Whether you serve these as a dinner side, a snack or an appetizer, you’ll be in love. Cheese and potatoes are just meant to go together !
Cheesy Stuffed Potatoes
16 servings
142 calories per serving (1 serving = ½ potato)
3 1/4 pounds russet potatoes (equaling roughly 8 potatoes)
1 c milk
1/3 c light sour cream
1/4 c low fat buttermilk
1 c shredded fontina or swiss cheese
1/4 c finely chopped chives (or 1 t dried chives)
2 T butter
Salt and pepper to taste
6 T grated parmesan cheese
paprika
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean potatoes and pierce them then bake one hour or until tender. Let cool a bit and then cut in half lengthwise and scoop out most of the flesh leaving a shell and about ¼ inch of potato on it. Preheat your broiler at this point. Mix the scooped out flesh with milk, sour cream, buttermilk, salt and pepper then stir in the fontina, chives and butter and place potatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with parm and paprika. Broil 3-5 minutes or until cheese is all melted.
The ginger in this recipe is a nice unexpected flavor that makes it just perfect. This works just as well with regular bread and with a quick dip rather than chilling over night.
2 eggs
2 egg whites
¾ c skim milk
1 T sugar
1 T molasses
¼ t ground ginger
¼ t ground allspice
1/8 t salt
6 slices French bread (3/4 inch thick)
2 t butter
Mix eggs, whites, milk, sugar, molasses, ginger, allspice and salt. Place bread in a 13×9 baking sheet and out the egg mix over it and refrigerate overnight. Heat butter on a griddle and cool bread 3 minutes each side.
Everyone loves a good tuna casserole. This one tastes great and is way lower in the calorie department than my regular recipe. It gets skinnied up by using a slim milk and broth based sauce rather than a creamier version. The results are great !
Tuna Casserole
6 servings
390 calories per serving
8 oz. whole wheat egg noodles
1 medium onion, chopped finely
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
½ c chicken broth
6 T flour
3 c skim milk
12 oz. can chunk light tuna in water, drained well
1 c frozen peas, thawed
1 c finely shredded parmesan cheese
½ c panko breadcrumbs
Pam
Cook noodles according to package directions. Preheat broiler.
Heat a skillet and spray with Pam. Then cook onions 5 minutes. If they start to dry out, add a tablespoon or so of hot water. Add mushrooms and cook another 3 minutes. Add wine and continue cooking until liquid is evaporated, about 4 minutes then add milk, salt and pepper. Sprinkle peas with flour and mix to coat. Add to mushroom mix with tuna and half of the parm. Stir in the noodles. Place in a baking dish and sprinkle with crumbs and the rest of the parm. Broil 3-4 minutes until bubbly and top is brown.
Sprinkle the casserole with breadcrumbs and the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Broil until bubbly and lightly browned on top, 3 to 4 minutes.
You can also prepare this ahead and then sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and cheese last minute, cover and bake at 350 degrees for an hour or so, taking off the cover the last 10 minutes to brown the top.
I have been searching for a recipe that would turn out my Grandma’s babka, but, alas, I cannot find one that compares. After years of Grandma’s being passed around, something is surely missing as it just does not turn out the right product. This one is close – it has most of the right ingredients and it turns out a really nice tasting babka that is quite traditional (like many of the Polish delis sell), but it is not my Grandma’s babka. Hers was much flatter and less dense – it was drier and airier. It was more a cross between a cake and a bread (she even cooked it in a 9×13 pan rather than a bundt or in bread pans) whereas this one is more the traditional heavier bread. So if you’re looking for a traditional babka recipe, this is a great one to try.
If anyone out there knows of how to get the babka tasting more like I remember, please let me know !!
Polish Babka
20 servings
239 calories per serving
6 c flour
1 t salt
1 package of yeast
½ c warm water
¾ c sugar
1 ½ c skim milk
1 stick unsalted butter
¾ c golden raisins
2 eggs, beaten
1 egg yolk
2 T water
Pam
Soak raisins in some warm water to plump them up a little then drain before adding to dough. Heat milk in a saucepan then add the butter and cook on low until the butter is melted. Pour into a mixing bowl and add sugar and salt and cool for 20 minutes. Mix the yeast and ½ c water and let sit 5 minutes then add it to the milk and sugar mix. Add in the 2 beaten eggs and then gradually add the flour and mix. Then knead the dough ½ hour by hand or 10-12 minutes in a mixer with a dough hook attachment. Add the raisins during the last couple minutes of kneading.
Cover the bowl with a towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour. Then punch down, re-cover and let it rise another hour.
