Roasted Cabbage Wedges

I made this recipe for St. Patrick's Day. I was a little worried that the little boys wouldn't like it. Boy was I wrong! Matthew has asked me to never make red cabbage again. He wants Green Cabbage Wedges from now on. He wants it today, tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. I found this recipe on line-- see the link at the bottom.

Ingredients

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 medium head green cabbage
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Put the oven rack to the upper middle position. Place a cookie sheet on the rack and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl. Quarter the cabbage through the core and cut each quarter into 1 inch wedges, leaving the core intact. (There will be about 16 wedges.) Brush the cabbage wedges all over with the oil and then sprinkle them with the salt mixture.

Arrange the cabbage wedges on the hot cookie sheet. Roast until the cabbage is tender and lightly browned around the edges-- about 20-25 minutes. Drizzle the cabbage with the balsamic vinegar. And then enjoy!



http://www.grouprecipes.com/101842/roasted-cabbage-wedges.html/print

Pumpkin Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rebekah reminded me that I haven't posted this recipe here yet. This one is a favorite at my house.  I'm already a big fan of pumpkin cookies, but this recipe makes me sing! Fast, easy, take the ingredients right out of the pantry, and yummy!  But, best of all - a ONE point treat!!

 

Pumpkin Cookies

1 box spice cake mix
1 (15 oz. ) can pumpkin
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Combine together. Drop by spoonful on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 18-20 minutes. Makes 3 dozen cookies. 1 point each. (woo-hoo!)

*Hints:

I have found that using name-brand ingredients counts here. I made these once using generic brands, and I'm sorry...they just weren't as good! Here's what I use:

♦  Libby's canned pumpkin
♦  Guittard milk chocolate chips
♦  Duncan Hines (or any of the other name-brands) cake mix

Butternut Soup

Nothin' beats warm soup and homemade bread on a cold, blustery day. We're talking comfort food, baby!  I'm finding out that soup is pretty souper super -- it's healthy, low-point eating, and better yet -- great for a tight budget. So, we're trying to incorporate soups into our menu planning a little more these days.

Here's a little autumn soup we tried not too long ago. Loved the flavor of the roasted butternut! Perfect for the season. Give it a try and tell me what you think...

 
Butternut Soup

2 points per serving

1 medium butternut squash (about 3 lbs.), peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 large onion, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

2 Tablespoons minced fresh sage, or 2 teaspoons rubbed sage

3 cans (14.5 oz. each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

cooking spray

 

Place squash in a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray. Drizzle  with 1 Tablespoon oil; sprinkle with pepper. Toss around to coat. Bake uncovered, at 425° F for 30-35 minutes or until tender, stirring it every 15 minutes.

In a Dutch oven pan, saute the onion, the celery and the sage in the remaining oil until tender. Stir in broth and reserved squash. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Cool slightly.

In a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Return to the pan; heat through if needed. Serves 8.

:::

This recipe comes with Parmesan croutons to go with it. We chose not to make the croutons when we served it, but here's the recipe in case you do! Adding the croutons makes the soup a 3 point dish.

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Parmesan Croutons
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2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon minced fresh sage or 1 teaspoon rubbed sage

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups French bread (1/2 inch cubes)

additional grated Parmesan cheese, optional

cooking spray

In a small bowl, combine the cheese, oil, sage and garlic. Add bread cubes and spritz with cooking spray; toss to coat. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° F for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Serve with soup and sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

recipe credit: Healthy Cooking magazine, October/November 2009, p.40

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

1 -1 1/2 lbs fresh Asparagus
1 package Center cut Bacon
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Asparagus has woody or fibrous ends. If you snap the bottoms off, they will break where the fibrous part ends.
Snap off the bottoms of the asparagus. Lay the asparagus out flat on a cookie sheet. Drizzle them with oil and sprinkle with salt (just a little since the bacon will be salty) and pepper and toss to coat evenly.
Take a strip of bacon and wrap it around 4 spears of the seasoned asparagus. On a grill preheat to medium, put the asparagus bundles horizontally (so they don't fall through the grates) on the grill. Rotate the bundles after 5 minutes. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender and the bacon is cooked through and a little crispy.
My oldest son loves asparagus, but my other 2 kids don't really like it. So imagine my surprise when that was the first thing gone off of their plates. :-)
** You can also substitute Prosciutto for the bacon if you want to.

