Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Baking, Desserts on February 8th, 2010
So by a friend’s special request I decided to take this cake on. From all the recipes I read I knew it was going to be a bit of a challenge. The ganache was my preference out of all the different ways you can present the cake – surprise, surprise. So if you like angel food and would like to attempt it yourself, here you are 
You will need:
- 1 cup cake flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 12 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- Note: For those not use to making angel food cakes don’t get any yoke in the whites, if you do throw out and start over. You can always separate the egg in a glass first. Then if no yoke pour into measuring container.
- DO NOT GREASE PAN.
- Use a two piece angelfood cake pan.
- Heat oven to 375.
- Sift the cake flour and 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar; set aside.
- Combine the extracts in a small bowl and set aside.
- Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until it forms peaks.
- Add the other 3/4 cup of sugar slowly, then beat on high until stiff peaks form.
-
Beating on LOW, add flour mixture and extracts slowly. Make sure you fold in the sides and bottom of your mixing bowl. Spoon into an angel food cake pan. Move a knife through batter to remove air pockets. Bake 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly with finger. Invert pan onto a tin funnel to cool completely.
Some angel cake pans have tri-legs so you can invert it onto a countertop but another site said that the moisture from the cake’s heat against the countertop makes the cake shrink and ruins the top. The space just isn’t far enough. So per another suggestion I inverted mine on a colander. This worked just fine! -
To remove the cake from your pan run a knife around the rim of the cake pan just to get the ‘crust’ away from the pan. Then firmly spank the sides of your pan. -
While your cake is baking make your ganache – 1-package Ghirardelli semi-sweet/dark chips, 1 c heavy cream, and 1 tbsp butter. Heat heavy cream on stove until almost boiling (but NOT!). Quickly take it off heat and pour over chocolate in a glass bowl. Allow to sit for one minute. Stir together with butter. (The butter gives it that nice shine. Alternately, vanilla extract does the same thing.)
It will look a bit “milky” at first. The first time I made this I was a bit scared of how it would turn out because I didn’t want to lose the bitter flavor. But rest assured, it was fine. This will keep at room temperature for 2 days so this is something you can make in advance or if you have leftover and want to use the rest you can. Just cover with plastic wrap.
When you’re ready, slowly pour or spoon over cake (on parchment paper). I decided to do only the top of the cake and let the sides drip down. Since it is such a light cake I didn’t want to overwhelm it by covering the cake entirely.
I served this last night with raspberries, strawberries and whip cream. Fantastic! I hope you enjoy as well.
Happy Monday everyone and here’s to another week of cooking
Salmon Cakes with Lemon and Capers/Fettuccine in Tomato Broth
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Low Calorie, Main Course, Pasta, Seafood, Side Dishes, Vegetables on February 8th, 2010
Implementing healthy, low-cal recipes has taken on much more significance for me recently so I am very happy to share those with you that actually taste good and are easy to put together. These two were a suggested pair and so with the success of the tuna cakes I decided to try these yesterday afternoon. Big smiles all around for these!
Salmon cakes:
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp capers, rinsed and drained
1 tsp black or green peppercorns
1 med garlic cloe, coarsely chopped or 1/2 tsp bottled, chopped or minced
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
whites of 2 lg eggs
1/4 cup fat free, cholesterol-free or light, reduced-calorie mayonnaise dressing
1/4 cup cornmeal
12 oz salmon fillet, skin removed
1. With a mortar and pestle crush and grind together first 5 ingredients. Transfer to medium bowl. Add lemon juice and using your mortar make a paste.
2. Stir in egg whites, mayonnaise, and cornmeal.
3. Rinse your fish, pat dry and cut into 1/4 in thick pieces. They don’t have to be uniform so don’t feel you have to be really precise. Stir this into your mixture.
4. Preheat large skillet over medium heat and spray with vegetable oil spray. Form 4 patties about 3/4 in thick. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, turning only once. Enjoy!
For Fettuccine:
14.5 oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
2 c fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
2 pepperoncini (Tuscan peppers), stemmed, seeded, and minced
2 med garlic cloves, minced or 1 tsp bottled minced
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8-9 oz fresh fettuccine
6-8 oz sliced or coarsed chopped fresh mushrooms
2 large zucchini, grated
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil or 1 tbsp dried, crumbled
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp shredded/grated Parmesan or Romano
1. Heat large, deep skillet over high heat. Put in first 7 ingredients and stir. Bring to a simmer. Gently stir in pasta, mushrooms and zucchini. Cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook for 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in basil. When read to serve sprinkle with cheese if desired.
