Roasted Potatoes With Garlic

I have been making this recipe for years. It is a very easy side dish.




















Roasted Potatoes with Garlic
Adapted from: Controlling Your Fat Tooth

Makes 8 Servings

1 pound tiny red potatoes, halved (I used russet potatoes here.)
1 head garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (I always use garlic pepper or some other type of blend.)

In a 9 x 13 x 2-inch ovenproof casserole dish, arrange potatoes in a single layer. Tuck garlic cloves among potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Bake at 350 degrees F. 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender and garlic is soft.

Squeeze garlic from peels onto potatoes. Toss potatoes with pan drippings.


Approximate Nutritional Content per Serving:

Total Calories 92 (25% of calories from fat)
Fat 3 g
Carbohydrates 16 g
Protein 1 g
Cholesterol 0
Sodium 139 mg
Dietary Fiber 1 g


Note: When I want to keep things simple (and prevent really bad breath), I omit the head of garlic.

Spinach Salad w/Sesame Dressing

This dressing was adapted from this recipe on Food Network. I wanted a dressing to go with a Spinach Salad as a side to Ham Fried Rice and this was the winner. This dressing has a kick (note the chili-garlic sauce amount) but Dale could not get enough of this salad. We will definitely be making this salad again.

Sesame Dressing

• 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
  
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
  
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce or chili sauce

In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, canola oil, sesame oil, brown sugar and chili sauce. (I actually blended all of these ingredients together.)

I tossed a little of this dressing with spinach, mandarin oranges, thinly sliced purple onions and toasted almonds. If I had them, I would have tossed in some thinly sliced red peppers too. The dressing is very thin when blended so a little went a long way unless you like your salad swimming in dressing.

Hoisin Vinaigrette

We were looking for a good dressing for an Asian-inspired side salad and I stumbled across this one. So, I want to point out that I only tried the HOISIN VINAIGRETTE but the other parts of this recipe are very simple so it really should be the dressing that makes the salad here. I would venture to guess that the entire recipe is great.

Dale has a favorite salad dressing. It is the Kraft Light Asian Toasted Sesame. His comment when he tried this dressing was, "You could have saved yourself some time. This tastes exactly like the Asian dressing I like."

He had no idea what a relief that was to me. I looked at the ingredients of that dressing and it was hard to miss the high fructose corn syrup. I am happy to find a dressing I can make that will be healthier for him while maintaining the taste of his favorite dressing.

Mixed Salad with Hoisin Vinaigrette and Crisp Panko Chicken

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Omit the chili powder to prepare kid-friendly chicken fingers.

Yield

4 servings

Ingredients

• Chicken:
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
• Cooking spray
• 
  Salad:
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1 (8-ounce) package field greens salad mix

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.

To prepare chicken, combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken, tossing to coat. Arrange chicken in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until chicken is done and lightly browned, stirring once.

To prepare salad, combine vinegar and next 7 ingredients (through minced garlic) in a food processor; process until well combined.

Combine tomatoes, green onions, and salad mix in a large bowl; add vinegar mixture, tossing to coat. Place about 1 cup salad mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with about 1 cup chicken.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 242 (27% from fat)

Fat: 7.2g (sat 1.3g,mono 3g,poly 2g)

Protein: 28.8g

Carbohydrate: 14.4g

Fiber: 2.8g

Cholesterol: 73mg

Iron: 1.7mg

Sodium: 622mg

Calcium: 29mg

Joanna Pruess, Cooking Light, APRIL 2006

Beef-Broccoli Lo Mein

Here is another recipe we enjoyed. It has a bit of a kick to it so adjust the amount of chile paste based on your preference.

Here is what my recipe looked like:



















Here is what the original recipe looks like:

Beef-Broccoli Lo Mein

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Serve this quick-and-easy noodle dish with store-bought egg rolls and fortune cookies.

Yield

6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients

• 4 cups hot cooked spaghetti (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta)
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil (I didn't have this, so I used 1/2 canola oil and 1/2 sesame oil)
  
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups chopped broccoli (I used a variety of broccoli, sugar snap peas, & red pepper.)
  
• 1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion
• 1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed and cut across the grain into long, thin strips
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon chile paste with garlic

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Combine pasta and sesame oil, tossing well to coat.