Then take dough and place in a 13×9 pan (or in 2 bread pans). Mix the egg yolk and 2 T water and brush onto the top of the bread dough. Spray foil with Pam and cover pan and let rise again until doubled – again, about an hour.
Then uncover and bake at 350 degrees for ½ hour for a 9×13 pan or 45 minutes for a large pan or bread pans. It’s done when you tape on it and it makes a hollow sound. Let cool and then cut into slices.
This recipe packs so much flavor into one dish – the milky sauce mixes just perfectly with the cayenne and onion to create a rich vegetable dish that has you coming back for more.
Spicy Corn and Peppers
6 servings
127 calories per serving
2 T butter
½ c onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
¼ t cayenne pepper
Coarse salt
16 oz. frozen corn
½ c diced tomatoes, drained (canned)
½ c whole milk
Melt butter in a skillet and add onion, pepper, cayenne and 1 t salt. Cook 7-8 minutes or until onion is soft then add the corn and tomatoes and cook 10 minutes. Stir in the milk and then remove from heat and serve.
The broth for this soup is just perfect – it is satisfyingly creamy without being too much. The veggies are just enough. And the rice makes it really stick with you. It is a great lunch soup and reheats well. Be sure to not skip the wine and lemon juice – just the little bits make a big difference in the taste of the broth !
Creamy Chicken Rice Soup
6 servings
218 calories per serving
½ c chopped carrot
1/3 c finely chopped onion
1/3 c chopped celery
2 T butter
¼ c flour
6 c chicken broth
2 c cooked rice
1 c cubed cooked chicken
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
1/8 t garlic powder
1 c 2 % milk
2 T lemon juice
1 T white wine
Saute the carrot, onion and celery in the butter until tender then mix in flour and gradually stir in the broth. Mix in rice, chicken, salt, pepper and garlic powder and bring to a boil the reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the milk, lemon juice and wine and cook 5 minutes or until heated through.
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 🙂
Coffee Soft Serve Ice Cream
12 ½ c servings
299 calories per serving
½ c whole milk
1 T vanilla
2 T instant coffee powder
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/8 t salt
2 c heavy cream
Stir milk and coffee together so coffee dissolves than add vanilla, condensed milk and salt. 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.
This is like a pudding pop with strawberries – very rich, very creamy and very delicious !
Strawberry Dream
18 servings
254 calories per serving
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c skim milk
1.5 oz. package sugar free vanilla instant pudding
1-1/2 c thawed cool whip
20 Nilla Wafers, coarsely broken
1 c sliced fresh strawberries (save some for tops of desserts)
1/2 c strawberry ice cream topping (or strawberry jam)
Beat cream cheese until creamy and gradually beat in milk. Add pudding and beat 2 minutes (it will be quite thick) then stir in cool whip and berries. Swirl in topping. Divide cookies among 18 cupcake liners (I use silicone ones) then spoon in the strawberry mix, garnish the tops with extra berries and freeze 4 hours. Let sit out 10 minutes before eating.
Potatoes and cheese of any sort are just a winning combination. The parmesan in this recipe is a great hint of cheese without being overpowering.
Au Gratin Potatoes
4 servings
167 calories per serving
1 ½ lb. new potatoes
1 T margarine
1 T flour
¼ c chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
½ t black pepper
Salt to taste
1 ½ c skim milk
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced very thin
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Slice potatoes into ¼ thick slices and place half of them in a square baking dish. Top with half the onions, then do another layer of potatoes and another layer of onions and sprinkle with salt. Melt margarine and stir in flour, parsley, garlic and pepper and then gradually add milk stirring until thick and smooth. Remove from heat. Pour the sauce over the potatoes and cover and bake ½ hour. Stir gently, recover and bake another 30 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese over and bake another 20 minutes uncovered.
So very good ! You can stuff potatoes with just about anything but this recipe turns out a perfect twice baked potato – the sour cream and mozzarella are just perfect here.
Twice Baked Potatoes
4 servings
172 calories per serving
4 medium baking potatoes
1/3 c low fat sour cream
2 T chopped fresh basil and chives and parsley
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Skim milk
¼ c shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Clean potatoes, dry them and prick them with a fork. Bake one hour. Cut a 1 inch slit in the top and spoon out pulp into a bowl. Do this gently so the skin stays in tact. Use a blender so you get nice whipped consistency and mix together the pulp, sour cream, herbs and parmesan cheese. Add a few tablespoons of milk if the mix is too dry. Stuff the mixture back into the potato skins and sprinkle with mozzarella. Place in a baking dish and bake 20 minutes or refrigerate and then when you bake, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes then uncover and bake another 20 minutes.
To hollow out the potatoes, after you bake them, let them cool and then follow the instructions in this video.
