Monday, October 22, 2007

Family Pleasing Meatballs

Nate and Emma love meatball subs, so in my quest to find a healthy version, I came across these yummy meatballs. I am going to, in the future, make a double batch and freeze the extras for easy meals.

Prep: 20 min Cook: 20 min

1 lb. extra lean ground beef
10 RITZ Reduced Fat Crackers, crushed (about 1/3 cup)
1 egg white
1/4 tsp. pepper

PREHEAT oven to 375ºF. Combine meat, cracker crumbs, egg white and pepper. Shape into about 30 meatballs, each about 1 inch in diameter. Place in 15x10x1-inch baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 20 min. or until meatballs are cooked through.

WWPoints: Using 4 meatballs made of 90/10 ground beef, a White Wheat bun, 1/4 c 2% milk Italian cheese blend, and 1/4 c spaghetti sauce, it is 6 points per sandwich. Yummy.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Candy Fudge Bars

This is a yummy Southern Living recipe I pulled out of the 2004 Christmas with Southern Living book. Enjoy!
2 c uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c chopped pecans
1 c firmly packed light brown sugar
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 c butter, melted
1 1/2 c M&M's, divided
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Combine first 6 ingredients, stirring well. Add butter, and stir or beat at low speed with an electric mixer until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 c crumb mixture; press remaining crumb mixture into a lightly greased 13x9 pan. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350.

Place 1 c M&M's in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, stirring after 30 seconds. Press M&M's with back of a spoon to mash them. (The candies will almost be melted with the coating still visible.) Stir in sweetened condensed milk. Spread mixture evenly over crust in pan, leaving a 1/2 inch border on all sides.

Combine reserved 1 1/2 c crumb mixture and remaining 1/2 c M&M's; sprinkle evenly over chocolate mixture, and press lightly.Bake at 350 for 25 to 28 minutes or until golden; cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Yield: 3 dozen

Chicken Ceasar Sandwiches

Boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to about 1/4 inch thick (That's a guess. I just pound it to a uniform thickness. I usually cut the meat in half after pounding it to match the size of the bun.)
Caesar Dressing
1-2 T chives, chopped, if desired
Buns or rolls
Provolone cheese
Romaine lettuce
tomatoes

Marinate the chicken in Caesar dressing (add chives to dressing if desired). I marinate it anywhere from hours to just 15 minutes. Grill the chicken breast, brushing with dressing often. Melt the provolone cheese on the chicken. Toast the buns if desired, and arrange your sandwich with chicken, lettuce and tomato using some additional Caesar dressing to brush on bun.

This really is yummy; we fix it when we have guests, and everyone has requested the recipe after trying it. Nate doesn't even like Caesar salads/dressing, and this is one of his all-time favorite meals.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Last night, I made a 'breakfast dinner,' one of my kids' favorite dinners! So, I thought I'd share my pancake recipe. My grandma made these for us while we were staying with her for Carly's wedding. The whipped egg whites make them super fluffy, and Nate, who is the ultimate 'soft, fluffy bread' kind of guy, says these are the best pancakes ever!

12-13 pancakes

1 1/2 c buttermilk
2 eggs, separated
1/4 c oil
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 c sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t soda

Mix buttermilk, yolks, and oil well. Mix dry ingredients and add to egg mixture. Whip egg whites like for meringue. Fold into batter. Fry in a tiny dab of oil.

WWPoints: Using Low Fat Buttermilk, Splenda for baking, it is 2.7 points per pancake (given you get 13 out of the batch, which I do). Add some benefiber, and it'll drop even more!

Crock Pot Recipes: Beef Au Jus Sandwiches, Turkey Chili Verde

These are crock pot recipes and have won thumbs-up approval for Sunday meals at my house.

Beef Au Jus Sandwiches
Prep: 15 min. Cook: 8-10 hours on low, 4-6 on high
12 servings

1 large sweet onion
1 can (14 oz) beef broth
4 lbs boneless beef rump roast, trimmed of fat
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/2 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground pepper
12 hoagie rolls, split
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
12 slices provolone cheese

Place onion slices and broth in slow cooker. Brush all surfaces of the meat with vinegar. Place on onions. Sprinkle with salad dressing mix, salt, and pepper.

Cover; cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

About five minutes before serving, remove roast beef from slow cooker; place on cutting board. Cut beef across grain into thin slices; return to slow cooker and mix well.

To assemble, spoon beef onto bottom halves of bun. Place on cheese and bell pepper strips and top of bun. Serve with juices for dipping if desired.

*Nate and the girls did not eat the bell peppers on their sandwiches, but I thought it was yummy. We're not soggy bread people, so we didn't 'dip' either.

Turkey Chili Verde
Prep: 15 min Cook 8-10 hours on low, 4-6 on high
6 servings

2 1/2 lbs boneless skinless turkey breast (boneless skinless chicken thighs can be substituted)
16 oz mild green salsa
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium potato, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 c chicken broth
1 t ground cumin
flour tortillas, warmed
fresh cilantro, if desired
sour cream, if desired

Place turkey in slow cooker. Mix salsa, onion, potato, garlic, broth and cumin; pour over turkey.

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or until turkey is no longer pink when center is cut.

Slice turkey. Serve turkey and sauce in tortillas with cilantro and sour cream.

*Nate liked it with refried beans and cheese spread on the tortilla in addition to the turkey.

Easy Tomato Baked Chicken

Prep: 10 min Total: 40 min

1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 c light balsamic vinaigrette dressing
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425. Place onions in bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with chicken.
2. Combine tomatoes, dressing and garlic powder; pour over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

4 servings
WWpoints: 4

From Kraft Foods Magazine (I'm not sure which one... I ripped it out and put it in my 'try this' folder.)