SarahR's Grilled Peaches

Nothing ends a summer meal quite so beautifully as grilled and basted fruit. My thanks to SarahR for this elegant low calorie dessert recipe!

The nutrition facts were created with the tools at Calorie Count.

Grilled Peaches

Ingredients:

6 fresh peaches, cut in half, seed removed

6t T honey

dried thyme

6 T creme fraiche or mascarpone

Directions:

Preheat a grill to medium-high.

Place the peaches cut side down onto the grill and cook until lightly charred, 2 to 3 minutes, depending on your grill the length of time this will take make be different.

Transfer the peaches, cut sides up, to a grill-proof baking dish or baking sheet.

Drizzle evenly with the honey and sprinkle with thyme.

Place the dish on the grill and grill covered until the peaches are soft - about 5 minutes, again depending on the grill.

Remove the baking dish from the grill and divide the peach halves between 6 dessert plates. Top the peaches with a dollop of mascarpone or creme fraiche. If you can afford the calories, drizzle with additional honey.

Serve and enjoy immediately.

Buggy’s Spicy Bison Meatloaf

If you are not familiar with bison meat, it is not only delicious but very low fat! The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count! Buggy's recipes are a fantastic opportunity to learn to use the Converter tool from calorie count (link to the right hand side of this blog) - just plug in the amount in grams and ask it to translate it to a term you know - like ounces!

Buggy’s Spicy Bison Meatloaf

 Ingredients:

(Makes 16 servings)

875 grams Bison, Ground

1225 grams 85% Lean Ground Round

100 grams Panko

225 grams Onions

25 grams Dried Mushroom Medley

50 grams Garlic

1 tbsp Spicy Pepper Medley Seasoning

300 grams Spicy Red Pepper

150 grams Ketchup

1 serving Adobo Sauce Chipotle Peppers

Directions:

Chop onions and garlic.

Place dried mushroom in a blender & pulverize.

Place all ingredients, except the ketchup, pasta sauce and chipotle pepper in a large mixing bowl.

Mix by hand until blended.

Shape in to two loaves and flatten to two inches thick on a broiler pan.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Gently flip the loaves over.

Bake for another 30 minutes.

Mix together the sauce, ketchup and minced chipotle pepper.

Spread mixture over the loaves.

Bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Buggy’s Buffalo Beef Meatloaf

A beautiful savory meatloaf with buffalo, extra lean ground beef and mushrooms. The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Buggy’s Buffalo Beef Meatloaf

 Ingredients:

(Makes 12 servings)

15 grams mushrooms, dried

50 grams garlic, minced

200 grams salsa

100 grams eggs, 2 large

1 pinch salt

1 pinch pepper, black, ground

50 grams oats

1130 grams beef, extra lean, ground

870 grams buffalo, ground

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.

Grind dried mushrooms in blender.

Put all ingredients in to a large bowl. Mix by hand.

Form 2 loaves and place on to broiler pan.

Bake for 45-60 minutes until done.

Claire’s Curried Lentil Soup

Absolutely delicious – and this low calorie soup gets an A on Calorie Count’s nutrition analysis!

Claire’s Curried Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

(Makes 3 servings)

1/2 cup dry lentils

1 carrot, grated

3 cups cauliflower

1 red bell pepper

1 small onion

1 clove garlic

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp black mustard seeds, toasted

1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp asafetida

1 dried chile pepper

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

5 cups water

Directions:

Grate the carrot. Chop up the cauliflower, onion, pepper. Mince the garlic.

Put everything but the garam masala and salt into a pot and simmer until tender.

Remove the hot chile pepper and puree everything with an immersion blender.

Stir in garam masala and salt to taste and serve.

Michael’s Green Chili Meat Loaf

Wonderful flavors of New Mexico in this delicious loaf!

Hatch Chilis make the BEST enchilada sauce!

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Michael’s Green Chili Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
1 garlic clove, minced

1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced (about 1 cup)

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (or 1 Tbsp. dried parsley)

2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme  (or 1 tsp. dried thyme)

1 lb. ground beef, lean

1 lb. ground turkey, lean

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup Ritz crackers, crushed

1/3 cup old fashioned oat meal

1 cup mild or medium green enchilada sauce (I recommend Hatch)

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Spray a 6 X 10 inch baking dish with Pam cooking spray.

