These make a great side to just about any dish. They are simple to put together, they cook up on no time and they disappear fast ! If you want to zest them up more, try adding some sauteed onions or garlic along with the peppers.
Pepper Muffins
12 servings
118 calories per serving
¼ c chopped green bell pepper
¼ c chopped red bell pepper
¼ c chopped yellow bell pepper
2 T butter
2 c flour
2 T sugar
2 ½ t baking powder
½ t salt
½ t basil flakes
¼ t cayenne pepper
¼ t garlic powder
¼ c egg beaters
1 c skim milk
Pam
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Saute pepper in butter until tender and set aside. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, basil, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt. Mix egg and milk and stir into the dry ingredients until moist then fold in peppers. Spray muffin cups with Pam and fill 2/3 full then cook 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin cups.
This is always a crowd pleaser and people can’t believe it’s made without sugar (Equal is the sweetener here). This is a perfect and refreshing end to a meal.
Key Lime Pie
8 servings
150 calories per serving
1 low fat prepared graham cracker crust
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 ¾ c skim milk
8 oz. low fat cream cheese, at room temperature
12 packets Equal
½ c fresh lime juice
Green food coloring (optional)
Lime slices (optional for garnish)
Sprinkle gelatin over ½ c milk in small pan and let stand 3 minutes then cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved. Beat cream cheese until fluffy and then beat in res of the milk and the gelatin mix. Then mix in the juice and 12 packets of Equal. Add a couple of drops of green food coloring if you wish. The pie will be very thin and runny but will firm up quickly. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
It is amazing how creamy of a product this turns out considering there is no ice cream maker involved. I’ve made it many times, always with good results. It’s well worth the calories 🙂 If you are lucky enough to know what Carvel ice cream tastes like – – well, this is similar !
Vanilla Soft Serve Ice Cream
12 ½ c servings
299 calories per serving
½ c whole milk
1 T vanilla
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/8 t salt
2 c heavy cream
Stir milk, vanilla, condensed milk and salt in a medium bowl. Beat heavy cream to stiff peaks (but don’t over beat or the cream will begin to break down) and then fold into the milk mix. Folding is just a method to mix things a little gentler than stirring. You just keep inserting a spatula or spoon UNDER the ingredients and left or fold them up on top – keep repeating to fully incorporate the ingredients. Pour into a shallow 1 ½ quart METAL (because it conducts the cold better) bowl and freeze the mix 4 hours, stirring once halfway through.
If you keep this in the freezer for more than a day, it will get very hard and you need to let it sit a few minutes before scooping out servings.
Variations:
Strawberry – omit the milk and vanilla – instead stir in 4 c pureed strawberries and 2 T corn syrup.
Coffee – add 2 T instant coffee to the milk and dissolve , then continue with other steps
Others – add 2 T flavored coffee creamers to the milk mix (Irish Cream tastes GREAT)
The best part of this recipe was the espresso dip – so incredibly rich and it very much reminds me very much of a similar dip served in one of my favorite restaurants. I would recommend it for any plain baked good (scone, cookie, etc.) The beignets themselves were a little dry and I would definitely add more water (1/4 c more) and some Splenda (1/4 c) to the dough. But even with them being a bit dry – it was sweet dough with sweet powdered sugar on top and an awesome dipping sauce, so I will definitely try again 🙂
Baked Beignets
12 servings
260 calories per serving
Beignets:
¼ c warm water
1 package quick rising active dry yeast
¼ c sugar
3 c flour
1 ½ t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
4 T cold butter, cut up
¾ c low fat buttermilk
1 large egg
¼ c confectioner’s sugar
Pam
Café Dip:
1/3 c sugar
2 T plus 1 t instant espresso powder
1 T plus 1 t cornstarch
2 c whole milk
1 ½ oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
Place warm water in a small bowl and sprinkle with yeast and 1 t sugar. Stir and then let stand about 5 minutes or until foamy. In a large bowl stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and rest of the sugar until well combined. With a pastry knife, cut in butter until the mix resembles fine crumbs. With a fork, mix buttermilk and egg into yeast mixture and blend well. Make a hole in the center of the flour mix and pour in the yeast mix. Stir until a dough forms. Lightly flour a work surface and knead dough several times until smooth. Spray the bowl with Pam and place dough in the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let stand in a non-drafty spot for 10 minutes. Spray 2 baking sheets with Pam and punch down dough. Roll the dough with a floured rolling pin to a 9 inch square and cut into 6 strips. Then cut each strip into 6 pieces for a total of 36 pieces. Place on baking sheets about 2 inches from each other. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with Pam and place over the pans while they sit and rise for 20 minutes.
