so this was the weekend of cooking for me! here are some recipes i whipped up post party.
berry good french toast bake
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1 T sugar (substituted 1 T organic agave syrup)
1/2 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
6 eggs (substituted egg white substitute equivalent)
10 slices of fresh bread (used multi grain whole wheat) cut into 1" pieces
3 oz cream cheese (used reduced fat)
6 cups blueberries (used frozen from summer picking in NH)
1/2 cup toasted pecans
grease 9x13. blend all wet ingredients. add bread & stir
pour bread mixture into pan
top evenly w/ cream cheese, blueberries & pecans
cover & refrigerate up to 24 hours
heat oven to 400
bake 30 min
pour real maple syrup and enjoy!
this is a pretty standard brunch recipe for me, but in the past i would use country white bread. with trying to be better about eating i used a multi grain and it had caraway seeds...it was yummy, but that one seed would give you a zinger. next time i will look for a multi grain that was more oat/honey-ish...fornax?
crustless quiche
i wanted to use up some veggies & cheese, so i basically followed the crab quiche in the link...but tweaked it to be just spinach, tomato & goat cheese. i also used 1/2 egg white sub & 1/2 egg sub original. instead of parmesan on top, i just but a bit of goat on top.
again, this was yummy, but took a bit longer to cook then the directions...i added 15 more minutes, until the edges were brown.
well, these 2 dishes were a hit and the side of bacon was fantastic.
sunday night came around and i had not gone to the store or thought of lunches or dinners for this week, so i went into use up leftovers mode.
base for any creamy veggie soup - from ww
2 T light margarine or light butter
1 small onion - minced
2 med garlic cloves - minced
1 med yukon gold - finely chopped
saute all of above till soft
add veggie of choice chopped fine
add enough chicken broth to make veggies float
bring to a boil and then cover & simmer till veggies are very soft & tender
puree soup w/ immersion blender (if you don't have one, allow soup to cool & puree in food processor or blender.
return to pot & reheat
base to soup is 5 points - most veggies are 0 points, so it's a pretty yummy, low point soup option.
i used asparagus, red pepper & broccoli. i also crushed some parmesan, basil w/lemon wafers on top for some crunch & cheesy yumminess.
tonight for dinner i used up the rest of the sesame shrimp salad in a stir fry. i boiled some brown rice, put the stir fry shrimp & veggies on top and it was delish. i added some fresh lime juice, mint & cilantro on top and voila!
yum yum
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
holiday 2008 party menu
well another holiday party has come and gone and it was SO great! the friends, the food, the cheer...we are truly blessed.
this year, i decided to do 95% new recipes from scouring online cooking sites. i do think 90% of them were a success.
so here goes!
parmesan, basil w/lemon wafers - this was a highlight of the night & SO easy to make! highly recommend the parchment paper investment...the first batch was a wee bit stuck....
french onion dip & chips - twist of reduced fat sour cream & lipton onion soup mix with lay's lightly salted chips. i take any short cut i can.
rolo poppers - on parchment paper, place a snyder's snap pretzel, melt a rolo for 5 min on top, toast any nut you like, place toasted nut on warm rolo, push down and let cool until set. delightful and we received as a gift, thanks KP - that's how yummy this sweet, salty, crunchy, caramel, nutty treat is!! these were just placed around the house in candy bowls for folks to nosh on
cheese spread - well this was specially ordered cheese and it arrived the day of (thank goodness). i saw this trio of artisanal cheeses offered on wine.woot.com and asked sweetie to get it. it included 1 lb winchester gouda, 1 lb point reyes blue cheese, 11 oz cypress grove purple haze chevre. i plated the 3 on a cheese slate and offered 4 different kinds of crackers. i did use some of the point reyes blue cheese for my next offering. i was hesitant abou the purple haze chevre, but it was delightful. i really enjoyed the combination of the goat, fennel & lavender - surprise, surprise.
elegant endives - these were delish and a total hit and again so simple to make! i did exactly what the recipe called for, using some of the point reyes blue cheese, honey & toasted & chopped pecans. what a success!!
crudite - french baby carrots (because i had to have the miniature carrots w/ tops on them - no need to have them again. what a pain to peel!!!) but they did look so cute on the tray....snap peas, cucs, celery, red peppers and of course the radish mice. the dip was a reduced fat sour cream and leek soup mix combo.
antipasto dish - summer sausage, salami, mozzarella balls, kalamata olives, green olives w/ garlic, dolmas & sesame breadsticks. this was just a combo that i have seen in numerous magazines and offers a lot of flavor for no cooking!
latkes!!! - my first time around they were pretty yummy. i did leave out the onions due to numerous friends you do not care for the flavor or texture. i did sub in egg white substitute and whole wheat organic flour. sweetie served them w/ apple sauce to offer a sweet flavor next to all the savory flavors on the table and other sour cream based dips.
