Grilled Pizza with Sausage, Onions and Peppers

Oh man, you NEED to try this. I can't do whole wheat tortillas usually, but this way can't be beat. And it is super quick and easy. We were thinking it would make an awesome appetizer at a BBQ as well. Plus, the topping possibilities are endless.

Grilled Pizza with Sausage, Onions and Peppers (from WW website)
Serves 4

* 1 small red onion(s), cut into thin slivers
* 1 small yellow pepper(s), cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
* 1/2 cup pizza sauce, or tomato sauce
* 4 medium whole wheat tortilla(s)
* 1 tsp dried oregano
* 3/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
* 3 oz turkey Italian sausage

Preheat an outdoor grill to medium (or a grill pan over medium-high heat). Place sausage, onion and pepper on grill in a grill basket; cook, flipping once, until sausage is golden and vegetables start to brown, about 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from grill and set aside until ready to use.

To prepare pizzas, spread 2 tablespoons of sauce on each tortilla. Sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano and then top each with 1/4 of sausage-vegetable mixture; top each with 3 tablespoons of cheese.

Place pizzas on grill (or as many as will fit on grill pan at one time) and cook until edges begin to brown, about 3 to 5 minutes; rotate pizzas. Continue cooking until cheese is bubbly, about 2 to 4 minutes more. (If all 4 pizzas do not fit on grill pan at once, repeat with remaining ingredients.) Yields 1 pizza per serving.

Points per serving: 3

Grilled Trout

Ok, so speaking of summer and grilling....

I have a friend at work that has picked me as the person to unload his trout catch upon. His last trip to Canyon Ferry lake was a good one apparently and he caught 30-some rainbow trout. These trout feed on fresh-water shrimp all year long, so their meat is a reddish color, like salmon. Now, I'm not a fish eater at all, but I am told that this recipe is a pretty good one. Plus, it's an excuse to use the grill! I imagine this would work very well over the campfire too.

(Now, the trout I grill is a whole fish and it's about 2 to 3 lbs, so for the sake of figuring out points, the recipe just says 32 oz of the fish. But, since we're stuffing it and not cooking the fillets, just read it as one whole fish. So, to figure out points when serving, it's basically 5 points for every 6 or 7 oz fillet. Completely confused yet? Also...I remove the head before I cook it, but I know some weirdos like to eat the trout cheeks, so do whatever floats your boat. )

Grilled Stuffed Trout
Serves: 6

• 32 oz raw rainbow trout
• 1/2 medium onion(s), sliced
• 1 tsp garlic clove(s), minced
• 2 tsp lemon pepper
• 5 sprays olive oil cooking spray
• 1 Tbsp butter, sliced into thin pats
  
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 medium lemon(s), sliced
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley

Take whole, cleaned trout and stuff with onions, lemon garlic and pats of butter. Season with parsley, lemon pepper, salt and pepper. Lay on piece of aluminum foil that has been sprayed with olive oil spray and sprinkled with lemon pepper. If there is remaining onions and/or lemon, just throw remainders in foil on outside of fish. Wrap fish up tightly in foil.
Put fish on grill over medium to medium high heat. Cook for 7-10 minutes and turn over for another 7-10 minutes (depending on size of trout). Take off grill when meat becomes flakey and before it becomes mushy.
To serve, carefully remove skin and bones and place on platter, trying to keep fillets intact. Garnish with onions, garlic and lemon from stuffing. (Unless you're camping, then just throw the whole fish at them and tell them to de-bone it themselves. Oh, and maybe give them a fork or a stick to help them out a bit.)

Points per serving: 5

Stuffed Chicken Breast

Stuffed Chicken Breast
Serves 4

• 4 uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 4 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Creamy French Onion
• 1/4 cup onion(s), finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped red pepper
  
• 1 tsp garlic clove(s), minced
• 1 tsp dried chopped basil
• 1 Tbsp dried bread crumbs
• 10 sprays olive oil cooking spray
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Mix cheese, onions, garlic, peppers, basil and bread crumbs together in bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
In each chicken breast, cut a pocket lengthwise in the side. Stuff each chicken breast with 1/4 of the mixture.
Lay out four pieces of tin foil. Spray each piece with olive oil. Sprinkle the oil with salt and pepper. Lay each chicken breast on each piece of foil and wrap them. Grill for 6-10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165-175 degrees. Take out of foil and serve.

Points per serving: 6

Whole Grain and Italian Sausage–Stuffed Cabbage

Ok, this recipe is straight out of the cooking light magazine. It's pretty yummy. I made it, however, and did some things a little different. I omitted the butter and oil completely and just browned the sausage with the veggies, so the oils in the turkey helped soften them up. I also just used some leftover plain mushrooms that I had in my fridge (instead of porcini). I also bought a head of cabbage that was WAY too small, so there was no way I could fit 1/2 cup of filling in each roll. So, I still half of my filling sitting in the fridge waiting for more cabbage. So, my alterations changed it so that now it yields more like 20 cabbage rolls at about 2 points a piece. Not bad. I'm not sure it's officially one of my favorite recipes, but it was fun to make. I've never cooked with bulgur before, so just finding it in the grocery store was a challenge (psst....natural foods section).

