Spicy Sausage Pizza

from Cooking Light, JUNE 2004

• 1 (10-ounce) Italian cheese-flavored thin pizza crust (such as Boboli) -- I used a plain thin crust
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce or marinara sauce
• 3 (1/8-inch-thick) slices sweet or red onion, separated into rings
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced into rings -- I just used slices
• 3 ounces chicken sausage with habanero chiles and tequila, chopped (such as Gerhard's) --I used Trader Joe's chicken & jalapeno sausage
• 1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil -- I omitted

Preheat oven to 425°. Place crust on a baking sheet. Spread sauce evenly over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Arrange onion and bell pepper evenly over sauce. Top with sausage; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from heat, and sprinkle with basil.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 314 (30% from fat); FAT 10.4g (sat 4.7g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.8g); IRON 2.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 32mg; CALCIUM 396mg; CARBOHYDRATE 37.4g; SODIUM 703mg; PROTEIN 17.5g; FIBER 1.9g

My Review: This is a five-star recipe, for sure. It was absolutely delicious! I loved the yellow pepper and the spiciness of the sausage. If you have more than 2 people (and one of the 2 has a very healthy appetite), I would double the recipe and make more than one pizza. We polished off the whole thing -- although, I went with the recommended serving size as I have a wedding dress to fit my booty into.

Cream Cheese Squares

from Kraft

makes 24 servings (I halved everything)

• 2 cans (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls, divided (I used reduced-fat)
• 2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened (I used light cream cheese)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Unroll 1 of the cans of crescent dough. Press onto bottom of greased 13x9-inch baking pan to form crust, firmly pressing seams together to seal.

BEAT cream cheese, vanilla, egg and 1/2 cup of the sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Spread onto crust.

UNROLL remaining can of crescent dough onto large sheet of wax paper. Pat out dough to form 13x9-inch rectangle, pressing seams together to seal. Invert over cream cheese mixture to form top crust; discard wax paper.

BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until golden brown. Combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in small bowl; sprinkle over squares before cutting.

Calories 170

Total fat 11 g

Dietary fiber 0 g

My Review I have been on a lucky streak with my recipes lately. This was one of the easiest desserts I've ever made and also one of the most delicious. I ate it warm, I ate it cold -- yummy both ways! Simon was ecstatic about this dessert -- so extra boy-friendly. The only not-so-great part about it was that it was hard to stick to the portion size. I definitely ate a little too much of this.

Eggs Benedict

from For the Love of Cooking (Click here to see the original recipe with FABULOUS photos)

• 1 egg, poached
• 2 slices of crispy bacon
• 1/2 an English muffin (I used a light English muffin)
• Hollandaise sauce
• Fresh parsley for garnish (I omitted)

Cook the bacon and reheat the hollandaise in a double boiler (add a bit of water to thin it out).

A lot of people poach eggs directly in water but I always put mine in a ramekin. In a large skillet with high sides, add 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Add a bit of butter to a ramekin then crack the egg inside the ramekin. Place the ramekin in the boiling water. Reduce heat to medium and cover with a lid. Cook for 4 minutes then remove ramekin from pan.

Toast the English muffin while the egg is poaching. Place the bacon on top of the toasted English muffin, add the poached egg then pour the hollandaise (as much as you want) on top. Garnish with a bit of fresh parsley and serve.

My Review: Eggs Benedict is definitely my favorite breakfast food. I order it all the time in restaurants but am scared to death to try to make it on my own. This recipe was delicious. This was the first time I've had Eggs Benedict with bacon -- delicious! I poached my eggs the way Pam recommended -- they turned out BEAUTIFULLY. This was a super easy recipe to make. Simon liked it too - so it's boy-friendly!

Hollandaise Sauce

from Cooking Light, APRIL 2009

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Place butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; cook 5 minutes or until completely melted. Carefully skim solids off the top with a spoon; discard solids. Slowly pour remaining butter out of pan, leaving remaining solids in pan; discard solids.

Combine egg yolks and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan, stirring with a whisk until foamy. Place pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens slightly. Gradually add 1/4 cup clarified butter, about 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring with a whisk until each addition is incorporated and mixture is thick. Reserve remaining clarified butter for another use.

Stir juice and salt into butter mixture, whisking until blended.

Calories 63; Fat 6.5g (sat 3.9g, mono 0.4g, poly 0.1g); Protein 0.5g; Carb 0.2g; Fiber 0g; Chol 57mg; Iron 0.1mg; Sodium 32mg; Calc 5mg

Yield: About 2/3 cup (serving size: 1 tablespoon)

My Review: I absolutely LOVE hollandaise sauce and this was a delicious recipe. To be honest, I would have licked the bowl had I been alone. I've always avoided making this sauce because I thought it would be super hard to do. Sadly, I've even used the envelopes you can buy at the grocery story. This was my first time making this. It was pretty easy and even though I didn't clarify the butter correctly, it still turned out. Plus, it's a light recipe so I can eat more of it. You can't get any better than that!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burrito

adapted from The Moosewood Low Fat Cookbook -- serves 4

• 2 medium sweet potatoes… peeled and cubed
• 2 tsp. canola oil
• 1 large onion… chopped
• 3 garlic cloves… finely chopped
• 1 green chile… finely chopped
• 2 tsp. coriander
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 pinch cayenne
• 14 oz. canned black beans… drained and rinsed
• 1 handful coriander
• 1/2 lemon… juiced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 fat-free Flour tortillas

Add the sweet potato to a pan of salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes until the sweet potato is tender. Drain.Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the onion, garlic and chilli and cook gently until the onions have softened. Add the spices and cook for a further minute.Add the sweet potato, onion, chilli, garlic, beans, coriander, lemon juice and salt to a food processor. Blend for 20-30 seconds until smooth-ish.Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a baking dish. Spoon the sweet potato mixture into the middle of each burrito and roll into a cigar shape. Place burritos into the snug-fitting baking dish and cover with foil.Bake for 30 minutes.

My Review: OMG -- these might be the best burritos on earth! They were a little time-intensive, but totally worth the effort. This recipe made way more filling than I needed, so I froze half so I can make again. And I absolutely can't wait to make them again! Simon also loved these so definitely boy-friendly.

Mexican Zucchini Oven Fries

from Rachael Ray

Serves: 4

• 2 medium zucchini cut into 1/4-inch square 3-inch long sticks -- like fries
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning
• 1 cup chili sauce or mild taco sauce

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Arrange zucchini on nonstick cookie sheet. Spray zucchini with cooking spray. Combine spices and sprinkle over the zucchini fries. Place in very hot oven and cook 15 to 18 minutes. Serve hot. Top with spoonfuls of chili sauce or taco sauce.

My Review: Blech! These were AWFUL. They were soggy and the seasoning was gross. Since zucchini has a lot of water, I even tried salting it and putting in a colander to get rid of some of the excess water. It did not work.

I will not be making these again.

Parmesan-Pepper Sweet Potato Fries

from the Biggest Loser Cookbook

Serves 1

• ½ pound sweet potatoes, cut into ¼ inch thick sticks
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese (reduced fat)
• ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon Ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and toss until the potatoes are well coated. Lay the potatoes in a single layer on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes on one side, then flip the potatoes and continue baking for another 10 minutes.

My Review: Yum! Great seasoning for these fries! They taste more like a special treat than a health food.