I tried Hummus a couple weeks ago and really didn't care for the taste/texture, but I found a recipe in my Shape magazine that I thought would be a good substitute for hummus.

I modified it a little for the time that I had and what I had on hand.

Artichoke Spread

1 1/2 tsp roasted garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 14oz cans artichoke hearts packed in water
1 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano

You just put everything in a food processor and process until smooth.

I didn't use roasted garlic, I just threw in a clove of garlic and I cut the recipe in half so that if I didn't like it then I wouldn't have wasted so much.

I made some ww pita chips with a little garlic salt and used it with the spread...it was awesome!

The recipe tells you to put it on carrots, but I like the pita chips better.

Inspired by KD's pesto stuffed chicken I took the pesto recipe and made it into an awesome pasta dish.

Make KD's pesto recipe with the tofu and set it aside in the fridge for a couple of hours (I added some pine nuts to the sauce).

I then roasted yellow and red tomatoes in the oven with some garlic and set those aside.

Then I sauted zucchini, brocolli and vidalia onions in a non stick pan until browned.

I cooked ww pasta (2 oz per person). While the pasta was cooking, I heated up the veggies, added the oven roasted tomoatoes to the veggies, fresh spinach leaves and shrimp.

When the pasta was cooked, I mixed in the pesto sauce, and then added in all the veggies and shrimp on top. I even had enough calories for 1 T of crumbled goat cheese on top. Garnish with fresh basil. It was an AWESOME dish!

Adapted from "1001 Low-Fat Soups & Stews".

Chicken & Corn "Chowder" with Sweet Peppers

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed (or previously grilled & cubed)
1-2 Tbl olive oil
1 med onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
2-3 potatoes, cubed (Yukon Golds for some firmness & shape, Russets for squishy bliss)
1/2-1 c low-sodium chicken broth or stock
2 15-oz cans cream-style corn
1 red bell pepper (I used a roasted one)
hot sauce to taste

Brown the cubed chicken in your soup pot with the olive oil. Add onion & garlic, season with salt & pepper if desired, and cook until onions are tender & translucent. Add cubed potatoes & enough broth to almost cover. Bring to a boil, cover & simmer for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Add corn & red bell pepper, a few dashes of hot sauce, and season again if desired. Cover & simmer for at least 10 minutes.

With Yukon Gold potatoes, mine sat on the stove for over an hour without the potatoes losing their firmness. Del Monte's canned cream-style corn doesn't actually have cream in it, so the soup stays really low-fat (and there's a no salt added version of the cream-style corn).

I recieved an email the othe other day that contained how to make gels. (can't remeber which newsletter it was). I adapted it today to make a chai flavored one.

I placed 3 vanilla tea bags in a bowl.

in a smaller bowl I placed 1/2 cup skim milk and sprinkled one packet of gelatin over it.

I put the teapot on to boil. Put 1 1/2 cups of boiling water in the bowl with the teabags and let them steep until as dark as you want. Remove the tea bags. I then sweetened it with a tablespoon of honey. added a few dashes of cinnamon, ground clove and nutmeg and just a small dash of black pepper.

Add the milk/gelatin mixture and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved, pour into serving dishes and chill.

Ok its not as sweet as a candy bar or as rich as cheesecake, but it made a nice lo-cal treat.

Laurie

Yummmmmm Lori! That sounds similar to something I did on Friday.

I forked apart some leftover grilled salmon, mixed in a touch of mayo and some capers, added a handful of spring greens and a grind of black pepper and rolled it up in a tortilla. MM MM good.

Today for lunch, I tried something new....it was SOOOOO good!

1/2 cup (2 ounces) salad shrimp
1/2 cup sliced bell peppers (both of the above were frozen, I poured hot water over them to thaw them, then drained it)
1 cup lettuce
1/2 cup angel hair pasta (thawed)
1 tbsp black bean garlic sauce
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
whole wheat flour tortilla
sriracha sauce

I mixed the pasta, lettuce, shrimp and peppers together and tossed with the black bean garlic sauce and the sweet chili sauce. Spread the sriracha sauce on the tortilla, and put the "salad" mixture onto the tortilla, rolled it all up and made it into a big sandwich. It was SOOOOOO good!

