Weight Watchers Spaghetti and Meatballs

This weekend I redid my brandy snifter of recipes and put all the low calorie recipes in it.  The first recipe I picked out of the snifter was this Weight Watchers Spaghetti and Meatballs. 

I'm not usually a huge fan of ground turkey because the texture gets a little wonky to me. This recipe uses ground turkey with ground pork - so the texture is just fine for me.

As usual, I made a few "adjustments" to the recipe. Turkey, also, notoriously has not so much flavor. For that reason I tossed in some McCormick's Grill Seasoning.  I think it really made a difference.

This recipe makes a TON.  I most likely will do this for a Sunday dinner in the near future because of how much it makes. 

Best part about this recipe is it's 319 calories.  I used whole wheat pasta for the spaghetti.  You really can't tell the difference.

Photo courtesy of WW.com

Weight Watchers Spaghetti and Meatballs
Courtesy of WW Take Out Tonight cookbook
Serves 10

1 T olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground, skinless turkey breast (for the record, I didn't know they had ground turkey that included the skin.)
1/2 lb ground pork (10% or less fat)
1/2 c Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1/4 c fat-free milk
2  tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp (each) salt and pepper
28oz can of crushed tomatoes
2T chopped fresh oregano
3/4 lb spaghetti  [JW - I doubt 3/4 lb spaghetti will serve 10 people, so use your best judgment on how much spaghetti to make for yourself.]

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 10X15 inch jelly-roll pan with nonstick spray; set aside.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally; until golden, 7-10 minutes.
combine the turkey, pork, bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, egg, egg whites, milk, W sauce, salt, pepper and half of the cooked onions/garlic in a large bowl. Sharpe into 20 meat balls and place in a single layer without touching each other on the jelly-roll pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

[JW note - this meatball mixture was very wet.  When I make this again, I would fore go the two egg whites.  With the milk in it, you just don't need the extra wet.]

Bring the tomatoes and the remaining half of the cooked onions and garlic to a boil in a large sauce pan; add the meatballs. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the meatballs are cooked through, 18-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti. Toss the spaghetti, meatballs and sauce together. Or, if you're like me, the sauce goes on top the spaghetti and you sing, "On top of spaghetti, call covered with cheese. I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed."

Ahem.

Things I changed with the sauce are:
1. I tossed in a can of petite diced tomatoes. I like a bit more texture in my tomato sauce.
2. I put in about a tsp of sugar.  Tomatoes are acidic and the sugar helps cut that back some.
3. I put in about a 28oz can of water - I like more sauce than meatballs.  Plus this marinara will freeze real well.

Beef Pot Pie

I'm a huge fan of pot pies. Usually they are so bad for you and make such big servings that they just aren't worth eating to me.  But now, NOW I've found a recipe that 1) can be lightened up and 2) makes enough for two large-sh servings.

This was super easy and I'm feeling motivated to make this again. I put mine in little individual dishes and topped them with store bought pie crust.  If you're not a pie crust snob, take the short cut and buy the pie crust. 

Courtesy of One Lovely Life

Beef Pot Pie
Serves 2

12 oz blade steak, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces [JW note - I used a top sirloin steak cuz that's what I had on hand.]
5 tsp vegetable oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 oz white mushrooms, quartered
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
2 T flour
2 tsp tomato paste
2 T dry red wine
1 3/4 c beef broth
1/2 c peas
Pie crust

Pat the meat dry and season with salt and pepper.  Heat 2 tsp of the oil in an oven safe skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 5-7 minutes. Transfer the meat to a bowl and set aside.

Heat remaining 1T oil in the skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the carrots, onion and cook until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the mushrooms and cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the flour and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is incorporated, about 1 minute.  [JW note - I put the tomato paste in first and cooked it for about a minute. Then I added the flour.] Stir in the wine and cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds. slowly stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to a simmer.

Off heat, season the sauce with salt and pepper. Then stir in the browned beef, along with any accumulated juices, and the peas.

Put the beef mixture in a Pyrex dish that will fit it [JW - again, I used two small single serving dishes.] Cover with pie crust.  Bake at 425 for 30 to 35 minutes until the pie crust is golde nbrown.

The other adjustment I made was I added some corn I had on hand.  You can't go wrong with adding a little bit of corn.

Chicken and Ginger

I'm a big fan of chicken, But let's admit it, chicken is boring.  I'm forever trying to find something flavorful and low in calories to make with chicken.  I've been successful 90% of the time.

This recipe is middle ground for me. Flavorful and good, but not something I'd necessarily die to make again.  I have so many chicken recipes to make that I would keep this, but make something new over this again. 

Still it's low calorie and VERY easy to make - and bonus - easy clean up because you use parchment paper to cook it in.

The recipe calls for jalapenos but there isn't any real heat in this if you, like me, take the seeds and ribs out of the pepper.

Give it try. You may find it's a good go-to recipe. 

Chicken and Ginger
Recipe from Everyday Food

Photo courtesy of
Everyday Food

Serves 4

8 chicken cutlets (no big surprise here but I used a chicken breast instead)
1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/3 c fresh cilantro, chopped
1 medium jalapeno, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Lime wedges for serving

Preheat oven to 400F.
Place chicken in the center of a 18 inch long piece of parchment paper. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Top with ginger, cilantro and jalapeno. Drizzle with olive oil. Fold parchment into a twist or envelop shape to not allow any juices to escape during cooking.

Place packet on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 18-20 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.

[Jenn note] - so I went one step further and squeezed a half of lime over the chicken after it was baked. So good.

Nutella Cookies

I'm a fan of Nutella. I mean, what's not to love?

Last week was Worldwide Nutella Day. And in the spirit of Nutella I cracked open a jar of it and took a spoonful. The best way to eat Nutella I might add.

After that I knew I had to do something else with the rest of the jar or I'd eventually eat the whole jar. So Nutella cookies came to mind.

I've made Nutella cookies before, but these were WAY better.  WAY better.

Photo courtesy of Cuisine at Home

Nutella Cookies
Recipe from Cuisine at Home

2 c flour
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla
finely chopped hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside. 

Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed, 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to fully incorporate before adding the next. Add Nutella and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined.

Chill dough for 4 hours or overnight. And try not to eat it.

Scoop dough with a #30 scoop (scant 3 T); roll in hazelnuts. Bake cookies, six at a time, until edges are set, about 15 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets.

Crock Pot Stroganoff

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love stroganoff. Such a comfort food for me. I have a pretty good recipe for strogan off, but it's not, let's say, low cal. It's easy and simple, and you could probably make it low cal, but why bother.

This recipe is decent.  Its flavorful and has the stroganoff flavor that we all know and love. If I made it again, I'd actually take the extra step and brown the meat.  I didn't like the meat consistency after being in the crock pot all day.

Otherwise, there were no changes to this very simple recipe.