December 2011 Holiday Party Recipes

Mini-Quiche Ingredients: 1 egg large ½ cup Hormel real crumbled bacon ½ cup low fat ricotta ½ cup mozzarella, fat free ½ cup shredded cheddar, fat free 2 medium green onion chopped ¼ tsp garlic powder Cayenne and black pepper to taste

45 mini filo shells Combine first nine ingredients. Place shells on cooking sheet. Add 1 tsp rounded mixture.

Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees until light brown.

3 tarts = 1 serving Makes 15 servings Each serving is 90.6 calories, 4.4g fat, 7.4g carb, 0.2g fiber, 5.1g protein, 235.5 mg sodium

Butternut Squash with Apples, Cranberries & Walnuts Ingredients: 2 teaspoons butter 3 cups cubed (about ½ inch) peeled butternut squash 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar Splenda ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1 cup water 1 cup cubed (about ½ inch) peeled Granny Smith apple 2 tablespoons dried cranberries 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Melt butter in large skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray over medium heat.

Add squash; mix to lightly coat with butter. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and pepper; mix with large spoon. Add water; cover, bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add apple and cranberries; mix to combine. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until squash is tender. Add walnuts; mix gently.

Makes 4 servings (about ¾ cup per serving) (Calories: 129, Total Fat: 4g, Protein: 2g, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Sodium: 170mg, Carbohydrate: 23g)

Ricotta Bake with Ground Turkey Ingredients: Sorrento - Part Skim Ricotta Cheese, 1 cup (62g) Egg - 1 Lg., 1 egg Cheese - Parmesan, grated, 0.5 cup McCormick - Italian Seasoning Flakes, 1 tsp. - 0.3g Kraft Natural Finely Shredded Cheese Mozzarella 2%, 0.5 cup Trader Giotto's - Traditional Marinara Sauce, 1 cup (113g) Member's Mark (Sam's Club) - 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey, 8 oz

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground turkey. Spray dish with non-stick cooking spray. Spread ½ cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of the pan. Add ground turkey. Mix ricotta cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese, Italia seasoning in a small bowl. Spread over top of the ground turkey. Top with remaining ½ cup of marinara sauce and ½ cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Note: This recipe was adopted from “Eggface” (http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.co m/) and modified to include ground turkey. If you decide NOT to use the ground turkey, decrease the marinara sauce to ½ cup. This will change nutrition information to the

following: calories 215, carbs 12, Fat 11, Protein 15. ENJOY!

Nik’s “Amp’d” Sweet potato pie Ingredients: 4 large sweet potatoes 1 + 3/4 cup no-calorie Splenda (don’t use Splenda? Any no-cal sweetener will do, but check with the manufacturer to determine how much to use. Splenda measures cup-for-cup like sugar so you can take the amount of Splenda I use here as a guide for your conversions) 3 scoops protein powder (either vanilla or I used this) 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1 egg (or 1/4 cup Egg Beaters) 1 can fat-free evaporated milk

Preheat your oven to 350°.

I hate peeling potatoes! So, I always boil the sweet potatoes with the skins on and then allow them to cool. The skins fall right off. Once cooked (and you want them “fork soft” like you’d prepare potatoes for mashing) and peeled, mash your sweet potatoes with a potato masher.

Add sweetener, spice and protein powder, along with your egg. Beat the mixture with a hand mixer on medium speed, making sure to scrape down the sides to get it all smooth.

Next, add the evaporated milk and mix again on low speed.

Pour into any pie shell you want (I typically get a store bought one). (cont.) Then wrap the outer crust in aluminum foil to avoid burning.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until pie is almost completely set. Remove aluminum foil from outer crust and bake another 5-7 minutes or until center of pie is set.

The top will be smooth, shiny and slightly stiff on the surface‌no worries! When it cools, it looks, feels and tastes like a traditional pie!

This recipe goes out to all my sweet potato pie eaters! We talk so much about pumpkin this and pumpkin that and from my experience you are either a sweet potato pie lover or a

pumpkin pie lover. I’ve met few people who loved both. So while everyone else is killing their pumpkin pie, you can have this!

NEWBIES: If you’d like to enjoy this treat, you can too. I suggest halving the recipe (use 2 scoops of protein powder if you halve and still use one egg, but cut everything else in half) and bake them in ramekins, much the same way I made my protein pumpkin custards a few weeks ago.

See next card for streusel topping.

