Posts filed under ‘Recipes/Cooking’
Hungry Girl Breakfast Cookies–Yum!
I subscribe to the Hungry Girl email newsletter, and this groovy chick is always coming up with light but filling products and recipes. Here’s her recipe for Breakfast Cookies–looks great for those grab-and-go mornings!
PER SERVING (1 cookie): 154 calories, 1.5g fat, 166mg sodium, 32.5g carbs, 5g fiber, 10.5g sugars, 5g protein — POINTS® value 2*
These things are large, fiber-packed, portable, and SOOO DELICIOUS!!!! Make a batch in the PM, and you’ll have super-quick b-fasts for the next few AMs!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup regular oats (not instant)
6 tbsp. whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original), ground to a breadcrumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor
1/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/3 cup Gerber Peaches (or another brand of pureed peaches, found in the baby food aisle)
1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1 tbsp. golden raisins
1 tbsp. Ocean Spray Craisins (original)
2 tbsp. brown sugar, not packed
2 tsp. Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Chop raisins and Craisins into small pieces. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, Fiber One crumbs, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, dissolve Coffee-mate into 2 tbsp. hot water. Add all other wet ingredients (pureed peaches, pumpkin, and egg substitute), and mix well.
Add liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until completely blended. Slowly sprinkle chopped raisins and Craisins into the batter, making sure they don’t all stick together.
Spray a large baking pan with nonstick spray, and spoon batter into 4 evenly spaced circles. Spread batter out a bit with the back of a spoon. Place pan in the oven for 12 – 14 minutes (until tops of the treats are just slightly crispy). Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Then grab ‘n go!
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
HG Alternative! If you don’t feel like whipping out the blender to grind that Fiber One, simply leave the F1 crumbs out of the recipe. Your cookies won’t be as high in fiber, but they’ll still taste great and clock in with a POINTS® value of 2* each.
How to Cook and Eat an Awesome Artichoke
Peace Love and Artichokes, an original design by Groovy Gal.
When I think of springtime, one of the first things that pops into my mind is artichokes! I love, love, love these weird, prickly green flower-looking-things! April, May, and June are prime artichoke season, and I’m delighted each time I walk through the local HEB and find big vats full of this delicacy. As a co-worker jealously eyed my artichoke lunch last week, he commented: “Artichokes–food of the Gods!”
I’ve found, though, that most people are extremely intimidated by artichokes. How can you trust something that will prick you? Checkout cashiers learn quickly to handle the plastic bags carefully. To me, though, the little thorns are just protecting the delicate inner meat. The plant itself knows how special it is. And, just so you know, if the artichoke isn’t harvested, it grows into a large, beautiful, purplish thistle flower. Beautiful in all its stages.
So let’s say you decide to be daring and purchase some of the green goodies–now what? Let me share with you the family recipe, so to speak. My mom introduced us to artichokes as toddlers, and when I mentioned to my grandmother recently that the grocery stores currently had a bumper crop, she recalled how surprised she was to see my brother and I eagerly picking them apart and devouring them at such a young age. That’s because they’re so yummy, I told her, and she quickly agreed.
So here’s what you do:
1. When you’re buying them, you really want to get Globe Artichokes. These come from California and the leaves are shaped like tear-drops. There’s another common variety that has a notched leaf, but these, in my opinion, aren’t as good as the Globes. You’ll want to buy 1 or 2 per person; two if the artichokes are the main course.
2. Put a large pot of water on to boil, and sprinkle in a generous amount of garlic salt. Salt, not powder! You’ll want to have about 3-4 inches of water, as the water level will rise as you add the artichokes. You just want enough water so that the artichokes sit about half-submerged.
3. Lay the artichoke on its side and cut off the stem about 1/2 an inch from the base. Place base-down, tips up into the water. Cover and lower the heat to about 40 percent max. Once the water is boiling, you just want the water to simmer for about an hour to steam the artichokes.
4. An hour will make them perfect, but if you’re not sure whether or not the artichokes are “done,” carefully lift one out of the water, lay it on its side, and gently insert a fork or knife into the base from the bottom up. If it slides in easily, they’re done! As for me, I’m confident after years of cooking these that an hour is perfect, so then I turn off the heat, tilt the lid so that there’s a crack, grab my potholders, and deftly dump the water while keeping the lid on. NOTE: the artichokes hold water down inside the leaves, so you’ll want to make sure that you’ve turned them upside down to get all the water out.
5. Set them on a plate while you prepare the dip. Trust me–this part takes about 2 minutes!
6. The awesome dip that my family uses is a butter/lemon juice/garlic salt blend. Some people swear by creamy, mayonnaise-based dips, but I don’t care for mayonnaise, so butter/lemon/garlic it is! Take a small bowl (each person will need their own bowl) and add in 2-3 tablespoons of butter (I actually use Brummel and Brown, a yogurt based “butter”), 1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh or bottled), and sprinkle generously with garlic salt. I love garlic, so I sprinkle liberally. Pop it into the microwave for approximately 40-50 seconds–just long enough to melt the butter. Stir when you take it out.
