Shepherd's Pie a la Moussaka

I while back I was in the mood for some moussaka. Then I thought to myself, why not make the meat mixture for moussaka but make it into a shepherd's pie instead. I started googling and came upon another foodie who had the same idea! I was psyched to discover that this foodie was a chef... did this mean that I thought like a Fusion chef?
Probably not, but I like to think so, so don't burst my bubble!

Seeing as I had never made moussaka, I based my recipe on his, altering it to make it more 'hips & thighs' friendly , or 'gut' friendly or 'heart' friendly... or whatever part of your body you are trying to make peace with!

Here is my version of Chef John's Shepherd's Pie "Moussaka".

We all enjoyed this recipe, I toned my down when it came to spices so that my little critics would eat it... and yeah, mama is a sissy who can't handle the heat! You can handle the heat, then go check out Chef John's spice mix and use it instead of mine. (keep in mind that I halved the recipe).
Ingredients
(4 servings)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1 lb ground turkey

SPICE MIX
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp greek seasoning

2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 eggplant (350 gr), peeled and diced

1 1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tbsp light margarine
1/4 cup fat free milk
1/4 cup fresh parmesan, shredded

Directions
1- In a large pan, heat olive oil.
2- Saute onions until soft.
3 - Add turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
4 - Add spice mix and garlic.
5- Turn heat to medium low.
6 - Add tomato paste and diced eggplant, and mix.
7 - Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8- In a pot, boil some water and add potatoes.
9- drain potatoes and mash with milk, margarine and parmesan cheese.
8- Remove cover from meat near the end to let liquid evaporate a little.
9- Fill a casserole with meat mixture and top with mashed potatoes.
10- Bake in a preheated oven (medium-high heat) for approx. 20 minutes or until top is golden.

Nutritional Data
1 serving
9 WW points
413 calories
15.8 g fat
83.9 mg chol
40 g carbs
6.6 g fiber
4.3 g sugars
29.8 g protein

Kid-Proof Asian Turkey Noodles

My husband and I often like to eat late, once the kids have gone to bed. We enjoy the quiet, relax environment that allows us to have an uninterrupted conversation. On night's like that, I often whip out some quick child favorites for the kids. My little critics love this concoction! It might not look so appealing to adults, it looks kind of "blah" an colorless... but I've learned that with my kids the less different colors the better. They seem to prefer a uniform dish (like mac n cheese). Might not be the case with you children, but this sweet dish should please them either way!


Ingredients
(3 servings)
350 g ground turkey
100 g dry wok noodles (straight to wok noodles) *
1 onion, diced
2 tsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp garlic-ginger paste
salt to taste
Pam spray
water

Directions
1- Spray deep pan, or wok with Pam and heat.
2- Add onions and cook on medium heat until soft.
3- Add ground turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
4 - When turkey is cooked, add hoisin sauce, ginger-garlic paste and fast cooking wok noodles.
5 - Add a few tablespoons of water, not too much, just enough so that the pasta gets cooked and that it evaporates when pasta is ready (about 2-3 tbsp, and 4-5 minutes of cooking)

* Wok noodles; I use noodles that are to be added directly to the wok unboiled. You can also use ramen noodles, they cook quickly. Or if you don't have straight to wok noodles, then some precooked egg noodles should please the little critics ;)

Nutritional Data
1 serving
6 WW points
278 cal
14.1 g fat
37.4 g chol
22.8 g carbs
2.2 g fiber
0.3 g sugars
13.4 g protein

Asian Meatball Stir-Fry

If you made the Asian Meatballs and are wondering how to use them... here's my concoction. The whole family enjoyed this and I will be making it again. I think it would be really good with chicken or pork pieces as well... if you're not into beef or meatballs! This recipe uses hoisin sauce, which gives the recipe a niice sweet flavor.


Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1/2 large red or orange sweet pepper
1 cup green beans
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 cups fat-free chicken broth
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
2-3 tbsp water
20 Asian Meatballs

Directions
- Heat oil in a large skillet or wok.
- Cook onions, peppers and green beans until softened
- Add ginger-garlic paste, chicken broth, and hoisin sauce and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and add meatballs.
- In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with water and add to skillet.
- Simmer on low until sauce has thickened.

