Susan’s Apple, Almond, Curried Quinoa

Susan makes enough of this to last her a week - it's great cold! Make it up on Sunday, divide into containers, and take it to work for a deliciously healthy lunch! The nutrition facts were created at Calorie Count!

quinoa

Apple, Almond, Curried Quinoa

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa

1 Apple (seeded and cut into little pieces, like 1/2 inch squares)

2 t Dried Onion Flakes

1/4 cup Slivered Almonds - toasted for crispness - (a small handful)

1 t Curry Powder (I use boring old regular spice aisle kind, you might like more curry powder when you make it, so taste!)

1/4 cup Dried currants (a small handful)

2 T Honey (to taste)

Pinch of Saffron (for color, so just use a smidge)

6 Cardamon Pods, whole

Directions:

Get water boiling and add honey/onion/curry powder/cardamon pods/saffron/ - then add quinoa and cook until done.

Find and remove cardamon pods (they were just for flavor and I hate biting into one of those pods!). Let cool a bit.

Add apple and almond and mix well.

Dress with a bit of salt and lemon

Options:

Make a mixture of olive oil/lemon and salt and drizzle that and mix it in.

Adjust the seasonings and amount of almonds and currants to your taste. 

Susan's Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

• Susan makes this deliciously easy dish a lot! She lists the brands she prefers in her directions. 

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Ingredients

•  
• 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 table spoons olive oil
• 1 jar Prego extra chunky spaghetti sauce
• 1 pound of Jenni-O ground turkey (pre-seasoned Italian) or 1 pound any ground turkey mixed w/ Italian seasoning
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• part-skim ricotta (about 3/4 of a cup)
• Salt/Pepper to taste
•  
• Directions

1. Poke squash with sharp knife several times and microwave for 25-30 minutes. Remove from microwave and let it cool a bit.  Slice lengthwise (will slice very easily) while still fairly warm. Remove seeds and less desirable material right around seeds. Fork out the "spaghetti strands" into a bowl and mix with the shredded Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Add 2 table spoons olive oil to non stick pan and over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Using the same pan, brown the ground turkey. Drain excess liquid and then return to the heat and add the jar of Prego (or sauce of your choice). Add the onion and garlic mixture. Mix well and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer for about 15-20 minutes for a richness of taste to develop. 
4. In an oven proof dish (lasagna pan, loaf pan etc.) layer with a spoonful of the sauce, a layer of spaghetti squash strands, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers until pan is full, or until all of the ingredients are used. Top with Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven  for 40 minutes (covered) in the preheated oven, or until Parmesan cheese melts. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes for cheese to get bubbly.

Notes: 

1) Freezes well, prior to cooking and refrigerates well once cooked. Seems to just get better with age! 2) I also sometimes add spinach to the layers and often add chopped or shredded zucchini to the onion/garlic saute. You could add a wide variety of vegetables to this successfully.

Susan's Roasted Delicata Squash

A lovely winter squash similar to butternut squash. Easier to slice, no need to peel, and a lot faster to cook! If you like winter squash but don't make it often because it is hard to peel and cut, you will love the delicata!

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Roasted Delicata Squash
Ingredients:

2 delicata squash
1 T olive oil
1/4 t garlic salt
2 T Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Meanwhile, Poke a few holes in the squash and microwave for five minutes. Then cut lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Cut into spears and put in a foil lined pan. Brush with olive oil using a basting brush, sprinkle with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Roast for about 10-15 minutes or til browned and easily pierced with a fork.

Simple fast and a wonderful way to eat low calorie high nutrition squash on a weeknight!

Susan's Turkey in a Crockpot

This is one of those very basic "recipes" that each cook needs to take as a starting position only. Vary each ingredient to your individual tastes. Like all white meat? Don't use the thighs. Prefer different veggies? Go for it! Season as you prefer as well. If you are a calorie counter, make sure you take a weighed portion and count up those calories using these nutrition facts for white meat turkey or the nutrition facts for dark meat turkey from Calorie Count! The meat will have absorbed sodium, but to be honest I have no idea as to how one would count those numbers.

Turkey in a Crockpot

Ingredients and Directions all Mixed Up:

Put a whole bunch of "new" (small) yukon gold potatoes in the bottom of the crock. Rub the turkey parts of your choice* liberally with poultry seasoning and place them on top of the potatoes. Pour in some chicken or turkey stock - enough to make it about an inch deep. Cover and let it cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. 

When you are done you have potatoes cooked to perfection in drippings so they are super flavorful for mashing or eating as they are. The meat is tender. Tons of "drippings" for turning into gravy too.

Susan's Zucchini Tomato Saute

This is the fourth entry for the Chefery Challenge #2! Fast and simple, make it today!

The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count!

Zucchini Tomato Saute

Ingredients:

1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 T olive oil
1 large tomato peeled and deseeded
1 small can of corn, drained
2 medium zucchini
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Saute one chopped onion and 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil, while cooking add the meat of one fresh tomato, about 5 minutes. Add one drained can of corn and 2 chopped medium zucchini cook an additional 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

This sounds too simple to be a recipe, but it was really good!

