Jane's Hummus in a Blender

The nutrition facts for this delightfully easy hummus can be found at Calorie Count!

Hummus in a Blender

Ingredients:

8 oz chickpeas
juice of half a lemon
1 good tablespoon tahini (or to taste)
1 garlic clove, crushed
6 oz water (approximately)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper...use plenty
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

Place all the ingredients with the exception of the water, oil and
paprika into a blender and switch on.  Gradually add the water and
keep blending until you have the right consistency... should be that
of thick cream.   Turn into a bowl, drizzle over the olive oil and
sprinkle with paprika.

Buggy's Granola

Yes, I know, it makes a lot, but, think Christmas gifts.....yummy Christmas gifts from your kitchen.

The nutrition facts for this fantastic granola can be found at Calorie Count!

Granola

Ingredients:

16 cups  oats

¼ cup  almonds, sliced

¼ cup  pine nuts

½ cup  pecans, chopped

6 teaspoons  cinnamon, ground

1 teaspoon  salt

1 1/3 cup  water

1 1/3 cup  honey

1 1/3 cup  roasted pecan syrup, sugar free

8 tablespoons  brown sugar

8 tablespoons  canola oil

¼ cup  sunflower seeds

1 cup  raisins, golden

1 cup  craisins, cherry flavored

2 cups  blueberries, dried

Directions:

Mix oats, almonds, pine nuts, pecans, cinnamon & salt in a large bowl.

Put water, honey, syrup, brown sugar, & canola oil into a pot and bring to a slow boil.

Pour liquids into dry ingredients and mix to coat.

Bake at 325 F for 25-35 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes.

Let cool.

Stir in dried fruits & sunflower seeds.

Store in the refrigerator.

Janette's White Bean Dip

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

White Bean Dip

Ingredients:

2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (or 3 cups freshly cooked beans)
1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley (or Cilantro)
1 lemon--juiced (about 1.5 to 2 Tablespoons of juice)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (more or less--to taste)
salt--to taste
Cayenne--to taste (optional)

Directions:

Saute the garlic and onion. Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, crackers, or fresh vegetables.

Janice's Razzo Italiano Turkey Burgers

The nutrition facts for this delicious lower calorie burger can be found at Calorie Count!

Razzo Italiano Turkey Burger

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey, extra lean
1 t olive oil
2 T onion, chopped
2 T red pepper, chopped
3 oz prosciutto
1-2 t oregano
1-2 t basil
1 T garlic, minced (two if you are using pre-minced garlic from a jar as the flavor is not as strong as fresh)
2 T steak sauce
1/3 C barbecue sauce
1/2 onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced

Directions:

Saute the chopped onion and red pepper in olive oil til the veges start to brown, remove from heat to cool.

Slice and saute the prosciutto in the same pan, adding oil if needed, until it begins to crisp a bit - not so much that it crumbles. Set aside to cool.

Combine well (w/hands) the lean ground turkey with oregano, basil, garlic, steak sauce, and the cooled veges. Inhale the aroma - use your nose and eyes to help you determine if more spicing is required. Start with the smaller measurements of seasonings and add more to suit you.

Form into four large patties. Grill, basting with the barbecue sauce, melt provolone on top if you like but add in the calories as they are not included in the count.

Great on a ciabatta bun (calories for buns and zillions of other food items can be found at Calorie Count!) topped with the prosciutto, raw onion, and tomato. Add any other condiment you like.

Calorie Count's Spicy Black Bean Burgers

Calorie Count is not just a place to count calories, it's a fantastic resource for recipes and ideas and is where I found the nutrition facts for this recipe!

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

5 large or 6 small burgers

Ingredients:

1/2 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 t oregano
1 T chopped jalapeno
1 T olive oil
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
2 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained and smashed
1/8 cup corn
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t chili powder
2 T parsley chopped
1/4 cup flour

Directions:

On a small plate, set aside flour for coating. In a medium saucepan, sauté the onion, garlic, oregano, and hot peppers in oil on medium-high heat until the onions are translucent. Add the peppers and sauté another 2 minutes, until pepper is tender. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a potato masher or fork. Stir in the vegetables (including the corn), breadcrumbs, salt, chili powder, and parsley. Mix well. Divide and shape into five large or six small patties.

Lay down each patty in flour, coating each side. Cook on a lightly oiled frying pan on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes or until browned on both sides.

Claire's Lentil Veggie Burger

The nutrition facts for this healthy and tasty burger can be found at Calorie Count!

lentils!

