Whip It Up Week #8

I almost forgot about Whip It Up this week! But fear not, I came home tonight and thought that I would throw a little something together from weightwatchers.com. I had a lot of zucchini in the house, so I made Zucchini Fries!

Ingredients:

4 sprays olive oil cooking spray

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp table salt

3/4 cup dried bread crumbs, panko-variety suggested

2 medium zucchini, about 7-inches each, cut into 4 chunks, then each chunk halved

2 large egg whites, whipped until frothy

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together Italian seasoning, flour and salt. Place bread crumbs in another small bowl.

Dredge a zucchini fry in flour mixture and then dip into egg whites; dredge in bread crumbs. Place coated zucchini on prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining ingredients; liberally coat with cooking spray.

Roast, turning once, until desired crispness, about 12 minutes. Yields about 8 fries per serving (2 WW points per serving).

NOTES: I could have sworn that we had panko or bread crumbs in our house, but when I got home, I couldn't find any. Doh! But don't fear, I ended up crushing croutons that we had in the house and used them instead of panko. Because the croutons were herb-flavored, I decided to leave out the Italian seasoning.

I ran out of croutons and didn't crush them as much as I would have liked, or else I think that the "bread topping" would be more uniform. But still, YUM!!!

Difficulty level: Easy and it only takes minutes to prepare!!

Taste: Holy crap these were good. For something that is so low in calories, you would think that you were eating something unhealthy. CP wasn't around to taste-test these babies, but I am pretty sure that he would be all over these!

Would I make it again: Most definitely. I felt as if I was eating tasty fried goodness. But when I was done with them, I didn't have any guilt!! This dish is highly recommended!!

Whip it Up Week #7

CP and I had a ridonkulous number of cucumbers from our CSA this week, so I decided to make Thai Cucumber Salad for Whip It Up Week #6. We had a fantastic recipe for this before our move, but sadly the recipe is no where to be found. I found this recipe on CookingLight.com.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon chopped dry-roasted peanuts

Directions

Place the cucumber slices in a colander; sprinkle with salt. Toss well. Drain 1 hour. Place cucumber slices on several layers of paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Rinse and pat dry.

Combine vinegar, water, sugar, and pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 10 minutes). Remove vinegar reduction from heat; cool. Stir in onion.

Combine cucumbers and vinegar reduction in a medium bowl; toss well. Sprinkle with peanuts.

NOTES: Instead of the red onion, I used a shallot. Although you may be tempted to skip the first part of this recipe (salting the cucumbers and draining them) to save time, I would argue that unless you are going to eat the whole dish all at once, this part is pretty important. Otherwise, after putting the dish in the fridge the cucumbers will drain water and the vinegar "sauce" will be watered down.

Poor Blackberry photo of the salad

A serving (3/4 cup) of this dish is only 76 calories!

Difficulty level: Easy

Taste: Really good. The salty peanuts mixed with the crunch of the cucumber and the sugary-tartness of the "sauce" mixes well together.

Would I make it again: Definitely. It is easy to pack as a side salad for lunch and low in calories!

Whip it Up Week #6

This week I decided to try to make something from the Eat Better America website- "Healthified" Cream Cheese Brownies.

Ingredients
Filling
1 package (8 oz) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla

Brownies
1 box (1 lb 2.3 oz) Betty Crocker® fudge brownie mix
1/4 cup canola oil or unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup water
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in remaining filling ingredients until well blended.

2. In large bowl, stir brownie mix, oil, water, 4 egg whites and 1 teaspoon vanilla with spoon until well blended. Spread in pan.

3. Spoon filling mixture over brownie batter in pan. Cut through filling mixture and batter with knife several times for marbled design. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

4. Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in brownie 2 inches from side of pan comes out clean or almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. For 24 brownies, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

NOTES: I used a product called Truvia instead of sugar. I'm not sure how I first heard of it, but CP and I found it at Whole Foods. It has 0 calories and can be used instead of sugar in recipes.

Each brownie is only 160 calories with 6 grams of fat! Using Truvia probably cuts down on the calorie count too.

