Bonnie's Corned Beef and Cabbage

We also called this Mom's New England Boiled Dinner and we made it to feed a very large crowd! Choose ingredient quantities to make it the right size for your family.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients:

One very large pot with lid

1 flat cut corned beef (they come with a packet of spices, *if your corned beef does not include the spices, mix up the following:

*Pickling spice: 2 tablespoons black peppercorns, 2 tablespoons mustard seeds, 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, 2 tablespoons hot red-pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons allspice berries, 1 tablespoon ground mace, 2 small cinnamon sticks, crushed or broken into pieces, 2 to 4 bay leaves, crumbled, 2 tablespoons whole cloves, 1 tablespoon ground ginger

4 Potatoes, peeled and cut into large hunks so they don’t dissolve if you boil them a bit too long.

2 heads of cabbage – either green or white, cut into quarters (two quarters per guest)

4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch lengths – to make sure there are leftovers you may want to use more carrots, two per guest.

Directions:

Cut off excess fat from the corned beef, cover with water completely, add spices, bring to boil, reduce to; a simmer, cover and cook as per directions on package.  The longer you cook the more tender it is.

One hour before the corned beef is done, add the potatoes to the pot – place them right on top of the beef.

Half an hour before beef is finished add the carrots to the pot.

15 minutes it is finished add the cabbage to the top of the pot.

Drain it all. Slice the corned beef and platter it with the veggies.

Extra Notes:

We serve Irish soda bread, and three sides for the meet...a mustard/horseradish mix, a yogurt and dill mix, and yogurt and horseradish (the dill one turns green in the food processor and is very pretty on the table).

Table settings have been pots of clover, tall stems of bells of Ireland - all lovely and springy.

Bonnie's Doughnut French Toast

The following is the full on just gotta do it right Doughnut French Toast. Just like a warm jelly doughnut fresh from the bakery...except that it's a lot less fatty. In the Notes section are suggestions for changes to make a light version for those days when you want flavor, but feel more virtuous.

The nutrition facts for both the full tilt deliciousness and the light version await you at Calorie Count!

serving suggestion: sliced mixed berries

Doughnut French Toast

Serves two

Ingredients:

4 thick slices of bread
2 eggs
4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 T butter
2 T sugar
1 pint strawberries
1 t lemon juice
4 T sugar, powdered or granulated

Directions:

Whip the eggs, vanilla, and milk together in a bowl. Soak the bread and use up every last little bit of the good stuff.

While the bread soaks, put the sugar, strawberries, and lemon juice in a blender and give it a good spin.

In a pan, melt the butter over medium heat and fry up the french toast till nice and brown, dredge each peace in a little sugar (or sprinkle with powdered sugar), and top with the strawberry mix..

Notes:

To make this much lighter, use egg substitute, fry up in a spray of oil or Pam, use the sugar substitute of your preference, or simply leave the strawberries unblended and ladle over the toast in slices.

Bonnie's Breakfast Dover Sole

The nutrition facts for this high protein breakfast is at Calorie Count!

Breakfast Dover Sole

Ingredients:

1 4 oz Dover Sole Fillet
1 egg white
1/4 cup Corn Flakes, crushed
1/4 t Herbes de Provence

Directions:

Spray Pam on a small skillet and heat over medium.

Mix the crushed Corn Flakes (blend them fine in a blender or use a mortar and pestle) with the Herbes de Provence in a small bowl.

In another bowl, beat the egg white.

Dip the filet in the egg white and then in the corn flakes to coat both sides well.

When the pan is hot fry the filet for two minutes on each side. Serve immediately.

Bonnie's Italian Chicken

Another wonderful chicken dish from Bonnie!

The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count!

Italian Chicken

1-2 tsps olive oil
4 frozen or not boneless skinless chicken breasts (4-6 oz each)
2 boullion cubes
1/2 c water
1 small can of diced tomatoes
3 tsps Italian spice blend
1 large onion/diced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown the onions in a little olive oil.

Add the chicken breasts (frozen or thawed) and brown a little.

Add entire can of tomatoes.

Dissolve bouillon cubes in water and add to chicken.

Add seasonings, or your favorite dried Italian spice blend and some salt and pepper to taste.

Cook covered on medium low for 60 min (if chicken was thawed) 90 min (if frozen) or... until very tender. YUM! BONN appetit!


Hint:

A little honey may be added for verve!

Chicken Breast

Bonnie's Da Lime and Da Coconut Spicy Chicken

When making this recipe, it is important to play Nilsson's song or the flavors do not achieve perfect harmony.

The nutrition facts are on Calorie Count!

Sliced Limes by Darwin Bell

Bonnie's Da Lime and Da Coconut Spicy Chicken

Ingredients:

4 frozen (or not) whole boneless skinless chicken breasts (4-6 oz each)
2 tsps olive oil
1 large (or 2 smaller) chipolte peppers from a can - chop
1 large onion- slice
1/2 c chicken broth
1  8 oz. can of lite coconut milk
Juice of 1 medium grapefruit
2-3 small key limes or 1 large lime/ thinly sliced
2 tsp cumin (or more if you like)
2 tsp tumeric (or more if you like)
2 tbsp (or more) of agave syrup or honey

Directions:

Thaw the frozen breasts for a 1/2 hour in cold water.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
Throw in the chicken breasts and brown a couple of minutes each side.
Add the grapefruit juice, chicken broth, coconut milk, peppers, limes, and onion to the skillet.
Add the cumin and tumeric and stir it all together a little. Add the agave or honey.
Cook covered for about an hour.
Salt and pepper to taste.

This is quite a tasty dish.  The cumin and tumeric give it a lovely color, and you can heat it up as much as you want by adding even more chipolte or cayenne to it. Also, if you want it sweeter, add more agave or honey. Great served over rice.

Chicken Breast

Bonnie's Fabulous Citrus Chicken!

This easy recipe from Bonnie is simply fantastic! Start it with the still frozen chicken breasts, the chicken marinates to a lovely tenderness while cooking from frozen in the citrus and spices, the result is just delicious!

The nutrition facts for this great recipe can be found at Calorie Count along with a ton of terrific calorie counting tools! 

Bonnie's Fabulous Citrus Chicken
(2 servings) 

Ingredients:

2 (6 oz) frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 grapefruits juiced
2 (or more!) lemons, juiced
1 large onion, chopped
1 t garlic powder, or fresh garlic
1 t cumin
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t salt and/or Vege-Sal Seasoned salt (to your taste) 

Directions:

Place the two still frozen chicken breasts in a medium non-stick pan. Juice the grapefruits and lemons over the chicken. Sprinkle with cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, and salt. Place the onion on top of the chicken and cook covered at medium heat for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook covered for another 30 minutes or so til the chicken is deliciously tender and finishes with a nice sauce.

You can mix and match your favorite citrus, but what makes this dish work so well is the combination of fresh citrus and frozen breasts. 

Very difficult to over spice, even with the cayenne, as the sweet citrus and heat compliment each other so well. If you are on a sodium restricted diet, please note that you may easily reduce the sodium levels in this dish by substituting your favorite no-salt seasoning blend for the salt or Veg-Sal. Enjoy it your way!

Chicken Breast