

All I know is my sister made this for us once and we demanded she give us the recipe. Thank the Lord for Melanie's Taco Soup!!!

1 large box of beef broth
1 lb lean ground turkey (or lean ground beef)
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can corn (strained)
1 can black beans (strained)
1 can diced tomatoes

*Brown the meat.
*In a large pot all ingredients.
*Heat through and serve.
(Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream if desired.)

When doubling the recipe, double all ingredients except the taco seasoning.

Nothing Pie

I don't know who to credit this recipe to. It came to me in an e-mail and I only have the subject heading and the recipe.

• 2 ready-made reduced fat graham cracker pie crusts
• 1 large carton fat-free sour cream (16 oz)
• 2 tubs fat-free Cool Whip, thawed
• 2 small packages sugar free vanilla pudding mix
• 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, packed in pineapple juice.

Pour dry pudding mix into a medium size mixing bowl. Add contents of can of pineapple, juice and all, mixing well. Fold in sour cream, both tubs of Cool Whip and mix well. Divide mixture between pie crusts. Chill before serving.

The kids call it "ice cream pie".

Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche

A Weight Watchers recipe

6 oz pie crust, 9-inch, refrigerated
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup red oinion(s), chopped
1 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 large egg(s)
2 large egg white(s)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste
10 oz frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well-drained
1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375.

To make filling, heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until sof, about 3 minutes. Transfer onion to a large bolw and add ricotta cheese, cheddar cheese, egg, egg whites, mustard, oregano, salt and pepper; mix well and fold in broccoli. Spoon mixture into prepared crust and level surface with a wooden spoon; sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Bake until a knife inserted near center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing into 8 pieces. Yield 1 piece per serving.

I discovered that if you double the recipe, you also just about double the cook time. Is that a silly thing not to have thought about in advance?

The kids TORE THIS UP. They especially liked it with ketchup!

Serves 8
5 pts per serving