To prepare dip, combine sugar, espresso powder and cornstarch in a pan. Whisk in milk and cook on medium for 8 minutes or until it comes to a boil and thickens slightly then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes then remove from heat and add chocolate and whisk until melted. Cover and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake beignets 12 minutes or until golden brown. While they are still hot toss with confectioner’s sugar. Serve with dip.
This has the most awesome Middle Eastern flavor ! It was spicy without being too hot and the texture of the cheese really went well with the chopped spinach – – it picked up the spices of the spinach nicely. This was my first time making cheese and it was well worth it. It was a definite ‘2 thumbs up’ from the whole family 🙂
Homemade Cheese with Curried Spinach
4 servings
302 calories per serving
2 quarts 1 % milk
1/3 c lemon juice
4 t oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t ground coriander
¾ t turmeric
¼ t salt
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 c chicken broth
2 T tomato paste
2 t jalapeno pepper sauce or Asian chili and garlic sauce
Bring milk to a boil (be careful to not let the bottom scorch – be patient and do it on medium or medium high heat rather than cranking it up to high) then remove from heat and add lemon juice. Let stand about 15 minutes so that the curds and whey separate. Line a colander with a doubled piece of cheese cloth, place in the sink, and pour in the milk mix letting the whey drain away. Let sit 20 minutes or so and then pull together the cheesecloth and squeeze gently to remove any more liquid. You can use a light twisting motion and that helps. Then flatten into a disk on a plate and then place a small saucepan on top of it and place an unopened canned good in the pan to create a weight on top of the cheese. I used a large can of crushed tomatoes and it worked great. Do not refrigerate. Let stand 2 hours or until firm enough to cut.
In a large skillet heat 2 t oil and add onion and garlic and cook 7 minutes or until tender and then add the coriander, turmeric and salt. Mix and then add the spinach, broth, tomato paste and pepper sauce. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and wipe out skillet. Cut the cheese into ½ inch chunks. Heat 2 t oil in skillet and add the cheese cooking for 4 minutes or until light browned and crusty then gently stir in the spinach and cook another 2-3 minutes.
Here’s a couple more pictures of the cheese making process:
Quick prep, creamy chocolate filling, crowd pleasing taste – – what else can a Chocolate Cream Pie offer?!?!
Chocolate Cream Pie
8 servings
214 calories per serving
2 c skim milk
2 packages sugar free chocolate pudding (1.3 oz. each)
1/4 c dark chocolate chips
1 low fat graham cracker crust (6 oz.)
8 oz. Cool Whip Free, thawed
Cocoa Powder for dusting
Mix milk and pudding in a medium pan on medium heat whisking continually. Cook 8 minutes or so, until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add chips stirring until all are melted. Fill a large bowl with ice water and place bottom of pan in the ice bath for 5 minutes or until cooled off – be sure to stir frequently so the mix will cool down quicker. Pour the mix into the crust and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 hours or more. Just before serving, put on a layer of whipped topping and garnish slices with a dusting of cocoa powder.
The sauce ingredients make this a great casserole. It’s certainly not boring or dull – it has a rich flavor and a nice, creamy consistency.
Broccoli Casserole
6 servings
116 calories per serving
10 oz frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 can fat free cream of celery soup
1/2 c 2% shredded cheddar cheese
1 t seasoned salt
1/4 c skim milk
1/4 c fat free mayo
1/3 c egg beaters
1/2 c panko bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pam a 11×7 baking dish. Put broccoli in dish. Mix soup, cheese and salt. Stir in milk, mayo and egg beaters and pour over the broccoli. Top with the bread crumbs and spray lightly with Pam. Bake 45 minutes. Broil for 2 minutes to brown the top. Serve immediately.
This is rich and creamy and almost ½ the calories of regular mac and cheese due to the Laughing Cow Light cheese and the FiberGourmet pasta ! I really suggest you try some – you’ll never know the difference !
Macaroni and Cheese
2 servings
290 calories per serving
6 oz. FiberGourmet Pasta
4 wedge Laughing Cow Light cheese (I use original flavor, but any of the 3 will work)
2 T skim milk
2 T hot water
2 T shredded 2% milk cheddar cheese
6 sprays I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ t onion powder
Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and place in a bowl with all other ingredients. Stir to mix well. Enjoy !!!
