Squash and Apple Bake

I used this Squash and Apple Bake recipe as a base, but eliminated the flour and substituting nutmeg for mace. I added all ingredients to the slow cooker and let it back on low for 8 hours.

Creamy Broccoli Bacon Rice

1/2 cup long-grain rice
1 head broccoli trimmed
4 slices bacon
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups skim milk
6 ounces fat-free cream cheese
2 ounces reduced-fat cheddar, shredded

Cook rice, fry bacon, and steam broccoli and combine in glass bacon dish. Melt butter and stir in flour. Add milk and cook until it begins to thicken. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Add cheese, stir until melted. Add to rice, bacon and broccoli.

Cook in 350 oven, about 30 minutes until bubbly.

Spinach Pesto and Chicken Couscous

This is my adaptation of this recipe by Near East Couscous.

Cooking spray
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
3 cups firmly packed spinach leaves (or one bag)
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup couscous
1 teaspoon of dry basil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Fresh basil and shredded Parmesan for topping (optional)

Spray pan with cooking spray. Toast walnuts over medium heat until they are done. They will be fragrant and silightly browned. Remove from pan. Don't skip this step, it makes the recipe.

Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Add more spray to pan and cook it and the garlic until the chicken is browned and no longer pink inside.

Add water, spinach, basil and Parmesan to pan. Bring to a boil and cook for a minute.

Stir in couscous, cover, remove from heat and let sit for five minutes.

Stir in walnuts and top with basil and Parmesan, if desired.

Borscht

Based on Helga's Russian Borscht recipe. I make mine without meat.

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 1/2 quarts beef broth
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 head cabbage, cored and shredded
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, diced
4 beets, peeled and diced
3 carrots peeled and diced

Fat-free sour cream for topping

Combine all, except sour cream in crockpot. Cook for 8 hours on low until vegetables are tender. Garnish individual servings with dollop of sour cream if desired.

Cheesy Chicken Pasta

Adapted from this Eating Well recipe. Here's my version:

8 ounces whole-wheat penne
1 small head of broccoli cut up into pieces
1/2 head cauliflower cut into pieces
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3 cups low-fat milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup Swiss cheese
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast cooked


1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Add cauliflower and broccoli florets and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes more. Drain, rinse and return to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add vinegar and cook until reduced slightly, about 1 minute.
3. Whisk milk, flour, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl and add to the pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese until smooth.
4. Stir chicken into the cheese sauce; cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir the sauce into the drained pasta and cauliflower.

Spinach Pesto

2 cups packed spinach
1 cup loosely packed parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 cup ground almonds

Process all in food processor.

Stuffed Swiss Chard

From Cooking with Bon Appétit Vegetables Cookbook

12 to 15 large Swiss chard leaves

5 tablespoons oil

1 small onion

2 garlic gloves,minced

1/3 cup minced parsley

1 cup finely shredded cabbage

1 cup chopped mushrooms

2 cups, cooked brown rice

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoons dried oregano

salt and pepper

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup minced parsley

1 32-ounce can tomato juice

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 cups feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

Place chard in steamer over medium heat and cook only until limp enough to be rolled; set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, garlic, and parsley and saute until onion is softened. Stir in cabbage and mushrooms and saute 3 to 4 minutes more. Mix in rice, egg and oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

Place 3 to 4 tablespoons of rice mixture in center of each leaf and roll envelope style, tucking in ends; set aside.

Add remaining oil to 2- to 3-quart saucepan. Place over medium-high heat, add onion, parsley and saute until onion is softened. Stir in tomato juice and cinnamon. Carefully lay stuffed leaves seam side down in sauce. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle with feta.

Potato, Leek and Ham Soup

1 leek, thinly sliced

4 red potatoes, chopped but not peeled

1 cup diced ham

4 cups chicken broth

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon tumeric

Combine all in slow cooker and cook for 8 hours or until potatoes are tender.

Curried Leek , Lentil and Kale Stew

5 ½ cups water

2 tablespoons chicken boulion

1 leek thinly sliced

4 leaves kale, sliced into ribbons, stems removed

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 cups brown lentils

2 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon curry powder

Combine all in a slow cooker. Cook on low for about 8 hours.

Thai Cucumber Salad with Roasted Peanuts

The complete Thai Cucumber Salad with Roasted Peanuts recipe from Epicurious.

My easy Thai Cucumber Salad with Roasted Peanuts:

1 large cucumber chopped

1 glove of garlic crushed

1 large sprig of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Dressing:

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 ½ tablespoons lime juice

dash sugar

chopped peanuts

Combine salad ingredients in bowl. Combine dressing ingredients and toss with salad. Topped with chopped peanuts.

Broccoli, Zucchini, Pepper Lasagna

Creamy White Sauce:
4 cups skim milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoons nutmeg

Combine all and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and cook 7 – 10 minutes until thickened.

From Betty Crocker’s New Choices Cookbook

1 head of broccoli
1 large zucchini
1 bell pepper (I used a white one)
1 clove of garlic
2 cups non-fat ricotta
1 egg
1/2 cup mozzarella or more to taste
12 no boil lasagna noodles


Cook vegetables and garlic until tender. Meanwhile make white sauce and combine ricotta with egg.

I used a 9 x 13 pan.

