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www.foodiesnotfatties.com

Hello! My Name Is . . .

Laura and Kat!

But what's your name??

I'm actually stealing this idea from Whitney at Slimming Down for the Gown because I loved the idea so much! Awhile ago, she asked her readers to comment and introduce themselves. She brought up the good point that for the most part, we don't know who reads our blog (except for those who comment).

So we're asking all of our readers to leave a quick comment, even if you've never done it before, and just tell us your name, where you're fun and one interesting thing about you.

I'll go first! My name is Laura and I live in Houston, TX with my boyfriend and our two dogs.



Something interesting about me: I hate blood, needles, guts, and all things related, which is ironic because I work in a hospital and Cody is a surgery resident, so he spends his days with all of the above.

And since I'm writing this post, I'll introduce my blogging buddy and partner-in-crime, Kat. She also lives in Houston with her hubby and two dogs (just as cute as mine, but much more well-behaved!).

Something intersting about Kat: her nickname is Chili Dog. I think I'm the only one that calls her that, but it still counts!

Your turn!

Thirsty Thursday

Welcome to Thirsty Thursday!! This past weekend I was thirsty for some lemonade, but not just Plain Jane lemonade. Something special. So I whipped up some tangy, lip-smacking Fizzy Blueberry Lemonade. Yum! I wish I still had some!!

I looked at tons of lemonade recipes to see how you make the original and they all start with a simple sugar. Being lazy . . .er, time-conscious, I heated 2 cups of water in the microwave (instead of waiting for water to boil on the stove) and added in 1 cup of Splenda and let it cool.

While it was cooling, I measured out 1 cup of frozen blueberries. I added some of the warm Splenda water to help soften them and tossed them in the food processor and blended them up.

Once that was blended, I added one cup of lemon juice. I wish I could say I squeezed 10 lemons just for our readers, but this lazy gal just measured out 1 cup of pre-squeezed lemon juice.

I taste tested it once the blueberry puree, Splenda syrup and lemon were combined and it was still a bit tart. So I added 1 cup of club soda to dilute it and give it some fizz.

And the final product . . .

Pretty tasty! Tart, but lip-smacking delicious. And pretty filling, too! I think if I had a better food processor, it wouldn't look as murky, but I like seeing the fiber.

What's your favorite lemonade blend?? Cody really likes those Sweet Tea and Lemonade mixes. They're a little too sweet for me, but he drinks it like it's going out of style!

On a side note, does anyone have any tricks for removing blueberry stains from carpet? I had a little accident . . .

Here's the stats for this thirst quencher:

Nutritional Information

Servings Per Recipe: 4

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 32

Fat: 0.4 g

Sodium: 28 mg

Fiber: 1.3 g

Starting to feel like Bubba Gump

I mean really, I have so many shrimp recipes! This weekend I decided to flip through the rest of my recipes to decide what I would cook for the next few posts. Of course I realized that I had already cooked the ones that sounded the best, so now I am left with some questionable recipes, mostly which are shrimp. Don’t get me wrong, I do love shrimp, but I have a feeling Rusty and I will be eating shrimp 1-2 times per week for the next few months :/


The recipe I chose for this week was an unlikely winner. I am typically not much of a Cajun food eater. Realistically I just don’t like the spice of Cajun food. I unwillingly chose Paula’s Shrimp Gumbo recipe and gave it a whirl. Well, let me tell you, it was awesome!!!


I pulled my cast iron skillet for the first time in many months to make this delectable treat. Did you know that you are not supposed to wash cast iron with soap? In order to prevent rusting we actually just scrub and rinse the skillet really well and after drying, rub it with a little oil to keep it “seasoned.” For more info on cast iron care check out the Lodge Cast Iron Use and Care page.

What it takes to make some “Lick the Bowl Shrimp Gumbo:”

Start out by heating a little Garlic Gold in your skillet. Add you chopped onions and celery and sauté well.

Add in your seasonings, broth and okra and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Paula says 30 minutes but again, I don’t like to sit and wait very often.

