Eggplant Bruschetta

Eggplant Bruschetta 1pt per slice

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

Place eggplant slices in a colander over a plate; sprinkle with salt and gently toss. Let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse and drain well. Coat both sides of each slice with cooking spray. Place on a broiler pan. Top eggplant with tomatoes, basil and cheeses. Broil 6 in. from the heat for 5-7 minutes or until eggplant is tender and cheese is melted. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: 2 slices equals 68 calories, 3 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 9 mg cholesterol, 242 mg sodium, 7 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 5 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 fat.

*********
Made May 27th. I made this for bookclub tonight, along with the Feta Spinach Melts that are so yummy. One person seemed to really like them. I do not have a working broiler, so that may have effected their turnout. I thought they were ok. Unfortunately they were cold by the time I had one, and I think it probably would have been better fresh from the oven.

Pineapple Salad

Pineapple Salad 1 pt for 1 cup

Made April 26th. The salad was pretty good. Next time I'd choose to either cut the pineapple into chunks or just buy the chunks or tidbits. The slices made it more uneven in the getting.

I served this as a side to the very yummy Fruited Chicken Salad.

Crepes

Crepes 1 pt each

Made April 25th. This recipe is for strawberry crepes, but we're out of strawberries and Jared wanted crepes. This recipe is slightly different than the other crepe recipe so I figured I'd try it just to see the difference.

The recipe calls for 3/4 egg substitute, but I don't have egg substitute. 1/4 egg substitute = 1 egg. So, basically it calls for 3 eggs. I planned on using 1 egg and 4 egg whites, but I only managed to get two egg whites in. When I went to do the third one the yolk plopped in so I ended up using 2 eggs and 2 egg whites. It all works out.

The crepes were good. We used homemade Greek yogurt, raspberry freezer jam, frozen blueberries and powdered sugar as filling/topping. YUM!

Hearty Oatmeal Pancakes

Hearty Oatmeal Pancakes 1 pt each

Made April 22nd. I'm not sure how accurate the points are. I've been making yogurt and strained the whey out of it. I substituted the whey for the buttermilk and I can NOT find nutritional info for whey. So, there's a possibility that these are really 2 points a piece, but oh well. They whey worked really well. The pancakes were a little runnier, but this recipe is one that is a bit touchy anyway. I used to make these pancakes almost every day, but it's been a while. If you use buttermilk, these are very thick and require heating for longer at a lower temperature. With the whey they cooked pretty quickly. Still a pretty yummy variation on the traditional pancake.

Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Butter

Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Butter, 1 pt for 2 TB

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsweetened apple cider or juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 medium apples, peeled and quartered (3 pounds)

Directions

Place the apple juice, sugar, cinnamon and cloves in a blender; cover and process until blended. Adding 3-4 apple pieces at a time, cover and process until smooth.
Pour into a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook over low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and cook 1 to 1-1/2 hours longer or until thickened. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Yield: 2 cups.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (2 tablespoons) equals 66 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 1 mg sodium, 17 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, trace protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 1 fruit.

*******
Made April 1st. I scored today at the grocery store - 6 cameo apples (almost exactly 3 lbs) for 99 cents. Today was the day to try my hand at this recipe!!

My blender had a hard time chopping all the apples, so I ended up removing some of the mix into the sauce pan until I could get all the apples blended in. The final yield was 2 pints plus about 4 oz.

The mix was pretty thick as it was, so I'm not sure at what point "heat until thickened" is. I took it off the heat when it started forming small peaks. The end result tastes a lot like applesauce. I'm not sure what the difference is between applesauce and apple butter, but I do like the flavor. I mentioned it on facebook, and my sister in law made this comment:

Actually, the difference is cooking time and spices. Apple butter is almost always fairly heavily flavored with cinnamon and maybe cloves and such, and is also cooked down to a much thicker texture. You can either do it on the stovetop (which requires a lot of extra stirring so it doesn't scorch), or you can put it in a big pan in the oven and cook it a low heat, stirring on occasion.

