BBQ Shrimp Cajun Style

This is something that we used to eat in New Orleans when we lived there. I have never seen it on any other menu in any other place other than Louisiana...and they don't share the recipe so I had to figure it out myself. Since we live near the ocean it is easy to get the biggest freshest shrimp with head on-not so for others-but it is a very important part of the dish.

2 lbs shrimp
1 lb butter
1 c olive oil
garlic, rosemary
Black Pepper

Shrimps, head-on unpeeled, in a deep baking dish. They can be crammed in but only one layer please. Sprinkle the rosemary and crushed garlic around. The butter cut it in to pieces and placed around and on the shrimp. Pour the olive oil all over the top-you need not use the entire cup but do drizzle all over.

Now, this is the difficult part and I cannot stress this enough - you must do this to get the sauce right. COVER ALL THE SHRIMP VERY VERY (VERY) heavily with regular black pepper. This is the key to the entire dish.

Bake at 350 degrees until the shrimp are done (pink and firm)and serve in the middle of the table with a lot of good French bread for dipping into the butter/oil sauce.

You have to let it cool or it will burn your hands trying to peel it.

Calories: too numerous to count

Potato Latkes

1 lb Potatoes, peeled and grated
1 Onion, grated
2-1/2 T whole wheat flour
2 Egg Whites (egg beaters style)
1/2 t Salt
1/8 t pepper
Cooking spray
1/4 c oil

In a small bowl, combine first 6 ingredients until blended. Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray then heat 1/8 cup of oil in a fry pan. When the oil is hot, scoop a heaping tablespoon of latke batter into oil. Continually turn latkes over until they are brown on both sides and potatoes are cooked. Remove latkes from pan and place on dish with paper towels for draining. Repeat with remaining latkes until all the batter is used adding oil as needed and allowing to get hot. Place in hot oven for about 5 minutes to firm and crisp.

Serve with fat free sour cream and/or apple sauce.

Indian Chickpeas

can chickpeas
2 t oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
1 garlic cloves, squashed
1 t fresh ginger, chopped
1 green chili pepper, finely chopped
2 t ground coriander
3/4 c of chopped tomatoes (from a can)
1 t garam massala
1 T cilantro, chopped

Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray and add 2 t oil, fry onion until golden. Add cinnamon stick (or cloves) and cook a few seconds. Add garlic, ginger, chili pepper,
ground coriander and cook 5 minutes, stirring. Add tomatoes, with the juice and cook until all liquid has evaporated.

Add the chickpeas to the pan, mix well, cook 5 minutes. Add water if too dry and simmer for 25 minutes, until all the liquid is gone. Sprinkle with the garam massala and cilantro.

Lighten Up!

Light Basil Pesto:
Mix 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, 3 tbsp grated fresh Parmesan cheese, 3 cloves garlic and 1/2 cup chicken broth in food processor bowl or blender jar. Cover and process until smooth.

No-Fat Oven Roasted Garlic:

Cut off top of garlic bulb. Spray with no-stick cooking spray like Pam. Wrap in aluminum foil. Roast garlic until softened. Add roasted garlic to mashed potatoes, meat gravies and soups/stews. Roasted garlic is also perfect for making garlic toast or to "butter" your bread.

Corn Muffins:

Use chicken broth instead of milk when preparing your favorite corn muffin mix. Follow package directions, substituting an equal amount of broth for milk.

Moist and Savory Stuffing:

Use broth instead of water when preparing stuffing mix or scratch recipe. Substitute an equal amount of chicken broth for water in your stuffing preparation.


Fat-Free Sun dried Tomatoes:
Soak dry-pack tomatoes in hot chicken or vegetable broth. Add tomatoes with some of the liquid to salads and pasta dishes — you'll never miss the oil. This trick also works well when re-hydrating dried fruits such as apricots, raisins, dried fruit blends, cranberries, and cherries, for a savory dish like soup, stuffing, or rice pilaf.

Italian Salad Dressing:
Cut half the fat by using a package of dry Italian salad dressing mix and substituting seasoned chicken broth with roasted garlic for half of the oil. Chill until thickened.

Hamburger Patties:
Make your hamburger patties plumper and juicier by adding 1/4 cup beef broth and 1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs for every pound of ground beef. Also great with ground turkey.

Cranberry Trifile

You will need a large glass container to arrange the trifle in - I used one on a pedestal.

