Tag Archives: sugar

Cappuccino Granita

August 19, 2010 admin Leave a comment

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.

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.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Peanut Butter Fudge Pie

June 19, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This tastes just like a Peanut Butter Silk pie that a restaurant around here used to serve. When the restaurant closed, we all mourned the loss of the pie ! But now I’ve found just the right mixture of ingredients to reproduce it ! It’s a little high in calorie count for a dessert, but it is sooooooooooooo worth it, so save it for a splurge day and dig in 🙂

8 servings
380 calories per serving

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ c sugar
¼ c creamy peanut butter
2 c cool whip, thawed
1 oreo pie crust
¼ c hot fudge topping, warmed

Beat cream cheese with sugar and peanut butter and then whisk in cool whip. Spoon into crust and drizzle with topping and gently swirl with a knife. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Dinner, Kid Friendly, Sides

Pepper Muffins

June 14, 2010 admin Leave a comment

These make a great side to just about any dish. They are simple to put together, they cook up on no time and they disappear fast ! If you want to zest them up more, try adding some sauteed onions or garlic along with the peppers.

12 servings
118 calories per serving

¼ c chopped green bell pepper
¼ c chopped red bell pepper
¼ c chopped yellow bell pepper
2 T butter
2 c flour
2 T sugar
2 ½ t baking powder
½ t salt
½ t basil flakes
¼ t cayenne pepper
¼ t garlic powder
¼ c egg beaters
1 c skim milk
Pam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Saute pepper in butter until tender and set aside. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, basil, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt. Mix egg and milk and stir into the dry ingredients until moist then fold in peppers. Spray muffin cups with Pam and fill 2/3 full then cook 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin cups.

Dessert, Fruit, Kid Friendly, Summer

Peach Cobbler

June 12, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Definitely serve this one warm with some vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream – it’s a great dessert that bakes up quickly and tastes so homey.

8 servings
190 calories per serving

5 c sliced frozen peaches
1/3 c maple syrup
1/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
2 T MINUTE Tapioca
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 c Bisquick
2 T sugar
¼ – 1/2 c milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix peaches with syrup, brown sugar, tapioca, lemon juice and cook on medium heat until it comes to a boil then pour into 9 inch square baking pan. Stir Bisquick, sugar and milk until soft dough forms then drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto hot fruit. Optionally sprinkle with a little more cinnamon then bake 28 – 30 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Dulche de Leche Rice Pudding

May 16, 2010 admin Leave a comment

You can serve this pudding warm or chilled. It is rich and creamy and ever so decadent. It’s good without the caramels melted in – – then you do that step and it gets taken to a whole other level. You must try ! 🙂

I am sure you could bring down the calories using buttery spread instead of butter, Splenda instead of sugar, Fat Free evaporated milk instead of whole – – but this dessert just deserves all the ingredients that give it its creamy goodness.

294 c per ½ c serving

2 c water
½ c uncooked rice
¼ c sugar
1 ½ cinnamon sticks
1 T butter
Dash of salt
12 oz. evaporated milk
8 caramels
1 T coarse sugar
1/8 t kosher salt

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Stir in the evaporated milk and bring to a boil again then lower the heat and simmer 10 minutes or until it is thick and creamy then add the caramels and stir until melted. Take out the cinnamon sticks and throw them out, then spoon the pudding into desert dishes. Combine sugar and salt and sprinkle over the pudding just before serving.

Appetizers, Sides, Snacks

Homemade Flatbreads

April 23, 2010 admin 4 Comments

I make these so often that I just had to repost – – this last time I used olive oil and simply sprinkled with sea salt and they were just divine !

These flatbreads are so versatile. They make a great side, or a great snack or even a great appetizer. Try different spice combinations – olive oil and parmesan cheese, or olive oil and cayenne pepper and garlic powder for a zesty taste treat. To make a sweet version, sprinkle with a mixture of Splenda brown sugar and cinnamon.

