Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

Yum! This was awesome.

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

Prep: 20 min., Bake: 30 min.

1 (22-oz.) package frozen mashed potatoes (we used refrigerated Simply Potatoes)
1 (6.5-oz.) container garlic-and-herb spreadable cheese
1/2 cup milk
4 cooked bacon slices, crumbled
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese
Garnish: chopped fresh chives

1. Prepare potatoes according to package directions.

2. Stir in spreadable cheese and next 4 ingredients; stir until blended. Spread mixture on bottom of a lightly-greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish; top with Cheddar cheese.

3. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish, if desired.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used frozen Ore-Ida Mashed Potatoes and Alouette Garlic & Herbs Spreadable Cheese.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Southern Living, DECEMBER 2007

Dracula's Revenge (Baked Penne with Sausage and Garlic)

I want to say I really liked this... but I can't. First I made it. I started at 3:30. At 5:40 I was finally done. It wasn't hard, just a lot to do. I also added spinach and mushrooms into this.

The garlic... I used 3 heads. I didn't fully understand what I was supposed to do but I roasted it and then squirted all the pulp into a bowl. That was a PITA because even after 20 minutes, the garlic was still hot.
After I made everything and baked it, I ate some. I thought it was bland. 3 HEADS of garlic and I don't taste it. WTH? So if this were easier, I probably would have like it, but all the work for something bland...eh.

Update: It is much better the next day when the ingredients can meld together. I could taste all the flavors and liked them. But definitely a weekend dish due to the time.

Dracula's Revenge (Baked Penne with Sausage and Garlic)

2 whole garlic heads
1 pound sweet turkey Italian sausage (used regular hot Italian Sausage)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
8 cups hot cooked penne (about 1 pound uncooked tube-shaped pasta) or rigatoni
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Remove white papery skin from garlic heads (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap each head separately in foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins. Set garlic aside.

Increase oven temperature to 400°.

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon. Place sausage in a large bowl; stir in sage and rosemary.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add the flour to melted butter, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add the milk; cook until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk (about 10 minutes). Stir in roasted garlic, cheeses, salt, and pepper. Remove mixture from heat. Add 5 1/2 cups cheese sauce and cooked pasta to sausage, stirring to coat. Spoon pasta mixture in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with remaining sauce. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Yield: 10 servings

CALORIES 434 (30% from fat); FAT 14.4g (sat 7.2g,mono 4.5g,poly 2g); IRON 3mg; CHOLESTEROL 57mg; CALCIUM 425mg; CARBOHYDRATE 48.7g; SODIUM 700mg; PROTEIN 26.3g; FIBER 1.4g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2000

Tuna "London Broil" with Wasabi Cream

We have had this before and it is always good. Last night I decided to make it (D is sick). I made the sauce and the rub. I followed the directions. Then came the actual cooking. I like everything raw. So I decided to cook the tuna 1 minute on each side. I highly recommend NOT doing that. Or you have to put it back in the grill pan and recook.

But eventually I got it right, and I still recommend the recipe. I had it with Miso Fennel Soup.

Tuna "London Broil" with Wasabi Cream

Photo by ALB

From the Pacific Rim, here's a "London broil" with piquant Asian influences. A cool bite of wasabi dressing finishes the dish.

2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
2 teaspoons wasabi powder (dried Japanese horseradish) -used wasabi paste
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 (6-ounce) tuna steaks (about 3/4 inch thick)
1 tablespoon wasabi powder (used wasabi paste)
1 tablespoon water (didn't use)
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream (used rf sour cream)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons sliced green onions

Combine first 5 ingredients; rub over tuna. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Combine wasabi and water. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise, sour cream, juice, and soy sauce.
Prepare grill to high heat.
Place steaks on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with wasabi cream; sprinkle with onions.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 steak, 2 tablespoons wasabi cream, and 1 1/2 teaspoons onions)

CALORIES 308 (30% from fat); FAT 10.3g (sat 2.4g,mono 3g,poly 3g); IRON 4.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 66mg; CALCIUM 47mg; CARBOHYDRATE 9.7g; SODIUM 500mg; PROTEIN 41.3g; FIBER 0.9g

Cooking Light, AUGUST 2003

3 Smart Points (my additions/subtractions at 4 servings)

Tasty 2-Step Chicken Bake

I was sick and wanted something comforting. This was super easy. I even made rice to go with it.

