PARMESAN ORZO RISOTTO WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH RECIPE

I tried a new Weight Watcher friendly recipe today and thought it was very good. I thought I would share it with you in case you would like to try it too. It was pretty easy to make, quick to cook and full of flavor.

It's called Parmesan Orzo Risotto with Butternut Squash.


Here are all the ingredients you will need.

Cooking spray such as PAM
2 cups butternut squash cut into small cubes
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/8 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup uncooked orzo
1 12/ cups of water
1 cup chicken broth/ can you vegetable broth if you like
8 whole springs of fresh thyme
2 Tbsp Fat Free half and half
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp of fresh black pepper



Oops, I forgot to get my fat free half and half out.

I always find it a bit hard to cook and take photos at the same time so please forgive me. I forgot to photograph a few steps.

First you preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In medium bowl, toss cut up squash with oil and salt and spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast about 20-25 minutes or until squash is tender and lightly browned. Stir half way through cooking.

In the mean time, melt butter in a medium pan over medium heat and add orzo. Stir constantly until orzo begins to toast and brown. Do not burn!

Add water, broth and thyme springs (I pulled the thyme off the sprigs and just used the leaves). Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until liquid is nearly absorbed. About 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

This is what it should look like before you move on. Still a bit of liquid but not a lot.

Turn off heat, remove thyme sprigs if you used the whole thing. Stir in half and half.

Add cheese and stir.

Add pepper and salt to taste.

Combine the roasted butternut squash.

Then dish it up and enjoy.

For those of you on Weight Watchers, this makes enough for four servings and the point value is 5.

However, you do not have to be on Weight Watchers to try this. Trust me, no one will ever think this tastes like a "diet" food.

I hope you try this and let me know what you think.

Also, don't forget, for every message you leave me, on any post, between now and the 22nd, will count as an entry to my giveaway.

WEEKLY WEIGHT WATCHER RECIPE REVIEW

This week I tried another recipe from the Sept/Oct 2005 Weight Watchers Magazine.

This recipe calls for chicken but since I'm a vegetarian I did not use that. I will give you the recipe the way it was written and then I'll let you know what I did.

I always like to get all my ingredients together before starting any of my cooking.

Chicken, Asparagus, Penne Pasta

1/2 pound skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into 2 1/2 inch strips

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1/4 box penne pasta

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally in thirds

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Sprinkle the chicken with the seasoning. Spray a large nonstick skillet with Pam or other non stick spray. Cook chicken over medium-high heat until browned on the outside and cooked through.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. When cooked use a slotted spoon to transfer the pasta to a colander, reserving the the water in the pot.

(As I was cooking the pasta I got all the other items ready to go. By doing this I noticed quickly that I had forgotten to put the basil out.)

Add the asparagus to the same pot of boiling pasta water and cook until crisp tender. About three minutes.

In bowl add pasta, asparagus, tomatoes, basil, cheese, garlic, oil and salt. Toss well to coat and serve at once.

So what I did differently was, I didn't use any chicken. I also put everything back into the pot to heat it up.

I added a bit more olive oil and cheese then it called for. I didn't have two tomatoes so I only used one and I didn't have a full cup of chopped of basil. This worked out great and didn't seem to lack anything.

I also added about a cup of pasta water I saved. This made the pasta more moist and not so dry.

Goes great with a nice piece of bread.


I would make this again for sure. It was very good and super easy. It was ready to eat in less then 20 minutes too.

I think the next time I make this I will use sun dried tomatoes rather then fresh ones. I also will leave the garlic out and use garlic salt. I don't like the taste of raw garlic. If I do use fresh I think I will cook it first.

If you make this and are on Weight Watchers the count would be (with the chicken) 273 cal., 8 g fat, 3 g. Fiber and 21 grams of protein.

This will be 6 points per serving

One serving is 1 1/2 cups. This makes about four servings.

Don't forget if you don't eat the chicken then it will be less.

I hope you try this. If you do, let me know.

Oh, one more thing. This can be served cold or hot.

I've linked up to Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum. Take a peek and see what everyone else is cooking this week.

WEEKLY WEIGHT WATCHERS RECIPE ~ SPINACH PANINI

As part of my New Year's resolutions, I'm going to be cooking at least one new recipe a week. I will find them in either one of my many Weight Watcher's cookbooks or out of the Weight Watchers monthly magazines.

This week I tried making a Spinach Panini out of the Sept/Oct 2005 magazine. Yes you read that right. It is from 2005. I came across this magazine as I was going through a lot of stuff I have in boxes. I'm happy I saved this magazine.


Now while this is called a Panini and in order for it be a true Panini you need one of the Panini grills. I don't have one so I almost didn't make this. But, as I read it I saw where they said you could just grill this on a regular grill.

Spinach Panini

1 cup baby spinach leaves, steamed

1 large tomato, thinly sliced

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese ~ can use plain or basil tomato flavored. I used plain.

8 slices whole grain bread ~ I used whole wheat sour dough

1/4 medium red onion sliced thinly ~ I did not use this.

Layer spinach,tomato, feta and onions on bread slices. Top with another slice of bread. Press down firmly.

I used a little bit of butter on the outside of the bread to help it grill. If you do this also, be sure to add the extra points.

Place the sandwiches on a hot Panini grill or regular grill pan. Cook, pressing occasionally with spatula to flatten and flip once. Cook until browned on both sides and cheese is melted about 3-4 minutes per side. Serve hot.

For one sandwich without the butter it is 178 cal. 5 g. fat, 5 g. fiber and 8 g. protein. If you are doing the Weight Watchers points it is 3 points without the butter. Don't forget to add the extra points with the butter.

This recipe makes four sandwiches.

When I made these I thought it seemed like a fancy grilled cheese sandwich and wasn't expecting much. Boy was I wrong!

These are so good. They do not seem like a grilled cheese sandwich at all. They are a completely different taste all together.

The feta doesn't really melt like other cheese. It just becomes really smooth and gooey. That coupled with the fresh steamed spinach and the warmed tomatoes were so good. I thought it was a pretty rich sandwich.

Since the bread I used was bigger then normal slices I just had a 1/2 of a sandwich and it was more then enough to fill me up.

These would be great served with some sliced apples, grapes or other fruit. A cup of soup added would make this a lovely cold winter day meal.

I will be making these again for sure. I hope you give them a try.