You may be wondering. . . zucchini? I was very, very surprised at how creamy the fettuccine came out because of this vegetable. No heavy creams, butter, or loads of cheese (which we all love) but this had an alfredo consistency with a different flavor. It was excellent
Nutritional Information:
Salmon:
Calories: 160
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 44 mg
Sodium: 245 mg
Carbohydrate: 11 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 20 g
Fettuccine:
Calories: 217
Total Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 1 mg
Sodium: 430 mg
Carbohydrate: 43 g
Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 10 g
Egg Custard Pie
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Baking, Desserts, Low Calorie, Snacks on February 6th, 2010
From what I hear you are either a custard fan or not. I grew up with flan and desserts of the sort but for some reason didn’t care for custard until much later in life. I used the following recipe to make this for a friend’s father whose favorite dessert is this.
Ingredients
- 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg white
- 2 1/2 cups scalded milk
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
- Mix together eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Stir well. Blend in the scalded milk. For more yellow color, add few drops yellow food coloring.
- Line pie pan with pastry, and brush inside bottom and sides of shell with egg white to help prevent a soggy crust. Pour custard mixture into piecrust. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on rack and give some time to set.
***This was the first time I made this and so being the type of person I am I made a second pie to taste test it myself before giving what I made to someone else. However, I decided to put a thin layer of chocolate on the bottom so that others in my household would partake of it too. I had to increase the baking time by about 5-7 minutes. The custard filling came out exactly as I expected and the chocolate, although I even questioned throwing that in there, was really good. Even my husband who doesn’t care for custard thought it was a nice touch.
This goes to show you: don't shift the pie while it is baking. The nutmeg will move over! Errr. . .
. . .with the chocolate layer . . .
From what the recipe stated each slice (8 per pie) has approximately 225 calories (without chocolate).
Apricot Mustard Salmon and Salad with Tangy Vinaigrette
Posted by Van Santos in Main Course, Seafood on February 5th, 2010
A very busy week, a very stressful week, has kept me out of the kitchen… and I have missed it so. As I was finishing up hour number 9 of one very tedious task at work I started thinking that I really needed to take care of my cooking fix today. Really, what better way to start the weekend. Well, I can think of a few others…. 
I decided that I wanted a good fish dish. Yes, the baked Mac n Cheese is still in my the back of my head (and I’ll get there at some point) but I wanted to do something creative and the Apricot Mustard Salmon was the answer.
Apricot Mustard Salmon Recipe
3 tbsp olive oil
2 salmon cuts
8 oz of apricot preserves (roughly 1 cup)
4 tbsp of coarse ground mustard
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 sliced peppers jalapeño
1/2 cup white wine
2 rosemary sprigs
Salt and Pepper to taste
1) Turn on the oven, set to 400 and let the oven pre-heat as you prep.
2) Heat olive oil over a medium-low flame in a medium sized pan, add the jalapeño peppers and sautee for roughly 3 minutes (until they begin to soften)
3) Add Garlic, heat for an additional minute
4) De-glaze with white wine
5) Add mustard, stir into the mixture
6) Add Apricot preserves and stir in so all ingredients have blended together.
7) Turn heat to low, simmer for roughly 15 minutes while constantly stirring to avoid burning. The sauce will begin to thicken when ready.
8 ) Place your salmon on a foiled cookie sheet, salt and pepper to taste, add a sprig of rosemary and cover with the Apricot Mustard sauce.
9) Bake for 16 minutes
Salad with Tangy Vinaigrette Recipe
1 bag of mixed baby greens
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp honey
5 chopped green onions
10 fresh mint leaves, chopped
A “Handful” of chopped walnuts
A “Handful” of Feta Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Yea, this one is quite simply… mix your red wine vinegar, oils, ginger, and honey. Pour over the baby greens, add walnuts and cheese, green onions and mint. Toss vigorously and serve.
Apricot Mustard Salmon
I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out… but hot damn I was happy. The sauce is on the sweeter side of the spectrum but the peppers and mustard add a nice after bite that one wouldn’t expect. In order to cut the sweetness simply add a bit more mustard. As sad as this sounds, as the salmon was baking away I was eating the extra sauce straight from the pan. Why let a good thing go to waste, I love it!
