Joni's Reuben Soup!

This warm, comforting soup could be served with traditional corned beef, but I like the convenience of the turkey kielbasa.

2 tbsp canola oil
1 small onion chopped fine
1/4 tsp thyme
1tbsp caraway seeds
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups beef broth
7 oz chopped turkey kielbasa
1 peeled, grated carrot
1 cup sauerkraut, slightly drained (not rinsed)
1 tbsp corn starch
2tbsp water
4 wedges Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese
1/2 cup fat free evaporated milk

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed soup pot. Add onions, thyme and caraway seeds. Heat and stir for 2 minutes until onion soft and spices fragrant. Add the broth, kielbasa, carrot and sauerkraut and simmer for 30 minutes. Mix the corn starch and water and add to simmering soup. Stir for a minute to thicken. Break up the cheese and stir in until melted. Add the evaporated milk and heat through, but don't boil.

A New Toy and It's Not Even Christmas Yet!

I don't think I'm the only person with a pressure cooker in the basement, too afraid of the explosion that's sure to happen if I place it on my stove. Well, a friend of mine told me about and then demonstrated her brand new electric pressure cooker. "A new kitchen appliance I do not own?" my brain pondered. Well the next day I got a refurbished Wolfgang Puck 7 cup electric pressure cooker. It arrived yesterday, but I worked late so didn't get a chance to use it. Unable to sleep knowing this little baby was in the kitchen, by 4 AM I was awake and reading the instruction manual. By 5AM I had this luscious soup ready to go. It is amazing and I do love my soup! Here's the ingredients - Enjoy!

Joni's Insomniac Lentil Curry Soup

1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 container sliced/cleaned fresh mushrooms
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp curry powder (adjust to taste)
1 cup lentils
4 cups chicken broth
(Six ingredients- Gotta love that!)

Turn the pressure cooker on and spray some olive oil on the bottom. Once it heats up, saute the carrots and mushrooms until soft. Add the garlic and saute another few minutes. Add the curry powder and stir until fragrant. Then add the lentils and broth. Shut and secure the lid and put on "Soup" setting for 20 minutes.  Carefully release the steam before taking off the lid.
(If you are doing in a soup pot, just simmer about 40 minutes until the lentils are soft.)

A Super Delicious Picnic Treat!

Well, if it EVER quits raining I think summer will be here! Along with summer comes picnics and backyard get-togethers. Here is a wonderful picnic salad that could be easily compared to a potato salad. I like that it has the best of potato AND egg salad in it!

Joni’s Creamy Deviled Egg Salad
Ingredients

·         1 head of cauliflower

·         Salt

·         Pepper

·         ¼ tsp onion powder

·         3 hard boiled eggs – peeled and yolks/whites separated

·         2 heaping tbsp chopped dill pickle (about one large spear)

·         ½ cup light mayonnaise

·         ½ cup plain yogurt (Greek if you have it)

·         1 tablespoon prepared mustard

·         1 heaping tablespoon real bacon bits

Clean and cut up the cauliflower and steam the florets (or microwave) until fork tender.  Add salt, pepper and onion powder and toss. Set aside.

In another bowl mix the pickle, mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard and egg yolks until creamy. Chop the egg whites and add those with the cauliflower. Toss to coat and finally stir in the bacon bits. Refrigerate 2-3 hours before serving.

Copyright New Weigh 2011

Chocolate Crepes!

This is a wonderful dish for a spring brunch. You could even offer a variety of fillings and have a "crepe bar".

Joni's Chocolate Crepes

1/4 cup TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) rehydrated with 1/4 cup water - final product will be 1/2 cup
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp flour (white, wheat, spelt - any are OK)
2 tbsp Splenda (or your non-calorie sweetener of choice)
4 eggs (or egg substitute)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla (or orange or almond extract)

Mix all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
Heat a small skillet (about 8 inch round) over LOW heat and spray with non-stick spray. Pour 3 tbsp batter into skillet and swirl to cover the bottom. Cook until the edges are dry and the top is set. Carefully use a spatula to lift one side and flip the crepe. (I usually bring the edge up with teh spatula an dthen just grab it with my fingers and flip it). Cook for another 10-15 seconds.

Some crepe tips - If they are bubbling up when they hit the pan, your heat is too high.
You are better to start with too low heat than a hot pan.
Make sure to reapply the cooking spray between EVERY crepe so they don't stick.

Filling suggestions:
-Fresh fruit with sugar free whipped cream
-Sugar free pudding with fruit
-Sweetened ricotta cream w/ orange extract and orange zest
Sweetened low fat cream with with sugar free jam

Have fun!

