Susan's Roasted Delicata Squash

A lovely winter squash similar to butternut squash. Easier to slice, no need to peel, and a lot faster to cook! If you like winter squash but don't make it often because it is hard to peel and cut, you will love the delicata!

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Roasted Delicata Squash
Ingredients:

2 delicata squash
1 T olive oil
1/4 t garlic salt
2 T Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Meanwhile, Poke a few holes in the squash and microwave for five minutes. Then cut lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Cut into spears and put in a foil lined pan. Brush with olive oil using a basting brush, sprinkle with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Roast for about 10-15 minutes or til browned and easily pierced with a fork.

Simple fast and a wonderful way to eat low calorie high nutrition squash on a weeknight!

Janice's Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Simple and much better tasting than that marshmallow brown sugar stuff people serve at Thanksgiving. Enjoy this anytime, but it's perfect with the turkey! A slightly modified version of Claire's Roast Sweet Potatoes - largely to give measurements to the seasonings.

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

4-5 medium sweet potatoes
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 T butter, melted
1 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/8 t salt
1/4 t fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Arrange the cut into chunks or slices sweet potatoes in an even layer in a large (preferrably glass) 9x13 inch baking dish.

Combine the maple syrup, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl and stir well. Pour the mixture over the sweet potatoes and toss to coat.

Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover, stir, and cook for about 45-50 minutes more until the sweet potatoes are tender - stir every 15 minutes to prevent burning and sticking to the pan.

Serve immediately.

Sharpshootinstar's Pumpkin Soup

 Pumpkin savoriness with minimalist calories from Sharpshootinstar! The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count and are set using 3 cups of stock.

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

1 15oz can pumpkin puree (not pie filling!)
1 med onion
2 tablespoons butter
2-4 cups chicken stock (depends on how thick or thin you like it)
1 chipotle pepper + 2 tablespoons adobo sauce.

Directions:

Chop up the onion and put it in a soup pot with the butter. 

Lulufit's Pumpkin Fluff Fruit Dip

What a great idea from Lulufit! The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count and are set with the use as a dip. A little fun, good nutrition, and some extra fruit for you and your kids!

Pumpkin Fluff Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 16 oz container of whipped topping, like Cool Whip
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

In a big bowl, mix all together.  Chill & serve with cut up fruit.

For extra Halloween-ness, serve in a hollowed out sugar pumpkin with fruit kabobs.

If you don't have any pumpkin pie spice, just use pumpkin pie mix instead of puree!

Janice's English Muffin Bread

This is an excellent recipe. The wonderful flavor and texture of English Muffins, but in a bread you can slice. Easy and fast to make - the recipe makes two loaves so you can enjoy one and give the other to a friend! The nutrition facts, which are based on a fairly nice thick slice, are at Calorie Count!

English Muffin Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/4 C water
1/2 C Canola Oil
4 - 4 1/2 Cups of all purpose flour
1/4 Cup sugar
2 t salt
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
2 eggs
Cornmeal to dust the baking pans

Directions:

Heat water and oil in a small sauce pot until very warm but not hot (about 120 degrees is about right, a little warmer than body temperature).

Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast to a large bowl and stir. Add the eggs and warm water/oil and beat at a low speed until moistened, then beat a couple more minutes at a medium speed. Then add the rest of the flour stirring by hand - this will make a stiff batter.

Cover and let it rise in a warm location until it's light and doubled in size. Should take about an hour.

Use shortening and grease two 8 x 4 inch loaf pans. Sprinkle them with the cornmeal. Stir down the dough by beating vigorously by hand for about 30 seconds and spoon into the prepared pans.

Cover and let rise again until doubled in size. Doesn't take as long for the second rising, about 45 minutes or so.

Preheat the oven to 375 and bake the loaves for 15-20 minutes or until they sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the pans and cool.