Whole Grain and Italian Sausage–Stuffed Cabbage (from Cooking Light magazine)

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms, crushed (about 1/2 ounce)
• 1 1/4 cups uncooked bulgur
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 2/3 cup finely chopped celery
• 2/3 cup finely chopped carrot
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage
• 12 large Savoy cabbage leaves
• 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in mushrooms; cover, remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes.
2. Uncover pan; bring mushroom mixture to a boil. Stir in bulgur; cover, remove from heat, and let stand 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Spoon bulgur mixture into a large bowl.
3. Heat butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to pan; sauté 7 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Add vegetables to bulgur mixture; cool slightly. Stir in salt and pepper. Remove casings from sausage. Crumble sausage into bulgur mixture; stir well to combine.
4. Add water to a large Dutch oven to a depth of 2 inches; set a large vegetable steamer in pan. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add cabbage leaves to steamer. Steam cabbage, covered, 6 minutes or until tender and pliable. Remove cabbage from steamer (do not drain water). Rinse cabbage with cold water; drain and pat dry.
5. Working with one cabbage leaf at a time, place 1/2 cup bulgur mixture in center of leaf. Fold in edges of leaf; roll up. Repeat procedure with the remaining cabbage leaves and bulgur mixture to form 12 cabbage rolls. Stack rolls evenly in steamer.
6. Return Dutch oven to medium-high heat; bring water to a boil. Steam rolls, covered, 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary.
7. Combine tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and sugar in saucepan; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in parsley. Serve sauce with rolls.

Yields: 6 servings (serving size: 2 cabbage rolls and about 1/3 cup sauce)

Nutritional Information:
CALORIES 322(30% from fat); FAT 10.9g (sat 3.3g,mono 4.1g,poly 2.3g); PROTEIN 19.6g; CHOLESTEROL 48mg; CALCIUM 86mg; SODIUM 839mg; FIBER 10.3g; IRON 4.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.2g

Pan Seared Chicken Sandwich with Garlic Aioli

I have never roasted garlic before, so this was really fun for me. I made the garlic aioli ahead of time, and that made making the sandwiches really quick later on. Plus, I still have some leftover, which has been fun to add to other sandwiches. Plus, this is another great grillin' option!

Pan Seared Chicken Sandwich with Garlic Aioli (from old WW cookbook)
Serves: 4

• 2 bulb garlic clove(s)
• 1 sprays olive oil cooking spray
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 1 lb uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
  
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 4 leaves romaine lettuce
  
• 4 slices tomato
  
• 4 whole grain sandwich buns

1. Remove white papery skin from garlic heads (do not peel or separate the cloves). Coat each head with cooking spray; wrap separatelyh in foil. Bake at 350 for 2 hour. Let cool 20 minutes. Separate cloves; carefully snip or cut 2 end of each clove. Squeeze cloves over a small bowl to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins.
2. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over garlic pulp; mash with a fork until blended. Stir in mayonaise. Cover tightly with plastic wrap pressed onto surface of aioli; chill.
3. Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap or wax paper; fatten to 1/4 inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin (if chicken breasts are very large, cut in half, crosswise). Sprinkle salt and pepper over 1 side of each chicken breast.
4. Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Coat chicken breasts with cooking spray; place in skillet, cut sides down , and cook until lightly toasted.
5. Spread 2 Tblsp garlic aioli over toasted sides of each bun. Divide chicken evenly among bottom halves of buns; top with lettuce, tomato, and top halves of buns. Serve immediately.

Points per serving: 8

Smoked Turkey and White Bean Soup

Yummy yummy. The smokey flavor is this soup is hard to beat!

Smoked Turkey and White Bean Soup (from old WW cookbook)
Serves: 6

• 2 cup water
• 3/4 cup onion(s), chopped
• 3/4 cup carrot(s), chopped
• 1/4 cup celery, chopped
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 can fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 cans of 15.5 oz great northern beans
• 16 oz smoked turkey breast, chopped
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients except vinegar in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 1 hour and 15 minutes. Stir in vinegar; discard bay leaf.

Points per serving: 4

Grilled Portobello and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

Dude. This is awesome. I even convinced my veggie-phobe hubby that this was a good meal. This is a perfect meal to break in the grillin' season. I also paired it with some grill tomato wedges that weren't half bad. Plus, eating goat cheese makes me feel fancy.

Grilled Portobello and Goat Cheese Sandwiches (from Cooking Light magazine)
Serves: 4

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, cut in half and seeded
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut in half and seeded
• 4 (4-inch) portobello mushroom caps
• Cooking spray
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 (2-ounce) Kaiser rolls
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) soft goat cheese

1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
2. Combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and garlic in a large bowl. Add bell peppers and portobello mushrooms; toss gently to coat. Remove vegetables from vinegar mixture, and discard vinegar mixture.
3. Place bell peppers and mushrooms on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side. Remove vegetables from grill; cool slightly. Cut bell peppers into thin strips. Combine bell peppers, basil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl.
4. Cut rolls in half horizontally; spread cheese evenly over cut sides of rolls. Arrange 1 mushroom cap on bottom half of each roll; top each serving with about 1/3 cup bell pepper mixture and top half of roll.
5. Place sandwiches on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Place a cast-iron or other heavy skillet on top of sandwiches; press gently to flatten. Grill 3 minutes on each side or until bread is toasted (leave cast-iron skillet on sandwiches while they cook).

Points per serving: 6