A Welcomed Distraction

Because of Suzanne's crazy work travel schedule, this week's meal was postponed until Thursday night instead of our regular Monday night dinner.  This week has been interesting, to say the least, dealing with teething babies, annoying co-workers, a great Girls Night Out and a whole lot of rain. 

We didn't even start to think about cooking until 5:00 (with the exception of the pie) and everything was still on the table by 6:30.  Not too bad with two cooks and three cookbooks in the kitchen!

Sloppy Janes
from Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World

1lb raw extra-lean ground turkey
5 small hamburger buns (light, if available)
1/2  cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers
1 cup canned tomato sauce
3/4 cup canned no-salt-added tomato sauce (we didn't use this)
2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/2 tablespoons Splenda (granulated)

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon steak seasoning blend, dry

dash of salt

Directions:

Spray a large pan with nonstick spray, and bring to medium-high heat. Add turkey to the pan. Spread the meat around in the pan to break it up a bit.

In a small dish, combine Splenda, salt and steak seasoning. Sprinkle this mixture over the meat, and continue to stir meat in the pan. Once the meat has browned, reduce heat to medium.

Add onions, peppers, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar to the pan. Stir, and then continue to cook for 5 minutes.

Add tomato sauces and paste to the pan and stir well. Reduce heat to low, and cook the mixture for an additional 5 minutes.

Toast the buns, if desired. Put 1/5th of the mixture on each bottom bun, and then finish off with tops of the buns.

MAKES 5 SERVINGS

Heads Up! These Sloppy Janes are a little sweet, because, well, that's the way we like 'em! If you don't like yours sweet, feel free to leave out the Splenda.

Serving Size: 1 sandwich

Calories: 271

Fat: 3g

Sodium: 835mg

Carbs: 32g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 8g

Protein: 31g

POINTS® value 5

April~ I'm a big fan of Sloppy Joes, but without red meat in our diet this was a fun try. It was good. Even though they warned it was sweet... we didn't think it was at all. It is a nice recipe. I think next time I will add a little more of the seasoning and spice it up a bit more.

Jeffrey's Cauliflower au Gratin

from Rachel Rays Home for the Holidays book page 136

Feeds 8-12 (fyi and a small army)

2 heads cauliflower, rinsed and separated into florets

6 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, minced

4 tablespoons all- purpose flour ( a handful, for sprinkling) -- just add the 4 tablespoons... save yourself the confusion.

2 1/2 cups milk

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 pinches ground nutmeg

1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Steam cauliflower, sprinkled with a pinch of salt, in an inche of water brought to boil then reduced to a simmer for 10 minutes covered, Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325F and lightly grease a baking dish (try two 9X 13)

In a large skillet or deep pan, melt butter and saute onion over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Sprinkle wiht a little flour and cook a minute more. Add milk and cook until milk begins to thicken.  Add salt and pepper and 2 pinches of nutmeg. Stir in cheese until it melts. Add cauliflower and coat. Pour into baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.

 April~ I love low carb things... so this was my kind of thing! I think next time I will add more nutmeg, salt and pepper during the cheese part. I've made plenty of cheese sauces in the past so I was suprised by the directions, but it ended up being fine. It makes a crap load of cauliflower... no really a lot of cauliflower. In the future... I will cut the recipe in half.

Cumin-Scented Sweet Potato Wedges

from Hit the Spot: 140 Savory, Crispy, Spicy & Sweet Recipes You'll Love by WeightWatchers

2 large sweet potatoes peeled, each cut into 8 wedges (I used one sweet potato and one baking potato)

1 teaspoon olive oil (it gets in one of your healthy oils for the day, and I like it better than non-stick spray)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Spray a large cookie sheet with nonstick spray.  Put the potato wedges in a large bowl and toss with olive oil to coat evenly.  Combine the remaining ingredients in a cup, sprinkle evenly over the potatoes.  Toss to coat.

Arrange the potatoes on the cookie sheet and bake 25-30 minutes, turning once to brown evenly.  

Each serving is 4 wedges and has a Points value of 1.

Suzanne: I didn't think I liked sweet potatoes.  In fact, I was pretty darn sure that I didn't like them, even though I haven't tried one in about five years.  So in the spirit of The Recipe Victim, I decided I would make this side to go with the Sloppy Janes.  In the event that I didn't couldn't handle the sweet potatoes, I decided to substitute one of them for a regular baking potato.  Turns out, the sweet potatoes were good!  The mixture of the sweet potato and the semi-spicy paprika and cumin was surprisingly delicious. 

Frozen Key Lime Pie
from Hit the Spot: 140 Savory, Crispy, Spicy & Sweet Recipes You'll Love by WeightWatchers

1 14-ounce can fat-free sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

1/2 cup lime juice

2 cups thawed frozen fat-free Cool Whip

1 6-ounce prepared reduced-fat graham cracker crust

1 small lime, thinly sliced (I omitted this)

Whisk together the condensed milk and lime zest and juice in a large bowl.  Fold in the whipped topping one third at a time, just until blended.  Spoon the filling into the graham cracker crust, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula.  Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours or up to one day.

To serve, let the pie stand at room temperature 10 minutes for easier slicing.  Garnish each serving with a slice of lime and serve at once.

Serves 10-12 and each slice has a Points value of 4.

Suzanne: I made this pie on Wednesday during my lunch hour and stuck it in the freezer.  It was one of the easiest desserts I've probably ever made and included almost no prep.  I do believe this is my new go-to item to bring to any event that I'm asked to bring a dish.  The pie is awesome - zesty and sweet and it almost melts in your mouth.  Can't wait for my next slice!!