Category Archives: Recipes

March 26, 2011 · 1:01 pm

Easy Cheesy Lasagna

When people talk about vegetarian lasagna, they typically mean a meatless dish. I like meat (if it’s lean) in my lasagna, though, but I don’t like all the carbs from the pasta. I got the idea for this healthy recipe from a waitress I met at an Italian restaurant. It’s bold and daring, especially for someone married to an eggplant bigot, but give it a try. I’ll be interested in your comments after you do. Tell me if you were able to fake out your dinner guests.

RECIPE

Ingredients:
nonstick cooking spray
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 29-oz can puréed tomatoes*
2-3 cloves garlic, minced*
1 tsp. onion powder*
2 Tbsp. dried Italian seasoning*
1 tsp. vinegar (red wine, apple cider, or white wine)*
1 tsp. sugar or sweetener*
1 medium eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced long-wise (as in lasagna noodle fashion)
1 pint reduced-fat cottage cheese or ricotta cheese (Not fat free)
2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese or part-skim mozzarella
2 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese

*Or 1 quart ready-made pasta sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9 X 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Spray the inside of a 10″ skillet and preheat over medium heat. Brown the ground turkey in the skillet.

While turkey browns, combine the puréed tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings (including the vinegar and sugar) to make a quick marinara sauce. Pour the sauce over the turkey after it has browned and remove the skillet from heat.

In the baking dish, layer 1/3 of the eggplant slices, 1/2 the sauce, 1/3 of the eggplant slices, all the cottage or ricotta cheese, remaining egg plant slices, remaining sauce, then top with the Italian and Parmesan cheeses. Cover the pan with aluminum foil.

Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow lasagna to cool for at least ten minutes.

Yield: makes six large or eight regular size serving.

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March 9, 2011 · 5:48 pm

Olé for Salsa

Homemade salsa is so much better than jarred, but it can get expensive, especially if tomato prices are high. Here is a compromise. Try it. You’ll like it!

 
RECIPE
Ingredients:

1 15-oz can stewed tomatoes (Reduced Sodium), drained
½ (or to taste) cup fresh cilantro leaves
juice of one lime
1 sweet onion (Vidalia if available), quartered
1 clove garlic, minced
½ jalapeño pepper, seeded*
pinch of salt
 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender (I use the Vita-mix) and pulse until blended. Don’t overblend or you’ll have picante sauce. 🙂 Refrigerate. Keeps for 4-5 days.
 

*If you like mild salsa, substitute a milder pepper for the jalapeño. Be sure to wear plastic or rubber gloves when removing the seeds and membranes of a jalapeño (or any hot) pepper, a lesson I learned the hard way!

 

Don’t underestimate canned tomatoes. They are a bargain and come in many varieties. Try to find the cans marked “Low Sodium” if possible. Then you control the salt in your recipes.

©2011 Cheryl Norman

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Filed under Cilantro, Healthful Eating, Recipes, salsa, tomatoes

February 1, 2011 · 11:55 pm

Fast Food That’s Super Healthful

Wild Alaskan Salmon

Thaw salmon and season lightly

With quality cookware and ingredients, a supercharged healthy meal is less than half an hour away. On the menu: wild Alaskan salmon fillets, steamed broccoli with red bell pepper, and steamed butternut squash. The food is high in nutrients and antioxidents, especially if it’s not overcooked. I prefer steaming over low heat. More of a technique than a recipe, here is how to have a great and easy meal in a short time.

What you’ll need to make dinner for four: Four salmon fillets, two large bunches of broccoli, one red bell pepper, one medium butternut squash, Butter Buds or Molly McButter, and pumpkin pie spice mix.

Salmon: Be sure to buy wild Alaskan salmon. It may be pricey but it’s worth it, both in nutrition and taste. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator before cooking. Place fillets in a dry, preheated skillet–skin side down. Sprinkle lightly with pumpkin pie spice. Cover, reduce heat to its lowest setting, and cook for fifteen minutes. Do not lift the lid to peek. Serve salmon with…

Butternut Squash: Rich in beta carotine, butternut squash often is overlooked. It doesn’t need butter, salt, or much of anything to season it. It’s tasty on its own.  To serve four, buy a medium size Butternut squash.

I cut the squash into long strips and scrape away the seeds. Then using the Kitchen Cutter and #1 cone, I grate the squash (you can use a hand grater or food processor if you don’t own a Kitchen Cutter). Steam the grated squash in a 1-quart covered sauce pan over low heat. As with the salmon, don’t lift the lid. As soon as the lid spins, turn off the heat and leave covered for about ten minutes. The cooked squash will be the consistency of mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice (Tying the flavor with the salmon) and stir.

The broccoli and red bell pepper make a colorful dish, rich in vitamins and fiber.  Wash one red bell pepper and enough broccoli flowerets to feed four. Julienne the pepper. Steam with broccoli in a covered two-quart sauce pan over low heat. As soon as the lid spins, turn off heat and leave covered for fifteen minutes for crisper vegetables, twenty for more tender. Sprinkle with Butter Buds or Molly McButter and serve.

Quality Cookware

Steam in covered pans over low heat

The three dishes take only about thirty minutes including prep time. Because the food is steamed over low heat, the pans come clean easily.  The food is delicious without a lot of additives or salt, and it’s figure-friendly.
Dinner!

Colorful and delicious.

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January 28, 2011 · 11:00 pm

A Blonde’s Blondies

My friend Sue (Writer Susan R. Sweet) made us blond brownies for Christmas, and they were awesome! Rich, buttery taste with brown sugar and pecans in the background. Yum. Wickedly delicious. I asked for her recipe, and she generously gave it to me, but I’m no baker. Too much measuring, too many ingredients…a bit too scientific for my once-blond head.

I figured I could make a close facsimile of Sue’s blondies–not as good, but good enough. So I experimented and developed my Hasty Tasty Meals version of blondies. Still naughty and high calorie, but lightened a bit.

RECIPE

BLONDIES

Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup egg substitute (Or 2 eggs)
1 box Butter Pecan cake mix (510 g)
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray a 9″ x 13″ bar pan or jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray.

With the mixer on its lowest setting, mix butter, oil, and egg substitute into the cake mix. Batter will be stiff. Add a tablespoon of water if too stiff. Add the pecans and mix just until incorporated into the batter.

Spread the batter into the bar pan and bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean. Remove and let cool 5-10 minutes. Cut into squares, and enjoy.

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