9 Mar

Jalapeno Cheese Bread

Posted by recipemirror in Breads. Tagged: , , , , .


I adapted this recipe from the Cheese and Onion Loaf recipe in The Complete Book of Bread and Bread Machines. The first time I made it, I brought out a slice for my husband and me to sample. Now, my husband can be kind of hard to read when I make something new. He usually says it’s “pretty good” whether he likes it or not. He thinks he’s going to hurt my feelings if he says he doesn’t like something. In this case, he may have been right. I was really proud of how this bread came out and I might have been slightly crushed if he didn’t like it. We each ate half of the piece that I had brought out and I got up to go back to the kitchen. Behind me, I heard him say, in a small voice that almost sounded like he was asking permission, “More, please”. Um, yeah, he likes it :)

Jalapeno Cheese Bread Printable Version

Ingredients

2/3 cup warm water (approximately 105°F)

2/3 cup warm unsweetened almond milk (approximately 105°F)

2 1/4 tsp (one packet) active dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

9 oz (about 2 cups) bread flour, plus a little more, if needed

9 oz (about 2 cups) whole wheat flour

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

3 oz (about 3/4 cup) shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

1/4 cup diced fresh jalapeno pepper (I leave the seeds in)

Preparation

Sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water and milk in a large bowl. Stir to dissolve.

Combine the flours, mustard powder, salt and black pepper in another bowl. Gradually stir into the yeast mixture. When the dough comes together to form a ball, add the cheese and jalapeno.

Kneed the dough for 8-10 min. You may need to add about 1 oz more bread flour to get to a tacky, but not sticky dough. Place the dough in a large bowl sprayed with nonstick spray.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray. Gently punch down the dough and reshape into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a rectangle the length of the bread pan you are using and three times as wide (I have a 9 x 5-inch pan).

Fold the dough widthwise, bringing the top third down and the bottom third up.

Press the dough down well, turn it over and place it in the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until it reaches the top of the pan, about 45 min to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Uncover the loaf and bake for about 30 min until well risen and golden brown.

Turn the loaf out of the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Tips for slicing: If you plan to use this as sandwich bread and want nice thin slices, it is best to let the loaf cool completely to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight before cutting. Turn the chilled loaf on its side so that the bottom is facing you and watch the loaf as you cut, not the slice.

I wrap the sliced loaf in foil, then store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Makes 1 loaf (I get at least 24 slices).

Per Slice: Calories (kcal): 87; Fat (g) 0.6; Saturated Fat (g) 0.2; Cholesterol (mg): 1; Sodium (mg): 142; Carbohydrates (g): 16.3; Dietary Fiber (g): 1.4; Sugars (g): 0.8; Protein (g): 3.9

2 Mar

Black Bean Quesadilla

Posted by recipemirror in Appetizers and Sides, Main Dishes. Tagged: , , , .


This is my recreation of a quesadilla that I had a Claim Jumper years ago. I think it was the California Quesadilla, but the current description on their menu doesn’t include corn. I am positive there was corn in it when I had it. This was long before we started P90X and trying to eat healthier, but even then I found it to be extremely greasy. Delicious, but greasy. Like, dab it with a napkin greasy. At the time, I wasn’t normally a dabber, but dab I did. Anyway, it’s a quesadilla, it’s not hard to recreate at home and it doesn’t cost $10.99 to do it. I stuff this pretty full and it gets kind of messy, but such a delicious mess it is. We have it with salsa ranch, which is how it’s served at Claim Jumper. I’d never heard of that before, but it’s actually really good.

Black Bean Quesadillas Printable Version

Ingredients

2 6-inch corn tortillas

1 oz (about 1/4 cup) shredded cheese (we’ve been using pepper jack)

2 Tbsp canned black beans, rinsed

2 Tbsp corn

2 Tbsp diced tomatoes

1 Tbsp sliced green onions

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Preparation

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Sprinkle half the cheese over one tortilla. Top with beans, corn, tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and top with the second tortilla.

Spray the skillet with nonstick spray and place the quesadilla in the skillet. Cook for about 3 min until bottom tortilla is browned. Spray the top of the quesadilla, flip over and brown the other side, about 3 min.

You may want to let the quesadilla sit for a minute or two before cutting it to give the cheese time to set a little bit and make cutting a little less messy. If you can’t wait and the filling oozes out while you cut it, just squish everything back in.

Makes 1 serving.

