Friday Recipes

It's finally Friday, time to get ready for the weekend. Here are six yummy recipes to help you through the weekend, including Colorful Turkey Stuffed Peppers and Apple-Raspberry Stuffed French Toast. Enjoy!

SWIRLED FROZEN YOGURT PIE

This was in a Weight Watchers' email several years ago. The program has changed, but I'm using the values from when this was sent.

This recipe begins, “Substitute your favorite frozen yogurts to create a different pie every time. For more options, swap the yogurt with fat-free varieties of ice cream or Tofutti.”

Was POINTS® value of: 8; Now POINTS® value of: 5; Servings: 8; Preparation Time: 20 min; Cooking Time: 0 min; Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup fat-free chocolate frozen yogurt

1 1/2 cup fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

6 oz pie crust

1 cup fat-free whipped topping

Directions

In a large bowl, combine both yogurts by gently folding flavors together.

Add chocolate chips. Spoon mixture into prepared crust; cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

Top with whipped topping before serving. Slice into 8 pieces.

Chef Tips We renovated Swirled Frozen Yogurt Pie by:

Using fat-free frozen yogurt instead of ice cream.

Using fat-free whipped topping instead of regular topping.

APPLE-RASPBERRY STUFFED FRENCH TOAST

This was in a Weight Watchers' email several years ago. The program has changed, but I'm using the values from when this was sent.

This begins, “Frozen and canned fruits enjoyed on their own - or used in this tasty fruit-stuffed French toast - are a great way to get in some of your five-or-more servings of fruit and vegetables a day.”

POINTS® Value: 6; Servings: 4; Preparation Time: 12 min; Cooking Time: 10 min; Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

1 cup canned fruit pie filling, apple, chopped

1/3 cup sweetened frozen red raspberries, thawed

8 slice raisin bread, or cinnamon raisin bread

1/4 cup regular egg substitute

1/4 cup fat-free skim milk

1/3 tsp vanilla extract, or maple extract

1 Tbsp margarine

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

2 Tbsp reduced-calorie pancake syrup

Directions

Combine apple filling and raspberries. Arrange 4 slices of bread on a flat surface. Top each with about 1/3 cup fruit filling. Cover with remaining bread slices.

Combine egg substitute, milk and extract in a bowl.

Heat margarine in a large skillet.

Dip each sandwich into egg mixture; place in skillet. Cook on medium until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Sprinkle each with 1/4 tablespoon powdered sugar and then drizzle each with 1 1/2 teaspoons syrup. Serve.

TURKEY BEAN SOUP

This comes from The Mayo Clinic Diet, and can be found online here.

I highly recommend checking out the site. Good food, tied in with the Mayo Clinic, so you can figure it’s not some fly-by-night junk food, but good tasting food that’s good for you.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pounds turkey, lean ground breast meat

2 medium onions, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup ketchup

1 can tomatoes (14.5 ounces), diced, no salt added

3 pieces bouillon, chicken, low-sodium

7 cups water

1 1/2 teaspoon basil, dried, crushed

1/4 teaspoon pepper, black ground

2 cups cabbage, shredded

1 cans cannellini beans (15 ounces), no-salt-added, drained

Directions

In a large saucepan, cook the ground turkey, onion, celery and garlic until the vegetables are softened and the turkey is cooked.

Drain off the fat and add the ketchup, tomatoes, bouillon, water, basil, pepper, cabbage and beans.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

MEXICAN LASAGNA

This is from tbsp. (Tablespoon.com), and begins, “A delicious twist on lasagna!”

Prep Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes; Servings: 10

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

6-8 large tortillas

1 lb ground beef

1 packet Old El Paso™ taco seasoning mix

1/3 medium onion, diced

1 can (19 oz) Old El Paso™ mild red enchilada sauce

1 can (16 oz) Old El Paso™ refried beans, any type

1 1/2 cup cheddar or mexican blend cheese

3 small or medium tomatoes, diced

Cilantro, as desired

Black olives, as desired

Sour cream, for topping

Shredded lettuce, for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large non-stick skillet on stove, cook onions and beef until cooked through. Remove skillet from heat, drain off grease and stir in taco seasoning. Set aside.

