Winter Fruit Turnovers

1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water
2 medium apples, Granny Smith, peeled and chopped
2 medium pears, peeled and chopped
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup unpacked brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
6 sheets phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

To make filling: dissolve cornstarch and 1 tbsp water in a measuring sup and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, combine apples and pears and 2/3 cup water. Cook and stir on high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Simmer, stirring frequently for 5 more minutes.

Add cornstarch, mixture to fruit mixture; bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a large piece of wax paper and fold it in half lengthwise. Coat folded sheet with cooking spray. Keep remaining phyllo dough sheets covered with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying out.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of apple mixture about an 1-inch fro one end of folded strip. Fold end over apple filling at a 45 degree angle. Continue folding to form a triangle that encloses all of the filling. Repeat with remaining sheets of phyllo dough.

Place turnovers on baking sheet and bake about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Jan 23 2010

It's Christmas time at the Dunn house today.....

Finally, my daughter is home and we are celebrating the holidays. Thursday was Thanksgiving, yesterday was my daughters birthday celebration and today is Christmas. I don't know why it takes me so long to realize that when I eat sugar, I feel horrible....I had planned on making a pumpkin roll dessert today, but there is just no way that I can handle anymore desserts like that... have used too many flex points this week already, so dessert tonite is going to be a winter fruit dessert~I got the recipe from weight watchers.com....it is going to be yummy!

Oven-Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

4 medium sweet potatoes(about 2 1/2 pounds), each cut into 6 wedges
1 tbsp rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; toss well. Arrange potatoes in a single layer in a roasting pan.

Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Gently stir potatoes, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until lightly browned and tender.

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This pretty much confirms that sweet potatoes are becoming my FAVORITE veggie right now!! I wasn't so sure about this recipe after I got it all mixed up but they are very good....I will be making these again.

Chicken Apple Bacon Burgers

2 bacon slices
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, coarsely chopped
2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
cooking spray
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and cut crosswise into 8 slices
4 kaiser rolls

1. prepare grill

2. cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, and crumble. Add onion to drippings in pan, and saute 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly.

3. Place chicken in a food processor; process until coarsely ground. Combine chicken, bacon, onion, sage, salt and pepper. Divide chicken mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2 inch-thick patty. Place patties on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until done. Place apples on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 1 minute on each side. Place rolls, cut sides down, on grill rack; grill 1 minute or until toasted. Place patties on bottom halves of rolls; top each serving with 2 apple slices and top half of roll.

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Here is what I did:

I am always looking for an easier way to do things. First of all I used very lean(4%fat) ground beef instead of chicken. I wasn't so sure about grinding my own...You could always use ground chicken. But the beef was VERY TASTY!

I am not much for frying bacon so I used real bacon bits (and decided to just use a 3 ounce package of oscar mayer brand bacon bits.)
I used 1/8 cup onion flakes. I also grated the apple and and added it to the beef mixture. I cooked these in a pan on the stove top that I sprayed with Pam Spray.

OMG~this are SO GOOD!! I served them with sweet potato fries. This recipe is a keeper.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Good Morning!!
I went shopping yesterday....to a store that actually has a few things I am looking for. I have made copies of several recipes I want to try~there were several things on my list that I have NEVER bought before....fresh pineapple, mango, fennel seeds, a cheese called Parmigiano Reggiano and so forth. I ordered some lite coconut milk a week or so ago so I have that when I need it. A few of my recipes I want to try are coming out of the most recent Cooking Lite magazine. I need to figure out weight watcher points on those.

Oh, and I also bought a garlic press, and a few other handy kitchen gadgets that Mike thought I needed. He is really into this new recipe project.

I think for dinner tonite I will make apple, bacon bergers with sweet potato fries. YUMMY :-)

Coffee-Crusted Beef Tenderloin

1 tbsp freshly ground dark roast coffee
1 tsp kosher salt or 1/2 tsp table salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper, divided
1 (2 pound) beef tenderloin, trimmed
cooking spray
1 tbsp flour
1 (14 ounce) can less sodium beef broth
2 cups brewed dark roast coffee
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup chopped shallots
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt or 1/8 tsp table salt
thyme sprigs (opt)

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F
2. Combine ground coffee, 1 tsp salt, and 1 1/4 tsp pepper; gently press o a rack coated with cooking spray in a shallow roasting pan. Bake at 500 degree F for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F; bake tende4rloin for 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 145 degrees (med-rare)or desired degree of doneness. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
3. While beef cooks, place flour in a small bowl; gradually add brth and brewed coffee, stirring with a whisk until well blended.
4. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over med heat, add shallots; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic; saute 1 minute. Add beef broth mixture, and bring to a boil over med-high heat, stirring frequently. Cook until sauce is reduced to 1 cup (about 20-25 minutes). Stir in remaining 1/4 tsp pepper, brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt. Serve sauce with sliced beef. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

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This was very good.....pretty spicy for me, so I didn't dare eat to much. Probably not a good idea to make steak with coffee on a Sunday nite, but we will just have to wait and see how it affects ....I may not sleep tonite!

