African Rice and Beans--Posted by Joy

This is a recipe from my friend Becky. She made this last time I saw her and I tried my hand at it this week. It's a very filling and good meal...I'll add my comments after the recipe:

Soak 1 cup black eyed peas over night.
Cook until tender
Pour out the water into a measuring cup.
Add 1 1/2- 2 cups rice to the beans.
Add 2 cups water for each cup of rice plus 1/4 cup water for each cup of beans (using the water poured off the beans and adding more as needed)
Add 1 tsp of salt for each cup of rice and 1/2 tsp salt for each cup of beans.
Bring to a boil and simmer until done.

Meanwhile
Cut 3 large onions into thin slices and fry in enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan with about 1/4 of an inch.
Add about 1 tsp crushed red pepper adjusting to taste
This takes a long time. Fry over medium heat until the onions are all dark brown. Watch carefully at the end because the line between done and burnt is pretty small.

Serve the rice and beans with the onions drizzled on top with the oil.

My comments: I used frozen black eyed-peas which require less cooking time. I also only used one onion because that is all I had and upon first taste the onions weren't quite done as well as Becky had done them, so I put them back on the burner and watched closely. There were a lot of left overs and I just mixed it all up together before putting it in containers. I like the left overs a lot and the taste of the oil and onions is all throughout with out being too oily/greesy. I used olive oil and suggest its use. It is about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of oil, at least for my skillet.

For those interested, the approximate nutritional value of this meal (based on a cup of the rice and oil and onions all mixed together) can be found here: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calories.asp?recipe=1571530  The fat appears very high until you see how much of it is good/heart-healthy fat...and I like that!

Blueberry Cobbler - posted by Jessica

Here is a delicious way to get some antioxidants! This is a recipe from a Cooking Light (I know, surprising!) cookbook I have had for years. Saw that Sunflower had blueberries on sale, so decided to give it a try. I used white whole wheat flour and flax egg substitute with good results. I served it with some redi-whip but it would be delicious in the summer with vanilla ice cream. I only got 6 servings out of it than the 8 the recipe said it served. I only used about half of the cinnamon sugar topping which was plenty.

Ingredients:

4 c fresh blueberries
1 tsp lemon juice
1 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp bk pwd
1/8 tsp nutmeg
dash of salt
1 Tb veg oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
3 Tb sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Oven to 350. Combine blueberries and lemon juice in lightly greased 8 inch pan. Combine flour thru salt. Combine oil thru egg and add to flour mixture just till moist. Drop by spoonfuls onto blueberries to make 8 dumplings. Combine 3 Tb sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Bake 35 min or until bubbly and lightly browned.  Serve with whip cream or ice cream.
Yield: 8 servings.

Barbecue Meat Loaf from Cooking Light - posted by Jessica

I found this recipe on the Cooking Light website and decided to give it a try and was pleasantly surprised. It was moist and flavorful. My slices did fall apart a bit, probably because I only used 1 lb of meat and randomly decreased the other ingredients a bit, but was still really good. It was quick and easy to throw together as well. Thank you Cooking Light for a deliciously light version of meatloaf!

Barbecue Meat Loaf

 

Lee Harrelson

This easy meat loaf recipe gets its great flavor from barbecue sauce. Try experimenting with different homemade or bottled sauces to find your family's favorite.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 slices)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2  pounds  ground beef, extra lean (raw)
• 1/2  cup  dry breadcrumbs
• 1/2  cup  chopped onion
• 1/3  cup  barbecue sauce, divided
• 1  tablespoon  prepared mustard
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  chili powder
• 1  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  large egg whites
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine the beef, breadcrumbs, and onion, 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce, and remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.
Shape meat mixture into a 9 x 5-inch loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread remaining barbecue sauce over top of meat loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut loaf into 12 slices.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

203 (24% from fat)

Fat:

5.4g (sat 2.2g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.5g)

Protein:

27.3g

Carbohydrate:

10.5g

Fiber:

1.1g

Cholesterol:

61mg

Iron:

3.2mg

Sodium:

517mg

Calcium:

26mg

David Bonom, Cooking Light, MARCH 2006

Banana Zucchini Bread - posted by Jessica

So I had some shredded zucchini in my freezer left over from the summer that I wanted to get rid of. I was going to make chocolate zucchini bread but also noticed I had some overripe bananas so thanks to a Google search, I found a yummy bread that combines two classic sweet breads into one! I cut the recipe in half to make just one loaf and used sliced almonds instead of the walnuts as that is what I had on hand. I also used a good portion of white whole wheat flour for the all purp flour with good results. And I decreased the sugar just a bit as the banana was overripe and would be very sugary. I turned out really good!