St. Paddy's Day Protein!

Lucky Protein Shake

Wow – this is a super meal replacement! At under 200 calories and packed with protein, add a piece of fruit and you are ready to go! You could use almond milk to lower the calories even further.

1/2 cup skim milk

1/8 tsp peppermint extract (or more to taste – start out with a small amount first)

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I like the Max Protein or Nectar Sweets Vanilla)

1 tbsp sugar free pistachio pudding mix

1 packet Splenda

5 ice cubes

Process in a blender until smooth! Top with a squirt of fat free whipped cream and you will be in heaven!

Tomato Soup That's REALLY MMM MMM GOOD!

I was so surprised last night at the New Weigh meeting how many people have NEVER tried to make their own tomato soup. It's so easy and versatile. You can used canned tomatoes, garden tomatoes, roasted tomatoes... and don't get me started on the variety of vegetables and herbs you can throw in there! Here is the very basic recipe I use. Feel free to do whatever you want to this - herbs, garlic, salsa, hot sauce, roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato, cheeses - you name it.

First off - this is a list of the ingredients in a bowl of Campbell's Tomato Soup (c)

Ingredients

Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste)Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup,Wheat Flour, Salt, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Cottonseed, Canola and/or Soybean)Flavoring, Ascorbic Acid, and Citric Acid.

Seriously???? You want to feed this to your family?

Let's try this easy peasy recipe.

Joni's Basic Tomato Soup

1 small onion diced

1 tbsp canola or olive oil

2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes (or about 2 pounds fresh)

2 chopped carrots

2 c chicken broth

1 tsp dried parsley flakes

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/2 cup fat free half and half (fat free evaporated milk would work too)

salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese for topping (optional) 

Heat oil in a stockpot and add the onion, cooking until soft. Add the spices and cook until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, carrots and broth. Bring to a boil and then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender or carefully transfer to a blender to process in small batches. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the FF half and half to make as creamy as you desire. Top with cheese.

Snow!

Kids are off today and really wanted to make snow ice cream with them. Well, being the low carbers that we are - no sugar or sweetened condensed milk in the house! So, I'm like a dog with a bone - we WERE going to have some snow ice cream.

I found a recipe for homemade sweetened condensed milk that called for brown sugar. Lo and behold I had some xylitol brown sugar in the cupboard I hadn't tried yet. (Ideal brand).

So this is what I did for the sweetened condensed milk -
2 large eggs (they are from our hens so I don't worry about nasty diseases :) - but use pasteurized egg substitute if you do)
1 cup Ideal (xylitol) brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Mix all that well - but don't beat with your mixer or it will foam up too much.

Then send the kids out to play in the snow and have them bring back about 8 cups of the fluffy stuff.
Mix the snow with the "sweetened condensed milk" and there ya go! It takes awhile to mix it up well. You just have to use the back of your spoon and kind of crush it together. YUM!

FYI- I WILL be using this sweetened condensed milk sub in something else - it is excellent :)

Super Appetizer!

So easy and tasty (and did I mention ADDICTIVE?) - two ingredients and a microwave! If you are afraid of being surrounded by all those high fat/high carb appetizers at your Super Bowl party, try these crispy little bites of heaven. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping. Oh, and at 5 calories a piece, you can rest easy and enjoy the game.

Crispy Pepperoni Rounds

1 bag of turkey pepperoni
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Place the pepperoni on a paper towel on a microwave safe plate. Top with a sprinkle of the cheese. Microwave 2 minutes (or until browned and crispy). Let cool and enjoy!  (Yes, that's it - seriously!)

Impossibly Easy Cranberry Relish

I couldn't believe how many people have never had cranberries this way. So citrus-y and fresh tasting. Love it over my turkey and on my deli roll ups.

1 bag cranberries rinsed and drained (pick out the mushy ones)
1 tangerine (slice and take out seeds, but don't peel it)
1 apple (cored, but not peeled)
1 cup Splenda (or your no-calorie sweetener of choice)
1 tsp cinnamon

Process all of this in a food processor until the consistancy of relish. You may have to do this in batches. Let it sit overnight and it is so yummy! NO COOKING!!! Isn't that great? Adding an orange liqueor or nice sherry would be good too. If you want to add some crushed walnuts or pecans, do it before serving so they don't get mushy.

Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake.... Yea I went there :)

This will impress your family and friends! Add in the fact it's sugar free/low fat - What could be better?