I have never bought shallots before....but I think I will choose shallts over onions any day of the week. I am not an onion person(usually I used minced onion) but shallots are mild and very tasty.

I pretty much did everything exactly but after the steak went in the oven, I decided to make the oven fries from last week's recipe. The potatoes weren't getting done as quick as they needed to so I took the steak out and put them in the sauce and finished they that way.....the sauce didn't reduce as much as it should have but OMG, it was SO tasty.

If you look at the picture, you can see the coffee grounds in the steak....it looks burned but it isn't. I think I am gonna have to make this recipe when my daughter comes home to visit.....I would like to see what the thinks about it.....the steak was a little tough, next time I need to choose a different cut of steak.

Orange Soda Crockpot Chicken

2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, no skin
8 ounces diet orange soda
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 Splenda packet
1 tbsp xanthan gum(thickening)

Rinse chicken, pat dry and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks. In a crockpot, combine chicken, onion, garlic, orange pool, chili powder, cocoa, slplenda, cinnamon and cumin and mix lightly. Pour in orange soda. Cover and cook on low until chicken is very tender when pierced (about 6-7 hours)

Skim and discard fat from cooking liquid, if necessary. Then blend in the xanthan gum or other low carb thickener. Increase slow cooker heat to high. Cover and cook, stirring 2 to 3 times, until sauce is thickened(about 10 more minutes) Season to taste with salt.

What I did:

I used 1/4 cup minced onion, and used all the other seasonings as the recipe calls for. I wanted the orange soda to cover the chicken(I used 3 chicken breasts-didn't cut them up) So I used 2 12 ounce cans of diet soda. I am cooking this in a 375 degree oven ~ it should be done in about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. I haven't ever heard of xanthan gum so I will leave that out....I am sure that a little corn starch would work just fine, but I am going to try it without and see how it is.

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very interesting.....it didn't taste as spicy as I thought it would. My husband thought it was missing something. My son said it was ok but that is actually huge as he doesn't like alot of things. I am not sure how often I would make this but am thinking maybe I will make this again and double the spices as I used more soda than the recipe called for. Maybe using cornstarch would be a good idea. I like the idea of having a sauce to put on top of this(and also the rice)

Saturday, January 9 2010

Oh goodness.....I think I am in for a very interesting dinner tonite.....

A friend of mine gave me a recipe for chicken made with Orange soda(thanks Jan)....if you can cook a pork roast using root beer, then you should be able to use orange soda to cook chicken, right?

I mixed all the seasonings, added the diet orange soda and chicken and just put it in the oven a few minutes ago.....I will post the recipe in a different blog....very interesting smell.....I am a little unsure what to serve with it but my hubby votes for rice. I will be sure to post a picture along with the recipe.

January 8, 2010

OK, so tonite is Friday nite....I took some time today to look at the Momentum cookbook just a little more.....Since I got the new weight watcher cookbook earlier this week(the cookbook has quite a few recipes that look good), I have decided that I will blog the new recipes I try from any cookbook, rather than just one cookbook....I have found quite a few that I want to try in several different places. Most of these recipes I will try on the weekends, so during the week I might not blog to much. My week is just so darn busy and I don't want to stress over the new recipes, I want to enjoy this project.

A friend of mine posted a recipe for chicken that is made with orange soda, so I am definately going to be trying that recipe this weekend.

January 7, 2010

It's been a few days since I have posted....I realize that I only have to do 4 recipes per week for this year to get thru the book, but now I am thinking that along with the 4 recipes from the momentum cookbook, I also want to try recipes from other cookbook. I got the NEW healthy cooking momentum cookbook and, oh my, it looks like there are some good recipes in that book.

Today for my snack I am going to have popcorn with chili seasoning and a few other seasonings....I am hoping that it isn't too hot, it should be interesting, and better than that....it is a 0 point snack!

Warm Spiced Baked Apples

Page 249 of the cookbook

4 baking apples, halved through the stem end and cored
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3 tbsp water
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Place the apples, cut side up, in a 13x9 in baking pan
3. Sprinkle the water in th bottom of the baking dish. Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake the apples until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle the apples evenly with the walnuts.
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What I did
single servings:
in each dish:
1 sliced apple
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp water
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
I omitted the nuts.

2 points for each serving.

What a wonderful warm dessert on a cold winters nite! I even added a bit of lite cool whip for 1 point.

