This is a variation of the traditional stuffed cabbages (gulumpkies) that increases the health value and can be done in a relatively quick amount of time in a crock pot.
Ingredients:
1 Medium/Large Cabbage
3 Cans of Tomato Soup
1/2 lb Ground Pork
112 grams of Soy Crumbles
1 cup of brown rice
Garlic Powder*
Onion Powder or Flakes*
Kosher Salt*
Black Pepper*
Preparation:
Place cabbage in a large pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil covered for about 5 - 7 minutes. In a bowl mix together pork, soy crumbles, rice and seasonings. Mix through until well incorporated.
Remove core from cabbage and start peeling leaves off. Using a paring knife, remove the spine of the leaf and place an elongated handful of the meat mixture inside the leaf. Roll by folding the sides over and rolling up into a cylindrical package.
Layer in the crockpot side by side and on top if need be. Cover with 3 cans of soup and 2 cans of water.
Cook for 4 hours on high or 7 hours on low.
Nutrition Info:
Typical serving is about 3 and this scores about 8 Weight Watchers points plus points.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Homemade Lemon or Orange Ice
This is a recipe that can be modified to handle nearly any citrus fruit but I have found works best with orange or lemon.
Ingredients:
6 Lemons or 6 Naval Oranges
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of Water
2 tbsp zest
Preparation:
Freeze bowl for ice cream maker according to directions for use in advance. In a 2 qt saucepan mix sugar and water and boil to create a simple syrup. When this has come to a boil, remove from heat and add zest. Allow to steep for 15 - 20 minutes.
Juice the lemons or the oranges into a seal-able container and place in refrigerator overnight. Pour syrup and zest mixture into another seal-able container and place in refrigerator overnight.
Mix together syrup and juice in ice cream maker scraping sides periodically until ice crystals form. Increase speed near the end once the majority of the mixture has frozen to keep air in the mix.
Place in a seal-able container in the freezer, should last about 1 - 2 weeks (unless its eaten quicker)
Ingredients:
6 Lemons or 6 Naval Oranges
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of Water
2 tbsp zest
Preparation:
Freeze bowl for ice cream maker according to directions for use in advance. In a 2 qt saucepan mix sugar and water and boil to create a simple syrup. When this has come to a boil, remove from heat and add zest. Allow to steep for 15 - 20 minutes.
Juice the lemons or the oranges into a seal-able container and place in refrigerator overnight. Pour syrup and zest mixture into another seal-able container and place in refrigerator overnight.
Mix together syrup and juice in ice cream maker scraping sides periodically until ice crystals form. Increase speed near the end once the majority of the mixture has frozen to keep air in the mix.
Place in a seal-able container in the freezer, should last about 1 - 2 weeks (unless its eaten quicker)
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Lasagna In a Mug
This is a take on lasagna whereby you can speed up the cooking time and individualize the contents by cooking individual sized portions in a mug. I recommend using one of the corningware vented top soup mugs as they are a good size and have a fair capacity to fill. http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/corningware/french-white-pop-ins-mug-1035985
Ingredients:
4 rounds (Hand rolled Pasta dough cut using cookie cutter into 3" rounds)
1 servings of Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
1.5 servings (46 grams) Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese shredded
1 Cup of Pasta Sauce (http://raygasnick.blogspot.com/2012/06/joes-homemade-pasta-sauce.html)
1/2 serving (14 grams) Parmesan Cheese shredded
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place a heat capacitor (such as a stoneware pan or pizza stone) on the low shelf. In mug, place 1 ladle worth of sauce and top with first round. Layer with 1 serving (28 grams) of Mozzarella cheese, top with next round. Place 1/2 ladle of sauce, cover with ricotta cheese and layer next round. Place another 1/2 ladle of sauce and cover with remaining mozzarella cheese. Put final round on top, layer remaining sauce and Parmesan cheese.
