This dip also makes a great baked potato topper. Very cheesy – very tasty – and very, very good for you !
Vegetable Dip
12 servings
29 calories per serving
2 c chopped broccoli
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
¼ lb. chopped mushrooms
2 t corn oil
1 c low fat cottage cheese
Pinch of pepper
½ t onion powder
½ t garlic powder
Cook broccoli leaving it still crisp (boil or steam). In a small pan on medium high heat cook garlic and onions until well browned – add water as necessary to keep them moist. Add mushrooms in oil for 5 minutes or until the onion is tender. In a food processor, process cottage cheese until smooth then add broccoli and onion mixture along with garlic powder, onion powder and pepper and pulse until well combined. Serve with veggies or crackers for dipping. Refrigerate unused portion.
Easy as pie and so much better for you then the predone ones you get in the freezer section. These take just a moment to prepare and are done cooking in 3-4 minutes. You just can’t go wrong with this crowd pleaser. Serve as an appetizer, lunch, or a quick after school snack !
Mini Pizzas
6 servings (1 bagel per serving)
120 calories per serving
6 mini bagels
1/4 c pizza sauce
1 t oregano flakes
1 t basil flakes
3/4 cup part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat broiler. Split the bagels and toast them lightly. Then spread with sauce and sprinkle with spices. Finally add the cheese and then broil 3-4 minutes to melt cheese. Add some crushed red pepper if you like it spicy !
Savory umami goodness all in a nice little puff pastry package. These make great appetizers, sides, and snacks. The gruyere cheese is a perfect complement to the shallot and mushroom. This is a crowd pleaser !
Mushroom Tarts
9 servings
185 calories per serving
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed and cut into 18 rounds
1 T oil
1 shallot, diced
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
Kosher salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 T chopped basil or parsley
¾ c grated Gruyere cheese (use sharp cheddar instead if you wish)
Pam
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Keep pastry rounds in the frig on a baking sheet so they remain cold. Heat oil and cook shallot 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook 10 minutes then season with salt, pepper and herbs. A baking sheet with Pam and place 9 rounds on the sheet. Divide mushrooms onto the rounds. Then top with cheese and then with a pastry round. Bake 25 minutes.
These are just AMAZING ! Serve as an appetizer, a lunch, even a dinner with a salad next to them. The sundried tomato flavor mixed with the flavor of the cheese and the mushrooms is just outstanding. The prep is quick and easy and these are just amazing !
Mini Mushroom Pizza
4 servings
170 calories per serving
4 Arnold Sandwich Thins roll (only 100 calories each !)
4 chopped sundried tomatoes (give them ounces or tablespoons worth)
1 T oil from the sundried tomatoes
1 c fat free ricotta cheese
8 oz. mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 c baby spinach leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
½ t garlic power
Red pepper flakes to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast rolls in toaster. Heat oil in a skillet and cook mushrooms until soft, about 7 minutes. Add salt, pepper, red pepper and garlic powder. Pulse tomatoes in a food processor or chop very finely and stir into ricotta. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread the cheese mix on the rolls and add spinach leaves. Finally add mushroom mix to the top and bake 5-7 minutes.
Don’t be afraid of pate – if you like liver, you’re going to love this ! This is such a great appetizer dish – people always go crazy for pate ! This one is so simple to prepare and is sooooo tasty. You can make it a day ahead and have it ready to go for a cocktail party.
Chicken Liver Pate
1 cup
79 calories per serving (1 serving = 1 T pate and 2 crackers)
2 slices bacon
8 oz. chicken livers
½ c chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T milk
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
¼ t nutmeg
Crackers or Melba Toast rounds
Cook bacon until crisp and remove from skillet and reserve 2 T drippings. Crumble bacon. Add chicken livers, onion and garlic to reserved drippings and cook 10-15 minutes or until done then cool slightly. Mix livers, bacon, 2 T milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg in processor. Line a mold with plastic wrap and spoon in mixture. Cover and chill at least 4 hours. Unmold onto a plate and serve with crackers.
What a perfect flavor ! This can be served on toast points as an appetizer, or you use can use it as an addition or topping to other foods. The flavor is FANTASTIC !
Mushroom Shallot Spread
4 servings
68 calories per serving
1 lb. coarsely chopped mushrooms
6 shallots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 T oil
Salt
Chop the ingredients pretty finely in a food processor to get a nice consistency. Heat oil in a skillet and cook shallots 7 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until all the water is released from the mushrooms (about 10 minutes) then season with salt and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the water is dried up and the mushrooms are dry (about another 10 minutes. Spread on toast points, use in scrambled eggs, or soup, serve aside grilled steaks – or even try spreading this on rolls and make mini pizzas (recipe to be posted soon !).
Serve 4 rounds per person for lunch or lighten it up and serve one round as an appetizer for only 42 calories !
But I bet you can’t eat just one ! 🙂
Eggplant Tomato Rounds
4 servings
165 calories per serving (4 rounds)
2 small eggplants, peeled and cut into 8 slices each
2 T oil
½ t salt
⅛ t pepper
½ t garlic powder
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
½ t basil flakes
½ t oregano flakes
½ cup low fat provolone cheese, shredded
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush both sides of each eggplant round with oil and season with garlic powder, salt and pepper then bake 5 minutes per side. Please a slice of tomato on each round and sprinkle with oregano and basil. Divide cheese among the rounds and bake 5 minute to melt the cheese.
