Cajun Rice & Sausage

I was looking to throw something together when we were running low on ingredients, and I found the basic recipe for this on allrecipes.com.  It was yummy comfort food and my husband said he really liked it a lot!  This recipe called for andouille sausage, and we had some sausage that my husband's work gave him and was in our freezer, and I honestly have no idea what kind of sausage it is.  It's the kind you slice up, like a smoked sausage, not one you crumble up like ground.  If you want to lower the calorie & fat content, you could use the reduced fat cream of mushroom and use turkey sausage. I did double the original recipe so you can easily half it for a smaller family.

Ingredients
2 cup white rice
4 cups chicken broth
1 lb sausage, sliced up
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed (optional)

Directions
Combine all ingredients, except mushroom soup, in a large stockpot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 25-30 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in mushroom soup.  Super easy!

4-8-13: I added 2 can of drained black beans to the pot tonight and it was delicious!  I wanted to add something more nutritious to the pot and it came out yummy!

North Woods Bean Soup

My mom originally gave me the recipe for this soup. It's really easy to make and very healthy for you as well, and it's tasty too. :-) I did modify it a little bit, adding the pasta, and the original recipe called for you to blend it a little in the food processor, but I've never done that.  I have found I do like it better without the pasta.

Ingredients
-cooking spray
-1 cup baby carrots, halved (you can chop these up a little more if you want them soft. They are still a little crunchy in the soup, but we like it that way and it means more vitamins) :-)
-1 cup chopped onion (or I used 2 Tbsp dried minced onion)
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-7oz turkey sausage, halved lengthwise & cut into 1/2" pieces
-4 cups chicken broth
-1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning (if you add the pasta, add an additional 1/2 tsp)
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-2 cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
-6oz bag fresh baby spinach leaves
-1/2 - 1 cup small pasta (like macaroni or small seashells), optional, leave out for gluten/wheat free (I used 1 cup macaroni)Directions
Boil water in medium saucepan and prepare your pasta according to package instructions for al dente pasta and set aside. Meanwhile, heat a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, & turkey sausage, saute about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, and add broth, Italian seasoning, pepper, & beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta & spinach to your soup. This will look like a lot of spinach, but it will cook way down, I promise! Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the spinach fully wilts.

Variation: Originally this recipe didn't call for pasta, so by all means, if you like, add more or less pasta or totally leave it out. Remember, if you add the pasta, it's better with an extra 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning.

Makes about 8 cups, 200 calories per cup with 1 cup pasta & dried minced onion

Crockpot: Add all ingredients to crockpot except pasta and spinach. Stir, cover, and cook on high 4-6 hours or high 8-10.  Turn crockpot on high, add pasta for 30 minutes of cooking.  Stir in spinach last 5 minutes of cooking.

Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo Pasta Bake

I got this recipe from my wonderful friend, Laura Knowles. She has lost over 100 pounds now and has her own cooking blog called "Health for the Heart." Macaroni Grill's Penne Rustica inspired her to make this recipe up with healthy ingredients and it's obviously much cheaper. :-) I made it tonight, and it was amazing! Even my hubby who doesn't like alfredo sauce enjoyed it (I didn't tell him what was in it). :-)

Ingredients
-13.25oz box whole wheat penne pasta
-1 jar Classico roasted red pepper alfredo sauce (So, I have been having trouble finding this particular kind at the store now, so... what I do is.... I get the roasted garlic alfredo sauce and buy a jar of sliced roasted red peppers. I dice 1/2 cup of the roasted red peppers and add it with the sauce. Yummy!)
-3 - 4 chicken breasts (I used 1 lb) cooked and chopped up to 1" pieces (she suggests sauteeing it in olive oil with Italian seasonings or using leftover chicken you have on hand. I just boiled my chicken)
-1 cup ham or smoked turkey sausage, chopped up (I used 7oz of turkey sausage)
-1 cup 2% shredded Parmesan cheese (I used reduced fat... or see bottom for variation with 1/2 the cheese)Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and spray a glass 2 liter/2 quart baking dish. Cook the pasta according to the box directions until al dente. Stir pasta, chicken, ham or sausage, and Alfredo sauce together, and add to your dish. It will be very full. Spread Parmesan cheese on top, and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. Serve with fresh rosemary sprigs and shredded Parmesan cheese.

I think next time I make this, I will use less Parmesan cheese. The dish was so full, it was hard to put a full cup of cheese on top. Even when I told Laura this, she said she uses a lot of just what she has on hand, and she estimated her amounts. I think next time I might try only half a cup of cheese and maybe mix some of it in the pasta before putting it in the dish. Either way, it's super yummy!

Variation: Tried this the other night.... use 1/2 cup total of Parmesan cheese. Mix 1/4 cup with the pasta/chicken/turkey sausage/sauce mix. Pour everything into a sprayed 9x13 dish, top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese, and bake for only 20 minutes. Super yummy!

Totally leave out the meat for a vegetarian option.

Crockpot Spicy Beans with Turkey Sausage

I got this recipe out of Reader's Digest and it is really yummy! It's also cheap, super easy, and low in fat. Reader's Digest says it's $1.69 per serving (6 servings total), but I think depending on where you shop, it might be cheaper! It really wasn't "spicy" but it was very flavorful. I did leave out the green pepper.

Ingredients
1 lb smoked turkey sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2" slices
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn (you could probably use 1 can instead if you like)
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 large green pepper, chopped (optional)
1 large onion, chopped (or I used 1 Tbsp dried minced onion instead)
1/2 to 1 cup water (I used a full cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cuminDirections
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker, stir, and cook on low 4 to 6 hours.

WW Points: 3 points per cup (or if you didn't add the fresh onion and bell pepper like I didn't, it's 4 points per cup)