Sausage-and-Spinach Manicotti

I have posted this recipe before, but it's worth doing again. The dish comes together in just a few minutes and calls for stuffing uncooked manicotti. The work is done during the hour-long baking time. I like it with just spinach, but Andy prefers the sausage-spinach combination. I use turkey Italian sausage, which you can find next to the pork chops at Publix, to make it leaner. (WW points for 2 manicotti: 10) Enjoy!

Sausage-and-Spinach Manicotti

3 links (about 3/4 lb.) Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

1 (9-oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed and well-drained

1 (15-oz.) container part-skim ricotta cheese

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. fennel seeds

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 egg

1 box manicotti shells

1 (26-oz.) jar pasta sauce

1/2 cup shredded Italian-blend cheese, divided

1. Cook sausage in a skillet until meat crumbles and is done. Combine sausage, spinach, and ricotta. Stir in next 6 ingredients. Use your hands to stuff manicotti shells with spinach mixture. Arrange manicotti in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

2. Pour pasta sauce over manicotti. Fill the jar half full with water; shake to incorporate remaining pasta sauce in jar. Pour water mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil.

3. Bake at 375° for 1 hour.

Turkey-Corn Quesadillas

So far in 2010, we have eaten our fair share of soup and then some. This is due to several reasons—it's easy, makes a lot (translation: meals in the freezer), and is the ultimate one-dish comfort food. Tonight I pulled some Black Bean Soup out of the freezer and served it with these quesadillas—a satisfying meal. Quesadillas are super-easy and versatile. I bake them in the oven to crisp the tortillas and melt the cheese; this saves the mess that comes when I try to flip them in the skillet! The ground turkey keeps this meal figure-friendly (9 points for a whole quesadilla—Andy and I only ate half. I topped mine with sliced avocados. Enjoy!

Turkey-Corn Quesadillas
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 lb. ground turkey
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
6 oz. frozen corn kernels
1/2 can tomatoes and green chiles
8 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
Vegetable cooking spray

1. Sauté onion in hot oil in large skillet until onion begins to soften. Add in garlic and ground turkey, and cook, stirring often, until turkey cooks and crumbles. Stir in chili powder and next 5 ingredients. Cook mixture until liquid is mostly absorbed.
2. Place 4 tortillas on baking sheets. Top with 1/8 cup cheese, a fourth of the turkey mixture, another 1/8 cup cheese, and another tortilla. Spray tortillas with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and tortillas are brown around the edges. Cut into quarters.

Easy Quesadillas

Creative use of leftovers was my theme this evening. To make quesadillas, I used the leftover turkey filling from last night's Tex-Mex Calzones and the beef-and-bean mixture from Texas-Style Beef Nachos, which I had frozen earlier in the month. The easiest way to make quesadillas is to bake them in the oven; the ability to flip a fully loaded quesadilla in a skillet is a skill I'm lacking, so I improvised.





Easy Quesadillas
1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and then coat the foil with vegetable cooking spray. Place four flour tortillas on the pan, and top with the meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheese (I used a combination of colby-Jack and Monterey Jack with peppers), and top each with a flour tortilla. Coat the top tortillas with cooking spray.
2. Bake at 400° for about 15 or 20 minutes. Cut into quarters with a pizza cutter. Serve with sour cream and Black Bean Salad.

Tex-Mex Calzones With Black Bean Salad

Dinner tonight was inspired by two recipes in the March 2009 issue of Cooking Light. I put my own spin on them based on personal taste preferences and what I had on hand. This combo is very easy (ready in about 30 minutes), pretty healthful, and yummy! This will definitely be on the menu rotation again. I plan to freeze the leftover meat mixture to make more calzones or use in quesadillas or on nachos. Cost per serving: $2.50

Tex-Mex Calzones
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried cilantro or 1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro
Salt to taste
1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 round pizza dough (I used the dough from Publix.)
1/2 (8-oz.) block colby-Jack cheese, shredded
Vegetable cooking spray

1. Cook turkey and next 6 ingredients in a Dutch oven until meat crumbles and veggies are tender. Stir in tomatoes and green chiles; cook, stirring often, until liquid is absorbed.
2. Divide pizza dough into 3 pieces. Roll out each piece of dough to form a 6-inch (or so) circle. Spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture on one side of dough circle; top with shredded cheese. Fold dough over filling, crimping edges to seal. Place on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 425° for 18 to 20 minutes or until calzone is golden brown. Serve with sour cream, if desired.

Black Bean Salad
2 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 orange
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl; stir in salt and pepper to taste.

Creamy Fettuccine With Turkey Meatballs

This is based on a 2003 recipe from SL. It is light: Reduced-fat cream cheese is the key to the decadent creaminess. I use mushrooms, but you could omit them if you prefer. It used to be hard to find ground turkey or chicken in the grocery store; that's not really true anymore. When neither ground turkey or chicken is available, make your own by grinding boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the food processor. Dinner was on the table in less than 45 minutes. Cost per serving: $1.50

Creamy Fettuccine With Turkey Meatballs
1 (16-oz.) package fettuccine (Whole wheat pasta will also work well.)
1 1/2 lb. ground turkey or chicken
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1/2 sleeve crackers, crushed (I used Townhouse crackers.)
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
Vegetable cooking spray
1 (8-oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 tsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock
1 (8-ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain pasta.
2. Stir together ground turkey and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Place a rack coated with cooking spray in an aluminum foil-lined broiling pan. Arrange meatballs on rack; lightly spray meatballs with cooking spray.
4. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden and thoroughly cooked.
5. Sauté mushrooms and garlic in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat mushrooms are tender. Sprinkle with flour; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Whisk in broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Add cream cheese, whisking until smooth and sauce is thickened.
6. Add meatballs, red pepper, and parsley to sauce; simmer 10 minutes. Toss in pasta.

Turkey Focaccia Sandwich

This sandwich is super easy and super quick. Feel free to vary the types of meat and cheese as well as the pesto. Tonight I layered on a sliced yellow tomato, but roasted red pepper strips would also be tasty. I served the sandwich with Potato Chips With Garlic-Herb Cheese. I bought the focaccia at The Continental Bakery, which had it as the bread of the day this past Saturday.

Turkey Focaccia Sandwich
1 (9-inch) round focaccia
Sun-dried tomato pesto
1/2 lb. sliced turkey
1/4 lb. sliced fontina cheese
1 tomato, sliced
5 bacon slices, cooked (optional)

1. Cut focaccia in half with a serrated knife. Spread pesto on cut sides of bread. Layer turkey, cheese, tomato, and, if desired, bacon on one bread round. Top with other half, pesto side down.
2. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Cut into quarters.