2 boxes 1/3 fat cream cheese - bring to room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 cup Splenda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 - 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Sugar Free Caramel topping (Smuckers is one brand)


Graham cracker pie shell or pie shell of your choice


Beat the cream cheese until soft. Add eggs, vanilla and splenda individually until mixed well. Remove one cup of batter and set aside. Pour the remaining batter into the pie shell. Drizzle about 2 Tablespoons of the caramel topping on this. Add the pumpkin, reserved batter and spice together and mix well. Pour this on top of the caramel topping.  It's sometimes a good idea to put the first layer in the refrigerator for about a 1/2 hour so the top layer doesnt mix into it. (if you have time - if not just be careful when you pour it)

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Don't overbake. Remove when the center is still a little jiggly.

Breakfast Treats!

Who doesn't love to sit down on the weekends to pancakes? Well, with this easy, low carb, super high protein recipe, you can have them every day!

Joni's Protein Pancakes

1/4 cupTVP rehydrated with
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup Splenda (or less - this makes them VERY sweet) - feel free to substitute your no calorie sweetener of choice
2 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup water (or less - add this at the end to get the thickness you want)
Optional - 1/4 cup ground flax - this makes a "cakier" pancake - leave out if you like a thinner pancake

Mix all ingredients in a blender and process for 45 seconds or so, until there is a little foam on the top.
Cook like a regular pancake. MUCH easier to flip than the normal cottage cheese pancake.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Portabellas! YUM

No picture, but I had to put recipe to paper because if I don't my hubby will kill me! He REALLY liked this and said, "This isn't one of those things you just threw together and can't make again, is it?" Well, ya, sort of.... So here I am trying to put quantities to a really yummy throw together. So easy and SOOO GOOD!

Crab Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

1 small can crab meat
1 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup light mayo
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 heaping tablespoons feta cheese
4 portabella mushrooms, cleaned w/ stem and gills removed

Mix the crab, garlic, crumbs, mayo, feta and divide evenly in the mushroom caps. Top with some extra feta and a some fresh ground pepper. Bake in a shallow dish at 350 until the mushrooms are soft (they tend to weep a bit when they are done) and the top is browned.

This could easily be divided among smaller mushrooms for appetizer. We used the big ones and they were our meal with a salad. I had one and hubby had two. Very filling.

Low Carb Creamy Burrito Bake

 Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey, lean,
• 1 pkt taco seasoning (there are low salt versions you could use)
• monterey jack cheese, 8 oz - grated (or chedder)
• 1 can Healthy Choice cream of mushroom soup (chicken is fine too)
• 1/2 cup low fat sour cream 
• 4oz (half a jar) taco sauce, mild 
• low carb tortilla, 8 tortillas

Directions

 Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning and cook according to package directions.  

Mix together the can of soup, sour cream and taco sauce.
Spray a 9 x 12 pan with cooking spray. Spoon 1/3 of the soup mixture into pan. Divide meat mixture evenly between the tortillas and sprinkle cheese in shell before folding and putting into pan.

 Reserve about 1/2 - 3/4 cup cheese. 

Spread rest of soup mixture onto the shells and top with the rest of the cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.

 Number of Servings: 8



Yummy Italian Casserole

This is almost three ingredients, if you don't count the topping. I used to have a three ingredient cookbook and most the dishes were meat, noodle, and some sort of cream of whatever soup. I can guarantee you this is MUCH healthier and better tasting.

1/2 pound of lean hamburger or ground turkey browned
1/2 cup of chopped onion browned with the meat
1 can of diced Italian tomatoes, drained
2 cups of cauliflower florets
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Place the browned meat/onion mixture in the bottom of an 8x8 casserole. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cook on high for 3 minutes. When it is done, dice it small and mix into the meat. Top it all with the tomatoes and mix up a bit in the dish.  Top all of this with the cheese and bake at 350 for 25 minutes until the cheese is browned.

My ten year old said "It tastes like spaghetti". That's a pretty good compliment when you take into consideration her love affair with spaghetti :)

Joni's Sugar Free Crowd Pleasin' Baked Beans

If you're taking this to a large gathering, double or even triple it! No one will know (or care) that these are sugar free because they are so good! (I didn't get to take a picture of the beans, so I used this stock photo - IGNORE THE BIG PEICE OF TOAST!!:) )

2 cans pinto beans rinsed and drained (or use a variety of beans including great northern)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 T cooked chopped bacon (You can use the Oscar Mayer or Hormel brands)
1/4 t smoked paprika (just omit if you don't have this)
1/2 cup sugar free pancake syrup
1 T yellow mustard
3 T tomato paste
1/4 cup beer (any kind)
1 T Splenda granular (or two packets)

Combine all ingredients and cook in a slow cooker on low 3-4 hours. Remove lid during the last hour to thicken. You can also bake at 350 for 2 hours and remove lid the last 1/2 hour.

