Spanish Rice

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups of brown rice
3 cups* chicken stock (or vegetable stock if vegetarian)
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
Pinch of oregano
1 teaspoon salt

*Check the instructions on the rice package for the proportions of liquid to rice. They can range from 1:1 to 2:1. If your rice calls for 2 cups of water for every cup of rice, then for this recipe, use 4 cups of stock for 2 cups of rice.

Method

1 In a large skillet brown rice in olive oil, medium/high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook onion rice mixture, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes, or until onions are softened.

2 In a separate sauce pan bring stock to a simmer. Add tomato sauce, oregano, and salt. Add rice to broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Lower heat and cook 15-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Serves 4 to 6.

Beef Stroganoff

Paprika Beef Stroganoff
Note: Almost core with the exception of the flour that's used as a thickening agent.


* 2 pounds boneless beef top round steak, cut into thin strips
* 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons canola oil, divided (you can use either beef broth instead of oil to cook or cooking spray)
* 1 large onion, sliced
* 1 large green pepper, cut into strips
* 1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms (we leave out the mushrooms)
* 1-1/4 cups reduced-sodium beef broth, divided
* 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
* 3/4 cup sherry or additional reduced-sodium beef broth (sherry is not core, use a wine sub or beef broth)
* 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
* 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 1 bay leaf
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1 package (12 ounces) yolk-free noodles (We used Whole wheat spaghetti)
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (We used whole wheat flour - you need to count this)...
* 1 cup (8 ounces) reduced-fat sour cream (we used FF)

DIRECTIONS
In a large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, cook beef in 1 tablespoon oil until no longer pink; drain and set aside.
In the same skillet, saute onion and green pepper in remaining oil for 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms; cook for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Stir in 1 cup broth, tomato sauce, sherry or additional broth, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, paprika, bay leaf, thyme and pepper. Return beef to the pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 40-50 minutes or until meat is tender.
Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine flour and remaining broth until smooth; gradually stir into beef mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaf. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream until blended. Drain noodles; serve with stroganoff. Yield: 8 servings.

Spaghetti Sauce & Meatballs

I like this one better than the crock pot spaghetti!

Meatballs-

Ingredients:
1lb 90%+ Lean Ground Beef
1/2C-1C Quick Cook Oats (I blended these down)
1 Egg
Spices (I used garlic salt, season salt, pepper)

You only need about 1/2 C oats per 1lb beef, but I added a little more to keep them together in the pot.

Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Shape into small balls.

Sauce-

Ingredients:
1 28oz Can Tomato Sauce
1 28oz Can Diced Tomatoes
2T Splenda
Garlic
1 Med White Onion, Chopped
Spices (oregano, basil, etc.)

In a big pot, combine all ingredients. Stir. Add Meatballs one at a time.
Simmer on Med-Low for about 1 to 1 1/2 hrs. Until meatballs are cooked thoroughly.

Serve over whole wheat spaghetti noodles!

Carne Asada

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lbs chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cut in bite-sized pieces
• 4 tablespoons flour (**not core**)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 3 cups beef stock
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Toss meat pieces with flour, then brown quickly in oil in an ovenproof Dutch oven.

3. Add onion, garlic, jalapeño, beef stock, tomato paste, cumin and chili powder; bring to a simmer on the stove.

4. Cover Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven, baking for about 2 to 2-1/2 hours, until meat is extremely tender.

5. Serve as is, or on rice, or folded into warm tortillas.

(**Note: A "dutch oven" is just essentially a big pot with a lid. I transferred mine to a glass baking dish**)

Core Chili

I LOVED this chili. I added in a couple Chipotle peppers and a bag of frozen corn- that's how our house eats chili!

1 medium white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium red pepper, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 lbs lean ground beef
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, one drained, one with juice
1 (8 ounce) can tomato paste
salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Saute garlic, onion and peppers in olive oil over medium heat until onions are soft. Add ground beef, cook until browned.Add tomatoes, beans, tomato paste and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for one hour. Add water if needed to reach desired consistancy.

Oatmeal Pancakes

The texture isn't what I would consider "fluffy" but honestly, when you're bread deprived, any sort of pancake sounds amazing. I read a post regarding this recipe where the woman said she put the batter in a food processor to get it creamy, I'm just not that motivated.

1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
4 packets splenda (about 3-4T)
1/2 cup ff plain yogurt
1 egg white

Makes 2 big pancakes. Flip quickly because they cook fast.

Mock Peach Cobbler

This recipe got me into trouble. I ate more than one serving and I don't do well with a lot of fruit in my diet (too much sugar). Make sure you are sharing or put it away for later!

3 peaches, diced
1 cup of uncooked oats
2t core-friendly oil or "I can't believe it's not butter" spray
2T Splenda
Cinnamon
1/2 c water
1/4 c fat free milk (you can use 3/4 water and no milk, also)

Spray the bottom of a baking dish. Line peaches on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the oats evenly over the peaches. Drizzle oil or coat with a few sprays of ICBINB spray. Add water and milk (or just water) and then sprinkle the splenda and cinnamon over the peaches evenly (cinnamon to taste).

Bake at 400 degrees, covered for 20 minutes. Pull from oven, stir, and then put back into oven (covered). Check every 5-10 minutes or until the oats are desired consistency.