While you make the 2 liquid ingredients thaw the pound cake, cut it into thirds and then cubes - keeping each third separate since you will make three levels.

Make sugar-free, fat-free vanilla pudding, once made fold in about 1 1/2 cups fat free cool whip. Set aside.

Grate the peel of two oranges and place in boiling pot. Cut all the peel and pith from the oranges then cut the slices from the orange then squeeze the juice out. Toss the skin etc. Add one bag of cranberries and 1 cup Splenda and bring to a boil. The berries will pop as they cook. Add 1/8 teaspoon of ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon allspice. It takes about 15-20 minutes. Cool to about room temp. before the next step.

Once it is all ready it is time to compile. Place 1/3 of the cake in the bottom, pour 1/3 cranberry mixture over that and then 1/3 whipped pudding mixture over that. Continue until last layer is done. I sprinkled a couple of raw cranberries on top to pretty it up.

Healthy Green Beans

lb fresh beans prepped for cooking
chicken broth, as needed
1 T Better than Bullion HAM flavor
2 t Thyme
2 t - 1 T Olive oil
1 bay leaf
l Red Onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic

Saute sliced onion in a little less than 1 tablespoon of the oil with a clove of crushed garlic. (I also sprayed the pan with nonstick spray). Cook the onion until carmelized and then sprinkle with the thyme and set aside. In a pot place the beans, bay leaf and bullion and enough chicken broth to just cover the beans. Boil until the consistency you desire - I like them soft.

Once beans are done, discard the broth and the leaf and add beans to the onion and toss.

Serve.

Starbucks Style Vanilla Milk

1 cup non-fat milk
1/2 to 1 t vanilla (to taste)
1 packet Splenda

Microwave until very hot. Add 10 mini marshmallows and nuke again for a few seconds or top with 1-2 tablespoons of whipped cream.

Crab Wontons AKA Crab Rangoon

cooking spray
2 tsp olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 medium scallions, minced
2 T snow peas, chopped
6 oz canned crab meat, drained
4 oz light cream cheese
2 t low-sodium soy sauce
24 items wonton wrapper(s), half of a 12 oz package

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, scallions and snow peas and saute until just tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in crab meat, cream cheese and soy sauce with a wooden spoon; mix gently to combine.

Place wonton wrappers on a flat surface. Drop crab mixture by teaspoonfuls onto the center of each wrapper. Dip a finger into water and use it to moisten edges of wrapper; fold over one corner of wrapper to make a triangle and press sides together to seal.

Transfer filled wontons to prepared baking sheet and coat with cooking spray. Bake until wontons are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Yields 4 pieces of crab rangoon per serving.

Serve with reduced-sodium soy sauce mixed with chopped scallions or prepared sweet-and-sour or duck sauce, if you want.

Hummus

When you serve it pour just a touch of good quality olive oil on the top and a black olive.
Serve as an appetizer along with cucumbers and pita bread.

15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained
2 cloves garlic
2 T lemon juice
1/2 t ground cumin
2 T Tahini
1/4 c chopped fresh Italian parsley, stems removed
Salt

Place garlic and parsley in a food processor, and chop fine. Add garbanzo beans, salt, cumin and lemon juice and tahini, process until smooth. Use bean liquid to thin if necessary. Serve with baked tortillas, vegetables or toasted pita bread.

Crock Pot Chicken

4 bone-in chicken breast halves (remove skin)
1 1/2 c cubed potatoes
1 1/2 c baby carrots
1/2 med onion, coarsely chopped
1 pkg Chicken Gravy Mix
1/2 c water
1/2 t Thyme
1/8 t Ground Sage
1/2 t Salt
1/2 c non-fat sour cream

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place potatoes, carrots and onion in slow cooker. Top with chicken, overlapping slightly. Mix the Gravy Mixes, thyme, sage and salt in small bowl. Pour mixture over chicken and vegetables. Cover. Cook for 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.

Place chicken and vegetables on platter or in large bowl. Whisk sour cream into drippings in pot; pour over chicken and vegetables.

Corn Chowder

Add a salad and some good bread and it's a meal! This is a fast recipe using frozen corn but if you want to take the time to roast the corn and/or caramelize the onions in a skillet first go ahead.

