Cranberry Almond Oatmeal Bars

I have done some experimenting with substituting pumpkin puree for half the fat when baking.  It works very well and gives an extra delicious taste (and it's more nutritious).  I then wondered if I could substitute almond paste for half the fat in baking products.

Pure almond paste is made of almonds, sugar, and water.  When comparing 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp almond paste, the latter has 24 fewer calories, 13 fewer grams of total fat, 13.5 fewer grams of saturated fat, 19 more of carbs, 2 more grams of fiber, 4 more grams of protein.  Almond paste already has sugar in the product, so I cut back on the amount of sugar in the recipe.  Almond paste is soft, but don't turn to a liquid like melted butter does.  So it works well for recipes where you crumb the soft butter and flour together.   That's what I did with this recipe, so be prepared to get your hands a little messy.

Cranberry Almond Oatmeal Bars

What you'll need:
For the bottom layer:
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 2 tbsp almond paste
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 2 tbsp melted butter

For the filling:
See previous recipe: Cranberry Sauce

For the topping:
- 1/4 cup four
- 1/3 cup oats
- 2 1/2 tbsp almond paste
- 1 1/2 tbsp orange juice
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

What to do:
1.  Make Cranberry Sauce from previous post.

2.  Preheat oven to 325*F. Combine the first 8 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl.  Mix together with your hands, pinching together the ingredients to mix in the almond paste.  Mixture should look crumbs.  Add in vanilla, melted butter, and orange juice mixing constantly with a wooden spoon.  Mixture should not be dry, nor should it be really sticky.

3. Spray a 9x9 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Spread out mixture in the pan.  Top with cranberry sauce.

4.  Mix together all the ingredients for the topping and pinch together in the same manner as the first mixture.  Mixture should look like crumbs, and should be much drier than the first mixture.  Sprinkle over the cranberry mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberries are in-season right now.  Cranberries are a healthy high-fiber fruit.  Aside from their UTI-prevention properties, cranberries also contain a good amount of vitamin C, antioxidants, and phytochemicals such as anthocyanins.  They are a bit tart, so to make the sauce, you need to add some sugar.  I like to limit the sugar as much as possible, and cook the sauce for a longer period of time.  This recipe cooks for 20-25 minutes, but you can cook it for over an hour.  Just be careful not to burn it (I've certainly done that before!). 

Cranberry sauce can be used with pork dishes, turkey dishes, and in baking.  Check back for more recipes with this cranberry sauce.

Cranberry Sauce

What you'll need:
- 2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed
- 1/ 3 cup water
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- zest from 1/2 an orange (don't forget to wash the orange)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 cup, plut 1 tbsp sugar

Combine everything in a medium sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer.  Stir frequently, especially as the mixture thickens.  After the sauce has thickened, maintain heat on low and keep covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Not-So-Loaded Baked Potato Appetizer

Loaded baked potatoes can be a calorie disaster.  Excuse me, Outback Steakhouse, did you just put butter on top of the sour cream?  Both are already covering the 1/3 cup of cheese and 2 or 3 slices chopped bacon.  And that potato, how much does it weight!?  I really don't know how a loaded baked potato and 12oz steak can physically fit into one stomach in one sitting.  Ok, think I got a little off track in an Outback rant.

This appetizer is meant to taste like loaded baked potatoes, but be in smaller, more appropriate portions.  This can be served at a party, or on the side of a lean meat and green veggies for dinner.

Not-So-Loaded Baked Potato Slices

What you'll need:
- 1 large russet potato
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- a pinch of cayenne (depending on how spicy you want it)
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 4 slices bacon, chopped and cooked until crisp
- 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- salsa to top
- plain nonfat Greek yogurt to top

What to do:
1.  Preheat oven to 375*F.  Use a sharp knife to cut 1/4" thick round slices from each potato.  In a bowl, mix together the potato slices, and all ingredients through garlic powder.  Place potato slices in a single layer on a baking tray and bake for 12 minutes.

2.  Remove potato slices and top each with a few pieces of bacon and a pinch of cheese.  Return to oven for 4 minutes.  Remove, top with green onions.  Serve with salsa and plain Greek yogurt to top. Recipe makes 30 - 35 potato slices.

Spinach Broccoli Pizza

I hosted a girl's night at my house suggesting we make our own pizzas.  When coming up with ideas, I thought of everything but your typical cheese or pepperoni.  The BBQ chicken pizza was one of them, plus this veggie pizza, and a caramelized onion, pear, and gruyere.  All of them were delicious!

With this pizza, you want to make sure you have a good crust and a flavorful white sauce.  There is not much sauce used in comparison with the amount of veggies, so it needs to stand out.  I start with infused milk.  Infusing milk is a really easy way to add flavor without calories.  You heat milk over the stove (careful not to boil).  You add peeled garlic cloves, chunks of onion, bay leaves, cloves, and parsley stems so the flavor leaks into the milk.  To thicken this milk, you then need to make a roux (equal parts butter and flour cooked together in a sauce pan).  Let the milk cool slightly and gradually add it to the roux stirring constantly.  Let that milk come to a low boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.