Cover the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish with a thin coat of enchilada sauce. Layer tortilla halves in the bottom of the pan with the cut (straight) sides facing outward toward edges of pan. Cut pieces of another tortilla as needed to fill in any gaps and create a solid tortilla layer in the bottom of the pan.

Continue layering ingredients in the following order, making sure to save enough of each ingredient to form a second layer: refried beans, enchilada sauce, beef and onion mixture, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, and chopped cilantro and black olives (if desired).

Using equal amounts of ingredients as the first layer, form your second layer in the following order: tortillas, beans, enchilada sauce, meat and onions, cheese, tomatoes, cilantro and olives.

Top with a final layer of tortillas, and cover with a thin coating of enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake lasagna for 30-45 minutes until cheese is melted and tortillas start to crisp. Serve with sour cream, lettuce and additional toppings as desired.

PASTA WITH BROWN BUTTER AND PARMESAN

This comes from Ali Slagle in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Ali wrote, “Sometimes you just want a big bowl of pasta with butter and Parmesan. Starchy, silky and salty, it’s always good — and practically foolproof. To make it a little more grown up, just take it one step further: Brown the butter. When you slide the butter into the skillet, let it cook until the milk solids turn a toasty brown. It adds a rich, nutty flavor that makes the dish a bit more sophisticated with very little extra work.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 25 minutes.

To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019980-pasta-with-brown-butter-and-parmesan.

Ingredients

Kosher salt

1 pound spaghetti, linguine or other long noodle

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water (2 heaping tablespoons kosher salt to about 7 quarts water) to a boil. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta, but don’t shake it fully dry.

In a skillet or Dutch oven large enough to hold the pasta (and preferably with a light-colored bottom so you can see the butter solids brown), melt the butter over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the foam subsides, the milk solids turn golden-brown and it smells nutty and toasty, 3 to 4 minutes. (Watch carefully to see that it does not burn. If it does, start over.) Remove from heat immediately.

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss with the brown butter. Stir in the cheese until melted. Stir in pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the pasta is glossy with sauce (you probably won’t need the full 1/2 cup).

Serve with black pepper and more Parmesan on top.

COLORFUL TURKEY STUFFED PEPPERS

Yield: 4 servings

Print Friendly: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/bin/print.cgi?ID=1321

View recipe with photo: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/1321.shtml

Source: Jennie-O

Ingredients

2 bell peppers, preferably a mix of yellow, green or red

1/2 (16-ounce) package Jennie-O Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1/4 teaspoon salt, if desired

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (14-1/2-ounce) can low-sodium diced tomatoes or seasoned diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup cooked white or brown rice

3/4 cup shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese, divided

paprika, if desired

fresh parsley, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 375F.

Cut bell peppers lengthwise through stems keeping stem halves intact to hold stuffing. Discard seeds and veins.

Cook peppers in boiling salted water 5 to 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and immediately place peppers in ice water to stop cooking process. Drain peppers well and place cut side up in 8 x 8-inch baking dish.

Cook ground turkey as specified on the package. Always cook to well-done, 165F as measured by a meat thermometer.

Add onion, garlic, basil, salt, if desired, ground pepper, tomatoes, and rice; continue to cook 5 to 6 minutes or until heated through and most of the juices have reduced.

Remove meat mixture from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese.

Mound heaping 1/2 cup of mixture into each pepper half.

Bake 20 minutes or until filling is hot and peppers are tender.

Remove peppers from oven and sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese on top of peppers. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley, if desired.

Always cook to an internal temperature of 165F. Learn how to safely handle turkey.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 160; Protein: 20 g; Fat: 2.5 g; Sodium: 210 mg; Cholesterol: 30 mg; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Dietary Fiber: 3 g ; Sugars: 5 g ; Carbohydrates: 14 g