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3/4 c oil
2/3 c br sugar
1 c sugar
1 c grated zucchini
2 bananas, mashed
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 c flour
1 Tb cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp bk pwd
1 tsp bk soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 c craisins
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Oven to 325. Grease two 8 x 4 loaf pans. Beat eggs. Add oil thru vanilla. Beat well. Stir together flour and spices. Add to creamed mixture just till blended. (I had to add a little more liquid to get the flour to fully incorporate; used a tiny bit of soy milk). Fold in cranberries and nuts. Pour into pans and bake 50 to 60 minutes till done.
Super easy with delicious results!

Yield: 2 loaves 12 slices each.

Poor Man's Lobster Thermidor

I got this recipe out of the Mennonite cook book More With Less. I have had tilapia in my freezer for the longest time and was looking for new recipes to use it in. I added celery to this recipe, as well as extra random spices. I topped it with buttered breadcrumbs mixed with spices and grated Parmesan cheese. It was really good1

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. chopped onions
1/2 c. mushrooms
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of paprika
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp. cooking wine (optional)
2 c. cooked white fish pieces
Buttered bread crumbs
Grated cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Saute first 3 ingredients. Add next 4. Cook until bubbly, add next 3. Cook, stir until thickened, add egg yolk and wine and fish. Place in shallow baking dish, top with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake about 8 to 10 minutes until brown.

Nutella Fudge Brownies--Posted by Joy

Taken from savorysweetlife.com

Nutella Fudge Brownies*

Makes 12 Brownies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Nutella spread
1 large egg
5 tablespoons all=purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12-cup mini muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

2.  Put the Nutella and egg in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and well blended.  Add the flour and whisk until blended.

3.  Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins (about 3/4 full) and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.
4.  Bake until a pick comes out with wet, gooey crumbs, 11 to 12 minutes.  Set on a rack to cool completely.  Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.




 



*JOY'S NOTES: Nutella brownies?! Seriously, what could be better than that?! Only nutella brownies with whipped cream, a tall glass of milk and a friend to share them with!! Tessie came for dinner tonight and I was randomly searching for easy dessert recipes and happened across this one.  I didn't have chopped hazelnuts or mini muffin pans so I just mixed up the unbelievably easy batter, poured it into a lightly greased glass dish and baked it til they were set (probably 20 or so minutes). Totally easy recipe and totally a keeper!

Zuppa Toscana--Posted by Joy

Taken from Tuscanrecipes.com: 

Olive Garden® Zuppa Toscana*

This is a much requested recipe on the site given its name! Someone who used to work at the Olive Garden sent in the original recipe and I've adapted it to serve just 6-8. Try it since it is really yummy!

It is a very good soup and hits the spot on cold winter days. I've included this and a few other Olive Garden-inspired recipes on the site for all of our visitors that enjoy eating at the restaurant chain. In my opinion, making these recipes at home makes them even better than the ones you eat at the restaurant! :)

Makes: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
• 1 large diced white onion
• 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
• 2 tsp garlic puree
• 10 cups water
• 5 cubes of chicken bouillon
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
• ¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.

2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.

4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve. Delicious!

Buon appetito!



*JOY'S NOTES: This recipe is really good! I used hot Italian sausage so I didn't add as much red pepper. I didn't have bullion cubes, and I don't like them anyway, so I used 10 cups of turkey stock. I didn't have heavy cream so I used half and half. And I used baby spinach instead of kale. It turned out really yummy :-) A little bit time consuming, but I cooked a lot of extra sausage so that was the main work. Obviously not the healthiest soup...but really tasty :-)