Recipe Time!!!!

[trinityroyal]

A cucumber salad would work very well.

Another veggie dish that I make frequently, husband calls it "Trinity's Chunky Vegetable Salad Thingy"

Chop caulilflower, broccoli, tomatoes and cucumbers into bite-sized chunks.
If you like them, add black olives and onions. If not, leave them out
Toss the whole works with a vinaigrette style dressing. Some compliant bottled ones are: Greek with Feta, Sundried Tomato and Oregano, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Roasted Red Pepper. Or make your own oil/vinegar based dressing.

English cucumbers are much less wet than the other kind (Field cucumbers, I think they're called). I usually use English cucumbers for salads.

 

[GoingNorth]

English cukes are sold here the same way mostly. They are also sold as "burpless" cukes (couldn't prove it by me: they still make me burp, LoL)

 

[LittleDudesMom]

I usually use the English cucs if they are not too expensive. GoingN, the cuc juice has never bothered me. I had forgotten the cuc and yogurt recipe. I use yogurt, lemon and mint. Have not used dill but it sounds like a good addition. That's what I will serve. Thanks ladies!

Trinity, I could go for that chunky salad. I like cauliflower and broccoli raw - can do the steamed broc if I HAVE to but never-ever cooked cauli! I will keep that in mind for the future - I would def add the greek olives!

Sharon

 

[AnnieO]

I adore cucumbers. Unfortunately... They despise me. Doesn't stop me though!

I am working on potato salad too - I use the little red potatoes sometimes. They don't seem to be as starchy. Low fat mayo, some horseradish mustard, and assorted diced veggies....

 

[KTMom91]

Since Farmer's Market started up, we've been buying zucchini, crookneck, and whatever other kinds of cute little squashes are available, slicing them, and grilling them with only a bit of seasoned salt. YUMMMMMMM...

Had a wonderful salad at Elephant Bar earlier this week. Grilled chicken, various lettuces, mango chunks, red onions, dried cranberries, gorgonzola, and candied walnuts, all resting on a pile of rice noodles, with a citrus dressing. I'm working on my own version.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Made a great soup and wanted to share - especially if you are a curry lover like me!

4 large portabellas (the big ones they make burgers out of). Cut of the stems and then take a spoon and scrape off the gills (not because of flavor, but because you don't want that dark color). Chunck up the mushrooms and then place in a large soup pot with some olive oil. Saute until soft - it's great if you can get them a little brown - just adds to the flavor.

Meanwhile, take 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and place them in another saucepan with enough water to cover - add a quartered onion and a bay leaf and poach for about 25 minutes.

After the mushies are done, add a couple stalks of celery-cut on the bias-along with a couple carrots-matchstick cut, a few chopped cloves of garlic, and some fresh minced ginger (to your taste), and 2 onions chunked. Saute for about 10 minutes until soft.

Add 1 qt of low sodium chicken stock, 1 1/2 c of the water (strained) from the poached chicken, 3T of curry powder (now, I used more because I am a curry fan and used both yellow mild curry powder and spicy red curry powder) and 3/4 cup of mango chutney (it's not GI green, but it's a lot of soup and really enhances the flavor).

While that is simmering, shred the chicken with two forks and add to the pot. Simmer about 10 and then serve with a spoon of wild rice or basmati and topped with sliced green onion. Yummy, yummy, yummy!!!

At least 6 servings.

Sharon

 

[trinityroyal]

Sharon, that soup sounds delicious. I'm not a big fan of curry and would likely mess around and try to substitute, but what a great base.

husband came up with a variant on the Chunky Vegetable Salad, and I thought I'd share it.

We were out of cauliflower, broccoli and cucumbers, but had plenty of tomatoes and vidalia onions in the house, so husband just used those. Cut into large chunks, and tossed in a bowl with greek vinaigrette salad dressing. He grated a bit of old cheddar on top. I don't really like raw onions, so I just had it with tomatoes. It was lovely that way too.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Trinity,

I'm a big lover of tomato and onion salad. I usually chunk up the tomato, onion (and sometimes cucumber), spinkle a little fat free crumbled feta on top, and then put a little drizzle of EVOO. Love summer!

Sharon

 

[Fran]

I make a traditional trifle on Christmas Day but this one is nice and light and summery.

Summer Trifle

Original Recipe Yield 16 servings, about 2/3 cup each


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cold fat free milk
• 1 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Reduced Calorie Pudding & Pie Filling
• 1 (8 ounce) tub COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
• 1 (13 ounce) package angel food cake, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 pint strawberries, sliced
• 1 cup blueberries

Directions

1. Pour milk into medium bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes. Gently stir in 1-1/2 cups of the whipped topping.
2. Place 1/2 of the cake cubes in large serving bowl; top with 1 cup of the strawberries and 1/2 cup of the blueberries. Spread pudding mixture over fruit; cover with remaining cake cubes and fruit. Top with remaining 1-1/2 cups of the whipped topping.
3. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

 

[AnnieO]

Went to throw a pot roast in the Crock Pot last night and discovered I didn't have ANY onion soup mix.

