Rich, creamy and very flavorful. The family won’t even know they are eating healthy cottage cheese ! So much healthier than sugar laden puddings, ice creams, etc.
Mocha Parfaits
4 servings
210 calories per serving
16 oz. low fat cottage cheese
1/4 c sugar
1 T cocoa powder
1 1/2 t instant coffee powder
2 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup + 2 T Cool Whip Lite
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Blend cottage cheese, sugar, cocoa and coffee in a blender. Take 1half of the mixture out of the blender and distribute among the 4 parfait cups. Place 2 T Cool Whip in blender and quickly blend. Distribute half the berries in the parfait glasses. Then add the remainder of the mocha mix and the remainder of the berries. Top with Cool Whip and nuts.
This makes a great side dish or a perfect appetizer served with Crostini bread or crackers. Every caponata you find is a little different – there are so many components that it is easy to get different versions. This one uses very little oil and is my absolute favorite. By pre-cooking the eggplant in the oven, you use much less oil and you won’t even miss it ! It has all my favorite things and has a great depth of flavor.
Eggplant Caponata
6 servings
149 calories per serving
1 large eggplant, trimmed, but not peeled and then cut into 1 inch cubes
½ t salt
2 t oil
2 c chopped celery
¼ c celery leaves, chopped
1 c chopped onions
½ c water
2 t minced garlic
1 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes (including the juice)
2 T tomato paste
20 small black olives, chopped (you can use green if you prefer)
2 T white wine vinegar
1 t unsweetened cocoa
½ t black pepper
Kosher salt to taste
¼ c chopped basil
¼ c toasted pine nuts
2 t oil
Pam
To toast pine nuts, sauté in a hot, dry skillet for a few moments – until golden and aromatic. Place eggplant cubes in a colander over a bowl and sprinkle with ½ t salt. Mix well so that all eggplant is salted. Then place a small plate or bowl on top of the eggplant and weight it by placed a canned product or some other heavy object. The salt and the weight will draw some of the bitter liquid from the eggplant and you will end up with a much sweeter tasting caponata. Let sit for an hour then rinse eggplant and pat dry. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with Pam, and place eggplant on sheet in a single layer. Cook for 20 minutes then remove from oven and set aside.
Heat a skillet and add 2 t of oil. Also spray with a bit of pan and then sauté onions and celery on medium high heat until partially softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté a minute longer. Add ½ c water and continue cooking another 10 minutes. If the mix gets dry, add up to ¼ c more water to keep it moist. Add tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste and olives and cook on medium for 10 minutes until sauce thickens a bit. Add eggplant, vinegar, salt, pepper and cocoa and cook on low for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in toasted nuts and 2 t oil. Serve room temperature or chilled.
Biscotti is a very hard and crumbly Italian cookie that is perfect next to a cup of coffee. This one has such great chocolate and almond flavor !
Chocolate Biscotti
24 cookies
154 calories per serving
3 c flour
½ c unsweetened cocoa
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
1 c sugar
2/3 c margarine, at room temperature
¾ c Egg Beaters
1 t almond extract
½ c whole blanched almonds, toasted and chopped
Pam
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. With an electric mixer beat sugar and margarine until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and extract and beat well then gradually add in the flour mix mixing by hand. Dough will be very dry – don’t worry ! Then stir in almonds. On a baking sheet sprayed lightly with Pam form dough into 2 logs and bake 25-30 minutes and then cool on a wire rack 15 minutes. Add a few nuts to the top of the logs for extra almondy goodness. Using a serrated knife slice each log on the diagonal into 12 slices each 1 inch thick and place cut sides up back on the baking sheet and bake another 12-15 minutes per side or until crisp. Cool completely on wire rack.
I’ve made this with beef and I think I actually prefer it with chicken ! The chicken almost looks like beef since it has all the spicy goodness coating it and the flavor is mellow and deep like a good mole. This is not a REAL mole, but the flavor is definitely similar and once you taste this, you’ll find yourself craving it 🙂
Chicken Mole Stew
6 servings
297 calories per serving
2 T unsweetened cocoa
2 T ground coriander
3 t garlic powder
3 t ground cumin
3 t ancho chile powder
3 t paprika
3 t oregano flakes
¼ t cinnamon
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 c flour
1 T oil
½ c chopped onion
½ c chopped green bell pepper
½ c dry red wine
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 t salt
¼ t pepper
Combine the first 8 ingredients then stir in the chicken and mix well. Remove the chicken and then add flour to the rest of the spices and whisk well. Then add the chicken back and toss. Heat oil in a Dutch oven on medium high and add chicken pieces and sauté 5 minutes browning all sides then remove to a plate and keep warm. Add onion and pepper to the pan and cook 6 minutes then stir in the wine and tomatoes (with their liquid), add back in chicken, cover and set heat to low and simmer 1 hour stirring occasionally.
Rich, decadent, creamy goodness – this has a great cream cheese / cheesecake flavor while screaming CHOCOLATE !! It makes a great special occasion dessert.
Chocolate Cheesecake
10 servings
265 calories per serving
1 Oreo crust
1 c nonfat cottage cheese
½ c Egg Beaters
12 oz. Nefchatel (low fat cream cheese) at room temperature
1 c sugar
½ c unsweetened cocoa
¼ c flour
1 t vanilla
¾ c powdered sugar
¾ c nonfat sour cream
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a blender or food processor, mix cottage cheese and eggs until smooth. In another beat cream cheese and sugar with a mixer until smooth and then add the cottage cheese mix, cocoa, flour and vanilla. When smooth pour into the prepared pan. Bake 60-65 minutes or until set. Cool 15 minutes and then cover and chill 4 hours. Just before serving, combine the sour cream and powdered sugar and spread over the top of the cake.
This is barely sweet – much more of a cocoa flavor than a sweet flavor and yet it definitely satisfied my sweet tooth. This is a great sweet snack for in front of the TV.
Cocoa Popcorn
6 servings
94 calories per serving
6 c popped popcorn
1 T margarine
2 T light corn syrup
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ T skim milk
1/8 t salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place popcorn in a large baking pan and warm in the oven. In a small pan melt margarine, then add syrup, cocoa, milk and salt and stir until well mixed. Pour over popcorn and stir to coat all pieces.
Think Chocolate Italian ice but with more of a coffee flavor – and that describes this pretty well 🙂 A great dessert for only 70 calories and a perfect ending to a summer night.
Cappuccino Granita
7 servings
80 calories per serving
½ c sugar
2 T cocoa
3 c strong hot coffee (decaf)
1 c skim milk
Place a 13×9 metal pan in the freezer to chill. Combine all ingredients and cool for ½ hour then pour it into the pan and place in the freezer for 30 – 60 minutes. When ice crystals form on the edges, stir with a fork being sure to pull away all the frozen pieces around the edges and freeze another 2-3 hours stirring every ½ hour.