Difficulty level: Easy

Taste: Great! It was my first time using stevia instead of sugar and I wasn't sure if it would be sweet enough. I couldn't tell that they were lower fat at all!

Would I make it again: Definitely. I plan on bringing these into work (so that I don't eat too many!). I'm sure that my coworkers are going to go nuts over them! Despite the fact that they were lower fat, CP had rave reviews. :-)

Whip it up week #5

This week I decided to make Blueberry Cobbler! The CSA gave us fresh blueberries so why not put them in a yummy dessert??

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbs sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbs cornstarch
¼ cup water
4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 egg
¼ cup milk
Vanilla ice cream

Directions

For topping, in a medium bowl stir together flour, the 2 tbs sugar, baking powder, and if desired, cinnamon. Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

For filling, combine 2/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, water, and blueberries in a saucepan. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Keep filling hot.

In a small bowl stir together the egg and milk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just to moisten. Transfer filling to a 2-quart square baking dish. Using a spoon, immediately drop topping into small mounds atop filling.

Bake cobbler in a 400 oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till a wooden toothpick inserted into topping comes out clean. Serve warm with ice cream.

Difficulty level: Easy

Taste: Great! It wasn't too sweet. The vanilla ice cream was the perfect addition to the dish. CP gobbled it up!

Would I make it again: Definitely. I might cut down on the "topping" part as it is seriously tasty, but at times a bit much if you don't get enough blueberries in the same bite.

Whip It Up Week #4

I have yet to stick to the Whip It Up “theme” for the week, but decided to change that last night! The theme for this week was “healthy recipes” so I bet you are surprised that I made Banana “Ice Cream.” :-)

Ingredients:

5 bananas
¼ cup skim milk

Directions:

Cut up five bananas and put in Ziplock bag to freeze overnight.

The next day, using a food processor (a blender DOES NOT have enough power), add the bananas and pulse to break them up into smaller pieces. Add in the milk. Run processor for about five minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

NOTES: The original recipe didn’t call for skim milk but because my processor was having a problem with the sticky bananas, I decided to try to make it a little smoother. It seemed to do the job. If your processor seems to be having problems cutting up the frozen bananas, stick the big pieces of banana in the microwave and heat for 20 seconds.

Difficulty level: Easy

Taste: It tastes like….bananas. I know, shocker, huh? The milk added a bit of creaminess to the “ice cream” and I thought that it tasted fine. CP put fresh raspberries on top of his dish and thought that it was still a bit boring. I tried the “ice cream” with peanut butter (just okay), fresh blueberries (again, just okay) and sugar free vanilla ice cream. The vanilla ice cream was a nice complement to the banana taste and I really enjoyed eating them together!

Would I make it again: I might. FI wants to see if we can figure out how to make it into a sorbet so that he finds it a bit more interesting…..

**For some reason Blogger is not allowing me to post the picture of the ice cream right now. I will try to get it up tonight!**

Whip it up week #3

This week I decided to try to make Olive-Thyme Foccacia!

Ingredients

2 cups tepid water
½ tsp sugar
1 envelope active, dry yeast
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
2 tbs minced thyme
1 ½ tbs olive oil
½ cup black olives, pitted

Directions

Put tepid water in a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar and yeast. Leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes until it starts to froth.

Mix the flour, salt and half the thyme together in a large bowl, then add the oil. Make a hole in the center and pour in the yeast mix. Stir with a wooden spoon, gradually taking in the flour from the sides until thoroughly combined. Knead into a firm dough that leaves the sides of the bowl clean.

Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen-towel and put somewhere warm to double in size.

Turn the dough out onto a greased baking sheet and punch it down, spreading it with your fingers or a flour-dusted rolling pin, to make a rectangular shape.

Brush the top with extra olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining thyme. Poke regular indentations in the top of the dough and push olives in them.

Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for about 35 minutes, or until the top is just turning golden-brown.

Difficulty level: Medium

Taste: I am not a fan of olives so that is why you only see them on half of the foccacia bread. I am wondering if the recipe doesn't call for a lot of salt because of the salt in the olives?? Unfortunately both my side AND CP's side needed more salt. I think that it would have been nice to top the foccacia with kosher or sea salt and the thyme.