Crepes with Berries

Crepes with Berries, 1 pt each

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sugar
4 cups blueberries, blackberries and/or raspberries
1 cup fat-free milk
1 egg
3 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
16 teaspoons reduced-sugar apricot preserves
1 cup (8 ounces) reduced-fat reduced-sugar vanilla yogurt

Directions

Sprinkle sugar over berries; gently toss to mix. Cover and refrigerate. In a blender, combine the milk, egg, egg whites and extracts; cover and process until blended. Add the flour and cornmeal; cover and process until blended. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Coat a 7-in. skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium heat. Pour about 2 tablespoons batter into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom.

Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a plate; keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter, coating with additional cooking spray as needed.
Spread each crepe with 1 teaspoon apricot preserves. Fold each crepe into quarters; place two crepes on an individual plate. Top with 2 tablespoons yogurt and 1/2 cup berry mixture. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (2 filled crepes with 2 tablespoons yogurt and 1/2 cup berries) equals 156 calories, 1 g fat (trace saturated fat), 28 mg cholesterol, 60 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 6 g protein.Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch, 1/2 fruit.

*****
Made March 27th. This was my first experience making crepes. I liked mixing it in the blender because it was very fast and easy. I ended up chilling the batter for several hours because we went to run some errands. For the first crepe, I was using an 11 in. skillet and 2 TB of batter just would not cover it. I double checked the recipe and realized I needed a smaller pan. Once I adjusted to the small pan, the crepes turned out much better.

I followed the recipe for the batter, but didn't really for the insides. I used blackberries and strawberries for the fruit. I didn't think the sugar was necessary, but after a tart bite I realized it did need some. I only put half a tablespoon on the fruit and it was just fine. For the yogurt we used lowfat plain yogurt, and the jam was blackberry jam that I made last summer.

My batter yielded 20 crepes, so the points came out to 1 point per crepe.

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 7 ounces each)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
Dash white pepper

Directions

Cut potatoes into 1/8-in. slices; spray both sides of slices with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine seasonings. Add the potatoes; toss gently to coat.
Arrange in a single layer in two 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans coated with cooking spray.
Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown and tender, turning several times Yield: 5 dozen chips.

*****
Made March 25th. I used the apple corer/peeler to cut up the sweet potatoes. The result were holey chips, but it worked well enough. I tossed the chips in a bag to coat instead of a bowl and that worked really well.

The chips weren't bad. Jared didn't care for them and Aaron only ate a few. Like normal, I couldn't quit eating them. The spices weren't my favorite blend. Next time I'd probably just coat them with salt.

Corn N Bean Burritos

Corn n Bean Burritos, LT02, 1 pt per 1/4c. or 3 pts for 3/4c serving

Ingredients

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, drained
1/3 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 can (16 ounces) vegetarian refried beans
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
3/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
8 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed

Directions

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first eight ingredients; add black beans and corn. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate overnight.
Drain and discard marinade. Place beans and corn in a large microwave-safe dish. Add the refried beans, cucumber, salsa, onions and cilantro. Cover and microwave on high for 5-6 minutes or until heated through.

Spoon about 3/4 cup down the center of each tortilla. Fold ends and sides over filling and roll up. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 burrito equals 305 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 825 mg sodium, 56 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 12 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 3 starch, 1 lean meat.

********
Made March 8. I'm not sure what attracted me to this recipe, but I'm so glad it did! This recipe is so delicious! The flavors blend in a surprising way. I did find it had a little bite from the salsa, but once I added sour cream it took the spice out and added creamy sweetness!! Everyone enjoyed it. The best part is that it is so low in points that I can eat almost as many as I want. I preferred it in a taco shell over a flour tortilla with a tablespoon of sour cream and some shredded lettuce.

The recipe calls for a 3/4c scoop per tortilla, but I found that 1/4 c. was just right.

I also really like that this a microwave prepared dish, so once you put it all together it goes to the table quickly. The recipe says to marinade overnight, but I just put it together early in the morning and let it marinade for the day (about 8 hours).