Tasty 2-Step Chicken Bake
From: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep: 5 minutes
Bake: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb.)
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup OR Campbell's® condensed 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup

Directions:
PLACE chicken in 2-qt. shallow baking dish. Spread soup evenly over chicken. Cover.
BAKE at 400°F. for 25 min. or until chicken is done.
TIP: To prepare on top of stove: Brown chicken in 1 tbsp. vegetable oil in skillet. Stir in soup and 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook 5 min. or until done.

Grilled Pork Chops with Fiery Salsa

We have had this recipe staring us in the eye for 4 years, and can't believe we never tried it. I think it was because of East meets South. I'm not a fan of fish sauce, so I didn't want to harm an innocent avocado!
Boy was I wrong. This was so good. I didn't taste any Asian flavor except the Sriracha did make for a hot salsa (hence the name). Definitely having again. We had with red potatoes with SW Seasoning.

Grilled Pork Chops with Fiery Salsa

Photo by ALB

Sriracha and fish sauce lend the salsa an Asian flavor. Serve it with grilled chicken, shrimp, or even tortilla chips.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups diced tomato
1/3 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced avocado
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tablespoons Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
Cooking spray

Preparation
Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
Combine first 7 ingredients.
Combine sugar and next 4 ingredients (through pepper); sprinkle evenly over both sides of pork. Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with salsa.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chop and about 1/3 cup salsa)

CALORIES 188 (34% from fat); FAT 7g (sat 2.1g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.7g); IRON 1.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 65mg; CALCIUM 21mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8g; SODIUM 316mg; PROTEIN 22.7g; FIBER 1.7g

Cooking Light, JULY 2004

Fennel-Ginger Miso Soup

D made this in the time it took me to come home from work (about 1 hour), but it probably was less time. It didn't look like the picture...it was lighter which was interesting since we only have red miso.
I really liked the taste. We are both having sinus issues, so D thought it would be better with chili garlic sauce. Also he used reduced fat low fat chicken broth, since he assumed it was a CL recipe.

Will make again. We only got 4 servings. I'll have to run it through the WeWa builder to see the points.

We are going to have it as a side tonight with Miso Tuna (yes, we are looking for ways to use up the miso). Now that I think about it we are having with Tuna "London Broil" with wasabi (to be posted).

Fennel-Ginger Miso Soup
Notes: Red miso paste is much darker in color and heartier in flavor than the more familiar white variety. Look for it in natural-foods stores; if you can't find it, use all white miso instead. PREP AND COOK TIME: About 30 minutes.

1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh fennel
1 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
6 cups fat-skimmed chicken broth
1 tablespoon each white and red miso paste (see notes)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh chives

1. In a 4- to 5-quart pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add fennel, onion, and ginger. Stir often until fennel is tender when pierced, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 2 cups broth.

2. Pour mixture into a blender and add miso. Whirl until as smooth as you like. Return to pan and add remaining 4 cups broth. Stir often over medium-low heat until hot. Ladle into bowls, then add chives.

Yield: Makes about 2 quarts; 6 to 8 servings

CALORIES 62 (26% from fat); FAT 1.8g (sat 0.9g); CHOLESTEROL 3.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 4.5g; SODIUM 238mg; PROTEIN 7.1g; FIBER 1.1g

Sunset, APRIL 2005

Hot Crab Dip

This is my favorite crab dip. We usually just dump everything in the crock pot and cook and serve. It is really good. Of course being from Maryland, I do add Old Bay. We serve with crackers and Fritos.

Hot Crab Dip

3/4 cup nonfat sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated fresh onion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
(I also add 1 tsp of Old Bay)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (8-ounce) tub reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1 pound lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
Vegetable cooking spray
Paprika

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl; stir well with a wire whisk. Stir in cheddar cheese and crabmeat.
Spoon the crabmeat mixture into a 1 1/2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray, and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve warm with plain crackers.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup)
CALORIES 92 (41% from fat); FAT 4.2g (sat 2.2g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.3g); IRON 0.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 45mg; CALCIUM 92mg; CARBOHYDRATE 2.5g; SODIUM 223mg; PROTEIN 10.3g; FIBER 0.0g
Cooking Light, APRIL 1995