Pumpkin Cheesecake – I Lowered the Fat and Simplified the Process! Can’t Beat That!!!

Tags

baking, dessert, low-fat, lowfat, Pumpkin Cheesecake

So first try at cheesecake with a berry topping was delicious, but didn’t set up the way it should. I would not be defeated!!! I was getting in the fall mood last weekend and decided to try again with a pumpkin cheesecake. This one was a winner!!!! It had a firm, yet silky texture and the wonderful, comforting taste of pumpkin. I’m not usually a fan of pumpkin pie, but the cream cheese ads a wonderful tang to this dessert!

Tip: In my first attempt at cheesecake I learned that you can’t cut out all the fat and expect it to set up nicely. This version is a compromise. I used the reduced fat cream cheese and used full fat sour cream.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 Pre-made graham cracker crust

2 – 8 oz blocks of reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin

3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1/4 cup sour cream (full fat – see tip above)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add remaining ingredients one by one while continuing to beat. I used my stand mixer for this. Pour filling into crust. You will likely have some leftover. I poured this into small oven safe bowls and baked as well. Making little custard like bowls. Place dishes on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours. Serve topped with whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Honey Cilantro Shrimp – Quick, Delicious and Healthy!!!

Tags

Cilantro, Easy, healthy, Honey, lowfat, Quick, seafood, shrimp

I couldn’t resist sharing this post by another blogger! This shrimp looks delicious and is definitely something I will try in the future!
https://inbetweencoffeeandwine.wordpress.com/2016/10/02/honey-cilantro-shrimp/

Enchilada Casserole – An Easy to Make Family Favorite

Tags

Chicken, Cooking, Easy, enchilada casserole, enchiladas, Food, ground turkey, healthy, lowfat, Mexican, recipe

  
One of our family’s favorite dishes is luckily incredibly easy to make! Our California family loves Mexican inspired food. I love enchiladas, but let’s be honest, they can be a bit of work to assemble. I wanted the flavors of enchiladas with out the work. Call me lazy, but I’m a working mom and rolling enchiladas on a week night just doesn’t appeal to me, so my enchilada casserole was born! If you use the right ingredients, this recipe is also pretty lowfat.

As I always do, I play with my food and mix it up once in a while. On this particular occasion, you can see from the picture that I included some corn in my casserole. I don’t always do that. I also switch up the meat that I use. On this night, I simmered boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the enchilada sauce and then shredded it before assembling my casserole. I have also used ground turkey. I have also made it using either green or red enchilada sauce. The casserole is great any way you make it!

Give this casserole a try! I guarantee your family will love eating it and you’ll love how easy it is to make!

Kel’s Enchilada Casserole

1 pound ground turkey or boneless, skinless chicken

2-16 oz cans fat free refried beans 

8-12 tortillas (You can use either corn or flour. I like to use La Tortila Factory’s Smart & Delicious Light Flour Tortillas to keep the fat and calories down.)

1-28 oz can of red or green enchilada sauce (or family prefers the green, but you can use either)

1-4 oz can diced green chilies (optional, but when using the green enchilada sauce this is a nice add)

1/2 onion diced

3/4 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese (I often use the fat free Kraft shredded cheddar)

1-4 oz can sliced black olives

1 cup frozen or canned corn (optional)

Brown ground turkey in a skillet on the stove top. Once browned add enchilada sauce to meat. Or you can simmer or slow cook chicken in the enchilada sauce and then shred the chicken once cooked through. Add your onions to the browning or simmering meat. If adding corn, you can stir it in with your cooked meat and sauce prior to assembling casserole.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray casserole dish with non-stick spray. Spread refried beans in bottom of casserole dish. Cover beans with 1/2 of your tortillas. I try to make sure I have 1 good layer of tortillas over the beans, sometimes I tear the tortillas in half to do this. It depends on the size of the tortillas you use. It’s OK if they overlap some. Next you will scoop your meat with some of the enchilada sauce and spread on top of the tortilla layer. You want to try and leave some of the sauce in the pan to top your casserole. It’s alright if here is a little bit of meat left too. On top of the meat you will layer the other 1/2 of your tortillas. Next spread the remaining enchilada sauce and any remaining meat. Then spread your shredded cheese over your casserole and top with black olives.

Bake for about 30 minutes until hot, bubbly and cheese is well melted.

Enjoy!

Caprese Chicken – A Delicious, Fresh Chicken Recipe

Tags

caprese, Chicken, Cooking, Easy, Food, healthy, lowfat, recipe

  

What should I make for dinner??? The age old question of cooks everywhere! So I had some chicken thawed out. I had this beautiful, fresh basil plant sitting in my kitchen window. I also had some organic Roma tomatoes on hand. I was thinking a Caprese inspired chicken sounds great!

A Caprese salad is usually slices of fresh tomatoes with high quality motzarella and fresh basil. I just decided to top my chicken with this tasty combination. 

This delicious dinner was rounded out with a side of brown rice and green salad topped with radishes, onion and more tomatoes.