After adding your shrimp, mix up your cornbread and dollop it out all over the top.

Using oven mitts, put your skillet in the oven, and voila!

A holy cow mixture of yummy gumbo goodness!


Obviously I really like the dish, but how about the nutrition facts? Well, because I used a typical Jiffy mix, my gumbo was not as light as I had hoped. Next time I make this I will probably try to make cornbread from scratch to help cut back on calories, fat and salt. Again, the calories don’t seem all that different even though I added more veggies and cut back the fat. Either way, I only had this for dinner, so 3 calories weren’t too bad (even though I ended dinner with a Pumpkin Cheesecake Bite).


The breakdown:

Lick the Bowl Shrimp Gumbo Casserole
Gumbo:
1 ½ cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 tbsp Garlic Gold
2 bay leaves
½ tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp Mrs. Dash lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp FNF seasoning (see recipe here)
2 cups 99% fat free chicken broth
2 cups diced tomatoes
16 oz package frozen okra, slightly thawed
2 cups shrimp, cleaned, peeled and deveined
Crust:
¼ cup Egg Beaters
1/3 cup skim milk
1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

In a large cast iron skillet, heat oil and sauté onion and celery until softened. Add all seasonings, stock and okra. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for corn muffins. Using a spoon, dollop mixture on top of gumbo, leaving center uncovered.

Carefully, put skillet in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Frozen Fish

This recipe is unique in that I hadn't intended to change much about the ingredients. The foundation of the Paula Deen's Savory Salmon is pretty healthy. The only modification I planned to change was to eliminate the salt. But in terms of fat and fiber, there wasn't much I could change.

I did make some changes, but my changes were based on what I had on hand.

I used agave nectar instead of honey, pre-squeezed lemon juice instead of freshly squeezed lemon juice. I omited the strawberries just because the ones in my fridge were covered in fuzz. No moldy fish for us!

I took the fish out 4 hours before I started and thawed according to the package. I put the fillets in the foil, added my veggies (so pretty!!) and wrapped them up and let them hang in the oven.



Half an our later, I pulled out the pan and opened up my salmon surprise.

Pretty, huh??

But the fish was stone cold still! Ugh! So I put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

The second time I took it out of the oven it was warm, but not hot. I was so afraid about eating raw salmon (I'm not a sushi eater, unless it's California Rolls, which is not raw) that I thought I'd pop it in the microwave for 60 seconds, just to make sure. While I was setting up my plate, I heard three loud pops. I don't know if it was the skin or what but there were flakes of fish all over the inside of my microwave. Good thing we're moving soon (just kidding, I cleaned it up; I didn't want everything I microwaved to smell like fish)!

I took it out and taste tested a little corner. Pretty blah. Probably because all the good stuff was still sitting in my foil wrapped pan.

By this time it was 7 PM and I was hungry and crabby and I just called it quits and ended up making Grilled Cheese. It was amazing, by the way.

Since the I didn't really make any significant changes AND the recipe was a disaster, I didn't even calculate the nutritional stats. If you want to try it, here's Paula's recipe. Maybe you'll have better luck!!

Pumpkin Overload!

With the fall weather on its way (at least in the South), we are all looking forward to fall foods. Some of my favorite fall foods involve butternut squash and sweet potatoes. Lately there has been a HUGE craze about pumpkin. Don't get me wrong, I love pumpkin pie but I haven't ever put much thought into using it in other ways.

Today, when I was planning my weekly meals, I remembered I need to make a dessert for next Sunday's Sweets post. I asked my hubby what dessert he loved most and his answer? Cheesecake. Of course I wasn't just going to make plain cheesecake, I needed to give it a kick! I decided to make little pumpkin cheesecakes bites. I promise I am not trying to be a tease, because this recipe will be posted Sunday, but I wanted to at least explain why I am writing about pumpkins today!

With all of the wild pumpkin talk going on, I figured I should find out what is so great about them. First of all (and sometimes most important) they are super tasty! Now I don't mean fresh pumpkin, a la the leftovers from your Halloween carving! I mean the yummy puree that comes in a can!