Mushroom Bourguignon

Ok, I made this dish after first thinking, hmmmm, I really would love some Beef Bourguignon...then I realized, hey, that's a very heavy meat centric meal and I am not one that eats low carb high protein, so maybe I could bourguignon something else. I waffled and considered. Then I wrote the stew blog for Calorie Count and needed a picture to post with it. A search brought up the most delectable looking stew ever. Turned out, it was a mushroom stew. Win! Now, mushroom bourguignon is a much done before me dish, although I had never heard of it before. Never one to just follow a recipe, I took the idea and came up with my own version. The nutrition facts are here, the serving size in the nutrition facts is about 8 oz which is meant to be a single bowl served up as stew with a nice biscuit or two. If you use it as a garnish for steak or a topping for mashed potatoes your serving will be smaller and lower in calorie! On the other hand, just go ahead and eat a bowl cuz it's good.

Mushroom Bourguignon

Ingredients:

1 T grapeseed oil
3 pounds fresh mushrooms – assorted types
1 cup chopped onion
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
2 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 carrot, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped or pressed
2 cups good Burgundy wine
1 1/2 t thyme
¼ t fresh cracked black pepper or to taste
2 generous teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions with some notes on what I did:

Clean, stem, and cut the mushrooms into large chunks.

Heat the grapeseed oil over medium high heat in a large pan. When the pan is very hot, add the mushrooms and onions. Sear quickly removing as they turn a gorgeous brown. To properly caramelize them and enrich the flavor of the bourguignon, saute about 25 minutes. Do not over stir or they will not brown. Place the pretty brown things in a bowl.

In a large heavy saucepan, place the butter and pure olive oil and heat over medium. Saute the carrot until it begins to soften, add the garlic and saute for another couple minutes. Add the flour and stir quickly to incorporate.

Add mushroom onion mixture and stir. Add wine, broth, carrot mixture, all seasonings, and the Worcestershire sauce, stir until well mixed, and bring to a simmer.

Cook over low heat until mushrooms are tender and sauce thickens and takes on a rich dark color. Stir occasionally for about 40 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasonings. I kept mine simple so the flavor of the mushrooms stayed prominent. You may prefer a more complex dish, if so, get creative with the flavors you love.

Stir in parsley and serve.

Notes on the great flexibility of this recipe:

Great over egg noodles, rice, mashed potatoes, on top of slices of baguette toasty with melted Swiss cheese, in a tortilla, or simply speared with each piece of a very good steak. Another wonderful idea for this is to add beef broth to thin it a bit and add seared chunks of lamb to make a lamb stew.

If you don't cook with wine, just use beef broth! If you are a vegetarian, use veggie broth.

If you don't cook with butter, use just the pure olive oil in the second saute.

Want the complete bourguignon experience? Skip the chopped onion and dump in some frozen or fresh pearl onions when you add the wine and seasonings.

Buggy's Cauliflower and Potato Soup

A wonderful summertime soup! Buggy's recipe is the perfect opportunity for those of you that think in ounces and pounds to check out conversion charts like this one. For calories set to six servings, click here.

Cauliflower and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1200 grams  water

400 grams  potatoes, with skin, chopped

500 grams  cauliflower, chopped

¼ teaspoon  black pepper, freshly ground

¼ teaspoon  garlic powder

½ teaspoon  mustard powder

1/8 teaspoon  onion powder

100 grams  cheddar cheese, grated

1 tablespoon  flour

Directions:

Scrub potatoes.

Chop potatoes & cauliflower into bite sized pieces.

Add water, potatoes, cauliflower, & seasonings to stock pot.

Bring to a boil, then lower temperature. Simmer vegetables until tender.

Mash until fine or use a blender.

Whisk in flour & cheese. Cook on low for 3 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve.

Janice's Brioche

Easy single rise rolls. Kids love them because of the little "hats" you eat first! The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count.

Brioche

Ingredients:

5 ¾ c  flour

1/3 c  sugar

1 t  salt

2 packages  active dry yeast

1 ¼ c  milk

½ c  butter

2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In large mixer bowl, combine 3 C flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. In saucepan, heat milk and butter until milk is warm (butter doesn't need to melt). Add eggs and warm milk to the flour mixture. Blend at lowest speed til moistened. Then beat at medium speed 3 minutes. By hand stir in remaining flour to form stiff dough. Knead on floured surface til smooth - approx 2-3 minutes or so.

