Beef & Noodles

Beef & Noodles

1. Brown 1/2 lb of the leanest ground beef that you can find in a dutch oven. (Trader Joe's has ground beef that has only 4.5 grams of fat per serving.)
2. Remove the beef and wipe out the pot. Sautee 1 cup diced onions and 2 cloves of garlic until translucent.
3. Add the ground beef, 3 cups of broth (Beef or chicken broth is suggested. I used 1/2 chicken and 1/2 vegetable broth, because I am a use-what-I-got rock star.), 14.5 ounces of stewed tomatoes, and 2 TBSP worchester sauce. Bring to a boil.
4. Add 8 oz. whole wheat pasta (recipe called for egg noodles) cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
5. Add 1 cup frozen (but thawed) peas, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for an additional 3 minutes.

*The recipe states that it makes 5 servings. I divided this into 6 servings, with each serving being slightly more than one cup.

**Using the Nutritional Information from the recipe, 1/5 of the recipe is 5 points. When I use the recipe builder on WW, each 1/5 serving is 6 points. Therefore, I am counting my slightly larger than one cup serving (1/6 of the dish) as 5 points.

Spinach Orzo Pasta Salad

1-16 ounce package uncooked orzo pasta

1-10 ounce package baby spinach, finely chopped

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp ground pepper

Cook orzo as directed; drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients.

Toss with 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar.

Sprinkle with feta cheese before serving.

***Thanks for sharing this recipe Kari!***

Broccoli, Cherry Tomato, and Pasta Salad

I was feeling ambitious tonight. However, I did not make all of the dishes that I planned to make, partially because this pasta salad took longer than planned. It is possible that it was because I was chatting away on the phone while I was preparing it.

I would recommend this recipe to anyone with an herb garden. The salad was slightly expensive to make since the only things that I had available in my garden were the mint and lemon. The dressing is unique and creamy, which is a nice change from the standard Italian dressing or oil and vinegar.

Broccoli, Cherry Tomato, and Pasta Salad

Herb mixture:
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
12 mint leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled

Dressing:
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/3 cup 2% low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Dash of black pepper
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Salad:
7 cups small broccoli florets
2 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups cooked medium seashell (about 4 ounces uncooked pasta)
1/2 cup minced shallots
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained, and halved

To prepare herb mixture, combine first 6 ingredients on a cutting board; finely chop, and reserve 3 tablespoons. Set remaining herb mixture aside.
To prepare the dressing, place the reserved 3 tablespoons herb mixture in a food processor. Drop 2 garlic cloves through the food chute with food processor on; process until minced. Add cottage cheese and next 6 ingredients (cottage cheese through dash of pepper) to food processor; process until smooth. Stir in feta.

To prepare salad, steam broccoli, covered, 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Cool. Combine remaining herb mixture, broccoli, mushrooms, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over salad; toss well.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 1/2 cups)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 327(24% from fat); FAT 8.8g (sat 3g,mono 3.4g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 18.4g; CHOLESTEROL 14mg; CALCIUM 248mg; SODIUM 768mg; FIBER 7g; IRON 4.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 50g

Recipe can be found in 2000's Best of Cooking Light or cookinglight.com.