Per Quesadilla: Calories (kcal): 266; Fat (g) 10.9; Saturated Fat (g) 6.4; Cholesterol (mg): 30; Sodium (mg): 250; Carbohydrates (g): 31.4; Dietary Fiber (g): 5.8; Sugars (g): 1.7; Protein (g): 12.6

Salsa Ranch: We like a 2:1 ratio of salsa to ranch. For each serving, just mix 2 Tbsp of your favorite salsa with 1 Tbsp light ranch. It’s a lot for just 1 quesadilla, but it’s the perfect amount for 1 quesadilla plus 3 baked taquitos!

Per Serving: Calories (kcal): 47; Fat (g) 3.5; Saturated Fat (g) 0.3; Cholesterol (mg): 4; Sodium (mg): 343; Carbohydrates (g): 3.6; Dietary Fiber (g): 0.6; Sugars (g): 1.6; Protein (g): 0.7

24 Feb

Gingery Peanut Noodles and Homemade Potstickers

Posted by recipemirror in Appetizers and Sides, Main Dishes. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .


This may be our favorite lunch. It has spent the most time on our menu than anything else except Phyllo Turnovers. The noodle recipe is from Real Simple. I made three minor modifications to the recipe. First, if you’re going for an Asian flavor, I think you should use Asian noodles. In my opinion, soba noodles compliment this dish much better than spaghetti, plus you get extra protein as a bonus. The downside to using soba is that the noodles are usually very high in sodium. If you’re watching your sodium, you may want to stick with spaghetti or try to find low- or no-sodium soba noodles. Apparently they exist, although, I’ve never seen them. Second, the recipe makes about 3 cups of watery sauce. If you use all that sauce on 4 servings of noodles, you’re going to end up with very soupy noodles. I kept the amount of sauce the same, but upped the amount of everything else to make 6 servings. Lastly (and this may be due to my borderline addiction to spicy food), the lack of heat left me feeling strangely unsatisfied. A jalapeno pepper blended  into the sauce completes this dish for me and leaves my tummy feeling full and happy.

Gingery Peanut Noodles with Chicken Printable Version

Ingredients

1 cup water

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp brown sugar, not packed

1 tsp minced ginger

1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and all

12 oz soba noodles

18 oz shredded cooked chicken breast (about 3 breasts)

1 1/2 bell peppers, cut into strips

3/4 English cucumber, cut into strips

3 green onions, thinly sliced

3/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts

Preparation

In blender, blend together water, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ginger and jalapeno pepper.

Bring a pot of unsalted water to a boil and cook soba noodles until tender, about 3-5 min.

Drain noodles, return to pot and toss with chicken, bell peppers, cucumber, onions and sauce.

Top with chopped peanuts.

Makes 6 Servings.

Per Serving: Calories (kcal): 592; Fat (g) 23.3; Saturated Fat (g) 4.4; Cholesterol (mg): 72; Sodium (mg): 1128; Carbohydrates (g): 50.0; Dietary Fiber (g): 5.9; Sugars (g): 8.3; Protein (g): 46.6

These potstickers are from one of my favorite chefs, Ming Tsai. I don’t care much for mushrooms, so I subbed tofu. I also made my own gyoza wrappers (based on this recipe). If you have the time, I highly recommend you make your own too. It’s the simplest dough you’ll ever make, literally just flour and water. I’ve decided to start using some whole wheat flour into all of my doughs, so these are semi-whole wheat gyoza. I like to fold the potstickers empanada-style. The site where I got the dough recipe from describes how to fold them in the normal triangle-ish shape. They also have a recipe for a pork filling, if you are so inclined. Just a heads-up, the potstickers made with homemade gyoza wrappers have a very different texture than store-bought potstickers. They are firm and chewy rather than slimy and mushy. It’s not because of the whole wheat flour either. We didn’t really notice a difference in the texture of the ones made with some whole wheat flour compared to those made with all white flour. I haven’t tried store-bought gyoza wrappers, so I don’t know if they cook up firm or mushy. We much prefer the firmer texture.

Vegetable and Tofu Potstickers Printable Version

Ingredients

4 oz (slightly less than 1 cup) each, bread flour and whole wheat flour

about 3/4 cup water (I don’t usually need the whole amount)

1 red onion, sliced

1 Tbsp minced ginger

1 cup crumbled extra firm tofu

1 cup shredded white cabbage

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup chopped chives or green onions

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/8 tsp salt, or to taste

1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Preparation

Heat a wok or large saute pan over medium high heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Saute onions, ginger and tofu until onions are soft and tofu is browning. Add the cabbage, carrots and chives, season with salt and both peppers. Cook until the vegetables are soft then place in a colander to drain.