Spinach Broccoli Pizza

What you'll need:

- 1 whole wheat pizza crust (store bought or made)

- 1 cup nonfat milk

- 1/4 cup cream

- 3 garlic cloves, peeled

- 2 bay leaves

- 1/2 small onion, peeled

- 1/2 tbsp dried cloves

- 4 parsley stems

- 4 whole peppercorns (or later add in 1/2 tsp ground pepper)

- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

- 1 tbsp butter

- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, divided

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli (easy fix is to buy frozen)

- 2 packed cups spinach

- 1/2 tbsp olive oil

What to do:

1.  Preheat oven to 350*F.  If using a baking stone, preheat for 30 minutes.  Roll out the dough to ~1/3" thick.  Let stand.

2.  Combine milk and the next 7 ingredients (through peppercorns) in a medium sauce pan.  Bring to a low simmer and keep simmering for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Let cool slightly.  Remove all onion, cloves, etc.

3.  In a sauce pan, melt butter.  Add the flour and mix thoroughly.  Continue stirring  and cook the flour 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add milk to flour mixture stirring constantly.  You can use a wire whisk, but a small rubber scraper does a better job of getting the flour mixture from the corner of the pan.  Add 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, then bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer; simmer 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Mixture should be thick enough to stick to the back of a spoon.

4. Reserve 1/4 cup of sauce, and pour the rest over the dough.  In a bowl, mix olive oil and 1/4 cup sauce over the broccoli and spinach.  Spread veggies over the pizza.  Top with the remaining parmesan cheese.  Bake 12 minutes until crust is golden brown.  Recipe makes 4 servings.

Delicious Easy Tomato Sauce

This is my base tomato sauce for many dishes and other sauces.  Depending on the dish, I may puree the sauce or may leave it a little bit chunky.  The best tomato sauce tastes like tomatoes without being too acidic.  Some jarred tomato sauces use sugar to cover the acidity.  I rather use cooked onions and olive oil to add sweetness.  A good tomato sauce also has a good balance of herbs.  When I have fresh herbs, I use those; but dried herbs are a good substitute.  Measurements do not have to be exactly perfect for the herbs, but remember to taste as you go and adjust from there.  If your canned tomatoes or tomato puree contain salt, so not add any salt to you sauce without first tasting it.  If the sauce is going into a cheesy dish, the cheese will add enough salt.

Delicious Easy Tomato Sauce

What you'll need:
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 1 (14.5oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (8oz) can tomato puree
- 5 fresh basil leaves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 bay leaves

What to do:
1.  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a medium sauce pan.  When hot, add onion and stir frequently.  Be careful not to brown the onions.  Cook ~ 5 minutes, add the garlic and cook 3 more minutes.

2.  Add to the onion mixture 2 tbsp olive oil, and the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then decrease heat to a simmer.  Simmer 15 - 20 minutes.  For a chunkier sauce, leave uncovered the entire time.  For a liquidy sauce, keep it covered.  Don't forget to remove the bay leaves when the sauce is done.  Recipe makes ~3 cups.

From here you can add in 8oz ground beef for a meat sauce.   You can add in a pinch of cayenne pepper for a spicy sauce.  You can add in ground beef, beans, and diced peppers to make a chili.  This sauce is not particularly time-consuming, but it's good to make a big batch then store some in the freezer for whenever you need it.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cinnamon Cream Cheese Scones

I inadvertently eat a lot of gluten-free meals, mainly because I don't always have pasta or bread at the meal.  But I had never tried gluten-free baking.  Having a gluten-intolerant friend over for brunch forced me to do some experimenting.  I wanted to make some sort of flavored scone.  I love pumpkin anything, so that was an easy go-to.  My first thought was to use graham flour instead of wheat flour, however I couldn't find any.  After looking at the ingredients label for graham crackers, I knew I couldn't use those.  So I bought gluten-free pancake mix.  The mix contains rice flour, and ingredients to aid in rising and to prevent too much crumbling.   After that, I just added in butter, an egg, and the flavorings.  It was very easy, actually.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cinnamon Cream Cheese Scones

What you'll need:
1 1/4 cups gluten-free pancake mix
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp cold butter
1 egg
1/3 cup, plus 1 tbsp pumpkin puree
1/3 cup cinnamon cream cheese
2 tbsp nonfat milk
egg white to brush tops of scones

Icing:
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tbsp nonfat milk
1 tbsp cinnamon cream cheese

What to do:
1.  Preheat oven to 425*F.  Mix together all dry ingredients (pancake mix through sugar).  Cut up butter and add to dry ingredients.  Using your hand, pinch together the butter and dry ingredients until mixture looks crumbly.

2.  Add the egg, pumpkin puree, cream cheese, and milk to the dry mixture.  Mix with a wooden spoon until blended evenly.

3.  Form into a ball and flatten out in a disc 1/2" thick.  Cut into 8 equally sized triangles.  Bake 14 minutes until the scones are golden brown.

Separate the scones by about one inch.  If you run out of room, you can line them up in rows.

4.  Combine all ingredients for the icing.  When scones have cooled slightly, drizzle or spread icing over scones.  Recipe makes 8 scones.