Cranberry-Oatmeal Bars

I was looking for a dessert recipe that wouldn't "break the calorie bank" for a Family Home Evening treat one night and I came across this one. I was on a serious orange craving kick and the combination of flavors intrigued me. They were pretty easy to make although it may have been more difficult without a grater for the orange zest and a juicer for the orange juice... but overall I still think it was pretty easy. They are pretty strong tasting but I loved them and will be making them again. This would be a great holiday dessert! And don't be taken off guard about the fact that you are supposed to cut these bars into 24 pieces... they are rich and you don't need a whole lot to feel satisfied. If you have a sweet tooth, however, the great thing about Cooking Light recipes is that you can eat 3 or 4 and still be in an okay range.

The picture and original recipe are courtesy of MyRecipes.com and can be found at this site here: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cranberry-oatmeal-bars-10000001853985/

CRANBERRY-OATMEAL BARS

Adapted from Cooking Light
Serving Size 24
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4 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)

Click to 1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Click to see s1/4 teaspoon salt

Click to see savin1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Click to see savi1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Click to see savin6 tablespoons butter, melted

Click to see savi3 tablespoons orange juice

Click to see savinCooking spray

Click     

Filling:

1 1/3 cups dried cranberries (about 6 ounces)

Click to see savin3/4 cup sour cream (I used fat free)

Click to see s¼ cup honey

Click to see savin2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Click to see saving1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Click to see saving1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind

Click to see savin1 large egg white, lightly beaten 

Click to

1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. To prepare crust, weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through cinnamon) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle butter and juice over flour mixture, stirring until moistened (mixture will be crumbly). Reserve 1/2 cup oat mixture. Press remaining oat mixture into the bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. To prepare filling, combine cranberries, sour cream, granulated sugar, and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well. Spread cranberry mixture over prepared crust; sprinkle reserved oat mixture evenly over filling. Bake at 325° for 40 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

CALORIES 135 (31% from fat); FAT 4.6g (sat 2.6g, mono 0.8g, poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 1.7g; CARB 21.5g; FIBER 1.3g; CHOL 13mg; IRON 0.7mg; SODIUM 68mg; CALC 27mg (Based on using ½ cup sugar instead of ¼ cup honey)

Cherry-Oatmeal Bars: Substitute dried cherries for the dried cranberries and lemon rind for the orange rind in filling.
Maple-Date-Oatmeal Bars: Substitute chopped pitted dates for the dried cranberries. Omit granulated sugar from filling, and add 2 tablespoons maple syrup and 2 tablespoons brown sugar.

Kathy Farrell-Kingsley, Cooking Light
NOVEMBER 2008

Honey-Glazed Pork with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Broccoli

This delicious meal is a Prevention.com recipe. It is a restaurant quality meal that takes advantages of some very different flavors, techniques, and textures. We loved the glaze on the pork although I think I cooked ours a little bit too long and it got pretty sticky. Just make sure you leave it a bit liquid like and don't turn it into a thick syrup and you'll be fine. Also, the garlic mashed potatoes were pretty strong on the garlic so if you aren't a big garlic fan I would tailor the recipe a bit. As always, the roasted broccoli is AMAZING! If you haven't tried this method of cooking broccoli you MUST!

This recipe is courtesy of Prevention.com and can be found at this site here: http://recipes.prevention.com/Recipe/honey-glazed-pork-with-garlic-mashed-potatoes--roasted-broccoli.aspx

Honey-Glazed Pork with Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Roasted Broccoli

From Prevention, Eat Your Way Thin!

WORK TIME: 25 MINUTES / TOTAL TIME: 50 MINUTES / SERVINGS: 4
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1/2 c apple juice
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/4 tsp cayenne
4 c broccoli florets
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 lb Yukon gold potatoes
1/2 c reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 c chopped parsley

1. HEAT oven to 400°F. Combine apple juice, honey, soy sauce, and half of the garlic in small bowl. Sprinkle pork with cayenne.
2. TOSS broccoli with 1 tablespoon of the oil on baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.
3. HEAT remaining 1 tablespoon oil in medium ovenproof frying pan over high heat. Add pork and cook, turning once, until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour juice mixture over pork and transfer to oven along with the pan of broccoli. Bake until pork and broccoli are done, 25 to 30 minutes.
4. PUT potatoes in medium pot while pork and broccoli cook and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
5. LEAVE broccoli on baking sheet and transfer pork to cutting board. Return frying pan to high heat and cook juice mixture until a thick glaze forms, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
6. DRAIN potatoes and return to pot. Add sour cream, parsley, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining garlic. Mash until smooth.
7. SLICE pork and put on plate. Drizzle with glaze and serve with mashed potatoes and broccoli.

