Tangerine Cashew Snapper

Recipe adapted from:
Healthy Cooking Magazine Feb/March 2011

Ingredients:

* 1 can manderine oranges, drained, keep 3/4 cup juice reserved
* 2 tablespoons lime juice
* 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 1 teaspoon sesame oil
* 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 4 red snapper fillets (4 ounces each)
* 1/3 cup chopped unsalted cashews
* 2 green onions, thinly sliced

Preparation:
Drain can of oranges, keeping 3/4 cup liquid; chop the fruit and place in a small bowl. Stir in the reserve orange liquid, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil and pepper flakes.

Place fillets in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour tangerine mixture over fillets; sprinkle with cashews and green onions. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Notes & Tips:
A great fresh tasting recipe. I had a hard time finding snapper until I asked the seafood guy at the grocery store, he had some in the freezer! Snapper was great I'm glad I didn't sub anything else. The original recipe called for 4 tangerines, sectioned and juice squeezed. I didn't have any, but that's ok because the manderine oranges tasted great.

Nutrition Facts:
Serves 4
1 fillet with about 2 tablespoons sauce equals 260 calories, 8 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 40 mg cholesterol, 358 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber,

Blackbean & Pumpkin Soup

Recipe Take From:
Taste of Home: Healthy Cooking
Feb/March 2011

Ingredients:
* 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Hunt’s® Original Diced Tomatoes, drained
* 2 medium onions, finely chopped
* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 3 cups vegetable broth
* 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
* 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 2 tablespoons bourbon, optional
* 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
* 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
* 1/2 cup roasted salted pumpkin seeds

Preparation:
Place beans and tomatoes in a food processor; cover and process until blended. Set aside.
In a Dutch oven, saute onions in oil until tender. Add garlic and cumin; saute 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, pumpkin, vinegar, pepper and bean mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Stir in bourbon if desired. Garnish each serving with sour cream, green onions and pumpkin seeds. Yield: 8 servings (2 quarts).

Notes & Tips:
This was pretty good. It's a great vegetarian soup. I try to eat meatless at least once a week, so this was a good addition to my recipe book. I will say, I didn't use vegetable broth, so mine wasn't totally vegetarian. Also, I DID add the bourbon (duh) and I left out the pumpkin seeds.

Nutrition Facts:
1 cup (calculated without bourbon) equals 238 calories, 8 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 5 mg cholesterol, 716 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 9 g fiber, 13 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch, 1-1/2 fat, 1 lean meat, 1 vegetable.

Pork Chops with Cranberry Dijon Sauce

Recipe Taken From:
Taste of Home Healthy Cooking
February/March 2011

Ingredients:
* 1 medium apple, peeled and thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
* 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/8 teaspoon rubbed sage
* 1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* Dash salt
* Dash ground nutmeg
* 4 boneless pork loin chops (4 ounces each)
* 1 tablespoon butter

Preparation:
In a small bowl, combine the first 12 ingredients. In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, brown pork chops in butter. Stir in fruit mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160°.

Notes & Tips:
I really liked this. Way more than I thought I would. It was really really easy and quick. Tasted like it took a long time. I served this with a salad.

Nutrition Facts:
Serves 4
1 serving equals 229 calories, 9 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 62 mg cholesterol, 283 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 22 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1 starch, 1/2 fat.

15 Bean Soup

Recipe taken from:
Back of Hurst 15 Bean Mix Bag

Ingredients:
1 lb. Ham, ham hocks, or smoked sausage
1 c. Onion, chopped
1 15 oz. Can stewed or diced tomatoes
1 tsp Chili powder
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 package Hurst's 15 Bean Soup package with ham seasoning packet

Preparation:
soaking: place beens in a large pot, cover with 2 quarts of water. Allow beans to soak overnight, or at least 8 hours.

1. After soaking, drain water, add 2 quarts of water and meat.

2. Bring beans to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2.5 hours.

3. After simmering, add onion, tomatoes, chili powder, lemon and garlic. Simmer for another 30 minutes.

4. Add contents of ham packet 1 to 2 minutes before cooking is completed. Salt and pepper to taste.

Notes & Tips:
I decided to skip adding the ham packet at the end. I used a little over 1 pound of Ham Hock (more like 1.5 pounds) so I figured it was hammy enough. It tasted great. You can use the quick cook method on the bag if you want, but I don't think it tastes as good. Take the time to soak your beans!