New Chicken Recipe

2 Breast of Chicken
2 0r 3 pieces of Roasted Red Peppers
1 Cup of Low Fat skim Mozzarella
Spices (garlic, pepper, tumeric etc)
1 Egg (beaten)
1 cup of Bread crumbs or crushed crackers or
Corn Flakes (can also add spices here)
Cooking spray
2 thick skewers

Preheat Oven to 375f
Place Chicken inbetween plastic wrap and
Completely Flatten out the chicken with
a mallet ...Once Flatten sprinkle on your
spices
Then place the Roasted Red Peppers, then the
Cheese, then roll..
Once rolled Skewer the chicken so it won't
unraval..
Place in egg mixer (roll around)
Then Place in Bread crumb mixture..
Place on a Sprayed cookie sheet, then lightly
spray the top of the chicken..

cooking time is about 20 ro 23 mins...

Hope you all enjoy this...
Heather

Wanted to share a new recipe:
Baked halibut with spicy mango salsa, coconut rice and sweet bell peppers
Serves 2
Mango salsa:
1/2 mango, peeled and diced into small pieces
Juice of two limes
1/2 t of red curry paste
cumin to taste

Combine above in a small nonreactive bowl and refrigerate for a few hours

8 oz of halibut
1/4 c of white wine
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Preheat oven to 375, place halibut in a baking dish sprayed with evoo and then add the wine and lemon over the halibut. Spoon the salsa mixture over the halibut and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

serve over coconut rice and garnish with finely grated red and orange bell pepper.

This is my basic crustless quiche recipie, I use it as a breakfast or lunch since its easy to pack and heats quickly.

Egg beaters equiv to 6 eggs
1 cup skim milk
Add ins can be any combination of meats/veggies you want

3 oz of cheese, varries depending on what add ins I use

herbs and spices to go with add ins.

preheat oven to 350. spray 8" pie plate with cooking spray and lightly dust with flour. In a bowl mix together egg beaters, milk and any herbs/spices you want. pour mixture in the pie plate. Sprinkle Add Ins into the batter. Sprinkle cheese on top. Here is the only downfall, i've never timed these, I start checking it every five minutes or so when I can start to smell it cooking. its done when you can gently wiggle the pan and it doesn't move.


Some of my favorite combinations:

My all time favorite:
Add Ins: crumbled cooked sausage,diced red bell pepper, halved grape tomatoes and sauteed onions, with cumin, cilantro and chili powder. For cheese I used a chpotle cheddar cheese.

Basic Ham:
Add ins: cubed ham, broccoli, 6 tomato slices. i season this one with a little white pepper and sage. usually use a nice swiss cheese with it.

Crab:

Crumbled canned crab meat ( salad shrimp are good also) celery, carrots sliced tomatoes. I season this with some old Bay seasoning and use lacey swiss cheese on it.

Any combination will pretty much work, its a great way to clean up all of the things you're almost out of. I cut mine into six servings, you can do 4. i fill in with fresh fruit or a green salad (depending on if its lunch or breakfast)


Laurie

I made this for lunch today and it was really good! Thought I'd share it. It is vegetarian, and vegan
It was low in protein and the kids and I were all hungry about 3 hours later, so next time I'll add some protein to it.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Spicy Oriental Vegetables and Rice Noodles

Recipe By :Lori Scott
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
14 ounces rice noodles
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili paste
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup zucchini slices
2 cups carrot slice
3 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups pea pod -- chopped
1/2 cup sliced mushroom
1 1/2 cups bok choy -- sliced
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.


In medium mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, chili paste, and cornstarch. Set aside.

In wok or 12 inch nonstick skillet, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add onions, mushroom, and carrots. Cook until mushrooms and onions are tender and carrots are beginning to become tender. Add all other veggies but bok choy. Stir fry until broccoli is crisp tender. Add bok choy and stir fry until leaves are wilted.

Turn heat down to medium, and add sauce mixture. Cook, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes or until it is thickened.

Rinse noodles in hot water, place in LARGE mixing bowl. Add vegetables and sauce. Toss and serve.

Copyright:
"2004"

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 352 Calories; 1g Fat (2.9% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 83g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 855mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 Grain(Starch); 2 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

This was posted in the Cooking discussion on the Washington Post. Looks totally yummers!

Lulu's Cookies
adapted (and name changed) from “Brother Juniper's Bread Book” by Peter Reinhart

Oven to 350 degrees.

Toast in oven 1/2 cup each sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and sesame seeds, plus 2 tablespoons flax seeds. Let cool.

