January 6, 2012: Hot and Spicy Pumpkin Dip Recipe

The Wednesday edition of the Arizona Republic newspaper contains the weekly food section and I always eagerly await it to see what kind of new recipes it might contain. Usually I’m not impressed but this week I took notice of a recipe for a sweet potato dip I wanted to try. I only had pumpkin so I did a bit of my own makeover magic in the way of substitutions and less fat to come up with this very tasty recipe.

Hot and Spicy Pumpkin Dip

1 cup cooked pumpkin (or canned pureed)

1 T. roasted pumpkin seeds

½ chipotle pepper in adobo sauce + about ½ teaspoon sauce

2 cloves garlic

½ t. paprika

½ t. cumin

½ t. sesame oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a small food processor and process until smooth. (I just got a stick blender with attachments, which worked wonderfully for this application!)

Serves 2 with calories of approximately112 (1/2 cup serving size)

Serve this Hot and Spicy Pumpkin Dip with a 10” flour tortilla torn into strips and sprayed on both sides with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle them with kosher salt. Bake the strips in a 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes, turning them over once, for guilt-less chips (total calories about 220).

October 18, 2011: Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

Well, my resolve to eat lower fat foods didn’t last too long… When my husband got home after working out of town for a while, I wanted to give him a special dinner so I fixed his favorite steak sauce, baked a couple potatoes, and made these stuffed mushrooms as an accompaniment. Actually, this recipe isn't very fattening and if you use fat-free cream cheese (blah! yuck!) it might even be a good diet dish. :-)

Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 t. diced pimiento

1 green onion, minced (both white and green parts)

1 t. finely minced garlic

Freshly ground black pepper

8 – 10 white mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed

1 t. olive oil

Cooking spray

French fried onions (about 4 teaspoons)

Balsamic vinegar

Mix together cream cheese, pimiento, green onion, garlic and black pepper.

Spray inside the cups of the mushrooms with the cooking spray. Fill each with cream cheese mixture (go ahead and mound it over the top if you wish).

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium low. Add mushrooms, cheese side up, cooking for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften on the bottom. Splash a bit of balsamic vinegar in bottom of the skillet and cover. Cook another 5 minutes. Remove lid from pan and sprinkle French fried onions over the tops of the mushrooms. Place pan under broiler for about a minute, just enough to heat the onions.

Serves 2

September 9, 2011: Nonstick Kitchen Tips

After I wrote the first post about miscellaneous tips while working in the kitchen, I got to thinking about a lot more that I’ve used over the years and thought you might find useful. Here’s a list of ways to keep your food from sticking.

Nonstick Frying

Love cooking over easy eggs but hate using nonstick cookware like I do? My stainless steel and cast iron cookware becomes virtually nonstick when I simply spray it with cooking spray, such as Pam, before adding oil and food.

Nonstick Measuring

If you’re making a recipe that calls for a gooey ingredient, like honey, and oil always measure out the oil first. The oil will coat the measuring spoon or cup and allow your gooey ingredient to slide right off!

Nonstick Covers

Anytime you have to cover a cheese-topped casserole dish or freshly frosted cake with aluminum foil, spritz it with cooking spray first. The cheese or frosting won’t stick to it.

Peanut Butter Recipes

Just like the nonstick measuring tip, when you're making peanut butter cookies or a recipe like my Thai peanut sauce recipe, if you spray your measuring utensils with Pam first, you'll have a much easier job of cleaning up afterward!