Rosemary Chicken Thighs with Roast Potatoes

4 (1/4 pound) skinless boneless chicken thighs, trimmed
2 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp salt
6 small new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered

1. Combine the chicken, 1 tsp of the oil, the garlic, lemon zest and juice, rosemary, thyme, and 1/2 tsp of the salt in a large zip-close plastic bag. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag; turn to coat the chicken. Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

2.Toss together the potatoes and the remaining 1 tsp oil and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium bowl. Spray a baking shet with nonstick spray and spread the potatoes on a baking sheet. Place the potatoes in the oven and turn the oven on to 425 degrees F. When the temperature reaches 425 degrees, remove the potatoes from the oven. Toss the potatoes, then push them to one side of the pan.

3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the baking sheet. Discard the marinade. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender and browned, about 20 minutes.

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All I want to say about this recipe is WOW......this is FANTASTIC....I could eat this every single day.

I used 2 chicken breasts and 3 white potatoes sliced.

I sliced the potatoes in 8 pieces. I did add some pepper along with the salt to the potatoes. I weighed the chicken and counted 1 point per ounce, 1 point for the small potato but added 1 point to the meal to allow for the olive oil.

January 3, 2010

Happy Sunday!!

The recipe I have picked for today is on page 105. Rosemary Chicken Thighs with Roast Potatoes. So, I went to the store this morning to get what I needed. I ended up with Chicken Breasts rather than thighs as our wonderful store didn't have any thighs.

I must be the only adult on earth that has never minced a "real" garlic clove. I honestly have no idea what I am doing(I seriously need some cooking classes). So, I buy 2 whole garlics and think I need both of these? So, then I google "how to mince garlic" and see some pictures and it can't be that hard, right? You just cut it up into tiny pieces. Well, if anyone can screw something up, that would be me. The chicken needs to marinate for awhile so about noon, I start to mince the garlic so I can make this chicken for dinner tonite. I am seriously thinking that I need both whole garlics for this recipe. I still am not exactly sure what is right, but as I am mincing the garlic, I am thinking "this is a hell of alot of garlic" so then I google "garlic clove" and realize that each piece of the garlic is a clove and I only need 2???? So then I need to start over, as I have cut up several pieces of the garlic.

Anyway, I only used 2 of the pieces of the garlic with the 2 chicken breasts that is now marinating in the fridge. The rest of the recipe is easy. I am just an idiot when it comes to garlic. Maybe someone can tell me the answer to my question. But I guess that would mean that someone would actually have to read my blog, and I am not sure that is ever gonna happen, so I may have to find someone to ask or I may never mind the answer to my question.

When all the chicken and seasonings were "marinating" it sure did smell good.

I will post the recipe in another post.

Bacon, Cheeddar, & Egg-Topped English Muffin

For Breakfast this morning, I made the recipe on page 20.

Bacon, Cheddar, & Egg Topped English Muffin

2 eggs
1 tsp sunflower oil
2 ounce canadian bacon
1 whole wheat english muffin
2 slices ff cheddar cheese

1. fill a medium skillet with 1 1/2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so the water is barely simmering.
2. break each egg into a separate small cup. Slip the eggs, one at a time, into the water. Cook until the yolks just begin to set, about 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to paper towels to drain.
3. wipe out the skillet. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the canadian bacon and cook until heated through, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side.
4. place a muffin half on each of 2 plates and top each with a slice of cheddar. Top with 1 slice of bacon and 1 egg. Sprinkle with chives.

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Pretty basic. I had all the ingredients in the house, so that I why I chose this recipe first. I did substitute egg beaters for the egg. I used 2 tsp olive oil so I could get both my healthy oils in for the day. I used ff american cheese instead of cheddar cheese. no chives. I only had the lite english muffins, and it wasn't a whole wheat bun.

total ww points was 6 and this was a VERY FILLING breakfast.

January 2, 2010

I spent some time last nite looking thru the Momentum Cookbook. There are 200 recipes. Some of the recipes are things I would never even have considered trying, but now I am challenged to make them all and try at least one bite of all the recipes cooked. Some have milk, so I will have to be careful with those.

In the movie, she made a goal of one year to get thru the cookbook, but she had way more than 200 recipes to try. So, I am also going to take a year to get thru my cookbook. I will have to try 4 recipes a week. With my busy schedule, I believe that it is doable. With some of the recipes, there are ingredients that I can't get here or have never heard of so this will require some research and maybe a little online ordering. I think Mike will enjoy this project.

January 1, 2010

I just finished watching Julie and Julia.....what a fantastic movie. Halfway thru the movie, I decided I wanted to blog my way thru a cookbook. One of my goals this year is to try one new recipe a week. So, I am choosing a weight watcher cookbook to blog my way thru. I am choosing Sunday's to try out my new recipes....and I will choose a few each week until I get thru the whole cookbook. So, I will spend part of the day tomorrow looking thru the Momentum Cookbook and decided what to cook on Sunday.