#7 - Stuffed Mushrooms

24 button mushrooms, with stem, equaling one pound
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 c chopped onion
1/4 c chopped red bell pepper
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 c bread crumbs
1 tsp cajun or creole seasoning
1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray a cookie sheet or other baking pan with non-stick spray.

Remove stems from mushrooms. Chop stems finely. Set caps aside, whole.

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Saute spinach, mushroom stems, onion and red pepper until tender, about five minutes. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients, stirring well.

Stuff each mushroom cap with spinach mixture. Place on baking pan stuffed side up. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Yields two mushrooms per serving, 0 points for one serving.

Yum! I made these as a side dish to a high calorie meal we had tonight and they were soooo good! The filling is good all by itself; I had some leftover and plan on putting it on crackers tomorrow! You could probably just make the filling as a dip if you wanted.

I chopped everything in my mini food processor, which worked out really well. I totally forgot to put the turmeric in - oops! Have no idea how much it will change the taste. The cajun/creole seasoning does give it a slight kick, but nothing over the top. It's very subtle and just adds some flavor. Highly, highly recommend this recipe. Would probably be good with some cheese mixed in for those who aren't watching their calorie consumption.

#6 - Berry Cobbler

Berries
2 c blackberries
2 c strawberries, hulled and halved
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 c sugar

Biscuits
2/3 c flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 c buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a shallow, 2 quart oven proof dish, stir together berry ingredients. Bake until hot, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare biscuits. Stir all ingredients together to create a sticky dough. When berries are ready, drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto fruit to form 4 biscuits. Bake until biscuits are golden abd fruit is bubbling, about 25 minutes. Allow cobbler to sit for 5 minutes so fruit can firm up. Yields one biscuit and about 1 cup of berries per serving, 4 points per serving.

I made this for our Easter dinner dessert and it was very tasty. The biscuits tasted good, but we all agreed they were a little chewy. This is probably due to the fact that there is no egg or oil in the dough as it is a low calorie version of berry cobbler.

The berries, however, were absolutely amazing. In fact, Dad, Mom, Ricky and I agreed that next time we would just make the berry part of the recipe and serve it over ice cream! Seriously, it was that good.

I did use all marionberries (a form of blackberry) instead of half blackberries and half strawberries and it turned out wonderfully. Definitely try the berry portion of the recipe, even if you want to create your own higher calorie version of the biscuit.

#5 - Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken

3 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb fresh shitake mushroom CAPS, finely chopped
3/4 tsp herbes de provence
1/4 tsp pepper
2 oz goat cheese
2 lb boneless skinless chicken
1 shallot, chopped
3/4c chicken broth
6 tbs dry sherry
1 tsp corn starch
2 tsp cold water

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and brown for 30 seconds. Add mushrooms, herbes de provence, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Cook 5-6 minutes, until golden and fragrant.. Transfer to bowl. Mix in cheese, set aside.

Make pockets in each piece of chicken. Stuff with ~2 tbsp cheese mixture. (At this point, you can refrigerate the chicken to be cooked the next day). Heat remaining oil in skillet. Add chicken and sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Cook 7-8 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken (may want to put in oven to keep warm).

Add shallot to pan and fry for 30 seconds. Add broth and sherry. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Mix cornstarch in with water, then add to pan. Stir constantly, until it bubbles and thickens, about 1 minute.

Serve each piece of chicken with 3 tbs sauce.

This recipe was delicious! I will definitely be making it again. Some notes...

I used my mini food processor for almost all of the prep on this - chopped the garlic and mushrooms in it, chopped the shallot in it as well. I even used the mini processor to mix the mushroom mixture and cheese together. Worked great!

I'm an idiot and completely forgot to get any sherry, so I used apple cider vinegar instead as it was the only thing we had on hand that came close. It actually tasted pretty good! I'm excited to try it with the real stuff though - if we liked it this well with the vinegar, I can only imagine how tasty it is when one follows the directions :-P

Last thing - I only used 4 chicken breasts so I reduced the filling a bit as well. Actually, I reduced the mushrooms. I only used 3 oz mushroom caps, but left everything else the same, and put about a tablespoon of cheese mixture in each piece of chicken.