Divide dough in to 24 equal parts. Remove about 1/5 of each ball of dough. Shape all 48 pieces into smooth rounds (24 big ones and 24 little ones). 

Grease or spray muffin tins with Pam and place the large balls in the bottom. Using your thumb, make a deep indentation in the large balls and place the smaller balls in the indents.

Cover, let rise til doubled in size in a warm place - approx 45 minutes to an hour. Brush tops with milk. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or til golden brown.
Serve hot.

This recipe is from my stained pages stuck together 1968 Pillsbury Bake-Off Breads Cookbook. If you can find this cookery book at a garage sale or ebay or amazon or wherever, it is worth every single penny you pay.

Susan's Zucchini Chips

You are taking your chances when you try out a zucchini chip recipe on a 17 year old who has repeatedly declared, "I don't like zucchini!". He was convinced to taste it anyway and THEN declared, "I take it all back! Dees da' bom!!" I think it is safe to say that Susan's recipe is a taste, nutrition, and caloric winner!!!

The nutrition facts can be found at the best FREE website to count your calories - Calorie Count!

Zucchini Chips

serves 4 normal people or one 17 year old

Ingredients:

1 medium or 2 small zucchini cut into 1/4 inch rounds slices or "chips"

3/4 cup Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs (Susan used Progresso)

3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 egg  whites

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475

Mix Panko and Parmesan together in one bowl.Mix egg whites in another bowl. It helps to use large bowls for this because you can mix more at one time.

Coat the "chips" with the egg white.

Individually toss chips in Panko/Parmesan mixture. Susan patted firmly to make sure they were well coated and that all of the mix was used. If you want less Panko on yours, just toss and lightly press.

Arrange chips in a single layer on Pam sprayed non stick cookie sheet.

Bake 5 minutes on one side, gently flip the chips and bake 5-10 minutes on 2nd side until crispy.

Remove from oven and try to let them cool a couple minutes and crisp a bit before eating. They are so good, that after the first warm bite, you will have trouble resisting and will be compelled to consume them all.

The 17 year old mentioned earlier suggested that they would be even "bommer" dipped in ranch. But he's a bean pole and can afford the calories. They are awesome as is.

Notes:

For a bit of a kick, sprinkle some ground hot pepper or chili powder on the chips after flipping them! Or dot with Tabasco, dip in salsa, or anything else you can think of.

Janice's Grilled Rum Basted Pineapple Kabobs

A terrific dessert kebab suitable for company with only 116 calories. Serve alone or with a scoop of ice cream!

Try it with tequila if you don't have a good dark rum (Mount Gay Dark is perfect).

The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count! 

Grilled Rum Basted Pineapple Kabobs

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients: 

1 pineapple - Slice off the pineapple's top and bottom with a large very sharp knife, stand the pineapple upright and slice off the lumpy skin (you don't have to get every little bit of brown skin bits, but get most of it - this seems wasteful, but no worries, there will be plenty remaining), cut the remaining cylinder vertically into 8 wedges, remove the bit of core on each long wedge, and then cut each long slice into fourths.
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 cup honey
1/4 cup orange juice 

Directions:

Preheat grill.

Mix rum, brown sugar, honey, and orange juice together until sugar dissolves.

Thread pineapple slices onto skewers. Grill for about 10 minutes, turning & basting with rum sauce several times. 

Remove from heat, plate on a serving tray, and serve.

Optional:

If you don't want to make these into kabobs, all you have to do is slice off the peel, slice into rounds approximately 3/4 of an inch thick, remove the small circle of a core with a small knife (or leave it in, some people love the woody core), baste the rounds, and grill.

Or, rather than being so precise in your cutting in order to thread them onto skewers, just cut the thing into approximately 2 inch chunks in whatever manner you choose once the skin is off.

