Sauteed Chicken with Sage Brown Butter AND GARLIC KNOTS

So I know the sauce looks kind of gross in this but it is DELICIOUSDELICIOUSDELICIOUSDELICIOUS.

This is a recipe out of the latest issue of CL and it is soooooooooooooo worth making.  Chicken pounded out into thin cutlets cook so easy, and the sauce was a piece of cake.  CL also provided instructions for how to make browned butter without ruining it, so check out this month's issue if you're interested.  Ahh butter.  I'm a little sad just thinking about this because it was so good.

We didn't make any changes to the recipe.  We served it with garlic knots, another CL recipe and a carrot puree from southern living. 

Now for a little on the garlic knots.  This was our first attempt at knots, so we struggled a little with the shape of them. We made several different 'designs' to see which we liked the best.  Pictured above is the knot, but we found them to be the tastiest when rolled into a pinwheel.  The recipe has you saute garlic, brush the bread with the garlic and sprinkle with chives and Parmesan. However, using the pinwheel shape allows you to tuck in all of the chive and Parmesan goodness.  If you use the knot design, sometimes these pieces can fall out.  They were definitely worth making, but next time we'll be sure to make all of them in a pinwheel design.

As of today's post 11 people gave the chicken an average rating of 4 out of 5.  I would give it a 5, it's so easy and tasty.

Sauteed Chicken with Sage Brown Butter

Recipe by Julianna Grimes, Cooking Light, January 2011

Total: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast half and 1 tablespoon sauce)

Ingredients

• 4  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 1/2  cup  all-purpose flour
• 3  tablespoons  butter
• 2  sage sprigs
• 1  tablespoon  minced shallots
• 1  teaspoon  chopped fresh thyme
• 2  tablespoons  lemon juice
• Fresh sage leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. Place each breast half between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; coat with cooking spray. Place flour in a shallow dish; dredge chicken in flour. Add chicken to pan; sauté for 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan.
2. Add butter and sage sprigs to pan; cook over medium heat until butter browns. Discard sage. Add shallots and thyme; cook for 30 seconds. Add lemon juice; cook for 30 seconds. Serve with chicken. Garnish with sage leaves, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 326

Fat: 11.1g (sat 6.1g,mono 2.8g,poly 0.9g)

Protein: 41.1g

Carbohydrate: 13.1g

Fiber: 0.5g

Cholesterol: 122mg

Iron: 2mg

Sodium: 320mg

Calcium: 26mg

 

CHIVE AND GARLIC KNOTS

As of today's post, 5 people gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5.

Recipe by Marge Perry, Cooking Light, May 2000

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 roll)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2  tablespoons  butter or stick margarine
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1  (11-ounce) can refrigerated French bread dough
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh chives or green onions
• 2  tablespoons  grated Parmesan cheese
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic; sauté 30 seconds or until lightly browned. Remove from heat; stir in garlic powder.
Unroll the French bread dough onto a lightly floured surface; brush dough with garlic mixture. Sprinkle the dough with chives and cheese. Cut the dough crosswise into 12 strips. Shape each strip into a knot. Place the knots onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 17 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 81 (29% from fat)

Fat: 2.6g (sat 1.3g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.4g)

Protein: 2.5g

Carbohydrate: 11.6g

Fiber: 0.0g

Cholesterol: 5mg

Iron: 0.6mg

Sodium: 185mg

Calcium: 13mg

Soft pretzels mmmmmmmmmmm

So I promised my friend Merle that I would update the blog tonight.  Well 12:17, I guess it's Tuesday by now.  If you're a fan of soft pretzels and you don't mind making the dough from scratch this is a MUST MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!  I love soft pretzels and I've wanted to make this recipe ever since I bought the best of 2006 cooking light (at least I think that was the year).  Alas, I did not have a non-aluminum dutch oven to make these.  Enter WEDDING! I now have a non-aluminum dutch oven, which I may have put on the registry with the sole desire to make these.  Luckily the dutch oven has so many other wonderful uses.  As you can see, they turned out awesome!!!  We had them with Wegman's dijon mustard and must have had a bad batch because this mustard is hotter than suicide wings. Holy cow. We're used to hot sauce and horseradish, but this is HOT. Their mustard has never been this hot. So instead of trying to return it, my husband wants to be tough and finish it all.  Anyway back to the pretzel.  Super easy to make, but time consuming since you have to let it rise. The most difficult part for me was shaping the pretzels.  I was so impatient but in the end I think they turned out quite pretty. :)