Mix the flours with enough water to form a dough. The dough should be smooth and soft “as an earlobe” (that description makes me smile every time), but not sticky. Cover and let stand several minutes.

Place cooled vegetable mixture in a bowl and mix in the sesame oil and cilantro.

Separate the dough into 30 pieces (about 1-inch balls).

Keeping the other pieces of dough covered, roll one piece into a circle about 4 inches in diameter.

Place about 1 heaping tablespoon filling in the center of the dough.

Moisten half of the edge of the dough with water. Fold the other edge over to cover the filling. Very lightly moisten the edge with water again and pinch the edge over itself to seal.

Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Repeat with remaining dough pieces and filling. If not cooking right away, place the baking sheet in the freezer until postickers are frozen through, then place them in a ziploc bag and store in the freezer until ready to use. No need to thaw before cooking.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Add potstickers. Cook until the bottom is browned.

We like to brown both sides, so we spray the tops of the postickers and flip them over.

Reduce heat to low and add about 1/4 cup water. Cover immediately to steam the potstickers. Cook until all of the water has evaporated.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce (we like to use ponzu).

Makes 30 potstickers.

Per Potsticker: Calories (kcal): 38; Fat (g) 0.6; Saturated Fat (g) 0.1; Cholesterol (mg): 0; Sodium (mg): 17; Carbohydrates (g): 6.8; Dietary Fiber (g): 1.0; Sugars (g): 0.7; Protein (g): 1.7

17 Feb

Breakfast Bake with Sausage, Peppers and Onions

Posted by recipemirror in Breakfasts. Tagged: , , , , , , .


Warning: If you bake any of your own bread, do not make this dish at the same time! I made the mistake of preparing this on the same day that I was baking demi-baguettes and it made the house smell like pizza for the rest of the day. I was this close to saying “screw breakfast” and stuffing the sausage mixture into a fresh, hot baguette and dipping the whole thing into a big bowl of marinara sauce. Absolute torture!

When I first saw this breakfast casserole from Cooking Light, I thought it was just screaming for some bell peppers and onions. I’m glad I added them because I think the dish might have been pretty bland without them. To be fair, I’m sure it depends on what kind of sausage you use. The recipe calls for a mix of egg substitute and real eggs, I just use all egg substitute. I personally don’t think it needs any extra salt added. Again, though, that probably depends on the sausage and, of course, your personal taste.

Breakfast Bake with Sausage, Peppers and Onions Printable Version

Ingredients

4 Italian Style Lightlife Smart Sausages, crumbled

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped bell pepper

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

3 cups fat-free liquid egg substitute  (I use Kirkland Real Egg Product)

1 tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 lb baguette, cubed

4 oz (about 1 cup) reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

paprika

Preparation

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray skillet with nonstick spray, then add sausage, peppers and onions. Cook until onions and peppers are softened, about 5 min. Set aside to cool.

Whisk milk, egg substitute, mustard powder, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Stir in bread cubes, cooled sausage mixture and cheese. Spray a casserole dish or 8 ramekins with nonstick spray. Spread mixture into dish(es). Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from refrigerator and let stand 30 min. (I don’t know how necessary this is. I just set the ramekins out while the oven preheats and they come out just fine.)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Sprinkle paprika over the casserole.

Bake, uncovered, 45 min or until set and lightly browned (I don’t decrease the cooking time for the ramekins, so a full-sized casserole might need a little longer than 45 min.). Let stand 10 min before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Per Serving: Calories (kcal): 330; Fat (g) 6.5; Saturated Fat (g) 1.4; Cholesterol (mg): 3; Sodium (mg): 931; Carbohydrates (g): 40.2; Dietary Fiber (g): 2.7; Sugars (g): 2.7; Protein (g): 27.3

10 Feb

Chocolate Greek Yogurt

Posted by recipemirror in Snacks. Tagged: , , .


I know I already posted today and this isn’t really a recipe, I just love my new snack! We usually have 4 oz (about 1/2 cup) Fage Total 0% with 1 Tbsp jelly mixed in every day as a snack. I told my husband that I was thinking about mixing in some Nutella instead of jelly, but I would only be able to use a small amount to keep the calories similar. My genius husband suggested that I use Nesquik Chocolate Powder instead. I stirred 1 1/2 Tbsp Nesquik into 4 oz Fage and, wow, it is so good! It still has that yogurty tang, but it almost tastes like chocolate mousse.

