A New Take On An Old Favourite

There are some meals which just feel like comfort food. My family background is Hungarian, and a meal I can remember having at my grandmother's from before I can see over the table was stuffed peppers. My grandmother was a wonderful cook who made everything from scratch and just the memory of her cooking is enough to make me hungry! She passed away in 1991 and I still miss her very much.

Today, I thought I'd set out to recreate her meal as best I could in a way that was Nutrisystem friendly and salad free!

Sloppy Joe Mix (Dinner):


Stuffed Pepper:

1 pkg Nutrisystem Sloppy Joe Mix
8oz water
diced onions
Aylmer Diced Chili Tomatoes, to taste
1 large green bell pepper, hollowed out
1 oz shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pan with PAM cooking spray (or use your favourite fat serving) and sautee the onions and chili tomatoes until fragrant. Add the water and sloppy joe mix and stir. Continue stirring occasionally until mixture is thick. Pour meat mixture into the bell pepper and top with cheese. Bake until it is gooey and melty, about ten minutes.

You're supposed to add a carb with this entree but I decided to have it earlier in the day and have the meal without. I was so full when I finished that I was glad I didn't save it. My grandmother used to put rice in her stuffed peppers so next time I may try putting in 1/3 cup brown rice in the mixture to see how that is but I am sure I'll need two peppers since the meat mixture was overflowing into the pan! If you use cooking spray, don't forget to have your fat serving at another point in the day. Between the onions and the peppers, you won't need salad with this meal!


Pancake Mix (Breakfast):


It's nice that breakfasts and desserts are interchangeable because I wanted to use some of the fresh mangos that I bought at the farmer's market and this cake really seems to be more of a dessert item than a breakfast item. Either way- it's a decadent treat!

Mango Almond Cake:

1 pkg Nutrisystem Pancake Mix
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup chopped mango
6 sliced almonds, toasted
2 tsp Splenda Brown Sugar
2 tsp Splenda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp almond extract
1 tsp butter extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you have to toast your own almonds, just put them in a saucepan over medium heat (they don't need spray or anything) and cook them until they're fragrant and turn them over.

Mix everything but the almonds together in a bowl (reserve 6 long thin strips of mango for garnish). Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and pour the batter into the dish. It will be very thick. Arrange the six pieces of mango on top like a tropical flower and hope they don't fall into the cake like some of mine did! Decorate with the toasted almonds and bake for 20-25 minutes.

I know this doesn't have anything to do with vegetables but I made it tonight for dessert and it's so yummy that I'm making one for tomorrow, too! It counts as breakfast or dessert plus a fruit serving and a fat serving.