I used the Libby's Pumpkin puree today...and may or may not have licked the can :) It was DELICIOUS! I really think I may start adding it to other things like oatmeal and maybe make one of those awesome sandwiches Caitlin has made.

What are some of your favorite pumpkin recipes?

Now why is pumpkin so awesome? Well it tastes yummy, and has some pretty great nutritional info!

One cup of Libby's puree had:

80 calories

0g fat

10g fiber

And how about the awesome Vitamin A and C that pumpkin provides?! (obviously I have jumped on the pumpkin bandwagon)

That is a lot of fiber from one delicious squash! Do you want to know some other awesome things? While researching pumpkin recipes, I came across these fun pictures and world records.

The world's largest pumpkin pie was 20 feet in diameter and weighed 3,699 pounds! That is a lot of fiber!

The world's largest pumpkin? It was grown by Chris Stevens and yes the record was set YESTERDAY!!! The giant pumpkin weighed in at 1810.5 pounds! Whoa!

On the note of carving here are some cool carved pumpkins from ExtremePumpkins.com to get your creative juices flowing this season.

On a closing note, check out the pumpkin preserving page. Apparently you can use Clorox Cleaner with Bleach to help your pumpkin friends stay fresh for the trick-o-treating season.

Happy Pumpkining!

Some Greens I Can Sink My Teeth Into

Yea! Sunday Sweets is back! I love desserts, but it can be hard to find one that isn't loaded with fat or sugar. I found a recipe for Zucchini Brownies and made a few changes. I know what you're thinking, I've already made a dessert with zucchini, but I like sneaking some greens into sweets.

I started off with what looks like a lot of stuff, but I promise it came together really quick!

I originally had planned on doing a 3 sugar blend: real sugar (because sometimes baked goods with Splenda only don't come out well), Splenda (less calories) and Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (it's the best of both worlds right?). But I got lazy and ended up just doing 2/3 real sugar and 1/3 Splenda.

I used half the oil of the original recipe and half applesauce. I know a lot of recipes omit oil and just use applesauce, but I've found that that tends to make the baked good more cake-y and less chewy.

When I mixed everything it, it seemed pretty dry . . .

I ended up having to pat it down and finally was ready to toss it into the oven.

I took them out of the oven and they looked a tad dry. But they were soooo easy to cut! You know how normally when you cut brownies (especially if you don't wait for them too cool completely, which never happens at my house), they all crumble and end up looking mangled and half eaten? No problem here!

I sprinkled them with confectioners sugar instead of frosting. I think if I ever make them again, I'll get some reduced sugar frosting because my end product was a little dry and a little bland (Cody agreed!).

Do you have any recipes for sweets that have hidden veggies in them?? What do you wish you could hide in a brownie?

Here are the stats for the final product:

Nutritional Information

Servings Per Recipe: 24

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 91

Fat: 0.3 g

Sodium: 177 mg

Fiber: 1.6 g

And the recipe!

Zucchini Brownies

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 tbsp confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, Splenda and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched.

Dust lightly with powdered sugar.

FNFFCW

No, I didn't just drop a book on the keyboard! FNFFCW is an acronym for a super fun event Kat and I have been working on for quite awhile! It's been in the works for almost two months and we're excited to share our plans (and start counting down!).

In two weeks, Kat and I are going on our 1st Annual Foodies Not Fatties Food Crawl Weekend!!

If you remember from our blog introduction, Kat and I talk about food a lot. And one day we were talking about all of the cool restaurants we've seen on TV or have heard about in Texas. One of us jokingly said, "We should totally just pack up and go on a food crawl through Texas." As we started picking out places we would go to if we actually did it and we got so excited (and started drooling!) that we decided to commit and do it for real, instead of just wishing.

Unfortunately, we both have jobs and lives and pets, so we couldn't just pack up and leave for months, so we're testing out FNFFCW on a smaller scale. We'll be heading to Austin, then to San Antonio and then back to H-town.