The number of wedges you cut the pineapple into doesn't really matter, what is important is that the pieces are large enough to skewer. I cut one pineapple that was not quite as large as normal and it was best cut into six wedges. If you like your pieces larger, cut into four wedges and allow a minute or two longer to grill.

Janice's Texas White Chili

At only  248 calories in each generous serving, this recipe is also quick enough for weekday after work cooking. The nutrition facts for this recipe can be found at Calorie Count!

Texas White Chili

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon pure olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped
1-2 chopped hatch chilis your choice of hot or mild - if you use canned, add them with the garlic.
1 pound ground turkey, lean
1 1/2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder (omit if you are a spice wimp and increase if you love it hot)
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups low salt vegetable stock (or more)
2-3 cans Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained (I use three cans and sometimes I add in a can of pinto beans for white and tan chili...or a can of black beans and call it Black and White Chili!)
1/4 cup cilantro or parsley (or both), rinsed and chopped

Directions:

Heat oil over medium high heat in large saucepan and add onion, red pepper, mand fresh hatch peppers. Stir until the onion is barely softened - about three minutes.

Add turkey and cook until it is no longer pink. If you bought less than lean turkey, you may need to drain some of the liquid. But don't fuss draining it all.

Add the garlic, cumin and both chili powders. Cook, stirring til incorporated.

Stir in the flour and then the tomato paste.

Add beans, and enough stock to get the consistency you prefer. Chili should be thick. Stir in the cilantro. Simmer 10 minutes or so, taste, and adjust the seasonings. Serve with cornbread!

Notes:

Like it hotter? Round the chili powders and cumin when measuring. Or use hot hatch chilis.

Like it mild? Reduce the chili powders by half, you can always add more when you are adjusting the seasonings. Or instead of using ancho and chipotle powders just use a good chili powder like Gebhardts and then add whatever you love to make it spicy.

Other seasonings you may like: basil, smokey paprika, black pepper, and white pepper

Used to salt? Wait til it's cooked and decide how much to add, better still - get used to food without the salt! After a while you will not miss it.

Love beans? Add more! You can double the beans and omit the meat completely.

Janice's Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Serves 2 on large salads (40 calories)
Serves 3 on medium salads (30 calories)

Ingredients:

2 T 0% fat Greek Yogurt
1 T light mayonnaise
1 T low fat buttermilk
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t Dijon mustard
1/8 t onion powder
1/8 t garlic powder
1/8 t dried parsley flakes
1/4 t minced shallot
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Measure and mix all ingredients together in a bowl shortly before serving - either on a salad or as a veggie dip. Taste and increase individual seasonings to your taste, this is a very fragrant, but mild starter dressing.

Notes:

Increase the proportions by doubling to match the number of guests.

Easily thinned with more buttermilk or use less buttermilk for a thicker consistency and dip veggie into it. 


Consider adding a little celery seed or chives or other fresh herb minced fine.

If you make it ahead of time and it gets too thick sitting in the fridge, just add a little buttermilk (1/2 teaspoon at a time) til it's just right.

For some of you, the shallot will be too intense of a flavor, so you may want to use a little less and taste to see if you like it.

Can be stored in a little sealed container for a few days, but dressing is best made fresh so don't make too big a batch.

Janice's Roast Chicken with Tarragon and Veggies

This has been a family favorite since the kids were little.  It always amazed me that they would eat something with such an exotic spice as tarragon, but they just loved it. This time I decided to roast it on a bed of vegetables which browned to caramelized perfection. Use any veggie you might prefer.

The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count!

Roast Chicken with Tarragon and Roots Veggies

I forgot to take a pic before eating, but boy was it good!

Serves 6 (calories 409 ea complete meal serving)

Ingredients:

1 whole roasting chicken approximately 4-5 pounds but don't fret the size, just get a good bird, preferably one humanely raised with natural food and without hormones and all that stuff that processors inject into the meat of chicken - things that we do not need to eat.

