This is utterly delicious. The sauce is really outstanding with reduced fat. It’s guest worthy and faster than waiting in line at McDonald’s (not to mention far superior!).
MAKES: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat cous cous
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, flattened slightly
- 1 bunch green onion, trimmed (green & white parts sliced separately)
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup evaporated fat free milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 orange, thinly sliced
DIRECTIONS
- Cook couscous using the chicken broth and 1 tablespoon of the butter, following directions on the package.
- Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Saute the chicken, turning once, until golden and firm to the touch, this should take 5-6 minutes.
- Remove chicken from pan and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Add the white part of the green onions, orange juice, cream and salt to skillet.
- Arrange the chicken with orange slices on top of the couscous.
- Spoon the orange sauce over the chicken and serve.
- Boil over high heat, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Cook 2 minutes to reduce sauce, stirring constantly.
- Add the orange slices and remove from heat.
- Stir the green part of the onions into the couscous and spoon on to a serving platter.
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A beautiful red dessert thats not too sweet. I usually put it in the oven timed to come out shortly before dinner. We think that it’s best still warm.
MAKES: 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 large pears, peeled, cored and sliced lengthwise (1/4-inch thick)
- 3 cups bog berries (cranberries-fresh or frozen)
- 3 tablespoons dry tapioca
- 1 1/4 cups sugar, plus 1 teaspoon sugar, for dusting
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1 tablespoon butter
Topping:
- 1 1/8 cups flour
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup milk
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350F.
Prepare Filling:
- In large bowl, combine pear slices & cranberries and stir in the tapioca.
- Mix 1 1/4 cups sugar, cinnamon and mace together, mix thoroughly.
- Spread fruit mixture into a 13x9x2″ pan
- Top it evenly with the sugar mix.
- dot with the 1 tablespoon butter.
Topping:
- Combine flour, all but 1 tablespoon of the sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Cut in butter until in coarse crumbs.
- Drizzle with milk, stirring until in pebble-size chunks.
- Drop by spoonfuls onto filling.
- Sprinkle with remaining sugar.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
TIP:
To go all out top it with a generous scoop of ice cream. Try Strawberry, you’ll be surprised at how great the strawberry is and plus it’s really pretty too. Or use a little whipped cream.
What a delight these exquisite little cookies are. Think shortbread that is so tender and flaky that they truly do melt in your mouth. They should be harder to make for the wonderful results that you get but thankfully they are simple enough for a beginning cook. They are always beautiful on those holiday cookie trays.
MAKES: about 30 cookies
INGREDIENTS:
-
1 cup butter, softened
-
1/2 cup fine white sugar (often called Berry Sugar)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-
2 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
- 1/2 cup strawberry, cherry or raspberry jam or preserves
- Red decorating sugar
DIRECTIONS:
-
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cream butter and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mix is light and fluffy.
- Add sifted flour, a 1/2 cup at a time, and mix well.
- Shape dough into 1 inch diameter balls and place on cookie sheets.
- With your finger make an indentation in the center of 1/2 inch in size .
- Carefully drop a spoon tip of jam or preserves into each indentation to fill it.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until they are barely beginning to turn golden brown at the edges.
- Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the red decorating sugar over the jam centers while still hot.
- Cool on the baking sheets for 3 to 5 mins and remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
This is a very quick and simple, it’s also quite yummy.
MAKES: 1 serving
INGREDIENTS:
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 1/4 cup hot milk
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 2 teaspoons hazelnut syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking cocoa
- dark brown sugar to taste, optional as you may not want any more sweetening with the syrup.
- 1 tablespoon whipped cream (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
- Combine water and milk, heat in the microwave until very hot but do not allow it to boil up.
- Place instant coffee and cocoa in large mug, add the milk mix and stir until coffee and cocoa are dissolved.
- Stir in syrup.
- Add sugar if using.
- Top with whipped cream if using.
- Serve hot.