NUTRITION (per serving) 481 cal, 42 g pro, 46 g carb, 7 g fiber, 15 g fat, 4.5 g sat fat, 560 mg sodium

Super Bean Burritos

I love love love love this recipe!!!!!!! Some of the highlights for you: 1) It is easy to make. 2) None of the ingredients are abnormal. 3) It makes enough to feed an army. 4) It is versatile. 5) It has a great flavor. 6) It is healthy. 7) It is meatless but doesn't have to be. (But it really doesn't need the meat.)

Are you convinced yet that you MUST make this recipe? What if I told you that I am making this again tonight? What if I told you that you and your husband and even your kids will have dinner today and lunch tomorrow and you might STILL have leftovers that you can continue to enjoy after that? Or there are even directions for freezing these if you want. What if I told you that I might have even had these for breakfast one day....

So, needless to say, these are excellent. I do have to add one disclaimer: if you don't like onions this is not the recipe for you. It calls for a LOT of different onions. We love onions so that is not a problem for us.

And, like I said, this is a healthy recipe; however, if you want to make it even more healthy you can use brown rice, serve it on whole grain/whole wheat tortillas, use black beans instead of pinto, don't smother it in sour cream and cut back on the cheese. I didn't put cheese on mine at all and didn't feel like it was missing anything. I love eating mine with green salsa; the hubby loves his with red salsa. Like I said, it is versatile.

I also used a whole 8 oz can of tomato paste the first time I made this by accident but I didn't feel like it was a problem at all. In fact, I plan on doing it again tonight!

Thanks a MILLION to Real Mom Kitchen for the picture and recipe. You can visit her fantastic site here: http://realmomkitchen.com/1087/super-bean-burritos/

Super Bean Burritos

From Real Mom Kitchen
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• 1 cup brown or white rice (or 2 cups already cooked rice)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed, finely diced (can substitute 1 can of green chiles which is what I did)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 cans (15 oz. each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed (I used black beans)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 (10 oz) package frozen corn or 1 can whole kernel corn, drained (I personally would recommend the frozen corn)
• 6 green onions, white and green parts finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 16 burrito-sized (10-inch) flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (or whatever kind of cheese you have)

1. Cook rice; set aside. Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and golden, being careful not to let the garlic burn. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
2. Add one can of beans and mash gently in the pan (a potato masher or fork works great here). Add the second can of beans and the water and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 10-12 minutes, being careful not to let the mixture stick to the bottom of the pot. Add corn; cook to heat through, 2-3 minutes. Stir in onion and garlic powders. Remove from heat; stir in green onions and cooked rice.
3. Heat tortillas in microwave for about 30-45 seconds or until all are warmed through.
4. Fill each tortilla with about 2/3 cup bean and rice mixture and 1/4 cup cheese on one side of tortilla. Fold, and hold in sides. Starting from filled end, holding sides in as you work, tightly roll into a bundle. Place on a baking sheet, seam side down, and prepare remaining burritos.
5. Serve warm immediately, with salsa and sour cream if desired — or, to freeze for later consumption.

For enchilada style:I put 5 burritos in a baking dish. Then I poured a (10 oz.) can of green enchilada sauce. You can use more enchilada sauce if you like. The 10 oz can just gave them a light coating. Make sure that the sauce completely covers the burritos, you can use a spoon to help spread it around. Then sprinkle with 1 cup or so of shredded Monterrey jack cheese. Turn oven to broil. Place baking dish on middle rack of the oven (not the top) and broil until the cheese is nice and melty.

To Freeze: Put burritos on a baking sheet in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, or until very cold so that they don’t come apart in the wrapping process. Remove them from the freezer and wrap each burrito individually in plastic wrap and place all the wrapped burritos in a freezer-safe resealable bag and freeze up to three months.

To reheat from frozen: Remove plastic wrap from the burrito. Poke holes in the top several times with a fork. Microwave on high for two minutes. Gently poke a few more holes in the burrito and microwave for another minute. Be careful as the burrito will be piping hot!

