Light & creamy Lasagna Rollups!

These are my 'Thinny Roll-ups', I was really in the mood for something rich and creamy, but also didn't want to have a 1,000 calorie dinner! These came out great and the whole family loved them, nobody could tell they were a 'Thinny' Recipe! That was the point, flavor without all the bad stuff, but still not tasting like rabbit food! 

Filling 

15 oz low fat ricotta

1 egg

Hand full of chopped Chives

9 lasagna noodles

2 packages of mushrooms(baby ports or white) Sliced.

Salt &Pepper
1-2 minced garlic clove

Fresh herbs from my garden, Oregano and chives!

Step 1
Sauté mushrooms in a little olive oil and salt-set aside and let them cool down.


Step 2
Combine Ricotta cheese, 1 egg, cooled sautéed Mushrooms, chopped chives, minced garlic cloves, blend it well, add a bit of salt and pepper. 

Step 3
*Cook Lasagna noodles in a pot of boiling water till soft. let it cool off before rolling, put a bit of olive oil on a baking sheet,(very shallow layer, just enough so that the noodles don't stick) lay one noodle at a time on the baking sheet that you will be using, and spread the filling evenly over the noodle (not thick, but a nice layer of mushroom filling) Roll it up, loosely; seam side down, repeat until all Noodles are rolled. Cook for about 30 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.  Check on it after 25 minutes, because some ovens cook faster, you don't want the noodles to crisp up, unless that's how you like it! 

Pre oven Roll-Ups

*Right out of the oven*

White sauce

Shallow layer of Olive oil (for the pan)

5 cloves fresh minced garlic

Bunch of Fresh chopped oregano (but dry can be used)
Juice of 1 Lemon

Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup (frozen) cooked peas

1 larget tomato, diced and drained-Or, if you must- italian style diced tomato can drained

1/2 bar Neufchatel cheese, that's 6 Tbsp. cubed (1/3 less fat Philly cream cheese is what I used, if I had organic cheese I would have used that)

*Take your pan and put it on a medium heat with the olive oil, once the oil is hot, throw in minced garlic cloves, the cubed cheese, chopped Oregano, diced tomato and peas- Stirring gently till it's nice and smooth. Adjusting heat accordingly. Once that's warm and smooth, turn the heat off and add the juice of 1 lemon, salt and pepper to taste,  stir till well blended, pour 1 rounded Tbsp. of warm sauce on finished rollups! Great Served with a side of roasted Asparagus, and a fresh green salad!

MANGIA!!

Lean Green Pasta Salad!(easy)

 This dish is packed with healthy goodness!

Things you'll need
1/2 bag of baby spinach
half a head of iceberg lettuce
1 crown Broccoli florets (raw)
1 small onion
8 pepperoncini peppers sliced(if you don't like them, or don't have any, a shake of red pepper flakes will do)
green olives
2 celery stalks
1 box whole wheat penne pasta
3 oz Feta cheese
Lemon
Garlic powder
Dried oregano
favorite italian dressing(I use Good seasons all natural italian, it comes in a packet just add, oil,vinegar water)
a few dashes of grated parmesan cheese

Step 1
Start by chopping your iceberg lettuce and throw it in a bowl with the baby spinach


Step 2
Wash your broccoli and chop it into florets, thinly slice your onion, thinly slice the pepperoncini peppers, do the same with the celery, chop up 3 oz feta, add some green olives, garlic powder,oregano and coat lightly with italian dressing.mix it up good!

Step 3
Once the pasta is done, drain it and mix it in with the salad (if you want it warm add it right away) If you want it chilled let it cool so it doesn't wilt the lettuce, take one lemon(make sure to get all the pits out) and squeeze all the juice onto the salad and pasta add any other additional seasonings to taste, this is great warm or chilled, but if you serve it chilled, I suggest taking it out of the fridge and letting it get to room tempeture.

Mangia!

Thinny Stuffed Mushrooms!

I used the basic method for making stuffed mushrooms, but with no cheese for this protein packed dish,  I used Garbanzo beans for the base of the filling instead, and I think they came out great! These are not only tasty but low in fat, calories and healthy! I used lemon to top it off, Lemon is what really brings the flavors alive!

