December Week 3 - Onion-Smothered Italian Burgers

Onion-Smothered Italian Burgers
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, August 2008
Yield: 4 servings

Serve corn on the cob as a quick and easy side dish and low-fat strawberry ice cream for dessert.

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced Vidalia or other sweet onion
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 pound ground beef, extra lean
Cooking spray
4 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, sugar, salt, and pepper to pan. Cook 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar to the pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

2. Combine cheese and next 5 ingredients (through beef) in a medium bowl; shape meat mixture into 4 (3-inch) patties. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan. Cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun; top each patty with 1/4 cup onion mixture and top half of each bun.

CALORIES 330 (24% from fat); FAT 8.9g (sat 3g,mono 3.7g,poly 1.5g); IRON 4mg; CHOLESTEROL 65mg; CALCIUM 142mg; CARBOHYDRATE 33.7g; SODIUM 541mg; PROTEIN 28.9g; FIBER 2.9g

Week 1 - Baked Rigatoni & Zucchini

Recipe posted: 5/16/08
Make recipe by: 5/21/08
Review date: 5/22/08
____________________________________________________

Baked Rigatoni & Zucchini
Source: Greenlightbites.com

Original Recipe Comments: Not having enough leftover sauce for pasta night, I came up with this idea to make it stretch a bit. Mom taught me well! :~) The husband was happy, he loves anything with pasta and sauce (and he didn’t even complain about the whole wheat pasta). The toddler even picked out a few bites. Overall, it was a winner but I wished I had a bit more sauce to drizzle on top after baking. Next time I make it, it won’t be out of necessity. :~)

8 oz whole wheat rigatoni
1 medium –large zucchini sliced thin
¾ cup part skim ricotta cheese (~182 g)
3oz mozzarella cheese (separated)
1 egg white
1 cup tomato sauce (like my Homemade Sauce) - or you can use marinara from a jar!
Dried parsley
Black pepper
Non-stick cooking spray

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) Prepare the pasta according to package cooking 2-3 minutes less (about 6-8 minutes) as the pasta will continue to cook in the oven.

3) While the pasta is cooking, slice the zucchini. Spray a casserole dish with non stick cooking spray and place the zucchini on the bottom created a layer. Save some zucchini for the top.

4) Mix the ricotta cheese, 1 oz of the mozzarella, egg white, and ½ cup of the sauce. Set aside.

5) Once the pasta is done, turn off heat, drain and return to the pot. Add the ricotta mixture and stir until all the pasta is coated.

6) Pour the pasta mixture unto the casserole dish and spread to create a layer over the zucchini. Top with the remaining zucchini, ½ cup of sauce and the remaining cheese. Sprinkle with a bit of dried parsley and black pepper. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

(Note: this can me made ahead and baked when ready to serve but you may want to add more sauce as the pasta will continue to soak it up)

Servings: 4 (1/4 of the recipe ~ 2oz of pasta)
360 calories
8g fat
8g fiber