Per Serving (Nesquik): Calories (kcal): 110; Fat (g) 0.4; Saturated Fat (g) 0.0; Cholesterol (mg): 0; Sodium (mg): 66; Carbohydrates (g): 12.8; Dietary Fiber (g): 0.8; Sugars (g): 14.3; Protein (g): 12.3

Per Serving (jelly): Calories (kcal): 116; Fat (g) 0.0; Saturated Fat (g) 0.0; Cholesterol (mg): 0; Sodium (mg): 43; Carbohydrates (g): 17.4; Dietary Fiber (g): 0.0; Sugars (g): 16.5; Protein (g): 11.5

10 Feb

Salmon with Horseradish and Dijon-Potato Crust

Posted by recipemirror in Main Dishes. Tagged: , , , , .


Hey look, it’s fish! I haven’t really thought about it until now but, although I cook fish for my husband once a week, I’ve never posted a fish recipe. You would think I hate fish or something. Actually, I do hate fish, that’s why I have tofu. Also, horseradish tastes like chlorine to me. So why the heck would I choose to make this recipe from Fine Cooking? The answer is, I knew my husband would like it, plus I could always tweak it so that I found it palatable, too. The potatoes are supposed to be tossed in butter. Since I’ve become such a butter-phobe I had to replace it with something, and it had to be something that would add flavor to my tofu since I wouldn’t be using horseradish. I think my decision to go with Dijon mustard was a good one. I’m quite happy with my tofu, and I know my husband likes it because he’s asked me to keep this on the menu for another month.

Salmon with Horseradish and Dijon-Potato Crust Printable Version

Ingredients

2 (about 6 oz each) salmon fillets (or 10 oz extra firm tofu, patted dry)

1 1/2 tsp prepared horseradish

2 oz (about 1/2 cup, lightly packed) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed

2 tsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Place salmon fillets on baking sheet and spread with horseradish. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Don’t laugh at my setup. It’s a convenient way to keep his nasty salmon juices from contaminating my tofu.

In a small bowl toss potatoes with Dijon, pepper and a small amount of salt. Gently pat potato mixture on top of each fillet and spray with cooking spray.

Bake 15-18 min until fish is cooked. Place under a high broiler for about 2 min until potatoes are browned and crisp.

Makes 2 servings

Per Serving (salmon): Calories (kcal): 266; Fat (g) 14.2; Saturated Fat (g) 2.9; Cholesterol (mg): 71; Sodium (mg): 285; Carbohydrates (g): 6.4; Dietary Fiber (g): 1.0; Sugars(g): 0.3; Protein (g): 26.0

Per Serving (tofu): Calories (kcal): 131; Fat (g) 6.1; Saturated Fat (g) 1.2; Cholesterol (mg): 0; Sodium (mg): 233; Carbohydrates (g): 8.8; Dietary Fiber (g): 2.3; Sugars(g): 1.2; Protein (g): 12.5

3 Feb

Baked Apple-Cinnamon French Toast

Posted by recipemirror in Breakfasts. Tagged: , , , , .


This is another recipe that we tried out during my apple-cinnamon kick. The original recipe from Eating Well calls for dried apples and raisins. We weren’t really feeling the raisins and I didn’t see the point of going out to buy dried apples when there were perfectly good fresh apples in the house. I reduced the amount of milk since there wouldn’t be all the dried fruit in there to absorb it. I also doubled the amount of cinnamon; it seems to be a habit with me lately. There just never seems to be enough cinnamon. Luckily, my husband agrees with me (so far, anyway) so I don’t feel like such a crazed cinnamon fiend.

Baked Apple-Cinnamon French Toast Printable Version

Ingredients

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

2 cups fat-free liquid egg substitute  (I use Kirkland Real Egg Product)

3 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 lb baguette, cubed

12 oz peeled, chopped apple (from about 2 large apples; I use Granny Smith)

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

Preparation

Whisk milk, egg substitute, honey, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir in bread and apples.

Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or 8 ramekins with nonstick spray. Spread the mixture in the baking dish(es) and cover with parchment paper then foil, or just spray the foil with nonstick spray. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake 40 min covered. Uncover and bake 20 min longer until puffed and lightly browned (I bake the ramekins for 30 min covered and 15 min uncovered). Let stand 10 min.

Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Per Serving: Calories (kcal): 225; Fat (g) 1.0; Saturated Fat (g) 0.1; Cholesterol (mg): 0; Sodium (mg): 562; Carbohydrates (g): 43.3; Dietary Fiber (g): 2.5; Sugars (g): 12.5; Protein (g): 11.1

27 Jan

Brownie Cookies and Reduced-Fat Shortbread

Posted by recipemirror in Desserts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .


A couple weeks ago we finally finished off all of the cookies that were in our freezer and I got to try out some new recipes. This first recipe is based on these Chocolate Snowcaps from the Kellogg’s All-Bran website. I didn’t pay attention to the fact that each of their serving size is two cookies, so my cookies are bigger than they should be, but that’s ok, we like the size. Also, my substitutions kept the dough from getting very stiff so the powdered sugar kind of melted into them. Instead of a powdery coating of sugar, my cookies ended up with sort of a crisp sugar shell around them. Again, not a problem, we like that too. I made two batches of these cookies. We felt like the first batch wasn’t chocolatey enough, probably because I used semisweet chocolate instead of unsweetened. I added some cocoa powder to the second batch and got cookies that reminded us of brownies, hence the name. Not to worry, the first batch didn’t go to waste, they were used to make some excellent ice cream sandwiches with Moose Tracks ice cream. Mmmmm, just thinking about them makes me drool.

Brownie Cookies Printable Version

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp almond butter

2 Tbsp fat-free Greek yogurt (like Fage Total 0%)

4 oz (4 squares) semisweet chocolate

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute  (I use Kirkland Real Egg Product)

1 cup Kellogg’s All Bran Original cereal

about 6 Tbsp powdered sugar

Preparation

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt.

Place chocolate in a large bowl and microwave until melted, stirring every 3o seconds. Let the chocolate to cool for a few minutes, then stir in the almond butter and yogurt.

Stir in the granulated sugar and cocoa powder.

Add 1/4 cup egg substitute at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla and cereal. Let sit for about 2 min to soften the cereal.

Add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The dough will get a little stiffer, but it will still be sticky.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with silipats or spray with nonstick spray.

Put the powdered sugar in a shallow dish. Drop 1 oz of dough (about a heaping tablespoon) into the powdered sugar and turn to coat.

Shape the dough into a ball (about 1 inch) and shake off excess sugar. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, placing cookies about 2 inches apart.

Bake about 14 min or until set. Cool slightly on cookie sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Per Cookie: Calories (kcal): 88; Fat (g) 1.6; Saturated Fat (g) 0.7; Cholesterol (mg): 0; Sodium (mg): 32; Carbohydrates (g): 17.7; Dietary Fiber (g): 1.1; Sugars (g): 11.9; Protein (g): 1.8

To Freeze: Place cooled cookies in ziploc bags or airtight containers separating layers with sheets of wax paper. Thaw at room temperature.

Now for the shortbread. My husband loves shortbread, but he has asked me not to make it because of the high fat content. I was fine with that. Fine, that is, until I saw this recipe for Hazelnut Shortbread with Dark Chocolate Drizzle posted on Vegetarian ‘Ventures (hope you don’t mind me messing with your recipe, Shelly). I couldn’t stop thinking about it, I had to have it, which meant I had to cut out some of the fat. I wanted to see if I could get a decent cookie before I wasted hazelnuts, so I started with just the basic shortbread recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Cookies. I’ve heard of replacing some of the butter in bar cookies, like lemon bars, with cream cheese. I couldn’t be bothered to spend any time looking up recipes, though, so I just used half Country Crock and half reduced-fat cream cheese in my cookies. I didn’t really expect the first attempt to be that great, but surprisingly, my husband didn’t hate them. He did want them to be a little sweeter, though, so I made the second batch with a little more sugar and some vanilla. That batch passed the test. Just for reference, the basic shortbread made with all butter is about 54% fat (96 calories/cookie, 5.8 g total fat, 3.7 g saturated fat). My modified version is about 30% fat (66 calories/cookie, 2.2 g total fat, 0.9 g saturated fat). Finally, I got to make the Hazelnut Shortbread! My craving has been satisfied. I’m happy. I had some extra chocolate and hazelnuts left over, so I topped the first batch of shortbread with them.

