Month: August 2011

Categories
Soup

Lasagna Soup

Bobby’s Lighter Tastes Like Lasagna Soup

404 less calories
28 g less fat

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 ½-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 ounces broken whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 4 noodles)
½ cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
½ cup reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
8 Whole-wheat breadsticks or grissini (optional)

Instructions:

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick saucepot or Dutch oven. Add the sausage, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is crumbled and browned, 8 – 10 minutes.

Add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Add the noodles; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly and the noodles are tender, 10 – 12 minutes. Serve with the breadsticks, if using. (whole-wheat lasagna noodles take a little longer to cook.)

Nutritional Information:

Per Serving (1 cup) 225 Cal (27% from Fat, 42% from Protein, 31% from Carb); 23 g Protein; 7 g Tot Fat; 2 g Sat Fat; 2 g Mono Fat; 17 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 4 g Sugar; 108 mg Calcium; 3 mg Iron; 826 mg Sodium; 53 mg Cholesterol

Original Recipe by Paula Deen: Tastes Like Lasagna Soup
Take It Lighter recipe courtesy of Bobby and Jamie Deen, and the Paula Deen Test Kitchen

Servings: 8 cups
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy

Categories
Celebrations Dessert

Frozen Reese’s Peanut Butter

  • I used Cool Whip for the whip cream portion, because it’s lower in calories and also shortened the prep time, but using homemade whip cream will work just as well.
  • If you have a peanut allergy, try substituting Nutella for the peanut butter.
  • I made this recipe in three 4 inch mini springform pans, but it can just as easily be made in a 9 inch pie pan or cake pan.
  • I threw in some crushed Reese’s for extra flavor and for added texture-of course, if you don’t have any on hand or to keep the dessert even lower in calories you can bypass this portion of the recipe.

Frozen Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie

Makes one 9 inch pie or three 4 inch mini pies. Preparation: Lightly butter springform pan if it is not non-stick. If you do not have a springform pan line a cake pan with a piece of lightly buttered foil leaving a one inch over hang around the edges for easy pie removal or alternately use a traditional pie pan.

  • 24 oreo cookies, crushed
  • 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 ½ cups Cool Whip
  • ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
  • ½ cup confectioner sugar
  • ½ cup crushed Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

Oreo Crust Instructions:

  1. Place Oreos in a food processor or blender and pulse until cookies are finely crumbed. Alternatively, place Oreos in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.  Mix in the melted butter and then firmly press crumbs into pan to create a crust. Bake crust at 350 degrees F for 7-10 minutes.

Reese Peanut Butter Pie Filling Instructions:

  1. Place peanut butter and confectioner sugar in a pan over low heat and stir until combined and peanut butter is melted. Set aside for five minutes to cool. Gently fold in peanut butter mixture into Cool Whip until combined. Gently fold in crushed Reese’s pieces into peanut butter Cool Whip mixture.
  2. Pour mixture into Oreo crust and freeze for 3 hours. Garnish with caramel and chocolate drizzle (for added decadence rim with chopped Reese’s pieces).
Categories
Celebrations Dessert

Samoas

  • 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate + 2 oz for drizzle
  • 35-40 shortbread cookies (I used Lorna Doone)
  • 14 oz bag of caramels
  • 3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
  • 2 Tbsp water

Instructions

  1. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set aside.
  2. Melt 12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. (I prefer double boiler).
  3. Spread the melted chocolate to your desired thickness…I went thin-ish.
  4. Top your warm chocolate evenly with your shortbread cookies.
  5. Place baking sheet in freezer while you do the next steps.
  6. In a non-stick skillet on medium-low heat, toast your coconut, stirring occasionally. This will take about 10 minutes or so, but be watchful because once it starts to brown it happens quickly and you do not want to burn the coconut! When the coconut is toasted, set aside.
  7. Meanwhile unwrap all your caramels and place them in a medium saucepan along with 2 Tbsp of water over medium-low heat.
  8. Stir continuously until the caramel has melted. Immediately fold in your toasted coconut.
  9. Remove your chocolate from the freezer and spread the caramel/coconut evenly on top.
  10. Melt your remaining 2 oz of chocolate using whatever melting process you prefer and drizzle over the top of the caramel/coconut.
  11. Put back in the freezer for 5 minutes to set the chocolate.
  12. Cut and enjoy!
Categories
Dessert Main Dish Snack