10 oz package frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 c cubed, peeled potato
1/2 c chopped onion
1/3 c water
1 t instant chicken bouillon granules or ham bouillon
1/8 t pepper
1 1/2 c fat-free milk
2 T non-fat dry milk powder
2 T flour
1/4 c fat-free milk
1 T cooked turkey bacon pieces or package bacon bits
shredded Cheddar Cheese

In a large saucepan, stir together potato, onion, water, chicken or ham bouillon, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes or just until the corn and potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, then add corn. Heat for a few minutes then stir in the 1-1/2 cups milk.

In a small bowl, stir together dry milk powder and flour. Gradually stir in the 1/4 cup milk until mixture is smooth. Stir milk-flour mixture into corn mixture in saucepan. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more.

To serve, ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle with bacon pieces and a little fat free cheese. (If you would rather not use either of these sprinkle with a little paprika and/or cilantro.)

Makes 4 side-dish servings.

Nutritional Claims Explained

You really have to know and understand this information if you want to know what you are eating and control your diet - so here goes:

Low ...
-fat: Contains no more than 3 grams of fat per serving. Tip: Watch portion size. If the claim is based on choosing a serving such as 8 crackers and you eat twice that amount, then the product would no longer be low in fat.
-calorie: No more than 40 calories per serving
-cholesterol: No more than 20 mg per serving
-sodium: No more than 140 mg per serving

Low in saturated fat: Contains no more than 2 grams of saturated fat and not more than 15% of the calories are from saturated fat. Tip: This doesn’t mean a food is low in total fat.

Fat- free: Contains no more than 0.5 grams total fat and not more than 0.2 grams saturated fat and 0.2 grams of trans fat.

"Free": For example: Calorie-, fat-, or sodium-free. The food contains and insignificant amount of that specific item. Be aware though that eating double, triple of more or that food may negate the "Free" element.

Trans fat free: Contains no more than 0.2 grams of trans fat. Tip: This doesn’t mean a food is low in total fat.

Cholesterol free: No more than 3 milligrams of cholesterol per 100 grams of product and it must also meet the definition of “low in saturated fat” which doesn’t mean it is low in total fat. Tip: Cholesterol is only found in animal products such as dairy and meat products as well as some fish and shellfish. All plant products are “naturally” cholesterol free.

Low calorie: No more than 15 calories per serving. Tip: Many low calorie foods may also be low in nutrients.

Calorie reduced: No more than half the calories of the same food in its usual state or 25% lower fat. Tip: This doesn’t mean a food is low calorie!

Light: The term “light” on a label can have many different meanings. For example, light can refer to the colour, texture or taste of the food and have nothing to do with its calorie content. If “light” is part of the common name of the food (i.e. Light Microwave Popping Corn, Light Mayonnaise Dressing) then the product has to be lower in calories than the same product not marked light (i.e. Regular Microwave Popping Corn, Regular Mayonnaise Dressing). This must be clearly stated on the label, for example, 50% of the calories of our regular mayonnaise. Tip: If the term light is not defined on the label, assume it has nothing to do with fat or calories. BUT Basically "Light" food contains 33% less calories or 50% less fat than the regular version (and may contain 50% less sodium).

Lean: The seafood, meat or poultry contains less than 10 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat and 95 mg cholesterol per 3 ounce serving.

Extra Lean: The seafood, meat or poultry contains less than 5 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat and 95 mg cholesterol per 3 ounces servings.

Strawberry Mousse

1 pkg fat free cream cheese & 1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat these together until well blended and set aside.

1/2 c boiling water
1 4-serving pkg Strawberry flavored sugar-free low calorie Jell-O
1/2 c cold water
2 c fat free whipped topping
2 c sliced strawberries

Stir gelatin into boiling water until dissolved completely. Add cold water and stir until slightly thickened. Gradually add the cream cheese mixture and beat until blended then gently stir in 1 1/2 cups of the topping and the strawberries.

Spoon into dishes and refrigerate for about an hour if you can take it. Top with a dollop of the remaining whipped cream.

Mushroom "Nachos"

16 large fresh mushrooms, stems removed
Olive oil spray
1/4 t chili powder
1/2 c fat-free refried beans
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/3 c reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
16 black olive slices

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Put mushrooms stem side down on a nonstick baking sheet. Lightly spray tops with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with chili powder. Turn mushrooms over and spread 1 teaspoon beans over cavity of each mushroom. Place a cherry tomato cut side up on beans; slightly press tomato into beans to secure it. Sprinkle with cheese and top with olive slices.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until warmed through.