I wrapped the leftovers in saran wrap and in the morning they were a bit soggy. And where was the salt? Is that mold? I guess leaving them out on the counter was a bad idea because the humidity in the house dissolved the salt.  So next time I think I'll put the leftovers in the fridge.  I microwaved them a bit to soften them up, but it just wasn't the same. Moral of the story? Starve yourself all day so that you can just eat the whole batch of these guys.  Unless the refrigeration method actually works, then you don't need to. Hmm I guess I just have to make these again and report back!

As of today's post, 18 people gave this recipe an average rating of 5 out of 5! I'm pretty sure you should make sure you have the ingredients to make this over the holiday weekend. :)

Recipe by Kathryn Conrad, Cooking Light, October 2005

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 pretzel)

Ingredients

• 1  package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  sugar
• 1  cup  warm water (100° to 110°)
• 3 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour, divided (about 14 1/2 ounces)
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• Cooking spray
• 6  cups  water
• 2  tablespoons  baking soda
• 1  teaspoon  cornmeal
• 1  teaspoon  water
• 1  large egg
• 2  teaspoons  kosher salt

Preparation

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a large bowl, and let stand for 5 minutes.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 3 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes). Add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly sticky).
Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 40 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425°.
Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), roll each portion into an 18-inch-long rope with tapered ends. Cross one end of rope over the other to form a circle, leaving about 4 inches at end of each rope. Twist the rope at the base of the circle. Fold the ends over the circle and into a traditional pretzel shape, pinching gently to seal. Place pretzels on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 10 minutes (pretzels will rise only slightly).
Combine 6 cups water and baking soda in a nonaluminum Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer. Gently lower 1 pretzel into simmering water mixture; cook 15 seconds. Turn pretzel with a slotted spatula; cook an additional 15 seconds. Transfer pretzel to a wire rack coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining pretzels.
Place pretzels on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Combine 1 teaspoon water and egg in a small bowl, stirring with a fork until smooth. Brush a thin layer of egg mixture over pretzels; sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until pretzels are deep golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 141 (12% from fat)

Fat: 1.9g (sat 0.2g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.6g)

Protein: 4.3g

Carbohydrate: 26.8g

Fiber: 1.1g

Cholesterol: 18mg

Iron: 1.8mg

Sodium: 541mg

Calcium: 8mg

Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cakes with Kahlua Fudge Sauce

This is part of our New Year's Eve dinner.  Why am I posting it before the actual NYE dinner? Because we made it early and served it to our friend Kirsten, our faithful cat sitter.  Without Kirsten we would not be able to visit our families over the holidays or to have taken a two week honeymoon.  So we made her a delicious dinner of the previous two postings (fruit and walnut-stuffed pork loin with new potatoes and roasted garlic vinaigrette) and this for dessert, to thank her.

The pound cake is one of those recipes that I've wanted to make as long as I could remember.  I'm not usually a huge pound cake person, it's just a bit dense for me.  But this one spoke to me for some reason so I figured this was as good a time as any to make it.  We've made the Kahlua fudge sauce before (and I think we may have even served it with a store-bought pound cake) and it is delicious.

The result? AWESOME.  This is the best pound cake I've ever had.  The buttermilk makes it so moist and chewy that you will want more.  The best part is that this makes a lot, but you can freeze it for up to a few months if wrapped well.

As of this post, 15 people gave the pound cakes an average rating of 4 out of 5.  I think it's a five.  Two reviewers gave the Kahlua fudge sauce a 5 out of 5. 

Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cakes

Recipe by Marcia Whyte Smart, Cooking Light, November 2008

Yield: 5 loaves, 6 servings per loaf (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients

• 13.5  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
• 1  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 2  cups  sugar
• 3/4  cup  butter, softened
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 3  large eggs
• 1 1/3  cups  low-fat buttermilk
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt); stir with a whisk. Place sugar, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and buttermilk to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
3. Spoon batter into 5 (5 3/4 x 3 3/4–inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pans. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 144 (32% from fat)

Fat: 5.1g (sat 3.1g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.2g)

Protein: 2.2g

Carbohydrate: 22.3g

Fiber: 0.3g

Cholesterol: 34mg

Iron: 0.7mg

Sodium: 95mg

Calcium: 25mg

 

Kahlua Fudge Sauce

Recipe by Cooking Light, July 1999

Yield: 1 3/4 cups (serving size: 1 tablespoon)

Ingredients

• 1  (14-ounce) can low-fat sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2  cup  boiling water
• 6  tablespoons  unsweetened cocoa
• 1  teaspoon  instant espresso or 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
• 3  tablespoons  Kahlúa (coffee-flavored liqueur)

Preparation

Place milk in a small saucepan; cook 5 minutes over low heat. Combine water, cocoa, and espresso in a small bowl, stirring until granules dissolve. Stir cocoa mixture into milk; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in liqueur; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Serve warm or chilled.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 52 (12% from fat)

Fat: 0.7g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.2g,poly 0.0g)

Protein: 1.4g

Carbohydrate: 9.7g

Fiber: 0.0g

Cholesterol: 2mg

Iron: 0.2mg

Sodium: 15mg

Calcium: 38mg

Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Buns

What the?????? Where are the pumpkin cinnamon buns?!?!?!?! Unfortunately, they went so fast that I didn't have an opportunity to take a picture of them. So you get a nice picture of my Christmas kitties instead (an elf and a very disgruntled Mrs. Claus).

I can tell you that they were gooey and delicious.  The pumpkin gave them a bit of a yellow-y color but it wasn't off putting.  To be honest, I didn't taste a lot of pumpkin, but let's face it, any kind of cinnamon bun coated in glaze is going to be delicious.  Next time (and there will be a next time), I will probably throw a little pumpkin pie spice into the dough to make it more pumpkin-y.  This was my first time making cinnamon buns and I must say it was pretty easy. You have to make sure to roll the dough tightly; if you don't then then when you slice it into rolls the middle will spill out.

As the recipe suggests, I used canned pumpkin and added the extra cup of flour. Instead of mixing by hand and kneading, I let the dough hook on my kitchen aid mixer do this all for me. :)

OH! I also made these the night before and baked them in the morning (well, I should say the hubs baked and glazed them while I was at the gym).  They turned out fine. I gave them about 30 minutes to sit on the counter top to warm to room temperature.

As of today's post, 17 people gave it an average rating of 5 out of 5!

Recipe by Cooking Light, October 2001

To make these year-round, substitute canned pumpkin puree and add an extra cup of all-purpose flour.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 bun)

Ingredients

• Buns:
• 1  package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1/4  cup  warm water (100° to 110°)
• 2 3/4  cups  all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2  cup  Pumpkin Puree
• 1/2  cup  1% low-fat milk
• 1/4  cup  butter, melted
• 1  tablespoon  granulated sugar
• 1 1/4  teaspoons  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
• Cooking spray
• 3  tablespoons  granulated sugar
• 3  tablespoons  brown sugar
• 2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  ground cinnamon
• 2  tablespoons  chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• Glaze:
• 3/4  cup  sifted powdered sugar
• 1  tablespoon  hot water
• 1/4  teaspoon  vanilla extract

Preparation

To prepare the buns, dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add 2 cups flour, pumpkin, and next 5 ingredients (pumpkin through nutmeg); beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of the remaining 3/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).
Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into the dough. If an indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)
Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Punch dough down; cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll the dough into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Roll up the rectangle tightly, starting with a long edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam and ends to seal. Cut roll into 12 (1-inch) slices. Place slices in a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 25 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Bake the rolls at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes in pan on a wire rack.
To prepare the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and vanilla extract in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over buns. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 219 (25% from fat)

Fat: 6.2g (sat 3.7g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.3g)

Protein: 3.8g

Carbohydrate: 36.9g

Fiber: 1.2g

Cholesterol: 16mg

Iron: 1.6mg

Sodium: 311mg

Calcium: 24mg

Bananas Foster Bread

Who likes bananas coated in rum??? I DO! Cooking Light had so many good looking bread recipes in their last issue, if only we had time to make them all!  I decided to make the bananas foster bread after I ended up with two uneaten, black bananas.  This recipe came together so quickly! I made the rum/banana/sugar mixture while we were making dinner (I think it was the same night as the Salmon and caramelized leek night).  After dinner I threw it all together and baked it in the toaster oven.  The bread tasted more like regular banana bread, but it did have a hint of that bananas foster flavor.  The glaze for this also calls for rum, and quite frankly, tastes like a shot of sugary icing when you mix it together. This is boozy! I will say though that after one day with the glaze you couldn't even taste the booze anymore.  Which I think for me set the taste back a bit. I liked the combination of fresh glaze and bread; for me it really tasted like bananas foster.

