Arancini Pork Casserole

This is a less healthy variant of https://www.skinnytaste.com/sicilian-rice-ball-casserole/ 

Ingredients:
1 Qt Joe's Homemade Pasta Sauce

1/2 Medium Red Onion

3 cloves garlic

1/2 Cauliflower

2 Cups uncooked Jasmati Rice

1 Qt Homemade Low Salt Vegetable Broth

3/4 lbs Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese grated

1/2 cup Progresso Italian Style Breadcrumbs

5 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 whole egg

1 egg white

1 lb Ground Pork

* Olive Oil

* Cooking Spray

* Salt

* Black pepper

* Garlic Powder

* Dry Basil

Tools:

13x9 Oven safe casserole dish

Small oven safe dish (for roasting cauliflower)

Large skillet for pork

2 qt saucepan 

Preparation: 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small oven save dish, add olive oil, cauliflower, salt and pepper. Put in the oven and roast until it has started to brown. 

In a 2 qt saucepan bring vegetable broth with salt to a boil. Add 2 cups of jasmati rice, cover and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. 

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Dice onion and mince garlic, add to skillet with salt & pepper. While cooking, flatten out pork and season with salt, pepper, garlic and basil and fold into the ends over. Once the onion/garlic mix has become fragrant and starts to become translucent, spread to the outside of the skillet and add pork breaking up as it browns on one side. Once cooked through and broken up into small pieces (think taco meat) add enough sauce to mix through but not cover the pork. Cover with a lid leaving partially open and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes. 

In a separate bowl, mix together Parmesan cheese, egg, egg white, and cooked rice with about 1 pint of sauce. Mix thoroughly until well incorporated and set aside. 

Prepare oven safe casserole dish by spraying all sides and adding 1/4 cup of the breadcrumbs, spreading around until all sides of the dish are coated in breadcrumb. Add a 1/2" layer of the rice mixture, cover with pork combined with chopped cauliflower.  Add 1/4 lb of grated mozzarella then cover with another 1/2" layer of rice mixture. 

Top with remaining 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs and remaining mozzarella cheese. 

Bake in oven for 30 - 45 minutes until breadcrumbs have toasted and cheese has melted with a good crust. 

Serving: 

Remove from oven and serve in squares as you would lasagna. 

Eggplant Parmesan Bread

This started because a local bakery made something like this and the combination just made complete sense. 

Ingredients:
Dough: 
1 Tsp Active Dry Yeast (1 package contents)
3/4 Cup of warm water (should be between 100 - 105 degrees F)
2 1/2 Cups of White Flour
1/2 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 Tsp of Sugar


Eggplant:
1 Whole baby eggplant (Roughly 5 - 6")
1 cup white flour
1 pint of egg beaters (separate 2 - 3 Tbsp and mix with water for egg wash)
2 cup of italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 cup of panko breadcrumbs
3 cups of Joe's Homemade Pasta Sauce (divided - 1, 2)

12 oz of Mozzarella Cheese
8 oz Ricotta Cheese
* Parmesan Cheese (unmeasured)
* Olive Oil (unmeasured)
* Corn meal (unmeasured)

Preparation: 
In a stand mixer, mix together yeast and water until bubbles form (indicating the yeast is active).  Once well blended, add in flour, 1 Tbsp of oil, salt and sugar. Mix together with a dough hook until a solid ball forms. (if its too sticky add additional white flour, if not sticky enough add water). Once The dough ball has formed and is not sticky, let the ball rise in a large covered bowl in a warm dry place for about 1 hour.

Peel the eggplant and slice 1/8 lengthwise.  You will need 3 shallow dishes: in one shallow dish, distribute flour evenly, in the second, empty entire carton of egg beaters, and in the third mix together both breadcrumbs.  Dip the eggplant slices in the flour, then egg, then pat well in the breadcrumbs to ensure complete coating. 

