Skinny Pizza Stuffed Peppers

As a relatively normal 20-year-old, I don’t think I have to tell you that I love pizza. Cheesy, saucy, garlicky, meaty pizza. All of the saltiness and heartiness that we  learn to love at a very young age.

But, let’s face it, pizza is pretty terrible for you. Sure, if you make it at home with good ingredients and eat moderate portions, it’s not a bad dinner. But at the end of the day, if all I want is a supreme pizza, it’s hard to justify going through the effort and cost of making my own when I can order one. And, thus, I take the healthy potential out.

So, I like to find ways to make pizza truly healthy without going through the work of making a pizza dough. Sure, there’s cauliflower crust. A delicious vehicle for all of our favorite toppings. There’s also pizza soup, which I have posted here before. Warm, filling, and very easy.

But what about when the cauliflower craze has me sick of the stuff, and I don’t have time to let a soup simmer? What’s my other option?
Enter: Pizza stuffed peppers.

So much easier than making a cauliflower crust, all you do is put your favorite toppings right into the pepper! There’s no hassle whatsoever, and it tastes exactly like pizza.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 Bell Peppers, blanched (pop into boiling water for 2 minutes, then put into an ice bath) and sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 pound ground Italian Turkey Sausage (or the links all chopped up)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 cups pizza sauce
• 2 cups pepperoni
• 1/4 cup black olives
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 2 cups pizza-blend cheese

TO PREPARE:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Melt olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add sausage and brown.

Pour in the sauce, pepperoni, olives and mushrooms and stir until everything is hot.

Place the peppers in a lightly greased 9×13 pan, and stuff as much of the sausage mixture as you can into each pepper.

Top with cheese and bake for 10 minutes.

Pizza’s here!

Baked Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

My junior year of high school, I went to Italy with my mother. Caught up in the moment, we purchased a bunch of dry pasta, jarred sauce, seasoning packets, olive oil, vinegar…. and then we arranged for a case of wine to be sent back home.

When we got home, I knew that I would have to cook a giant Italian meal for my family using all of these ingredients. A future food blogger, I was very ambitious. Macerated tomatoes with balsamic and vinegar over fresh mozzarella was the first course, followed by melon and prosciutto with olives, squid ink fettuccine with olive oil and a fancy seasoning packet, and tortellini with marinara. This was followed by gelato and biscotti.

About an hour later, I wasn’t feeling too well. Now, one might assume it was because I overate, but, quite the contrary, I was not that full. I don’t like raw tomatoes, so I’d skipped the first course, and I don’t like squid ink pasta, so I’d skipped that. I also passed on the biscotti and settled for a small spoonful of gelato. So what was wrong?

Less than 30 seconds after I started feeling sick, I was hunched over the toilet. I continued to be violently ill for 24 hours. We had decided if I was not better by the next day I needed to be hospitalized, because I was getting severely dehydrated and weak.

Luckily, I felt better and kept down water and toast. However, that experience killed me on marinara sauce for two years. Not to be graphic, but I had been tasting it every time I was sick, and it was miserable.

My two years without marinara were the years I developed my recipe for pesto, lemon cream sauce, and alfredo. I also became a fan of buffalo chicken pizza and white pizza, and learned that you can order meatball subs at Firehouse without the sauce.

Now, I am finally at a point where I will eat marinara again. It started gradually: a small dollop on pizza, a dipping sauce for bread, and finally on pasta.

But, that said, I have a very special place in my heart for alfredo. It feels like a safe-zone. It never made me sick, it’s creamy and comforting, and it’s perfect on spaghetti squash because it’s so filling.

Nowadays, I have learned how to cut the carbs from a usually flour-based sauce by folding in melted cream cheese. Bake it on top of some spaghetti squash with spinach and turkey sausage, and you can have creamy baked “pasta” any day! I rarely eat pasta anymore, and I don’t miss it one bit because of this dish.

Feel free to leave out the sausage if you’re vegetarian, just add extra margarine.

And maybe don’t import a bunch of food from Italy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 pound turkey Italian sausage, sliced
• 2 cups spinach
• 6 cups milk
• 1 cup grated parm
• 4 oz fat free cream cheese (or full-fat if you’re keto)
• 2 tbls margarine (or butter)
• salt, pepper, nutmeg
• 2 cups mozzarella

TO PREPARE:

Preheat the oven to 300

Melt 1tbls margarine in a sauce pot and add sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until brown.