Nutrition Facts:
1 cup
250 calories, 3g fat, 51g carbs, 19g protein

Crab-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Recipe Taken From:
Taste of Home Magazine April/May 2008

Ingredients:
* 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 ounces each)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1/2 cup canned crabmeat, drained, flaked and cartilage removed
* 1/4 cup sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
* 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
* 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
* 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* 6 teaspoons marinade for chicken,divided
* 2 green onions, thinly sliced, divided
* 3 slices reduced-fat Swiss cheese, divided

Preparation:
* Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness; sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the crab, water chestnuts, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, parsley, mustard, 2 teaspoons marinade for chicken and half of the onions.
* Chop one cheese slice; stir into crab mixture. Spread over chicken; roll up and secure with toothpicks.
* In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, brown chicken on all sides. Place seam side down in a shallow 3-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Brush with remaining marinade for chicken.
* Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25 minutes. Cut each remaining cheese slice into six strips; place two cheese strips over each chicken breast. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 170°. Discard toothpicks. Sprinkle remaining onions over chicken. Yield: 6 servings.

Notes & Tips:
I always have trouble rolling up chicken. It never looks pretty, but this meal tasted great. I used Phillips Canned Crab Claw Meat. Be prepared to use up the rest of the can of crab meat, this recipe calls for only a 1/2 cup and the can has 2 cups...so yeah, be prepared for another meal, either crab cakes or some kind of seafood bisque.

Nutrition Facts:
1 stuffed chicken breast half equals 225 calories, 7 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 95 mg cholesterol, 469 mg sodium, 5 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 35 g protein.

Baked Ziti

Recipe Taken From: Nan Porter

Ingredients:

Sauce:
1/4 c olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 large can crushed tomatoes (2 lb can or so)
1 small can tomato paste
1 1/2 c water
2 T chopped parsley
1 T salt (you can omit if you're watching your salt)
1 T sugar
1 t dried oregano
1/2t dried basil
1/4 t pepper
A few splashes of red wine (whatever is open)

Cheese Layer:
2 15 oz cartons of ricotta cheese (part skim works fine if you're watching fats)
1 8 oz package shredded Italian blend cheese (mozzarella, parm etc.)
2 eggs
1 T. chopped parsley

Ziti:
1 lb bag of ziti noodles

Preparation:
To make sauce begin by heating oil in large kettle, saute onion and garlic until golden-brown (5-10 minutes)add tomatoes - juice and all, tomato paste, water, parsley, and other spices, (and wine) if using whole tomatoes smash against the sides with wooden spoon. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for about an hour.

In a large bowl beat eggs, add ricotta and cheese blend and parsley (salt and pepper if you want) Some times if you want to increase the protein a bit you can use a container of soft tofu too.

Cook 1lb ziti as directed, I have also used other shapes if I don't have ziti.

Spoon a little sauce in a five quart casserole, layer a third of ziti, 1/2 of cheese mixture and more sauce. Another third of ziti, the rest of the cheese, more sauce. The remaining ziti and then sauce - sprinkle grated parm on top. These freezes and refrigerates well.

Back 350 degrees for an hour, keep covered until the last fifteen minutes or so.

Notes & Tips:
This makes a TON of ziti! If you don't have a 5qt. casserole dish (which I didn't) you can use a 2 3qt ones and split the ingredients in half and make 2 batches. I tried this without the ziti noodles and it was great. The sauce is wonderful, I did add the wine, but that's because honestly...I just love wine.

Irish Lamb Stew

Recipe Taken From:
www.eatingwell.com

Ingredients:
* 2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 3/4 pounds white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
* 3 large leeks, white part only, halved, washed (see Notes & Tips) and thinly sliced
* 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
* 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
* 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 1/4 cup packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Preparation:

Combine lamb, potatoes, leeks, carrots, celery, broth, thyme, salt and pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker; stir to combine. Put the lid on and cook on low until the lamb is fork-tender, about 8 hours. Stir in parsley before serving.

Notes & Tips:
Make sure you trim any visible fat from lamb before you cook it. Also, it seemed like there wasn't enough liquid in my crockpot, but it turned out good. I think next time I would add a cup or two of water, just to give it a little wiggle room. I really liked it, I'm not sure if my guests liked it, their comments were that it was "hearty" and they didn't finish the bowl.

To clean leeks, trim and discard green tops and white roots. Split leeks lengthwise and place in plenty of water. Swish the leeks in the water to release any sand or soil. Drain. Repeat until no grit remains.

Nutrition Facts:
Per serving: 266 calories; 7 g fat (2 g sat, 3 g mono); 65 mg cholesterol; 27 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 23 g protein; 4 g fiber; 427 mg sodium; 803 mg potassium.