Slow Cook Lasagna

So, today I made another recipe from the Cooking Light cookbook-- slow cooker lasagna. It wasn't the best we ever had, but it was better than Stouffer's (which isn't bad to begin with):

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground round
  
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp (bottled) minced garlic
  
• 1 (26 to 28-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
  
• 1/3 cup water
• 8 lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 1 (4 1/2-ounce) jar mushrooms
• 1 (15-ounce) carton part skim ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions

1. Cook beef, garlic, and Italian seasoning in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until beef crumbles; drain.
2. Combine spaghetti sauce and water in a small bowl.
3. Place 4 uncooked noodles in bottom of a lightly greased crockpot. Layer with half each of beef mixture, spaghetti sauce mixture, and mushrooms.
4. Spread ricotta cheese over mushrooms. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Layer with remaining noodles, meat, sauce mixture, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese.
   
5. Cover and cook on HIGH setting 1 hour; reduce heat and cook on LOW setting 5 hours.***

***I definitely didn't need 5 hours; I'd say that after the first hour on high, 2-3 hours on low would probably do it.

Nutrition

• Servings: 8 (serving size: 1 cup)

• Cal: 361; Fat: 12.2 g; Protein: 28.6 g; Carb: 31.1 g; Fiber: 3.2 g; Chol 61 mg; Sodium: 595 mg
  

Viva Fibra!

So tonight I made Hungry Girl versions of Chicken Parmesan and Fettuccine Alfredo. For the chicken, I once again used fiber "breadcrumbs" (hence the title of this post; fibra= Italian for fiber). Overall, John and I were pretty pleased with these recipes:


Chicken Parmesan



Ingredients

• 2 (5 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts (raw)
  
• 2/3 cup Fiber One cereal
  
• 1/2 cup Egg Beaters, Original**
• 1.5 tsp. reduced fat grated parmesan cheese
• 2 oz. (approx. 1/2 cup) shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese
  
• 2/3 cup canned tomato sauce
  
• Optional: garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt and pepper

**This recipe calls for 1/4 cup Egg Beaters (for easy dunking), but it will only take approx. 1 tbsp. to coat the chicken. 1 tbsp. Egg Beaters was used when calculating nutritionals.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One cereal to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Add parmesan to crumbs (if desired, season crumbs with optional spices, as well).
   
3. Place crumbs in one small dish and Egg Beaters in another.
   
4. Next, pound your chicken so it's a bit flattened.
   
5. Coat raw chicken on both sides with Egg Beaters, and then coat with crumb mixture. Place chicken on a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Spray a light mist of nonstick spray on top of chicken and place in oven.
   
6. Cook for 10 minutes, and then turn chicken over. Add another light mist of nonstick spray and cook for an additional 10 - 12 minutes (or until chicken is fully cooked and coating looks crispy).
   
7. Meanwhile, if desired, mix tomato sauce with your seasonings of choice.
   
8. Remove chicken from oven, top with sauce and then cheese, and return chicken to oven until cheese is melted.

Nutrition
Per Serving (1 chicken breast): Calories: 295; Fat: 3.5g; Sodium: 890mg; Carbs: 27g; Fiber: 11g; Sugars: 3.5g; Protein: 46.5g; 5 Weight Watchers Points

Fettuccine Alfredo



Ingredients

• 2 packages House Foods Tofu Shirataki Fettuccine Shaped Noodle Substitute**
• 2 tsp. fat-free sour cream
• 4 tsp. reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping
• 2 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
  
  

**They do not sell these ANYWHERE near me, and they are expensive to buy online. You can try and find them where you live--it will be in the Tofu section, not the pasta section. Their website says where they are sold, so you can look their first. Anyways, apparently they have like a 0 points value, but I just had to use pasta. So, if you need to, substitute 2 cups cooked noodles for tofu noodles.

Directions

1. Use a strainer to rinse and drain shirataki noodles well. Pat dry. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave for 1 minute. Drain excess liquid. Dry as thoroughly as possible, using paper towels. Cut noodles up a bit, using kitchen shears if you've got 'em.//Or, if using real pasta noodles: cook noodles, strain, and separate out 2 cups of it.
   
2. To noodles, add sour cream, grated topping, and cheese wedges, breaking cheese wedges into pieces as you add them. Microwave for 2 minute.
3. Stir well and then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Nutrition
PER SERVING (half of recipe): 99 calories, 4g fat, 376mg sodium, 9.5g carbs, 4g fiber, 1g sugars, 5.5g protein -- POINTS® value 2 **

**This is assuming you use the tofu noodles. If you sub whole wheat pasta, points value changes to about 5. If regular pasta, about 6. Those are still better nutrition wise than what you'd get at a restaurant!