Streusel Pie Topping Ingredients: 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Pancake Mix 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used Splenda brown sugar) 3 tbsps. butter (light butter – I used LandO-Lakes Light w/Canola Oil) 1/2 tbsp. ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp. salt 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cut butter into flour (like a pie crust).

Mix in all other ingredients.

Put on sweet potato or pumpkin pie before baking.

2c chopped pecans

Sweet ‘N Salty Potato Casserole Ingredients: 2lbs sweet potatoes 3 scoops unflavored protein powder 1 egg, beaten 1/2c fat-free evaporated milk 3/4c no-calorie sweetener 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice Topping: 2 Tblsp butter 1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray whole sweet potatoes with canola oil non-stick cooking spray and place on baking sheet. Roast for 30-40 min, or until a fork easily pierces the potatoes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Lower oven temp to 350 degrees. Using a clean dish cloth, rub the skins off the sweet potatoes and discard. Add potatoes to bowl.

Add protein powder, evaporated milk, sweetener, and pumpkin pie spice, and use a potato masher to mash the potatoes. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Mixture may be

chunky. If smooth consistency is desired, use a hand mixer after mashing.

Melt butter in a pan, and add pecans, tossing to coat thoroughly. Add generous (cont.) amount of salt to the mixture. (when tasting the mix should taste slightly over salted).

Add mashed sweet potato mixture into a casserole dish and spread into an even layer. Top with pecans.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe by Nikki Massie www.bariatricfoodie.com bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com

Chicken Taco Soup Ingredients: 2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into small pieces 29oz can tomato sauce 15.5oz can black beans (drained) 40.5oz can kidney beans (drained) 10oz can corn (drained) Optional 1 or 2 packs of taco seasoning

Dump all ingredients into a pot and simmer till hot. Cook longer for stronger flavor.

Serving Ideas: Top with low-fat grated cheese Top with low-fat sour cream Fill baked Tostitos with soup 1c = about 20g protein, less than 5g of sugar and 0g of fat.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake (no bake) Ingredients: 8oz fat-free cream cheese 8oz low-fat whipped cream 1/4tsp vanilla 2Tblsp Skippy all-natural peanut butter 1/8c Splenda 1 reduced-fat graham cracker ready crust

Mix all ingredients into mixing bowl until thoroughly whipped with no lumps. Stir into crust and set in freezer for at least 4 hours.

Side Note: You may choose any other ingredients in place of peanut butter, such as a fruit. You can add more to get your desired flavor.

1c Splenda Granular 1/2tsp vanilla Pinch of salt 1/4c all purpose flour 1/2c chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Brownies – Splenda version This simple brownie recipe uses easy to find ingredients and tastes delicious.

Ingredients: 1/2c butter 1/2c cocoa powder 2 Lg eggs

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Melt butter and cocoa in a small saucepan over low heat stirring until smooth.

Remove from heat to cool. Beat eggs in a medium bowl until thick and smooth, add Splenda, vanilla and salt. Stir in cooled chocolate mixture. Fold in flower and nuts.

Pour into greased 8” square pan. Bake 1214 minutes or until firm but still soft near center. Brownies are best when slightly under baked. Cool before cutting into 2” squares.

Makes 16 brownies – calories 84, fat 7g, carbs 4.5g, protein 2g

1 pkg (6oz) Oscar Mayer Grilled Chicken Breast Strips 3c cooked bite-sized pasta, cooled 1/2c Kraft Special Collection Ceasar Vinagrette, 1/4c Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits

Beyond “Be-Leaf” Salads

Toss together meat, pasta, bacon bits and dressing in large bowl. Add peppers, onions and spring vegetables. Toss.

Drizzle with 1/2c of Kraft Dressing.

Ingredients: 1/2c each: chopped green pepper, and green onions 2c spring vegetables (cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, cut-up asparagus and sliced mushrooms)

1 Tblsp Onion, diced – or to taste low fat mayonnaise Greek yogurt 1/8c - 1/4c. Celery, diced

Chicken Salad Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts – cooked and chopped 1 tsp Garlic paste – or to taste 1 tsp Basil paste – or to taste

Put chicken in a bowl Add Basil paste, Garlic paste and onions and Celery to taste [about a tablespoon of onions and a teaspoon of the pastes] Add equal parts Greek Yogurt and low fat mayonnaise to get the

desired consistency.

Mix and enjoy.