Of course, we are still dietitians, and we realize that going on a 4-day binge of huge donuts and 3 pound cinnamon rolls isn't sending the best message. So we're inserting some stops at healthy restaurants in between participating in a bike race AND running through Austin and San Antonio. It's all about balance and moderation!

So, if you're going to be in the Austin area on 10/23, we'd love to meet you! We'll be dining at a place called Mr. Naturals with the lovely, literary Monet and would love to meet any readers that are in the 'hood. If you're interested, please shoot us an email here: foodiesnotfatties@gmail.com

Portion Distortion!

One of the topics at my Weight Watchers meeting today was portion control. This is a major topic when it comes to not only losing weight but staying healthy. I have always been a big supporter of the "everything in moderation" mindset. Essentially, enjoy those unhealthy, specials treats every now and then and measure what you are eating!

I really think this is how I am able to tackle my weight loss challenge. Without the occasional sweet treat or cheesy snack I think I might go insane! Weight loss should never be about what you CAN'T have. You should focus more on what you CAN have and how MUCH you should be eating.

One way that I manage my portions is by changing the size of my plate. Back in the day, circa 1960's, plates were 8-9" in diameter. Now-a-days, our dinner plates are 12"! That is more than 40% larger! Can you imagine how many fewer calories we would consume by just switching to smaller plates? I am aware that this is not a new concept, but I think that with the holidays looming, the topic is valid. As I sit here and write this I am thinking that I may switch to my salad plate even during the holidays!

Typically I use our smaller bowl and plate set. When I make my plate I feel like I have a great deal of food simply because my plate is pretty full. If I were to put the same amount on my larger plates, it would look like I wasn't getting to eat much. Tricking your brain by thinking you are getting more food can certainly help you eat less.

Here is the comparison between what I use on the left and what my hubby uses:

Note my husband has the metabolism of a racehorse...he could probably have 5 full plates and still lose weight :(

Now I promise not to bore you all day with chatter about choosing smaller plates. I was really just inspired to talk about this during my meeting when we were shown some neat new products available for portion control. Of course I am going to share a few with you!

The first and I think pretty fun item is a graduated wine glass! Marked at 4, 6, and 8 oz this glass will keep you from having to guesstimate how much wine you are getting.

Of course I can't find a link to it anywhere! I saw it in the Weight Watcher's Holiday Issue. I will grab it this weekend and post a link on Twitter.

How about a tiny condiment container? This little squeeze bottle holds about 3tbsp or 1.5 servings of salad dressing. A great way to measure and carry dressings for lunch.

HumandGear Mini GoToob

I also love this compartmentalized lunch container. I wouldn't say it is specific to portion size, but it does help you pack ahead and pre-portion items out for lunchtime. I typically do much better at lunch if I take it and don't buy it. Usually I will take a protein, a starch, a veggie and a fruit. This container would be perfect.

Fit and Fresh On The Go Lunch Container

Love these little half cup containers. I would use these to separate out portions of pretzels or cereal snacks. By pre-portioning an entire bag of pretzels, you will be less likely to mindlessly eat more than you should straight out of the bag.

Rubbermaid Easy Find Lid 1/2 Cup Food Storage

I am super sad that I couldn't find a picture of the wine glass, but I promise to post where you can find it this weekend. I hope y'all have enjoyed my rant about portions and changing plate sizes. I will being putting my advice to good use this weekend when I am at my hubby's family reunion. The menu? fried fish, fried hushpuppies and fries, breakfast tacos, BBQ and fixins. Where are the greens you may ask...well they will be in my cooler. Planning on taking some fruits and veggies to keep me from overdoing the fried festivus! Wish me luck!

Thirsty Thursday - My First Attempt at "Mocktails"

As you can tell, this October, Laura and I are featuring some of our favorite drink concoctions on Thursdays. The past few weeks I have been a bit mystified by Kath's "mocktails." The most unusual combo has been basil and selzter. When it comes to drinks I am definitely more of a sweets kind of gal. If I am out drinking, though, I have to be a bit more aware of my love for sweet drinks. They are a bit easier on the tastebuds and can be pretty easy to throwback without realizing how much you are drinking. Note to readers: keep track, otherwise you will end up hugging the porcelain throne!