Portobello Burgers

I will be the first to admit that I am not a big mushroom fan. So the idea of making this recipe pretty much terrified me. But I am not about to turn away from new adventures and experiences so I decided to give it a try. Plus, the red pepper mayo sounded really good.

They turned out MUCH better than I expected. They have that weird mushroom texture but it was manageable. One thing you will want to be sure of is to eat these on full buns, not thin ones. These get really messy and the thin buns get soggy too fast.

A typical Ruby Tuesday Veggie burger has 952 calories, 53 g fat and 95 g carbohydrates. This burger recipe, as written (per serving) has 370 calories, 16 g fat (4 g saturated) and 540 mg sodium. If you want to cut that back even further cut down on the cheese and load up your burger with more veggies.

This picture and recipe are courtesy of Cook This, Not That and can be found at this site here: http://cookthis.menshealth.com/recipes/cook-mushroom-melts

PORTOBELLO BURGERS

From Cook This, Not That

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2 Tbsp mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup finely chopped roasted red peppers
1 clove garlic, minced
4 large portobello caps, stems removed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
4 slices red onion
4 potato rolls or whole-grain buns
A few handfuls of mixed greens, arugula, or other lettuce

How to Make It:
*Heat a grill or grill pan. Combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, red peppers, and garlic. (For a uniformly red mayo, puree in a food processor.)

*Rub the mushrooms with the olive oil, vinegar, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. Grill, top side down, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the mushrooms are fully cooked. While the mushrooms are cooking, grill the onions until browned and toast the buns.

*Top each bun with greens, grilled onions, mushrooms, and the red pepper mayo.

Skillet Summer Vegetable Lasagna

I know I seem to have said it a lot lately but WOW! This was so good! It is easily one of my new FAVORITE meals. And guess what? I don't usually like squash, zucchini or tomatoes. It had the perfect amount and the perfect texture for all of the veggies and a healthy dose of ricotta and parmesan cheese. I am labeling this one as a healthier meal because of all of the veggies and the fact that the cheeses are low fat.

Another great thing about this meal is that it reheats really well too. The veggies were still slightly crunchy the next day. This dish is full of flavor and is one we will repeat again and again. In fact I may have to go buy more veggies today...

The picture and recipe are courtesy of Mel's Kitchen Cafe and can be found at this site here: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/07/skillet-summer-vegetable-lasagna.html

Skillet Summer Vegetable Lasagna

Adapted so very slightly from melskitchencafe.com

*Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper
10 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch lengths
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 small yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Drain tomatoes into a 2-cup liquid measure. Add water to tomato liquid to make 2 cups. Add tomato/water mixture and 1 teaspoon salt to skillet.

Scatter noodles into the skillet, layer tomatoes over the noodles and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, stirring occasionally (so the noodles won't stick!) for about 10 minutes.

Stir in zucchini and squash, cook, covered, stirring now and then, until noodles and squash are tender, about 8 minutes. Add basil and half of the ricotta cheese and half of the Parmesan cheese to the noodles, stirring until the sauce is creamy. Dollop remaining ricotta cheese over the noodles, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

*NOTE: After dolloping the ricotta cheese over the noodles I used a spoon to kind of smear it around. I didn't want mouthfuls of just ricotta cheese. I really liked the distribution and thought it was a good addition to the dish.

Honey-Chipotle Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

Regardless of the fact that I am no longer pregnant, I am still on a serious sandwich and lemonade kick. Sandwiches are so great for the summer time - especially when they are as delicious as this sandwich! This spicy yet sweet combination of honey and chipotle makes for a mouthful of awesomeness! Add to the fact that this is pretty simple to make and what more could you ask for? How about the fact that it is another recipe that comes from Cooking Light? Delicious AND better for you?! What is that about!?

This sandwich is DEFINITELY going to go on our rotation. Although... I may have to wait awhile to make it again because it gave my poor nursing baby some pretty bad gas...