mini reubens - i must admit i did not try one, i broke the first rule of sending a dish out of the kitchen...but i just couldn't do it. this was not a home run app, it was eaten, but not devoured like a lot of the other offerings...maybe that was the issue..too many offerings. i am glad i made them, maybe a different gathering..a sporting event or a family gathering and they would be better.
mini 7 layer dips (with only 4 layers) - so i absolutely adore the presentation of any appetizer in a wonton wrapper that has been cooked in the shape of a bowl. you take a mini muffin tin (or larger for a bigger cup base), spray w/ cooking spray, press wonton wrapper into muffin tin and crease until it shapes a bowl, spray all cups once full and bake at 350 for about 5 min (you be the judge on how crispy you prefer). plus, you can make these the night before, once cooled put them in a zip lock bag and you are good to go. i heated up vegetarian refried beans, place in the bottom, then layered avocado, shredded cheese & salsa.
panko chicken nibbles - who doesn't like meat on a stick? i cut up chicken breasts into 1" chunks, rolled them in panko/salt/pepper, sprayed a pan w/ cooking oil, baked at 350 for 15-20 min, turning once. i set these these up w/ 3 sauces for my guests to flavor to their liking: hot sauce, duck sauce, terriyaki sauce. i was hoping folks would flavor w/ hot sauce and grab a chunk of blue cheese and enjoy...they did, the panko nibbles were gone in a flash.
dalmatia fig spread & goat cheese in phyllo cups - so these were supposed to be wrapped in bacon, not phyllo cups, but i just didn't have the ambition to cut up the bacon, wrap, skewer, bake. i bought the already made phyllo cups at the store, let them defrost, scooped in some fig spread, crumbled some goat cheese on top and called it yumminess....these were loved.
sesame shrimp salad - i made this hoping to make mini lettuce cups, but it was a mess and figured folks wouldn't appreciate, so i set it out like a salad. i didn't add the watercress, but i did add snap peas. folks really liked the mint/cilantro freshness this dish offered...it's a bit odd for a holiday party, but it was a little something unexpected and not filled w/ dairy!
i did offer desserts too
cut up fresh fruit - pineapple, cantaloupe, star fruit & mango
cream puffs w/chocolate sauce & caramel sauce drizzle - so easy & really fun to eat.
mom's spiked cool whip w/ creme filled pirouettes - spike fat free cool whip w/ a touch of baileys and 10 oreo cookies. i didn't use the oreo cookies, i added 2 packages of crushed 100 cal oreo crisps. mix while frozen, keep frozen until you remove for serving. place pirouettes around the bowl or in a glass for dipping.
the party was a success with only a little bit of food left over.
i did use the leftover vegetables to make a ww creamy soup...that recipe is coming soon.
betcha wondering about the punch....ok,ok, ok i will tell you. it's a family recipe.
2 bottles of champagne - i used asti, don't judge, we like it sweet :)
1 bottle of white wine - use what you like
1 liter of seltzer - i used raspberry lime
1 can lemonade concentrate
1 can limeade concentrate
ice
float some lemon & lime slices
i made a double batch in the large bunch bowl.
happy holidays and enjoy!
yum yum
this year, i decided to do 95% new recipes from scouring online cooking sites. i do think 90% of them were a success.
so here goes!
parmesan, basil w/lemon wafers - this was a highlight of the night & SO easy to make! highly recommend the parchment paper investment...the first batch was a wee bit stuck....
french onion dip & chips - twist of reduced fat sour cream & lipton onion soup mix with lay's lightly salted chips. i take any short cut i can.
rolo poppers - on parchment paper, place a snyder's snap pretzel, melt a rolo for 5 min on top, toast any nut you like, place toasted nut on warm rolo, push down and let cool until set. delightful and we received as a gift, thanks KP - that's how yummy this sweet, salty, crunchy, caramel, nutty treat is!! these were just placed around the house in candy bowls for folks to nosh on
cheese spread - well this was specially ordered cheese and it arrived the day of (thank goodness). i saw this trio of artisanal cheeses offered on wine.woot.com and asked sweetie to get it. it included 1 lb winchester gouda, 1 lb point reyes blue cheese, 11 oz cypress grove purple haze chevre. i plated the 3 on a cheese slate and offered 4 different kinds of crackers. i did use some of the point reyes blue cheese for my next offering. i was hesitant abou the purple haze chevre, but it was delightful. i really enjoyed the combination of the goat, fennel & lavender - surprise, surprise.
elegant endives - these were delish and a total hit and again so simple to make! i did exactly what the recipe called for, using some of the point reyes blue cheese, honey & toasted & chopped pecans. what a success!!