Lemon Pull-Apart Coffee Cake

Lemon-Scented Pull-Apart Coffee Cake Recipe
Adapted from here
Yields 1 9×5″ loaf

Ingredients:

For the sweet yeast dough:
About 2 ¾ cups (12 ¼ ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) granulated sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons (1 envelope) instant yeast
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup (2 ½ fluid ounces) whole milk
2 ounces unsalted butter
¼ cup (2 fluid ounces) water
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs , at room temperature

For the lemon paste filling:
½ cup (3 ½ ounces) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (3 lemons)
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
2 ounces unsalted butter , melted

For the tangy cream cheese icing:
3 ounces cream cheese , softened
⅓ cup (1 ¼ ounces) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon lemon extract

Directions:

1. Stir together 2 cups (9 ounces) of the flour, the sugar, the yeast, and the salt in the bowl of a stand mixer; set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter over low heat just until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat, add the water, and set aside until warm (120 to 130°F [49 to 54°C]), about 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract.

2. Pour the milk mixture over the flour-yeast mixture and, using a rubber spatula, mix until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Attach the bowl to the mixer, and fit the mixer with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition just until incorporated. Stop the mixer, add ½ cup (2 ¼ ounces) of the remaining flour, and resume mixing on low speed until the dough is smooth, 30 to 45 seconds. Add 2 more tablespoons flour and mix on medium speed until the dough is smooth, soft, and slightly sticky, about 45 seconds.

3. Sprinkle a work surface with 1 tablespoon flour and center the dough on the flour. Knead gently until smooth and no longer sticky, about 1 minute, adding an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons flour only if necessary to lessen the stickiness. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover the bowl securely with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise in a warm place (about 70°F [21°C]) until doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes. Press the dough gently with a fingertip. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready for the next step. While the dough is rising, make the filling.
Make the lemon paste filling

4. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and the lemon and orange zests. Set the sandy-wet mixture nearby (the sugar draws out moisture from the zests to create the consistency).
Make the coffee cake

5. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan. Or, lightly coat the pan with nonstick spray.

6. Gently deflate the dough. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 20-by-12-inch rectangle. Using a pastry brush spread the melted butter generously over the dough. Cut the dough crosswise into 5 strips, each about 12 by 4 inches. (A pizza cutter is helpful here.) Sprinkle 1 ½ tablespoons of the zest-sugar mixture over one of the buttered rectangles. Top with a second rectangle and sprinkle it with 1 ½ tablespoons of the zest-sugar mixture. Repeat with the remaining dough rectangles and zest-sugar mixture, ending with a stack of 5 rectangles. Work carefully when adding the crumbly zest filling, or it will fall off when you have to lift the stacked pastry later.

7. Slice the stack crosswise through the 5 layers to create 6 equal strips, each about 4 by 2 inches. Fit these layered strips into the prepared loaf pan, cut edges up and side by side. (While there is plenty of space on either side of the 6 strips widthwise in the pan, fitting the strips lengthwise is tight. But that’s fine because the spaces between the dough and the sides of the pan fill in during baking.) Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place (70 °F [21°C]) until puffy and almost doubled in size, 30 to 50 minutes. Press the dough gently with a fingertip. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready for baking.

8. Bake the coffee cake until the top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.
Make the tangy cream cheese icing

9. In a medium bowl, using a rubber spatula, vigorously mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the milk and lemon juice until the mixture is creamy and smooth.

