I forgot this one in the weekly chat. With it being this close to T-day I thought I had better get it up here. Especially since its perfect!!


Sweet Potato Gnocchi W/ Sage Sauce Recipe


Makes 8 servings


This is so good. Serve it either with Turkey breast or Pork loin chops.

Ingredients
8 tablespoons semolina flour (see note)
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
2 medium eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp sage
2/3 cup skim milk
1 ground black pepper
Directions

1. Evenly dust 2 baking sheets with 2 tablespoons of the semolina flour.

2. .Place the sweet potatoes in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 12 minutes, or until tender. Drain and place in a large bowl. Mash until smooth. Let cool for about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the egg substitute, thyme, salt, and nutmeg. Add 1/ 2 cup of the all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, and the remaining 6 tablespoons semolina flour. Mix well. Shape the dough into a ball and divide into 8 portions.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 portion of the dough at a time into a 1/4" x 16" rope. Cut into 1" pieces. Place the pieces on the prepared baking sheets as they are cut.

5. In a large saucepan over high heat, bring the broth and sage to a boil. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until reduced by one-third. Reduce the heat to medium. In a small bowl, whisk together the creamer and the remaining 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour. Whisk into the broth. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, or until thickened. Season with the pepper. Keep warm over low heat.

6. Cook the gnocchi in a large pot of boiling water for 45 seconds to 1 minute, or until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to the saucepan with the sauce. Stir into the sauce until well-coated.

7. Recipe Tips

8. Semolina flour is milled from the heart (or endosperm) of durum wheat. Also called pasta flour, it is favored for use in pasta, pizza, and gnocchi dough. Look for semolina flour in the baking section of large supermarkets and Italian grocery stores. If you can't find it, all-purpose flour can be substituted.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 142.5g

Calories 185
Calories from Fat 26
Total Fat 2.9g
Saturated Fat 1.3g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 51mg
Sodium 266mg
Total Carbohydrates 31.9g
Dietary Fiber 3.2g
Sugars 1.6g
Protein 7.5g

THE BEST way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. OMG. I love this recipe so much.

Mushroom and Turkey Casserole
from Cooking Light

Ingredients
* 1 (6-ounce) package long-grain and wild rice (such as Uncle Ben's)
* 1 ounce French bread or other firm white bread, cubed (or 1/2 C packaged breadcrumbs, which is what I usually use)
* 1 tablespoon butter, melted and divided
* 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
* 1 1/2 cups chopped cooked turkey
* 1 cup turkey gravy (I use Heinz canned fat free turkey gravy)
* 1/2 cup 2% low-fat milk (I use skim)
* 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* Cooking spray
* 3/4 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce

Preheat oven to 325°.

Prepare rice according to package directions, omitting fat and seasoning packet. Set aside.

While rice cooks, place bread in a food processor; pulse 15 times or until fine crumbs measure 1/2 cup. Add 1 teaspoon butter to processor; pulse until combined. Add cheese to processor, and pulse until combined.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of butter, onion, garlic, and mushrooms; sauté 7 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in turkey and next 7 ingredients (through pepper). Add cooked rice; stir.

Spoon rice mixture into a 1 1/2-quart casserole (an 11x7 pan works well) coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with cranberry sauce.

Yield: 6 servings. Serving size is about 1C casserole and 2 Tbsp cranberry sauce.

Nutritional Information
Calories:
363 (27% from fat)
Fat:
10.8g (sat 6g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.8g)
Protein:
23g
Carbohydrate:
44.3g
Fiber:
1.9g
Cholesterol:
62mg
Iron:
2.6mg
Sodium:
766mg
Calcium:
268mg

Jessica - that looks great. I wish I had seen it before my Thanksgiving leftovers were gone!

Chicken/Shrimp Curry

1 lb chicken breasts (about 4) or shrimp, cleaned & deveined
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes (or fresh, chopped)
1/2 c coconut milk (I use Trader Joe's light for fewer calories)
1/2 c minced cilantro
1-2 T lemon juice
cooked rice

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. In a bowl combine chicken (or shrimp), curry, garam masala, garlic and olive oil. Let sit for a few minutes.

In a heated skillet, cook chicken until almost done. Add tomatoes and coconut milk. Cook until chicken is done and sauce is slightly thickened. Add cilantro and lemon juice.

Serve over hot cooked rice.

Serves 4-5. I evaluated this and for 4 servings it is about 290 calories plus about 200 for a cup of rice. It's really easy, too!

Allison, this is right up my alley-- where do I find garam masala? I have all the other ingr. including a can of t.j. light coc. milk that has been waiting for the right recipe!!

Garam Masala is in the spice aisle--it's a mixture of a bunch of spices including cinnamon. I think Spice Island is the brand I bought. Schilling didn't have it.

You can also get garam masala at Cost Plus World Market, it's pretty cheap there.

Thx chicks

I had to make a trip to the big city to find it - not many Indian food eaters in our little rural burg.