I modeled this recipe after a restaurant favorite of mine – it is a wild mushroom ravioli appetizer that I could not help but order every time I frequented a certain restaurant, but the calorie count was over the top. Not this one !! Between the RICH cream sauce and the multiple mushroom flavors, this meal tastes just as decadent but with so few calories, you can eat it without any guilt.
Portobello and Ricotta Wontons
Thanks to Marxfoods.com for the wild mushrooms to create this masterpiece ! The different varieties lend quite a flavor to this dish. The dish would just not be the same using run of the mill mushrooms. The mixture of the chanterelles and matsutakes inside the little packet of goodness combined with the flavors of the porcini, lobster and black trumpet mushroom sauce … well, it’s just a little bit of heaven right here on earth.
Marxfoods offers a bunch of wild mushroom varieties – I think my favorite in this dish were the black trumpet mushrooms – they have a very delicate texture and the aroma is akin to a truffle. These are definitely on my list of favorites.
8 appetizer servings (3 wontons each) – 106 calories per serving
4 dinner servings (6 wontons each – 212 calories per serving
Filling –
1 t oil
4 shallots, sliced
¼ c water
2 oz. reconstituted dry chanterelle mushrooms (reserve the liquid)
2 oz. reconstituted dry matsutake mushrooms (reserve the liquid)
2 oz. Portobello mushrooms, sliced
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
1/3 c part skim ricotta cheese
To reconstitute dried wild mushroom, place in a glass bowl and cover with very hot water. Let sit 20-30 minutes. Reserve the water to use as when boiling the wontons.
Heat 1 t oil in a skillet and sauté the shallots on medium high heat for 5 minutes. Add 1-2 T of water if needed to keep the shallots moist. Add the reconstituted mushroom and sauté another 2 minutes. Finally add the Portobello mushrooms and sauté another 7 minutes. When done, place all in a food processor and pulse 14 times. (It’s best to chop or mince the woodier mushrooms like chanterelles and matsutakes). Turn into a bowl and mix with the ricotta. Set aside.
Sauce –
1 t oil
1.5 oz. reconstituted dry porcini mushrooms (reserve the liquid)
.25 oz. reconstituted dry black trumpet mushrooms (reserve the liquid)
.50 oz. reconstituted dry lobster mushrooms (reserve the liquid)
1 T water
1 c beef broth
2 t cornstarch
¼ c fat free evaporated milk
1 t red vinegar
To reconstitute dried wild mushroom, place in a glass bowl and cover with very hot water. Let sit 20-30 minutes. Reserve the water to use as when boiling the wontons.
Heat 1 t oil in a skillet and sauté the mushrooms 6 minutes. Add up to 1 T of water to keep the mixture moist. Mix starch and broth and add to the pan along with the evaporated milk. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cook 2 minutes to thicken the sauce. During the last minute of cooking, add the vinegar. Set aside.
Wontons –
24 wonton wrappers
Small bowl of water
Reserved mushroom liquid
Water
2 t salt
Put reserved liquid in a pot and add enough water to make 2 quarts. Add salt and bring to a boil.
Fill wontons with 1 T of the filling – – either use instructions on the back of the wonton package or watch this short video tutorial:
Complete all wontons then boil in 2 batches. Use a slotted spoon to lift the wontons out of the pot – put on a platter and cover with the sauce.
Great as an appetizer, a snack, a lunch side – and this antipasto does not skimp on the ingredients…olives, sausage, cheese, peppers, oh my ! This is very lemony – if you prefer, you can substitute vinegar for the lemon.
Lemon Marinated Antipasto
12 servings
220 calories per serving
1 lb. spicy turkey sausage
1 T oil
½ c oil
2 t grated lemon zest
½ c lemon juice
2 T chopped basil
½ t oregano flakes
1 t parsley flakes
½ t basil flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. roasted red peppers, drained and cut into small strips
12 oz. mozzarella cheese cut into cubes
1 c pitted kalamata olives
Cook sausage in 1 T oil until done. When cool, cut into slices. Whisk oil, lemon juice and spices with garlic. Layer sausage, pepper strips, cheese and olives in 2 quart size jars and pour over the dressing. Cover and chill 1-2 days. Try to remember to shake the jars a bit each time you open the frig those 1-2 days – that way the lemony marinade coats all the bits of goodness. Let stand at room temp 30 minutes before serving.
(you don’t need the jars – you can do this in a bowl or even a zip loc bag !)
This is an excellent quiche – no one would ever know you never even opened the oven ! The Swiss cheese is just perfect with the spinach and mushrooms. And the crust is so much more flavorful than a regular crust. You’ll definitely make this one again and again.
Quiche with Rice Crust
8 servings
116 calories per serving
1 ½ c cooked brown rice
1 c shredded low fat swiss cheese
¾ c Egg Beaters
¼ t curry powder
10 oz. package of frozen spinach, thawed and pressed dry in a colander
¾ c evaporated skim milk
½ c sliced mushrooms
2 T chopped shallots
¼ t garlic powder
¼ t onion powder
¼ t salt
1/8 t pepper
Combine rice, ½ c cheese, ¼ c Egg Beaters and curry and press into the bottom of a 9” glass pie plate. Microwave 4 minutes or until firm. Combine spinach, milk, mushrooms, onion, spices, ½ c cheese and ½ c Egg Beaters and mix well then pour into the crust and microwave on 50% power 20 minutes (rotate it every 5 minutes or so if your microwave does not have a turntable) or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