1/2 t salt
1/2 t dried tarragon
1/4 t white pepper
1 onion - with skin on
1 peeled carrot cut into thirds
1 whole stalk celery with leaves cut into thirds
1 sweet red pepper, cut into chunks
2 baking potatoes, peel cut into large chunks
4 peeled carrots, cut into large chunks
8 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
1/4 C canola oil - I use canola oil for this dish because it is a more "neutral" in flavor which lets the "chicken" flavor come through more clearly than any other oil.
fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:

Remove the thawed chicken from the fridge an hour to hour and a half before cooking to bring to room temperature. A room temp bird cooks faster than one that is still cold!

Preheat oven to 475 degrees

Remove the "goodies" from the bird and discard or freeze the neck to make stock one day. Wipe the bird inside and out with paper towel. You really should not rinse the bird, but if you must as so many of us were trained to do, do so quickly. Rinsing causes the chicken to lose flavor, so do reconsider rinsing.

Remove the fat pieces from the cavity entrance and reserve. Sprinkle the cavity with seasonings and rub thoroughly. Lightly fill cavity with the the exterior few sections of the onion including the skin (flavors the meat), the carrot cut into thirds, and celery. Rub the birdie with a T of canola oil and sprinkle a bit more tarragon and white pepper on the outside of the bird.

Peel and cut the remaining veges and the rough chop rest of the onion sections. Place in a bowl with the 1/4 cup of canola oil, sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper, and toss. Spread the veggies in a large roaster pan - either non-stick or one lined with foil. Make an area in the center to serve as a "nest" for the bird and place the bird breast side up in the nest. If you are a chicken trusser you can do so now, I'm not and my chickens always turn out awesome!

Lay the reserved pieces of fat on top of the bird. If calories are not a concern, put a pat of butter underneath the fat and a couple under the skin which adds wonderful flavor and helps crisp the skin. Look up the calories for the butter at Calorie Count!

Roast for 25 minutes at 475. Lower the temperature to 400 and continue roasting for 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of your bird. Test the bird at the meatiest part with an instant read meat thermometer - it should read 160. If it does not continue roasting until it does and check the temp frequently. The juices will run clear when it is done.

Then remove the beautiful thing from the oven and allow to rest tented in foil for 15-20 minutes on a carving surface. Cover the veggies with foil to keep them warm. This is the time to bake the biscuits! When the chicken is being carved, scoop the veggies out of the pan into a serving bowl. Finally and enjoy!...Wait! Don't forget the biscuits in the oven!

Hollie's Pico De Gallo

There is no need to spend all that money buying a jar of salsa or Pico de gallo when it is so easy to make a fresh batch whenever you want it. This simple recipe is easily expanded or altered to taste. Enjoy some today.

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count! 

Pico De Gallo on a taco!

Pico De Gallo

Ingredients:

2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
1 serano or jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed, then finely chopped
1/8 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

Chop, measure, and combine all ingredients and serve chilled. 

 Notes:

serves about 6 as an appetizer to load onto taco chips or as a condiment for burritos and tacos. Adjust the amount of pepper to your taste. Just as great without the salt!

About 10 minutes to prep, 30 minutes+ to chill, about 10 minutes to totally consume.

Laura K's Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Two cups of of spaghetti squash has only 84 calories. Two cups of regular spaghetti has 442 calories. Eat a larger serving, get more nutrition, and enjoy it with your preferred sauce. Laura K's idea of layering marinara with roasted red peppers makes a tasty and lovely presentation.

The nutrition facts for this beautiful healthy recipe can be found at Calorie Count!

Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Serves 2

Squash Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash
2 C water

Topping Ingredients:

2 cups marinara sauce (your favorite from a jar)
1 cup roasted red peppers, cut into strips
1 t olive oil
ground black pepper to taste (more is great!)
ground crushed red pepper to taste
2 T Feta crumbles

Place the spaghetti squash whole into a slow cooker with 2 cups of water. Heat on low for 8-9 hours. Before the squash is removed, heat the sauce. Slice the red peppers and mix with the olive oil, the black pepper, and maybe a shake of red pepper if you like your dinner to bite back a bit. Do not open the squash until all of this is ready.