The picture and recipe are courtesy of Myrecipes.com and can be found at this site here: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/honey-chipotle-barbecue-chicken-sandwiches-10000001054888/

HONEY-CHIPOTLE BARBECUE CHICKEN SANDWICHES
Adapted from Myrecipes.com

·         1/2 cup water
·         1 teaspoon ground cumin
·         4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
·         1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
·         1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce or 1/2 tsp. ground chipotle chiles
·         1 tablespoon canola oil
·         1 tablespoon minced garlic
·         1 teaspoon ground cumin
·         1/2 cup canned tomato puree (see note below)
·         1/4 cup cider vinegar
·         3 tablespoons honey
·         1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
·         1/4 teaspoon salt
·         4 (1 1/2-ounce) sandwich rolls
·         2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, thinly sliced (we used havarti - use what you have on hand!)
·         4 (1/8-inch-thick) slices red onion

Combine water, 1 teaspoon cumin, 4 sliced garlic cloves, and chicken in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Drain, and place chicken on a cutting board. Cut chicken across grain into thin slices or shred (we preferred shredding for better portion control, easier sandwich compilation and better sauce distribution); keep warm.

Remove 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from can; set aside. Remove 2 chipotle chiles from can; finely chop and set aside. Reserve remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use. (This step is unnecessary if you are using ground chipotle. The biggest advantage to using the ground is that it isn't as spicy as the canned chiles. Chipotle is quite hot and easily gets to be too much so be careful whichever way you go. Remember that you can always add more spice later but it is harder to take it away.)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic; sauté 3 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Add 1 teaspoon cumin; sauté 1 minute. Stir in tomato puree; cook 4 minutes or until mixture thickens to a paste like consistency, stirring constantly. Stir in reserved 2 tablespoons adobo sauce, 2 chopped chipotle chiles, vinegar, honey, Worcestershire, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add sliced chicken to sauce; simmer for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Preheat broiler.

Split rolls in half; arrange in a single layer, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Broil 1 minute or until lightly toasted. Remove top halves of rolls from baking sheet. Divide chicken mixture evenly among bottom halves of rolls, and top chicken mixture evenly with cheese. Broil chicken-topped rolls 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; top with onion and top roll halves. Serve immediately.

Jennifer Martinkus, Cooking Light
MAY 2005

*TIPS!*

~Surprisingly enough, all of my favorite store bought bread products come from Wal-mart. They have a great selection of different kinds of rolls that are really good and very reasonably priced. I got crusty sandwich rolls for our sandwich recipes this week and they were excellent.

~If you are wondering what a jar of Ground Chipotle Chile looks like this an example of what you should be keeping an eye out for in the store:

~Tomato puree is NOT tomato paste or tomato sauce. You can buy it in the store or you can buy a can of diced tomatoes, drain BUT RESERVE the juice from the tomatoes, and then blend the tomatoes in a blender or food processor. You want to reserve the juice in case your mix gets too thick later on and this will allow you to thin it out a bit. But DO NOT use tomato sauce or paste instead. 

Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter Brownies

Okay so when I first read the title of this recipe I thought that the ooey-gooey part referred more to "these are" instead of "you will be after making them." By far, this was the most frustrating recipe I have ever made in my entire life. Every part of the recipe was sticky and hard to work with and I was very tempted at times to start cursing at them like a sailor. That being said, however, they had a pretty good flavor to them and my guests definitely liked them.... so I am posting the recipe even though I don't know when I will bring myself to make them again. Here is hoping that you have more luck than I did with this one!

One thing to note - this is a recipe that was originally from Cooking Light. So although they look incredibly fattening they cut calories in the right places and aren't THAT bad for you.

The picture and recipe are courtesy of Our Best Bites and can be found here.

*AFTERTHOUGHT! I have been thinking about this recipe since I made it last night (because I am nerdy like that) and thinking about how much more I would like it if I made it with mint morsels/chips instead of peanut butter. Darn! Now I need to try and make it again!

OOEY-GOOEY PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES
From Our Best Bites

3/4 C sweetened condensed milk, divided (fat-free is fine)
1/4 C butter, melted and cooled (1/2 stick)
1/4 C non-fat milk
1 box devil’s food cake mix (18.25 oz)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
cooking spray
1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme (about 1 3/4 C)
1/2 C peanut butter morsels (not gonna lie, I used a very “heaping” 1/2 cup :)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer, combine 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, milk, butter, cake mix, and egg white. Mixture will be very thick. Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Use either floured hands, or spray your hands with cooking spray in order to press it down without having it stick to your fingers. The layer will be thin. Bake for 10 minutes.

Combine 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk and marshmallow creme in a bowl and combine until smooth. Stir in PB morsels. No one will tell if you stir in some extras. Spread marshmallow layer over brownie layer in pan. Carefully drop remaining brownie batter by spoonfuls over marshmallow mixture. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before cutting into squares.