Saturday, January 17, 2009

Monkey Bread

4 tubes biscuit dough, cut in fourths

1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
(may need more)

Grease a bundt or angelfood cake pan, then place pieces in pan.

1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. brown sugar

Boil on medium for 2-3 minutes, being careful not to burn. Pour over biscuits. Bake on 350* for 25 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in pan, then turn out.

Glaze:
1/3 c. butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-4 T. hot water

Melt butter in saucepan, blend in sugar and vanilla, stir in water 1 T. at a time until right consistency.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Beefy Italian Pizza Sandwiches

3/4 lb. 93% lean ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 1/2 c. tomato-basil pasta sauce
1 16 oz. loaf italian bread
1 1/2 c. shredded reduced fat Italian cheese blend

Preheat broiler. Brown beef and onion, add sauce. Cook 1 minute or until heated through. Cut bread loaf in half, horizontally; hollow out center of each half, leaving 1-inch thick shell. Place bread halves on baking sheet; broil 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon meat mixture into bread halves; top with cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts. Cut each half into 4 pieces.

Serving size: 1 open-faced sandwich, 6 points each.

No Pudge Brownies

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 egg whites (this is for cake like brownies and is optional)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt (a 6 oz. container, Dannon works best)
nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix all dry ingredients. Add yogurt and mix well. Batter will be very thick. Spray an 8x8 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread batter evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove and cool. Dip a knife in warm water and cut into 16 squares. 2 pts. each.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Rice Pilaf

2 cups jasmine rice
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 1/2 c. chicken broth

Seasonings (to taste)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
cayenne pepper
celery salt

Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium high heat. Add rice and cook a few minutes until slightly browned. Add celery and onion and cook a few minutes until celery/onion are soft. Add chicken broth and seasonings. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and cover. Let cook for 18-20 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Do not remove cover at all during cooking. Fluff with fork and let stand an additional 5 minutes.

Makes approx. 8 1-cup servings - 4 pts. each.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Italian Turkey Burgers

5 points per burger

* 1 spray cooking spray
* 1 pound lean ground turkey
* 1/3 cup onions, chopped
* 2 tsp. minced garlic
* 2 tsp. fennel seed
* 1/2 tsp. table salt
* 1/4 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
* 4 sprays olive oil cooking spray
* 2 small tomatoes, ripe, yellow and/or red, thinly sliced
* 1 cup basil, fresh, leaves, torn or thinly shredded
* 4 reduced-calorie hamburger rolls

Coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray; preheat to medium-high.

In a large mixing bowl, combine turkey, onion, garlic, fennel seed, salt and pepper; form into four 1/2-inch-thick patties. Coat burgers and inside of rolls with cooking spray.

Grill burgers for 5 minutes; flip burgers and add rolls to grill. Grill open-face rolls until lightly charred, about 1 to 2 minutes; remove to serving plates. Grill burgers until cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

To serve, top grilled rolls with tomato slices and burgers; garnish with basil.