Pancakes aren’t something that I make often but from time to time I like to put something a little special on the table, at least to us. Being reluctant to give eating as healthy as possible I made these this morning and they were delicious.
MAKES: 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS:
In bowl, pour milk over rolled oats; let stand for 5 to 7 minutes.
In another bowl, stir together flours, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Beat eggs and oil together with the vanilla.
Add the eggs, oil and vanilla mix to dry ingredients along with milk/oats mixture, stirring just until mixed (if batter is too thick, add a little more milk or too thin a little more flour).
Heat a large greased griddle to medium or med-high heat (about 350F for electric griddle).
Pour in about 1/3 cup batter for each pancake and cook for about 2 minutes or until bubbles on top break but do not fill in, and bottoms are golden and set.
Turn over and cook for about 1-2 mins longer or until they bounce back when lightly touched in the center.
Serve with butter and maple syrup and enjoy.
Christmas Cheer the non-alcoholic way, well, you could add a splash of something harder if you wanted too. A touch of vanilla vodka might be nice. We enjoyed this just as I made it and hubby and myself finished it off with no leftovers in an evening. You might want to double or even quadruple the amount if you’ll be serving it to guests or just have a larger family than I do. It’s delicious!
Makes: 4-6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
- 8 whole cloves
- 4 black peppercorns
- 4 slices lemon zest
- 4 slices orange zest
- 34 ounces cranberry juice
- 1 1/2 cups ginger ale
- 1/4 cup sugar (optional)
- 2 (3 inch) cinnamon sticks
- 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
- extra cinnamon sticks for each cup, optional
DIRECTIONS:
- Place cloves, peppercorns, and zest in center of cheesecloth and tie to form a bag.
- Combine cheesecloth bag and all remaining ingredients (except the optional cinnamon sticks) in 4 quart saucepan, bring to a simmer and simmer stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
- Remove the cheesecloth bag.
- Ladle wine into heatproof small glasses or cups and garnish with cinnamon sticks if desired.
TIP:
This is excellent in a crock pot if your having a family tree trimming evening or having friends over. When it’s finished the 10 mins on the stove just put it in the crock pot on low and it will hold beautifully all evening.
Sometimes a simple sandwich is exactly what you really want. This works for me every time. It’s good for lunch or dinner. You can use any burger type buns but the onion buns really make this over the top delicious.
MAKES: 4 sandwiches
INGREDIENTS:
- 8 slices bacon
- 4 onion hamburger buns, sliced
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon country-style Dijon mustard
- 4 slices tomatoes, or more if they are small
- 12 onion rings, red onion is good if you have it
- 8 slices cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS:
- Heat oven to 375F.
- Fry or microwave bacon until crispy but not black.
- Place split onion buns on cookie sheet.
- In small bowl stir together mayonnaise and mustard.
- To assemble each sandwich, spread about 1 tablespoon of mayo mixture on each bun half.
- On bottom half of bun place 1-2 tomato slice, 3 onion rings and bacon slices.
- Crisscross 2 slices Cheddar cheese over bacon.
- Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melting.
- Top with remaining bun half.
To keep the “pop” in this salad I use frozen green peas that aren’t cooked but just quickly defrosted. It’s great as a summer side but is just as delicious in the winter.
MAKES: 4-6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen peas
- 4-5 slices crisply cooked bacon, crumbled
- 3/4 cup low fat sour cream
- 1/4 cup low fat mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion or chives
- salt and pepper, to taste
- mint or tarragon, as desired, optional
DIRECTIONS:
- Place the frozen peas in a colander defrost with cold running water (it’s ok if they aren’t completely defrosted).
- Drain well and chill.
- Gently combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.
TIPS:
- Serve on lettuce.
- Use as a pita filling.
- Serve as a side dish.
- Add a cup of cooked pasta and 1 tsp more of mayo and sour cream toss together for pasta salad.
- Use small diced ham in place of the bacon.