Reduced-Fat Basic Shortbread Printable Version

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup buttery spread (like Country Crock)

1/4 cup (2 oz) neufchatel cheese

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

0.5 oz (1/2 square) semisweet chocolate, melted (optional)

1 Tbsp chopped hazelnuts (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Combine flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in buttery spread and neufchatel cheese until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling.

Form mixture into a ball and kneed until smooth. Turn dough out onto an ungreased baking sheet (I used a silipat) and pat into an 8-inch circle. Use a knife or bench scraper to cut the circle into 16 wedges. Do not separate wedges.

Bake for 25-30 min or until bottom just starts to brown and center is set. Cut and separate wedges while still warm. Cool on cookie sheet 5 min, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

If desired, drizzle with melted chocolate and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts.

Makes 16 cookies.

For the slightly sweeter, vanilla version: Increase sugar to 1/4 cup. After cutting in buttery spread and neufchatel cheese, sprinkle 1/2 tsp vanilla over the dough. Continue as above.

Per Cookie: Calories (kcal): 66; Fat (g) 2.2; Saturated Fat (g) 0.9; Cholesterol (mg): 3; Sodium (mg): 36; Carbohydrates (g): 9.9; Dietary Fiber (g): 0.3; Sugars (g): 2.5; Protein (g): 1.4

Per Cookie (topped with chocolate and hazelnuts): Calories (kcal): 73; Fat (g) 2.6; Saturated Fat (g) 1.1; Cholesterol (mg): 3; Sodium (mg): 36; Carbohydrates (g): 10.5; Dietary Fiber (g): 0.3; Sugars (g): 3.0; Protein (g): 1.4

Per Cookie (sweeter, vanilla version): Calories (kcal): 70; Fat (g) 2.2; Saturated Fat (g) 0.9; Cholesterol (mg): 3; Sodium (mg): 36; Carbohydrates (g): 10.7; Dietary Fiber (g): 0.3; Sugars (g): 3.3; Protein (g): 1.4

To Freeze: Place cooled cookies in ziploc bags or airtight containers separating layers with sheets of wax paper. Thaw at room temperature.

Reduced-Fat Hazelnut Shortbread Printable Version

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

6 Tbsp brown sugar (not packed)

1/4 cup buttery spread (like Country Crock)

1/4 cup (2 oz) neufchatel cheese

3 Tbsp chopped hazelnuts, divided

0.5 oz (1/2 square) semisweet chocolate, melted

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Combine flour, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in buttery spread and neufchatel cheese. I had large clumps form instead of getting a crumb-like texture. I think it’s because of the higher moisture content and larger amount of brown sugar used. Mix in 2 Tbsp hazelnuts.

Form mixture into a ball and kneed until smooth. Turn dough out onto an ungreased baking sheet (I used a silipat) and pat into an 8-inch circle. Use a knife or bench scraper to cut the circle into 16 wedges. Do not separate wedges.

Bake for 25-30 min or until bottom just starts to brown and center is set. Cut and separate wedges while still warm. Cool on cookie sheet 5 min, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Drizzle with melted chocolate and sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp chopped hazelnuts.

Makes 16 cookies.

Per Cookie: Calories (kcal): 80; Fat (g) 3.0; Saturated Fat (g) 1.1; Cholesterol (mg): 3; Sodium (mg): 56; Carbohydrates (g): 11.7; Dietary Fiber (g): 0.4; Sugars (g): 4.0; Protein (g): 1.5

To Freeze: Place cooled cookies in ziploc bags or airtight containers separating layers with sheets of wax paper. Thaw at room temperature.

20 Jan

Herb and Lemon Bulgar Pilaf with Chicken

Posted by recipemirror in Main Dishes. Tagged: , , , , , .


I was going to post some cookies this week, but I don’t feel like writing very much right now. I’ll post them next week. In the mean time, here’s a super easy pilaf from Eating Well. I really like this dish because it tastes light and fresh and, at the same time, it’s also quite filling. It’s supposed to be topped with walnuts. Walnuts are ok, I just don’t love them. It also seemed more like a side dish  to me. I though it would be a more complete meal topped with chicken (for my husband, Vibrant Life Vege-Cuts for me). Chicken was the first thing that popped into my head when I was thinking about what protein to add, but the lemon and herbs should go really well with fish too. Really, I think you’d be safe with any type of meat or tofu or whatever. I’m going to include the nutrition info with and without chicken so you can add in the calories for whatever protein you choose.

