Saturday, July 16, 2011

Cran-Orange Geleatin Salad

I made this the other night (I think Wednesday?) with Campfire Bundles (previously posted). It was great. The entire family enjoyed it, which is rare.

Cran-Orange Gelatin Salad

15 oz can mandarin oranges
2 pkgs cranberry Jello (3 oz each)
1 1/2 c boiling water
16 oz can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 1/2 c crushed pretzels
6 T butter, melted
5 T sugar, divided
8 oz pkg fat-free cream cheese
8 oz frozen fat-free Cool Whip, thawed

Drain oranges, reserving juice in a 2-cup measuring cup; set aside oranges and juice.

In a large bowl, dissolve the Jello in boiling water. Stir in cranberry sauce until melted. Add enough cold water to the reserved juice to measure 1 1/2 cups; add to Jello mixture. Stir in oranges. Chill until partially set (this took about 1 hour for me).

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the pretzels, butter and 2 T sugar. Press into un-greased 9x13 dish; chill.

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread over crust. Spoon Jello mixture over cream cheese layer. Chill for at least 3 hours or until set.

Yield: 15 servings at 6 PointsPlus each.

Notes: As usual, I changed several things from the original recipe. First, it called for sugar-free Jello. I am allergic to Nutrasweet so I used regular Jello. Also, it indicated "salt-free" pretzels. I have had similar recipe to this one made with strawberry Jello and strawberries. I thought it would taste better with the salted pretzels so I used those. Instead of sugar, the original recipe used "sugar substiture equivalent to 5 T sugar". I figured it's only 5 PointsPlus for REAL sugar so I used that (divided by 15 servings, it didn't matter). I also used fat-free Cool Whip instead of reduced-fat Cool Whip because my store doesn't carry the reduced-fat. Using the original ingredients will change the PointsPlus value (pretty sure it will be lower). This is another recipe I got from "Light & Tasty" magazine (now called "Healthy Cooking by Taste of Home").

This morning I made:

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

MUFFINS
1 1/2 c Oats (quick or old-fashioned), uncooked
1 1/4c all-purpose flour
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
1 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
1 c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c skim milk
3 T canola oil
1 egg white

TOPPING
1/4 c Oats (quick or old-fasioned), uncooked
1 T firmly packed brown sugar
1/8 t cinnamon
1 t butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400. Line 12 muffin cups with paper baking cups OR lightly grease bottoms only. Combine dry ingredients; mix well. Add combined applesauce, milk, oil and egg white; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fill muffin cups almost full. For topping, combine all ingredients; sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake 20-22 minutes or until deep golden brown. Let muffins stand a few minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm.

Yield: 12 muffins at 5 PointsPlus per muffin.

Notes: The original recipe called for vegetable oil. I don't buy that and had canola oil on-hand so I used that. Also, it said to use margarine for the topping. I used butter instead.

These were a HUGE hit with my family! Will be making this regularly. Yum!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Popover Apple Pie

Last night we had Campfire Bundles (previously posted) and:

Popover Apple Pie

3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
2 egg whites
3/4 c skim milk
1 c cold orange juice
1 pkg (3 oz) cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
3/4 t allspice
6 large peeled tart apples, sliced
1/4 c dried cranberries
1 t powdered sugar

In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Combine the eggs, egg whites and milk; whisk into the dry ingredients just until blended. Pour into a 10" ovenproof skillet coated with butter-flavored Pam. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 (do not open oven door). Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until deep golden brown (do not underbake).

In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk the orange juice, pudding mix and apple pie spice. Stir in apples and cranberries. Cover and microwave on high about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 1/2 minutes or until apples are tender. Spoon hot apple mixture into crust. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings at 6 PointsPlus each.

Notes: The original recipe (from "Light & Tasty" magazine, now named "Healthy Cooking") called for 1% milk, but we only buy skim milk so I used that. The crust turned out fine. Also, it said to use sugar-free pudding mix. I'm allergic to Nutrasweet so I used regular. And it said to sprinkle 1/4 cup chopped walnuts on it right before adding the powdered sugar. I'm allergic to nuts so I skipped that. Your PointsPlus value will likely change, but not sure which way since some changes I made would increase it and some made would decrease it.

Talk about your mixed reactions. As soon as my husband took a bite, he said, "you don't have to make this again". Yikes! I tried it anyway. I loved it! One of my sons said it was too "egg-y" and the other said he would have left out the dried cranberries, but they both said they like it anyway. I'm probably not gonna fix it again just because nobody said the same thing, but I did like it.

Tonight is Taco Salad Night. I am also fixing Cran-Orange Gelatin Salad. It looks fantastic so I hope I have good reviews tomorrow.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Chicken Pasta Primavera

I got this recipe from "Light & Tasty" magazine (it's since changed it's name to "Healthy Cooking"), but I changed it a bit.

Chicken Pasta Primavera

10 oz uncooked spaghetti
1 can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
6 oz light sour cream
1 c water
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
10 oz pkg frozen broccoli, thawed
10 oz pkg frozen carrot slices, thawed
4 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
5 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a dutch oven, combine the soup, water, lemon juice, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir in vegetables; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Stir in chicken; heat through. Drain spaghetti; add to chicken mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Yield: 8 servings at 7 PointsPlus per serving.

The original recipe used a 16 oz pkg of "California-blend vegetables". I do not like cauliflower so I bought broccoli and carrots then instead of using partial packages, I added a few things. The original recipe also didn't include the light sour cream, but I didn't want to use a partial can of soup. Also, I added more of each of the other ingredients to come up with what I thought was a good ratio. It turned out fantastic. Even the boys ate it, although Adam did pick out the broccoli, and our 3 year old Granddaughter even ate it. Have added this to my favorites.

I've not totally been ignoring my blog, but lately I've been fixing a lot of re-runs so not much new to post about. I have several new recipes coming up, but tonight our dinner is a re-runs (Campfire Bundles). I will be posting about the dessert I'm fixing.