10. To remove the coffee cake from the pan, tilt and rotate the pan while gently tapping it on a counter to release the cake sides. Invert a wire rack on top of the coffee cake, invert the cake onto the rack, and carefully lift off the pan. Invert another rack on top, invert the cake so it is right side up, and remove the original rack.

11. Slip a sheet of waxed paper under the rack to catch any drips from the icing. Using a pastry brush, coat the top of the warm cake with the icing to glaze it.

12. Serve the coffee cake warm or at room temperature. To serve, you can pull apart the layers, or you can cut the cake into 1-inch-thick slices on a slight diagonal with a long, serrated knife. If you decide to cut the cake, don’t attempt to cut it until it is almost completely cool.

Picture 017 copy

Categories
Dessert Snack

Nutella Fruit Dip

Nutella Yogurt Fruit Dip

Posted by fujimama on March 19th, 2011 at 8:35 pm

Creamy Nutella Yogurt Fruit Dip Nutella Yogurt Fruit Dip

Nutella Yogurt Dip—two ingredients, 3 minutes . . . it doesn’t get much easier than that!  I made this dip for a get-together I hosted at my house yesterday morning, and it was a definite hit.  I served it alongside little glass teacups filled with fruit.  The dip makes the perfect accompaniment to fresh cut fruit.  It tastes like a decadent treat, but is gentler on the waistline due to the use of plain, nonfat Greek yogurt.  Not only does this dip make a great addition to any party food lineup, but it’s a perfect afternoon snack for you little ones.  You will love seeing how fast that fresh fruit disappears!  It’s hard to beat a treat that is not only good tasting, but also takes less than 5 minutes to whip up!

Dipping fresh fruit in the Nutella yogurt dip Nutella Yogurt Fruit Dip

Nutella Yogurt Fruit Dip

Makes 10 servings

1 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
½ cup Nutella

Mix the yogurt and Nutella together in a small bowl until completely combined. Refrigerate until ready to use. Serve with fresh cut fruit.

 

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp Butter
  • ½ cup Avacado pureed smooth
  • ¼ cup Carrot cooked and pureed smooth
  • ½ cup Powdered Sugar
  • ½ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions

Melt butter over low heat in medium sauce pan. Add remaining ingredients and whisk well until smooth. Serve warm or cold with fruit.

Categories
Snack

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

In my experience, the total cook time for these oven fries varies, depending on the size of the sweet potatoes and the thickness of the fries.  Small or medium sized sweet potates may require less time.  But at my grocery store, sweet potatoes range from medium-large to monstrous.  The bigger the sweet potatoes, the more fries, and the longer they take to cook.  Also, the potatoes have a tendency to stick to the pan so be sure to toss well with oil.

2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds)
1.5 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper, more to taste
Pinch cinnamon
2 – 3 Tablespoons olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easier clean-up.

2.  Cut each sweet potato in half cross-wise; then cut each half lengthwise into 3/8 inch wide (tombstone-shaped) slices. Finally cut lengthwise into 3/8 inch wide sticks or “fries.”

3.  Put the sweet potato fries on the baking sheet. Sprinkle salt, chili powder, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, black pepper, and cinnamon evenly over the sweet potatoes. Pour on 2 to 3 Tablespoons of olive oil. Thoroughly stir the sweet potatoes, gently tossing them around to evenly coat with seasonings and oil.  Be sure to coat all sides of the sweet potatoes with oil, as they tend to stick. Use additional oil as needed.

4.  Spread sweet potatoes on the baking sheet, trying as much as possible for a single layer. Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes have started to brown.  Use a spatula to carefully turn over sweet potatoes, if desired. (The potatoes at the edges of the baking sheet tend to brown faster, you may want to rearrange to correct for hot spots.) Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until browned to your liking… I recommend you keep a close eye on the sweet potatoes as they go from golden brown to dark brown quickly.

5.  Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes. Serve with chili-lime sour cream and yogurt dipping sauce.

Makes about 4 cups total or 5 (3/4-cup) servings.