Nutritional Data
excluding meatballs!
(4 servings sauce)
2 WW points
87.5 cal
3.8 g fat
0.3 mg cholesterol
11.1 g carbs
1.3 g fiber
0.6 g sugar

with 5 meatballs = 8 WW points
1.6 g protein

Azorean Beef Stew

Last week I wanted to make something in the crockpot and had some stewing beef and was searching for a recipe. I knew the perfect place to go and I found something that I thought looked and sounded delicious. I was right, and so was the Crockpot lady Stephanie, this dish is yummy!
Stephanie adapted a recipe from fellow foodie Sean at Hedonia to come up with this recipe for Azorean Spiced Beef Stew in the crockpot. I will definitely be trying the original recipe on the stovetop!!
The whole family enjoyed this, and so we'll definitely be making it again. The cinnamon was not overpowering at all. I did omit the "heat" from the original recipes because as usual we can't handle the heat! If you like spicier foods, you might want to add the cayenne ;) We're sissies!!
I made a few changes, tweaked it to our family's tastebuds... so the nutritional values arecalculated using my version.


Ingredients
(makes 4 servings)

100 ml cornstarch
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb chuck beef, trimmed and cubed
2 cups beef broth
5 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
3 green onions, chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 red potatoes (approx 300 gr), washed, unpeeled, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp allspice
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cinnamon stick

DIrections
- In a bowl toss beef with cornstarch to coat cubes.
- Heat oil in a killet and brown beef until brown on all sides
- Add all ingredients to the crockpot mix and cover.
- Cook on low for 7 hours, then on high for 30 minutes. (* times may vary depending of crockpot)
- Discard bay leaf and cinnamon stick and serve.

Nutritional Data
1 serving
7 WW points
330.9 cal
10.2 g fat
73.7 mg cholesterol
33.3 g carbs
2.8 g fiber
1.5 g sugars
26.1 g protein

Chicken Cannelloni

I will warn you now, this recipe is time consuming, but delicious. It is easy to split into 2 parts over 2 days so that you don't spend too much time in the kitchen... if you have kids hanging around you, you'll for sure want to split it over 2 days (that is what I did).
I made the chicken filling on one night, refigerated it and stuffed and cooked the shells the following evening. They turned out delicious, and were eaten by all 3 of my harsh critics... another vitory for Mama Tomata!!

In case you are wondering, Cannelloni and Manicotti are the same thing. Therefore, if you have manicotti shells, you can use them ;) In Europe it is called Cannelloni and in the States they call it Manicotti.


This recipe makes 18 rolls, 3 per person. If you do not want to make 6 servings... you can easily freeze the stuffing for later use. Or if you wish to stuff a different kind of pasta, the nutritional values for stuffing only are also provided below.

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/3 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced carrot
2 garlic cloves
1 lb chicken breast, boiled and shredded
1 cup fat free chicken broth
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp Greek seasoning *
salt and pepper to taste
2 egg whites
1 cup Ricotta cheese **
1 jar of Tomato & basil pasta sauce (500g)
1 jar of passata (tomoto puree) (400 g / 14 oz)
1 cup water
1 cup part-skim mozzarella, grated
1/4 cup fresh parmesan, shredded
18 small cannelloni rolls, not cooked! (I used the Barilla brand and their cooking time)

Here's to give you an idea of the size of the canneloni I used (each roll is 10 g)

Directions
- Preheat oven to 180 C
- Heat oil in a large deep pan. Add vegetables and garlic. Cook on medium heat until vegetables are soft.
- Add shredded chicken, Greek seasoning, rosemary, salt, pepper and broth. Simmer on low until most of the liquid has absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool. ****
- Once mixture is cool, stir in ricotta cheese and egg whites. (If making recipe over 2 days. Add ricotta then stop. Add the egg whites the following day and continue recipe as written)

- Stuff cannelloni shells.

- In a medium mixing bowl, mix passata, tomato sauce and water.
- In a 9x13" casserole, pour 1 cup of tomato mix. Spread over the bottom of casserole.
- Place stuffed canneloni on top of sauce and top with the rest of the sauce. (It will look like alot, but the pasta will absorb most of it during cooking).
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes
- Remove foil and top with parmesan and mozzarella cheese and return to oven for 10 minutes until pasta is soft and cheese has melted
- Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.



