Southwestern Lasagna from Holly Clegg’s trim&TERRIFIC Too Hot in the Kitchen

10 servings/serving size: 1 piece

1 pound ground sirloin
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (16-ounce) jar  salsa
1 1/4 cups enchilada sauce
Shurfine salt and pepper to taste (optional)
1 cup fat-free  cottage cheese
1 large egg white, beaten
6 (6-inch)  flour tortillas, cut into thirds
1 cup shredded reduced-fat  Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Coat 13x9x2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In large nonstick skillet, cook meat and garlic until done. Drain any excess fat. Add salsa, enchilada sauce, and salt and pepper.  Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

3. In small bowl, combine cottage cheese and egg white.

4. Spread thin layer meat sauce in prepared dish. Layer with half tortillas, all cottage cheese mixture, half remaining meat mixture, and half the cheese. Repeat layers, omitting cottage cheese layer and ending with meat sauce.

5.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake 25–30 minutes or until bubbly.

Nutritional information per serving:
Calories 193, Calories from fat (%) 51, Fat (g) 6, Saturated Fat (g) 2, Cholesterol (mg) 32, Sodium (mg) 597, Carbohydrate (g) 17, Dietary Fiber (g) 1, Sugars (g) 4, Protein (g) 18, Diabetic Exchanges:  1 Starch, 2 Lean Meat

Southwestern Lasagna

8 ounces bow-tie pasta
2 cups shredded purple cabbage
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
Creamy Dressing (recipe follows)

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain and set aside.

2. In large mixing bowl, mix together cooked pasta, cabbage, tomato, bell pepper and green onions.  Toss with Creamy Dressing (see recipe), refrigerate until serving.

Creamy Dressing
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In bowl, mix together all ingredients.

Nutritional information per serving:
Calories 154, Protein (g) 5, Carbohydrate (g) 26, Fat (g) 3, Calories from Fat (%) 18, Saturated Fat (g) 1, Dietary Fiber (g) 2, Cholesterol (mg) 3, Sodium (mg) 74, Diabetic Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1/2 fat

Pasta Coleslaw: Associated Food Stores Weekly Recipe

Marinara Sauce

My daughter-in-law, Sana, mentioned the other day that she was craving a red sauce so she pulled out my trim&TERRIFIC Diabetic Cooking cookbook and made the Marinara Sauce. She served it over angel hair pasta and said it was the best marinara sauce she had ever had! She keeps telling me that Diabetic Cooking is her favorite cookbook as it has mainstream ingredients – easy to use even in her New York apartment. This Marinara Sauce is so easy and delicious – nothing beats homemade marinara and it’s so versatile! Serve over pasta or add eggplant or ground meat.

Marinara Sauce from Holly Clegg’s trim&TERRIFIC Diabetic Cooking Cookbook

Jars of marinara sauce stock the grocery shelves, however, nothing beats a rich robust homemade marinara sauce.  This quick to make recipe is as easy as opening up cans and adding Italian seasonings.  Try cutting up some zucchini or eggplant in the sauce.  Serve over pasta.

Makes 12 1/2-cup servings

1 onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup finely chopped carrots

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1/3 cup tomato paste

1/2 cup water, chicken or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Pinch sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

1. In large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, sauté onion, celery, carrots, and garlic over medium heat 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, oregano, basil, bay leaf parsley, sugar and salt and pepper.

2. Bring to boil, reduce heat, continue cooking 15 minutes longer.  Add more broth if mixture gets too thick.  Remove bay leaf before serving.

Terrific Tidbit:  This freezes well in individual freezable plastic containers, so you can pull it out and defrost as needed.

Nutritional information per serving:

Calories 46, Calories from fat (%) 0, Fat (g) 2, Saturated Fat (g) 0, Cholesterol (mg) 0, Sodium (mg) 335, Carbohydrate (g) 9, Dietary Fiber (g) 2, Sugars (g) 5, Protein (g) 2, Diabetic Exchanges: 1/2 carbohydrate

Marinara Sauce-Easy and Diabetic Friendly

My friend, Karen, who knows every short cut in cooking gave me this recipe.  Well, it turned out to be my favorite, my sister’s favorite plus whoever tries it.  This lasagna makes a statement and is the perfect recipe when you don’ t have time to cook of really cooking isn’t your first choice.  With no boil noodles, jars of marinara sauce, frozen spinach, cheese and a Rotessiere chicken, you can instantly create this delicious meal.  One year my daughter was a debutante and had 25 friends coming in town so I needed lots of food.  Of course, I turn to my Freezer Friendly cookbook for make-ahead recipes.  I easily whipped up this recipe in those large foil pans, froze it, and the kids all raved–and the recipe has only six ingredients.   

Quick Chicken Lasagna from Holly Clegg’s trim&TERRIFIC Freezer Friendly Meals

Makes 8 servings

1    rotisserie chicken, skin removed and chicken torn into pieces (3  cups) or 3 cups leftover turkey
2    (26-ounce) jars pasta sauce (try flavored)
2    cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2    (10-ounce) packages chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1    (4-ounce) package crumbled goat cheese
1    (8-ounce) package no-boil lasagna noodles

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Cut chicken into small pieces and mix with both jars of pasta sauce.
2. In oblong dish, spread thin layer of chicken sauce. Top with layer of noodles, chicken sauce, mozzarella cheese, half spinach and goat cheese. Repeat layering with noodles, chicken sauce, mozzarella, remaining spinach and goat cheese.
3. Continue with remaining noodles, chicken sauce, mozzarella and goat cheese.
4. Bake, covered, 50 minutes. Uncover, bake 5 minutes longer or until bubbly.

Nutritional information per serving: Calories 393, Calories from fat (%) 29, Fat (g) 13, Saturated Fat (g) 5, Cholesterol (mg) 57, Sodium (mg) 1026, Carbohydrate (g) 42, Dietary Fiber (g) 6, Sugars (g) 4, Protein (g) 29, Diabetic Exchanges 2.5 lean meat, 2 starch, 2 vegetable, 1 fat

Terrific Tidbit:  If you’re not using no-boil noodles, do not bake before freezing.  Freezes up to 3 months.

Quick Chicken Lasagna