Tag Archives: cornstarch

Coconut Custard Pie

This makes such a great custard ! The coconut flavor is mild, the custard is creamy and this is a superb pie. Sometimes I add a little coconut to the custard itself. This is as good as any bakery custard and at only 280 calories per serving, it‘s a great choice.

Coconut Custard Pie
Coconut Custard Pie

8 servings
280 calories

¼ c flaked coconut
¾ Splenda
⅓ c cornstarch
½ t salt
2½ c skim milk
2 egg yolks
2 T butter
¾ c flaked coconut
1¼ t vanilla extract
¼ t coconut extract
1 low fat graham pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast ¼ cup coconut in a skillet on medium low heat 5 to 6 minutes or until toasted.
Mix Splenda, starch and salt and gradually whisk in milk. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thick. Beat egg until pale in color and then whisk in ¾ c of the milk mix. Then add that mix back to the rest of the milk and whisk (in this manner, the eggs do not curdle). Cook one minute to bring to a boil stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add butter, ¾ c coconut and extracts. Pour into crust, cover with plastic and gently press down on the filling. Chill 3 hours and sprinkle with toasted coconut and garnish with some optional whipped cream just before serving.

Thai Chicken

Just the right amount of heat, tons of flavor and a dish I will make again and again ! This authentic Thai Chicken recipe combines the sweetness of coconut milk sugar and ginger with the heat of hot chile sauce, onions and garlic and turns out a flavor popping meal.

Thai Chicken
Thai Chicken

4 servings
403 calories per serving

3.5 oz. bag boil-in-bag rice
1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
1 T cornstarch
1 T fish sauce
4 t oil, divided
1 c sliced onion
2 t garlic, minced
1 t ginger, minced
1/2 c light coconut milk
2 t Sriracha (hot chile sauce available in the Asian section of your grocer)
1 T sugar
1 T fresh lime juice
2 T chopped cilantro
Lime wedges

Cook rice according to package instructions and keep warm. Mix starch and fish sauce and then toss with chicken. Heat 1 T oil and sauté chicken 6-8 minutes them remove to a plate and keep warm. Add 1 t oil to pan and cook onion, and sauté 3 minutes. Then add garlic and ginger and cook another minute. Put chicken back in the pan and cook 1 minute them add coconut milk, chile sauce, sugar and lime juice and cook a minute to heat through. Plate and garnish with cilantro. Serve with a lime slice.

Beef and Broccoli Casserole

Make this casserole and watch it disappear ! The is good old all American food and it feeds a crowd !

Beef and Broccoli Casserole
Beef and Broccoli Casserole

8 servings
351 calories per serving

24 oz. broccoli, cut into small florets (about 6 cups)
2 T oil
1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
4 c skim milk
1/3 c cornstarch
2 c shredded low fat sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 c frozen hash browns or precooked shredded potatoes
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 t pepper
Pam
1/4 t paprika

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix broccoli florets with 1 T oil and toss to coat them lay on a baking sheet and cook 15 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Heat 1 T oil in a skillet and add onion and sauté 3 minutes then add beef and cook 10 minutes or until beef is browned. Be sure to break up the clumps of beef as it cooks. Add Worchestershire, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper and spoon into a 9×13 baking dish then top with the broccoli.

Whikh milk and starch and bring to a boil on medium high heat. Cook until bubbly and thick, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and add in cheese, salt and turmeric. Pour over the beef and broccoli.

Mix potatoes, egg, salt and pepper and spoon over casserole. Spray the top with a bit of Pam so it will brown nicely and bake 45 minutes or until brown. Sprinkle with paprika and serve.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Nothing is better in winter than a pot of beef stew. And when you make it in the crock pot, the meat is so super tender. This one is a little more work than your typical crock pot recipe since different things have to happen at different times. But it is well worth it – the meat is super tender and the flavor is just great.

