Remove Bay Leaf Before Serving

Recipes that call for the addition of bay leaves almost always call for ‘removing the bay leaf before serving’. It’s a real good idea to do this. The dried leaves, even after being cooked, are very dry and brittle and often are very sharp on the edges. There have been reports of bay leaves cutting the throat or getting stuck in the throat and better safe than sorry – – so always remove your bay leaves before serving !

Bay Leaves
Bay Leaves

Steamed Potatoes with Garlic Sauce

The garlic sauce makes ordinary potatoes come to life ! And the steaming creates a really nice consistency for the potatoes – almost creamy without being mushy or mealy. This is a great side dish when entertaining.

Steamed Potatoes with Garlic Sauce
Steamed Potatoes with Garlic Sauce

4 servings
237 calories per serving

Water
8 small potatoes, unpeeled
2 heads garlic (whole heads)
2 t skim milk
1 t oil
1 t light margarine
2 t chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Place a steamer basket in a medium pot and add 1-2 inches of water. Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the steamer basket – you want the potatoes to steam, not boil. Place potatoes in the steamer basket. Separate the cloves of garlic from the head, but do not remove the paper thin skins then scatter the garlic in with the potatoes. Cover and steam 20 minutes or until fork can be easily inserted into potatoes.

Remove garlic from pan and remove skins by squeezing the garlic up with your fingers and pushing the pulp out. Mash pulp with milk, oil and margarine and warm slightly over low heat. Remove potatoes from pan and cut in half and toss well with the sauce and parsley, salt and pepper.

Breakfast Pizza

This breakfast pizza also makes a great appetizer or lunch. You can easily change it up a little by adding different veggies – mushrooms, tri color peppers, even some spinach leaves !

Breakfast Pizza
Breakfast Pizza

6 servings
239 calories per serving

1 can refrigerated biscuit dough
½ lb. turkey bacon slices
2 T butter
2 T flour
¼ t salt
1/8 t pepper
1 ½ c skim milk
½ c low fat shredded cheddar cheese
¼ c sliced bell peppers
Pam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with Pam. Separate biscuits and place on a floured surface side by side. Roll into a 14×10 rectangle and place in sprayed pan patting the edges up side of the dish. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Cook bacon until crisp – cool it – and then crumble and set aside. Melt butter in a pan and stir in flour, salt and pepper. Gradually stir in milk and cook on medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until it is melted. Spread sauce over crust and sprinkle with bacon and peppers. Bake 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Coffee and Steak

Coffee used in meat marinades adds a great depth of flavor. This one combines some sugar, so the flavors really STICK to the meat well and that makes it all the more tasty !

Coffee and Steak
Coffee and Steak

4 servings
185 calories per serving

1 t finely ground espresso
1 t Splenda brown sugar
¼ t garlic powder
¼ t onion powder
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
4 4 oz. filet mignons
Pam

Heat a grill pan on medium high heat (or heat up the grill in the backyard !). Coat pan with Pam. Combine all the spices and rub into steaks. Cook 4 minutes per side or until desired doneness.

Mushrooms and Wild Rice

The nutty flavor of the wild rice really mixes well with the mushrooms and makes this a great side for just about any dish.

Mushrooms and Wild Rice
Mushrooms and Wild Rice

6 servings
156 calories per serving

1 c wild rice or wild rice mix, cooked
2 T oil
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ t garlic powder
¼ t onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T chopped parsley
1 T lemon juice

Cook rice according to package instructions. Heat oil in skillet on medium high heat and add mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper, garlic powder and onion powder and cook until mushrooms are browned, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds and then stir in cooked rice and remove from heat. Add parsley and lemon juice and stir well. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Apple Raisin Sour Cream Pie

Pie. With Apples. And Raisins. It’s sweet and fruity and all the things a pie should be. The sour cream mixed in before cooking adds a nice creamy texture to the apples. Enjoy !

Apple Raisin Sour Cream Pie
Apple Raisin Sour Cream Pie

8 servings
245 calories per serving

1 prepared low fat graham cracker crust
4 c sliced, peeled Granny Smith apples (4-5 medium)
2 t lemon juice
¼ c dark raisins
½ c low fat sour cream
1 egg white, beaten
10 packets of Equal
1 T flour
¼ t cinnamon plus extra for the top of the pie
1/8 t nutmeg plus extra for the top of the pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix apples with lemon juice and add raisins. Combine sour cream, egg white, Equal, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix with the apples and raising then spoon into crust. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake about an hour, until apples are tender.

Celery Parsley Salad

A simple dish with a simple combination of flavors that can be paired with anything. And at only 18 calories per serving, it is insanely low in calories. I always wondered if celery really was a negative calorie food..hmmmm???

Celery Parsley Salad
Celery Parsley Salad

4 servings
18 calories per serving

4 celery stalks sliced thin
¼ c packed parsley leaves
1 ½ t sherry vinegar
1 t oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all in a bowl and mix well.

Corn Chowder

This is a great stand alone lunch with some Cheesy Bread on the side. Or it is a nice side to a lower cal chicken or fish dinner. The hint of cayenne adds a nice unexpected flavor dimension to the chowder.

Corn Chowder
Corn Chowder

6 servings
155 calories per serving

1 c chopped onion
1 leek, cleaned and chopped
5 c frozen corn
28 oz. chicken broth
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
¼ t cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Snipped chives for garnish
Pam

Spray a Dutch oven with Pam and heat on medium and cook onion and leek 5 minutes or until tender. If the onions start to get dry or crispy, add up to 3T of hot water to make sure they stay nice and moist. Then add corn and cook 5-6 minutes. Add half the broth and heat to boiling then reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Transfer half the corn mix to a blender and process until smooth. Return to the pan and add the rest of the broth, peppers, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt and heat through. Garnish with chives.

VIDEO: Easy Potato Peeling 101

Let’s face it – peeling potatoes is a drag ! Well, I came across these instructions on the internet and let me tell you, they work like a charm. The peels just pulled off the boiled potatoes in no time ! Usually if you peel them ahead of time, the outsides get all mushy and mealy and peeling them afterward with a peeler or knife is time consuming at best.

Here is a video instructional showing you how to do it:

Basically, you just score the potatoes the whole way around with a sharp knife (about 1/4 inch deep) and drop them into boiling water for 15 minutes. Take them out and place into an ice bath (ice cubes mixed with cold water) and mix around for 15 seconds. Then take them out of the ice water and apply a little squeezing pressure and the peels come right off !

The only thing I would do different than the video is cook the potatoes a little longer – they were not quite done yet in the middle. If I was going to cube them up for hash browns or further cooking after being sliced or cubed, this would be fine. But they were too undercooked to use for potato salad – I would boil another 5-7 minutes for that. Hope you use this method for easier potato prep in the future !

Healthy Wrap

A little chicken, lotsa vegetables and lotsa flavor !

Healthy Wrap
Healthy Wrap

6 servings
289 calories per serving

2 c chopped cooked chicken breast
2/3 c thinly sliced red bell pepper
½ c thinly sliced English cucumbers
1/2 c sliced celery
1/2 c light ranch dressing
1/4 c crumbed goat cheese
4 c chopped romaine lettuce
6 8-inch fat free flour tortillas

Layer all the ingredients in tortillas, wrap and secure with a toothpick. Here’s my instructional video in how to secure a wrap so nothing leaks out the bottom.

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