Heat broiler on high. Using a stoneware pan, drizzle with olive oil and place down one layer of the breaded eggplant.  Drizzle more on the exposed side of the eggplant and place in the broiler until crispy. Depending on your oven, this may vary in time, the best gauge is to look every 2 - 3 minutes and flip when they have just started to brown and before they burn. When done, remove from pan and let rest/oil drip on paper towels. Wipe down the oil from the stoneware pan but do not allow to completely cool. 

In a 2 quart saucepan, heat up pasta sauce and shred the Mozzarella cheese. 

Cooking:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Stretch the dough out on a flat surface into a rectangular shape that matches the stoneware pan. Once it is the appropriate size, flip one side onto the other and coat the surface that it will contact with corn meal so it can easily be transferred. Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom approximately 3/4 of an inch from the edges and only to the center line of the dough. Add a layer of mozzarella cheese onto the sauce and layer in a row of eggplant again keeping the edges 3/4 of an inch from the edges of the dough. On top of the eggplant, spread a 1/4 inch layer of ricotta cheese followed by another layer of eggplant, sauce and cheese. 

Using the egg wash that was set aside, brush the edges of the dough and fold over stretching as needed to cover the eggplant layers until sealed (similar to a calzone). Transfer to the stoneware pan (corn meal side down) and make shallow slices across the top (similar to how you would see on a loaf of french bread). Brush the surface with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese.  Put in the oven and repeat egg wash every 3 - 4 minutes until golden brown. 

Serving:
Remove from the pan and slice width wise with a large knife. Serve with remaining pasta sauce for dipping. `

Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients: 
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Flour
3/4 Cup of heavy cream 
56 g of grated Parmesan Cheese

Preparation:
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until softened (do not let it completely liquefy).  Mix together with flour and create roux then add in heavy cream stirring until well incorporated.  Add Parmesan cheese and continue to stir until all cheese melts and sauce becomes creamy. 

Reduce heat to low and cover stirring occasionally.  


Serving:

This is best served by adding cooked pasta to the sauce to ensure maximum coating of the pasta. 

Recommended Serving Suggestion:

Grilled Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Italian Style Meatballs

Ingredients: 
12 oz Lean Ground Pork
84 g Whole Wheat seasoned breadcrumbs
28 g Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Egg

4 Cups of Joe's Homemade Pasta Sauce

* Salt
* Pepper
* Garlic Powder

Preparation:
In a large bowl, mix together meat, breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese until well incorporated. Once mixed well so that there are no dry ingredients separate from the mixture, add the egg, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  

Roll Meatballs to whatever size you would like (recommended between 23 - 27 g per meatball) (makes approximately 20 at that size). 

In a large pot/saucepan/stockpot/dutch oven, heat up pasta sauce over low heat. (Dutch oven is recommended since it can keep the contents hot without applying as much direct heat over a longer period of time). 

Once Sauce is simmering, add meatballs and cover. 

Cook for approximately 1 hour or until you can smell the garlic powder filling the air. 

Serving: 
Recommended to serve these with some spaghetti, other pasta, and or in a sandwich. 

Nutrition Info:  

Each meatball is approximately 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus points, recommended servings are between 4 and 6; or it can be summarized as 22 points for approximately 20 meatballs. 

Baked Ziti in a mug

This is a variation on the lasagna in a mug, I made it using freshly pressed pasta but you can substitute with regular boxed pasta. 
Due to its mug constraints, this is a Weight Watchers friendly meal. 

Ingredients: 
3/8 Cup of Joe's Homemade Pasta Sauce
56g of Ziti or Rigatoni
28g of Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
28g of Park Skim Mozzarella Cheese Grated
13g of Parmesan Cheese Grated
* Sea Salt (best for homemade pasta), use Kosher for boxed pasta

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a saucepan bring water and salt to a boil.  Once boiling, add pasta and boil until all floats, remove from heat and strain. 