Susan's Boat Lasagna

This luscious pasta-free lasagna is the third entry in zucchini/tomato Chefery Challenge! Enjoy. The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Boat Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 very large zucchini

a drizzle (maybe a tablespoon) of olive oil

garlic bread sprinkle or garlic salt

black pepper

1 pound of lean ground turkey

1 tablespoon of olive oil

salt, pepper, italian seasonings mix

1 jar prego extra chunky pasta sauce

1/2 cup parmesan shredded

1 cup mozzarella shredded

1/2 cup ricotta

Directions:

Slice a large zucchini lengthwise and hollow out the seeds etc. Brush with the olive oil, and sprinkle with the garlic bread sprinkle or the garlic salt and black pepper.

place in 350 degree oven for about 30 or 40 minutes or until the zucchini has lost it's boat shape.

In a pan, brown the seasoned turkey in the oil and drain off some of the liquid. Add the Prego and let it simmer well to meld the flavors. Turn off the heat and let it sit until the zucchini boats are done.

Take the "boats" out of the oven and spoon the meat mixture onto them. coat with thin layers of riccota and cover with a mixture of the cheeses. Put back in the oven until the cheese is melty and bubbly.

Susan's Zucchini Chips

You are taking your chances when you try out a zucchini chip recipe on a 17 year old who has repeatedly declared, "I don't like zucchini!". He was convinced to taste it anyway and THEN declared, "I take it all back! Dees da' bom!!" I think it is safe to say that Susan's recipe is a taste, nutrition, and caloric winner!!!

The nutrition facts can be found at the best FREE website to count your calories - Calorie Count!

Zucchini Chips

serves 4 normal people or one 17 year old

Ingredients:

1 medium or 2 small zucchini cut into 1/4 inch rounds slices or "chips"

3/4 cup Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs (Susan used Progresso)

3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 egg  whites

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475

Mix Panko and Parmesan together in one bowl.Mix egg whites in another bowl. It helps to use large bowls for this because you can mix more at one time.

Coat the "chips" with the egg white.

Individually toss chips in Panko/Parmesan mixture. Susan patted firmly to make sure they were well coated and that all of the mix was used. If you want less Panko on yours, just toss and lightly press.

Arrange chips in a single layer on Pam sprayed non stick cookie sheet.

Bake 5 minutes on one side, gently flip the chips and bake 5-10 minutes on 2nd side until crispy.

Remove from oven and try to let them cool a couple minutes and crisp a bit before eating. They are so good, that after the first warm bite, you will have trouble resisting and will be compelled to consume them all.

The 17 year old mentioned earlier suggested that they would be even "bommer" dipped in ranch. But he's a bean pole and can afford the calories. They are awesome as is.

Notes:

For a bit of a kick, sprinkle some ground hot pepper or chili powder on the chips after flipping them! Or dot with Tabasco, dip in salsa, or anything else you can think of.

Susan's Strawberry Parfait

Now, do I have your attention?

There is no law that says that because you are trying to lose weight that you cannot have some deliciousness every now and then. In fact, I believe that for weight loss to happen and for it to be permanent, deliciousness is a required element. Besides, it's Friday!

You can have this, yes you can. Susan watches carbs and used only strawberries when she made the beautiful dessert in this gorgeous photo, but she graciously allowed me to add blueberries to her recipe because, in my opinion, one cannot have too many blueberries.

The nutrition facts for this lovely dessert can be found at Calorie Count.

Strawberry Blueberry Parfait

Ingredients:

6 large strawberries, sliced
1 (6 oz) container of blueberries
1 (8 oz) block of fat free philly cream cheese
2 (6 oz) containers low carb vanilla yogurt
an additional splash of pure vanilla extract
sprig of mint

Directions:

Blend together the cream cheese and the yogurt and the vanilla.
Layer berries and sauce in either individual or one large glass parfait bowl.
Top with mint sprig for color.
Enjoy.

Susan's Spicy Dover Sole

Here’s a wonderful recipe from my friend Susan! She’s my official taster and maker of all things fish. She made up this recipe the other day and it turned out so well, she had to make it again the very next day. It sounds so very simple to make and is beautifully elegant in addition to being very healthy and low in calories - only 186 calories per serving! If you are a high protein person, the 31.5 g of protein makes this a dish you must try soon:

The nutrition facts can be found on Calorie Count.

Susan’s Spicy Dover Sole

Ingredients:

2 Dover Sole fillets, about 6 oz total

6 shrimps, shelled, detailed, deveined, split, rinsed, and patted dry

2 T low fat mozzarella, shredded

2 teaspoons Old Bay Seafood seasoning, amount of seasoning is to taste (Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic or your favorite brand will be just fine)

2 sun dried tomatoes with oil, sliced thin

4 T chunky salsa

Directions:

Set the fillets in a oven safe pan lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray of your choice, lay three shrimps on top of each fillet, top that with one tablespoon of mozzarella, sprinkle with your favorite seafood seasoning (Susan uses Old Bay) drizzle a bit of the oil from the sun dried tomatoes on top of the seasoned cheese, lay the sun dried tomato strips on top, and bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Fork lots of chunky salsa on top, then place under a broiler for another four minutes or so and enjoy immediately. Particularly good with either a spinach or mixed green salad.