Heavenly Bread Pudding

This is such an amazing recipe.  It made amazing bread pudding, which I then topped with a homemade vanilla sauce.  The best part?  One serving of this pudding with the sauce on top only has 6 grams of fat!  Pretty awesome for a super filling dessert!

I got the original recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (which is seriously worth buying, I LOVE it!).  Here's the link: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/desserts/bread-pudding/

4 beaten eggs
2-1/4 cups milk*
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups dry French bread cubes or regular bread cubes (6 to 7 slices bread)* *
1/3 cup dried cherries or cranberries, or raisins  (we tried raisins and meh, I could have taken or left them)

*The recipe just said "milk," and we had whole milk for our toddler and 1%.  I used 1 1/2 cups of whole milk and 3/4 cup of 1% milk.  I think using 2% for the whole thing would be best!
**To dry bread, start with fresh bread cubes; place in a large shallow baking pan and bake in a 350 degree F oven about 10 minutes, stirring twice.


1. In a large bowl beat together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, orange peel (if desired), and cinnamon. In an ungreased 2-quart square baking dish toss together bread cubes and dried fruit; pour egg mixture evenly over bread mixture. Press lightly with back of large spoon to moisten all bread.  


2. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until puffed and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool slightly. Serve with Vanilla Sauce.

3. Makes 8 servings, 191 cal. per serving, 4 g of fat per serving.

Vanilla Sauce:
(takes about 10 minutes, I started it about 10 minutes before the bread pudding was done baking)

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup boiling water (or just really really warm works)
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of salt

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar and cornstarch.  Slowly stir in boiling/hot water.  Cook over medium heat until mixture is gently boiling.  Boil for 5 minutes; remove from heat.  Stir in butter, vanilla, and salt.  Serve over bread pudding!  Yum!

2. Makes 1 1/4 cups sauce, 63 cal. per serving, 2 g fat per serving.

The best part of this recipe was that the calories are pretty low considering a good dessert can have 300 or 400 calories easily.  And it was so filling, I ate one piece and was stuffed!

Enjoy!

PS A scone recipe is one the way courtesy of my sister-in-law!  I'll post it soon!

Low-fat Caesar Salad Dressing

My husband loves caesar dressing...and I admit, I do too!  But it is so fattening, so here's an alternative.  Trust me, you can't even tell this is a low-fat version.

Whisk together 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 4 tablespoons light mayo, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan, 1/4 garlic powder and 2 tablespoons water.

I toss this with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and grilled chicken or shrimp and a little more grated Parmesan on top.

You can also make your own croutons by: brushing a few pieces of whole-grain bread with a small amount of oil on both sides, then chopping them into cubes.  Put them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and broil on each side until browned (about 1 minutes per side).

Leftover Krab (and corn) Soup

Me and my husband makes lots of homemade sushi, and yes, we sometimes use fake krab. :)  Often I have some krab leftover and if I don't use it, it goes bad.  This soup is a great way to use up krab before it gets forgotten about in the meat drawer!  Its also low-fat because you use flour to thicken it up and only a tiny bit of whole milk to get a "chowder" feel without using cream!

Roasted Corn and Krab Soup
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 stalks of celery, chopped
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
8 cups of water (with 8 bouillon cubes)
1/2 tsp. of dried thyme
1/4 tsp of ground red pepper
1/3 c. flour
1/2 c. whole milk
however much krab you have (the more the better, I typically use about half of a package or 1/2 to 1 cup of krab)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Put thawed corn into a pan lined with foil, and bake for 10-15 minutes, stirring one or two times.  Take out of oven and set aside.
2. In a big stockpot, saute onions and celery in tablespoon of oil until they are soft.  Add 6 cups of water and 6 bouillon cubes, corn, thyme, red pepper and pepper.  Bring to boiling and then simmer for about 10 minutes (make sure bouillon cubes have dissolved).
3. In a large cup or a jar, heat up two cups of water with two bouillon cubes in microwave until its chicken broth.  Add flour and whisk (or if in jar, shake) until thoroughly mixed.  Stir into the soup and cook until thickened (a few minutes), add whole milk and crab.  Heat for one more minute, then serve!

Yum!

Mexican Meatball Soup

I love quick soups.  Although it is summer, there is something wonderful about throwing together some broth, vegetables and meat and making a huge pot that will have leftovers for days!  So here's two soup recipes I love: a great meatball soup I found online and a wonderful (low-fat!) roasted corn and crab soup!


The link to the Mexican meatball soup is here: http://homecooking.about.com/od/soups/r/blss48.htm


The original article shows you how to make your own meatballs.  I simply used frozen ones from the store to cut down on time and work!  Other than that, I kept everything the same and it tasted great!  Subtle, but still savory.  I'm not sure how fattening the recipe is, but several ways to keep Mexican-based dishes low-fat are: use low-fat sour cream, and skip the cheese and tortilla chips.  This was honestly super tasty with a dollop of low-fat sour cream on top, it didn't need other garnishes!