4 servings
80 calories per serving
1 serving = 3 flat breads

1 1/2 t kosher salt
1 t poppy seeds
1 t sesame seeds
1 1/2 t sesame oil (you can sub olive oil)
1 1/2 t water
12 wonton wrappers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay wontons flat without overlapping on a cookie tray. Mix oil and water and brush over wontons. Sprinkle with salt and seeds. Bake 5 minutes or until crisp.

Dessert, Instructional, Kid Friendly, Videos

Apple Pockets

February 7, 2010 admin Leave a comment

These are great apple pockets – and they are really so simple to make; it only takes about 10 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes in the oven until you’re eating hot apple pockets !

10 servings
85 calories per serving

2 baking apples (a sweet Gala or McIntosh apple as opposed to a tart Granny Smith, etc.)
2 T sugar
1 t cinnamon
Flour
1 package (7.5 oz.) biscuit dough – 10 biscuits (in the refrigerator section of your market – I use store brand)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and grate apples and place in a bowl (use the same type of grater you would use to grate cheddar cheese). In a small bowl combine sugar and cinnamon. Stir 3/4 of the sugar mix in with the apples. Roll each biscuit to a 5 inch circle with a rolling pin (or press with the bottom of a clean skillet or dish). You may want to flour the biscuit a little so the rolling pin or dish won’t stick to it.

Take a look at my video for quick instructions on how to do this:

Place equal portions of apple mix in each round, fold the circles over in half and pinch the edges well to seal. I actually press around the edge with a fork so it is well-sealed a little decorative. Place pockets on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Bake 20 minutes.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Lemon Cookies

February 1, 2010 admin 1 Comment

So buttery, so lemony, so good ! These are like lemon shortbread and they just melt in your mouth. A little high on the calorie count, but sooooo worth it. And 3 cookies really is enough for a snack – these are so rich !

30 cookies
328 calories for 3 cookies

2 c flour
1 c confectioner’s sugar
1 t Kosher salt
1 T plus 1 t lemon zest
1 t lemon juice
1 c sweet butter cut into pieces
2 large egg yolks
1/4 c granulated sugar

Pulse flour, confectioner’s sugar, salt and lemon zest. Add butter and process until coarse like breadcrumbs. Add yolks and lemon juice and process until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each into a log. Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm, about 3 hours. If you freeze any longer than 3 hours, these will be too hard to slice and you’ll need to let defrost a bit or microwave for 30 seconds or so.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread sugar on a piece of foil and roll logs in the sugar. Cut into 1/4 thick slices and place on baking sheets 1 inch apart as they will spread as they cook. Bake 15 minutes or until edges are browned.

Crock pot, Dessert, Kid Friendly

Crock Pot Brownies

January 29, 2010 admin 2 Comments

Can you say ooey gooey chocolate? This recipe sure does ! This is definitely a 4 star keeper 🙂

12 servings
198 calories per serving

2/3 c flour
2/3 c sugar
1/3 c cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2/3 c fat free evaporated milk
1/3 c margarine, melted and cooled
1/4 c Egg Beaters
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 c semi sweet baking chips
Pam
Powdered Sugar

Spray a 4 qt crock pot with Pam. Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Combine milk, margarine, egg and vanilla in another bowl. Mix the dry mix into the wet mix until smooth. Finally stir in the chips. Spread batter in the crock pot and cook on low 2-3 hours or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool 30 minutes and then invert over a plate and cut into 12 pieces. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Apple Crisp

January 24, 2010 admin 1 Comment

This is so low cal on its own that there’s plenty of room to add a nice scoop of light vanilla ice cream 🙂

9 servings
132 calories per serving

3 medium apples, cored and sliced thin
1 t cinnamon
2 T sugar
2 T flour

Topping:
1 c quick oats
1 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 c brown sugar
2 T margarine

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix first four ingredients and place into a 9 inch square baking dish. In a small bowl mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over the apples. Bake until apples are soft, about 30 minutes.