Pour about ½ cup sauce on the bottom of pan. Layer 4 noodles crosswise and top with half vegetable mixture, half ricotta, and half cheese. Top with next layer of noodles, ½ cup of sauce, vegetables, and ricotta, but not cheese. Top with last 4 noodles, rest of sauce and cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes until hot and bubbly and noodles are done. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting. 6 servings.

Adapted from Betty Crocker's New Choices Cookbook

Moussaka

1 eggplant
20 ounces ground turkey
1 onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of ground allspice


-Cut eggplant into 1-centimeter slices and place in colander over large bowl, sprinkled with generous amount of salt. Let sit for 20 minutes to draw out juices.
-Brown the garlic, onion and turkey until cooked through. Drain any liquid.
-Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, white wine, cinnamon, and allspice. Combine all and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Rinse the eggplant and pat dry. Fry in batches in a pan coated with non-fat cooking spray, a few minutes on each side until soft.
- Add meat mixture to pan and top with eggplant. Depending on size of eggplant, you may want to alternate layers of meat and eggplant, if the eggplant won’t all fit in single layer.

I froze at this point and added the following before I baked it in December:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup flour

2 1/2 cups skim milk

pinch of ground nutmeg

1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

To make, melt the butter and blend with the flour. Gradually add the milk and whisk, stirring constantly over low heat until the milk starts to boil and thicken. The sauce should be very thick. Remove from the heat, stir in one tablespoon of the Parmesan. Pour over moussaka and top with remaining Parmesan. Bake for about an hour at 350 degrees, or until cheese is golden brown and the moussaka is heated through.

Adapted from moussaka recipes in The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook and a recipe I copied from something I think was called Tasty Low-Fat Recipes. It was a small booklet I bought from Border's.

Bulgur Chicken Salad

2 ½ cups Bulgur
2 cups water
½ cup lemon juice
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 cucumbers, peeled and diced
½ cup diced red onion
½ cup reduced fat feta cheese
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half


-Cover the bulgur with water and lemon juice and let sit for about an hour, until liquid is absorbed
-Grill chicken breast and let cool before cutting into small pieces
-Combine all ingredients

Pizza/Calzone Dough

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons light vegetable oil (I use olive)
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast and warm water in large mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar, oil, salt, and 1 cup of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix enough of the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to make the dough easy to handle.

Turn out onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in glass or metal bowl, sprayed with vegetable oil cooking spray, turn over so greased side is up. Cover and let rise until almost double in size, about 30 - 45 minutes.

As pizza, cook at 400 degrees, about 30 minutes.

From Italian So Fat, Low Fat, No Fat by Betty Rohde

Green Beans in Dill and Walnut Sauce

1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed

For sauce
3/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon walnut oil
1/2 cup finely minced fresh dill (do not use dried)
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped walnuts

Cook beans until just tender. Drain well and run under cold water, drain again. Transfer to salad bowl.

Combine sauce ingredients in blender and puree until smooth (do not use processor or mixture will be too grainy). Pour over beans and toss well. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

From "Cooking with Bon Appetit Vegetables"

Beet Spinach Salad

I followed this recipe from the Two Onion farm (pdf) newsletter, roasting the beets in a little balsamic vinegar and oil, using a whole can of garbanzos, and using both a baby red onion and green onion.

Beet Cake

3 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 1/2 cups cooked beets, pureed
1 cup cooking oil
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together the beets, eggs, sugar, vanilla, chocolate, and oil. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour, beat well. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Frost with cream cheese frosting:
Combine 4 ounces cream cheese, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 stick butter, and enough powdered sugar until spreadable.

Penne with Garlic Scapes and Sugar Snap Peas

6 ounces penne pasta
1 garlic scape, sliced into small pieces
About 4 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Shaved Parmesan cheese

Boil penne until just about done. Add sugar snap peas and garlic scapes and cook for 2 minutes. Drain pasta and vegetables. Mix with olive oil and top with Parmesan cheese.

Adapted from Pasta with Sugar Snap Peas, Asparagus and Parmesan.

Garlic Feta Biscuits

2 cups mixed all purpose flour (half whole wheat, half white)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3 tbsp. margarine
3/4 cup buttermilk (I substituted powdered milk mixed with lemon juice after realizing I didn't have buttermilk)
1 garlic scape cut up into small pieces
1/4 cup reduced fat feta cheese

Combine dry ingredients and scapes. Add liquid and feta. Drop to form biscuits. Bake at 450 for 12 minutes. Makes about 12 biscuits.

Adapted from Cooking Light's Buttermilk Biscuit recipe.

Tangy Caraway Cabbage

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 green onions, sliced
1 head cabbage, shredded
1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
Kosher salt and black pepper
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp white wine vinegar

Heat the oil in skillet, add onion and cook until tender. Add coleslaw, caraway seeds, 1/4 teaspoon salt, dash of pepper and cook 2 minutes. Stir in liquids and cook until they nearly evaporate, about 5 minutes.

Adapted from Sausage with Tangy Caraway Cabbage from Real Simple.

Curried Cole Slaw

I adapted this from a few recipes, namely the vinagrette dressing in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and this recipe for Curry Coleslaw.

1 small head coleslaw, shredded thin (about 4 cups?)
1 small salad turnip peeled and sliced thin
4 green onions, chopped

For the dressing:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP sugar
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
dash of ginger
4- 5 dashes of hot sauce

Other:
Chopped peanuts

Combine dressing ingredients and toss with salad. Top with chopped peanuts when serving.