crudite - french baby carrots (because i had to have the miniature carrots w/ tops on them - no need to have them again. what a pain to peel!!!) but they did look so cute on the tray....snap peas, cucs, celery, red peppers and of course the radish mice. the dip was a reduced fat sour cream and leek soup mix combo.
antipasto dish - summer sausage, salami, mozzarella balls, kalamata olives, green olives w/ garlic, dolmas & sesame breadsticks. this was just a combo that i have seen in numerous magazines and offers a lot of flavor for no cooking!
latkes!!! - my first time around they were pretty yummy. i did leave out the onions due to numerous friends you do not care for the flavor or texture. i did sub in egg white substitute and whole wheat organic flour. sweetie served them w/ apple sauce to offer a sweet flavor next to all the savory flavors on the table and other sour cream based dips.
mini reubens - i must admit i did not try one, i broke the first rule of sending a dish out of the kitchen...but i just couldn't do it. this was not a home run app, it was eaten, but not devoured like a lot of the other offerings...maybe that was the issue..too many offerings. i am glad i made them, maybe a different gathering..a sporting event or a family gathering and they would be better.
mini 7 layer dips (with only 4 layers) - so i absolutely adore the presentation of any appetizer in a wonton wrapper that has been cooked in the shape of a bowl. you take a mini muffin tin (or larger for a bigger cup base), spray w/ cooking spray, press wonton wrapper into muffin tin and crease until it shapes a bowl, spray all cups once full and bake at 350 for about 5 min (you be the judge on how crispy you prefer). plus, you can make these the night before, once cooled put them in a zip lock bag and you are good to go. i heated up vegetarian refried beans, place in the bottom, then layered avocado, shredded cheese & salsa.
panko chicken nibbles - who doesn't like meat on a stick? i cut up chicken breasts into 1" chunks, rolled them in panko/salt/pepper, sprayed a pan w/ cooking oil, baked at 350 for 15-20 min, turning once. i set these these up w/ 3 sauces for my guests to flavor to their liking: hot sauce, duck sauce, terriyaki sauce. i was hoping folks would flavor w/ hot sauce and grab a chunk of blue cheese and enjoy...they did, the panko nibbles were gone in a flash.
dalmatia fig spread & goat cheese in phyllo cups - so these were supposed to be wrapped in bacon, not phyllo cups, but i just didn't have the ambition to cut up the bacon, wrap, skewer, bake. i bought the already made phyllo cups at the store, let them defrost, scooped in some fig spread, crumbled some goat cheese on top and called it yumminess....these were loved.
sesame shrimp salad - i made this hoping to make mini lettuce cups, but it was a mess and figured folks wouldn't appreciate, so i set it out like a salad. i didn't add the watercress, but i did add snap peas. folks really liked the mint/cilantro freshness this dish offered...it's a bit odd for a holiday party, but it was a little something unexpected and not filled w/ dairy!
i did offer desserts too
cut up fresh fruit - pineapple, cantaloupe, star fruit & mango
cream puffs w/chocolate sauce & caramel sauce drizzle - so easy & really fun to eat.
mom's spiked cool whip w/ creme filled pirouettes - spike fat free cool whip w/ a touch of baileys and 10 oreo cookies. i didn't use the oreo cookies, i added 2 packages of crushed 100 cal oreo crisps. mix while frozen, keep frozen until you remove for serving. place pirouettes around the bowl or in a glass for dipping.
the party was a success with only a little bit of food left over.
i did use the leftover vegetables to make a ww creamy soup...that recipe is coming soon.
betcha wondering about the punch....ok,ok, ok i will tell you. it's a family recipe.
2 bottles of champagne - i used asti, don't judge, we like it sweet :)
1 bottle of white wine - use what you like
1 liter of seltzer - i used raspberry lime
1 can lemonade concentrate
1 can limeade concentrate
ice
float some lemon & lime slices
i made a double batch in the large bunch bowl.
happy holidays and enjoy!
yum yum
Sunday, December 7, 2008
no new posts this week
i am not really cooking this week for dinners or lunches, pure leftovers & on the fly concoctions.
i am focusing on party food...will blog post-party.
have a great week.
yum yum
i am focusing on party food...will blog post-party.
have a great week.
yum yum
Thursday, December 4, 2008
here are this weeks recipes to try...120508
sorry for the delay in posting these recipes to try!
lunches
pastichio - this recipe is a handwritten one, so here goes! this is a favorite greek dish of sweetie's, so i grabbed this low calorie version when in DC visiting R. i think this cookbook was from the 70's. sweetie enjoys this aromatic pasta dish & i don't really mind it, but it's not my favorite...due to the cinnamon...it's not a favorite flavor of mine.