The salmon and sauce blended so well. The sweetness of the sauce was countered by the natural flavors in the fish leading to a near perfect balance.
I like throwing together random vinaigrette dressings. The thought of honey, nuts and feta cheese seemed to compliment the fish (well, in my mind) and in reality it did. The nuts really brought out the taste of the honey, and the honey added to the sauce that was over the fish.
Enjoy!
Apple-Streusel Muffins
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Baking, Breakfast, Desserts, Snacks on February 4th, 2010
I don’t know why I’ve held off on this recipe. I’ve had pretty good success with a few other muffins I’ve made for breakfast-on-the-go and one or two “fails”. This is one of the ones I like the most! And if you’re into supplementation and good-for-you ingredients the flaxseed will probably be appealing to you. Moist, not overly sweet, and just the right size (don’t be fooled by mega muffins!) here you are. . .
Ingredients:
1 c flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c packed brown sugar
2.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp apple pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c buttermilk
2 tbsp canola oil
3/4 c shredded/peel apple (1 medium)
2 tbsp finely chopped pecans
1 tbsp flaxseed
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tbsp butter
1. Preheat oven to 375 and prep your muffin pan (12 ct). In a large bowl, stir together flours, 1/3 c br sugar, baking powder, apple pie spice, and salt. Set aside.
2. In medium bowl lightly beat eggs and stir in buttermilk and oil. Add this mixture to flour mixture and stir until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in shredded apple and spoon all of this into muffin cups (fill about 3/4 full).
3. In a small bowl combine pecans, flaxseed and 1 tbsp br sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spoon this mixture over top of muffin batter.
4. Bake for 18-20 min and cool in muffin cups on wire rack for 5 minutes. Makes 12 servings. Enjoy!
You'd be proud of your muffins too
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 163
Total Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 39 mg
Protein: 4 g
Carbohydrate: 25 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sodium: 167 mg
Orange Chocolate Finger Cookies
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Baking, Desserts, Snacks on February 2nd, 2010
For crying out loud, how did I stray from low-calorie dessert treats? Okay, this was totally worth it. Soft, buttery, and tastes very gourmet – here is your new favorite cookie. Don’t eat them all at once, please; otherwise, who else would know you bake so well?
Components of heaven:
1 c butter, softened
3/4 c superfine sugar (this is now the sugar I carry on hand at all times)
grated rind of an orange
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 tsp orange juice
2.5 c flour
1 tsp ground ginger
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
salt
1. Put first three ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon. Beat in egg yolk and orange juice. Stir flour, ginger, and pinch of salt into the mixture until thoroughly combined. Shape dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 30-60 mins.
2. Preheat oven to 375 and line cookie sheets with parchment (I will comment on this later).
3. Unwrap dough and roll out between 2 parchment sheets to a rectangle. Using a sharp knife cut into 4 x 3/4 in strips and put them on the prepared cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for about 5 and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
5. Put chocolate pieces into a heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan of gently simmering water, then remove from heat and cool. When it is cool but not set then dip cookies in 1/4 to halfway (whatever you prefer) and put on wire racks and let set. Makes about 35 cookies.
Fabulousness dipped in even more fabulousness. . .
A few things:
When a recipe tells you that you need to chill the dough, this is to make it easy to handle. So when you’re working with the dough, once it reaches room temperature again, it becomes pretty slippery and very soft so it is best if you can work fairly fast. As you can see I tried to get all the cookies to be of the same size and shape but I took my time rolling the dough out and cutting it out in strips and the dough became pretty soft again.
Additionally, I only had so much parchment paper left and so I used a baking spray on my cookie sheet. I have one extra large Ultrabake cooking sheet which I absolutely love because my cookies never burn and come out perfect every time. However, I had extra dough and ended up using another cookie sheet with spray and the cookies browned so much faster and some even burned (you can probably notice it in the upper RT corner of the photo). If you’re into baking cookies often, definitely invest in a good cookie sheet – saves money in the long run.
Be careful when dipping your cookies in the chocolate because they might break!
These cookies are approximately 110 calories each – Blah!
Chicken with Roquefort
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Low Calorie, Main Course, Poultry on February 2nd, 2010
Grilling never gets old and is so much healthier for you. . .and if you like strong blue cheeses you will love this recipe!