This recipe calls for flaxseed. I got mine at trader joe's whole and ground it in the mini prep food processor.

This recipe is probably not recommended if you have little humans running around, I don't think they are supposed to have alcohol. Translation: you can make this, just don't feed it to your kids. :)

As of today's post, 17 people gave it an average rating of 5 out of 5! 

Recipe by Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light, October 2010

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2  cups  mashed ripe banana
• 1  cup  packed brown sugar, divided
• 6  tablespoons  butter, melted and divided
• 1/4  cup  cognac or dark rum, divided
• 1/3  cup  plain fat-free yogurt
• 2  large eggs
• 6.75  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4  cup  ground flaxseed
• 3/4  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground allspice
• Cooking spray
• 1/3  cup  powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine banana, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 5 tablespoons butter, and 3 tablespoons cognac in a nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble. Remove from heat; cool. Place banana mixture in a large bowl. Add yogurt, remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, and eggs. Beat with a mixer at medium speed.
3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; place on wire rack.
4. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter, remaining 1 tablespoon cognac, and powdered sugar; stir until well blended. Drizzle over the warm bread.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 194

Fat: 5.8g (sat 3g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.9g)

Protein: 2.9g

Carbohydrate: 31.1g

Fiber: 1.5g

Cholesterol: 34mg

Iron: 1.1mg

Sodium: 181mg

Calcium: 32mg

Chicken and Basil Calzones

Who doesn't like bread, melty cheese and great herbs?  Seriously, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't. 

This is one of our favorite comfort food type recipes.  Using pre-made dough really speeds this along.  I have a feeling if you had kids this would be a fun recipe to make with them. We don't make any changes to this recipe, we love it just as it is!  The great thing for us is that we have 2 people in our household, so this makes enough for two meals!  Reheating is easy, toaster oven or microwave will do (toaster oven if you want the crust to remain crispy). 

As of today's post 12 people rated this a 5 out of 5, I think you will too.


Recipe by Karen Levin, Cooking Light, December 2008

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 calzone)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  pound  ground chicken breast
• 3/4  cup  prepared pizza sauce
• 1/4  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh basil
• 1  (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add garlic and chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring to crumble. Stir in pizza sauce and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in basil. Let stand 10 minutes.
3. Unroll dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; cut dough into quarters. Pat each portion into an 8 x 6–inch rectangle. Divide chicken mixture evenly among rectangles; top each serving with 2 tablespoons cheese. Working with one rectangle at a time, fold dough in half over filling, pinching edges to seal. Repeat procedure with remaining rectangles. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until golden.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 459 (14% from fat)

Fat: 7.1g (sat 1.8g,mono 1g,poly 0.4g)

Protein: 39.1g

Carbohydrate: 56.4g

Fiber: 3g

Cholesterol: 74mg

Iron: 3.7mg

Sodium: 919mg

Calcium: 111mg

Cauliflower-Apple Soup with Apple-Cider Reduction AND Buttermilk-Chive Biscuits

You know how Discovery channel does 'shark week'? Well this must be 'soup week'.  Here's another soup, but this one is warm; we made it last week. 

This calls for a lot of cauliflower (maybe a head and a half) but only one apple.  The preparation is very straightforward, made easier with a dutch oven and an immersion blender (thanks mom)!  

We've made this before, but I think we liked it better the first time. Either that or we've just found better soup recipes since then.  

The apple cider reduction makes this soup look very classy; my picture does not do it justice.  You definitely should use Madras curry powder for this recipe, regular curry powder just won't do.  

As of today's post 4 people rated this a 4 out of 5.   We served it with the Buttermilk Chive Biscuits which were FANTASTIC!  I'm a big fan of the sour cream, cheddar buttermilk drop biscuits (See Heaven and I love pigs) but these were equally great.  I was able to whip them up very quickly since I had all of the ingredients in house and chives on the porch (thanks mom for the chives).

