Mini Hamburgers

From Just Bento by Makiko Itoh page 27

Made in bento with boiled carrots, blanched snow peas, red onion and parsley salad, rice, and fruit.

Didn't have the variety of meat so I made 100% ground beef mini burgers rather than the pork, veal, and beef combo.

Didn't saute the onion first because I forgot.

French Onion Salisbury Steak

From free "Cuisine at Home" sample magazine
Page 34 - 35

This is one of my favorite dishes. I'd never made it before, but my mom has and I've always loved it.

I used 80/20 ground beef (the butcher said it was the same thing as ground chuck)... this lead to a VERY fatty dish. Not to say it wasn't tasty... it was just very fatty. After refrigerating it, it was really obvious how much fat was in it because it all clumped together in an orange-ish (because of the beef broth) film. It all melted in the microwave though! Next time, I'll probably sacrifice a little bit of the flavor for leaner beef.

With crock pot mac & cheese on the side... yummmm.

Onion Tart

From Cooking Light magazine

This recipe was super easy, tasted good, and only used a cutting board, knife, measuring spoon, spatula, baking sheet, and one pan. I'm not sure it is really a good idea for a main course though... maybe with a bowl of beef soup on the side? Next time. :-)

In the fry pan.

In the oven.

All done!

Close up.

On the plate.

Spring Risotto

From Cooking Light magazine, April 2011, page 184

I am very pleased with how this risotto turned out.  I think it may have been a bit undercooked (I'm not a risotto expert by any means) but it tasted great.  Next time I'll probably put in more onion.

Creamy, filling but still light.

8 weight watchers points (calculated from published nutrition info). I'm not sure if the nutrition info is per serving or for the whole amount made, but I'm assuming that it is per serving.

Vegetable Soup

This soup is such a win.

From Weight Watchers' "Eat Wisely Turn Around" book 1 (page 31)

It's really easy to make and pretty quick too. If you make the recipe as written, it makes 4 1-cup servings that are 0 points each. I added to it though, to make it a bit more filling so I could eat it for lunch. I added 1 cup of shelled edamame and 2oz (uncooked) orzo and it turned out really great (5 points per 1-cup serving).

I plan to make this soup but double the recipe and just keep it in the fridge. It worked great as a quick lunch and I never got tired of it. :-)