Herb and Lemon Bulgar Pilaf with Chicken Printable Version

Ingredients

2 cups chopped onion

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 cups bulgur (medium or coarse)

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cumin

2 cups fat-free chicken or vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups chopped carrot

2 tsp grated or minced ginger

salt to taste

1/4 cup lightly packed chopped fresh dill (I’ve been using 2 Tbsp dried dill)

1/4 cup lightly packed chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup lightly packed chopped parsley

3 Tbsp lemon juice

18 oz shredded cooked chicken breast (about 3 breasts)

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet with a tight fitting lid over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until golden brown, 12-18 min.

Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 min. Add bulgar, turmeric and cumin. Stir until the bulgar and onions are coated with the spices.

Add broth, carrot, ginger and salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer, without stirring, until broth is absorbed and there are “eyes” or indentations in the surface of the bulgar, about 15 min. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 min. Stir in herbs and lemon juice.

Serve topped with chicken or the protein of your choice.

Makes 6 servings

Per Serving (with chicken): Calories (kcal): 305; Fat (g) 3.9; Saturated Fat (g) 1.0; Cholesterol (mg): 72; Sodium (mg): 661; Carbohydrates (g): 36.8; Dietary Fiber (g): 9.0; Sugars(g): 4.0; Protein (g): 32.1

Per Serving (without chicken): Calories (kcal): 165; Fat (g) 0.8; Saturated Fat (g) 0.1; Cholesterol (mg): 0; Sodium (mg): 598; Carbohydrates (g): 36.8; Dietary Fiber (g): 9.0; Sugars(g): 4.0; Protein (g): 5.7

17 Jan

Recipes for Randy

Posted by recipemirror in Breakfasts, Main Dishes. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .


I usually post on Fridays, but I promised my cousin, Randy, that I would post this recipe as soon as possible. I learned to make these enchiladas from a family that we used to go to church with when I was a teenager. I was hanging out in the kitchen with them one day and helped them prepare the enchiladas for potluck. I call them “cheater enchiladas” because everything comes out of a can. Also, do they still count as enchiladas if you use flour tortillas?  At any rate, they are delicious and super quick and easy to make. I like to add green onions and cilantro, but they’re good with just beans and cheese too. I didn’t measure anything out as we made these, so I’m giving my best guess on the amounts of everything.

Randy’s Enchiladas Printable Version

Ingredients

16 8-inch whole wheat flour tortillas

2 (16-oz) cans fat-free refried beans (we had some beans left over at the end)

1 (19-0z) can red enchilada sauce

2 1/2 cups reduced fat mexican blend shredded cheese, divided

4 or 5 green onions, sliced (optional)

about 1 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour some enchilada sauce into a rimmed 13 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet to cover the bottom.

Set aside 1/2 cup cheese.

Spread about 3 Tbsp beans onto a flour tortilla, top with 2 Tbsp cheese and a little bit of onion and cilantro, if using. Roll the tortilla around the filling and place, seam-side down, in the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Spread the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas, sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup cheese and any remaining onions and cilantro.

Bake for about 20 min, until heated through.

Makes 16 enchiladas.

Per Enchilada: Calories (kcal): 228; Fat (g) 6.4; Saturated Fat (g) 2.9; Cholesterol (mg): 9; Sodium (mg): 771; Carbohydrates (g): 32.9; Dietary Fiber (g): 6.6; Sugars (g): 0.5; Protein (g): 10.4

Are you still reading, Randy? I thought you might like to have the recipe for Tamagoyaki, too.

We learned about Tamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omelette) from the original Nintendo DS version of Cooking Mama. Yes, we’re nerds. It sounded good in the game, so we bought a Japanese cookbook (Japanese Cooking: The Traditions, Techniques, Ingredients and Recipes) and tried it out. We really liked it so we made it for my dad when he was staying with us one weekend. He absolutely hated it. His exact words were, “I guess your food is an acquired taste.” Apparently he hated it so much that when he was visiting my aunt and uncle later on, he spent a significant amount of time complaining about it to them. They got curious and wanted to try the dish for themselves so they asked us to make it when we visited them. The all liked it, including Randy, who, at the time, had a reputation for being a picky eater. I think it’s safe to say that’s no longer the case. After finding out that Randy liked the dish so much, one of his Japanese friends began to make it for him. He told me this weekend that he secretly likes ours better. So here’s the recipe, Randy. Now you can make it for yourself. :)

Tamagoyaki Printable Version

Ingredients

3 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp mirin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce

about 3/4 Tbsp sugar (the recipe calls for 1 Tbsp, but we thought it was a bit too sweet)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper (optional)

6 large eggs

1 Tbsp thinly sliced green onion (optional)

1 Tbsp minced jalapeno pepper (optional)

Preparation

Combine water, mirin, salt, soy sauce, black pepper (if using) and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Whisk in eggs.

Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly spray with nonstick spray. Add about 1/5 of the egg mixture and swirl to cover the bottom of the pan. When the omelette starts to set, roll it to one end of the pan. Lightly spray the exposed area of the pan with nonstick spray and add another 1/5 of the egg mixture. Lift the roll and let the mixture run underneath. When it looks almost set, roll the first roll to the other side of the pan so you start to form a layered roll. Repeat until you have used up all of the egg mixture. If using green onions and jalapenos, add them after you have added about 1/2 of the egg mixture.

Gently move the roll onto a sushi mat covered with plastic wrap. Roll the mat tightly around the omelette. Let sit, still rolled, for about 2 min.

Unroll the mat and move the omelette to a microwave-safe plate. Microwave for 30-60 seconds until the omelette puffs up. Cut into slices, bring to your friend and say “Now this is how you make Tamagoyaki!” Just kidding, that’s mean, don’t do that.

Makes 4 servings.

Per Serving: Calories (kcal): 131; Fat (g) 7.5; Saturated Fat (g) 2.3; Cholesterol (mg): 317; Sodium (mg): 796; Carbohydrates (g): 6.9; Dietary Fiber (g): 0.2; Sugars (g): 5.0; Protein (g): 9.6

My husband got excited when I told him I was posting this recipe today. We haven’t had Tamagoyaki in a very long time and he wanted to make some today. He looked online to see if anyone had posted a recipe using egg substitute to see what, if any modifications were made, but he didn’t find anything. He did find recipes that had added green onions and chile peppers to the omelette. Sounded good so we tried that out.

We find the egg substitute that we use to be a bit sweeter than whole eggs, so we knew we would need to cut back on the sugar. We used water  in the first batch but ended up having a ton of liquid ooze out when we rolled the omelette in the sushi mat. We left the water out in the second batch (which is the one pictured), but still had a little bit of liquid ooze out. We increased the amount of egg substitute in the third batch hoping that it would set better, but it seemed like the amount of liquid increased compared to the second batch. We believe this must just be something to do with the egg substitute, so we added the step of squeezing out the liquid in the procedure. My husband kept saying that he felt like something was missing in the first two batches. I told him that I thought that we had used black pepper when we made this before. He threw some into the third batch, and it turns out that’s what he was missing.

Egg White Tamagoyaki Printable Version

Ingredients

1 Tbsp mirin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp ground black pepper (optional)

3/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute  (I use Kirkland Real Egg Product)

1/2 Tbsp thinly sliced green onion (optional)

1/2 Tbsp minced jalapeno pepper (optional)

Preparation

Combine mirin, salt, soy sauce, black pepper (if using) and sugar in a small bowl and mix well. Add egg substitute.

Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly spray with nonstick spray. Add about 1/5 of the egg mixture and swirl to cover the bottom of the pan.

When the omelette starts to set, roll it to one end of the pan.

Lightly spray the exposed area of the pan with nonstick spray and add another 1/5 of the egg mixture. Lift the roll and let the mixture run underneath. When it looks almost set, roll the first roll to the other side of the pan so you start to form a layered roll. Repeat until you have used up all of the egg mixture.

If using green onions and jalapenos, add them after you have added about 1/2 of the egg mixture.

Gently move the roll onto a sushi mat covered with plastic wrap.

Roll the mat tightly around the omelette. Squeeze gently and let excess liquid run out. Let sit, still rolled, for about 2 min.

Unroll the mat and move the omelette to a microwave-safe plate. Microwave for 30-60 seconds to firm up the omelette (it won’t puff up like it does with whole eggs).

Cut into slices and serve.

Makes 2 servings.

Per Serving: Calories (kcal): 68; Fat (g) 0.0; Saturated Fat (g) 0.0; Cholesterol (mg): 0; Sodium (mg): 863; Carbohydrates (g): 7.6; Dietary Fiber (g): 0.2; Sugars (g): 4.2; Protein (g): 9.2

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