#4 - Tortellini Soup

3 C. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
3 1/2 C. vegetable or chicken broth
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. dried sage
2 C. coarsely chopped spinach or other greens
1 (16oz) can small white or navy beans, rinsed and drained
4 sun dried tomatoes, minced
1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook the tortellini according to package directions, until just tender (don't overcook)

2. Meanwhile in a large saucepan, bring the broth, garlic, sage and 1C. water to a boil. Stir in the spinach, beans and tomatoes. Reduce head and simmer until the spinach and tomatoes are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tortellini; simmer 1 minute longer. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve.

Makes 4 servings, 6 pts. per serving (351 cal. 4g. fat, 6g. fiber)

This soup went over well at our house, though I felt like it was a little too soupy. I like thick soups with lots of stuff, so I think next time I'll add some more vegetables, such as mushrooms, corn, and peas, and maybe even some more beans. Ricky and I also thought it could use a little "kick," so perhaps a chili pepper or just some crushed red pepper would do the trick. Overall, it was a good and filling meal.

#3 - Peanut Noodles and Shrimp

4c rice noodles, cooked according to package instructions
1/2 tbs olive oil
3 tbs minced green onions
2 cloves minced garlic
4 tbs minced ginger
1 red chili pepper
1/2c chopped green pepper
1c mushrooms, sliced
10 baby carrots, quartered lengthwise
1c green (snap) beans or snow peas
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

Sauce
1/4c chicken broth
2 tbs peanut butter
1 tsp hot chili oil
1 tbs fish sauce
1/2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

Garnish
1 lime, quartered
1/8c cilantro, chopped
Hot chili sauce, to taste


Prepare noodles according to package directions, set aside.

Stir together peanut butter and chicken broth, set aside.

Heat olive oil in skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger and red pepper. Stir fry for 1-3 minutes. Add green pepper, carrots, mushrooms, snap beans or snow peas and shrimp. Cook until shrimp are done. Add remaining sauce ingredients to chicken broth and peanut butter mixture. Pour over veggie mixture. Heat just until boiling. Remove from heat, stir in noodles. Garnish with lime and cilantro. Serve with hot chili sauce.

Yields: 4 servings


We really liked this dish. It's chock full of fresh veggies and shrimp. It definitely has a kick to it, so if you aren't keen on spicy food, you may want to cut the chili oil back or leave it out completely. Don't worry too much about measuring the veggies. You really can just put in however much you like.

#2 - Crispy Black Bean Tacos

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw
Bon Appétit February 2009
by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen
yield: Makes 4 servings
active time: 25 minutes
total time: 25 minutes

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 cups coleslaw mix
2 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 white or yellow corn tortillas
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Bottled chipotle hot sauce or other hot sauce

Place beans and cumin in small bowl; partially mash. Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper.Heat 3 teaspoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon 1/4 of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Fill tacos with feta and slaw. Pass hot sauce alongside.

Even though it doesn't say to, I heated the beans, because it just didn't seem right not to. I added the cilantro, onion, and lime to the beans, and garnished with the slaw. I also used lemon juice from concentrate rather than the lime juice and it turned out just fine. These were a huge hit in our house - Thanks to Lori for the recommendation!

#1 - Omelet-To-Go

3c egg substitute
12 oz cooked turkey sausage
4 slices processed cheese

Put one ounce cooked sausage into each of 12 muffin cups. Pour 1/4c egg substitute on top of that in each cup. Add 1/3 of a slice of cheese to each cup. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until tops are golden and egg is no longer jiggly.

The best part about these omelet muffins is they can easily be frozen individually, then thawed and reheated for a breakfast on the go. Play around with the recipe - try Swiss cheese instead of processed, or bacon instead of sausage. I bet you could even do a Denver omelet style if you wanted!