Start it in the morning before you leave for work and come home to a great piping hot meal. This is definitely a crowd-pleaser and also makes a great dish when guests are coming – just add a salad on the side and you’re all set !
Ham and Scalloped Potatoes
8 servings
310 calories per serving
1 ½ lb. 98% fat free ham cut into 8 pieces
9 medium potatoes peeled and sliced thinly
1 large onion sliced thinly
½ t salt
½ t pepper
1 c shredded fat free cheddar cheese
1 can low fat cream of celery soup
Layer in this manner:
½ the potatoes
½ the onion
½ the salt and pepper
½ the cheese
½ the ham
½ the potatoes
½ the onion
½ the salt and pepper
½ the cheese
All the soup
½ the ham
Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 4 hours.
This soup is prepared a day ahead and refrigerated so that the flavors really mingle. If you want to serve the same day you make it, that works too 🙂
Chicken and Pasta Soup
6 servings
265 calories per serving
1/2 c cannellini beans
1 lb. chicken breasts, cubed
6 bay leaves
7 c water
1 onion, halved and sliced
1 carrot, sliced thinly
3 ribs celery, sliced thin
Leaves from the tops of the celery stalks
28 oz. diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
2 T minced garlic
½ t onion powder
2 t basil flakes
8 oz. FiberGourmet pasta (short alfredo, elbows or rotini)
In a soup pot combine chicken, bay leaves and water. Bring to a boil. Add onions, carrots, celery, celery leaves, tomatoes, tomato paste, onion powder, garlic and basil. Return to a boil and then lower heat and simmer 1 hour. Add beans and remove bay leaves. Refrigerate overnight. The next day heat the broth and cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and place in soup bowl and ladle soup into each bowl.
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 is a very quick soup to make, but it tastes as good as soups that simmer for hours.
Meatball Soup
4 servings
223 calories per serving
12 precooked turkey meatballs ( I use Shady Brook Farms Italian flavor ones)
4 c vegetable broth
2 c water
1/2 c ditalini or orzo (or ¾ c FiberGourmet pasta for the same calories!)
1 14.5 oz. can Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
2 c diced zucchini
Salt and pepper to taste
½ t garlic powder
¼ t crushed red pepper
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh parsley, chopped
Bring broth and water to a boil. Cook pasta 4 minutes (if you are using the FiberGourmet pasta, add 2-3 more minutes here as the pasta tends to take longer to cook). Stir in tomatoes, zucchini, salt, pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper and meatballs. Bring back to boil, then reduce heat and keep at a low boil 7 minutes or until pasta is tender. Garnish each bowl with chopped parsley and 1 T cheese.
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:
This is a very hearty meal – and like so many crock pot meals, a great way to put something together, be able to run errands for a few hours – – and then come home to a hot cooked meal. This is reminiscent of a stew with the nice mushroom gravy flavor 🙂
10 Layer Beef Hash (Crock Pot)
8 servings
370 calories per serving
1 ½ lb. lean ground beef
6 medium potatoes thinly sliced
1 medium onion thinly sliced
½ t salt
½ t pepper
15 oz. can of corn, undrained
15 oz. can of peas, undrained
¼ c water
1 can fat free cream of mushroom soup.
Brown the meat in a skillet and drain. Layer the ingredients in the crock in this order:
¼ of the potatoes
¼ the onions
¼ the salt and pepper
½ the corn
¼ the potatoes
½ the peas
¼ the potatoes
¼ the onions
¼ the salt and pepper
½ the corn
¼ the potatoes
½ the peas
All the water
All the meat
All the soup
Cover and cook on high 4 hours. Be sure to give each person a serving that contains some of each layer.
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
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
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.
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
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.