Crock Pot Beef Stew
Crock Pot Beef Stew


8 servings
240 calories per serving

1 ½ lb. boneless chuck roast (trim off any fat)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
½ t pepper
6 c water
2 c red potatoes, cubed
8 carrots, cut into chunks
1 c frozen peas, thawed
1 c frozen corn, thawed
5 T cornstarch
6 T water

Put beef in crock and sprinkle with soup mix and pepper. Pour water around meat and cover. Cook on high 5 hours. Remove meat and cut into cubes. Return to crock with veggies and cook on low 2 hours or until veggies are soft. Combine cornstarch and cold water and then stir into crock. Cover and cook on low one more hour. If the gravy does not thicken up enough, you can take a bunch of the liquid and add another cornstarch mix, bring to a boil and then simmer 2 minutes. That will get it nice and thick. Then just add back to the stew pot and serve immediately.

Portobello and Ricotta Wontons with Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce

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
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.

Homemade French Dressing

This tangy, savory dressing really hits the spot over field greens. And you’re certainly not going to find a bottled dressing weighing it at only 18 calories per tablespoon. So whip some up and pour it on…thick ! 🙂

Homemade French Dressing
Homemade French Dressing

Makes 1 ¼ c
18 calories per T

¾ c water
2 t cornstarch
¼ c lemon juice
¼ c ketchup
2 T oil
1 t Worcestershire sauce
¾ t salt
¼ t paprika
¼ t pepper
¼ t dry mustard
¼ t Equal or Splenda

Mix water and cornstarch in a pan and bring to a boil over high heat then reduce heat and cook 5 minutes or until thick and clear. Remove from heat and let cool. When cool add the rest of the ingredients and beat until smooth. Cover and refrigerate. Shake well before using.

Curried Shrimp and Broccoli

The curry sauce in this dish is just perfect – very creamy and just enough of it. This makes a great professional tasting dinner and does not take long at all to put together.

Curried Shrimp and Broccoli
Curried Shrimp and Broccoli

4 servings
290 calories per serving

1 c uncooked brown rice
1 c water
1 t oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 c small broccoli florets
½ c fat free chicken broth
3 t curry powder
1 c fat free evaporated milk
1 T cornstarch
½ t salt
4 t lime juice
¾ lb. cleaned and shelled shrimp
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice in water according to package instructions. Heat oil in skillet and add garlic and cook 30 seconds then add broccoli, broth and curry and heat until simmering. Cover and continue cooking 8 minutes or until broccoli is starting to get tender. Mix milk, starch and salt and add to skillet. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in lime juice and shrimp and cook until shrimp is done and all is heated through. Add salt and pepper.

Celery Seed Dressing

One problem with salad is that I love it SWIMMING in dressing. And even low cal and low fat dressing really pack on the calories when you put on as much as I like to. So this is the first of a series of cornstarch based salad dressings I make – the cornstarch helps thicken the dressing so you barely miss the oil. And at only 3 calories per tablespoonful, I can really pour it on 🙂

Celery Seed Dressing
Celery Seed Dressing

Makes 1 c
3 calories per T

1 T cornstarch
1 t sugar
1 t paprika
1 t celery seed
½ t onion powder
½ t dry mustard
2 t salt
1 c water
¼ c vinegar

In a sauce pan mix the first 7 ingredients then gradually stir in the water and vinegar and quickly bring to a boil stirring constantly. Allow mix to thicken then cool and keep in the refrigerator. Shake well before using.

Pork Piccata

The lemony piccata sauce is just made for pork ! And this couldn’t be easier to put together – – yet you get a fancy, restaurant quality meal.

Pork Piccata
Pork Piccata

4 servings
216 calories per serving

1 lb. pork loin in 8 thin slices
2 T flour
1 T oil
1 t cornstarch
½ c chicken broth
3 T lemon juice
3 T chopped parsley
½ t salt

Heat oil in skillet. Dredge pork in flour and add to skillet browning each side. Stir together cornstarch, broth, juice, parsley and salt and add to pan along with pork and simmer 1 minute.

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