Starchy joy!

I did a couple recipes from CL 03/06. More starch together than I usually do in one meal, but they were great recipes.

First was Black Pepper Corn Bread. Although the recipe I post calls for 3 tablespoons butter, and 3/4 tsp of salt, I left out the butter and salt that they suggest putting on top. I do like how this came out. The bread is thin, but nicely tender and lightly sweet. Could definitely see repeating. I do have to say, though, that the recipe name is definitely not appropriate. The black pepper is definitely not a prevalent flavor.

Secondly I did Cuban-Style Red Beans and Rice. I used applewood bacon which gave a light flavor. I also split the recipe,used a combo of veggie & chicken broths and medium-grain rice. I love the colors, and the kidney beans I used were beautifully flavored. Just an all-around nice recipe.

Susan


* Exported from MasterCook *

Black Pepper Corn Bread

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/3 cup unbleached flour
1 1/3 cups cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt -- divided
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 cup frozen corn kernels -- thawed
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter -- melted and divided
2 tablespoons honey
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.

Place corn and milk in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons butter, honey, and eggs; process until combined. Add milk mixture to cornmeal mixture; stir just until combined.

Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack. Lightly brush corn bread with remaining 1 tablespoon butter; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Serve warm, or cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Source:
"CL 03/06"

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 143 Calories; 5g Fat (29.1% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 62mg Cholesterol; 244mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


* Exported from MasterCook *

Cuban-Style Red Beans and RIce

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 10 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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8 slices bacon slices
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper
4 garlic cloves -- minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups long-grain white rice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cups water
3 (14-ounce) cans low-sodium defatted chicken broth -- divided
3 (16-ounce) cans canned red beans -- rinsed and drained

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan; crumble bacon, and set aside. Add oil to pan. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté over medium-high heat 4 minutes or until onion is tender. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute or just until garlic begins to brown. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add rice, oregano, cumin, salt, and black pepper; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Place reserved bacon and bay leaf in pan; stir in water and 2 cans broth. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat; discard bay leaf. Stir in remaining can of broth and beans. Cook 5 minutes over low heat or until heated through, stirring frequently. Garnish with green onions, if desired.

Source:
"CL 03/06"

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 328 Calories; 4g Fat (10.9% calories from fat); 14g Protein; 58g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; 4mg Cholesterol; 1067mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

A great return

I haven't been feeding my muffin addiction as much recently. Maybe I was feeling that muffins weren't keeping me full until lunch; maybe I just needed a change. But I only have two kinds of muffins in the freezer. Something is wrong! I had raspberries; I had finally bought cacao nibs. Time to make a recipe from another blog. And although I can't pronounce it, I can link to it. Muffins à la Framboise, Eclats de Fève de Cacao

I do have to say, these are one of the best muffins I've ever made. They are sweet, but not too sweet. I definitely won't feel guilty having one for breakfast. They also have the interesting texture and slight crisp from the brown sugar/cacao nib topping. I do have to say, however, that I would halve or 2/3 the topping next time. Other than that, the muffin is absolutely perfect.

I'm back on the muffin train!

A Pair of Simple and Good Recipes

Two new recipes today. Both simple - measure, mix, and let sit. Both recipes that I wouldn't immediately think of making, but thankfully I did, because both were fabulous.

The first was a breakfast recipe from the May 06 CL. It's a little higher in calories (and therefore points) than I usually do for breakfast, but this called to me because I love couscous. It's definitely a breakfast recipe, though. The creaminess of the milk & the sweetness of the fruit blend beautifully with the cinnamon. I think this is a nice option, because it is like oatmeal, but still different enough to be intriguing in a way. The original called for regular raisins, dried cranberries, and walnuts, but I used golden raisins, dried apricots (chopped), and toasted almonds, because I had them on hand.

The second was totally opposite of intriguing. It's simple - I've never had a great egg salad recipe. I also have tortillas in my freezer to use up, so when I saw the egg salad wrap recipe in Moosewood New Classics, I knew it was time to try it. I am not a big egg person by nature. However, I definitely like this egg salad recipe. The original called for asparagus spears as a part of the wrap, but in thinking about it, I decided I preferred the asparagus on the side. I also ended up using half the tarragon and no lemon, because I'm just too lazy to chop all the herbs, and I didn't have the lemon juice.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Tony's Breakfast Couscous

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 3 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1/2 cup couscous
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts -- toasted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan; stir in milk and remaining ingredients. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 10 minutes. (Mixture will thicken as it cools.)


Source:
"CL 05/06"
Copyright:
"© Cooking Light"

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 304 Calories; 6g Fat (18.2% calories from fat); 14g Protein; 50g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 4mg Cholesterol; 206mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fruit; 1 Non-Fat Milk; 1 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0




* Exported from MasterCook *

Egg Salad Wrap

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
6 eggs
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper -- to taste
4 la Tortilla Factory WW tortillas
4 lettuce leaves -- red, green, or bibb

Place the eggs in a saucepan with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain the eggs and cover with cold water.