However husband just reported to me that my "let's see how this tastes" approach apparently worked quite well, because... It tastes BETTER than normal.

So I'll share...

...In sodium-free, reduced-fat beef broth: (Well, mine has NO salt and I skimmed the fat off myself before I froze it, LOL)... All measurements are approximate...
1/2 cup diced dried onions (or 1 cup fresh)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
2 teaspoons low-sodium Worcestershire sauce

...The roast itself... When it's cooked for a good while add some redskin potatoes (uncut or peeled) and some carrots. Serve when carrots are tender - the roast will have long since fallen to pieces...

I only did this because Onyxx has been begging for pot roast. GO FIGURE!

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Step - I love pot roast! Using a leaner cut helps and also the addition of the soup mix (which I usually use as well) adds a lot of sodium! So I think the missing soup mix was a good thing too!

Jumped on here in the midst of my 4th prep to post a new "salad" recipe I made up this morning. I was really trying to do all my sides on the GI program but want them really tasty and interesting. The cucumber salad is fresh mint, fresh lemon juice, capers, a little olive oil and a little fat free yogurt. I'm also doing the black bean salad (I posted that one last year but am omitting the corn because of the sugar) which everyone seems to love. I wanted one more side so this morning I mixed this up and then said, "Ok, now is the test, taste it - if it's bad, you're out of luck." It was delish - here's what I did:

Two 9 oz containers of edamame rinsed
Two bunches of green onion sliced on the bias
One red pepper chopped
One can of no sugar mandarin oranges, drained
About 2 T of roasted sesame seeds
For the dressing I just used a little Ken's light Ginger/Sesame

So here's another salad to add to our healthy sides list!

Have a great 4th!

Sharon

 

[Wiped Out]

Just made this for dinner tonight-easy child/difficult child loves it!!!

It's from an old Cooking Light magazine. I figured out the points in case you count them for weight watchers-it's 5 per serving.

Chicken Thighs with Roasted Apples.

5 Cups chopped Braeburn apples (about 1 1/2 pounds). Leave the skins on!

1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

Cooking spray

8 chicken thighs (I do boneless and skinless)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Chopped parsley (optional-I left out)

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt over apple mixture; toss well to coat. Spread apple mixture on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray (I used a roasting pan).

3. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper, arrange on top of apple mixture. Bake at 475 for 25 minutes or until chicken is done and apple is tender. Remove chicken from pan; set aside, and keep warm.

4. Partially mash apple mixture with a potato masher; serve with chicken. Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Yield 4 servings (serving size: 2 thighs and about 2/3 cup roasted apples).

Calories 257, fat 5.7 grams, Protein 25.9 grams, carbs 26.6 grams, Fiber 3.5 grams, Cholesterol 107 mg, Iron 1.7 mg, Sodium 405 mg, calcium 30 mg

 

[LittleDudesMom]

wonder how that would work out with white meat? It's sounds really good.

 

[Wiped Out]

I think it would work great with white meat-the chicken comes out very tender!

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Thanks Sharon! I'm printing it out and putting it in my recipe binder!

 

[Wiped Out]

O.k. I have another recipe which I tried tonight from the same cooking light magazine (it's a few years old). This was delicious!!

Pan-Seared Cod with Basil Sauce

1/4 cup fresh basil minced (if you have a minicopper use it to make the basil sauce. Otherwise, take time to chop the herb finely before stirring in the remaining ingredients)

1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt, divided

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 (6 oz) cod fillets

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

1. Combine minced basil, chicken broth, cheese, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and minced garlic in a small bowl.

2. Sprinkle fish with remaining salt and pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish; cook 5 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Serve fish with basil sauce on top. Yield 4 servings (serving size 1 fillet and about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of sauce).

Calories 199; Fat grams 6.6 (sat 1.3g, mono 3.5g, and poly .8g) Protein 32 grams, Carbs 1.3 g, Fiber .6g, Cholesterol 76 mgs, Iron .7 mg, Sodium 765 mg, Calcium 85 mg.

I served this with some mashed potatoes (the kind you buy in the refrigerated section). It was a quick and easy meal!

 

[AnnieO]

Yum...

I made a light Chicken Fettucine Primavera with Alfredo sauce for dinner Wednesday. Just threw in assorted veggies (some fresh, some frozen), some chunked cooked chicken, noodles and light alfredo sauce. I did spend a while over a hot stove, but it was GOOD. And reasonably low fat due to the light alfredo.

...Had to add pepper at the table though. Jett doesn't like pepper...