Here's something yummy to do with the excess dough: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Lay the pie crust pieces on the prepared baking sheet, brush them with melted butter, sprinkle them liberally with cinnamon-sugar, and bake them in your already pre-heated 425 deg. oven for 5-7 minutes, or until they're just starting to brown. If you really want to go over-the-top, you can mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of your left-over melted butter, a couple drops vanilla, and enough milk to make the icing drizzle-able. Then you can drizzle the icing over everything (like dessert nachos), or you can dip them in the icing (like dessert chips-and-dip). Waste not, want not! :)
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Swiss and Caramelized Onion Tarts
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Stopping a slippery cutting board
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Coconut Curry Soup
This is also one of the recipes from my book. One of my recipe testers said her kids freaked out because it was orange, but once they tasted it they loved it (at least "liked" it). Her toddler even wanted seconds.
I use frozen cauliflower because 1. I hate cutting cauliflower, 2. It's easy to have on hand in the freezer, 3. In the soup you can't tell whether it was fresh or frozen. Win-win, I say :) Slightly thaw the cauliflower to make chopping it easier.
You'll also notice I specifically say to not use light coconut milk. Light coconut milk isn't worth using, and for the amount called for in this soup, go with the regular. You'll be much happier with the finished soup. Also, 1 1/2 cups of the soup only has 256 cal, 9g fat, 6g fiber, and is 5 Weight Watcher's points. Yeah, use the regular coconut milk.
Printable Recipe
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 small onion, diced
1 medium carrot, scraped and grated
1 tablespoon hot curry powder (or regular curry powder)
1 32-oz carton chicken broth (4 cups)
1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen cauliflower florets, coarsely chopped
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast (about 6 tenders)
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut milk (not light) (1/2 of a 13.5 oz can)
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1. Heat a large pot over medium heat until hot. Add the oil and let it heat for about 10 seconds. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until the onion is just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and curry powder; cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Makes 6-8 servings.
1 cup = 171 cal/6g fat/4g fiber/3 WW points
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Roasted Vegetable Frittata
4 eggs
2. Spray an 8-inch, non-stick, oven-proof skillet (remove the rubber handle cover) with non-stick spray and heat it over medium heat until hot. Add the vegetables and warm them through, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the feta evenly over the vegetables.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Roasted Vegetable Soup
This is one of the 2-fers I made with left-over Roasted Vegetables. A great bonus to using the left-over veggies in this soup is the squash and mushrooms don't get mushy or slimy because the texture was altered by the roasting. This super-low fat soup is the perfect accompaniment to a sandwich or salad (or both), or a delicious light meal when paired with some lovely bread. And it's so fresh and healthy tasting, feel free to have a giant bowl of ice cream afterward :)
Roasted Vegetable Soup
Printable Recipe
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and 1/8-inch sliced
2 ribs celery, 1/8-inch sliced
1 cup roasted red bell pepper (from 12 oz jar), chopped
2 cups left-over Roasted Vegetables
6 cups chicken broth
1. Heat a large pot over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the oil and let it heat for 10 seconds. Add the carrots, celery, and salt, and cook, stirring often, until they've softened, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes, and cook 2 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, red bell pepper, left-over veggies, and chicken broth. Bring the soup to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and maintain a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
Makes 6-8 servings (maybe 10 if side-dish servings).
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Roasted Vegetables
Notes: I used both whole garlic and pressed garlic. The whole cloves are awesome mashed up and spread on french bread; This recipe makes enough to serve the veggies with your meal, make a pot of soup, and make a frittata. If you want fewer veggies, simply cut the amounts in half.
2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise, and cut in 1/4-inch pieces
1. Heat your oven to 425 and spray 2 rimmed baking sheets with non-stick spray.
2. In a very large bowl, combine all of the vegetables and the olive oil, and mix well to coat the vegetables evenly with the oil. Add the salt and pepper, and mix well.
3. Divide the vegetables evenly between the prepared baking sheets, and spread them to an even, single layer. You can probably cram them all onto one baking sheet, but then they will steam in the water they release instead of roasting.
4. Roast the vegetables for 50-60 minutes, or until they are nicely browned.
**If you have one oven, adjust your oven racks to the 2nd and 4th position, and rotate the pans every 15 minutes. I have two ovens, but I did it this way to make sure it could be done.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Chocolate Rocks
Here I've use the chocolate rocks to make an "S" on Sophie's 6 year-old Island Volcano Birthday Cake, and to randomly decorate the volcano and beach. Aren't they cute? They are such a super touch, and kids always want to make sure they get a piece of cake with "rocks" on it.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Red Beans and Rice
1 lb dry small red beans
2 1/2-3 teaspoons Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning
hot cooked rice
1. The night before, sort, pick-over, and rise the dry beans. Put the beans in a large pot and cover them with water by 4 inches. Cover the pot and soak the beans until morning.
Makes 6-8 servings.