Sometimes nothing can replace the taste of a good old Sloppy, Messy, Ketchupy Sloppy Joe. This recipe has just enough of the sweet along with just enough of the spicy. For under 400 calories, you can’t go wrong !
Sloppy Joes
4 servings
330 calories per serving
1 t oil
1 onion, chopped finely
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
3/4 c ketchup
1 1/2 T brown sugar blend by Splenda
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t chili powder
1 t cumin
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
4 whole wheat burger buns
Heat oil in skillet and cook onion, pepper and garlic 5 minutes then stir in beef and cook 10 minutes or until no longer pink then add ketchup, sugar, Worcestershire, cumin, salt, pepper and chili powder and cook 4 minutes. Serve on buns.
Peppersteak is great no matter how you slice it 🙂 But this recipe really is a winner – the sauce made with coffee and balsamic turned an already savory dish into something just exquisite.
Texas Peppersteak
4 servings
226 calories per serving
½ t ground cumin
½ t ground coriander
½ t chili powder
¼ t salt
¾ t pepper
1 lb. boneless top sirloin steak, trimmed
1 clove garlic, halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T oil
2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 t brown sugar
½ c brewed strong coffee
¼ c balsamic vinegar
Combine first five ingredients. Rub steak with cut garlic and then rub the spice mix into the steak. Heat 2 t of oil into a skillet and cook the steak 6-8 minutes per side or to desired doneness. Get a nice sear on the outside for extra flavor ! Remove steak from pan and tent with foil to keep warm. Add 1 t oil to the skillet and stir in the pepper and onions and cook 4 minutes then add the minced garlic and brown sugar and heat a minute before stirring in the coffee and vinegar. Heat 3-4 minutes. Slice steak into thin pieces and plate with pepper mix on top. Pour any sauce from pan over platter.
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
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.
Toffee and chocolate together – a combination you just can’t beat ! These bars are very rich and a great party treat.
Chocolate and Toffee Bars
30 servings
160 calories per serving
Crust
1/4 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c Splenda brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 c flour
1/4 t salt
Pam
Toffee
1/4 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c Splenda brown sugar
1/2 c light corn syrup
1/2 c evaporated milk
1 1/2 t vanilla
Topping
3 1 oz. square unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 T Splenda brown sugar
1 c chopped pecans, toasted (to toast just heat for 5-7 minutes in a dry skillet on medium high heat)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 pan with Pam.
For the crust, beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed until blended and then add egg yolk and beat until combined, Add flour and salt and beat on low until blended. The mix will be very dry and look like fine bread crumbs. Firmly press the mix into the bottom of the pan to make a buttery crust. Bake 16 – 18 minutes or until golden. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
For the toffee, combine butter, brown sugar, syrup, milk and vanilla in a saucepan on low heat stirring constantly until the sugar all dissolves. Then bring it to boil over medium heat and cook about 10 minutes. Pour over the crust and spread and then bake another 10 minutes. Cool on a rack 5 minutes.
For topping, mix chocolate and sugar in the top of a double boiler until mixture is melted. Alternately, you can melt this in the microwave 10 seconds at a time stirring in between each cooking – be sure not to overcook. Drizzle this over the toffee and sprinkle with nuts. Cool completely on a rack and when firm, cut into bars.
This is so low cal on its own that there’s plenty of room to add a nice scoop of light vanilla ice cream 🙂
Apple Crisp
9 servings
132 calories per serving
3 medium apples, cored and sliced thin
1 t cinnamon
2 T sugar
2 T flour
Topping:
1 c quick oats
1 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 c brown sugar
2 T margarine
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix first four ingredients and place into a 9 inch square baking dish. In a small bowl mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over the apples. Bake until apples are soft, about 30 minutes.
A large latte in the evening is one of my favorite things. And at a fraction of the calories (and cost!) of a Starbucks drink, it’s worth it to get set up with all the equipment and make these at home. Just buy the sugar free syrups since they have ZERO calories. They are available right at your local Starbucks store (so you can get your favorite) or you can try Torani syrups and find a new favorite. I have been using these for months and have a stock of 10 different flavors.
Low Fat Latte
1 serving
100 calories per serving
Heat 6 oz. of skim milk in a large mug in the microwave for 90 seconds. Add 1 serving of espresso or ½ a cup of strong coffee. Add 3 squirts of a sugar free flavored syrup. Top with a good amount of low fat whipped cream (from the can). Sprinkle with cinnamon or cocoa powder or chocolate shavings. I find the best shavings come from chocolate and cinnamon mills – I purchased this chocolate mill from Amazon and have been very happy with the performance:
This is the espresso maker we use – my husband is quite the espresso snob and let me tell you, he RAVES about this machine. We have had much more expensive machines and have had espresso out at some of the finest coffee shops and Italian restaurants, and nothing compares to the espresso that this little machine makes:
And these are the sugar free syrups that I use (local coffee shops also sell versions of these):
