Spinach Ricotta Pie

When we first saw this recipe, we thought we would miss the crust. We didn't. YUM!!!!!

From Idiot's Guide:

Spinach and Ricotta Pie


1 10-oz package frozen spinach, finely chopped
2 Tbsp butter
4 oz prosciutto
1 clove garlic, minced
3 eggs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or Italian cheese blend, which is what I used)
1 15-oz package ricotta cheese (I used low-fat)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Cook spinach according to package directions (I microwaved it for 8 minutes on high, stirring half way through).  Drain and squeeze dry (the less water left in the spinach, the better for your pie).

3.  Chop prosciutto into small pieces (like you would dice bacon).  Heat butter in small skillet. Add prosciutto and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and remove from heat.

4.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs until lightly lemon colored (I have no idea what this means, but I beat them until fluffy, about 5 minutes with a whisk).  Gently stir in ricotta and then parmesan, trying not to flatten the eggs.  Then stir in spinach and prosciutto and mix lightly.

5.  Pour into a greased souffle dish. Bake for 50 minutes or until browning and pulling away from the sides of the dish. Cut into 8 portions to serve (or 6!?!?!).

We finished this with turkey bacon and green salad.  A really excellent meal!  I was a little doubtful about the meal being filling enough, but it definitely was - and it was a treat of Italian flavors. A definite repeat.

Boneless Buffalo Wings

One of the things that Robert misses most is wings. We occasionally splurge and get wings out, but it's difficult because so many of the sauces include a large amount of honey or sugar. We stick to the mild, medium, or hot wings, or others that aren't very saucy.  Finding recipes that allow us to make wings (boneless or otherwise) at home where we also avoid the extra fat from frying, makes this a little easier.  This is our latest attempt - we used drumsticks because that is what we had in the house, but I look forward to trying this again with chicken fingers.

From Diabetes and Heart Healthy Cookbook:

Boneless Buffalo Wings


Vegetable oil spray
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt-ree seasoned pepper blend
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (or wings or thighs or drumsticks)
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk (or skim milk, which is what I used)
1 tsp red hot-peper sauce
1 cup crushed cornflake cereal (about 2.5 cups flakes)
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil spray.

2. In a large airtight plastic bag, stir together the flour and seasoned pepper blend. Cut the chicken into 28 strips. Add to the flour mixture. Seal the bag and shake to coat.

3. Add the milk and pepper sauce.  Reseal the bag and shake gently to coat.

4. Put the cornflake crumbs in a shallow bowl. Add the chicken, turning gently to coat. Arrange the chicken in a single layer on the baking sheet. Lightly spray the chicken with vegetable oil spray.

5. Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes (45 or so for drumsticks), or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the coating is crispy.

6. Meanwhile in a medium bowl, stir together the BBQ sauce, vinegar, and honey.

7. Add the cooked chicken to the sauce, stirring gently to coat, or serve the sauce on the side.

We didn't coat the chicken because the kids were going to be eating some of this, and Robert took advantage of having the sauce on the side to add more spice - he added a few more drops of hot sauce to his.

We finished this with Cucumber-radish slaw and a green salad.

Slow-Cooker Swiss Steak

This is a great slow-cooker meal, which made last Monday really easy. Finish this with a salad and some noodles (we use tofu noodles, which have almost no carbs), and you have a quick weeknight dinner. I will warn you - this is one of those slow-cooker meals that requires a little prep work - it is not a dump the ingredients in the pan kind of meal. I counter this by doing the chopping the night before, but I still get the meat ready the morning of, and it takes me 15-20 minutes.

From Diabetes and Heart  Healthy Cookbook:

Slow-Cooker Swiss Steak


2 Tbsp wheat (or all-purpose) flour
1 tsp dried basil, crumbled
1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1.5 lbs boneless top round steak, all visible fat discarded
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I use already minced)
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1.5 cups fat-free, low-sodium spaghetti sauce (this is the small jar)
8 oz dried no-yolk egg noodles or tofu noodles
1 tsp balsamic vinegar (I usually omit this)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
shredded parmesan cheese for topping

1. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, dried basil, oregano, salt and pepper

2. Cut the beef into 6 pieces. Sprinkle half the flour mixture over one side of the beef. Using a meat tenderizer, pound the flour into the meat. Turn over. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture, pounding until all of it is absorbed into the meat.

3. Put the onion in the slow cooker. Put the meat on the onion. Sprinkle with the garlic, then with the bell pepper. Spoon the spaghetti sauce over all. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours, or until the meat is fork-tender.

4.  About 15 minutes before serving time, prepare the noodles.

5.  To serve, spoon the noodles onto plates, top with meat. Stir the vinegar into the sauce (if using). Spoon the sauce over all. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

YUM!

Cheesy Baked Eggs

This was a nice Sunday breakfast. Easy, and not too time consuming (bake for 15 minutes).  I didn't manage to have onions in the house, but used a combination of onions, green peppers and carrots as the base. I also didn't have cream, so used chicken broth (also lower in fat and in calories).  Neither Robert nor I really like egg yolks, and so to have used the entire egg with the yolk unbroken didn't really work for us.  Instead, next time I'll break the yolk, although not scramble the egg. These were tasty and a nice part of a breakfast. This morning we finished this with turkey bacon and french toast made with low carb bread.

Adapted from Idiot's Guide:

Cheesy Baked Eggs


Butter for sauteeing and for coating the individual baking dishes
1 onion, finely chopped (or green onions, which is what I used)
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup shredded carrots
salt and cayenne to taste
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
6 eggs
1/2 cup (heavy cream or) chicken broth

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Melt butter in a skillet and saute onion until tender. Butter 6 individual baking dishes and layer onions on the bottom, topped with salt, cayenne and half of the cheese.  Gently break each egg (breaking or not breaking yolks, as desired) onto cheese. Cover with chicken broth (or cream), and top with remaining cheese.

3. Cover dishes with foil and bake 15 minutes until yolks are set and whites are cooked.