Skinny Girl Italian Wonderpot

This recipe is absolutely delicious and looks pretty amazing, too! I was a little skeptical about this recipe at first because it required so many frozen and canned vegetables and processed meats SO I "Traci-fied" it up a little and added all fresh veggies and took out the meat. I served the pasta with some Italian Seasoned chicken and it was the perfect addition! ENJOY!!!

Ingredients:

•         4 cups of low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
•          2 tablespoons olive oil
•         12 oz whole wheat pasta (I used thin spaghetti)
•       1 ½ cups fresh spinach leave
•        1 large tomato, chopped
•      1 medium onion, diced
•        4 cloves of fresh garlic, diced
•       ½ tablespoon dried basil
•      ½ tablespoon dried oregano
•       ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
•      ½ teaspoon garlic powder
•         ½ teaspoon onion powder
•         ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
•         ¼ teaspoon of salt & pepper
•          2 oz. feta cheese

Directions:

1. Boil four cups of chicken broth in a large pot. Break pasta in half and add to the pot. Add tomatoes, olive oil, spinach, onion, garlic, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, red pepper, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
2. Make sure that all ingredients are submerged under the liquid, add a little more broth if needed and place the lid on top of the pot. Turn the heat to high until the pot comes to a FULL boil. Once this happens, remove the lid and turn the heat down to medium.
3. Allow the pot to boil WITHOUT the lid for 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir the pot to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot, but BE CAREFUL not to OVER STIR which will cause the pasta to become mushy and sometimes, sticky. *IMPORTANT* The pot MUST be boiling the entire time!!!
4. Once the pasta is cooked, crumble the feta cheese over top and serve!

*NOTE:* 1 cup of cooked, whole wheat pasta is 5 points. With that being said, the only only additional points you need to factor into this recipe is for the chicken broth & feta cheese. 1 cup of fat free, low sodium chicken broth is zero points, but because 4 cups is used throughout the recipe, you have to add 1 point (which isn't bad at all!) The feta cheese is 1 point as well unless you go crazy and load your pasta up with cheese! So overall, this recipe is 7 points!

WW Points Plus: 7  

"Skinny" Cheeseburger Pie--a Skinny Mom (AKA Brooke Griffin) Recipe!!

I am extremely excited about this recipe because this is my husbands favorite dish EVER. Every year for his birthday, his mom would make him Cheeseburger Pie (I honestly thought she created the dish because I had never heard of it before). When we got married, my amazing mother-in-law gave me the recipe and I continued the tradition. I made it for my cousin Shara, her husband Eric and my aunt Sharon and they were instant fans of the dish! I mean how can you not love a dish with onions, cheese, meat and an amazing mouthwatering crust topped with ketchup??? Well it's not exactly the HEALTHIEST meal in the world so needless to say, it's been a LONG time since I've made it. You can imagine my excitement when I came across this "skinny" version of it! This is NOT my recipe...I haven't even made it yet, but I am SO excited about it that I wanted to share it with you girls!!! I will let you know how it turns out!!! Comment below if you make it and let me know how it is!!!! :)



"Skinny" Cheeseburger Pie

(Compliments of http://www.skinnymom.com (AKA Brooke Griffin) SHE IS AMAZINGGGG. If you don't follow her blog, you need to. Her recipes are phenomenal and she is truly an inspiration!!) 

Ingredients:

•  1 lb lean ground turkey
•  1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 package reduced-fat crescent rolls
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
•  1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp pepper
•  3/4 cup reduced-fat, shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 slices of tomato

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown turkey, onion, and garlic in a large frying pan on medium heat.
2. Drain meat of fat/grease (if any). Mix Worcestershire sauce in with meat mixture. Reduce heat to low.
3. Spray a 9 1/2 inch pie pan with nonstick cooking spray. Take the crescent rolls and place them in the pan like puzzle pieces to form the bottom and the crust. Pinch the seems together.
4. Place the pan with just the dough in the oven and bake for 8 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix cottage cheese with egg.
6. When the 8 minutes are up, spoon the meat mixture into the pie pan. Pour the cottage cheese mixture over the meat. Top with shredded cheddar cheese.
7. Place tomato slices on top. I normally just place four big pieces on top and then fill in the spaces with a few pieces of diced tomato.
8. Bake for an additional 27-35 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Weight Watchers Points Plus: 5 points per serving

Serving: 1 slice

I can't wait to try this! :) Happy Cooking!