Prepare the squash immediately before serving by cutting in half lengthwise as this ensure long strands. Remove as many seeds as you can from the center. Then run a fork through the squash to remove the strands. Mound the squash on a plate and top with the olive oil and peppers.

Ladle on the sauce. Add feta crumbles and serve immediately as the squash will cool quickly.

Notes:

If you don't want to use the marinara, toss the squash with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and pepper, lay the roasted red peppers on top, add feta and serve. 

Alternative Squash Cooking Methods:

Quick Microwave Whole Squash Method - poke 10-12 holes in the squash with a knife about 1" deep (be careful to not stab yourself, the squash is hard - us a very sharp knife only). Microwave on high for 10 mins, flip sides (careful - super hot) and microwave side 2 for 10 minutes (until soft and easily pierced with a fork), cut lengthwise and proceed as directed above.

Relaxed Microwave/Oven Whole Squash Method - Poke the squash several times with a knife or sharp fork. Then nuke it for 10-15 minutes. Then forget about it for a bit. Just let it sit for an hour or more. (I find a good way to do this is to start the microwave when I am on my way out - by the time I get back from shopping or whatever it is done cooking and sitting). This can make it pretty easy to cut in half. The secret to easy slicing in half is the letting it sit part though so don't skip that step. After slicing it in half then drizzle the olive oil on it and let it bake at 350 degrees, cut side down for 40 minutes or so. Scoop out the squash while it is still HOT.

Oven Only Whole Squash Method - Pierce the whole squash several times with a sharp knife. Bake an hour at at 375 degrees. Slice in half lengthwise, scoop seeds and pulp, and proceed as directed above.

Oven Only Half Squash Method - Use a large very sharp knife and cut the squash in half lengthwise. If this is not something you can do because of arthritic fingers or lack of strength, just do one of the whole squash methods. After Cutting the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and pulpy stuff. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until the squash is softened and easily pierced with a fork.

Janice's Warm Wild Blueberry Sauce with Grilled Angel Food Cake

Grilling the low fat low calorie angel food cake over coals creates beautiful brown stripes of caramelized crispness on the outside while slightly softening the sugar spun insides of the cake, and when combined with warm blueberry sauce it is simply to die for good.

Take Angel Food Cake to a totally new level of beauty and deliciousness.

The nutrition facts for are found at Calorie Count!

Grilled Angel Food Cake with Warm Wild Blueberry Sauce.

10 servings each with only 154 calories!

Ingredients:

One Store Bought Angel Food Cake

Directions:

Slice the cake into 10 slices and grill 2-4 minutes on each side. How long depends upon how hot your coals are, do not put the cake slices too close to the coals and watch carefully so that the cake does not burn or flame on.



The sauce (below) can be prepared ahead of time and then just reheated, or made fresh in about 10 minutes.

Warm Wild Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients -

2 10 oz packages of frozen wild blueberries
1/3 C orange juice
1/3 C sugar
2 T lemon juice
4 t cornstarch

Directions -

Combine blueberries, juice and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cover and gradually bring to a boil over medium high heat, stir every now and then. After it begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer for four minutes.

While it's simmering, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add this to the berries after the four minute simmer concludes and return to a boil for a minute or two stirring often. Remove from heat and either use it right away, or cool and put in the fridge for reheating while the angel food cake is grilling. Can be made 3-4 days in advance.

Notes:

This sauce can be used on anything you want - pancakes, oatmeal, cakes, ice cream, cheesecake, or eat it out of hand with a spoon. Lovely and remember, blueberries are good for you. Don't use a wooden spoon that you love very much while stirring as it will turn very purple.

One enterprising friend of mine just toasted the angel food cake in the toaster oven since she does not have a grill. You will miss that smokey flavor, but it sure will work in a pinch...or when the weather does not permit grilling!

Enjoy!

Buggy's Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

Easy and tasty nutrition for on the go calorie conscious eating anytime! The variations on the following recipe are endless, to find out the calories of any of your changes, click on the link to Calorie Count and search their free database for calories for ingredients like raisins, grated carrot, nuts, chocolate chips, etc. Please see the Notes section below for ingredient substitutions.