Viva Italia! (this one is long)

Background--History of Fettuccine Alfredo & My love of it
So, a few days ago, a friend's (Drew Hardwick) mom (Judy Hardwick), upon seeing my facebook status mentioning this blog, commented that I should check out the "Pioneer Woman"s website because she had really good recipes. So I did (it is listed under the links on this page), and saw several recipes that I wanted to try...including Fettuccine Alfredo! As far as food goes, it is one of my favorite dishes ever...if I go to an Italian restaurant, there is a pretty good chance I will be getting it. I've even tried it in Italy, when my family went...and of course it was delish! However, whenever I make it at home, it normally consists of store bought alfredo sauce and the cheapest pasta noodles I can find. Which believe me, is good, but nothing compared to what I had in Italy or restaurant's like Provinos here in Auburn. So, moving along, I've been wanting to make my own for a while...and make it as authentic as possible. I've heard that the original Alfredo did NOT involve cream, just butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano (what we Americans call Parmesan) cheese! However, I believe European butter is a little bit different than ours, and so we have to use cream. So anyways, this recipe does call for cream, but I think it is about as authentic as we can make here in America.

Note on Ingredients
Now, a little word on ingredients: since I decided I wanted an "authentic" version, I did have to pay more than I would normally. I actually bought Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese imported from Italy (instead of Kraft Parmesan cheese, which while great on spaghetti, just isn't what I wanted for this dish)--but it cost $11! I also bought some more authentic Italian noodles, Dell'Alpe is the brand name. In addition, I bought some nutmeg...and let me tell you, it is a little pricey ($4). Another thing that raised the price was a container of dipping spices I bought (I decided to serve the bread with Olive oil, and wanted some spices to mix in it)--it is "Delallo Dipping Spices," and it is divided into 4 different sections, each containing a different blend: (1) Garlic & Tomato, (2)Sundried Tomato & Basil, (3) Rosemary & Garlic, and (4) Roasted Garlic & Cheese. It too was around $10, but we eat bread a lot, so I figure it'll last us awhile and be put to use.
Main point: Authenticity is pricey, but as long as you don't make this too much (which you shouldn't do anyways b/c of the fat content), it might be worth it to you.

The Menu

• Fettuccine Alfredo
  
• French Bread with Olive Oil/Spice Blend dipping sauce (I used a mix of the Rosemary & Garlic and the Roasted Garlic & Cheese)
  
• Lettuce Wedge

The Recipes

Fettuccine Alfredo

The original recipe can be found here, and below is my slightly modified version (added garlic & nutmeg):

Ingredients

1 pound fettuccine
1 stick butter
1-2 cloves minced garlic*
1 - 1.25 cups heavy cream
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
dash of salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
ground nutmeg, to taste

*you can find already minced garlic at the store (if you don't want to peel, crush, and mince the garlic yourself)--I would use a tsp or 2 of it

Directions

1. Grate 2 cups of Parmesan
2. Bring pot of water to boil, then add pasta (and cook as long as necessary)
   
3. While pasta is cooking, put skillet on stove, and set on low to medium-low heat
4. Melt 1 stick of butter in skillet
5. Add garlic
6. Pour in equal amount of cream (around 1 cup or 1 and 1/4 cups should do it)
7. Whisk butter, garlic, cream together gently; add dash of salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg; let mixture continue to warm
8. Sprinkle half of the Parmesan into a large serving bowl
9. Once butter/cream mixture has had a chance to get nice and warm, pour it over the cheese. Now, DO NOT STIR, just let the cheese and the sauce "get acquainted"
   
10. Just before draining pasta, stick in a metal measuring cup and retrieve some of the water (in case the end product is a bit gloopy, you can throw the water in to thin things out. I did not have this problem, personally)
11. Drain pasta, and immediately pour it into the bowl w/the other ingredients
12. Toss mixture gently to combine, then add most of the remaining cheese into the pasta (I saved some to sprinkle on top of my serving)
13. If pasta is too thick/"gloopy," put in the aforementioned pasta water as needed
    

Lettuce Wedge

So, this salad is not at all Italian, but I've liked lettuce wedges at restaurants, so I made two (one for both of us). It's super easy:

Ingredients

• 1 head iceburg lettuce
• blue cheese or ranch dressing
• blue cheese crumbles
• bacon pieces (you can buy pre-cut, pre-cooked bacon bits/pieces at the store)

Directions

1. Cut lettuce into wedges (however many and whatever size you need)
2. Pour dressing on top
3. Top with blue cheese crumbles and bacon
   

The Verdict
Wonderful!! I was very pleased with how this turned out! The only problem I had was that I slightly undercooked my pasta, but overall it turned out very well! John gave it an 8/10 (with 10 being the best meal he'd ever eaten); he noted that at restaurants, the cream is really the main thing he notices about the sauce, but that in this homemade version the cheese flavor really came through. I would agree--and I'm so glad I splurged and got the $11 cheese! I wouldn't want to do it regularly, but I really think it improved the taste of the dish. My homemade version reminded me more of what I had in Italy than what I get at the restaurants, which is what I was going for. So, basically what I am saying is that this was delicious and I would highly recommend it! Don't think I'll make it again for awhile b/c of the price and the calories, but I think I'll be making it from time to time.
The lettuce wedge was good too. And the store bought bread. The dipping spices made for a yummy olive oil dip, too.

Butter Spread

Follows is the recipe for a butter spread (I forgot the link where I got this from, unfortunately):

• 1/2 stick butter, SOFTENED
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp garlic powder

Mix together ingredients, and spread on bread before baking.