Tomato Sauce

5 ripe Roma tomatoes

1/2 tsp salt

2 beef bullion cubes

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 cup water 

3 Tbls tomato paste

Dice the tomatoes, and put them in a small sauce pan. Add all the other ingredients. 

Bring to a boil.  Cook until the bullion disovles, about 10 minutes. 

Pour into a blender and mix until smooth. 

Return to the pan and simmer slowly. Stir in the tomato paste  Let it continue to reduce until it has reached the desired consistency. 

Makes about one cup. And it is fat free and sugar free. 

Easter Brunch

How about a nice Easter brunch? There are lots of great ideas out there. Here's one from Walmart. With my version I also add bell pepper and onion.

Pretty,  isn't it?

 

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups Ore-Ida Potatoes O'Brien
• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
• 2 Tbs. chopped onion
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup bacon , crumbled

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Melt butter in a microwave-safe pie dish; add potatoes, bell pepper and onion,  microwave for 10 minutes.
3. Stir together eggs, milk, salt, pepper and pepper jack cheese. Pour over potatoes.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until eggs have set. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bacon. Serve immediately.

Cinnamon Roll Bunnies

Here is something fun from Pisbury... Happy Easter.

                              

1   can (13 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated flaky cinnamon rolls with icing                                              

8 semisweet chocolate chips             

4 red baking chips or candy-coated chocolate candies                        

8 almond slices

1 Heat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2 Place 4 rolls on cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart. Unwind remaining 4 rolls in to long dough strips. For each bunny, place one dough strip, cut ends together, next to a whole roll. Press and firmy pinch cuts ends into top of whole roll. Shape strip into floppy bunny ears.

3 On each bunny, place two chocolate chips for eyes, 1 red baking chip for nose and 2 almond slices for teeth; press firmly into dough.

4 Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack. Spread frosting on warm rolls. Serve warm.

Mexi-Chicken and Rice

Here's a quick meal. and it is healthy and filling and so yummy. Chicken and rice Mexican style

 

2 ½ oz grilled chicken

¼ cup sliced onion

¼ cups sliced bell pepper

½ cups cooked brown rice

½ cup diced tomato

¼ cup sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 tablespoon mild salsa

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp chopped cilantro

 

Saute onion, bell peppers, garlic and mushrooms with the olive oil for 10 minutes, or until soft. Add the tomatoes and salsa. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile dice the chicken. And stir into the tomato mixture. Add the brown rice. Simmer 2 minutes. Spoon into a small bowl and, top with the sour cream.

Enjoy

 

(If you are counting points this is just 7 PointsPlus®.)

Chicken Apple Salad

New stuff:
Try this great salad next time .

Makes one salad:

1 small apple
3 oz of grilled chicken
4 cups of mixed greens
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup shreddded cheese (optional)

put the greens in a large bowl, top with favorite dressing. 

One bowl chocolate cake

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup milk 

1/3 cup oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Lightly mix flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl with a fork. 

Add milk, oil, vanilla and mix well with a wire wisk. Add the egg. Continue beating until it smooth and silky. Make sure there are no lumps. 

Spray a 8x8 dish with cooking spray. Pour in the batter and bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins. 

Let it cool completely. Then frost with favorite frosting or glaze. 

New Year New Diet

Let's talk about that New Years's resolution to lose weight. Have you given up already on that new diet?  We all do it; we all make a resolution to lose weight. I have too. In fact this is the year I've decided on several resolutions. Oh, no I don't think I've taken on too much.

There are so many diets and  programs. Low caeb, low fat, dairy free, gluten free, vegetarian, vegan... On and on the list goes  Everybody has a solution. Everyone has a plan. It can be overwhelming. And not every solution is not right for everybody. 

Now it is true some people are intolerant of certain  foods, and some people make dietary choices for other reasons. 

This where I'm going to get a little boring. My solution... Eat less, move more. Find a support person, and get at least 7 hours of sleep at night. 

Make a routine of keeping a daily journal. Track how much sleep you get, what you are eating, and when, and most important-- how did it make you feel.  The point is to be conscious. Most people are going to be surprised. Just try it for a week. 

The other thing to do is to go get one of those frozen diet meals. It's just to give you an idea about what 300 calories looks like, and guess what you can do better. My point is, some of those frozen meals are loaded with salt and sugar. 

Ready?  

Here is my favorite chicken 4 servings. 

20 oz. lbs chicken breast no skin

1 tbls olive oil

1 Lemon 

1 tbl Butter

1 tbl Rosemary, chopped

1 tsp Salt 

1/3 tsp Pepper

Mix butter and olive oil together in a small bowl. Place chicken in a baking dish. Rub butter and oil on chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and rosemary. Squeeze the lemon over the chicken. 