7. I usually can’t wait to eat my awesome artichoke, but be aware that they’ll still be hot–sometimes too hot to handle. It’s best to let them cool for about 10 minutes or so. You can even pop the plate into the fridge to put a chill on them before eating.
8. Once you’re ready, you’ll want to carefully pull off each leaf, working in a circular fashion around the artichoke because the leaves overlap. Hold each leaf by the thorn-end, dip the other end into the butter, and then put it in your mouth. Bite down gently, and scrape off the buttery end of the leaf with your upper teeth. Discard the leaf into a bowl or plate and repeat. Keep going until you get down to super-tiny leaves–they’re like a tee-pee in the center of the plant.
The Heart and Choke of the Artichoke
9. At this point, you’re almost at the prize: the artichoke’s heart. This is the firm meat that comprises the base of the leaves and the stem. Grab that little tee-pee of leaves and gently remove and discard. Beneath, you’ll find a circular layer of fine, hair-like stuff that’s called the choke. Don’t eat this–it’ll choke you! LOL! Instead, take a spoon and, starting at the outer edge of the choke, gently nudge it up, again working in a circular fashion. If you get really skilled at this, you can release the entire choke in one piece! (I’m a pro!) If you’re successful at doing this, you’ll find that the choke left impressions in the heart in a beautiful, concentric, flower-petal design! Awesome! I’ve decided that because of this perfect, swirly flower impression in the heart of each and every artichoke I’ve ever eaten in my 45 years of life, there is a God.
10. Finally, place the heart into your bowl of butter dip, use your spoon to cut it into small pieces, and then eat them slowly, savoring each and every piece that you worked so hard to get to. MMMmmmmm!
Now you will have discovered what artichoke lovers everywhere already know: artichokes are awesome! And there’s no need for guilt–each artichoke has approximately 25-60 calories. That’s right–the whole thing–60 calories! (The guilt comes in the dip, but hey–you’ve gotta live a little, right?) Find more nutrition information about this ancient plant, and get to cookin’!
Veggie Casserole
Okay–so I’ve kept it quiet here, but I’ve embarked on a new diet: Accu-weight. It’s pretty restrictive, but that’s only while you’re getting to your goal weight. You alternate fruit/veggie days with milk/yogurt days. It’s only Day 12, but I’ve lost 20 pounds! Woohoo! On fruit/veggie days, here’s a good recipe to try. I’m going to start posting all of the interesting recipes here, so I’ll be able to locate them again! If you give one a try, give us some feedback!
Veggie Casserole (from Janet):
Take a head of cauliflower, one of broccoli, a box of mushrooms, a couple of small zucchini & a couple of small yellow squash, & a small bag of baby carrots. Cut the cauliflower & broccoli into florets, cut the ends off the squash, 1/4 them the long way & then cut in half. If the mushrooms are small, leave them whole, if they’re large, halve or quarter them. Remember to weigh all these before putting in the pan. Spray a huge roasting pan with Pam, then pour in all the aforementioned veggies. Now take about 6-8 large cloves of garlic – do NOT peel them. Throw them in. Now give the whole thing a quick spray. Put in a 450 degree oven for around 45 minutes -you have to mix them up every 15 minutes or so, & when they’re a little browned & the cauliflower is a bit soft, take them out. It might even take an hour. Let them sit for a few minutes, then find all the cloves of garlic & squeeze them out of the ‘paper’ back into the pan. When you’ve squeezed them all, mix it all up. It is beautiful, delicious, & really I’ve been making it for years & everyone loves it. Enjoy!!!
Food for Thought…
March 1 is National Peanut Butter Day. March 2 is National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day. Who knew! Over at Hungry Girl, you’ll find the low-down on the most low-cal peanut butters, so grab a spoon (or knife, or celery stick) and enjoy!
What’s For Dinner?
Southwest Chicken served over rice
4 -3/4 inch thick boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, salted
1 1/2 cups black bean and white corn salsa
15 oz can of Mexicorn style corn, drained and rinsed
cooked rice (I use Uncle Ben’s 90 second brown rice that you can microwave in the bag, leaving only one pan to wash!!!:)
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook about 10 minutes or so until no longer pink. Set chicken aside.
Add corn and salsa to the skillet and cook 2 or 3 minutes or until hot. Spoon over chicken and serve over rice.
It’s delicious over brown or spanish rice with fresh mango slices on the side.
Note to Nicole: I know dadgummed good and well that you don’t have any mangos in da house! LOL
