January 10, 2012: Slow Cooked Potatoes and Mushrooms Recipe

Most slow cooker recipes combine meat and vegetables but this can muddy the flavors and be detrimental to texture. Next time you’re in a time pinch, consider putting the night’s dinner veggies in a crock pot before you leave for work and then simply broil or sauté a protein to go with it when you get home. This recipe is also great to make a nutritious side dish for a party or buffet.

Slow Cooked Potatoes and Mushrooms

3 medium-sized red potatoes, cut into eights

4 large brown mushrooms, quartered

1 small white onion, cut into lengthwise chunks

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ t. Seasoned salt

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 t. lemon juice

1 t. olive oil

Place potatoes in bottom of crock pot; sprinkle with seasoned salt and kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Layer vegetables on top. Sprinkle lemon juice and olive oil over the top. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 4 to 6 hours, until potatoes are soft.

Serves 2 with 272 calories per serving

January 5, 2012: Low Fat Oriental Chicken Salad

I wanted to use a bit of leftover chicken I had in the freezer for dinner. My first thought was to make this chicken casserole that my husband so loves but, unfortunately, it’s filled with tons of calories. I decided, instead, to turn it into a lovely Oriental Chicken Salad. I used several different recipes to come up with this combination; the salad dressing is fat free and virtually calorie free so feel free to use as much as necessary to flavor your salad.

Low Fat Oriental Chicken Salad

Dressing

2 cups water

2 T. Truvia

3 t. dry pectin

1 T. rice wine vinegar

1 t. soy sauce

1 t. minced garlic

1 t. kosher salt

¼ t. black pepper

¼ t. paprika

1 package ramen noodles

1 cup water

½ t. chicken bouillon

3 cups torn green leaf lettuce

1 cup shredded Napa cabbage

2 green onions, white and green parts sliced on the diagonal

2 mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 rib celery, thinly sliced

½ cup cooked, shredded chicken

3 baby carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 T. roasted sunflower seeds

Combine dressing ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat to boiling, whisking frequently. Cook at a low boil for about 10 minutes, until slightly reduced. Remove from heat, cool, and refrigerate.

Bring cup of water to boiling in saucepot. Add ramen noodles and boillon. Boil for 3 minutes then turn off heat and allow to cool (noodles will absorb excess liquid).

Combine lettuce, cabbage, onions, mushrooms and celery. Toss with 1/3 to ½ cup of dressing. Place in serving bowl and top with chicken, ramen noodles, carrots and sunflower seeds.

Serves one with approximately 525 calories – but this is a BIG salad and has enough protein to satisfy.

December 16, 2011: Cube Steak With Mushroom Sauce Recipe

Usually when I prepare cube steak it comes out as chicken fried steak. Sure, that’s yummy, but it’s also calorie-laden – and that’s the last thing I need during the holiday season! So instead of frying it, this time I baked the cube steak to make it tender.

Cube Steak with Mushroom Sauce served with cheddar mashed potatoes and green beans.

Cube Steak With Mushroom Sauce

2 cube steaks (about ¾ pound)

Salt and pepper

½ cup flour

1 T. olive oil

4 ounces mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 t. beef bouillon

1 cup water

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

Sprinkle the cube steaks with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour.

Heat the oil in a heavy, oven safe saucepan or Dutch oven to medium. Add cube steaks and cook just until crispy on each side, turning once. Remove steaks from pan and add mushrooms. Cooke for about a minute, until mushrooms are soft. Add bouillon, water and Worcestershire sauce. Place steaks on top of mushrooms and sprinkle with any remaining flour. Cover and place in low (250 degrees) oven. Bake for about 1 ½ hours, until sauce is thickened.

Serves 2

Tip: You can also make this dish in a crock pot. Just brown the meat before putting in the crock pot and set it to cook on low for 4+ hours.

November 30, 2011: Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce Recipe

Here’s a favorite winter dish in my family – Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce. It’s hearty, filling and quite delicious. I usually serve it over plain, buttered white rice because that’s what my husband prefers, but feel free to spoon it over the top of buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes. The leftovers are even better!

Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce

1 recipe Meatballs

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/3 cup diced onions

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

¼ cup milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Prepare meatballs as directed in my Baked Meatballs recipe but instead of baking, fry them in a large or electric skillet. When cooked through, remove to a paper towel lined plate. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of drippings. Add mushrooms and onions and sauté over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add remaining ingredients. Cook just until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Serve over hot rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.

Serves 4

November 27, 2011: Quick and Easy Southwestern Pizza Calzones Recipe

Have you tried any of the Kraft Cooking Crème? The basis is cream cheese, which is whipped up with various herbs and spices. So far I’ve tried the Garlic one and the Southwestern one. While they’re handy to use with pasta, I’ll warn you right now that a little can go a long way. I had a real dinner disaster one night when I decided to use the garlic crème, straight, to stuff enchiladas. They were so bad I had to throw most of the dish away.

But I persevered and tried using the crème again. This time I got the proportion right.

Southwestern Pizza Calzones

1 package refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 6-ounce package pepperoni (or half pound cooked, crumbled pork sausage)

2 t. olive oil

½ bell pepper, minced

8 ounces mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T. diced green chiles (either freshly roasted or from a can)

½ container Kraft Cooking Crème, Southwestern flavor

4 ounces Colby Jack cheese, shredded

2 t. butter

Garlic salt or powder (optional)

Open the package of crescent rolls and carefully separate at perforations so you have four rectangles. On a floured surface, roll out the rectangles to a 6 inch square, pressing the diagonal seam together so the square doesn’t have any separations. Divide the pepperoni into fourths and place on half of each dough square.

Heat olive oil in a skillet to medium low. Add peppers and sauté for two minutes; add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for two more minutes, until vegetables are soft. Turn off heat and add green chile and cooking crème. Mix together.

Spoon one quarter of the crème mixture on top of the pepperoni. Top each with a quarter of the shredded cheese. Fold opposite side of dough over the filling to form a turnover. Press edges together. Place on baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Melt butter and brush over the tops of each calzone. Sprinkle lightly with garlic salt, if desired.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, until golden brown and completely cooked through.

Serves 4

November 26, 2011: Turkey Leftovers Tetrazzini Recipe

Have you had your fill of turkey sandwiches yet? If so, try this yummy main dish recipe to use up more of your turkey and stuffing leftovers.

Turkey Tetrazzini

8 ounces thin spaghetti

2 cups shredded cooked turkey

3 T. butter

8 ounces mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 small yellow onion, minced

2 cups half and half

2 cups shredded white cheese (such as swiss or mozzarella)

½ cup diced green chiles

1 t. dried parsley or 1 T. fresh parsley, chopped

1 t. salt

½ t. black pepper

1 cup prepared stuffing (optional)

Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Add turkey to spaghetti and place in greased pan.

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onion; cook until soft. Add half and half, cheese, chilies, parsley, salt and pepper. Heat through. Pour over noodles and turkey. Top with stuffing, if using (if not, cover with foil).

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil, if using, and cook an additional 5 minutes to brown top of casserole.

Serves 8

Tip: Don't have any half and half on hand? Substitute 2 cups milk and add 1/4 cup flour to the onions and mushrooms at the end of sauteeing.