Lime Butter

For the picture, you are just going to have to close your eyes and imagine this since the corn was devoured so fast! On the Food Network, I have seen a variety of different chefs flavor the butter for the corn. Well, we decided to try it with our Labor Day Weekend Steak Grill Off. It added an extra layer of flavor to the sweetness of the corn. So yummy!!!

Lime Butter

1 stick of salted butter, that is at room temperature (you can soften it in the microwave until it is almost melted)
the juice of 1 lime, or if it is really juicy, just half a lime
3-4 shakes of Cayenne Pepper (or more to taste if you like it spicy)
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Using a hand mixer, stir on low speed to mix. Let it rest while you cook the corn.

Years ago, Wendy taught us how to cook corn without having to boil it.
Take a piece of wax paper, put the corn on, roll up, then twist the end like a piece of candy to keep it closed up. Doing 3-4 ears of corn, microwave on high for 4 minutes, then rotate the corn (if you have some in the middle, move them to the outside) and microwave again on high for 5 minutes.
To serve, put the Lime Butter on the corn with a pastry brush.
We had to move the bowl with the Lime Butter away from my 5 year old daughter because she kept trying to dip her corn with every bite. Like I said...so yummy!

Honey BBQ Chicken with Apple Cole Slaw

We first saw this recipe on the Food Network on Emeril Live and made it while we lived in Bountiful. I was going through old cookbooks recently and all of a sudden I was craving this again. I know that it is long and has quite the list of ingredients, but it really is a yummy recipe (which I can not take credit for at all since Emeril did it!) and is worth the effort.

Honey BBQ Chicken

1 cup soy sauce (I use the less sodium one)

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup honey

1-2 Tbsp sriracha (hot red pepper garlic chili paste found in the oriental section) we do 1 Tbsp so it isn't too hot for the kids

2 Tbsp white sesame seeds

2 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp sesame oil

12 skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 1/2 pounds) (we usually de-bone them to make it easier to eat)

In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, onions, rice vinegar, honey, sriracha, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic and sesame oil. Stir well to combine. Place the chicken in the marinade. Toss to combine, cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours.

Preheat grill to medium..about 300-350 degrees. Leave the skin on the chicken to help keep it moist. Cook on the grill on both sides until done. Use a digital thermometer to verify the temperature.

Apple Coleslaw

1/4 cup mayo, plus 2 Tbsp

1/4 cup sour cream

1Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

3 cups green cabbage, chopped (about 1/2 head)

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and shredded1/2 head Romaine Lettuce, washed and cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream, honey, vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk well. Add cabbage, apples, carrot, Romaine, onion and parsley. Toss to combine. Cover and put in fridge until ready to serve.

This recipe was slightly adapted from Emeril Lagasse from Emeril Live.

Low-Fat Potato Pancakes aka Reibeküchen

From the time I was a little girl, I remember Dad making Reibeküchen for us kids. I loved to eat it then with strawberry jam on top. My tastes have grown up a little, and now I love it served with applesauce and maybe a little light sour cream on the side. Talk about comfort food! Another one of my memories is of Dad and John and I enjoying Reibeküchen right from a stand in front of the Cologne Cathedral on a chilly spring morning. Schmeckt gut!

This recipe tastes good, too. Give it a try!

Low-fat Potato Pancakes
(3 points for 3 pancakes)

1 1/4 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and shredded
2 egg whites
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 scallions, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons vegetable oil

1. Soak the potatoes in cold water 30 minutes; drain and blot dry. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the potatoes, egg whites, flour, scallions, and salt. Form into 12 pancakes.
3. In a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, heat one-third of the oil. Cook the pancakes, 4 at a time, until just golden, about 2 minutes on each side; transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat twice more with the remaining oil and pancakes, making a total of 12 pancakes. Bake until crisp and cooked through, 5-7 minutes.

* You can prepare the pancake mixture up to an hour ahead and keep it in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it...

Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook, p. 362