Pesto

A quick & easy "sauce" to top off pasta, chicken, soup, potatoes, risotto. . so many different ways to use one of my favorite paste.

3 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese *I left this out
salt & pepper to taste

Add ingredients in to food processor or blender. Puree into a paste. Can be refrigerated for up to a week, frozen for 6 months.
Yields 2 cups, 16 servings.

Roasted Pork Loin

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. I read the reviews & tweaked it according to my preferences & others suggestions.


3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds boneless pork loin roast
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1-2 cups of carrots, chopped
1-2 cups celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped/diced

Combine the garlic, rosemary & about 1/8 cup of olive oil to make a paste. Rub it on the loin & marinate it for a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 350. Bring the pork to room temperature and then line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with the carrots, celery & onions, placing the pork on top. (I buy the 2 pack of pork loins at Walmart & used both for this recipe, was 2 1/2 lbs total)
After about 40 minutes turn & baste the pork. Will be fully cooked after about an hour- hour & 1/2. Take out of the oven, cover with foil for 10 mins.

Then take the pan drippings & mix with a little broth & cornstarch to make a nice gravy. yum.

I paired this with roasted potatoes. 6pts for the pork, 3pts for the potatoes.

Mexican Lasagna

1lb ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1/4 tsp cumin
1 clove garlic, diced
1 can rotel
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
3-6 flour tortillas
fat free cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350.

Brown ground beef in skillet. When beef is halfway cooked, add onion, green pepper & garlic. Cook until onions are clear. Add rotel, beans, corn & cumin. Bring to a boil. Simmer 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Layer 1/3 mixture in 9x13 glass pan. Cover with tortilla. Layer with 1/3 cheese. Repeat. Bake until sauce bubbles & cheese melts. 35-45 minutes. serves 8. 5pts each.

Shrimp & Zucchini with pasta

1lb shrimp
1/2lb cooked pasta
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
2 shallots *I omitted these
1 zucchini, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup fat free broth
1 tbsp parsley *optional
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes


Cook pasta according to directions.

Heat skillet until very hot. Spray with olive oil. Saute shrimp & then set aside. Add olive oil to pan. Add shallots & garlic. Saute one minute. Add tomatoes & zucchini. Add broth & red pepper flakes. Return shrimp to pan & simmer 1-2 minutes. Stir in with pasta in a bowl. Sprinkle with parsley. 5 servings, 6pts each

Pork Chops

1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp ketchup
6 pork chops

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine ingredients in bowl.
Place pork chops in baking dish. Spread with 1/2 sauce. Cover. Bake 30 mins. Turn & spread with remaining sauce. Bake another 20-30 mins depending on thickness of pork chops. 4pts per chop.

Potato Pancakes

3 cups shredded peeled potatoes
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup grated onion
1/4 cup flour
salt & pepper to taste

Rinse potatoes in cold water. Drain thoroughly. In bowl, mix potatoes, egg, onion, flour, s&p. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto greased griddle. Fry 5-6 minutes on each side.

According to Allrecipes.com this recipe makes 2 servings. If that's the case, it's 4pts. But I found this recipe went far so I calculated each pancake to be 1pt each.

Cornmeal Crusted Pork

1/4 cup cornmeal
salt & pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp water
1lb pork chops, all fat trimmed
1/8 cup olive oil

Heat oil in pan. Combine cornmeal with salt & pepper. Combine egg & water. Dredge pork chop in egg mixture & then cornmeal mixture. Pan fry in oil until throughly cooked.

I had nine pork chops & calculated it to be 3pts each with the amount of cornmeal & egg the recipe called for.