Ricotta Custard - Who Needs Lasagna?

A nice cheesy custard topped with your favorite pasta sauce and melted mozzarella - sound good? It is!

Ricotta Custard

16 oz low fat ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesean

1/2 cup mozzarella

1/4 tsp each - onion powder, garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano, salt (more of whatever you like)

1/2 cup milk

4 eggs

1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce

mozzarella for topping

Oven 350 degrees

Spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick coating.

Mix all the custard ingredients together (NOT the sauce or extra mozarella) and pour into baking dish. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes until the top is set. Remove from oven and top with sauce and cheese. Return to oven for 15 minutes. Turn on broiler for last 5 minutes to brown the top.

Let this sit for about a half hour before serving. It sets up nice and you wont burn your mouth!

Quick Chicken Alfredo Soup

I need a very quick dinner and this fit the bill. I love the whole "open and dump" preparation! This was really tasty and I know I could make a better version with homemade Alfredo sauce, but it's a weekday for crying out loud. This was quick because I always keep cooked chicken in my freezer. I cook a whole chicken over the weekend to have the meat and broth for the week. It's easy and cheap - try it!

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken
1 jar alfredo sauce
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
4 cups of your favorite frozen veggies (I use a mix that has broccoli, cauliflower, carrotts, zucchini and squash)
salt and pepper to tast (I like a LOT of pepper in this)

Dump into a pot and simmer until everything is cooked (25 mins or so)
YES that is it... This is a tasty, satisfying soup. You'll like it.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This is a great basic sauce that can be used on fish, chicken or steak. I even took the leftovers, mixed them with a can of pureed tomatoes and some half and half to make a wonderful tomato soup.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

1 medium ONIOIN, diced (Sorry for the typo, Georgene!!)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 jar of roasted red peppers

1/4 cup chicken broth for thinning in the blender

Saute onions and garlic in a few tablespoons of the chicken broth until onions are soft and translucent. Add in the red peppers (DRAINED) and the rest of the 1/2 cup chicken broth. Simmer and reduce broth by half. Put in blender or food processor (be very careful, this is hot) and pulse until a nice texture of smooth with some bits of chunk. Add the additional broth to thin to desired consistency.

I think I'll use some white wine next time.

It's not ALL sugar free

Tomorrow is my oldest's 16th birthday. He loves all things Transformers. I found a link on how to do fondant and decided I'd make him a cake. So, this is how I spent my Friday night. If you want to know, here is the link to make your own fondant. It was surprisingly easy and FUN! I love to try new things. If it works out, you can say "I did it". If it doesn't work out, you can say, "I tried."

http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm - link for homemade fondant.

Here is the final product. Alex is pretty excited.

Mexican Chicken Chowder

This was a satisfying soup. It came together quickly. My only ispiration was the contents of my pantry!

Mexican Chicken Chowder

2 Cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cans chicken broth

1 can diced chiles

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup salsa

1 cup half and half (I used fat free)

1 cup Taco Cheese (Mine was a mixture of cheeses w/ some taco seasoning)

Simmer the chicken in the broth and add the chiles, corn and salsa (I wanted to use black olives too, but the family isnt keen on them). Simmer for about 15 minutes, turn off heat and add the half and half and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Serve immediately. Top w/ cilantro, sour cream, olives or nothing at all. It's all good.

Breakfast Cookie

I like the idea of a quick breakfast. One of the posters on the bariatric tv boards mentioned a breakfast cookie. Taking up the challenge, I came up with this tasty treat. SO easy to make and really a nice, sweet, filling little thing.

Breakfast Cookie
Nutritional Info
Fat: 4.8g
Carbohydrates: 7.3g (2.6 g fiber)
Calories: 88.9
Protein: 7.2g

Ingredients
3/4 cup applesauce (UNSWEETENED)
1 large egg
1/4 cup almond slivers
1/4 cup UNSWEETENED coconut
1/2 cup chocolate protein powder (I use Nectar Chocolate Truffel)
1/2 cup ground flax seeds (flax meal)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup splenda
Directions
Oven - 350 degrees.Toast the almonds and coconut in a small pan on the stove until golden. Set aside to cool.Combine the applesauce and egg, mix well and set aside.Combine the dry ingredients and add the almonds, coconut and applesauce mixture. LET SIT for 5 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone cooking mat. Drop by big spoonfuls onto the sheet. These will cook in the shape they are dropped, so make sure they are a cookie shape, dont mound them up too much. It's a very runny batter. Dont be tempted to thicken it up. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Makes 9 large cookies.Number of Servings: 9

Irish Cream Cheesecake

I adapted a recipe to make a cheesecake for the holidays. This turned out excellent and I'd be proud to serve it at any gathering. I think with Valentines coming up, this would be a lovely dessert.

Crust
1 cup of broken up sugar free shortbread cookies, broken up
1 1/4 cups ground almonds

1/4 cup Splenda

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling
1 1/2 lbs low fat cream cheese room temperature
3/4 cup Splenda
3 large eggs
1/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 - 6 ounces sugar free white chocolate (use either a bar or baking chips - I found SF white choc baking chips at our local bulk food store)

Topping
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
1/4 cup Splenda

Preheat oven to 325°.
Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Combine the cookies, Splenda and almonds in a food processor and grind until fine. Add the melted butter and blend, using on/off turns.
Press mixture on the bottom of the pan.
Chill for 20 minutes. (You DONT bake this crust ahead of time - I have never made one this way, but it turned out yummy)
Prepare the filling: With a electric mixer, beat cream cheese and Splenda in large bowl until smooth. In a medium bowl whisk eggs, Baileys and vanilla extract just until blended.
Beat mixture into the cream cheese mixture.
Melt the white chocolate in the microwave, mixing every 30 seconds until melted; add to cheese mixture while mixer is running.
Pour filling into crust.
Bake for 45 minutes. Mix greek yogurt and splenda and spread evenly on top. Return to oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove and cool completely. Serve chilled (best if overnight). Garnish with white choc shavings if desired.