Your chicken recipe:
1-6 oz carton plain fat free yogurt
1/2 c chopped red onion
2 tbsp crumbled Roquefort or other blue cheese (I used Maytag which is stronger than regular blue cheese and is comparable to the Roquefort – it was difficult to find this for some reason but it crumbles well)
1 tbsp snipped fresh chives
1/8 tsp black pepper2 med pears, cored and halved lengthwise
lemon juice
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1-1.25 lbs total)
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1. For sauce, in a small bowl, combine yogurt, red onion, cheese, chives, and pepper. Cover and chills until ready to serve. Brush cut sides of pears with lemon juice and set aside.
2. Sprinkle chicken with Italian seasoning and salt. Grill for approx. 5 mins and then turn. Place pears on grill, cut sides down. Grill together for about 7-10 mins or until chicken is no longer pink and pears are just tender. Serve with sauce and side of your choice! Makes 4 servings.
Only so much room on my stovetop grill but I made it fit.
. . .with a generous helping of your sauce. . .
I had an idea of what to expect of the flavor combination because I love fruit and cheese together. The sweetness of the pears was excellent against this cheese; pretty soon I found myself dipping the fruit into the cheese sauce. The chicken was tender and juicy and now I’m in love with this grill as everything has turned out superb on it – not to mention – super easy cleanup!
Nutritional Information:
For your chicken:
Calories: 218
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 70 mg
Protein: 30 g
Carbohydrate: 18 g
Fiber: 3 g
Sodium: 297 mg
Chocolate drizzled cinnamon cookies
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Baking, Desserts, Snacks on January 30th, 2010
So I found a more “reasonable” recipe after the sugar cookie post – and what I mean is that the dough was more malleable and didn’t make me want to pull my hair out. This was still time-consuming because I used cookie cutters but the chocolate drizzle is easier to deal with than sprinkles and decorative sugar. I will leave that to the pros for now. These were excellent! I decided to double the recipe this morning and I yielded a TON of cookies! So these are perfect to share with others
You will require:
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 c superfine sugar (caster)
1/2 c sweet butter (I used regular)
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted
1. Mix together first 3 ingredients and then stir in melted butter. Sift the flour, salt, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and then add to egg mixture. Chill until firm.
2. Preheat oven to 375 and prep your cookie sheets. Roll the dough out between parchment or plastic wrap to about 1/8 in and use cookie cutters. Place on baking sheets and bake for 10-15 mins until golden.
3. Cool on wire rack. Dip fork into melted chocolate and drizzle onto cookies. Allow to set on parchment and then enjoy!
I had fun with these - used cookie cutters kids would enjoy!
Cookies galore - this is the second sheet out of 4 large!
***Alternately instead of the cinnamon you can use ginger or the grated zest of 2 lemons (4-6 tsp) and add to egg and sugar mixture.
***This is NOT low cal 
Nutritional Information (per cookie):
Calories: 65
Total Fat: 2.8 g
Cholesterol: 8.7 mg
Sodium: 63.6 mg
Carbohydrate: 9.5 g
Fiber: 0.3 g
Protein: 0.9 g
Asian Pork Soup
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Appetizers, Low Calorie, Main Course, Pork, Side Dishes, Vegetables, soup on January 30th, 2010
I was going to save this till later in the week but since I was feeling a bit under the weather and needed some comfort food I had a feeling this soup would do the trick. This was excellent and very simple.
You’ll need:
1 tbsp canola oil
12 oz lean boneless pork, cut into thin bite size strips
2 c freshly sliced shiitake mushroooms
2 c garlic, minced
3-14 oz cans chicken broth
2 tbsp dry sherry
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tsp grated fresh ginger/1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 c shredded napa cabbage
1 green onion, thinly sliced
fresh cilantro sprigs
1. In lg saucepan heat oil over med heat; add pork, cook and stir for 2-3 mins or until slightly pink in the center. Remove from pan and set aside. add mushrooms and garlic and cook until tender.
2. Stir in chicken broth, sherry soy, ginger, and pepper. Bring to boiling. Stir in pork, napa cabbage, and green onion; heat through. If desired, garnish with cilantro. Makes 6-1 c servings.