Bake at 375 untill chicken is done. Serve with 1 cup of roasted vegies and 1/2 cup brown rice. 

Total calories doe the meal: about 450 give or  or take. 

Kale with Creamy Cashew sauce

2 lbs kale

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk

1 tbls onion flakes (optional)

1 tbls Dr Fuhman's VegiZest (optional)

Remove the thick stems from the kale and discard

Place the kale leaves in a large steamer pot. Steam 10 to 20 minutes

Meanwhile place remaining ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth

Place kale in a colander and press with a dish towel to remove some of the excess water

In a bowl coarsly chop and mix kale eith cream sauce. 

Chili Verde

Well, another chili cool off has come and gone. There were 12 of us this time. So completion was a bit stiffer, but we have another success, and another award. 

I always wanted to know how to make chile verde. So I searched the Internet until I found one I liked.

Found it on Simple Recipes. 

Of course I did it my way.  

1/2 lbs tomatillos

2 jalapeños

1 poblano pepper

3 tbls minced garlic

1large bunch cilantro 

1 large onion

4 lbs pork roast

1 small can green chilies

Salt and pepper

2 tsp oregano

1/2 cup Sour cream

2 cups chicken stock

Husk the tomatillos and slice in half. Half the peppers, and remove the seeds. Place on a baking sheet until the tomatillos are browned and the peppers and charred.

Put the peppers in a zip lock bag and let sit for 5 minutes. This will help the skins to loosen so they can be removed. 

Place the skinned peppers, garlic, cilantro and tomatillos in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside. 

Cut  the pork in chunks, so it easier to cook. 

Brown in a skillet with the sliced onions and salt and pepper. Don't cook the meat all the way. 

 Add the meat, oregano, onion,  blended contents and chicken stock  to a crock pot. Cook on low 5 hours. And the sour cream and serve. 

Granola Bars

2 1/2 cups (230 grams) old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup (80 grams) whole nuts, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup (113 grams) honey

1/4 cup (56 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup (50 grams) packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup (60 grams) dried fruit, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (67 grams) white chocolate chips

2 bananas 

Method

Prepare Oven and Pan

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bottom and sides of a 8-inch or 9- square pan with aluminum foil. Then lightly oil or spray with cooking spray.

Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. 

Press the mixture into pan make sure it is tightly packed and even in one layer. 

Bake 30 minutes until they it has lightly toasted. 

Remove from the oven and let cool before cutting into bars. Then refrigerate to set.  

The Story of Cheese

In the beginning God created the cow, and He saw that the cow was good, and He gave the cow to man. He said " take this cow for she gives milk. It will sustain you."

Man was very pleased and took the cow and the milk. Man enjoyed the fresh milk and declared it good. 

But soon man was not pleased, for the milk soured. He wanted his milk to be portable as he traveled through out the land, and he asked God how can he make the milk portable and keep it from souring? 

God told man in order to make the milk portable and not sour he needed to make the milk solid. 

Man was so excited by this, but yet puzzled. "How Lord do we make the milk solid?  Surely only you can do this". And God smiled. 

"Take the rennet from the sheep's stomach and add it to the milk. Mix it well, and that will make the milk solid." 

So man went off excited. He found a way to extract the rennet and added it to the milk. 

Man mixed and stirred the milk. And lo the milk started to separate and solids formed. Man was in awe. He took the solids and ate of them and declared them good. 

Then man said to God "what should call this wonderful treasure?"And God said "you shall call it cheese. And it will be good and portable and won't sour."

And man took his cheese with him though out the land and it was good. 

Cheese Soufflé, a short story

Peggy stood at the stove looking  at a lumpy gooey pale yellow puddle in her cassarole dish. She blew her bangs out of her face and sighed. 

"I''m never going to get this right". She picked up the dish and and scraped the contents down the garbage disposal.
Another attempt down the tubes. She looked at her recipe again. No one understood. No one would ever understand he obsession to make the ultimate cheese soufflé.  

She had a signed photo of Martha Stewart hanging over the stove and "The Art of French Cooking" prominently displayed on the counter. Her friends thought she was a fanatic. They couldn't figure out why she idolized celebrity chefs. 

She wanted something different for this party. Something other than hot dogs and cheese whiz with crackers. 

She looked at her ingredients again...Egg whites, flour, gruyere, butter, Parmesan.... where did it all go wrong...

Butterscotch pie

4 tbls butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
3 egg yolks
2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla
.... And a mound of whipped cream


 in saucepan, Melt butter until a light brown.  Add brown sugar and flour, Mix untill well blended. In a small bowl blend milk,  egg yolks and vanilla. Add milk beaten eggs and vanilla. Add egg mixture a little at a time so The eggs dont currdle  Continue cooking until thick and bubbly. Pour into a pre-baked pie shell and cool. When ready to serve top with whipped cream.