Cottage Pie

Source
D's recipe

My Review
I like this one because it's very easy to make and has few ingredients, so I can always pick those up at the grocery store without a list. Not exactly low-cal, but not too bad if you buy the extra lean ground beef and drain the fat after cooking.

Taste: Good
Ease: Easy
Ingredients: Minimal
Time: 30 minutes
Fresh herbs needed: None

Menu 9/26 - 9/28

I'm not really prepared with menus this week. Last night I made Cottage Pie and I think we'll have it for left overs tonight. I think I'll do roast chicken tomorrow night ... not much in the mood for creativity this week.

• Cottage Pie (repeat)
• Roast Chicken (repeat)

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Source
Cooking Light (August 2006)

My Review
D really liked this one. I couldn't find any cherry tomatoes, so substituted regular tomatoes. I think the cherry tomatoes would have given it a little more tang. However, it was very good and relatively healthy. Also, it was extremely easy to make.

Taste: Very good
Ease: Easy
Ingredients: Many
Time: 30 minutes
Fresh herbs needed: Cilantro

Spinach Fettuccine

Source
Cooking Light (August 2006)

My Review
We enjoyed this quite a bit, though probably not the best for volume eaters like D since when you double or triple the portion size, the fat adds up. However, it was easy to make and tasted delicious. Next time I make this, I'll use fresh fettuccine rather than the dried pasta. I substituted turkey bacon for regular bacon, of course.

Taste: Very good
Ease: Easy
Ingredients: Minimal
Time: less than 30 minutes
Fresh herbs needed: None

Stuffed Shells

Source
Cooking Light (August 2006)

My Review
Despite screwing up the shell portion of the recipe (forgot the tofu, then forgot to cook the shells before stuffing them ... duh!), this turned out excellent. I will definitely try this one again, doing it correctly next time. Would be a good one to do at the end of a week to have left overs for the weekend. I used chicken sausage with spinach and feta vs. turkey sausage. It was a fair amount of work, but mostly because I didn't think ahead on some things.

Taste: Very good
Ease: Medium
Ingredients: Many
Time: 60+ minutes
Fresh herbs needed: Italian parsley

Menu 9/12 -9/14

Menus for this week all come from the August 2006 issue of Cooking Light magazine, which also happens to have how to make homemade pudding during a time when I'm really craving pudding (bastards!). I'll scan the recipes and link to them after I make each one:

• Spinach Fettuccine (new)
• Baked Stuffed Shells (new)
• Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad (new)
  

Beef Ratatouille Pie

Source
Colorado Collage cookbook p. 236

My Review
This is the second time I've made this dish and it's very good. The only problem is that it's actually a lot of work to make. There are a lot of ingredients and a lot of various prep with batches of ingredients. However, it must be fairly healthy. I haven't done a calorie count of it, but it's mostly vegetables (onions, red onions, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, red peppers, green peppers) and then 1.25 lb ground beef, of which I use the leanest there is at the store - 4%. Anyway, it's good for leftovers, too. Next time I make it, I'll make it on Thursday so we have leftovers for the weekend. I have also left out the eggplant since I don't like eggplant. I will try it with the eggplant next time as it's been a good 4 years since I've tried eggplant.

Taste: Very good
Ease: Medium
Ingredients: Many
Time: 60+ minutes
Fresh herbs needed: Italian parsley

Week of 9/5 - 9/7

I went grocery shopping with no list and only one recipe in mind. Never a good idea for me. Therefore, we're repeating a recipe from just a couple of weeks ago. Since D gets home late on Thursday night, I only have dinner for Tuesday and Wednesday.

• Beef Ratatouille Pie (repeat) - Source: Colorado Collage cookbook p. 236
• Turkey Feta Burgers (repeat)