While pasta cooks, heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add broccoli and onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add steak, and sauté 5 minutes or until done. Add pasta mixture, soy sauce, and remaining ingredients; cook 1 minute or until lo mein is thoroughly heated, stirring constantly.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 327 (26% from fat)

Fat: 9.3g (sat 3g,mono 3.6g,poly 1.6g)

Protein: 21.7g

Carbohydrate: 39.1g

Fiber: 2.9g

Cholesterol: 36mg

Iron: 3.6mg

Sodium: 382mg

Calcium: 47mg

Marion Winik, Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2003

Wild Rice and Barley Salad

This is a recipe I tried more than a week ago. I was looking for a good barley recipe and this appealed to me. Our family liked it and I will make it again because it is a tasty way to prepare this grain. I especially liked it for lunch the next day and Dale said he liked it better the next day as well. I made some substitutions based on personal taste and they are shown below.

I believe we both agreed it could use a little salt and I liked it with a little more red wine vinegar on it. Here is what my salad looked like.


















Here is what the original recipe looks like.

Wild Rice and Barley Salad

Worthy of a Special Occasion

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In addition to fiber, whole grains like wild and brown rice offer plenty of vitamins B6, E, and folate to maintain heart health. Serve with pork tenderloin.

Yield

8 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup uncooked brown and wild rice mix
• 1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley
• 3/4 cup rinsed and drained canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) (I used small white beans instead.)
  
• 1/3 cup golden raisins (I omitted.)
  
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted

Preparation

Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Spoon rice mixture into a medium bowl. Add chickpeas, raisins, and green onions.

Combine vinegar and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Pour over barley mixture; toss well. Cover; chill 2 hours. Stir in basil and almonds.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 146 (14% from fat)

Fat: 2.3g (sat 0.3g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.6g)

Protein: 5g

Carbohydrate: 27.6g

Fiber: 4.3g

Cholesterol: 0.0mg

Iron: 1.2mg

Sodium: 235mg

Calcium: 29mg

Jaime Harder, MA, RD, Cooking Light, JANUARY 2008

Butterscotch Bars

I went visiting teaching this evening so I tried a new goodie recipe to take. If you like butterscotch or caramel, you will love these!

Note: I cooked mine for about 24 minutes and took them out of the oven even though I was not sure if they were done (don't even bother with the toothpick test). They needed to be cooled down all of the way to cut into bars. This is another recipe I found on Taste and Tell.















Butterscotch Bars
(called Butterscotch Brownies in the book)
adapted from Joy of Cooking

Makes 16 2 1/4 inch squares

1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sweetened coconut (I cut the amount in 1/2.)

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir the brown sugar into the butter, and then set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x9-inch pan.

When the butter/sugar mixture has cooled slightly, beat in the egg and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, then re-sift with the baking powder and salt. Mix flour mixture into the sugar mixture. Mix in the coconut.

Pour batter into the prepared dish and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cut into bars when cool.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

I have been wanting to try this recipe for over a year. We had it tonight and it is definitely going into my soup rotation. Based on the comments, I do want to try it with sharp cheese next time because that is one of my favorite cheeses and it is easy to find a lower-fat version.

Some of the individuals who rated the recipe stated it was a little bland so I added a black/red pepper blend instead of the black pepper and also added a touch of cayenne pepper because Dale loves that spice anyway. It had just the right kick for me.

And for the record Janae, I did not serve this with baked potatoes. Some fruit and raw red peppers on the side with sour dough bread and the meal was complete.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

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Add voluptuous texture to a low-calorie soup by using processed cheese, which melts beautifully. Mix a small portion of the soup in the blender to add body.

Yield

6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced *I used 4 cloves based on comments by others.
  
• 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets *I chopped these based on comments by others.
  
• 2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk *I used skim milk.
  
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper *I used a black/red pepper blend.
  
• 8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light) *I used grated mexican cheese blend instead.

Note: I also added a little cayenne pepper based on comments for added flavor.

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.

Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper (and spices). Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.

Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor , and process until smooth (I skipped this since the broccoli was already chopped.). Return pureed soup mixture to pan.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 203 (28% from fat)

Fat: 6.3g (sat 4g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.4g)

Protein: 15.6g

Carbohydrate: 21.7g

Fiber: 2.9g

Cholesterol: 24mg

Iron: 1.2mg

Sodium: 897mg

Calcium: 385mg

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2002