Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

from Closet Cooking

Click here for recipe with photos!

(makes 4 large pancakes) I got 5 servings out of this - 2 med pancakes per serving

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 cup blueberries

Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Mix the buttermilk, eggs and butter in another bowl. Mix the wet and dry ingredients making sure to not over mix. Mix in the blue berries. Heat a pan and melt a touch of butter in it. Pour 1/4 cup of the mixture into the pan and heat until the surface starts to bubble and the bottom is golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Flip the pancake and cook the other side until the bottom is golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.

REVIEW: Yum! These were tasty AND filling. I loved the cornmeal flavor.

Angel Hair Pasta with Eggplant-Tomato Sauce

adapted from WW Best Eats Cookbook

Serves 6 - if you make the recipe without my adapations, it's 204 cal, 3 g fat, 598 mg sodium and 4 g fiber

• 1 small eggplant, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 red pepper(s), cut into 8 strips
• 3/4 tsp table salt
• 1 garlic clove(s), minced
• 2 large tomato(es), coarsely chopped (I couldn't pick out a good tomato if my life depended on it, so I just used a giant can of chopped organic tomatoes. I actually read somewhere that canned tomatoes are more nutritious, which works well with my laziness!)
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I love spice so I doubled this)
• 1/8 tsp black pepper (I love pepper so I doubled this)
• 2 tbsp basil, fresh, minced (I used dried - fresh herbs are expensive and don't last long!)
• 2 tbsp chives, fresh, minced (I used fresh because they were a manager's special at Kroger)
• 1/2 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth
• 8 oz uncooked angel hair pasta, cooked according to package directions, drained (I used whole-wheat pasta)
• 4 oz reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled
• Personal extras - I also added a couple of tablespoons of Harry and David's Pepper and Onion Relish to give it more kick and a couple of tablespoons of ketchup to thicken it up. (I think I read somewhere that ketchup could sub for tomato paste.)

Preheat grill to medium or you can roast the vegetables if you prefer. (To roast, preheat oven to 425ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place vegetables on prepared baking sheet and coat with cooking spray; season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Roast, until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.)

Place eggplant slices and pepper strips in a grill basket (or place vegetables on a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil with holes poked in it to allow smoke through). Off heat, coat vegetables with cooking spray; season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Place on grill and cook until lightly browned and tender, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Cut vegetables into bite-size pieces; set aside.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over low-medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook until slightly pulpy, about 1 minute more. Stir in vegetables, remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, basil, chives and broth; increase heat to medium-high. Cook until broth is slightly reduced and mixture has a sauce consistency, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add pasta and toss to coat. Stir in cheese just before serving. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

Review: This was surprisingly good! I was really nervous because I waited too long to make this and my eggplant got a little decrepit. Luckily the roasting took care of the decrepitness! The sauce tasted very healthy and fresh. It had just enough kick to keep my taste buds happy. I really enjoyed the feta in this - it melted a bit and was really creamy.

Next time I make this, I'll cut smaller eggplant pieces and leave the skin on. I'll also cut the pepper into smaller pieces. I'm not really a fan of giant vegetables in my sauces so I ended up cutting the vegetables with my fork before I ate them.

Oh - and it goes without saying since I don't own a grill (second floor apartment) that I roasted the veggies.

Meatloaf

Recipe by For the Love of Cooking.net

Click here for the original recipe with photos!

1 lb lean ground beef (I used ground sirloin - 90/10)

1/2 sweet yellow onion

1/2 lb mushrooms chopped (I'm lazy so I used a food processor. The mushroom pieces were so tiny they blended with the ground beef)

1-2 cloves of garlic minced

3 tbsp Parmesan cheese (I used the stuff in the green can - I'm a gourmet, baby!)

1 egg (I used egg substitute since I had some left over from my bread)

1/2 cup non fat milk

10-12 saltine crackers (I love saltines so I used 12)

2 tbsp Italian bread crumbs (I just used regular bread crumbs)

Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp sage

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients well, then form a loaf in the loaf pan.

Sauce:

1 cup of ketchup

3 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp mustard powder (I substituted with 2 T regular mustard - I like things spicier)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine ingredients. Add more sugar, mustard or nutmeg to taste. Make sure to save the extra sauce for serving. Completely cover the top of the meatloaf with the sauce before baking.

Bake for 80-90 minutes. Let sit 5-10 minutes before slicing. (I dumped the extra sauce on top after it was done cooking.)

Review: This smelled wonderful and was absolutely delicious. It had an interesting sweet and spicy flavor. The meat was really tender - I think the mushrooms did the trick. This recipe was also boy-approved.

Roasted Sugar Snap Peas w/ Green Onions

Recipe from some random healthy cooking message board

2 lbs. sugar snap peas… ends trimmed

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 dash salt

1 Tbsp. green onions… finely chopped (I didn't use these - I don't like green onions)

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spread the sugar snap peas out on a baking sheet. Brush pea pods with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and onions. Roast the sugar snap peas on the top rack of the oven until they begin to get tender on the outside, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Bread

Recipe by For the Love of Cooking.net

Click here if you want to see the original recipe with pictures.

1 cup of Xagave (I just used regular agave nectar - you can find it in the 'natural' foods section at the grocery store)

Zest and juice of 3 lemons

3/4 cup of canola oil (Next time I make this, I'm going to reduce this.)

6 eggs (I used egg substitute)

1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp lemon extract

1-2 tsp poppy seeds (I used 2 tsp)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Coat two 8x4 loaf pans with canola cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk Xagave, lemon zest, lemon juice and oil together. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each is added. Stir in remaining ingredients just until dry ingredients are combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and serve.

Review: This had a really interesting flavor - it was bright and lemony, not all that sweet. It tasted very wholesome - probably because of the whole wheat flour. It was a little denser than other breads I've made and a teensy bit oily. Next time I make it, I'll only use 1/2 cup oil.

It wasn't what I expcted, but I really liked it. Simon liked it too, so it's boy approved!

Balsamic Green Bean & Potato Salad

Recipe by For the Love of Cooking.net

2 cups baby Dutch potatoes (I couldn't find these, so I just used baby red potatoes.)

2 cups green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise

3 tbsp olive oil (I couldn't justify this - so I scaled back to 2 T; should have done 1 T and a little more balsamic.)

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2-3 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped

Fill a large saucepan with water and season with salt. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes. Add the green beans and cook for 3-5 minutes. Drain and let stand.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, mustard, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Whisk in the olive oil until combined.

Toss the potatoes and beans with the dressing to coat and top with freshly chopped basil.

Review: This was good - but it wasn't my most favorite recipe ever. Everything that went wrong was completely my fault. The red potatoes were too big, so I cut them in half, which made them soggy. It was cold - so next time I'll leave it at room temperature. I really liked the vinaigrette. It was delicious!

Soy-Garlic Chicken

from Simple & Delicious September/October 2009

SERVINGS: 6 (I only got 4 servings out of this)

6 chicken leg quarters, skin removed (I used 3 chicken breast halves)
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons minced garlic

With a sharp knife, cut leg quarters at the joints if desired. (Or if using breasts, plop 'em in the slow cooker!) Place in a 4-qt. slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the tomato sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic; pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into the chicken reads 180°. Yield: 6 servings.

Review: When I came home after this had been cooking all day, my apartment smelled AMAZING. What's even better, this was quite possibly the easiest recipe I've ever made in my life. I whipped up the sauce, poured it over the chicken and let it cook away while I was at work. I got home at 6:30 and had dinner ready at 6:45. The chicken was tender and flavorful. I served with brown rice and a green bean- potato salad.