Category: What I Make

Serves: 3

Ingredients:
9 manicotti shells*
½ lb. lean ground beef (I buy 93% lean/7% fat)
onion powder, to taste
1 ½ cup jarred spaghetti sauce*
½ cup water
4 eggs
2 2/3 cup shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
parsley flakes, to taste
1/3 cup shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese

*Look at the sugar content on the nutrition labels for the noodles and the sauce to keep your serving size at 10g sugar or less. The brand of noodles I buy has 1g sugar in 3 shells and the brand of sauce I buy has 8g sugar in ½ cup.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook manicotti shells according to package directions and drain. Break ground beef into small pieces while browning it in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When ground beef is no longer pink, drain grease from pan, if there is any. Season with onion powder. Stir in sauce and water. Beat eggs in a bowl. Mix eggs together with 2 2/3 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, and parsley. Spread enough sauce to cover the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Fill the shells equally with the cheese mixture. Lay the shells side-by-side on top of the sauce. Cover the shells completely with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with 1/3 cup mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Have with a glass of water.

Serves: 1

Ingredients:
1 banana
3 oz. French vanilla yogurt (or whatever amount is less than 10g sugar according to nutrition label)
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter (The brand I buy only has peanuts and sea salt in it.)
1/4 cup milk (I used skim milk.)
2 ice cubes

Directions:
Peel and cut banana into chunks about the size of ice cubes. Put the banana and all the other ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and frothy.

Serves: 6

Ingredients:
½ Cup natural peanut butter (The brand I buy only has peanuts and sea salt in it.)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
6 Cups rice cereal squares (The brand I buy has 2g sugar in 1 cup.)
1/3 Cup 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips (The brand I buy has 6g sugar in 16 chips.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Microwave peanut butter and butter in a microwavable safe bowl for one minute or until melted. Stir. Put cereal in a 9 x 13 baking dish. (I used an aluminum disposable pan.) Pour peanut butter and butter mixture over cereal and stir until cereal is coated. Bake for one hour stirring every 20 minutes. When done, spread out on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Melt chocolate chips in a microwaveable safe bowl for one minute or until melted. Stir. Drizzle over cereal. Put cookie sheet in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or until chocolate hardens. Break apart and store in an airtight container. If my calculations are correct, there are approximately 6.5g sugar in 1 cup. Have with a glass of water.

Award:
This snack mix received a first place ribbon in 2017 at my county fair.

Serves: 1

Ingredients:
1 gluten free sugar cone (the brand I buy is made with rice flour and has 4g sugar per cone.)
16-60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips, or whatever amount keeps the total grams of sugar in the cone and the chips at or under 10g sugar
1 strawberry
5 to 10 blueberries

Directions:
Microwave the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl for one minute or until melted. Stir until smooth. Using a butter knife, carefully spread the chocolate inside and on the top edge of the cone. Put the cone in a cup to keep it upright. Refrigerate cone for five minutes or until chocolate hardens. Rinse fruit. Hull strawberry and chop into pieces about the same size as the blueberries. Fill cone with fruit.

Award:
In 2018, this cone received a blue ribbon and a department grand champion ribbon in the baked goods division at my county fair.

Serves: 1 1/2

Ingredients:
1/4 cup canned refried beans
1/4 cup Mexican shredded cheese blend, such as: Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Asadero, and Queso Quesadilla cheese
1 1/2 serving (according to nutrition label) tortilla chips that aren’t made with an enriched flour

Directions:
Put beans and cheese in a microwavable safe bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds or until cheese is melted and beans are hot. Stir until well combined. Serve with chips. Have with a glass of water.