Tag Archives: Mouthwatering Monday

Mar 7 2010

Mouthwatering Monday – Easy Mexican Pasta Bake

While I love Mexican food, I can never get my boys to eat anything other than cheese quesadillas.  Not wanting to make separate dinners for the adults and the children, I discovered away to make it work – Mexican pasta bake. This twist on tacos let’s me enjoy the flavors I love, while also meeting the approval of my boys.

Mexican Pasta Bake

INGREDIENTS

  • 1lb lean ground beef
  • 1 can Red Gold Petite Diced Tomatoes w/ Chipotle (Ro*tel tomatoes w/green chili’s would work too)
  • 1.5 cups shredded cheese – nacho/Mexican variety works best
  • 1 box spiral/penne/elbow noodles (your choice)
  • 1 package taco seasoning
  • 1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the ground beef, adding your diced bell pepper when the beef is about 1/2 way done.  After browning, add taco seasoning, following directions on the packet. On another burner, prepare your pasta according to the directions and drain.  Add both the ground beef mixture and the pasta to an oven safe casserole dish.  Mix in the diced tomatoes and the cheese.  Place in over for 20 minutes at 325.

This post is part of Mouthwatering Monday. Click on the link and check out more great recipes!

Jan 25 2010

Mouthwatering Monday – Slow Cooker Potato Soup

Happy Monday everyone!

So with the crazy work week and all the chaos in the kitchen this weekend (see this blog post), I wasn’t able to whip up anything “mouthwatering” last week. I mentioned this on Twitter last night and my friend Carla generously offered to let me share her slow cooker potato soup recipe (adapted from two different recipes). She’d tweeted about it earlier in the week and I’d drooled over her Twitpic.  This is one recipe you can bet I’ll be making soon!

Slow-Cooker-Potato-Soup

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 cups peeled, diced potatoes
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 6 ounces bacon, cooked, drained, crumbled
  • 8 ounces low fat cream cheese
  • 3 cans fat-free chicken broth
  • 1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a 4-quart or larger slow cooker, combine potatoes, onion and bacon. In large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and pepper, stirring until blended. Add soup mixture to slow cooker and stir to blend. Cover. Cook on low heat for 10 hours or high heat for 5 hours. Before serving, mash some of the potatoes to thicken the soup. Serve with a dollop of fat-free sour cream and chopped green onions or chives. Makes 8 servings.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (1 serving = 1/8 of recipe)

  • Calories: 261
  • Fat: 8g
  • Carbohydrates: 32g
  • Sodium: 1001mg
  • Cholesterol: 22mg
  • Fiber: 3g (leave skin on potatoes for an extra gram of fiber)
  • Calories from fat: 30%

This post is part of Mouthwatering Monday. Click on the link and check out more great recipes!

Jan 17 2010

Mouthwatering Monday – Lentil Soup

Lentil SoupSince I am still on a diet, I am trying really hard to find and try healthy recipes that are not only good for me, but that taste good too. This week I thought I would share the recipe for a  low fat/high fiber Lentil soup that I made Sunday night.   I’ve not had a lot of experience with lentils but I found them to be pretty easy to prepare.  This lentil soup recipe is very hearty and filling and with our family of 5, we had enough left over to have again later in the week or to take to work for lunch.



INGREDIENTS

  • 1 package of lentils, rinsed
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 small bag of sweet corn
  • 3 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 Tbs paprika
  • 3 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 11 cups water
  • 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
  • shaved Parmesan cheese

SUPPLIES

  • slow cooker
  • laddle
  • strainer
  • cutting board
  • knife
  • measuring cup

DIRECTIONS

Place lentils in strainer and rinse.  To your slow cooker, add the lentils, water and vegetable/chicken stock. Cook for one hour on medium heat, then add the onions, carrots, celery, corn and seasonings. Turn your slower cooker to low heat and let cook until all of the veggies and lentils are soft (I let mine cook for 2 hours).  Top each serving with Parmesan cheese and serve with a slice of crusty bread. Makes enough for 8-10 people.

This post is part of Mouthwatering Monday.

Jan 11 2010

Mouthwatering Monday – Eggplant Parmesean

I’ve mentioned before that in my quest to eat healthier I am exploring new recipes.  Here’s a tasty recipe for Eggplant Parmesan that I made for my family last week. It serves 6-8 people.

    INGREDIENTS

2 eggplants
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 parmesan cheese
1.5 cups tomato sauce of choice
1.5 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

SUPPLIES

  • baking sheet
  • baking dish (2)
  • knife
  • whisk
  • tongs
  • shallow dish (2)
  • cutting board
  • measuring cups
  • cooking spray
DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.  Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
  2. Cut eggplant length-wise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
  3. Take one of the shallow dishes and whisk egg whites and water.  In the other shallow dish combine the Italian breadcrumbs and the parmesan cheese. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg mixture then coat with the breadcrumbs.
  4. Place the eggplant slices on the baking sheet and place in the oven for 12 minutes.  When they are done, turn the slices over and bake for 12 more minutes.
  5. Next take your baking dish and coat the bottom with 1/4 of the tomato sauce. Place the eggplant slices in the baking dish and spoon sauce lightly over the eggplant slices. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Repeat in the second baking dish. Bake (uncovered) for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
  6. Serve alone or with your favorite pasta.

Coated w/ Italian Bread Crumbs
Coated w/ Italian Bread Crumbs

Topped w/ Cheese
Topped w/ Cheese

The final product!
The final product!

This post is part of Mouthwatering Monday.

NOTE/HELP: While the dish tasted great, this was my first time preparing eggplant and I was a little turned off by the seeds. Anyone out there know if there is a way to remove them before cooking?