As of today's post, for the biscuits, 14 people rated them 4 out of 5. I would give them a 5.

Recipe by Jackie Mills, Cooking Light, December 2008

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1  cup  apple cider
• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 2  cups  chopped onion
• 2  teaspoons  Madras curry powder
• 1  teaspoon  chopped garlic
• 6  cups  cauliflower florets (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 5  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1  Gala apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1/3  cup  half-and-half
• 2  teaspoons  fresh lemon juice
• 3/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• Coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

Preparation

1. Bring the apple cider to a boil in a small saucepan. Cook until cider is reduced to 1/4 cup (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat, and cool to room temperature.
2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add curry powder and garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add cauliflower, broth, and apple; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until cauliflower is very tender.
3. Remove pan from heat; cool 5 minutes. Place half of cauliflower mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining cauliflower mixture. Return to pot. Stir in half-and-half; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Remove from heat; stir in juice, salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; drizzle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cider reduction. Garnish with coarsely ground pepper, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 98 (24% from fat)

Fat: 2.6g (sat 1g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.3g)

Protein: 4.2g

Carbohydrate: 16.1g

Fiber: 3.8g

Cholesterol: 4mg

Iron: 1mg

Sodium: 450mg

Calcium: 52mg

 

Buttermilk Chive Biscuits

Recipe by Cooking Light, December 2003

Yield: 20 biscuits (serving size: 1 biscuit)

Ingredients

• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  tablespoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  cup  chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4  cup  low-fat buttermilk
• 1  large egg
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh chives

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine buttermilk and egg; stir in chives. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until moist.
Turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface; knead lightly 5 times. Roll dough to a 1/2-inch thickness; cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place dough rounds, 1 inch apart, on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: To maximize the number of biscuits, gather the dough scraps after cutting and gently reroll to a 1/2-inch thickness. A light hand with the dough will ensure tender biscuits.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 74 (33% from fat)

Fat: 2.7g (sat 1.6g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.2g)

Protein: 2g

Carbohydrate: 10.2g

Fiber: 0.4g

Cholesterol: 17mg

Iron: 0.7mg

Sodium: 199mg

Calcium: 56mg

Steamed Pork Buns

The recipe says that these are a type of Chinese street food. I verified this with one of my coworkers (who happens to be Chinese) who said that it is true but said "you have to make your own dough, this is too much work!"  I don't mind making my own dough so it's not a problem. I had to buy Chinese 5-spice which was kind of pricey but these were worth it.  I would say the recipe took a total of 2 hours to make if you are trying to budget your time.  The great thing about this recipe is that if you're only making it for 2 people, you have a ton of leftover buns that you can freeze.  So this means you could probably put the work in on a Sunday (or late on a weeknight like we do because we eat late) and then on other nights pull them out of the freezer and cook them in 20 minutes.

We made 3 changes to this recipe. The first was to sub 1 cup of whole wheat flour and the second was to use red onion instead of green (we didn't have green onion).  The most obvious change was to use ground turkey instead of pork tenderloin--pork tenderloin is expensive so I didn't want to eat cut up pork tenderloin stuffed in bread when I can enjoy it like this instead: Peppercorn-crusted pork tenderloin with Soy-Caramel Sauce

As of today's post 23 people gave this an average rating of 5 out of 5!

I hope you enjoy this trip to the Orient in your home as much as we did in ours!

Border-style Shrimp and Corn muffins with jalapenos and lime butter

We headed south of the border (figuratively) this Sunday for a mix of spice and heat.  Border-style shrimp is an easy 15 minute dish that calls for most of the ingredients you typically have in your kitchen (or at least I do).  

The only change we make to the recipe is to add 1/2 tsp of hot sauce (we use Cholula which isn't very spicy at all).  We may experiment in the future with more potent hot sauces since we love it spicy.  We've only made this twice and both times made it with the corn muffins but this dish has enough sauce to put over a bed of rice. The rice would soak up the leftover sauce nicely.  We also take the tails off of the shrimp before adding them into the skillet, it's easier than having to do it afterward once they are covered in sauce.

As of today's post, 27 people gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5.