Things you'll need

2 Packages of Button mushroom
1 lemon
About a 1/4 cup bread crumbs
3 stalks celery diced (including the leaves)
1/2 purple onion diced(or one regular white onion) 
5 garlic cloves minced
1 can garbanzo beans. (chickpeas)
salt, pepper, garlic powder-onion powder which I love! 
Olive oil, or canola oil, ( I used canola oil to fry the onions, celery and stems of the mushrooms)Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. 


Other Items you'll need
Cooking spray, I like to make my own, get a mister bottle, and fill it with olive oil! Healthier then the chemical cooking sprays!
food processor, or blender or you can use a fork(to mash the beans)
baking sheet


Step 1
Pre Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Wash mushrooms and pat dry, pop stems out, be careful not to break the shroom., place stems aside, along with minced celery,onion and garlic cloves.

Step 2

Take 1 can of beans drained and rinsed, and mash them up by any of the above following method, I used a food processor. Put your mashed beans in a bowl and set aside

Step 3
Take all ingredients from step 1, and cook them up in a pan, with your oil, and onion powder, garlic powder salt and pepper, eyeball it, don't hold back on the garlic and onion powder, you can always add more salt and pepper to them once finished. Cook till onions are translucent and celery is soft.

Step 4
Let the mixture cool, about 10-15 minutes, once cooled add it to the bean mash, with your 1/4 cup bread crumbs and with clean hands combine together well, spray baking sheet with mist oil and start filling up your mushrooms,  pop them in the oven for about a 1/2 an hour...once done, let them cool for 4 minutes, and serve with lemon wedges!

PRE-OVEN Shroom

Ready to serve!

Tip 1: This mixture also makes delicious patties, but for them to stick in patty form, I add 3 egg whites, or a vegan substitute! I also added in a bit of thyme and then a little tartar sauce and lemon to top, reminiscent of a 'crab cake'.  See pic below..

Tip 2: If you only have one package of mushrooms, you will have some left over mixture, I made them into small patties, without egg and they were very tasty as well.

Vegetarian chik'n lentil lemon salad

Vegetarian chik'n lentil lemon salad
Easy, healthy, low cal and pretty darn delicious! 

Things you'll need;

• 1 can of lentils(drained)
• 1 bag of Faux chik'n, I use Qourn(I think it works best) 
• 1 bunch of romaine lettuce, and a quarter of iceberg lettuce(chopped)
• (Or sub one for the other of you don't have both.)
• 1 onion
• Olive Oil
• Dried thyme
• Dried oregano
• Garlic powder
• Onion Powder
• Salt&Pepper
• red pepper flakes
• 1 whole lemon

Recipe

Step 1;

Halve the onion and thinly slice one half ; thickly slice the other.

Chop up the romaine and iceberg lettuce, add the thinly sliced onion and lettuce to a bowl and toss!

Step 2;

take out a pan, and pour 1/3 cup of olive oil, preheat on a medium to a high heat, once thats heated up, add the thickly sliced onion and faux chik'n; tossing well with olive oil, dash with sea salt and stir again, let it cook, once it starts to sizzle stir it around and let it cook some more, nows the time to add all your herbs except for red pepper, and thyme, stir all of them in well, no measurement required just add a few liberal shakes at a time, taste, and adjust accordingly. cover the pan, let it cook for a minute or so, stir, and if everything is tender and to your liking, turn it off, cover and remove from heat.

Step 3;

Take your can of drained lentils and put them in a small pot, add a generous amount of dried thyme, a few dashes of black pepper, and a shake of garlic powder and a little bit of olive oil. blend herbs well, stirring as needed and cook till its warm.

Step 4;
Take the onion and 'chik'n mixture (still warm) and the warm lentils, add it to the salad bowl, add the juice of one lemon, 3 shakes of Pepper flakes, and toss well as to coat everything in the bowl, adding any additional olive oil or more herbs if needed, and serve!

This pairs well with a sweet or baked potato,a chowder type soup...warmed pita bread, a roll, croutons anything you like really, or just by itself, which is how I had it! This is tasty served warm or cold! 

Mangia!

TIPS
This reminded me of a chicken ceaser salad but much healthier! 


If you want this to be vegan and not vegetarian, just use a different brand of Faux chik'n


I was all out of other veggies, but you could add any other vegetables you like, but just remember if you do that it will need more lemon and herbs etc..


A Purple onion would have worked great, but didn't have one on hand, any onion will do. 


And if your in the mood to makes this a little richer, add some parmesan or any cheese you like.