Vegetables made into Spaghetti Noodles!!!

Yes , REALLY!  And they are so very yummy!!!  I got the idea first of all by going to a local Italian restaurant named Patrizio's.  They served my fish on a bed of julienned vegetables and it was lovely even though I had the cream sauce on the side.  I remembered a friend of mine telling me that she had a gadget that made vegetables into long thin noodles...so Christmas came along and Mark got me one!

It is really unbelievable.  I will do a whole blog post about the process, but here is the end result:

These are looooooong noodles, two feet long, sometimes!  You can twirl them on a fork like spaghetti!  I used McCormick's Perfect Pinch Vegetable seasoning and seved a slice of baked salmon over it.  I can't wait to experiment more.  This was a combination of carrot, yellow squash and zucchini. Can you imagine a two foot long noodle of carrot from a short 4-inch stub of carrot! I'll take pictures of this process, it is amazing!  I just left it all in this bowl and microwaved it!

Mini Chocolate 2 syn tarts!

 Tracy Sanders and I put on our thinkin caps about that powdered whipped topping. We used the Kroger brand which uses 1/2 cup Skim milk to make it.  Some may also know it as Dream whip. And I will tell you what...OMG!! It is so gosh darn delicious!!!! SOOOO...we were thinkin' Sugar Free Jello, Yogurt and whipped topping...

I didnt have any sugar-free jello in the house, but I did have the sugar free choc pudding and fat free milk.
I got some of those little mini fillo tart shells. Whipped up the pudding, and topped it with the fat free whipped
topping and dusted it with cocoa. YUMMMMMMY!  Doesn't taste like a diet dessert at all.
 Then I used half of the pudding and half of the whipped topping, mixed them together and plopped it in the crusts. Wowzer...thats good too!!
Everything inside of those little tarts are sugar-free,fat-free. The only Syns I am seeing is for the little tart.
1 syn each for those and to prtoect you weight loss you may add another syn for the filling, even though it is divided by 56 it would have some syn value if you ate more than one!  The next thing is the Yogurt, Sugar Free Jello, whipped topping tarts...standby for that...maybe some red and green ones for the Holiday!

Here is my photo..one batch made 54 tarts!! Im bringing those to my next party you can bet!

 Ingredients:

Mini Chocolate Tarts

3 boxes fillo tart shells

1 pkg sugar-free choc pudding (mix with FF milk,use the pie measurement, not the pudding)
1 envelope powdered whip topping(mix with FF milk and vanilla)

Makes 54 tartlets

Looking for recipe ideas?

Just had to publish these and as I make them I may even add the pictures if I don't eat them so fast that I can't like last time I made them! Thanks to BK and Greg.

 SALSA

 3 large yellow onions.  Place the onions in a food processor first and chop for about 5-7 seconds

 To this add:

1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
2 large jalapeno's (sliced)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup real lemon juice
1 tablepoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I use one from a jar)
8 cans tomatoes (whole peeled)

 Close cover of food processor. Pulse until desired consistency.

Can be stored in jars in the refrigerator for up to two months.

MEXICAN CABBAGE

3-4 pieces of turkey bacon (cooked, does have syns check your brand)
Head of cabbage
Onion
1 can of Ro-Tel tomatoes
Salt and Pepper

Cook bacon and crumble. Shred cabbage.  Finely chop onion.  
In a large skillet (sprayed with Pam if necessary) add cabbage, onion, crumbled bacon and Ro-Tel tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook until cabbage is soft. 

Recipe Time!

It is about time, huh!  This is not my recipe...it belongs to one of my lovely target members Margaret Melton and it is yummy...wanted to share it with you! You will be using your A choice with this one, depending on how much you eat!

Italian Zucchini Casserole

3 medium zucchini, sliced (6 ½ cups)

Pam spray
1 medium onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 TBSP minced fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 boxes Rice a Roni Long grain and Wild rice, cooked with 2 cups water.
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¾ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

In large skillet, cook zucchini with Pam spray until tender, about 5-6 minutes; drain and set aside.  In same skillet, sauté onion and garlic with Pam spray.  Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic salt, and pepper; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.  Remove from  heat; gently stir in rice, zucchini, parmesan AND HALF THE MOZZARELLA.  Place in ungreased 13 x 9 baking dish.  Cover and bake at 350F for 20 minutes.  Uncover and sprinkle with remaining Mozzarella cheese.  Return to oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

New product Haul, or is it?

I went off to Central Market today to haul home some Hatch Chilies already roasted for the freezer because I love to have them all year long to use.  While there I stumbled upon something I had never tasted or seen before so I thought I would introduce you to it. I could not believe the amazing taste of these and I just had to share it with you!  Grab some if you find them.  Watch and see...wish this was taste-a-vision and smell-a-vision!

Mmmmmm grapes and grape tomatoes!

Seedless Red Grapes

You know I love 'em...and especially I love red seedless grapes frozen!  They are just $.77 a pound so I bought alot, they will be in the freezer afterall!  Just wash them, remove the stems and freeze in freezer bags.  Enjoy by the handful, they are superfree!

Grape Tomatoes Pasta Sauce

The make the best quick pasta sauce.  Take two packages of grape tomatoes and dump them out on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam Spray.  Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked black pepper.  Toss on a garlic clove and cook in the oven at 375 F for about 15-20 minutes until the begin to shrivel and crack.  Dump them into a blender  or food processor with a basil leaf and pulse a few seconds.  Serve on fresh pasta!  YUMILICIOUS, and so easy and superfree!

Birthday Greetings from Laurel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDG-XFiT4mA

Here is a Birthday Greeting just for you...all the way from Texas!  It is better than a card because you get to hear and see me...  now how many people have ever done that for you huh?  Have a great day!