As for corn muffins with jalapenos and lime butter,  we throw in a little extra jalapeno love because (as we all know by now) we like it spicy.  The recipe even suggests using habaneros in place of jalapenos and we might just do that next time.  I have most of these ingredients in my house on a regular basis so it wasn't a big trip to the grocery to make this dinner.  Here's a tip I got from CL: If you have a recipe that calls for buttermilk, instead of throwing the rest out or trying to make 4 other recipes using buttermilk, you can freeze it! Such an awesome tip. Now I just thaw it out the night before I am going to make a recipe that calls for buttermilk.  Otherwise we follow the recipe exactly. This time, we didn't make the lime butter. The first time I made it, it did not turn out well and was a bit of a disaster. I don't really think that it added that much for the effort. But you are more than welcome to try it and see if you like it. :)

As of today's post 11 people gave it an average rating of 4 out of 5.  

Border-style shrimp

Recipe by Cooking Light, December 2003

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup shrimp)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2  cups  chopped white onion
• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1  teaspoon  chili powder
• 1 1/2  pounds  medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 2  tablespoons  butter
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  hot pepper sauce
• 1/4  cup  fresh lime juice
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped green onions
• Lime wedges (optional)

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, shrimp, and garlic; sauté 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and add butter, salt, and hot sauce. Stir until the butter melts. Stir in juice and green onions. Garnish with the lime wedges, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

266 (30% from fat)

Fat:

9g (sat 4.1g,mono 2.1g,poly 1.4g)

Protein:

35.6g

Carbohydrate

9.7g

Fiber:              1.8g

Cholesterol:

274mg

Iron:

4.5mg

Sodium:

618mg

Calcium:

113mg

Corn Muffins with Jalapeños and lime butter

Recipe by David Bonom, Cooking Light, June 2006

Yield: 15 servings (serving size: 1 muffin and about 1 teaspoon lime butter)

Ingredients

• 6  tablespoons  butter, softened and divided
• 1  cup  chopped sweet onion
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  cup  fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
• 2  teaspoons  minced jalapeño
• 1  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1  cup  all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• 1  cup  yellow cornmeal
• 1/4  cup  sugar
• 1  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  chili powder
• 1 1/4  cups  fat-free buttermilk
• 2  large eggs
• 1  large egg white
• Cooking spray
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice
• 1  tablespoon  honey

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn, jalapeño, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add 2 tablespoons butter, tossing to melt.

Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, cornmeal, and next 4 ingredients (through chili powder) in a large bowl. Combine buttermilk, eggs, and egg white in a large bowl. Add onion mixture to buttermilk mixture. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter into 15 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool muffins completely on wire rack.

Combine remaining 3 tablespoons butter, juice, and honey in a small bowl; stir until well blended. Serve with muffins.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

160 (30% from fat)

Fat:

5.4g (sat 3.1g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.4g)

Protein:

3.9g

Carbohydrate

24g

Fiber:

1g

Cholesterol:

40mg

Iron:

0.9mg

Sodium:

300mg

Calcium:

53mg

Ham and Cheese Scones

I hate breakfast. Ok lemme rephrase that, I hate finding something to eat for breakfast. Cereal just isn't cutting it anymore. Plus I need a little protein in my life to get me going in the morning.  This is my favorite breakfast recipe. It's grab-n-go, it's easy to make and so delicious. If I knew how to type out the Homer Simpson drooling noise I would. 

Instead of using 2 cups of all purpose flour, I use 1 and 1/2 C of all purpose flour and 1/2 C of whole wheat flour.  If you don't have a pastry cutter and can't get the dough to look like coarse meal, put your bowl with the flour and other dry ingredients in the freezer for a few minutes and then cut in butter.  Don't overwork the dough--scone dough can get dry if mixed too much and no one likes dry scones (it will be sticky).  Since I have dark baking pans, I bake these on 375 degrees instead of 400.  And be sure to cut the dough into slices before you bake (not all the way through though)--it makes it easier to cut them later.  

As of today's post, 47 people gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5.