Bake in oven for 15 - 25 minutes until sauce begins to bubble around the edges.
Serving:
Serve in bowl (recommended to place it on a plate as it WILL be hot.)
Nutrition Information:
This is a quick, easy and relatively healthy meal. This is 8 Weight Watchers points plus points.
Recommended Additions:
1. More Layers - this will increase the cheesiness, but it is recommended to alternate mozzarella and ricotta cheeses as when they melt, there will be clear texture differences between layers.
2. Meat - There are two options on this one:
* Ground Beef or Pork directly, 1/4 lb total meat sauteed in some light olive oil lightly salted and peppered
* 80/20 Beef or Pork: 1/8 lb + 28 grams of soy crumbles to increase the quantity but keep it healthy (adds about 2 - 3 more WW Pts + )
3. Vegetables - Layer some squash or zucchini in between cheese layers or meat layers
Substitution:
Substitute tomato sauce with Parmesan cream sauce, substitute beef / pork with chicken and consider adding a layer of spinach in lieu of extra cheese. **** Flavorful, not very healthy ****
Ingredients:
4 rounds (Hand rolled Pasta dough cut using cookie cutter into 3" rounds)
1 servings of Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
1.5 servings (46 grams) Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese shredded
1 Cup of Pasta Sauce (http://raygasnick.blogspot.com/2012/06/joes-homemade-pasta-sauce.html)
1/2 serving (14 grams) Parmesan Cheese shredded
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place a heat capacitor (such as a stoneware pan or pizza stone) on the low shelf. In mug, place 1 ladle worth of sauce and top with first round. Layer with 1 serving (28 grams) of Mozzarella cheese, top with next round. Place 1/2 ladle of sauce, cover with ricotta cheese and layer next round. Place another 1/2 ladle of sauce and cover with remaining mozzarella cheese. Put final round on top, layer remaining sauce and Parmesan cheese.
Bake in oven for 15 - 25 minutes until sauce begins to bubble around the edges.
Serving:
Serve in bowl (recommended to place it on a plate as it WILL be hot.)
Nutrition Information:
This is a quick, easy and relatively healthy meal. This is 8 Weight Watchers points plus points.
Recommended Additions:
1. More Layers - this will increase the cheesiness, but it is recommended to alternate mozzarella and ricotta cheeses as when they melt, there will be clear texture differences between layers.
2. Meat - There are two options on this one:
* Ground Beef or Pork directly, 1/4 lb total meat sauteed in some light olive oil lightly salted and peppered
* 80/20 Beef or Pork: 1/8 lb + 28 grams of soy crumbles to increase the quantity but keep it healthy (adds about 2 - 3 more WW Pts + )
3. Vegetables - Layer some squash or zucchini in between cheese layers or meat layers
Substitution:
Substitute tomato sauce with Parmesan cream sauce, substitute beef / pork with chicken and consider adding a layer of spinach in lieu of extra cheese. **** Flavorful, not very healthy ****
Rolling Pasta Dough by hand
I've put up a few recipes that involve hand rolled pasta, so here's some recipes and technique on how to get a good hand made pasta dough. This recipe makes user of a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and pasta roller attachment. (hand cranking this will work but is extremely difficult without a 3rd hand)
Ingredients:
2 cups of all purpose white flour
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
1/4 Cup water
1 cup of fresh baby spinach (optional)
Preparation:
In a stand mixer (with dough hook) mix all ingredients together. Use a flexible spatula to incorporate extra flour. Dough should stick to the hook when it has mixed well and not be sticky to the touch (if it is, add additional bench flour until it becomes less tacky).
If you are making a spinach pasta, chop spinach finely and mix in with dough ball. Cut into smaller balls, wrap dough in plastic wrap tightly and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to an hour.
