Great Cooks Blogroll

Salads Made Perfect

MAC — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:50:00 +0000

During the summer I love a good salad and often make it my main dish or sometimes my complete meal. To do this I add my favorite meats.. chicken, pork, beef, seafood.? I

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Salads Made Perfect

Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies

MAC — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:27:00 +0000

As you can tell from the picture I used 4 different toppings.? I love my white chocolate so some had to be adorned with them.? Some I sprinkled with chocolate sprinkles, some with candy coated chocolate sprinkles and some with a mix of chopped peanuts and chocolate sprinkles.? These are really kid friendly cookies and with the holidays around the corner, they are perfect to add to your holiday trays and even to leave for Santa.? And don’t forget the school parties.? Think how proud your kids will be when they brag to their friends that they made the cookies.? View the recipe by going to Martha’s Recipe Cabinet .

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Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies

Sodium Content in Foods

MAC — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:04:00 +0000

Sodium Content in Foods – based on ½ cup servings Corn, Fresh – trace Corn, breakfast flakes – 126 mg. Corn, canned – 302 mg. Mushrooms, fresh – 6 mg. Mushrooms, canned – 484 mg Mushrooms, cream soup – 477 mg Peas, fresh – 2 mg Peas, frozen – 92 mg Peas, canned – 200 mg Peas, soup – 450 mg Potatoes, fresh baked (1) – 6 mg Potatoes, boxed instant – 246 mg Potatoes, frozen hash browns – 223 mg Rice, fresh – 3 mg Rice, quick processed – 383 mg Rice, breakfast cereal – 142 mg Wheat, roll berries- 1 mg Wheat, saltines (4) – 123 mg Wheat, store bread (1) – 142 mg ?

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Sodium Content in Foods

Angel Food Cupcakes

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:54 +0000

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Angel Food Cupcakes

Vinaigrette

MAC — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:21:00 +0000

Vinaigrette ¼ cup red wine vinegar 1 tsp. garlic, minced 1 tsp. Dijon style mustard 2/3 cup olive oil Black pepper In a mixing bowl, blend the garlic and mustard with the vinegar.? With a wire whisk, beat mixture while slowly adding the oil in a steady stream (this can also be made in a food processor ).? You can also add your favorite fresh or dried herbs for variations.? Makes 1 cup ?

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Vinaigrette

Girard’s Apple Poppyseed Dressing

MAC — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:01:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of being sent 4 salad dressings to try and review.? My first one to try was the Apple Poppyseed which turned out to be simply wonderful.? It’s sweet, apple flavor fits perfectly with my salad of romaine lettuce sprinkle with pecans and all of my other favorite salad fixings… noodles, apples, raisins, oranges.? One other use for the Apple Poppyseed Dressing – coconut shrimp.? It’s simply wonderful!

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Girard’s Apple Poppyseed Dressing

Nectarines – One of my Favorite Fruit.

MAC — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:20:00 +0000

SELECTION – Ripe fruit are fragrant and give, slightly, to the touch. If they are a under-ripe, leave them at room temperature for 2–3 days to ripen. Look for fruit with smooth unblemished skin. Avoid extremely hard or dull colored fruits and soft fruit with soft, wrinkled, punctured skin. STORAGE – Nectarines keep for 5 days if stored in a plastic bag in the coldest part of your refrigerator. PREPARATION – Nectarines can be used and prepared in the same ways as peaches, with no need to peel because they have no fuzz. Leave the skins on when making pies, cobblers and fresh fruit salads, etc. AVAILABILITY – California nectarines are available from late April and to late August. Almost all of the nectarines available are in California. Chiliean Nectarines are available from late December through early March. Bake peeled, halved, pitted fruit, cut-side up in a baking pan sprinkled with honey and cinnamon and cooked until tender. Grilled nectarines are a wonderful tasty treat! Be sure to brush the fruit with fruit juices and cook until it is heated through. Poached nectarines in fruit juice or wine and cook until tender…a simple, elegant way to end a meal. Nectarines make a good substitute in any recipe that calls for peaches or apricots. Puree ripe nectarines with skim milk, non-fat yogurt, or orange juice for a tasty breakfast treat Serve pancakes, waffles, or French toast with sliced or chopped nectarines. Add cut up nectarines to your favorite fruit salad. Serve baked nectarines with baked chicken or ham as delicious side dish. ?

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Nectarines – One of my Favorite Fruit.

Mushroom Rice

MAC — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:48:00 +0000

1 pkg (5.9 oz.) Rice-a-Roni (any flavor) 1 can (4 oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained 1/3 cup slivered almonds 1 carton (8 oz.) sour cream Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare rice according to package directions. Fold in mushrooms and sour cream. Place in a 3 qt. casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake 25 – 30 minutes. You can also add my favorite, a little shredded cheese during the last 5 minutes. You can also add sliced water chestnuts along with the mushrooms.

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Mushroom Rice

No-bake Nut Butter Energy Bars

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000

So this was my first attempt at homemade granola bars and I wasn’t even really sure what I was going for.? I guess now I know a little bit more clearly what I want and what I don’t want.? These are good.? I mean really, really good but I would almost hesitate to even call them granola bars.? Maybe I would call them peanut butter and oatmeal bars? I think next time I would toast the oatmeal with the nuts in the oven for a bit.? Maybe use some crisped rice and less sugar?? Hard to really tell which way I am going to go but I bet the kiddos will love this first try anyway! No-bake Nut Butter Energy Bars (adapted from Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean Cookbook) Ingredients: 1/2 cup orange blossom honey (or agave nectar) 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp butter 1-1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter) 3 cups oatmeal 2 scoops chocolate protein powder 1/2 dried cherries (briefly rehydrated in hot water), chopped (can use any dried fruit you like) 1/3 cup slivered almonds 1/2 unsalted sunflower seeds Directions: Warm the honey, butter, olive oil, and peanut butter in a saucepan until ingredients are soft enough to combine easily when mixed.? remove from heat. Add oatmeal and protein powder and mix well? Then, add dried fruits, almonds and seeds.? Mix well. Press into 9-inch square pan.? Let cool in fridge and cut into squares. ***These are good.? Really, really good but not very diet friendly!? Based on cutting the 9-inch pan into little squares and ending up with about 29 of them it is still 4 WW points.? I think you can eliminate the olive oil and butter and that would help but still didn’t decrease the overall points.? The peanut butter just is too much.? Maybe use less peanut butter and add some whole wheat flour?? Need to play around with this a bit…

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No-bake Nut Butter Energy Bars

Personal Pizzas

MAC — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 05:31:00 +0000

These little pizzas are perfect for kids to make but don’t tell them that they are actually a little healthier than most pizzas due to their crust.? These are made with Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins.? For the crust I used 1/2 of a Sandwich Thin, topped it with about a Tablespoon full of pizza sauce (you can use spaghetti sauce if you want), I topped that with cheese and then my favorite toppings – bell pepper, onion, black olives and pepperoni.? Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.? I did cover my cookie sheet with a piece of foil, to which I poured about 1 Tablespoon of oil then took a paper towel and evenly spread it around.? This gives you a little crispness to the crust. These are so good and the kids can create their own with their favorite toppings.? They are quick to make when unexpected company drops in too.? You can also use Alfredo sauce to make a chicken and/or spinach pizza.?

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Personal Pizzas