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 160
Total Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 31 mg
Protein: 16 g
Carbohydrate: 10 g
Fiber: 1 g
Sodium: 169 mg
Wasabi-Butter Seared Tuna
Posted by Van Santos in Tuna on January 29th, 2010
Work and life has kept me from cooking the last week or so. I’ve been flat out drained, so I took a day off today to recharge. One activity to help my reach my goal was trying a new dish… just throwing something together… the result is the Wasabi-Butter Seared Tuna below.
Needed:
2 tbsp freshly milled peppercorn
3 tbsp sesame seeds
1 stick of butter
1 cup of white wine
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp, 1 tsp wasabi paste
2 6 oz tuna steaks
Recipe for the sauce
1. Over medium-high heat reduce the white wine and white wine vinegar to roughly 20% of the original volume. This should not take long, between 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to low and stir in your soy sauce and wasabi paste. Continue to stir until the wasabi is fully mixed into the liquid.
3. Add butter in 1/8th sections until the entire stick is used. Make sure to do this slowly as too much butter too fast will make the sauce thin/break apart
Quick note: As you are making the sauce make sure to continuously stir to avoid burning. Once all the butter is into the sauce remove from the heat and set aside.
For the fish
1) Mix the peppercorn and sesame seeds in a bowl. Toss your tuna to cover.
2) Sear the tuna over a medium heat, roughly 2 minutes on each side. If needed splash with a little water (about a tsp) if needed to help along the searing.
3) Plate, cover with sauce and enjoy!
Wasabi Butter Tuna
I decided to plate over asparagus and top off with edible flowers. A wonderful dish for seafood lovers. The sauce had enough kick but not overwhelming. Obviously you can make it to your desired taste… Good stuff!
Kiwifruit Chicken Tostadas
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Chicken, Low Calorie, Main Course, Poultry, Snacks on January 28th, 2010
I love blending fruit and meat together. . .and this is just one of this instances This makes a great lunch or snack and for dinner you can pair with beans and/or rice.
Get started:
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (I used 1/4 tsp)
1/8 tsp salt
8 0z skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp canola oil
4 – 6 in corn tortillas or purchased baked tostada shells (I usually go for crispy!)
2 c shredded romaine
3 kiwifruits chopped and/or 2 plum tomatoes chopped
1/2 c shredded reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese
1. In a small bowl combine cumin, red pepper and salt. Brush all sides of the chicken with oil and sprinkle evenly with cumin mixture.
2. Place on a grill uncovered for approx 12-15 minutes and turn halfway through until no longer pink.
3. Cut chicken in bite size strips and assemble on top of tostadas with lettuce, fruit/tomato, and cheese. Makes 4 servings. (Of course with recipes like this you can always make more depending on how much you happen to have on hand. I say you’ll need more, these are delicious!)
A little sweet and a whole lot of savory!
***I was worried while grilling that there wasn’t enough of the cumin mixture on there. I made sure the chicken wasn’t dry so a lot of the flavor still came through. I think next time I would make a bit more of the cumin mixture and even add a bit more red pepper because I love kick but that’s about all the tweaking I would do. Oh! And if you didn’t care about the low cal of course add sour cream and avocado and even a little cilantro/red onion.
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 208
Total Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 43 mg
Protein: 19 g
Carbohydrate: 21 g
Fiber: 4 g
Sodium: 238 mg
Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bread
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Baking, Desserts, Low Calorie, Snacks on January 26th, 2010
Seems like I can’t go one week without baking something for breakfast – but that’s a good thing, right? This bread sounds rich, but it’s not. It has just the right amount of peanut butter/chocolate flavor to leave you satisfied.
You’ll need:
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg whites
2 tbsp canola oil
1 c all purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 c fat free milk
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp fat free milk
1. Preheat oven to 350 and prep your loaf pan.
2. In large bowl, combine brown sugar, peanut butter, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat with electric mixer until combined. Beat in egg whites and oil until combined. In a small bowl, combine flours and alternately add this and 1 c milk to peanut butter mixture beating on low speed after each addition. Transfer 1/2 c of the batter to small bowl and stir in cocoa powder and 1 tbsp milk.
3. Spoon half the light-color batter evenly into prepped loaf pan. Then drop all the chocolate batter by small spoonfuls on top of batter in pan. Spoon remaining light-color batter over it. Using a narrow metal spatula, swirl batters to create a marbled effect.
4. Bake for 50-55 mins or until inserted toothpick in middle comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for about 10 mins and remove from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Makes approx. 12 servings.
I probably could've done better with the "marbling" effect but still tastes delish!