Remove from refrigerator and hand flatten. Set mixer on speed 2 and keep pasta sheet roller on setting 1 (thickest). Pass dough through the rollers adding flour as needed. Once dough has passed through, fold the end that came out first over and place back through the rollers FOLD first. **(It is important to place it back in fold first so that the gluten in the dough gets stretched in the same direction). Keep doing this until the dough expands to the width of the roller. After it has expanded to that width, run through without folding over 2 or 3 more times before changing the roller setting.
Change the roller from 1 to 2 and pass through 3 or 4 times until dough is smooth (adding flour as needed so that it does not stick to the rollers). Repeat process changing roller from 2 to 3 and 3 to 4.
Fettuccine: Roll to #4 thickness before using fettuccine cutter roller
Spaghetti: Roll to #3 thickness before using spaghetti cutter roller
Lasagna Noodles or Ravioli Noodles: Roll to #5 thickness
After rolling, hang over a pasta drying rack (a simple wooden dowel based one will do) until dough begins to dry out.
***** There is no salt in this recipe ******
When cooking this pasta, be sure to adequately salt the water using kosher or sea salt until it has the taste of the ocean.
Nutrition Info:
The total of all ingredients yields a fair amount of pasta at the equivalent of 24 Weight Watchers points plus points. To figure out an individual serving, divide 24 by the total number of yielded servings. (Adjusting the number of servings will reduce the point value per serving).
Ingredients:
2 cups of all purpose white flour
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
1/4 Cup water
1 cup of fresh baby spinach (optional)
Preparation:
In a stand mixer (with dough hook) mix all ingredients together. Use a flexible spatula to incorporate extra flour. Dough should stick to the hook when it has mixed well and not be sticky to the touch (if it is, add additional bench flour until it becomes less tacky).
If you are making a spinach pasta, chop spinach finely and mix in with dough ball. Cut into smaller balls, wrap dough in plastic wrap tightly and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to an hour.
Remove from refrigerator and hand flatten. Set mixer on speed 2 and keep pasta sheet roller on setting 1 (thickest). Pass dough through the rollers adding flour as needed. Once dough has passed through, fold the end that came out first over and place back through the rollers FOLD first. **(It is important to place it back in fold first so that the gluten in the dough gets stretched in the same direction). Keep doing this until the dough expands to the width of the roller. After it has expanded to that width, run through without folding over 2 or 3 more times before changing the roller setting.
Change the roller from 1 to 2 and pass through 3 or 4 times until dough is smooth (adding flour as needed so that it does not stick to the rollers). Repeat process changing roller from 2 to 3 and 3 to 4.
Fettuccine: Roll to #4 thickness before using fettuccine cutter roller
Spaghetti: Roll to #3 thickness before using spaghetti cutter roller
Lasagna Noodles or Ravioli Noodles: Roll to #5 thickness
After rolling, hang over a pasta drying rack (a simple wooden dowel based one will do) until dough begins to dry out.
***** There is no salt in this recipe ******
When cooking this pasta, be sure to adequately salt the water using kosher or sea salt until it has the taste of the ocean.
Nutrition Info:
The total of all ingredients yields a fair amount of pasta at the equivalent of 24 Weight Watchers points plus points. To figure out an individual serving, divide 24 by the total number of yielded servings. (Adjusting the number of servings will reduce the point value per serving).
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Quick and Easy Nachos
This is a recipe for nachos that combines flavor and healthiness.
Ingredients:
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Medium Red Onion
56 Grams of Soy Crumbles
1 small Can of Tomato Sauce
1 Package of crunchy taco shells
3 oz of Mozarella cheese (shredded)
Olive Oil *
Kosher Salt *
Black Pepper *
Garlic *
Paprika*
Cumin *
Coriander *
Preparation:
Dice onions and peppers into 1/4 inch dice and saute in a medium skillet with oil, salt and pepper until soft and onions become translucent. Add in soy crumbles seasoned with garlic, paprika, cumin and coriander as well as tomato sauce. Stir and cover to reduce.