In a mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, tarragon, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. As soon as the eggs are cool enough to handle, peel and coarsely chop them. Stir the eggs into the dressing. Set aside.

Heat tortillas individually in the microwave for 40 seconds. Lay each warm tortilla flat on a work surface. Center a lettuce leaf on each and top with 1/4 of egg salad. Fold in both sides over the filling and then roll from the bottom up to form a wrap.

Serve immediately.

Source:
"Moosewood Restaurant New Classics"

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 235 Calories; 15g Fat (45.9% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 14g Dietary Fiber; 323mg Cholesterol; 641mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Another bit of muffin-y goodness - direct from my favorite BB!

A few months ago a member came on the Cooking Light BB in search of some help. She was trying to mimic a breakfast cookie, and had found a recipe that looked like it could do the job - but it didn't quite work as written. The members on that BB are incredibly helpful, and in a short time were able to come up with some great recipes that the requestor could try. I did my usual thing, which was to copy the recipes to MasterCook, and hope to someday get around to tying them.

Flash forward to last week. I had bananas ripening on the counter, and a plan to repeat the Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread from CL. But something pushed me (as it often does). I needed to try something new. I did a MasterCook search - and there was the recipe! I decided to try 5 Grain Rolled Cereal Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, as posted by newcook. I've never worked with 5 grain cereal before. I was a little nervous about buying an entire bag of it for using in just one recipe, but I'm definitely glad I did. The texture of the different grains in the cereal came through very subtly in the muffins. Sneaky whole grains! I also loved the chocolate chips in the muffin - yum. Plus, some healthy fat from natural PB, and I've got a muffin that I don't feel quite as guilty about using to start the day!

Recipe? Here
Thread? Here
Love it? Oh, yeah.

ARF - Pom Passion Smoothie

So, spring is here. Of course, if the weather would co-operate...Anyway, I welcomed spring this past weekend with lamb, and tonight I ask it to settle in, with a quick smoothie. I decided on this to try and use up some of the pomegranate juice I had left over from the lamb pilaf. Now, I've never tried pomegranate juice on its own, but I've always been fascinated by the Pom wonderful bottles. Goodness knows why - I just am. This smoothie came from their website, and as it is a smoothie, it was easy to put together. Combine ingredients in blender - blend. I can do that.

The smoothie was definitely tangy. Whether that comes from the pom juice or from the plain yogurt, I am not sure. It's a tangy that is right on the border of too much. It might be nice to tame it somehow - maybe do it with vanilla instead of plain yogurt? I like it, but something slightly sweeter might turn it to love.

Oh, and ARF is hosted by Sweetnicks

* Exported from MasterCook *

Pom Passion Smoothie

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 ounces pomegranate juice
6 ounces Stonyfield Plain Yogurt
8 ounces strawberries

Blend all ingredients together until the desired consistency is reached.

Source:
"http://www.pomwonderful.com/recipes/recipe.php?Recipe=POM%20Passion%20Smoothie"

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 171 Calories; 1g Fat (3.6% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 37g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 121mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Fruit.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0

It's purple

Honestly. Purple. What is it? Mediterrranean Lamb Pilaf, from the 04-05/06 issue of Eating Well. My result doesn't look as good as the picture in the magazine. I think that's because I chopped the figs & olives smaller than they seem to have. Everything kind of mixes together, and it's hard to see what you're eating.

It's not hard to get beyond the purple, though. I've made (and eaten) things that look worse. The flavor of this pilaf is good too. I used lamb leg, and it was very tender. The saltiness of the olives meld together nicely with the sweetness of the figs, and is balanced out beautifully with the bulk of the bulgur.

Although I do give this recipe a thumbs up, I doubt I will repeat it. I just don't think I love it enough to pay top price for great lamb.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Mediterranean Lamb Pilaf

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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1 cup low-sodium defatted chicken broth
3/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup bulgur
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound eggplant -- japanese, diced
1 pound lamb leg -- boneless, trimmed, and cut into 1/2-inch cube
2 garlic cloves -- minced
1 teaspoon garam masala
12 dried figs -- coarsely chopped
10 kalamata olives -- pitted and chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds -- lightly toasted
1 tablespoon fresh mint -- chopped, optional

Combine broth, pomegranate juice and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, stir in bulgur, cover and let stand until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggplant, cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add lamb to the pan and cook, stirring often, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and garam masala, and cook, stirring often, until the lamb is cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Reduce heat to medium. Add figs, olives, the bulgur, and eggplant to the pan; cook, stirring often, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a large serving bowl or platter and garnish with almonds and mint, if desired.

Source:
"EW 04-05/06"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 424 Calories; 18g Fat (36.9% calories from fat); 17g Protein; 53g Carbohydrate; 11g Dietary Fiber; 41mg Cholesterol; 428mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 2 Fruit; 2 1/2 Fat.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0