Monday, April 5, 2010

Mexican Pizza


pizza before cold toppings!
close up!

Mexican Pizza
4 Servings
16 oz. Trader Joe’s Plain Pizza Dough
1 tsp canola oil
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce (use ¾ of can)
1 tsp fajita seasoning
4 oz. ground beef (sautéed with jalapeno in taco seasoning)
6 slices tomato
½ can spicy chili beans (in sauce)
60 grams Kraft natural swiss/parmesan Reduced Fat blend
4 tbsp fat-free sour cream
1 cup romaine lettuce

Preheat oven to 450. Spray pizza pan very lightly with cooking spray. Spread on pan with hands. Spread dough on pan. Sprinkle with oil and spread with brush. Combine fajita seasoning and tomato sauce in can. Stir, and add to pizza, spreading evenly with brush. Add beef, tomatoes, beans and cheese. Cook for 12 – 15 minutes, until cheese melts and crust is brown. Top with lettuce and sour cream.

Nutritional Information: 403 calories, 58 carbs, 10 fat grams and 18 protein grams.

Another shot of my serving - I love this little concoction!


Review: We LOVED it. I’m so glad I put this together today and plan to make it a regular – super filling and flavorful!

Spicy Cilantro Chicken Salad



Spicy Cilantro Chicken Salad
4 Servings

16 oz. chicken
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can rotel
8 cups arugula (1 bag), divided into 4 servings
1 avocado, deseeded without skin, quartered
40 grams corn chips
40 grams Kraft reduced fat swiss cheese
8 tbsp Trader Joe’s Cilantro Salad Dressing
24 cherry tomatoes, quartered

Cook chicken in taco seasoning and rotel until no longer pink. Shred with two forks, divide into 4 servings and spoon it onto arugula topped plates. Add 10 grams corn chips, 10 grams cheese, 6 cherry tomatoes, ¼ of avocado and 2 tbsp of salad dressing to each. Eat up!

Nutritional Information: 397 calories, carbs, 17 fat grams and 36 protein grams.

Review: I loved it! Austin had it for dinner later and thought it was fabulous as well – this will be a summer staple! (to lower fat, just use less avocado). :) And you guys – that salad dressing is THE BOMB. It’s super flavorful – a little goes a very long way which makes me very happy.

Breakfast Breaded Casserole


Adapted from My Once a Month Cooking
Breakfast Breaded Casserole
4 servings

6 eggs
1 package Jimmy Dean Reduced fat sausage, browned and drained
1.5 cups fat-free milk
1 cup fat-free shredded cheddar
1 tsp dry mustard
8 slices Nature’s Own whole wheat bread

Brown sausage. Mix with eggs, milk and mustard. Stir well. Place in slow cooker. Rip up bread and stir into egg mixture. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover and cook on high 2 hours, then low 1 hour. Divide and serve.

Nutritional Information: 464 calories, 29 carbs, 23 fat grams and 41 protein grams.

Review: This was REALLY good and makes lots of food - really large servings. It definitely has that dry/strata bread taste. The wheat bread taste is strong so if you're not a huge fan definitely try white wheat or a bread you love.

Pop Up Pizza Pie


Pop Up Pizza Pie

Makes 4 Servings

1 pound ground beef
½ cup of chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
2 cups low-calorie spaghetti sauce

Popover Batter

1 cup fat-free milk
1 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese

60 grams Trader Joe’s Fresh Mozzarella


Brown ground beef with onion and pepper. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside. In a bowl combine milk, oil and eggs. User mixer to beat one minute on medium speed. Add flour and salt to egg mixture and beat for two minutes or until smooth. Spread meat mixture into a 9×13 pan. Top with cheese. Carefully pour batter over cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.


Nutritional Information: 479 calories, 41 carbs, 14 fat grams and 46 protein grams.


The pan right out of the oven!

Review: SO flavorful! We followed the original recipe exactly, except I used red onion instead of white, and red bell pepper instead of green. I was really happy with how it turned out - so different! I liked the batter on top and rarely get to use my mixer - so that was fun!! I'm definitely going to make this again - maybe i'll add some red pepper flakes to make it a little more flavorful, and maybe less cheese to make room for calories for turkey pepperonis, which I think would be fab in this!! One thing I loved about it - lots of food - I love a healthy portion!