I have an awesome black mail pick of my husband on one of those nights, but..... I was told I was not allowed to put it on the internet :(

While trying to find a good pic of Rusty, post drinking, I found this instead. Here we both are on New Year's....on our way to regretting our drink choices :) (but it sure was fun)

But I digress! Mocktails, love 'em or hate 'em, I had to give one a try.

I know Kath usually uses selzter and then adds some fruit and maybe flavoring. For inspiration, I decided to immitate one of my favorite dinnertime cocktails at home, Flavored water and Malibu Rum....Yum Yum!

Instead I used these:

In order to make my first mocktail EXTRA special, I made fancy ice cubes. I started with 2 types of fruit, limes and oranges. For each batch I zested the fruit, removed the skin and processed the "meat" and zest.

I added a bit of seltzer to the mix, then spooned it into an ice cube tray. I made 16 cubes, but probably could have made more if I had another tray.

After the cubes of color were frozen, I plopped a few in a glass with plain seltzer and coconut extract.

A big swig and .....YUCK! The coconut extract did not mix well with the seltzer. It smelled very cheap and fake. The ice cubes provided great color but no flavor. Basically I had bright, chilled coconut fizzy water....and I do NOT love coconut water.

Epic failure!

But wait! I still have some preflavored/sweetened water in the fridge! A splash of coconut, 3 cubes de color and some mandarin orange flavored Walmart water and VOILA! A yummy still tastes like cocktail "mocktail."

At least my second try was somewhat of a success. The funny thing about all of this is that I didn't really need for it to be a "mocktail." I am very content having a small glass of cheap, fizzy, calorie free water with dinner. I usually only add rum if it has been "one of those days" and in that case, will probably still add rum.

Whether you need a "mocktail" or a cocktail, you now know a fun color combo for flavored ice cubes (and know better than to mix coconut extract with seltzer).

In honor of my "mocktail" tonight I leave you with a fun video that we posted on National Coconut Day.

What the Chuck?!?

In an attempt to put off another shrimp recipe (I know, I'm going to have to do it eventually!!), I decided to test out Paula's Chili in a Biscuit Bowl. They looked so cute I couldn't wait to try them. One year for a family get together, my mom had a soup-in-a-bread-bowl themed meal. We served these yummy, crusty sourdough bread bowls and filled them with chili or chowder. I bet you can guess which one I picked!

First came the biscuit bowl. I used Heart Smart Bisquick instead of regular, skim milk and cayenne. I've never tried a biscuit with extra spice so I was stoked to see how they came out.

I mixed up the dough and molded the 'bowls' over my muffin tin. BTW, Paula wasn't kidding when she says make sure you spray your mold with cooking spray! I had a bit of an episode when trying to get these guys off the pan.

But once I finally got them off, I was had these cute little bowls. And please don't laugh at my makeshift cooling rack! I guess I forgot to 'borrow' one from Mom before I moved so I've been using a grill rack (from a grill we no longer own) and an upside down bowl. Pretty ingenious, huh?

Now, on to the chili . . .

I used lean ground turkey instead of beef chuck. I couldn't find Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, so I just used a can of Rotel, instead. That's Mexican-style, too, so why not?

I let it simmer and after half an hour, I had some chili!

But, the Rotel was a bad idea! It was way too spicy!! I ended up having to add an entire 3/4 can of beans. And even then it left my lips burning.

I hate to waste food, so I packed it up with some reduced fat cheddar for my lunch the next day.

I don't have a picture of when I had it assembled, but I will say that it was adorable! But as soon as I took a bite, everything crumbled and spilled out, so I ended up more of a makeshift casserole creation. I really liked the cayenne in the biscuit, it added quite the kick. Too bad my chili was too hot, too!