In a mug (http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/corningware/french-white-pop-ins-mug-1035985) mix together pasta, 1/4 cup sauce, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses. Stir together until well blended. Top with remaining 1/4 cup of sauce and a layer of Parmesan cheese.  

Place in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until cheese begins to bubble. 

Serving: 
This is recommended to be served on a trivet, towel, or other plate as the mug will be extremely hot. 

Nutrition Info: 
Using part skim cheeses this weighs in at 9 Weight Watchers Points Plus Points. 

4 Cheese Mac & Cheese

This dish serves about 10 - 12 people easily and can be scaled up if need be. 

Ingredients: 
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Flour
1 1/2 Cups Milk divided
1 Block (16 oz) Vermont Yellow Cheddar Cheese (grated)
1 Block (12 oz) Smoked Gouda Cheese (grated)
1/2 Block (8 oz) Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese (grated)
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)

2 lbs elbow macaroni
1 Tbsp Sea salt*

Olive Oil (spray)*
1/8 Cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/8 Cup Seasoned Whole Wheat breadcrumbs
Preparation: 
Heat a 2 quart (preferably nonstick) saucepan under low heat to melt butter. Once melted, add in flour and mix together until well incorporated. Mix in 1/2 cup of milk and raise heat until bubbles form along the edges. Lower heat again and start mixing in all of the cheese slowly allowing it to melt.  As more cheese is added, add more milk until all of it is incorporated. When ready, the cheese sauce will be liquid and flow and should not stick to the spoon. If it does, add additional milk for best texture. 

In another saucepan boil about 1 1/2 quarts of water with sea salt.  Once fully boiling, add in the pasta until fully cooked. Lightly spray casserole or deep side baking dish, strain and pour pasta into dish. Spray lightly with olive oil then cover with Parmesan cheese. Pour cheese sauce mixture over and mix well to ensure its thoroughly incorporated. Cover with panko and whole wheat breadcrumbs. 

Place in Oven at 475 degrees for about 10 - 15 minutes or 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes until cheese starts bubbling around the edges. To finish, place in the broiler on high for about 1 - 2 minutes until the breadcrumbs toast. 

Serving: 
This serves between 10 and 12 people and the recommended serving is with additional breadcrumb topping. 

Foccacia Bread

This Italian flat bread can take on properties of a pizza or can spin off with a variety of different toppings. Listed below will be the most common toppings. 


Ingredients: 
1 1/4 Tsp Active Dry Yeast (1 package contents)
3/4 Cup of warm water (should be between 100 - 105 degrees F)
2 Cups of White Flour
1/2 - 3/4 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 Tsp of Sugar


Spicy and Savory Toppings:
1 Medium Red Onion
1 Medium Plum Tomato
1/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese (Fresh grated 24 month aged cheese preferred)
1 Clove garlic


Smoky and Savory Toppings:
2 1/2 Cups of Cremini Mushrooms
1/2 Cup Gruyere Cheese
3 - 4 Strips of Bacon


Preparation:
In a stand mixer, mix together yeast and water until bubbles form (indicating the yeast is active).  Once well blended, add in flour, 1 Tbsp of oil, salt and sugar. Mix together with a dough hook until a solid ball forms. (if its too sticky add additional white flour). Once The dough ball has formed and is not sticky, let the ball rise in a large covered bowl in a warm dry place for about 2 hours. 


Slice onions thinly, rough chop tomatoes and mince up garlic for toppings. 


Preheat oven to 450 - 500 degrees. 


Flatten out dough ball into a shallow baking dish and with fingers poke shallow holes in the top. Cover with the remaining 2 Tbsp of olive oil and coat with toppings. 


Bake for between 12 and 17 minutes (bottom needs to be crisp, toppings need to be cooked through).  


Serving:
Cut into strips approx 1 1/2 - 2 inches in width and 3 - 4 inches in length. Best served with oil and Italian seasonings as a dip.