PER SERVING Calories 31Total Fat 0 g Fiber 1 g

Tomato & Goat Cheese Sandwich

A couple of tips: freshly ground pepper makes a world of difference, as does good quality balsamic vinegar.

4 ounces goat cheese, softened
8 slices sourdough bread about 1 inch thick (1 ounce per slice)(or some rustic type bread)
2 large ripe tomatoes
2 sprigs of fresh oregano or fresh basil
Freshly ground pepper
Balsamic vinegar
Scant 1/4 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

Slice cheese into eight pieces and spread on bread. Remove and discard seeds from tomatoes, then cut tomatoes into 1/4-inch slices, then put the tomatoes on cheese. Sprinkle with oregano leaves. Grind pepper over each sandwich and drizzle sparingly with vinegar. Top each sandwich with about 3 drops olive oil.

PER SERVING: Calories 249 Total Fat 8 g Fiber 3 g

Tomato Salad

Tomatoes
GOOD quality Balsamic Vinegar - flavored if you wish
GOOD quality Olive Oil - flavored if you wish
Sea Salt
Peppercorn, freshly ground

Use a clean mason jar to make this salad. Drop into mason jar tomatoes chopped into chunks. Sprinkle with sea salt & pepper. Add enough vinegar that the tomatoes are about half way covered and then add oil. Amounts of these will be according to how much tomato you use. Remember: use more vinegar than oil. The oil should be used sparingly. I made this with cinnamon flavored vinegar and a berry flavored olive oil and it was superb. I also have made it with basil flavored olive oil and tarragon flavored vinegar.

Place lid on tightly and shake vigorously. Let stand at room temperature and serve at room temp.

Crazy Soup

Prep work is the most time consuming. Each person will choose to add or not to their bowl of soup. Gives everyone the ability to make it to their unique tastes. I choose the garnishes according to what's available fresh, how I feel (Mexican, Italian, etc.)

Heat sufficient quantity of chicken stock for serving guests. The best on the market I think is Wolfgang Puck's Chicken Stock.

Garnishes:
Crushed baked tortilla chips Jalapeno, Diced Fine
sour cream
Avocados, diced
Chopped green onion or diced red onion
Shredded low fat Monterrey jack cheese or crumbled Mexican Queso Fresco
Lime wedges
Cilantro, fresh chopped
Tomatoes, diced
Cumin Powder
Red Pepper, flakes

Chicken breast halves, cooked and diced.

Anything you like! Let your imagination go CRAZY!

Delicious Popovers

1/2 c plus 2 T self rising flour
2/3 c skim milk
Egg whites (in a carton type equal to 2 eggs-usually a little more than what the container says)*
1/4 c cheddar-sharp, Colby’s 75% reduced fat
2 T Parmesan (fresh not canned!)
pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 t ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk all ingreds together except cheddar. Divide batter into 4 muffing tins and sprinkle cheddar on top. Bake for 15 minutes, lower temp to 350 degrees 15 minutes longer. I have also made it with the cheese mixed in - works fine that way too.
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Breakfast Popovers

Same ingreds minus cheeses, pepper & cayenne. Add instead pinch of cinnamon and packet of splenda.

*can use eggbeaters but double the instructions for what one large egg equals in other words equal to 4 eggs instead of 2 eggs should be put into the batter.

Artichoke & Hearts of Palm Side Dish

8 oz canned artichoke hearts, canned in water
8 oz hearts of palm, drained
2 T fat free or low calorie Italian salad dressing
3 T canned pimento
1/2 medium lemon

Quarter artichokes and slice hearts of palm into 1/2 inch circles and place both in bowl. Sprinkle chopped pimentos on top. In a dish, squeeze the juice from the lemon and mix with 2 tbsp of Italian dressing. Pour over the artichokes and hearts of palm. Marinate at least an hour.

Cucumber Salad

1 cucumber
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup water
2/3 tsp salt

Peel cucumber and slice into circles. (To give the cucumber slices a scalloped edge, score thepeeled cucumber with a fork lengthwise before slicing.)

Mix remaining ingredients and pour mixture over cucumber slices which have been placed in a bowl. Cover and let sit in refrigerator for a day before serving.

Optional - add some sliced onions or sprinkle with splenda or sugar (LIGHTLY) for a touch of sweet to the vinegar.

This recipe will stay fresh for a week at least and it has zero points!