* I used shredded chicken breast, but if you want to have a quicker and easier version, I think it would be just as good with ground chicken or ground turkey. Just add the ground meat after the vegetables until cooked then add broth and follow the rest of the directions.

** I planned on using Italian seasoining but didn't have any, so I used Greek. Greek seasoning tasted delicious in the filling, but go ahead a use Italian if you don't have Greek ;)

*** This was my first time using ricotta cheese, and I must admit I am not a fan. Next time I make this I will substitute light cream cheese for the ricotta for a creamier filling.

Nutritional Data
1 serving (3 rolls)
7 WW points
306.3 cal
12.6 g fat
18.1 g carbs
0.9 g fiber
8.4 g sugars
30.6 g protein
66.3 mg cholesterol

1 roll in sauce no cheese
2 WW points
86.2 cal
3.2 g fat
0.3 g fiber

Filling only (6 portions)
4 WW points
1 portion
181 cal
6.5 g fat
0.9 g fiber
5.9 g carb
23.6 g protein

Turkey Bolognese Sauce

I love Spaghetti Bolognese, and to make it worse, I like mine "gratinée" or "au gratin" as some others may say, which is topped with cheese then melted under the broiler! I'm salivating just thinking about my Spaghetti Gratinée! However, it can pack a good amount of calories and fat, so I made some changes to my regular beef sauce. Turkey doesn't quite have the same texture as beef, but once the sauce is mix with the pasta and topped with cheese, I am satisfied. I usually melt mozzarella on top, but to cut back on calories, I am opting for Parmesan, which I love just as much!


Ingredients
(makes 7 cups of sauce)

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cup bell pepper (color of your choice, I prefer sweet)
1 cup diced celery
4 garlic cloes, minced

1 lb ground turkey (white meat)
salt & pepper to taste

2 cans (14 oz/400g each) of chopped tomatoes
1 jar (14 oz/400g) Passata (tomato puree)
1 cup water
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto
2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sugar *

Directions
-Heat oil in a large pot.
- Add diced vegetables and garlic.
- Cook covered, stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes, until vegetables are soft.
- Add groudn turkey and season with salt and pepper. Mix and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up the turkey.
- Once Turkey is no longer pink, add the remaining ingreditents and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes on low or until the water has absorbed and the sauce is thick. If you wish to have a less thick sauce, you can add 1 cup of tomato sauce instead of water and don't simmer it as long... although, it won't be as flavourful if it simmers for less time.

* The sugar is there to break down the acidity from the chopped tomatoes and passata.

Nutritional Data
1 cup serving
6 WW points
280.1 cal
12.9 g fat
65.6 mg cholesterol
14.7 g carbs
3.4 g fiber
4.8 g sugars
21.2 g protein

Bowtie pasta with Eggplant Sauce

I love eggplant! I don't like calling it eggplant though, it's sounds so much nicer in French (or British English)... aubergine... music to my ears! I love the texture and the taste. I can fit eggplant into practically any dish; I like it that much! A couple of years back, my picky husband who never tries anything, agreed to taste eggplant after lots of nagging and had a "Green Eggs and Ham" moment... "why... I DO like eggplant!" (surprise!).
I have converted 5 people so far... they all swore they hated eggplant, tasted it, and "gasp" they liked it. I think alot of people have never even tried eggplant and simply dislike the name or look of the vegetable. If that person is you: suck it up and try it!!!
My 2 all time favorite eggplant recipes are Eggplant Parmesan and Baingan Ka Bhurta (Indian mashed eggplant). Seeing as I just made some Chicken Parmesan last week, I decided it would be to similar to eat this week. As for making Indian eggplant for the little critics, that would be a no go, as my daughter likes to scream out "it's spicy! It's spicy!" to anything with the tiniest bite (even mild salsa... wuss! She gets that from me.. I'm not so tough!). Once she starts her chanting, then the other little critic decides he also can't eat it. That means we will wait a couple of years before re-introducing Indian food to the critics!