Meanwhile, cut that spaghetti squash in half. Put it face down in a dish with 1 inch of water, and microwave for 15 minutes. I do mine in two batches because I can only cook one half at a time in my microwave.

After the sausage is cooked, remove from the pot. Leave the fat, unless it’s more than 2tbls. If it’s less, add a little margarine. Just get 2 tbls of fat in that pot.

Turn the heat up to high and add the cream cheese. Once it’s melted, pour in the milk.

Here’s the crazy part: boil that sucker. That’s right, I’m having you boil milk. Without the flour, it won’t thicken unless a good chunk of it evaporates from the heat, and it must boil for that to happen. Just keep stirring and keep an eye on it. When it boils, turn the heat down and stir. If it’s still thin, boil it again. You really can’t mess up.

After about 15 minutes of stirring and boiling occasionally, it’s ready! Stir in the parm, seasonings, and turn of the heat.

Shred the spaghetti squash with a fork. Add it to a 9 inch casserole dish with the sauce, spinach, and sausage. Top with mozzarella and bake for 10 minutes.

Serve!

 

 

 

 

Taco Veggie Bowl

My church group feeds me every Tuesday night, and it’s great. It’s so nice to have an evening off from cooking and dishes, and the food is always lovely! However, I cannot say that the food is always healthy. I usually make Tuesdays my splurge night for that reason, and eat my meal happily.

However, there are always leftovers to take home. I have trouble eating heavy leftovers after a heavy meal, but I also feel bad not taking home free food! So, every week, I try to makeover the leftovers into something healthy for lunch on Wednesday.

This week was tacos, so I just brought home cooked beef, queso, veggie toppings, sour cream, and shredded cheese. I skipped the taco shells and side dishes.

So, that’s the inspiration for this dish: a way to use up leftovers. However, you certainly don’t have to use the leftovers I specifically had; if you have leftover meat of any type, or any leftover sauce and cheese, you can make this. I’ve done this before with leftover sausage, marinara, and mozzarella. You can and should make this your own!

Or, if what I made just sounds really good, make all the ingredients fresh and put it together for real. You do you.

INGREDIENTS (for one bowl- double or triple with whatever you have):

• 1 cup cooked ground beef (or brown ground meat of any kind in a skillet with some oil until done)
• 1/4 cup leftover queso (or the jarred kind)
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 cup frozen broccoli
• shredded cheese, olives, lettuce, salsa, any toppings you want

Put the frozen broccoli in a bowl and prepare according to package directions. If it called for you to add water, drain it off after it’s cooked. If you play your cards right, this should be a one bowl lunch. Add the spinach and stir around until the heat from the bowl/broccoli starts to wilt it. Top with queso, beef, and any toppings you want hot (I wanted my cheese melted, so I added that on). Microwave for about 45 seconds, until everything it hot. Top with sour cream and cold toppings.

Lunch is served!

Alternatively, you can throw everything in a skillet, especially if you’re doing more than one portion. But I had no desire to dirty up another dish.

 

 

Pizza Craving Soup

Ahh, pizza. Just the word elicits memories, both pleasant and unpleasant. Ordering pizza with friends during finals week? Pleasant. Pizza parties when you were 7 years old and little Johnny took the last four slices of cheese and only ate 2 but it didn’t matter because you got stuck with sausage? Less pleasant.

Ironically, sausage is now my favorite of the classic pizza flavors. Buffalo Chicken takes the overall prize though, because why not?

Adding to the role of pizza in my life is that I used to be able to get it anytime I wanted in the dining hall. I could get my two slices and a side salad and not feel nasty. Now, if I want pizza that isn’t frozen, I have to order a whole pizza! I simply should not eat a whole pizza before it goes bad, and freezing it just takes up space.

Also, let’s face it, pizza is pretty bad for you. Bread and cheese? Not terrible in moderation, but not a balanced meal.

The solution to portion control and a low-carb alternative? Frickin’ Pizza Soup!

It TOTALLY satisfies the pizza craving. All of the flavors I crave go right into the pot, and I don’t miss a thing. I can make a small batch for myself or a big batch for my friends, and it’s so much cheaper than buying pizza.

I probably didn’t even need to convince you to look at this recipe, but even if I did, I think I’ve done the job. Pizza soup? Done.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound ground Italian Turkey Sausage (or pork if you prefer)
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1.5 cups water
• 14 oz can tomato sauce
•  14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
•  5oz can diced green chilis
• 1 can artichoke hearts (okay, not a pizza ingredient, but I like them in here. Leave out if you don’t!)
• 1 package pepperoni
• 2 cups of your fav mushroom, chopped
• 1 can hominy, white beans, or chickpeas (Also optional, but these bulk it up a bit)
• LOTS of mozzarella cheese

TO PREPARE:
Brown sausage in a soup pot. Once brown, remove from pan and drain any fat. Add every other ingredient besides the mushrooms. Bring to simmer, then add mushrooms and sausage back in.

Once it’s hot, it’s done! Taste for seasoning; you may want more water or broth if it’s too acidic for you.

Serve in bowls with so much cheese.

Little Johnny won’t get his hands on this.

 

Nacho-topped zucchini

I had long grappled with my favorite food growing up. I, quite simply, liked all foods! Well, cilantro still isn’t my thing, and basil tastes like soap, but mostly, all foods!

I knew I loved sushi, ribs, tortellini, nachos… nachos. Nachos. I knew nachos were at least a top contender my senior year of high school, when I went to a new BBQ restaurant. On the menu were tender ribs, pork sandwiches, cheese fries, all lovely. But I, instinctively, ordered the BBQ nachos.

That moment had no thought, no planning. It was pure impulse based on my taste buds.

There it was. My answer. Nachos!

A few years later, I went to a similar restaurant that also served BBQ Nachos, but this one included a calorie count. 1500 calories for an order. Granted, I never finished a full order, and I knew the stuff wasn’t good for  me. But that’s more calories than I usually eat in a day! Consuming them in one meal?

I couldn’t get it out of my head. But you know what I also couldn’t get out my head? Nachos.

So, I started to evaluate; what was it that I REALLY liked about nachos? The chips were always too salty and crunchy for my taste, and I often would scrape the cheese off with a spoon and eat it. So, I don’t really need chips. Hmmm…

A chip alternative could save me plenty off those calories while adding nutrition. And, of course, making them at home would likely make them healthier. I’ll replace the queso sauce with a conservative sprinkling of cheese, and add guac to compensate for lost creaminess. The BBQ probably added most of those calories, and I don’t really need it. Let’s do ground beef instead, with some light seasoning. No sour cream needed… hmmm….

Suddenly, a low-cal, low-carb nacho idea was coming to me. But what to do with the chips? Cheese crisps? High cal. Kale chips? Would fall apart. Cauliflower? Overdone.

Zucchini was the winner. Delicious, a beautiful color, and totally guilt-free. My favorite food was saved.

And now it’s saved for you, too.

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

• 4 zucchini
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon each cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper
• 1.5 cups shredded cheddar
• 2 avocados
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• additional salt&pepper for guac, to taste
• Other nacho toppings: salsa, black olives, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos, whipped cream… kidding

TO PREPARE:

I do my zucchini in the microwave! It’s easy and less clean up. Slice it all super thin- a mandolin works great, or a very sharp knife and a prayer. Then microwave it on a parchment-lined microwave-safe plate for about 9 minutes. Unless you have a giant microwave and a huge plate, you’ll probably have to do it in batches.

Meanwhile, brown the beef in a skillet with some cooking spray, butter, oil, whatever. As it cooks, add all of the seasonings. Stir until done!

Make the guacamole: Mash the avocado, garlic, lime juice, and salt&pepper together and give it a taste. I like mine pretty garlicy and not too lime, so do what you gotta do. I also mash mine with a fork because I like big chunks.

Assemble! Get your plates ready. Lay down a layer of zucchini, then top with cheese and beef. Do another layer of zucchini, and more cheese and beef. Then, add all of your extra toppings.

Feel free to add BBQ sauce, use ground turkey, do shrimp, add a homemade salsa. It’s nachos! You can’t mess it up.

Anybody else out there have a favorite food you wish you could makeover? Comment and I’ll see what I can do!

 

No-carb Egg Noodles with Skinny Alfredo

I have been searching for a pasta alternative for most of my life. I’ve tried them all.

Spaghetti Squash? Let’s face it, it looks like spaghetti, but it’s squash. It tastes like squash, it feels like squash. It’s not pasta. It’s a great vehicle for any sauce, so if the sauce is your craving, you’re set. But if you want that nice, starchy mouth-feel of pasta with just a little butter and salt? No bueno.

Zucchini noodles? Much closer to pasta texturally! Much easier to cook! Have I found it? But wait, how did it get soggy so fast? And why is there SO MUCH water at the bottom of my bowl? News flash: zucchini is more water than vegetable. It overcooks in 5 seconds, and so much water comes out that your marinara sauce becomes tomato soup before you can taste it.

I have tried to rectify all of these issues in an attempt to perfect my pasta-alternative. I have cooked spaghetti squash every way imaginable: roasted, boiled, microwaved, cooked whole, cooked halved, cooked in quarters, stuffed with filling and roasted after. It’s delicious, totally. But it’s still freaking squash. My 20-year-old adjective came out there.

I have tried salting zucchini noodles to release water. What’d I get? Salt water. I’ve squeezed them through a cheese cloth and got a lovely zucchini puree. I’ve tried spiraling right before cooking and the day before after leaving them on a paper towel. The water never stops. The only alternative I can see is buying local, organic zucchini that might be less watery. But that’s only a 2-month option, if that, in Arkansas.

Frustrated, I had largely put my pasta-search on hold when cloud bread entered my life. A mixture of beaten egg whites and cream cheese is baked into a fluffy, chewy bite. A bread alternative? Now, that’s a start. Cloud bread worked brilliantly for me, and I began to think; can’t one carb replace another?

Then, I see a similar recipe for an egg fast noodle. This recipe is nearly identical but includes the egg yolk for extra stability. However, an egg fast diet is very high in fat, which I do not necessarily need. Cut some fat, and let’s see if this works.

I put the stuff in the oven, and I’m thinking I’m going to end up with a frittata with alfredo on top. I’m worriedly taking inventory of my actual pasta as a backup plan, when my timer goes off.  I open it, and I see a clean sheet of egg. It looks like plain ole’ egg. How could this be pasta?

I continue with the recipe, cutting it into strips. As I’m touching it, it feels like a normal, cooked egg noodle. Confused as can be, I finish cutting, top it with sauce, and serve it. Suddenly, I’m eating pasta. Wait, no, it’s eggs. No, it’s pasta. I dreamed the egg thing. This is real pasta.

But it wasn’t. This is the only alternative I have found with the chewiness and bite of pasta. My family thought it was normal egg noodles. They could not believe otherwise.

I don’t know how this works. I really don’t. But I don’t need to. I will accept this as a gift from God and keep making my egg noodles. I hope you do, too.

INGREDIENTS FOR PASTA (serves four):

• 8 eggs
• 4 oz fat-free cream cheese
• salt & pepper

To prepare, preheat the oven to 325. Line three 8-inch square baking pans, or one 9×13 and one 8-inch, with parchment paper and plenty of cooking spray.

In a blender, dump in all the ingredients and blend it up. Once it’s combined, blend for another 2 minutes to get lots of air in there. It should look frothy on top- like an egg cream or eggnog.

Divide among pans and bake for 8-12 minutes, until it’s firm. There should be no wet, shiny spots.

Let cool until you can touch it. Remove from pan and slice with a pizza cutter to desired thickness.

Top with this sauce:

INGREDIENTS FOR ALFREDO:

• 4 oz fat free cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon margarine or butter
• 3 chicken breasts, chopped (TOTALLY optional- there’s enough protein in the pasta that you don’t need this at all)
• 3 cups milk
• 1.5 cups grated parmesean
• salt&pepper

To prepare:

Melt butter in a saucepan, and add chicken, over medium-high heat. Stir until the chicken is cooked. (Or, skip this step and just melt the butter if you don’t want meat)

Add the cream cheese and melt. Add the milk and turn the heat up until it starts boiling, stirring constantly to avoid burning. The evaporation is what thickens it, so let it roll. You’ll feel like it’ll never thicken. It will. Boil boil boil!

Add the Parmesan and the seasoning, and keep it thickening until it coats your spoon!

Gently pour the sauce over the sliced pasta (I just put it all back in the pan I baked the pasta in). Add the chicken and toss carefully to combine.

Serve it up! I garnished with some shredded parm and a dash of extra black pepper.

What else could you do with this? Add shrimp, broccoli, black olives to the sauce. Forgo alfredo, cut the pasta into big sheets, make a lasagna! Bake it in a circle and top it with pizza toppings! Cut it into bread-sized slices and grill a cheese!

I will be eating this many times, and, once you try it, I’m quite certain you will, too.

 

Cauliflower Crusted Christmas Pesto Pizza

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Everyone has a list of foods that it just wouldn’t be the holidays without. Whether it’s Grandma’s chocolate pie, Uncle Biff’s eggnog, your mother’s latkes, etc. some foods are as much a part of the holidays as the date itself.

The truth, however, is that very few of these foods are particularly nutritious. Casseroles, desserts, cocktails, all have their place on the holiday spread. But, how do we plug some healthier meals into the week of, say, Christmas, without losing the festivity?

Well, a color pallet was my starting off point. Red and green is perfect for Christmastime, so I just started listing ideas. Tomatoes and avocado, tomatoes and spinach, cranberries and spinach, zucchini and red pepper. The list grew longer until I had lots of ingredient ideas. But, what do I do with them?

Well, just color wouldn’t take me all the way there. What can I make in a holiday shape? And suddenly, it hit me: shape a pizza crust. But, Kathy, pizza is NOT a much lighter meal. Well, then lets do it out of cauliflower.

And, thus, this recipe was born.  A low-calorie, nutrient-packed meal that still looks cute enough for any Christmas party (maybe even cuter!). It’s paleo, keto, and whole30 friendly, but even without using a diet label, it’s just a delicious, healthy meal!

If you’ve never had cauliflower crust, it is slightly thinner and more delicate than a bread crust. We eat it with a fork. But, it’s flavorful and a great vehicle for toppings!

It also only takes about 30 minutes to throw this together, so, it’s perfect for such a busy time of year. Kids will love the cheese, adults will love the pesto, and you’ll love not having any leftovers!

Let’s do this.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 head riced cauliflower (I buy it pre-riced, but you can do it in the food processor or buy it frozen and thaw)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• precooked, tail-off, deveined shrimp (I bought it frozen. It’s the holidays, we can’t do everything!)
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded mozzerella
• 1 batch Spinach pesto (recipe follows) or a jar of premade pesto

SPINACH PESTO: Blend together 4 cups spinach, 1 tablespoon garlic, 1/4 cup pine nuts, 1/4 cup grated parm, and 1/4 cup olive oil in a food processor until smooth.

TO PREPARE:
Preheat oven to 475.
In a microwave-proof bowl, dump in the cauliflower and drizzle 1/2 cup water over the top. Microwave for 4-5 minutes, until soft and mashable.

Once cooked, wring scoops of cauliflower through a clean dish towel or cheese cloth, to squeeze out the excess water.

Combine the squeezed cauliflower, egg, Parmesan, and some salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix until combined.

Dump onto a greased baking sheet and press into a tree shape. Bake for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pesto if you like.

When the crust is light brown, spread on most of the pesto. Top with mozzarella, then dollop more pesto on top so the green really shows. Arrange the tomato and shrimp in a decorative-garland pattern.

Place back in the oven for 3 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the shrimp is hot.

Slice with a metal spatula and slide onto a plate. Happy Holidays!

Greek Turkey Meatballs with Gorgeous Greek Salad

Well, finals week hit, and it hit me hard. Between the alcohol-laden parties, ice cream dates, Starbucks runs, and Chipotle tacos, I need to detox before Christmas!

Of course, it is important to remember that, no matter what, a little weight gain will happen this time of year, and that’s what January is for! However, I honestly want to pump some veggies and lean protein into my body. I need some energy and some nutrition!

But, I can’t quite make my family content with just salad or just a chicken breast and veggies every day. I have to spice it up!

Introducing: Grain-free turkey meatballs. I use Parmesan instead of breadcrumbs. Is it quite the same texture? Okay, no. But it’s delicious, and it has so much flavor, and I actually prefer the crumbly meatball with the salad because I can break it up throughout. So, I think it’s absolutely worth trying, not just for the lower carbs, but for the deliciousness!

