Southwestern Pumpkin Burgers

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Southwestern Pumpkin Burgers

Recipe courtesy EatingWell.com

Prep Time: 1 hr 0 min

Serves: 6 servings
Nutrition Info: 331 calories, 13g fat, 45g carb, 12g protein, 6g fiber

Ingredients: 6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped red or green bell pepper

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Fresh Tomato Salsa, optional (recipe follows)

1/2 cup canned unseasoned pumpkin puree

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ

1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

6 8-inch flour tortillas (soft-taco size)

2 cups shredded lettuce

Directions:

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in bell pepper, corn, garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a large bowl; let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare Fresh Tomato Salsa, if using. Add pumpkin, cheese, wheat germ, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper to the onion mixture; mix well. With dampened hands, form the vegetable mixture into six 1/2-inch-thick patties, using about 1/2 cup for each. Preheat oven to 325°F. Stack tortillas and wrap in aluminum foil. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes to heat through. (Alternatively, stack tortillas between two damp paper towels; microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds, or until heated through.) Using 2 teaspoons oil per batch, cook 2 to 4 patties at a time in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned and heated through, about 4 minutes per side. Adjust heat as necessary for even browning. Wrap the patties in tortillas and serve immediately, garnished with lettuce and Fresh Tomato Salsa, if desired.

Thai Vegetable Curry

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Thai Vegetable Curry
I have not tried this yet but I love thai curry and if you did not know this, supposedly spicy foods rev up your metabolism. This recipe is very low in points if you are doing WW (extremely low) so you could always add some chicken, turkey or tofu to the mix and still have a very low point dinner.

This recipe was prepared by Chef Kevin Bozis for
"Stir It Up in Chicago" event at Kendall College, entitled "A Spicy Asian Journey," in August 2005.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup Thai Red Curry Powder
1 large white onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 head cauliflower, chopped
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 can (15 oz.) lite coconut milk
1 bunch lemongrass, cleaned and chopped
juice of 2 limes

Serves / Yields 8-10 servings (10 servings = 3 pts per serving)

Preparation Instructions

Make a paste with the Thai Red Curry seasoning and water. Heat a large pot with 2 teaspoons oil. Add the onion and bell peppers. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for a couple minutes. Add the curry paste and blend. Slowly add the coconut milk, whisking to blend. Add the cauliflower and potatoes. Add the lemongrass and lime juice. Bring to simmer, and cook for 30-40 minutes until the potatoes are done.

Pineapple Cranberry Pork Roast

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Pineapple Cranberry Pork Roast
...and it is made in the crockpot!

Ingredients
1 (3 pound) pork roast
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 (1 ounce) packet dry onion soup mix
1 cup dried cranberries
2 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons water

Instructions
Place pork roast in a 6-quart crock-pot. In a medium bowl mix pineapple, dry soup mix and dried cranberries; pour over roast. Cook on low heat setting for 8 hours or high heat for 4 hours. Remove roast to serving platter and increase heat to high (if necessary). Whisk together flour and water and blend into pan juices; cover and cook for 15 minutes. To serve slice roast, whisk pan gravy to blend well and serve with sliced roast.Notes: This is a nice change from the usual pork roast. The pineapple and cranberries really accent the pork roast and make a nice, chunky sauce for pouring over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

Number of Servings: 8 - 10 pts per serving

Oatmeal Custard

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Oatmeal Custard
(not sure who it actually came from, it's been passed around - WW member)

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
1 cup fat free milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp Splenda
1 tsp FF vanilla pudding mix
Optional 1/2 cup berries

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together and bring to heat over medium heat until thickened. I like to add 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries. It's a dream! It's also a pretty big portion.

Blueberry Almond Creme Brulee

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Blueberry Almond Creme Brulee
POINTS® Value: 3
Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 15 min
Cooking Time: 45 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate






Ingredients:

• 1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 large egg(s)
• 2 medium egg white(s)
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
• 2 Tbsp slivered almonds, toasted
• 1 Tbsp sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. In blender, combine evaporated milk through to nutmeg and blend for 1 minute. Add eggs and egg whites; blend until smooth. Stir in blueberries.
3. Pour mixture evenly into six 6-ounce baking dishes coated with cooking spray. Place dishes in 9 x 13-inch baking pan filled 1/2-inch high with water. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
4. Preheat broiler. Remove baking dishes from pan and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon almonds and 1/2 teaspoon sugar.
5. Place baking dishes on baking sheet and broil until sugar melts, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Turkey Tomato Hash

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Turkey Tomato Hash
Submitted by Katschi

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
1 19 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, chopped (today I used peas instead)
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp Mrs Dash Chipotle seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions
In a large covered skillet, cook turkey till no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Diet Soda Cake

DIET SODA CAKES
24 muffins at 2 points each or
12 slices of cake at 3 points each

Most Popular:

Ingredients
1 box dry chocolate cake mix
2 egg whites
12 ounces diet cola

Instructions
Mix together and bake in 13 x 9 inch pan according to package directions. Add 2 Tablespoons Fat Free Cool Whip for zero additional points, or “frost” cake with entire 8 ounce container for 1 extra point per serving.

Other flavors:
Orange cake mix with either diet orange or diet crème soda
Yellow cake with diet red or diet cherry
Yellow cake mix with diet crème soda or diet sprite type soda and toss in ½ cup fresh blueberries. (not enough to make point difference)
Spice cake mix with diet root beer