The nutrition facts for this great recipe are at Calorie Count!

Carrot Breakfast Cookies to left, Pumpkin to the right!

Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

18 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups date sugar
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
2 tbsp canola oil 
10 ounces prune puree
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats  
2 cups bran***
1/4 cup flax seed, ground  
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Coat cookie sheets with non stick cooking spray.

Combine sugar, syrup, oil, plums, egg whites, peanut butter and vanilla.

Add oats, bran, flax seed, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Drop 1/2 cup at a time onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 20 minutes or until light golden.

Notes:

Some ingredients may not be readily available where you live. Below are some well tested substitutions -

Substitute brown sugar for the date sugar (raw sugar would probably work fine, too - let me know if anyone tries this).  

Use honey in place of the brown rice syrup.  

Prune puree is easily acquired in the baby food section at the store, OR you can use applesauce instead.

*** "2 cups bran" means wheat germ.  Or you can use oat bran with equal success.

These delectable breakfast cookies freeze beautifully!

Sheila's Bird on a Wire with Cucumber Dill Sauce

Don't be a slowpoke! The quicker you thread these zesty, marinated chicken pieces onto the wire, the faster your taste buds will be knocked askewer. Try serving it with delicious Cucumber Dill Sauce (below).

The nutrition facts can be found on Calorie Count - the best free website to count your calories!

Bird on a Wire
341 calories, 4 servings

Ingredients:

¼ C lemon juce
1 T liquid honey
1 T olive oil
1 T oregano
1 T mint
2 t balsamic vinegar
2 t minced garlic
½ t salt
¼ t black pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in to chunks

Directions:

Combine all marinade ingredients in small bowl. Place chicken in a large, heavy-duty, resealable plastic bag. Add marinade and seal bag. Turn bag several times to coat the chicken with the marinade.

Marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours – one hour minimum if in a rush.

Preheat grill to high setting. Thread chicken pieces onto metal skewers and discard marinade. Coat grill with cooking spray or brush lightly with oil.

Grill chicken for 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally until no longer pink in the center.

Take care not to overcook chicken, or it will be dry.

Serve hot with Cool Cucumber-Dill Sauce (recipe below).

Wonderful with a Greek salad and hummus with warm pita wedges!

Click here for the nutrition facts for the Cucumber-Dill Sauce!

Dill

Cool Cucumber-Dill Sauce

46 calories a serving!

Ingredients:

1 C plain yogurt

1 C diced cucumber

1 T dill

1 t garlic, minced

¼ t salt

¼ t pepper

Directions:

Mix well in a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until dinner!

Chicken Breast

Laura's Caprese Pita & Lemon Flax Vinaigrette

When counting calories, it's easy to get into a rut at each meal and eat the same thing over and over until you just cannot face it anymore and pig out on something else. This sandwich is a great alternative to that tired old turkey sandwich or salad for lunch.

Laura's quick and easy "flexitarian" sandwich is a good source of fiber/protein and her flexitarian ingredient suggestions are in parenthesis. The recipe was analyzed for calories and nutrition using the first ingredient listed.

The nutrition facts for this delicious sandwich can be found at Calorie Count!

Caprese Pita (1 sandwich)

Ingredients:

1 oz. fresh mozzarella, chopped (alternative:  1/4 cup white beans, rinsed/drained - or add both as Laura does!)

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 tbsp pine nuts

2 tbsp low fat Italian dressing or Lemon-Flax Vinaigrette (see below)

1 whole-wheat pita pocket, cut in half

Directions:

Mix mozzarella and/or beans, tomatoes, basil, pine nuts and dressing together.  Stuff mixture into pita halves. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts for Vinaigrette.

Lemon-Flax Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/4 C lemon juice (1-2 lemons)

1/4 C flaxseed oil

1/4 C white balsamic vinegar

 1 T Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Whisk ingredients and place in a small jar with a lid; lasts in the refrigerator for about 7 days.

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