Would I make it again: Probably. It was my first time making foccacia so now that I know to add more salt, I think that it could be really tasty. I wasn't expecting it to make so much so only make this recipe if you want a lot of foccacia! :-)

Whip It Up- Week #2

CP and I decided to whip up some yummy food for the Fourth of July weekend with friends. CP made goat meat sausage and an Italian-style sausage. Both were delicious! Meanwhile, I decided to use my new baking pan received at my bridal shower to make.....Lemon Bread!

Ingredients
6 tbsp shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon zest
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup powdered sugar

NOTE: I did not put walnuts in.

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. In a large bowl, cream shortening, sugar and eggs together until light and fluffy. Add milk and flour mixture alternately in two parts; mix well.

Stir in the grated lemon zest and walnuts. Pour batter into greased and floured loaf pan, baked at 350 for 45-60 minutes.

Cool bread in pan for 5 minutes. Mix together powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze. Pour glaze over warm bread.

NOTES: I used our new Kitchen Aid mixer to whip together the shortening, sugar and eggs. I love it! Also, when you pour the batter into the pan, it doesn't fill up the entire pan. Don't worry- it rises!

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture before people dug in!!

Difficulty level: Easy

Taste: Great! It was a big hit! Lots of compliments on the dish.

Would I make it again: Most definitely!

Happy day

Today is the day that I have been waiting for.

The past three months have all been for this day.

My LAST DAY OF WORK in DC.

Today is the last day of being bored out of my skull. Of perusing The Knot. Of checking out people’s updates on Facebook. Of logging onto Holly's Inbox. Of waiting for Jonathan Lee Riches © to write more funny lawsuits. And of clicking on my Google Reader in hopes that someone else posted something for me to read.

It is the last day that I have to deal with my crazy boss. The last day of feeling bad for my coworkers because I get to leave this h*llhole filled with toxic mold and they do not.

Tonight is the last night that I will sleep alone in a bed (at least until CP’s bachelor party). The last night that I will have to fend for myself for dinner. The last night that I don’t get a big hello from Fuzzy Britches after arriving home from work. The last night that I don't have the tools I need to make delicious dishes for Whip It Up.

Tomorrow I drive back to our home in MA. I hope for no traffic, despite the holiday coming up on Friday.

Happy days!!!! :-)

Whip it Up- Week #1

This is the first week of Whip it Up 2009!

This week I decided to try a recipe for Curried Corn Soup! I am obsessed with corn and even though it is hot out these days, I can always eat soup!

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
2 tsp curry powder
4 cups fat-free chicken broth
4 pieces corn on the cob (about 3 cups)
1/2 pound uncooked red potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 2 large potatoes)
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cilantro or scallion, chopped
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup tomato, diced

NOTES: I added about two cups of cooked chicken to the recipe for some protein. I also decided to use scallions, instead of cilantro.


Instructions:
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion; cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add broth, corn, potatoes, lemon juice and salt to saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes; remove from heat.

In a blender, food processor or using an immersion blender, puree mixture (in batches if necessary), until smooth. Strain soup through a fine mesh sieve into a large serving bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids.

To serve, stir cilantro or scallions into soup. Top each serving with 2 teaspoons each of yogurt and tomato. Garnish with additional chopped cilantro or scallions, if desired. Serve hot or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.

NOTES: Since I am still in DC, I don't have access to a blender, food processor or an immersion blender. No biggie! When the 20 minutes of simmering was up, I put the scallions in, topped it off with yogurt and served!






Difficulty Level: Easy

Taste: This wasn't an amazing soup, but it tasted good enough. Plus it is really low in calories and fat!! To add more flavor I would use some of CP's chicken stock as opposed to canned chicken broth, I would add a bit more salt, and probably a bit more curry. However, it was a filling soup that I enjoyed eating!

Would I make it again: If I was the only person eating it, then yes. I don't think that CP would find this dish exciting enough though. :-)