Crockpot Spaghetti Sacue

1lb of 93% lean ground beef OR 1lb of ground turkey
28oz diced tomatoes
28oz crushed tomatoes
6oz tomato paste
4 garlic cloves, minced (I used about 6)
1t splenda
salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to taste

Brown meat in skillet. Add all ingredients into a crock pot. Stir and simmer on low for 4-8 hours (however long you have until dinner!) Serve over whole wheat spaghetti or another whole wheat pasta.

Turkey Burger and Fries

The turkey burgers were not bad, but I'd rather have the 93% lean ground beef that is approved on this diet. The burgers were kind of dry. The fries were AWESOME.

Turkey Burgers

1 egg white or 1/4 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs*
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Teriyaki sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
20 ounces 93% lean ground turkey

*If you want to keep the burgers "core", then sub the breadcrumbs for oatmeal and add a dash of a few seasonings like onion powder and dried parsley.

Mix first 6 ingredients in a bowl until well blended. Mix ground meat into egg mixture, just until mixed being careful not to overmix (or else you'll wind up with tough burgers).

Shape into 6 patties. Grill or freeze promptly.


Fries

• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1-2 russet potatoes
  
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Peel potato and cut into thin french-fry slices. Put in a pot of boiling water for 2 1/2 minutes. Drain water into colander and let fries sit to cool. Mix olive oil and 1/2 tsp of salt in a bowl and coat fries with olive oil mix. Spread fries out on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 min at 400 degrees. Last half of the cooking, turn fries every five minutes.

Skillet Lasagna

Once again, we had a huge hit on our hands. This big pot of noodle-y goodness was not only a score with my husband, but my father as well (who just happened to stop by for dinner). I added a little more sauce/noodles to the ground beef to give us some extra leftovers for a quick meal. And for the record, I HATE cottage cheese but I didn't even know it was there.

1lb of 93% lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 c diced tomatoes (I used about 2 for more sauce)
1 1/4 c water (I probably used 1 3/4 or 2 for more sauce)
1 8oz can of tomato sauce (I used a whole 15 oz can)
dried basil leaves
dried oregano leaves
salt/garlic salt
2 1/2 cups uncooked whole wheat pasta (I used 3+ c)
1 c fat free cottage cheese
1 fat free mozzarella cheese (or skim)
1/8-1/4 c fat-free Parmesan cheese (optional- I didn't use it)
dash of basil
dash of pepper

In a large skillet or pot (I used a big pot) brown the ground beef, onion and garlic. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and season to taste w/basil oregano and salt (I used garlic salt for more flavor). Bring to a boil and add whole wheat pasta. Simmer for 20min or until pasta is tender.

In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella and a dash of basil and pepper.

Stir in spoonfuls of cheese mix into the pasta. Stir in completely. Continue to simmer for at least 5 minutes or until cheese has blended into the sauce.

Mongolian Beef w/Asian Style Rice

This was a huge hit with my husband who is NOT dieting. My goal is to make food within my diet that he enjoys as well. A great dish to make with guests that will still be healthy!

Mongolian Beef

(This is part of the WW Core diet recipes- when using whole wheat flour, each serving is less than a half of a "point"- you can sub the flour for 1T cornstarch on marinade, 2 1/2t cornstarch on sauce for 1.5 "points" per serving)

Marinade:
1T Soy Sauce
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 1/2 T Whole Wheat Flour

Sauce:
2T Soy Sauce
3 1/2 t Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 t Splenda
2t-1T of crushed red pepper (2t= mild, 1T= spicy, 2T= HOT)
3/4 c water

2T Olive Oil
1 Bunch of Green Onion (I used green & white)
1lb of LEAN round steak (thin)- thinly sliced

Mix marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add steak & coat. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Mix sauce ingredients in another bowl.

Heat 1T of olive oil in a pan. Cook onion till tender. Add 1T of olive oil and cook steak. When cooked, add sauce. Cook & stir until sauce boils & thickens.

Serve with or over rice.

Asian Style Rice

1 c of brown rice
2 c chicken broth or water with bullion cubes
1/4 c onion
1 clove of garlic
1/8 c soy
1 T sesame oil (I used sesame chili oil for heat)
1 t Splenda
Couple of shakes out of a crushed red pepper bottle.

Cook brown rice in chicken broth/bullion. Halfway through, add the onion. When the rice is finished cooking, add garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil/sesame chili oil, Splenda and red pepper. Stir and serve!

Chicken "Tortilla" Soup (Tortilla-Free)

2 cloves of garlic

1 med chili pepper OR green chilies

3/4 c of chopped onions

1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes

4 c of chicken broth, stock or bullion

2 baked chicken breasts, shredded (can season w/pepper, chili, etc.)

seasonings

2t of olive oil

In a small pot, combine chilies of your choice, onion, garlic and oil. Cook the veggies until tender. Add chicken broth, shredded chicken, and tomatoes (undrained) to the pot. Add seasonings of your choice (cayenne, chili powder and a little bit of garlic salt worked well for me). Let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with fat-free shredded mozzarella and sliced avocado. (add some whole wheat tortilla strips if it's in your diet!)

Fruit & Dessert Shake

1 serving of fruit

1 c fat-free (skim) milk

1/2 package of fat-free/sugar-free Jello pudding mix

(OR- 1/2 c skim milk & 1 fat-free/sugar-free pudding cup)

Ice

*Put fruit, milk and pudding mix or cup in a blender. Blend. Add ice cubes one at a time until you reach consistency desired.*