Mexican Turkey Bake

I was truly surprised at how flavorful this dish was! I'm accustomed to overdoing it on spaghetti sauce and I suppose this recipe would be a less is more. Even better...it makes so much we had tons of leftovers!

Mexican Turkey Bake
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest - Our Best Diabetic Recipes
I made a lot of swaps...it was originally a beef and black bean recipe!

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups dried multigrain or regular rotini or elbow macaroni
12 ounces extra lean ground turkey
1 15-oz can Northern Beans, drain and rinsed
1 14.5-oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 cup picante sauce or salsa
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Colby and Monterrey Jack cheese
1/3 cup fat free sour cream
2 t coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 t finely shredded lime peel

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Return pasta to hot saucepan; set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook meat and garlic until meat is browned stirring to break up meat as it cooks. Drain off fat.

3. Stir the cooked meat into pasta in saucepan. Stir in beans, tomatoes, salsa, oregano, cumin and chili powder. Transfer mixture to a 2-2 1/2 quart baking dish.

4. Bake covered for about 30 minutes or until heated through. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered for about 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

5. In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, 2 T green onion, the cilantro and lime peel. To serve, top each serving with a spoonful of the sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with remaining green onions.

Spicy Shrimp Casserole

This couldn't have gotten much easier...and I'm pretty sure that it couldn't possibly taste better either! This dish got approval from the husband which is always a good thing!

Spicy Shrimp Casserole
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Our Best Diabetic Recipes

Ingredients

6 6-in corn tortillas, cut into bite-size strips
1 cup bottled green salsa
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
3 T flour
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro
1 12-oz package frozen cooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp, thawed
1 cup frozen yellow and white whole kernel corn
1 medium tomato coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fat free sour cream for topping (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. Place half of the tortilla strips in the bottom of dish; set aside. Arrange remaining tortilla strips on a baking sheet; bake 12-14 minutes or until crisp
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together salsa, cheese, the 1/2 cup sour cream, the flour, and 2 T of the cilantro. Stir in shrimp and corn. Spoon shrimp mixture over tortilla strips in baking dish.
3. Bake uncovered, 40-45 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Spring with baked tortilla strips, tomato, and the remaining 2 T cilantro.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Very simple but when you use a flavorful meat such as sausage...you can pack a lot of punch! These were the first appetizers to go at my last get-together

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients
35 large fresh mushrooms
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage (I use Jimmy Dean Hot)
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions
Remove stems from mushrooms and finely chop; set caps aside. In a large skillet, cook sausage and mushrooms over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Remove from the heat. Stir in cheese and bread crumbs. Fill each mushroom cap with about 1 tablespoon of filling.
Place on foil-lined baking sheets. Bake at 400° for 16-20 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Yield: 35 appetizers.

Warm Broccoli Cheese Spread

This appetizer was very simple to make and incredibly delicious! The Italian seasoning mix really was the cherry on top for this dish. It was great on ritz crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips...you name it! This is definitely on the short list when I need to take a dish to go.

Warm Broccoli Cheese Spread
Adapted from Taste of Home Summer Appetizers

Ingredients
1 package (8 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, cubed
1 cup (8 ounces) reduced-fat sour cream
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
3 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, drained and patted dry
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided
Reduced-fat wheat snack crackers
Directions
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and salad dressing mix until blended. Fold in the broccoli and 1-1/2 cups of cheese.
Spoon into a shallow 1-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve warm with crackers. Yield: 3-1/2 cups.

Chili Con Queso

Another delicious appetizer coming your way! I have been making my typical cheese dip for what feels like forever. I decided to switch it up and try something different. This one was also a winner...although I think everyone was missing the sausage ;)

Chili Con Queso
Adapted from Taste of Home Summer Appetizers

Ingredients
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 package (8 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, cubed
6 ounces VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product cubed
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
Baked tortilla chip scoops

Directions
Pour both cans of tomatoes into a colander over a small bowl; drain, reserving 1/3 cup liquid. Discard remaining liquid or save for another use.
In a large skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Add the tomatoes, process cheese, chili powder and reserved liquid. Cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted. Stir in cilantro.
Keep warm; serve with tortilla chips. Yield: 3 cups.

Garlic Spinach Balls

I'm always looking for fun, easy yummy appetizers to serve when we have friends over. We have always loved sausage balls but these spinach balls proved to be a hit as well!


Garlic Spinach Balls
Adapted from Taste of Home Summer Appetizers

Ingredients:
2 cups crushed seasoned stuffing
1 cup finely chopped onion
4 eggs, lightly beaten (I used 1 cup egg substitute)
3/4 cup butter, melted (Light Margarine as usual!)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove, minced (Doubled this)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped
spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Stir in spinach until blended. Roll into 1-in. balls. Place in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown

Almost back!

Yes...I am indeed the biggest slacker in the world as of the last 4 weeks. I'm going to have a LOT of catching up to do!

SassyPants is now MRS. Sassy Pants so stay tuned...lots more to come. I think I'll be getting back in the kitchen fully next week =)