pastichio
8oz uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 c egg substitute
1/4 t ground nutmeg
3/4 lb lean ground turkey (breast meat only)
1/2 c chopped onion (i use onion flakes, due to sweetie's dislike of onions)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
3/4 t dried mint leaves
1/2 t dried oregano leaves
1/2 t ground black pepper
1/8 t cinnamon
2 t light butter
3 t flour (i use 100% organic whole wheat)
1 1/2 c skim milk
2 t grated parmesan cheese
preheat 350.
cook pasta, drain.
stir in egg sub & nutmeg.
spray 9" dish w/ nonstick spray.
spread pasta in dish. set aside.
cook turkey, onion, garlic in large skillet.
stir in tomato sauce, mint, oregano, pepper & cinnamon.
reduce heat to low & simmer ~10min.
spread over pasta.
melt butter over medium heat. add flour. stir 1 min. whisk in milk.
cook until thickened. stir about 6 min.
spread over mix.
sprinkle w/ cheese.
bake 30-40 min.
dinners
garlicky hoisin beef
this recipe was mouth watering for us. from the original recipe, i only followed the sauce recipe. i used steak tips and made my own stir-fry of snap peas, red pepper, broccoli and brown rice. i would recommend this garlicky hoisin sauce recipe on any type of protein.
black bean & avocado burrito
exactly what it reads...plus some tomato, 2% shredded cheddar cheese, squeeze of lime & cilantro. i am using a honey wheat tortilla shell, instead of a flour tortilla...every little bit helps, right? make sure to rinse & drain canned beans to remove the extra liquid.
turkey burgers with peanut sauce
the title states turkey, but the recipe reads chicken, because we prefer the taste. a great addition is cilantro when forming the burger. i do not put the protein & additional ingrediants in a food processor. i just use good old fashion hand mixing. i do not use the sprouts...we might not mind bean sprouts though...maybe i will try that next time. i use the whole wheat arnold's sandwich thins, instead of rolls, to reduce calories and increase grain intake!
i am pretty light on recipes this week, as we are not home a lot this week...but this is what i have in the pantry/fridge ready to go!
try the clementines, they are still sweet and juicy!
yum yum
lunches
pastichio - this recipe is a handwritten one, so here goes! this is a favorite greek dish of sweetie's, so i grabbed this low calorie version when in DC visiting R. i think this cookbook was from the 70's. sweetie enjoys this aromatic pasta dish & i don't really mind it, but it's not my favorite...due to the cinnamon...it's not a favorite flavor of mine.
pastichio
8oz uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 c egg substitute
1/4 t ground nutmeg
3/4 lb lean ground turkey (breast meat only)
1/2 c chopped onion (i use onion flakes, due to sweetie's dislike of onions)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
3/4 t dried mint leaves
1/2 t dried oregano leaves
1/2 t ground black pepper
1/8 t cinnamon
2 t light butter
3 t flour (i use 100% organic whole wheat)
1 1/2 c skim milk
2 t grated parmesan cheese
preheat 350.
cook pasta, drain.
stir in egg sub & nutmeg.
spray 9" dish w/ nonstick spray.
spread pasta in dish. set aside.
cook turkey, onion, garlic in large skillet.
stir in tomato sauce, mint, oregano, pepper & cinnamon.
reduce heat to low & simmer ~10min.
spread over pasta.
melt butter over medium heat. add flour. stir 1 min. whisk in milk.
cook until thickened. stir about 6 min.
spread over mix.
sprinkle w/ cheese.
bake 30-40 min.
dinners
garlicky hoisin beef
this recipe was mouth watering for us. from the original recipe, i only followed the sauce recipe. i used steak tips and made my own stir-fry of snap peas, red pepper, broccoli and brown rice. i would recommend this garlicky hoisin sauce recipe on any type of protein.
black bean & avocado burrito
exactly what it reads...plus some tomato, 2% shredded cheddar cheese, squeeze of lime & cilantro. i am using a honey wheat tortilla shell, instead of a flour tortilla...every little bit helps, right? make sure to rinse & drain canned beans to remove the extra liquid.
turkey burgers with peanut sauce
the title states turkey, but the recipe reads chicken, because we prefer the taste. a great addition is cilantro when forming the burger. i do not put the protein & additional ingrediants in a food processor. i just use good old fashion hand mixing. i do not use the sprouts...we might not mind bean sprouts though...maybe i will try that next time. i use the whole wheat arnold's sandwich thins, instead of rolls, to reduce calories and increase grain intake!
i am pretty light on recipes this week, as we are not home a lot this week...but this is what i have in the pantry/fridge ready to go!
try the clementines, they are still sweet and juicy!
yum yum
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