Fall Spaghetti Squash with Italian Turkey Sausage Gravy

l large spaghetti squash
3 jars Heart Smart Prego Sauce
2 pkgs of Hot Italian Sausage removed from casing

Pierce squash all over and place in microwave and cook on high 20 min. Turn over and cook another 15 min. on high. Check for tenderness. Continue to cook on high till squash is fork tender thru shell and easily sliced open lengthwise with a sharp knife. Remove seeds and squash will pull apart like spaghetti. Keep warm.

While squash is cooking in microwave, heat a dutch oven on the stove spraying with cooking spray or heat little Italian olive oil. Add 2 pkgs of hot Italian sausage removed from casing and brown and heat thru. Drain in colander and spray warm water to remove excess fat and hidden fat. Return to dutch oven. Add Prego and simmer half hour.

Serve squash with gravy over and sprinkle with fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese. Very low fat and squash is low in calories and very healthy.

Low Fat Fruited Chicken Salad with Red Grapes and Almonds

5 cups boneless cooked cubed chicken
1/2 cup No Fat Miracle Whip
1/2 cup No fat sour cream
halved red grapes about 1 1/2 cups
2 stalks thinly sliced celery
handful of slivered almonds or walnuts chopped lg
white pepper optional

Combine all ingredients. Add equal amounts of no fat Miracle Whip and no fat sour cream
more as needed. I discovered recently using no fat Miracle Whip and no fat sour cream
gives a really great texture to salads and potato salads, increases creaminess and flavor without added fat. Miracle Whip gives an exta zing to salads and no fat sour cream thickens.

Chill, upon serving I garnish with strawberries, banana sticks, slivered almonds.

Patti's Chicken Minestrone

One large chicken fryer or stewing hen

one large 64 oz tomato sauce

3 cans diced tomatoes with peppers & onions

chicken boullion cubes

celery stalks 3 sliced thin

one pound carrots sliced

one lg bag mixed vegetables frozen

2 cans kidney beans

one bag shredded cabbage

crushed red pepper to taste (very scant--hot!!)

sugar or sugar sub to taste

pepper cracked

garlic minced jarred

oregano handful dried

basil fresh minced handful

box of small size penne

couple handfuls of brown rice

large handful of bay leaves

red wine (optional)

parmesan or romano cheese fresh grated

Cover chicken with water in very large pot for soup, add handul of bay leaves. Cook on low couple of hours till chicken is tender. Remove chicken, save broth and return broth to pot.

Cool chicken and debone and set aside. To pot of broth add celery, onion, spices, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, carrots and cabbage. Taste broth and add boullion cubes to taste, couple at a time. For a very large pot I add 3-5 cubes. Simmer till crisp/tender. Add frozen thawed veggies, box of penne, brown rice, beans drained, and amount of deboned chicken desired. If soup is to thick add water and adjust flavor with boullion. Sweeten with sugar/sugar substitute (Navella) to taste and add cup of red wine (optional). Upon serving sprinkle fresh grated parmesan/romano cheese. Freezes very well.

Optional addition is hot Italian cooked turkey sausage sliced and added to soup.

Pumpkin Cake

4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. oil
1 15 oz can pumpkin
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 teas. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. raisins

Frosting:
1 3 0z fat free cream cheese
1/3 c. lit butter
1 tbs. skim milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10x15 pan with non-stick coating. In lg bowl beat eggs and add flour, bak powder, salt, bak. soda, and cinnamon. Beat one minute on low and then add raisins. Spread in pan. Bake 25-30 min till toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool. Refrigerate and frost with cream cheese frosting.

This was my son Kevin's favorite cake since he was three. He wanted it for his birthday every year which was close to Halloween in the fall.

MY FALL APPLE BREAD

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teas baking soda
1/2 teas. salt
1 teas. cinnamon
1 teas. cloves
1 teas. nutmeg

Mix dry ingredients together.
Combine in separate bowl:
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1/2 teas. vanilla
2 apples peeled and sliced coarsely
1/2 cup or more walnuts or pecans chopped

Combine dry ingredients all together, add separate bowl ingredients, fold and stir in. Pour
in greased loaf pan (I use Pam). Bake 325 degrees 40 min. or till toothpick inserted in middle of loaf comes out clean.

FLORIDA KEY LIME PIE

1 can Eagle sweetened condensed milk or equivalent
1/3 c. fresh lime juice (from juice of limes only)
3 eggs separated
1 prepared pie crust (I prefer the Keebler butter crust)

Mix together can of condensed mik, lime juice and beaten yolks of eggs. Beat whites of eggs till stiff in another bowl. Fold whites into mixture. Pour into prepared pie crust. Bake at 250 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool and chill until firm in fridge. Top with whip cream at serving time.