Top it with my favorite, naturally-healthy sauce: Tzatziki! Now, you can make or buy almost every dressing with Greek yogurt, but the Greeks did it well before the yogurt-craze! Twenty Five year old recipes call for thick-style yogurt; it’s not a substitution here, it’s the original! And, it adds great, unique flavor unlike anything else.

What could possibly go better with Greek meatballs than a bountiful salad bursting with cucumber, onion, feta, and olives? A light dressing on top, and it’s a healthy dinner that will prep me for the next week without making me feel deprived. It is the Holidays, after all.

You can also make the meatballs and sauce for your Holiday party as something lighter to fill up on! Meatballs are a classic, and these are different than the usual cocktail- style. I assure you, they’ll be a hit. Make the sauce a few days ahead, and you’re one step closer to your contribution!

Dig in and dig on, my friends! If you want to bulk it up a little for a crowd, add some pita bread on the side or buy a tub of stuffed grape leaves.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound ground turkey (or beef if that’s what you have)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 3 tablespoons onion, grated with a zester or cheese-grater (I’m so sorry)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1.5 Tablespoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 dash oregano (I hate the stuff, so I don’t use much. Add more if you like)
• Salt & Pepper
• 4 Tablespoons fat-free crumbled feta cheese

For the salad :

• 1 large head Romaine lettuce, chopped (Yes, I know real Greek Salad has no lettuce, but I’m bulking it up. Leave it out if you’re that pretentious)
• 1 large cucumber, diced
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup fat-free feta (or full fat if you’re not me this week)
• 1/2 cup kalmata or mixed olives
• 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes (or more if you like)
• a mixture of 3 tablespoon red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon honey
• salt & pepper

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup cucumber, finely diced or grated
• 1.5 cups plain fat-free Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon dill
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2-3 tablespoons minced parsley
• salt & pepper

TO MAKE THE MEATBALLS:

Preheat the oven to 450′

Mix together all of the ingredients but the feta and turkey. Once combined, gently work the feta and turkey into the mixture. If it’s over-mixed, they’ll be tough, so that’s why we get everything else together first!

Bake on a greased, foil-lined baking sheet for 12-15 minutes, until totally white in the middle with brown bits.

TO MAKE THE SALAD:

Combine all ingredients but vinegar/honey mix, feta, and salt/pepper. Drizzle vinegar/honey  and seasoning over the top. Toss in the feta, being careful not to mutilate it.

TO MAKE THE SAUCE:

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth! Taste for salt.

HOW IT GOES DOWN:
Once everything is done, pile a huge scoop of salad on your plate. Top it with meatballs or eat them on the side, however you role, then drizzle with LOTS of sauce.

Hope you like it! I certainly do!

Healthier Turkey Broccoli Bake

Well, here we are, the day after Thanksgiving, and there is PLENTY of turkey left. The natural inclination may be to bake a turkey spaghetti, which is delicious, but I know I’ll feel better if I do something lighter.

I also want something with some nice, green veggies. We have corn on Thanksgiving, but that’s as far as our vegetable intake goes. So, I pulled a family recipe we have been making for years. This is one of our post-Thanksgiving ideas that just happens to be lighter. I make it a little more guilt-free with fat free cream cheese and fried onions instead of Ritz crackers on top.

It’s so easy, fast, and the proportions hardly matter at all. So, if you have a lot of turkey, load it up. If not, do extra broccoli or add some bacon or ham or anything else in your fridge.

I also love that all of the additional ingredients are easy to store with all the holiday food. The broccoli goes in the freezer, the cream cheese takes no space, and you have the meat and onions anyway! And it’s a complete meal; you don’t need to make a side.

And, this means you have room for a slice of leftover pie for dessert. You’re welcome.

INGREDIENTS:

• Leftover turkey, chopped into big chunks. Use your discretion.
• 3-4 cups of frozen broccoli spears, thawed
• 1 8oz block fat free cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• salt & pepper
• 1 cup french fried onions

TO PREPARE:

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9×9 baking dish with spray or butter.

Layer the thawed broccoli on the bottom of the dish. Layer the turkey on top.

In a small bowl, whisk the milk, cream cheese, garlic salt, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the top.

Layer the french fried onions on top.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until everything is hot and bubbly. Serve!