WW Mushroom Couscous

This is part of dinner tonight. Along with a whole roasted chicken seasoned with Tuscan chicken seasoning and a sliced lemon stuffed inside, sliced carrots roasted along with the chicken, salad, and Hawaiian rolls. Another weight watchers (WW) recipe. Mmmmm.

Butter cooking spray
4 cups fresh sliced mushrooms (about 3/4 pound)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
1 cup fat free, reduced sodium beef broth
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2/3 cup uncooked couscous

Heat a 4-quart saucepan over med-hi heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add mushrooms and next 3 ingredients; coat veggies with cooking spray. Saute' 2-3 minutes or til tender. Stir in broth, salt, and pepper; bring to boil. Stir in couscous and remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes; fluff with fork. Yield: 4 servings (serving size about 3/4 cup).

Low Fat Corn Casserole

You may know this as corn casserole or corn souffle. This is a lower fat version, may have been weight watchers but I can't remember, but tastes just like the full fat version. It's a favorite of the boys.

1/4 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup melted butter
1 can no salt cream corn
1 can no salt whole kernel corn
1 pkg. corn muffin mix
1 (8 oz.) carton plain FF yogurt

Preheat oven to 350. Combine in a medium bowl; stir well. Pour into an 8 inch square baking dish coated with nonstick spray. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or til set. 8 servings.

Venison Stroganoff

Ok, ok, I know...... Bambi. I used to think of that every time I heard "deer meat" or "venison", but forget all that you ever heard about deer meat. If you get your hands on some (I've only made it with ground venison, not cubed), try it in this recipe. I promise you will never know it is deer meat. Hell, if you can't get deer meat, just use ground beef or cubed beef, it's a great stroganoff recipe.

1-2 pounds of trimmed and cubed or ground Venison
1 whole Onion
1 clove of crushed Garlic
2 cups of fresh Sliced mushrooms..or more if you'd like.
2 TBSP of Olive Oil
Salt to taste
White Pepper to taste (I use black pepper)
2 Cans of Golden Mushroom Soup
1 cup of sour Cream
Egg Noodles

Heat frying pan
Add your Olive Oil and let it come to heat.
Now, add your Venison, Garlic, Mushrooms and Onions and brown for about 2 minutes
Add your Mushroom soup and sour cream and stir thoroughly while adding salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a low boil.
Turn heat to low, and allow to simmer for at least 1/2 hour with a lid on. Stir ocassionally.
Boil Noodles and Strain.
Ladle your stroganoff over noodles and there you have it.

WW Shepherd's Pie

This is a weight watchers recipe. You'll probably end up seeing a lot of these, and trust me, just because it's "diet food" or "healthy food" does not mean it sucks! Quite the contray!! I have about 10-12 WW cookbooks, and have tried many, many recipes, and I am serious when I say that every single one has been absolutely delicious. I've used ground beef and ground lamb in this, the ground beef tastes just fine, but I'm a purist and I prefer ground lamb. It's personal preference, and price can definitely make a difference sometimes on whether or not I buy beef or lamb.

1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 1/2 lbs ground round or lamb
2 cups frozen mix veg (I don't like frozen mixed veggies. I just use a couple of handfuls of frozen peas and dice up a few fresh carrots to equal about 2 cups)
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 (14 oz) can Fat Free Reduced Sodium beef broth
2 tbsp AP flour
1 (20 oz) pkg refrig mashed potatoes (such as simply potatoes, or make your own)

Preheat oven to 375. Heat oil in large skillet on med-hi. Add onion and carrots, saute 5 minutes. Add meat, cook til done, then drain. Returnto skillet. Add peas, tomato paste, salt, and pepper, cook on medium 5 minutes or til veg are hot, stirring frequently. Combine broth and flour, stirring with a whisk. Add broth mixture, bring to boil, and cook 3 minutes or til thick, stiring constantly. Spoon into an 11x8 baking dish. Spread potatoes on top, sprinkle with cheddar (ok, this isn't in the ingredient list, but I gotta have cheese on my shepherd's pie!) . Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or til browned.

Marinara Magnifica

This is delicious. It works for any pasta dish, and is even great on pizza.

2 tbsp. olive oil
6 cups chopped onion (about 3 medium)
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
6 crushed garlc cloves
2 (28 oz. each) cans crushed tomatoes (do not drain)
2 (14.5 oz. each) cans diced toatoes (do not drain)
2 (6 oz. each) cans tomato paste

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and sugar. Cook 30 minutes or til golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in wine and cook 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Makes 9 cups.

Boboli style Pizza Crust

1 cup water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons Red Star active dry yeast I have a jar of bread machine yeast, so I just used 2 tsps of that)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
parmesan cheese to sprinkle

Add all ingredients (except second parmesan cheese) to breadmaker in order listed by your manufacturer. It is a good idea to put the garlic down inside the flour so it does not slow the yeast. Set breadmaker on dough setting. When complete, form two crusts on pizza pans, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, cover and let rise again (about 1 hour). Bake 5-10 minutes at about 450 F until light brown (mine usually go about 7-8 minutes). Let cool slightly, then top with your favorite pizza toppings, then bake an additional 10-20 minutes at 425 depending on how much you want your cheese to brown.

Slow Cooker Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

This is the best chicken noodle soup I've ever had. It makes enough for 2 meals for us plus leftovers. While it cooks, bake up a loaf of bread to dip in the soup!

2- 2 1/2 lbs. chicken parts, skinned if desired
6 cups water
1 medium onion, chopped
6 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 ribs celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
14 1/2 oz. can whole tomatoes, undrained, cut up
1 1/2 tbsp. instant chicken bouillon
1 tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup uncooked fine egg noodles

Cook on Lo 8-10 hours
Cook on Hi 5-6 hours

Combine all ingredients, except noodles, in slow cooker. Cover and cook at desired heat setting for time given or til chicken and vegetables are tender. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool slightly. Set control to Hi and add noodles, stirring to combine. Cover and continue to cook for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, remove chicken from bones and cut into bite sized pieces. Return meat to cooking pot and cook til noodles are tender.
Serves 6-8