On a stoneware baking dish, break up 6 taco shells into tortilla chip size and stick in a 375 degree oven for a few minutes to crisp up. Once all liquid has reduced out of vegetable mix, spread over the tortilla chips.
As an optional extra, add re-fried beans to half or all of the chip mix.
Cover in mozzarella cheese and put in the oven and let cheese melt (approx 10 minutes).
Serving:
Serve in the baking dish and have everybody grab some - entire recipe serves 2.
Nutrition Info:
As far as weight watchers points plus goes, this scores rather well:
Without Refried Beans (1 serving): 6 pts
With Refried Beans or 2 servings of the cheese (1 serving): 8 pts
Ingredients:
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Medium Red Onion
56 Grams of Soy Crumbles
1 small Can of Tomato Sauce
1 Package of crunchy taco shells
3 oz of Mozarella cheese (shredded)
Olive Oil *
Kosher Salt *
Black Pepper *
Garlic *
Paprika*
Cumin *
Coriander *
Preparation:
Dice onions and peppers into 1/4 inch dice and saute in a medium skillet with oil, salt and pepper until soft and onions become translucent. Add in soy crumbles seasoned with garlic, paprika, cumin and coriander as well as tomato sauce. Stir and cover to reduce.
On a stoneware baking dish, break up 6 taco shells into tortilla chip size and stick in a 375 degree oven for a few minutes to crisp up. Once all liquid has reduced out of vegetable mix, spread over the tortilla chips.
As an optional extra, add re-fried beans to half or all of the chip mix.
Cover in mozzarella cheese and put in the oven and let cheese melt (approx 10 minutes).
Serving:
Serve in the baking dish and have everybody grab some - entire recipe serves 2.
Nutrition Info:
As far as weight watchers points plus goes, this scores rather well:
Without Refried Beans (1 serving): 6 pts
With Refried Beans or 2 servings of the cheese (1 serving): 8 pts
Monday, July 9, 2012
Spinach Pasta in Parmesan Cream Sauce
This is a time consuming dish but its worth it in the end.
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup of fresh baby spinach
1 1/2 Cups Flour
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup Water
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Flour
1/2 Pint Heavy Cream
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Olive Oil *
Sea Salt *
Preparation:
Chop spinach finely, add in stand mixer with flour, eggs, and water. Mix together until dough ball forms on a dough hook. Remove from bowl and split dough in half.
Using a pasta roller, roll out dough until it is #3 thickness (starting at #1) and allow to dry on a pasta rack. After about 10 - 15 minutes, cut using Fettuccine roller and allow to dry for 1 - 2 hours.
In a 1 quart saucepan (preferably non-stick) mix together butter, flour and heavy cream creating a roux. Once bubbles begin to form on the outer edge, add Parmesan cheese. Stir continuously until sauce thickens and becomes creamy.
In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil, add in olive oil and salt (should taste like the ocean). Boil pasta until al dente.
Serving:
Serve pasta with generous serving of sauce and bread (regular or garlic)
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup of fresh baby spinach
1 1/2 Cups Flour
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup Water
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Flour
1/2 Pint Heavy Cream
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Olive Oil *
Sea Salt *
Preparation:
Chop spinach finely, add in stand mixer with flour, eggs, and water. Mix together until dough ball forms on a dough hook. Remove from bowl and split dough in half.
Using a pasta roller, roll out dough until it is #3 thickness (starting at #1) and allow to dry on a pasta rack. After about 10 - 15 minutes, cut using Fettuccine roller and allow to dry for 1 - 2 hours.
In a 1 quart saucepan (preferably non-stick) mix together butter, flour and heavy cream creating a roux. Once bubbles begin to form on the outer edge, add Parmesan cheese. Stir continuously until sauce thickens and becomes creamy.
In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil, add in olive oil and salt (should taste like the ocean). Boil pasta until al dente.
Serving:
Serve pasta with generous serving of sauce and bread (regular or garlic)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)