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions, garlic, and bay leaf until the onions are tender, about 3 minutes.  Add the bell pepper and cook until the pepper is tender. Stir in the parsley and thyme and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and let the onion mixture cool. Discard the bay leaf.

In a large bowl, combine the turkey and beef, eggs, crackers, oats, 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, the Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and the cooled vegetables. Use your hands to mix everything together.

Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and form into a loaf on the baking sheet. Coat the meat loaf with the remaining 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce.

Bake for 1 - 1-1/2 hours, until the meat loaf is firm. Let sit for about 5 minutes before slicing. I suppose you could also try this with red bell pepper and red sauce.

Crazypotato98's Mild and Easy Crock Pot Chili

Mild and delicious. Adding mushrooms means you don't need to use as much ground beef. It also lowers the calories significantly. When making a recipe from Crazypotato98, you may need to use the unit conversion tool on the right hand side of this blog. Just change the amount of the beef from kg to ounces. Enjoy. 

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Mild and Easy Crock Pot Chili

Ingredients 

(Makes 8 servings)

2 cups dried pinto beans

6 cups water

4 Knorr tomato bouillon cubes

1 poblano pepper, diced

2  green bell peppers, diced

2 cups diced raw mushrooms

7/20 kg beef, ground, 90% lean meat

14 oz canned diced tomatoes

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

Directions:

Just throw it all in the Crock Pot and simmer for 6-8 hours on low. That's it!

Janice's Vegetarian Beans and Rice

A delicious and colorful celebration of vegetables in a one dish meal.

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Vegetarian Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain rice

Veggie stock

2 t olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup corn, canned, frozen or fresh

1 jalapeno or serrano pepper

1 teaspoon dried basil

2 t cumin

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup salsa (your favorite brand and heat level)

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Optional for Non-Vegans:

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Optional for Bean Lovers: 

Add two cans of beans and increase the salsa and seasonings.

Directions:

Cook the rice per package directions but use veggie stock instead of water.

When the rice is done and resting with the lid on, place a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and saute the onion, celery, and red pepper in the olive oil until softened.

Add garlic and saute two minutes. Add the corn, jalapeno, and other seasonings and simmer five minutes.

Add the salsa, then the beans and vinegar and stir.

Stir in the rice and heat together. Add more salsa if it seems too dry. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Like it hot? Add more chopped jalapenos or hot red pepper flakes.

Michael's Kitchen Sink Red Chile Chicken Stew

A nice spicy dish! If you are not fond of hot spices, cut back on the cayenne, use mild or medium enchilada sauce, and use a mild version of chile powder. If you are not afraid of the heat, use the hot stuff!

The nutrition facts (set to the high end of all ranges) can be found at Calorie Count!

Kitchen Sink Red Chile Chicken Stew

Ingredients:

1 - 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 or 3 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and cubed but not peeled

1 medium large onion, chopped

2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced

2 or 3 large yellow squash, coarsely diced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 cup leftover corn bread

(1) 14-oz. cans of sweet corn, drained

(1) 16 oz. cans red enchilada sauce (strongly rec: Hatch medium hot)

(2) 16 oz. cans water

1  small can tomato paste

2 Tbsp. chicken bouillon powder

1 tsp. dried rosemary

1/2 tsp. dried celery seed

1/4 tsp. oregano powder

1/4 cup dried parsley leaves

1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp. onion salt

1 Tbsp. dried cilantro

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp. NM red chile powder (you choose how hot)

Directions:

In a large stew pot, sweat the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is just transparent.  Add the chile sauce and water.  Heat for several minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the chicken and potatoes and bring back to a boil.

Add all the other ingredients except the yellow squash.  Cover and simmer for a half hour or so, or until the potatoes are just slightly undercooked, stirring the mix frequently to keep it from sticking.

A few minutes before serving or refrigerating, turn the heat down to low and add the diced squash.  Let the stew simmer on low for 10 or 15 more minutes to permit the squash to cook in the “leftover” heat.  Serve with warm tortillas!