Categories
Celebrations Dessert

Rolo-Pretzel-Pecan

For these tasty treats, all you have to do is lay the pretzels on a baking sheet (I used these cute square ones, but the mini twists would work too).  Top each pretzel with an unwrapped Rolo candy.

 

Bake in the oven at 250*F for 4-5 minutes (no longer).
When you remove them from the oven, the Rolo will still be in the same shape as when it went in the oven. Place a pecan half on top of the Rolo and press down a bit.
Top each of the Rolo with one pecan half.
Place the entire baking sheet in the freezer for about 5-7 minutes to allow the Rolo to cool.
Remove from freezer and enjoy! Or place in a container to enjoy later.  These will last several days- probably more, but they’ve never lasted that long in our house!
These are so delicious!  A great sweet-salty combo.
Enjoy!
Categories
Snack

Pretzels

Pretzels

Topping

Directions

1) Mix and knead the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a cohesive, fairly smooth dough. It should be slightly sticky; if it seems dry, knead in an additional tablespoon or two of water.
2) Cover the dough and let it rest for 45 minutes. It will rise minimally. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
3) Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface, fold it over a few times to gently deflate it, then divide it into 12 pieces, each weighing about 2 ¼ to 2 ½ ounces.
4) Roll each piece of dough into an 18″ rope. Shape each rope into a pretzel.
5) Dissolve the malt in the water. Brush the pretzels with the solution, and sprinkle lightly with coarse pretzel salt.
6) Bake the pretzels for 25 to 30 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Note: This is correct; there’s no need to let the shaped pretzels rise before baking.
7) Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush with melted butter, if desired.
Yield: 12 pretzels.

Recipe summary

Hands-on time:
20 mins. to 50 mins.
Baking time:
25 mins. to 30 mins.
Total time:
2 hrs 35 mins. to 3 hrs 15 mins.
Yield:
12 pretzels
I’ve taken off 30 pudgy pounds since February, but the Food + Drink tab at Pinterest, where I seem to be spending all my free time these days, could prove to be my undoing. There are so many “must try” recipes.

Take for example, these mall style, pretzel bites, pinned from Dine & Dish via AllRecipes.com.

I had to try them.

Mall Type Pretzel Bites

Ingredients

  • 1 ⅛ cups Water (70 to 80 degrees F)
  • 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp Active Dry Yeast
  • 8 cups Water
  • ½ cup Baking Soda
  • ¼ cup melted Butter
  • Kosher Salt for savory pretzels, or Cinnamon and Sugar for sweet bites.

Directions

Add the first four ingredients in order, into the bread machine, and mix on the dough setting.

Many similar recipes use salt in the dough, I double checked at AllRecipes.com, and this one did not use any, so I left it out. It didn’t seem to hurt anything. I also noticed some reviewers suggested using corn syrup in place of brown sugar. I might try that next time, and oh yes – there will be a next time, but for a first try, I stuck to the original recipe.

Remove the dough from the breadmaker, and divide it into eight balls, to be rolled, and shaped into the traditional, large pretzel shapes.

Or, take the easy way out, and pull it apart into 1 inch (or smaller) balls, for pretzel bites.

Bring two quarts of water, mixed with the ½ cup of baking soda, to a boil. Drop the dough bites, a few at a time, into the boiling water for 10-15 s
…

Click the link below to continue onto the full article

http://almostunschoolers.blogspot.com/2011/07/diet-busting-mall-style-bread-machine.html
Categories
Lunch

Baked Taquitos

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Recipe by OurBestBites.com

⅓ cup (3 oz) cream cheese
¼ cup green salsa
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese
about 12 small corn or flour tortillas (we liked flour better)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder and mix well. Add cilantro, green onions, chicken and pepperjack cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

The corn tortillas are harder to roll without cracking. For the corn tortillas: work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 3 Tablespoons of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about ½ inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.
Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.
Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Makes around 12 taquitos.
Dip in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or Tomatillo Dressing. They would be great with black beans and this Cilantro Lime Rice.
Categories
Casserole

Fiesta Casserole