On to the stats:

Nutritional Information (OLD)	Nutritional Information (NEW)
Servings Per Recipe: 6	Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving	Amount Per Serving
Calories: 391	Calories: 366
Fat: 2.5 g	Fat: 8.7 g
Sodium: 874 mg	Sodium: 750 mg
Fiber: 6.9 g	Fiber: 6.0 g

I was really surprised that the change from beef chuck to lean ground turkey didn't lower the calories more AND had less fat. I googled Beef Chuck (because honestly, I don't know where all the cuts come from) and it said that the chuck is from the neck area and super fatty. And, I used skim milk, not whole milk, so the fat should be lower. I'm losing confidence in the accuracy of our recipe calculator. I'm pretty confused.

Anyone know anything about Beef Chuck??

Here's the recipe, if you like it spicy!

Chili Cups

Nonstick cooking spray
2 c Heart Smart Bisquick
2/3 c skim milk
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
flour, for dusting
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2 (14 oz) cans Mexican-stewed tomatoes (I used Rotel here)
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp chili powder

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and spray the underside of the muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

Stir together the baking mix, milk and cayenne. Shape into a ball. Turn out on a floured surface and knead 3 or 4 times. Roll each piece into a 6 inch circle and place over the back of each muffin cup. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned and let cool. Remove from the tins.

Brown the turkey. Add the onion and bell pepper and continue to cook until the meat is brown and the veggies are tender. Drain off any fat. Stir in the tomatoes, beans and chili powder. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer for 35 minutes.

Serve chili in cooked biscuit bowls and enjoy!

Baked 'Sghetti

I am actually eating spaghetti as I type tonight. It isn't the baked spaghetti recipe I will share with y'all, but non the less it is a delicious bowl of turkey spag. Turkey spaghetti has been a long time staple in the Chiles' household. It is pretty cheap and fills up my hubs (who has 2 hollow legs).

This dish is a revamp of Paula's original Baked Spaghetti. Hers is made with lots of full fat and canned items. Of course I nixed those and added my own lower fat, fresh options.

Initially, I combined all of these beautiful ingredients in a large sauce pan. The original recipe calls to simmer the recipe for 1 hour. Well by now y'all should know, Laura and I do not sit around to let things simmer. I pretty much let this cook for about 20 minutes before I added the ground turkey.

I will say, the main downsides to this recipe was the amount of prep work involved and the number of pans/dishes needed. I prefer to use as few dishes as possible simply because I HATE doing dishes.

Now one major flavor change I made to this dish was omitting the cheddar cheese. I don't find cheddar to be the best flavor match for spaghetti. My mouth was screaming "Mozzarella or Parmesan please!" My answer? Kraft 2% Italian blend. A great lower fat/calorie cheese with the yummy creaminess that a typical mozzarella would provide.

What are some of your favorite low calorie substitutions?

I layered all of the spaghetti and beautiful sauce in a medium casserole dish. I did cut Paula's recipe in half because I did NOT need 10 servings of pasta just hanging out in my fridge. The recipe below represents the 6 serving final product.

How did it taste? I loved it! It had the great twice baked flavor and texture with creamy cheese scattered in between the layers. Rusty didn't hate it, but he didn't love it either. I think he is just not used to me using less salt in our recipes. His heart will thank me later :)

Here are the stats:

Baked 'Sghetti

Sauce:

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups no salt added tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 onion, diced

2 tbsp green bell pepper, diced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves, chopped

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp FNF seasoning (recipe here)

1 tsp no-salt seasoning salt (recipe here)

1 bay leaf

1 cup mushrooms

12 oz extra lean ground turkey, browned

Casserole:

6 oz whole wheat spaghetti, dry

1 cup Kraft 2% Italian blend

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot, combine the ingredients for the sauce except the turkey. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and let simmer for at least 20 minutes. Add the ground turkey and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and set aside.

After adding the turkey, begin to cook the spaghetti. Cook according to package instructions, drain and set aside.

To assemble, spray a medium sized casserole dish with non stick spray. Put half of the noodles in the bottom. Cover with 1/2 the sauce and 1/2 the cheese. Then layer the remaining pasta and sauce. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the remaining cheese. Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings.