Hummus Among Us

Hummus is a great, satisfying and good for you snack/condiment. This recipe was discovered after I obsessively was trying to re-create the hummus from one of my favorite restaurants in DC (which also has the BEST pomegranate martini's EVER but I digress). After trying a bunch of recipes out I could not get it right. I finally got it through my noggin that the restaurant style hummus tastes so good because it has a Costco sized vat of olive oil in it. (Also on another note, I'm tired of typing out olive oil so not to get all Rachel Ray on you but it will now be known as EVOO) While EVOO is fantastic for you, twenty cups of it sort of defeats the purpose. This is just about as close as I can get to the "real deal" and frankly, the pita chips make it that much better. The pita chips also go really well with cottage cheese. The sister gave the hummus 4 stars and the pita chips 5.





Plus yeah, I took a picture of this one!



Hummus
3.5 cups

*side note: if you are using a mini food processor, cut the recipe in half.

Ingredients:

2(15.5oz) cans no salt added chickpeas/garbanzo beans, RINSED (don't skip this) and drained
2 garlic gloves, crushed
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp EVOO
salt
pepper

Directions:

Place beans and garlic in food processor and pulse until chopped

Add remaining ingredients and pulse into smooth

Pita Chips
Yields about 48 chips

Ingredients:

6 whole pitas (I use a brand called the Alternative Pita...tastes great and is 110 calories)
Spray Butter or EVOO
Salt
Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes or Salt Free Southwest Seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Slice each pita like you would a pie, into 8 triangles each. Lay them evenly on one or two tin foiled and pam sprayed cookie sheets. Spray or brush each pita triangle with the butter or evoo and then sprinkle all with the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes/sw seasoning.

Bake chips for 10-15 minutes depending on your preference of crispiness

Chips store great in a sealed plastic bag!

Mushroom Lasagna

When I saw this recipe I thought to myself "no meat, no go". I likes my meat. But then I saw the amount of cheese and thought I would give it a shot. You don't miss the meat. At all. This is cheesy and yummy and tastes really naughty for you. And yet, its not! This also freezes very well. The sister gave this 4.5 stars. I'd probably give it a 5.


Mushroom Lasagna
10-12 Servings

Ingredients:

¾ lb uncooked lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)
1 bag fresh spinach

For the Mushroom Tomato Sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
¾ lb mushrooms
½ tsp salt
Cracked pepper
2 cups tomato sauce (any kind would work here)
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
¼ to ½ cup roughly chopped basil leaves

For the Herbed Ricotta Cheese:
1lb ricotta (I used the low fat/skim one)
Mixed herbs (you can use whatever, I did parsley and oregano)
Salt and pepper to taste

½ lb part-skim fresh mozzarella, grated

Directions:

Preheat over to 350

Cook noodles until al dente and then drain well

Meanwhile prepare mushroom tomato sauce: place olive oil and mushrooms in large pan over high heat. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often for 5-7 minutes. Add tomato sauce and red pepper and simmer for 10 minutes; add basil and simmer 5 minutes more.

Prepare herbed ricotta cheese:

Place cheese in small mixing bowl and add herbs, salt and pepper to taste.

In a 9x13 baking dish, pour just enough sauce to cover bottom. Add uncooked spinach. Begin layering noodles, then herbed ricotta, then mozzarella and finally, sauce. I did about two layers and that came out really well! Bake for an hour or until lasagna is brown and bubbly.

Italian Sausage Potato Salad Supper

Yes, you read that correct. I said potato salad. This is SO good. This isn't a meal that is visually pleasing so brace yourself. The original recipe called for 3 lbs of potatoes but that seemed like a LOT. The amount I listed below still provides a very hearty amount of salad. The sister gave this 3.75 stars but prefaced that by describing herself as a potato salad snob. Heathlier versions don't cut it for her.


Italian Sausage Potato Salad Supper
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2.25 lbs Yukon Gold or russet potatoes
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup white wine
salt
black pepper
1 tbsp minced chives
1/2 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tbsp water
3/4 lb low-fat Italian sausage (I just did a sausage/serving)
16 cups salad greens, washed and dried

Directions:

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover them with cold water. Over high heat, bring to a boil, immediately reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are just done, 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

Prepare dressing by whisking together vinegar, dijon mustard, white wine, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

When potatoes are cooked through, drain and cool slightly. While potatoes are still warm, peel and cut into 1/2 thick slices. Place potatoes in a large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper, chives and parsley. Add dressing and mix well.

Place water and sausage in a small non-stick pan set over medium heat. Cover and cook until sausages are firm to the touch and cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Let sausages rest 5 minutes,then cut on the diagonal into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Combine salad greens and dressed potatoes and toss until all greens are well coated. Dish out servings and toss with sausage!

The Best Burgers EVER

Brace yourself for I am about to make an announcement that may shock you. These burgers don't need cheese. Yes, yes I know. The queen of cheese said she didn't even miss the cheese. But seriously, they are that good. On a side note, ground white meat chicken is HARD to find. And regular ground chicken is just as "bad" as ground beef. But ground turkey works just as well! Sister gave then 5 stars!!!!

Best Burgers
4 servings

Ingredients:

1pound ground white meat chicken or ground lean (NOT extra lean) turkey
2 cups bread crumbs (I use Panko. Yes, I'm obsessed)
1/2 cup low fat milk
3 tbsp grated or minced sweet onion
1/4 cayenne pepper
salt
pepper

Directions:

Place chicken in a mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, fold in 1/2 cup bread crumbs, milk, onion, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Mixture will be wet so don't freak out...just prepare for an ick factor when you start to form into patties. Place remaining bread crumbs on a dinner plate. Divide chicken mixture into four even patties. Coat each side with bread crumbs. Either in a skillet or a George Forman (my preferred choice) "fry" patties over medium heat until golden and cooked through (about 5 minutes per side).

Crispy Chicken Fingers w/ Dippin' Sauce

If you squint a bit and use just a tiny bit of imagination, these taste like chicken mcnuggets. And the sauce doesn't hurt. The sister gives it 4.75 (out of 5) stars.

Crispy Chicken Fingers w/Dippin' Sauce
Serves 4

1.25 lbs of chicken tenderloins(if you can't find those, cut 1/2 inch slices from chicken breasts)
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
4 cups whole grain corn cereal (I used corn chex)
salt
pepper
sauce (to follow)

Preheat over to 400 degrees

Combine the chicken and buttermilk ina shallow dish,turn the chicken to coat it with the buttermilk. Cover and chill for 15 minutes.

Put the cereal in a seal-able plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Transfer the crumbs to a shallow dish and season them with salt and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in the cereal to fully coat and place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Leave the chicken on the baking sheet to cool slightly, as it will become crispier.

I'm thinking you could also make this spicy by adding some red pepper flakes to the cereal mixture.

Honey-Mustard Sauce
makes about 2/3 cup

Ingredients:

1/3 cup dijon mustard
2 tsp mayo
2 tbsp honey

Combine mustard and mayo until smooth. Add honey and chow down!

Blue Cheese Crusted Filet Mignon

Filet, you say? The topping for this is so good I was eating the little bits that fell onto the baking sheet when it came out of the oven. Yes, I have no shame. I will also confess that upon seeing the amount of topping in the bowl, I increased it by a bit. The amounts below are from the orginal recipe so feel free to behave. The sister gave this 4.5 stars, I'd give it 5!

Blue Cheese Crusted Filet Mignon
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko)
2 tbsp blue cheese crumbles (I used reduced fat)
1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
4 4-oz filet mignon steaks
ground black pepper
salt

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil (don't skip this part or turn all conservationist on me. This gets messy)

In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, blue cheese and olive oil

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Season each filet with salt and pepper and cook two minutes per side

Top each steak with 1/4 cup of the blue cheese mixture. Roast in pre-heated oven for 4 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees) or 6 minutes for medium (160). If you want it more cooked then that, you shouldn't be eating steak.

On a side note, the cuts of filet I got were VERY thick so they took a bit longer to cook. I probably should have cut them in half length wise!

Spaghetti Bolognese, YUM!

Because my brother is obsessed with Spaghetti Bolognese and the fully loaded version is well...loaded with fat and calories, I kept my eye out for a healthier version. I was delighted by this Sandra Lee version and with a few modifications (frozen chopped onions Sandra? Seriously? How lazy can you be?) made it this past Sunday. Haven't heard back from the brother yet but the sister described it as "tasting not like diet food" (a huge compliment from her) and gave it 4.25(out of 5) stars.

Spaghetti Bolognese
Makes 8 large servings

Ingredients:

1 box spaghetti (I used organic whole wheat)
1 carton mushrooms
1.25 lbs ground turkey breast (I used lean, not extra lean)
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 jar (25.5 ounce) pasta sauce
1 cup Merlot
1 cup chicken broth (I use the low sodium version)
1/4 cup low-fat evaporated milk
Parmesan cheese(for topping)

Directions:

Cook pasta, drain return to pot and toss with a bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking

In a large skillet sprayed with olive oil, add the ground turkey, onions and garlic and cook until meat is no longer pink. Add the pasta sauce, wine and chicken broth to skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes until sauce thickens. Stir in evaporated milk.

Toss with pasta, top with Parmesan cheese if desired and serve!