I hope you enjoy this in your home as much as I will every morning this week!! :)

Recipe by Cooking Light, 2002

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Ingredients

• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  tablespoon  baking powder
• 2  teaspoons  sugar
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 3  tablespoons  chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• 3/4  cup  finely chopped 33%-less-sodium ham (about 3 ounces)
• 3/4  cup  fat-free buttermilk
• 2  large egg whites
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheese and ham. Combine buttermilk and egg whites, stirring with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 to 5 times with floured hands. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut dough into 8 wedges, cutting into but not through dough. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

217 (30% from fat)

Fat:

7.2g (sat 4.1g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.4g)

Protein:

10.4g

Carbohydrate:

27.1g

Fiber:

0.9g

Cholesterol:

26mg

Iron:

1.8mg

Sodium:

519mg

Calcium:

235mg

Heaven and I love pigs (aka Sour cream, cheddar and green onion drop biscuits and Peppercorn-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Soy-Caramel Sauce)

Welcome to my heaven, it's called sour cream, cheddar and green onion drop biscuits.  This is my all time favorite biscuit recipe (I may be biased though because I have not made any other CL biscuit recipes).  If you have all of the ingredients, this comes together so quickly.  Be careful about stirring the batter though--too much and you will have dried out biscuits.  The buttermilk really makes these moist and delicious.

I don't make any changes to this recipe because it's perfect.  However, since I have dark baking sheets, I cook these 25 degrees lower (@425).  Since our family has only 2 people-food members (cats don't eat biscuits), I make these and freeze the rest for later. Thaw them out as you need them. They're not quite as moist this way but they are still amazingly delicious.  We served them this week with Peppercorn-crusted pork tenderloin with soy-caramel sauce for my fiance's parents.  Let me tell you the future father-in-law kept asking for more!

As of today's post 15 reviewers gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5. I don't know who those silly people are that didn't give this a 5 but they should be punished! :)

As far as the pork tenderloin for our day after graduation dinner (congrats Schmoopie!), this is one of our favorite pork tenderloin recipes. We don't alter the recipe at all unless we only make 1 one-pound tenderloin instead of two.  It's another 5-star-er, for 22 people.

I hope you enjoy these in your home as much as we do in ours!

Sour Cream, cheddar and green onion drop biscuits

Recipe by Krista Ackerbloom Montgomery & Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light, MARCH 2005

Yield: 1 dozen (serving size: 1 biscuit)

Ingredients

• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  tablespoon  sugar
• 2  teaspoons  baking powder
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  baking soda
• 3  tablespoons  chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped green onions
• 1  cup  fat-free buttermilk
• 1/2  cup  fat-free sour cream
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cheese and onions; toss well. Add buttermilk and sour cream; stir just until moist.

Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until edges are brown. Remove biscuits from pan; cool on wire racks.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 146 (29% from fat)

Fat: 4.7g (sat 2.9g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.2g)

Protein: 5.2g

Carbohydrate: 20.1g

Fiber: 0.7g

Cholesterol: 14mg

Iron: 1mg

Sodium: 406mg

Calcium: 134mg

Peppercorn-crusted pork tenderloin with soy-caramel sauce

Recipe by Billy Strynkowski, Cooking Light, December 2005

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3 slices pork and 2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients

·                                 Cooking spray

·                                 1/4  cup  minced white onion

·                                 1  teaspoon  grated peeled fresh ginger

·                                 2  garlic cloves, minced

·                                 1  cup  water

·                                 1/2  cup  sugar

·                                 1/4  cup  low-sodium soy sauce

·                                 2  tablespoons  red wine vinegar

·                                 1 1/2  teaspoons  Dijon mustard

·                                 2  tablespoons  butter

·                                 2  (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed

·                                 1  tablespoon  black peppercorns, crushed

·                                 1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh thyme

·                                 1/4  teaspoon  salt

Preparation

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, ginger, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add water and sugar; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat; carefully stir in soy sauce, vinegar, and mustard. Add butter, stirring with a whisk. Set aside; keep warm.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Rub tenderloins evenly with crushed peppercorns, thyme, and salt. Heat a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add tenderloins, browning on all sides (about 5 minutes). Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink); let stand 10 minutes. Cut each tenderloin into 12 slices; serve with sauce.

 

Nutritional Information

Calories: 227 (28% from fat)

Fat: 7g (sat 2.8g,mono 3g,poly 0.6g)

Protein: 24.5g

Carbohydrate: 15.3g

Fiber: 0.4g

Cholesterol: 81mg

Iron: 1.7mg

Sodium: 441mg

Calcium: 16mg