Caprese Chicken

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breastss

Olive oil spray

Pepper

Garlic salt

Balsamic vinegar

Chopped fresh basil

Sliced tomato

Shredded Fat-free Mozzarella Cheese(Or you can use a higher fat version. I was just trying to keep it low-fat.)

Spray a baking pan with olive oil. Place the chicken in the pan and spray lightly with olive oil. Season the chicken with pepper and garlic salt. Sprinkle basil over the chicken. Place tomatoes on top of chicken and then drizzle balsamic vinegar over tomatoes and chicken. Top the chicken and tomatoes with the motzarella cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees and the cheese is well melted.

Mangia bene!

Fried Rice – Making the Most of Your Leftovers!

Tags

Cooking, Food, Fried Rice, healthy, Leftovers, lowfat, Rice

  
I have heard a few times that in the U.S. we throw away a large amount of our edible food. I had heard the number 40 % thrown out. Frankly, that sounds about right, but it’s so very wrong! That really bothered me. So to my family’s annoyance, I have become the leftover nazi! I am on a mission to ensure our family throws away as little food as possible. I try to be mindful with my ingredients and use the items I know will have to be thrown out soon. I also try to make good use of my drop freezer! Freezing leftovers is a great option! Not only do you have convenient meals ready to go when you don’t have the time or energy to cook, but you also have a resource for people in need. We’ve had several occasions lately when friends were going through a hard time and I was able to pull meals out of our freezer and transfer them to theirs, so they have some easy meal resources. I keep lots of those cheap plastic food storage containers around, like the ones that lunch meat comes in. This way I don’t really care if I get the container back or not.
The other night at home, I made a particularly successful dinner out of leftovers. Since my family has been grumbling about having to eat leftovers, I’ve been trying to get creative with them and repurpose them, so maybe the family won’t realize they’re eating leftovers! Never underestimate a resourceful mother!!!

We had some leftover chicken fried rice, from a meal we had purchased at our favorite Chinese restaurant and I also had a big container of cooked, plain brown rice from another dinner. I also had about four slices of SPAM leftover from a breakfast my husband had made. I’m thinking a new batch of fried rice is sounding good! My family never complains about Chinese food. They love it!!!

So here’s what I did…

In a frying pan I added:

• Fried Rice

• Brown Rice

• Frozen peas

• Diced 4 slices of SPAM

• Diced green onions

• Soy Sauce

• Sriacha

• Pepper

• Garlic Powder

• Egg – After all the prior ingredients were well mixed together, I made a well in the center of the pan pushing everything out to the sides. I beat 2 eggs with a little milk, like I would for scrambled eggs and then I did just that in the well I had created in the pan. Once the eggs were good and scrambled, I started mixing them with the other ingredients, breaking up any large pieces.

I didn’t add any additional salt. I figured the SPAM and Soy Sauce would take care of that and it was a good call. Cook until all ingredients are warmed through and voila! A delicious dinner is born!

The great thing about this concoction is you can get creative with it. I could have used just about any leftover meat; chicken, steak, pork. I could have used a variety of vegetables too.

So the challenge is this! Before you bust out all new ingredients to make a meal, peruse your fridge for leftovers and see what you might be able to salvage. Get creative! Go ahead and play with your food! In Kel’s Kitchen that is completely acceptable!!!

Garden Salad with Herbed Ranch Dressing – My New Favorite Salad!!! So Flavorful!

Tags

Cooking, Dill, Food, Green Salad, healthy, Herbs, lowfat, Ranch, recipe, salad, side dish, summer

  
I made a green salad this weekend that was so delicious, I have to share! It’s nothing complicated, but it was so fresh and flavorful that I thought others should enjoy it as well!
Our family had a friend visiting this weekend. She is a young college student and is trying to improve her cooking skills. Every time she comes for a visit, I get her in the kitchen and try and teach her a few of my tricks. This time we decided to make homemade marinara and then use that to make lasagna (look for a blog entry soon on these two things). Since lasagna can be time consuming, we thought we would keep the rest of our dinner pretty easy and just serve it with a salad and some fresh baked bread (the bread machine makes this part a breeze!).
I don’t cook with dill very often, but it really was the star of the night!!! This was an ingredient in the salad dressing, as well as the bread. Maybe I’ll include the bread recipe in another post, but I basically added dill and fresh garlic to a basic white bread recipe. It was delicious without being overpowering.

So what’s in that salad you ask???

Dressing

½ Bottle Light Ranch Dressing

¼ cup Finely Chopped Fresh Dill

½ cup Finely Chopped Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley

2 tbsp. Finely Chopped Fresh Basil

 

Salad

4 cups Baby Spinach/Baby Arugala Mix

3 diced Roma Tomatoes

1 diced Cucumber

2 oz Tri-color Tortilla Strip Salad topping

I made the salad dressing a few hours ahead and put the covered container into the fridge. This makes dinner time work easier and gives all the flavors some time to mingle. When ready to eat, toss all salad ingredients into a serving bowl and then spoon in some dressing. I think I used a little less than half of the dressing I made. I like a good amount of dressing, but you don’t want to drown your salad. Plus, you’ll have more for another salad later or you can use it as a spread on sandwiches or burgers.

