Penne Primavera

Penne Primavera

INGREDIENTS:

vegetable broth and/or vegetable juice to cook veggies in
4 cups vegetable broth (mix with vegetable juice, if desired)
1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta - or whatever you may have :)
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
2 cups broccoli florets - 1 bag of frozen works, if they're large, you need to cut them up
2 or 3 medium carrots, julienned
1 bag frozen peas
Other vegetables - mushrooms, green beans...whatever sounds good to you, add it in!
Herbs to taste - Oregano, Basil, Parsley - fresh is best, but if you don't have it, go with dried
Garlic Powder to taste - we always add this, even if there's fresh garlic in it, too
Parmesan cheese, if desired (they make it low fat if you want it that way)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a pot, bring 4 cups of vegetable broth to a boil. Stir in the penne pasta and garlic cloves. Cook for 5 minutes, or until pasta is almost al dente.

2. Heat the broth or juice in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the broccoli, carrots, peas, and other veggies that you want. Start with the ones that take the longest to cook (carrots and broccoli). Cook until all of the vegetables are heated through, about 2 minutes or so.

3. Transfer the partially cooked pasta and broth to the skillet. Add your herbs. Cover skillet, and continue cooking 10 minutes over medium heat, or until pasta is al dente and vegetables are tender. Top with the Parmesan cheese if you want it and serve. :)

Easy Stir-Fry with Rice

I made a really good lunch today out of dinner leftovers and some things we had in the fridge.
The measurements are approximate since I just threw this together using what I had on hand, and you can just mix and match with what you have available.


Easy Stir-Fry with Rice

1/4 cup onion, sliced into short strips
1/2 cup water chestnuts, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
4 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 mushrooms, sliced
2 cups cooked rice
Soy sauce to taste

Coat a medium to large frying pan with non-stick cooking spray or a small amount of olive oil. Begin to stir-fry the onion and water chestnuts on low heat while you prepare your other ingredients. Add the rest, except for the rice and soy sauce as they're ready and cook until they're all heated through. Then add the rice and stir until it's mixed in well. Last, add the soy sauce and mix it in.

Mexican Pasta

Mexican Pasta
Ready In: 30 MinutesYields: 8 servings


INGREDIENTS:

1 pound seashell pasta 1 onion, chopped 1 each green and red bell pepper, chopped (orange and yellow, too, if desired)1 bag frozen corn2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced petite tomatoes 1/2 cup salsa 2 packages taco seasoning mix
vegetable juice water with vegetable base to cook veggies in
salt and pepper to taste
extra herbs to taste - Oregano and Chili Powder are good, and Cayenne Pepper if you like spice
I also like to use Emeril's "Essence" - the recipe for that is after this one. :)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat water mixture over medium heat in a large skillet. Cook the onion and peppers in it until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add more water or juice if needed. Stir in corn and heat through. Stir in black beans, tomatoes, salsa, and seasonings. Cook until thoroughly heated, about 5 minutes.
3. Pour sauce over cooked pasta, mix well and serve. Add Parmesan cheese on top if desired.

~*~*~

Emeril's Essence Seasoning:

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon thyme

Welcome!

Welcome to my new recipe blog! :)

Here I will post recipes that my family uses that are low in fat, or even have no fat at all...and they still taste great!

Over the past several months, my parents have been on a diet, which they call a "live-it"...it makes sense. :P Basically, they stay away from foods that have an excess amount of fat...and they can eat the good stuff until they burst if they like. :P Really, you wouldn't know that they were on a diet if you watched them eat a meal. The food is great, and you can have a lot of it! All you've got to do is make sure that it's not over a certain percentage of fat. If you're on a mission to lose weight, you want to stay below 20% fat...or if you're really serious...below 15%. If you're healthy, it's best to stay below 30%. How do you tell the fat percentage? Easy. Multiply the grams of fat by 9, and then divide that number by the calories. There's your number. :) Now, if you start doing the math on the food you eat on a regular basis, you might be surprised - I was. And I thought that I had a fairly healthy diet. But it's not that hard to change, and add some better choices to your menu. Even if you're not overweight, I think we can all agree that eating healthy is still a good idea, right? :) If you still disagree...then maybe you'll change your mind when you see some of the delicious recipes that we've tried - and loved!