Enough rambling.... I had eggplant in the fridge, and wanted to eat it! This is what I concocted; kids ate it, it passed the test.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced onion (1 medium onion)
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 garlic clove
300 gr eggplant, peeled and diced (3 cups)*
100 gr zucchini, peeled and diced (1/2 cup)
1 jar (400gr) of tomato-basil sauce
1 can chopped tomatoes (400 gr)
1 cup water
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 tbsp fresh basil, or 1 tsp dried
1/4 tsp sweet hungarian paprika**
salt and pepper to taste
Pam cooking spray

Directions
- Heat oil in medium saucepan.
- Add onion and green pepper and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
- Add garlic, eggplant and mix, cover and cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. (Eggplant absorbs oil and liquids! If you find that the eggplant is starting to stick and burn, spary with Pam and mix... I needed to do this twice).
- Add zucchini and cook another 2 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients and cover and let simmer for another 10 minutes until eggplant is soft. (Eggplant is sometimes bitter if not fully cooked!) If sauce is too liquidy, remove cover and simmer until thickened, or if it is too thick add some water until desired consistency.

Serve over whole wheat pasta and top with fresh parmesan cheese.

* I peeled and diced because of the kids ;) Go ahead and chop the eggplant into larger pieces if you wish. As for the zucchini, I would have left the skin on if not for the kids (easier to hide them when they are skinned!). The peel is packed with nutrients! Also, I would prefer larger chunks of zucchini, and for them to be crunchier. If I was making this for zucchini loving people, I would have added the zucchini at the same time as the sauce and cut them in larger chunks so that they still would have a nice crunch... I probably would have doubled the amount as well ;)

** If you do not have sweet paprika, you can use regular paprika, it might just have more of a bite then the sweet paprika.

Nutritional Data
Sauce only (split into 4 servings)
3 WW points
159 cal
6 g fat
19 g carbs
6 g fiber
4 g protein

Sauce only (split into 5 servings)
2 WW points
128 cal
4.7 g fat
15 g carbs
5 g fiber
3 g protein

Greek Bulgur Salad

Bulgur is a grain I discovered a couple of years ago. It resembles short grain rice, but has a chewier texture. It is fantastic warm or cold. I like to use it in place of rice for hot meals, or cold to make delicious salads. It is packed with fiber and very nutritious. I made this for myself, and I enjoyed it. I used canned shrimp since that was all I had, but I think it would be better the next time with frozen shrimp or with no shrimp at all, but as a side dish for a nice grilled shrimp dinner! Mmm, now I am salivating for fresh BBQ's shrimp...

I will test this out on the little critics when they get home from school... I have a fishy feeling they will be picking out several things and just eating the bulgur... they LOVE bulgur!
Ingredients
1/2 lb uncooked bulgur
2 cups low fatchicken broth
20 gr sun-dried tomato, diced (4 halves, not oil-packed!)
1/2 lemon, juiced
can of cocktail shrimp, drained and rinsed (100gr without liquid)
1/2 cup diced cucumber
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/c cup crumbled low-fat feta *
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Greek seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

*the low fat feta I used was 12% fat (nutrional data is based on that value).

Directions
- In a medium saucepan, add bulgur to chicken broth and bring to a boil
- Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add sun-dried tomatoes and boil for another 5 minutes, covered, or until all liquid has been absorbed. The bulgur should have a chewy texture like that of rice when still al dente. (No matter how long you cook it, it will never reach the softness of rice!)
- Remove from heat, squeeze juice of half a lemon into bulgur, mix and let cool.
-In a large salad bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients and toss.
- Once bulgur has completely cooled, mix it into the salad mix and refrigerate at least 30 minutes until nice and cool.