In the meantime, mix dry ingredients in a large bowl:
4 cups flour
2 cups oats
1 teaspoon. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon. salt

Soak 1 cup raisins in 1 cup hot water for about 15 minutes.

Add raisin water to dry mixture, plus 1 cup canola oil and 1 cup honey. Mix until blended with rubber spatula. Add raisins. Add 1 cup chocolate chips. Don’t overmix.

Form teaspoon-sized patties onto a cookie sheet, preferably lined with parchment paper. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Don't overbake; the cookies will become like rocks.

Makes about 50 teaspoon-sized morsels.

I made this last night and it was VERY VERY good! Next time, I'll use some lemon juice instead of the vinegar, and add a bit more salt and pepper, but it was very good!


* Exported from MasterCook *

Tofu Caesar Salad Dressing

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
5 ounces firm tofu
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1/16 teaspoon salt -- pinch
1/16 teaspoon black pepper -- pinch
4 anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup water

In food processor or blender, process all ingredients except tofu. Until everything is chopped and well blended. Add tofu and continue to process until smooth and creamy.

Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 31 Calories; 2g Fat (64.5% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 2mg Cholesterol; 97mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

"Build Own Shish-ka-bobs". . . . .now on the "group feed" menu, thank you!!!!!

D

Fab idea D! I find another handy way to cope with varying food preferences is to have build your own shish kabobs. It's fun in the summertime when you can put them on the grill.

And the best part is, all you have to do is cut stuff up ... like portobello mushrooms, eggplant, peppers, zucchini, onions. Have some marinated cubes of beef, chicken, lamb, tofu ... whatever ready, some teardrop tomatoes and some rice or couscous on hand -- voila!

My favorite dinner is a skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed and browned in a non-stick skillet. Once the breast is cooked through, I add black beans, and a mexican spice blend (chilli powder, cayene, cumin, and a touch of garlic) heat through and it will thicken up. I use a whole wheat tortillia, lay a bed of spinach and my chicken mixture, top with a home made pico style salsa and enjoy.
I think it's yummy!

enjoy
Estir_BunE

It's not exactly a recipe, but we had several people over for dinner last night, with varying diets & allergies, so I decided on a stir-fry of sorts, and it worked out really well.

Using a couple of sectioned platters, I cooked up chicken, shrimp, snow peas, bell peppers, bean sprouts, mushrooms, carrots, and onions. As each single item finished, I'd put it onto the platter, then set the platter covered into the warm oven. When dinner time came, everyone got to top their rice with whatever they felt like having, and we set out several sauces to pick from in case they wanted more sauce on stuff as well.

It was a little bit labor-intensive, but no one ended up with vegetables (or meats) they didn't want, our South Beach dieter got what he wanted, I got what I wanted, the sodium-watcher got what she wanted. . .all in all, it worked out really well.

D

Sometimes the best dishes happen when we improvise.

Laurie

I've got a large batch of the corn & basil soup (erm, it's called something really close to that, anyway) from the 1st book on the stove, waiting for the dinner diners to arrive. I had short notice that several friends were coming over to check out the new kitchen, so I scrambled to find something that was one pot (only one burner isn't covered with junk right now) and that I had everything on had for (since I um, kinda offered to feed everyone when they got here <forehead smack>.

Well, I didn't have exactly everything, but I improvised, and it's turned out well.

Rather than zucchini, I threw in some green bell peppers. And after doing that, I thought it was smelling a lot like a southwest-y dish. So I added some chili powder, some cumin, and some red pepper flakes. . erm, and a dose of hot sauce.

Aha! Some tortillas in the oven to crisp up, and I'll serve the soup with a salad & a vinagrette dressing I'll spice up with some of the same things I used to spice up the soup.

Sorry I can't ever seem to follow your instructions, KD, but thank you for making your recipes flexible & inviting!

D

thanks for the fajita seasoning ideas... I'm going to experiment with these items...

D... I agree they are so much better off the grill... and I'm sure to make them like that this summer...

jacqui

When we make fajitas, I marinate the meat in fresh lime juice, a little kosher salt, more black pepper than I'd care to admit, and garlic. Adding chili powder and/or paprika makes sense, too, if cooking in a pan.

To be completely honest, though, the best fajita seasoning I've found is the grill itself. A grilled piece of skirt steak or chicken breast tastes more like "fajitas" to me than anything packaged. . .but I grew up in Texas, and we always ate them off the grill at home, so it might be a personal thing. So maybe a teensy bit of liquid smoke as well?

D