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 181
Total Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Protein: 5 g
Carbohydrate: 28 g
Fiber 1 g
Sodium: 177 mg
Pasta Bolognese over Egg Noodles
Posted by Van Santos in Italian, Pasta on January 25th, 2010
Having had an impressive Bolognese sauce at Bravo! I wanted to give this one a go in my kitchen. I finally settled on the base recipe found here.
All the goods!
Needed for the sauce:
1 cups grated carrots
1/2 large red onion, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
1 shallot, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon oregano flakes
1 tablespoon dried basil flakes
1/2 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine
1 tbsp, 1 tsp Worcestershire
salt, pepper to taste
1 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
1/2 cup half-n-half
Fresh Parmesan cheese
Let us get right to it!
- Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat.
- Add grated carrots, onions and shallot and cook for three minutes.
Onions, Shallots, Carrots.. oh my!
- Add ground beef and cook for a few minutes until brown.
- Mix in oregano and basil.
- When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients add tomato paste and heat.
- Add garlic and stir to combine.
- Add red wine and stir together.
- Add Worcestershire and stir.
- Add canned tomatoes.
- Finally add in half-n-half, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes.
And there you have it, you are done! Bolognese sauce over Egg Pasta
Bolognese Sauce Over Egg Pasta
Enjoyable dish, one that seems to get better after the sauce has sat for a few days. Make some of the kick-ass garlic bread and you are ready to go.
Seared Tilapia with Lemon-Tarragon Sauce and Spinach Orzo
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Low Calorie, Main Course, Pasta, Seafood, Vegetables on January 24th, 2010
Although I much prefer “meatier” fish like salmon or mahi-mahi, this was very, very good. The tilapia is seasoned very well here and so it doesn’t have that “fish” smell and taste to it. And I love it when I find recipes that have an accompaniment included!
For Tilapia:
1.5 lbs fresh/frozen tilapia or other lean whitefish
1 tsp seasoned salt ( I used more though)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c dry white wine
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp snipped fresh tarragon or 1/4 tsp dried tarragon, crushed
1. Rinse fish, pat dry and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Prep your skillet with oil and cook fish until it flakes easily (approx 4-5 mins total). Set aside in dish and keep warm.
2. For sauce, add wine and lemon juice to skillet making sure to scrape up any crusty bits from the fish. Whisk in mustard and tarragon and heat through. Serve over fillets. I yielded 6 servings. Enjoy!
For Spinach Orzo:
Prep 8 oz dried whole wheat orzo, drain. Immediately toss orzo with 5-6 oz package of baby spinach, 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel and 1/4 tsp salt. Season to taste with fresh ground pepper.
Mmmm. . .good!
Nutritional Information (for both together):
Calories: 294
Total Fat: 7 g
Cholesterol: 57 mg
Protein: 28 g
Carbohydrate: 28 g
Fiber: 7 g
Sodium: 448 mg
Curried Beef with Apple Couscous
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Beef, Low Calorie, Main Course, Vegetables on January 22nd, 2010
So after about a one week hiatus here is what I will introduce. Ohhh. . .this was fantastic! Not too spicy, not too sweet – just an even blend of spice and flavor. Additionally, this was extremely simple to make.
Here you are:
1 lb boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut 1 in thick
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp canola oil
2 medium red/green sweet peppers cut into thin strips
1 med onion, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 c water
3/4 cup apple juice
2 tsp instant beef bouillon granules
1 c whole wheat couscous
1 med tart green apple (Granny Smith), coarsely chopped1/3 c chopped dry roasted peanuts
1. Lightly sprinkle steak with salt/black pepper and place on grill until desired doneness (mine was med-well/well). You can also use your broiler.
Using the stovetop grill. . .
2. Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add sweet pepper and onion; cook for 5 mins. Add curry and stir for one minute. Add water, juice, bouillon granules and bring to boiling. Stir in couscous and apple; remove from heat. Cover and let stand about 5 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Fluff couscous with fork.
sauteeing the vegetables - nothing better than peppers and onion!
fluffing the couscous. . .
3. Slice steak and serve over couscous mixture and top with peanuts. Makes 6 servings.
Dinner is served!
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 340
Total Fat: 9 g
Total Cholesterol: 46 mg
Protein: 25 mg
Carbohydrate: 44 g
Fiber 7 g
Sodium: 430 mg