Nutritional Data
You might think the portion is small, but bulgur is incredibly filling ;)
1 1/2 cup main dish serving (makes 4 servings)
6 WW points
339 cal
5.7 g fat
39 g cholesterol
52 g carbs
11 g fiber
24 g protein

1 cup side dish servings without shrimp (makes 6 servings)
4 WW points
208 cal
3.5 g fat
7.5 g fiber
0.8 g cholesterol
34.5 g carbs
12.7 g protein

Turkey Muffinloafs

I made some miniature meatloaves today and they were a huge hit with one little critic. The other critic only ate half, which is usual for her. These were fun for the critics since they could eat them with their hands once they had cooled a little. We devoured ours with some BBQ sauce.... mmmmm.
I did put fresh veggies in it, and assumed they would have time to be fully cooked, but I was wrong. I enjoyed the crunch they gave, but I'm guessing that is why one little critic didn't finish her plate... Therefore, next time I will saute the onions and peppers and let them cool before adding them to the mix.
I am going to freeze the leftovers for a quick and healthy lunch later on. We had this with some sweet & sour coleslaw; the flavors mixed perfectly!
Ingredients

1/2 onion, finely diced (1/2 cup)*
1 small red pepper, finely diced (1 cup)*
1/2 cup shredded carrot (1 small carrot)
3/4 cup shredded zucchini (1 small zucchini)
1 egg
1 tbsp Dijon a l'ancienne (old-fashioned)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
100 ml uncooked whole wheat couscous
1 lb lean ground turkey (white meat)
Pam

Directions
- Preheat oven to 200 C
- *If you do not want crunchy onions and peppers, saute them in a little olive oil for 5 minutes. If you don't mind, skip this step.
- Mix all ingredients well with your hands.
- Spray 8 wholes of a muffin tin.
- Pack with meat mixture.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 75 C.

Note
Seeing as all muffin tins vary in size keep in mind that the nutritional values are based on my muffin tin (12 holes, only 8 used).

Nutritional Data
1 muffin was perfect for the little critics and 2 muffins were good for mama ;)
1 muffinloaf =
3 WW points
154 cal
4.8 g fat
66 g cholesterol
13.6 g carbs
1.6 g fiber
13.8 g protein

Roast it! Rosemary-Thyme Pork Tenderloin with Root Vegetables

I loast pork roasts, especially lean tenderloin! I'm salivating again thinking about it. I had some fresh herbs and decide I should do something with them before they dried out or died on me... My herb plants never seem to survive... I must be doing something wrong!
I bought a 2.5 lb pork tenderloin and cut it half for the recipe, so my cooking time was way different then it should have been with a 1 piece 1 lb tenderloin. This lenghtened cooking time was not welcomed by my youngest little critic who came shouting "I'm hungreeeeeee mooooooooommmmm!!!!"
So I had to take the roast out, slice it up and panfry it to finish it. Still tasted great, but not as juicy as it would have tasted if it would have been finished in the oven.

Rosemary-Thyme Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients
(serves 4)

1 lb pork tenderloin
1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, 2 sliced and 1 minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper


Directions
Preheat oven to 200 C
With a morter and pestle, mash up the thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.
Stab meat with knife to make pockets about 1/2 inch deep and wide.
Place roast in a small roasting pan.
Stuff the pockets with small amounts of herb mix, keeping about half for later.
Slide a garlic slice in each pocket.
Cover the rest of the roast with remaining herb mix and minced garlic.
Put in oven with the roast vegetables recipe (see below) if you chose to have that side dish.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of roast is 165 F.
Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes and slice into 4 servings (either 4 thick slices or 8 thinner slices).

** I covered my roast with aluminum foil half way through to save the herbs from burning. My oven is out of whack, so yours might survive without the foil

Nutritional Data
5 WW points
199 cal
6.9 g fat
1 g carbs
0.2 g fiber
31.5 g protein


Roasted Root Vegetables

Ingredients
(4 side servings)

1/2 a sweet potato (about 1/2 lb), cut into big cubes
1 medium carrot (150 gr), cut into 1.5 inch peices
1 small parsnip (100gr), cut into small pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small white beet 100 gr, cut into small pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
- Preheat oven to 200C
- Mix all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and toss to evenly coat all veggies.
- Spread veggies in a medium roasting pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Take out and mix and return to oven for another 20 minutes (or until fork tender).

** Make sure the parsnips and beets are much smaller then the carrots and sweet potatoes since they take longer to cook. Sweet potato cooks the fastest out of the bunch, so make that your largest peices.

Nutritional Data
2 WW points
131 cal
7.1 g fat
16.6 g carbs
3.7 g fiber
1.7 g protein