Kids in the Kitchen!

One of my 10 year old daughter's favorite dinners is a big salad bar. Tonight I gave her my cute little divided server and told her to fill each area with something for our salad. She did a great job - tomatoes, mushrooms, ham, cheese, cucumbers and our own homemade salad topping in the middle. We also had some hard boiled eggs. Everything went on top of some crisp romaine lettuce. You couldn't ask for an easier or more delicious dinner. We love the Cape Cod fat free balsamic dressing and find it at WalMart. She was so proud of her creation.

Here is the how we made the salad toppings in the middle -

2 T each of soy nuts, sunflower seeds, fresh grated Parmasean cheese, bacon peices and seasoning salt. This is great and much more economical than the store bought kind. Store leftovers in an airtight containter in the refrigerator.

Summer Grilling Without the Fuss!

I totally *heart* foil packets!! Remember them from girl scouts? Little dinners assembled in foil and put to cook on the open fire? Well, this makes camping soooooo easy. I make them ahead of time, throw them in a cooler and while we are all enjoying the lovely campfire, dinner is cooking. And the best part? How much more healthy and low carb can you get than meat and veggies? If you aren't in to camping, throw them on the grill.

The pictures are of the assembly and cooking - no recipes involved, but you can put anything you want in these. Don't forget to season them before you seal them all up. I used ground beef and mixed some seasoning salt into the beef before cooking it. This is our own beef which I had ground VERY lean, so if you're using beef make sure to get 80% lean or better. Otherwise, the grease will be nasty.

Here are my ingredients assembled - from bottom left - green beans, yellow squash, carrotts, turnips, mushrooms, ground beef. Somewhere there was onion too!



Here is the packet all assembled and waiting for the heat!

Have fun with these! Make them up the night before for a really fast/ no mess/ quick dinner!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Memorial Day picnics are soon to be here. This is an easy recipe that is a sure crowd pleaser. I adapted the Paula Dean recipe floating around the internet. Those cookies were always a little too dry for me. These are best if baked until just "done" - browned on bottom - if baked too long, you'll be playing hockey with them.

Joni's Sugar Free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup smooth peanut butter

2 eggs

1/3 cup almond flour (ground almonds)

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup granular splenda

Mix all together and form into little balls. Cross hatch and flatten with a fork dipped in some additional Splenda. Bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes. (It took 12 in my countertop oven. It may take longer in a big oven). Remember, bake just until done. Cool thoroughly on a rack and store in air tight container. If not being eaten right away, freeze or refrigerate due to no sugar to act as a preservativie.

I got about 20 cookies.

Fruity Granola

I absolutely cannot be trusted around Linda F's Nutty Granola ! It is worse than crack. (OK, not that I know what a crack addiction is like, but... well ya'know.)
So, I came up with a plan to trim the calories just a bit. The final product is not bad at all. Actually, it's very good.

Joni's Fruity Granola

Spray coat the bottom of a large roaster with cooking spray. Heat oven to 250 and add the following:

1/2 cup peanuts

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup pecan halves

1/2 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)

1/2 cup flax seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup soy nuts

1 1/2 cups oats

In a saucepan melt:

1/3 cup smart balance margarine

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 cup cherry sugar free preserves

1/2 cup splenda

1 tsp vanilla

Pour over the nuts and seeds and mix well. Put in oven and stir every 20 minutes or so until dry. Mine took about 2 1/2 hours.

Thanks again to Linda F and her awesome recipes!

Ricotta Muffins

I want to write this down before I forget the recipe. These are really GOOD! Picture is of them filled halway up, then I put a little SF cherry preserves. (Of course you need to fill them the rest of the way up!)

1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used lowfat)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon butter/margarine - melted
1 tablespoon milk (I used skim)

1/2 cup vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup ground flax
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/4 cup Splenda
Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a mini - muffin pan
Mix wet and dry and then add the wet to dry. Combine with spoon. Fill 12 of the muffin tins with the batter and bake for 12-15 minutes until set and the edges are brown.

Cool for 5 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. I store these in a zip top bag in the refrigerator. They seem to keep more moist there.

Options - fill muffin tins halfway up, add a dab of SF jelly or a chocolate chip and then fill the rest of the way! yum!