Mexican Meatball Soup

• 1 package of pre-made meatballs (I used 15 meatballs - half a bag - and the meatballs were a little sparse, I'd use a full bag if you can!)
• 2 quarts beef or chicken broth (or a combination - I used beef)
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (4.5 ounces) chopped mild green chiles, with liquid
• 1 cup diced sweet onion
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid hot pepper sauce, or more to taste
• 1/3 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1/4 chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• For Garnish: fresh cilantro sprigs, crushed tortilla chips, shredded Mexican cheese blend

Preparation (The original article has how to prepare the meatballs from scratch, I'm assuming here that you're using pre-made ones):

Place beef or chicken stock, tomatoes, green chiles, onion, oregano, cumin, and hot pepper sauce in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add rice, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Carefully add meatballs to the broth and simmer an additional 10 to 15 minutes until meatballs are cooked through (or are heated up!). Add corn and cook until heated through. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. Stir in chopped cilantro leaves just before serving.

Garnish each bowl with crushed tortilla chips, a sprinkling of Mexican cheese blend, and a sprig of fresh cilantro. (Just use cilantro and low-fat sour cream to save calories!) Serve immediately.

Yield: about 8 to 10 servings

Super Easy Turkey Meatloaf

I really dislike meatloaf....my mom never made it growing up, and I think it is kind of an acquired taste!  But I've found some alternative meatloaf recipes over the years, and this is my favorite.  I use turkey instead of the traditional ground beef and it does save calories (although make sure you are getting really lean turkey, some ground turkey is mixed with dark meat and is higher in fat and calories).  The comparison is a serving of 97% lean ground beef has 162 calories and 5.4 grams of fat, and a serving of 99% lean ground turkey has 98 calories and 1.5 grams of fat.  And at least where I live, even the most lean ground turkey is always cheaper than ground beef.

So here's the recipe, it only has 4 ingredients so it is easy to grab a few things from the store for a last minute meal!  The cooking time is an hour, so be prepared to throw it in with enough time before dinner!

2 lbs. ground turkey, thawed
1 package of Stove Top Stuffing (chicken flavor works well, but the cornbread kind is yummy too!)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of barbecue sauce (I like slightly sweeter sauce in this, not the super smoky kind)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Put the turkey, dry stuffing mix, eggs, water and half of the bbq sauce in a bowl.  Mix it together with your hands (you could use a spoon, but where's the fun in that?).  :)
3. Mold it into a bread loaf shape and put it in a glass baking dish (I use an 8" x 8" pan typically, it makes a short fat loaf).
4. Pour remaining bbq sauce on top and bake for about an hour.


Enjoy!!

Ground Turkey with Thai Peanut Sauce

This is seriously my favorite recipe ever.  We eat it monthly.  Its fast, and I never have to buy the ingredients for the sauce.  I only have to grab yakisoba noodles, a can of pineapple and some snow peas at the store, and I'm good!  It is not the healthiest of my recipes, but it is very filling and by using turkey, it is a little healthier.  Here's the recipe, seriously its super good! (I think I say that about all of these recipes!) :D 

Ground Turkey with Thai Peanut Sauce:
1 (or 2) packages (or 5 to 6 oz.) of yakisoba noodles (I get the precooked ones in the refrigerated section of Winco, this recipe also works with dried noodles, Chinese egg noodles or even linguine, you just have to precook the noodles before adding them to the pan)
1 1/2 cups snow peas with the tips trimmed
1/2 pound of ground turkey
1 can of pineapple chunks, drained
Sauce:
1/2 cup of chicken broth
4 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauc
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (you can use ground red pepper too)
3 cloves garlic, minced


1.  Put ground turkey into a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook for a few minutes, then drop heat to medium and add snow peas.  Gently saute for a few minutes until tender, then add pineapple and noodles.
2. While the turkey is cooking, take a microwavable cup (you can do this over the stove, but its much faster for me to microwave the sauce) and put chicken broth, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, red pepper and garlic into it and stir.  Heat in microwave until peanut butter is melted (about 2-3 minutes) and whisk until everything is combined.
3. Once the sauce is warmed and smooth, add to saucepan and stir with turkey and ingredients until evenly coated.  Serve! :D

Ugh...flu....

I have not posted in a few days because I am getting over the flu.  Just the mention of food made me nauseous, so I didn't want to even type up a recipe! :D

However, I'm working on some fun ones...I have a rockin' Chinese cabbage salad recipe and an amazing new soup recipe that I just had last night!  I'll post soon and send out an update through the Facebook fan page!