Lentil Veggie Burger

makes six veggie burgers

Ingredients:

1 cup lentils
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup potatoes
1/4 cup celery
1/4 cup onion
dash of *Worcestershire Sauce and/or Tabasco Sauce
dash of salt
1 egg white

Directions:

Cook the lentils until soft, drain and measure one cup. Mash and combine with flax seed meal. Cook and mash potatoes to yield 1/2 cup. Finely chop the celery and onion. Combine all the ingredients and add a dash of Worcestershire Sauce or hot sauce if desired

Form into 6 small patties and pan fry in a non-stick pan until nice and brown.

Notes:

To make this recipe Vegan, substitute either Tabasco or a Vegan version of Worcestershire sauce.

Janette's Vegan Granola

The nutrition facts for this simple and delicious vegan granola can be found at Calorie Count!

Vegan Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup chopped (or slivered) almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon light olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, making sure they are well-blended.

Spread mixture evenly on the parchment paper. Bake until golden brown, which will take about 25 to 30 minutes.

Take the granola out of the oven every 5 to 6 minutes and stir.

Allow the granola to cool completely and store in an airtight container. (I simply lifted the edges of the parchment paper and put the entire thing in a container.)

Notes:

If you are not vegan, you may consider substituting honey for molasses.

Consider adding your favorite dried fruit to the mix when it is cool.

Janice's Charro Beans

This makes a terrific part of any Tex Mex meal. Use as a a taco topper, side dish, as a dip for taco chips, or as part of a burrito or fajita! The recipe also works well vegetarian. Simply do not use the bacon, saute the onion in olive oil or steam saute in water, and add 1/2 a teaspoon of smokey paprika.

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Charro Beans

Ingredients:

2 (15 oz) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 c beef stock
3 bacon slices, meaty type with excess fat removed
1/4 c onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, halved, seeded, minced
1 hot chili pepper such as a serrano, halved, seeded, minced
1 t dried thyme
1 t dried oregano
1 Whole Bay Leaf
1 T cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Heat a pot over medium heat. Add bacon sliced into small pieces (discard excess fat only sections) and onion. Saute until bacon is cooked and onions start to brown. Add the garlic, peppers, and all seasonings but the cilantro, stir for about a minute or two. Add 1/4 cup of the stock to deglaze the pan, then add the rest of the stock and the drained and rinsed beans. Bring to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the liquid thickens. Stir in the cilantro. Serve hot.

Notes:

Deglazing is important as that is when you scrape up all the little browned bits of tasty stuff for incorporation into the sauce. Yum!

Delicious as a filler for a wheat tortilla, top with Hollie's Pico de Gallo.

Linda's Famous Granola

This will become your family's favorite granola!

The nutrition facts for this wonderful granola can be found at Calorie Count! Calories in the nutrition facts indicate a breakfast sized portion. If you only enjoy granola as a snack and want to know what your calories are, join Calorie Count and create your own nutrition facts!

Famous Granola

Ingredients:

8 C oats
1 C brown sugar
1 C wheat germ
1 C coconut
1 C nuts

3/4 C canola oil
3/4 C water
1/4 C molasses or honey
1 tsp salt
1 T vanilla

Directions:

Mix first 5 ingredients.  Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the dry mixture.  Mix well.  Spread on cookie sheets.  Bake at 200 for 3-4 hours, stirring/turning every 15-30 minutes.  When cereal starts to brown, let cool in oven with the heat turned off.

Janice's Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Parmesan

We are lucky enough to live in a climate that has two tomato seasons! The first is in full swing and we had so many cherry tomatoes, I did not think we'd be able to make salads fast enough to handle them. So, I searched about and found several recipes for roasted tomatoes, took the "best of" parts of each recipe, added a couple changes of my own and made the best ever hot tomato side dish!

The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count!

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Parmesan

Four Large Servings

Ingredients:

3 C cherry tomatoes (or two bags of those nice vine on cherry tomatoes)
6 garlic cloves
2 T parsley
2 T basil
2 T olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
fresh cracked black pepper
sea salt
1/3 C Parmesan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and slice the garlic cloves (feel free to increase or reduce the amount to your taste), rinse and rough chop the parsley and basil.

Place cherry tomatoes in a medium sized bowl with the garlic, parsley, basil, 2 T olive oil (increase or decrease depending on how many tomatoes you use), squish in the juice from one whole lemon, add a twist or two of fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt. Stir until the tomatoes are well coated.

Pour the entire thing into a casserole dish. Top with Parmesan.

Roast in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or just til the tomatoes begin to burst and the cheese browns beautifully.

Notes:

This dish can be served hot, warm, room temperature, or chilled as you prefer! It's simple, very low calorie, and company pleasing!