I suppose you could always order it from Penzy's.

Okay, I was skeptical of this recipe when I made it last night, but it was actually really tasty, healthy, filling, and easy. Woohoo! I'm writing it down here from memory the way I made it, which was slightly different from the original recipe (I used less oil and didn't measure out my chopped veggies). You can buy kasha either at health food stores in the grain section or in the kosher section of your local supermarket.

Kasha with Squash and Chicken
from the New American Plate cookbook from the American Institute for Cancer Research, slight modifications by me

1 C kasha (buckwheat groats)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 C fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp canola or olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
2 C cubed cooked chicken
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce or to taste (original recipe called for 1 1/2, I thought it needed more)
1/2 tsp lemon juice (not in original recipe but I think it improves it)

Prepare kasha according to package directions, using egg and broth. If the package doesn't have directions, do this. Combine the kasha with the raw egg. Heat a saucepan over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add the eggy kasha and cook, stirring, until the grains separate. Add the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 10 minutes or until broth is absorbed.

Heat the oil in a nonstick pan over medium high heat. Add the vegetables and saute until tender. Add the chicken, soy sauce, and lemon juice and saute 1 minute or until chicken is heated through. Stir in the cooked kasha and serve!

Makes 4 large servings. Serving size for me was 412g.

Nutritional information per serving:
Calories - 366
Total fat - 11.2
Sat fat - 2.3
Cholesterol - 109
Sodium - 617
Total carb - 39.5
Fiber - 6.5
Protein - 29.2
Vitamin A - 24%
Vitamin C - 96%
Calcium - 5%
Iron - 16%

I promised this one months ago. Here's the base recipe - you can tweak several ways. Personally, I use a palmful of white pepper, and a full cup of jalapenos and a single habanero ... but not everybody likes it that way! I'm also on the fence about the cornstarch - I think you can get a good thickening effect from pureeing more beans.

White Lightning Chicken Chili
6 chicken breast
2 heads of garlic cut in half
1 cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup jalapeno peppers, chopped – seeded as much as you like
3 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp olive oil
3 cans chicken broth
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
¼ cup lime juice
1 tbs cornstarch
1 tbs cold water
fresh cilantro

cook chicken and heads of garlic in a 375 degree oven until juices run clean
using two forks shred chicken
squeeze 10 garlic cloves from skins and mash together with one can of beans

heat oil in pot over medium heat. Add onions and jalapeno's cook until onion is tender
add chicken, mashed bean/garlic mixture, rest of the whole beans, chicken broth, cumin and lime juice and as many remaining garlic cloves as you want. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer 25 minutes.

Combine cornstarch and water stirring until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to chili bring back to a boil and then continue cooking and stirring for 5 minutes.
Serve with cilantro (and chopped green onions and sour cream/plain yogurt)

Fish

1 pound tilapia or fish of your choice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pineapple juice or another citrus juice
juice of one lime (about 2 tablespoons)
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 teaspoon chipolte chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoon honey

Mix all ingredients (except fish) and marinate fish for 3 - 4 hours. Grill or broil the fish.

Dressing

1/2 cup yogurt (I used Fage 0% Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup mayo (I used Hellmanns Low Fat, 15 cal T)
juice of one lime (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon chipolte chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
hot sauce to taste (I used Frontera chipolte hot sauce)
little bit of honey
coarse ground black pepper

The dressing works out to 14 calories per tablespoon, .5 g fat, 2 g carbs, 1 g protein.

Serve with shredded lettuce or cabbage and whatever else sounds good!

ETA: I love that your fish taco recipe doesn't call for taco shells! I'd just take the fish, dressing, cabbage, and maybe a little avocado all piled on top of each other. Who needs a shell?

Okay, so this recipe itself isn't super-healthy, but I have to list it because it is SO EASY to doctor up to be healthier. Every time I make it I throw in massive quantities of whatever veggies I happen to have on hand. Last night it was a big bunch of chard and some frozen peas. I always double the recipe and often brown the meat beforehand (because the texture is funky if you don't). I just love this because it is such a flexible recipe.

BAKED ZITI CASSEROLE
from Cooking Light
Makes 4 servings

* 6 ounces uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta)
* 2 cups Basic Marinara
* 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
* 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded Asiago cheese, divided
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
* 6 ounces ground turkey breast
* Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.

Optionally, brown the meat. (It will cook fully if you don't brown it first, but it will have a more squishy texture.)

Combine pasta, Basic Marinara, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 2 tablespoons Asiago, salt, pepper sauce, and turkey in a large bowl. Spoon into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Asiago. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information

Calories:
362 (26% from fat)
Fat:
10.5g (sat 5.5g,mono 3.4g,poly 0.4g)
Protein:
26.3g
Carbohydrate:
41g
Fiber:
3.5g
Cholesterol:
39mg
Iron:
2.3mg
Sodium:
546mg
Calcium:
311mg