Happy summer!!!

Avocado: Creative Uses for This Wonderful Fruit!

Tags

avocado, avocado egg, avocado egg salad, avocado mashed potatoes, avocado tuna salad, avocados, cholesterol, Cooking, Food, healthy, low-fat, lowfat, mayo replacement, mayonnaise replacement

You know what I love about our family friend Tom??? The man hates avocados! I love those people that don’t like avocadoes, because you know what that means??? More guacamole for me!!! Oh man! I can’t get enough of that green stuff! Guacamole and chips, sliced avocado on a sandwich or burger, avocado on a salad, guacamole on whatever type of Mexican food I’m eating at the moment, avocado in or on just about anything!!! And finally, something that is delicious, decadent, and good for me!!! There is a God and He created avocados!!!

OK, let’s take it down a notch! Calm down Kelly!

I wanted to blog about avocados, because I have recently found some exciting new ways to use them. Maybe you’ve heard of some of these, but hopefully you’ll find something new and exciting for yourself!

1. The Avocado Egg (Pictured above) – From my non-professional photography, you can tell I have made this dish for myself. It is very decadent and delicious! The egg is basically sunny side up, so if you’ re adverse to runny egg yolk you will want to cook yours a little longer or beat the egg before adding it to the avocado. How do you make it? Simple! Halve an avocado and remove the stone. Scoop out about a tablespoon of the flesh to make room for your egg. I have faith that you will put that scooped out avocado to good use! Place your avocado(s) in a baking dish in a supported fashion, so they are stable. Crack your egg into the avocado or into a bowl and pour into the avocado. Add salt and pepper and bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Feel free to top with other goodness; cheese, green onions, peppers, etc. Enjoy your “green egg”!
2. Avocado Tuna Salad – We love tuna salad sandwiches at our house, but I just don’t need the fat that the mayonnaise adds to the mix. It tastes so good though!Well our family has found that mashed avocado is a wonderful substitute! We use one mashed avocado to one drained 12 oz. can of tuna (water packed, of course!) and add all that we usually enjoy in our tuna salad; onion, pickle relish, mustard, jalapenos or whatever you use in your tuna salad. We have found that you don’t get a strong avocado flavor. It just tastes like regular tuna salad. Delicious!
3. Avocado Egg Salad – This is pretty much the same story as the tuna salad, but you use 1/2 an avocado, mashed with 4 hard boiled eggs and again, add your other usual ingredients. Now the color is a little off, because you’re introducing green, but tell everyone to get over it, because this is delicious!!! Again, you really don’t taste avocado flavor.
4. Avocado Mashed Potatoes – I have to admit that I have not tried this myself, but I had a friend recommend replacing the butter and/or sour cream in mashed potatoes with mashed avocado. I have no doubt it’s delicious!!!

I hope you find these ideas useful! Do you have creative uses for avocado not discussed here? I’d love to hear your ideas!!!

Fat Free Ingredients: Sour Cream and Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Tags

Cooking, Food, health, Healthy Cooking, healthy eating, ingredients, low-fat, lowfat, non-fat, nonfat, weightloss

Fat free? Are you kidding me? I know the thought of fat-free ingredients or food brings to mind flavorless dishes, but I’m here to tell you there is a time and a place to use fat-free ingredients to make delicious foods! I have found certain non-fat and low-fat ingredients that work very well in contributing to wonderful dishes. Throughout my blog I hope to share some of these with you so you can begin to incorporate these into your cooking. 

#1 Fat Free Sour Cream

Other than vegetables, I think this ingredient has become my all time favorite fat free ingredient. This is one item that I have found I am willing to sacrifice the fat and I don’t notice a huge difference in the taste, but that could just be me. I challenge you to give it a try!

My family uses this ingredient in a variety of ways. We use it in our stroganoff dish, that we also use ground turkey in to keep it low-fat. I recently used this ingredient in my seven layer dip. I also used fat-free refried beans and a variety of fresh ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, guacamole, salsa, etc. I will tell you my secret ingredient is stirring taco seasoning mix into my fat-free sour cream before adding to my dip.

I think you’ll find this ingredient has a wide variety of uses from savory dishes to wonderful dips! And that brings me to my next ingredient…

#2 Fat Free Shredded Cheese

This ingredient also makes an appearance in my seven layer dip, but you may have guessed that already!

Now this ingredient is not quite as versatile as the sour cream. The food industry just has not perfected fat-free cheese yet. At times it can have a waxy texture to it, but I find it can work well when it’s mixed into a dish with several other components. You may also want to use it somewhat sparingly as in large quantities you will really experience that waxy texture. 

I often use it sprinkled on top of casseroles and in salads. Of course, it also works well as one of the layers in my seven layer dip.
I hope you’ll give these and some other fat-free or low-fat ingredients a try. They can really help lower the fat and calorie content of your dishes and help to keep them flavorful. Don’t be afraid to experiment and see what you like and what you don’t. What are some fat-free or low-fat ingredients that you enjoy using  in your dishes?