Bacon Maple Shortbread

Happy New Year!  It's been a little bit since Ive posted and I apologize.  I have to confess, I havent been eating the healthiest the past few weeks or working out like I usually do, which totally sucks but, Im not back on the horse.

I actually made these for my boyfriend who -- like most normal humans -- completely loves bacon.  It's his favourite food group.  Haha.  When I looked at the calorie count, I realized that this would be perfect for the blog.

Recipe from Closet Cooking.
Yields 20 cookies.
99 calories per cookie.

INGREDIENTS
4 strips low-sodium bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 stick margarine, room temperature
1/4 c maple syrup
1 1/4 c flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the bacon & set aside on paper towels to drain.
Beat the margarine and syrup together until smooth.
Mix in flour, corn starch, bacon, & salt.

Spray down 2 baking pans with cooking spray.
Roll dough into balls & bake for 12 minutes.

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Almonds

It's a tradition to have some sort of sweet almonds or pecans at Christmas in my family.  I stumbled upon this recipe which is reasonably healthy AND low calorie and I thought it would be ideal.

Recipe from Prevention RD.
Yields 16 servings.
222 calories per serving.

INGREDIENTS

1 egg white

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 c almonds

1 c sugar

1 c brown sugar

3 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

4 tbsp water

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and vanilla extract until foamy.

Stir in the almonds and mix until well coated.

Transfer to slow cooker.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, & salt; mix well.

Pour the sugar mixture over the almonds & coat well.

Cook the almonds 3 - 4 hours, stirring every half hour.

During the last 30 minutes, add water.

Spread the almonds out on wax paper & let cool.

Southwest Pasta Salad

I needed something fast and inexpensive to make this week as Im making Christmas dinner and Ill be doing so much cooking that I didnt want my daily intake to be complicated and overwhelming.  This seemed like an ideal choice.

Recipe from RoTel
Yields 6 servings
293 calories per serving

INGREDIENTS

8 oz whole wheat rotelle

1 can black beans

1 can diced tomatoes and chilies

1 c lowfat sour cream

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 c lowfat cheddar cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta according to box directions.

Drain & place in a large bowl.

Add black beans, tomatoes, sour cream, pepper, chili powder, & cheese.

Toss to combine.

Pierogie Casserole

My roommate constantly makes fun of my Polish heritage -- in the best of ways!  In these varying conversations she had mentioned that she'd never tasted a pierogie before &, in my mind at least, that is blasphemous!  A few days later, Id stumbled upon this recipe and decided that I had to go for it to make for our lunch this week.

Recipe from Jayesel.com.
Yields 10 servings.
228 calories per serving.

INGREDIENTS

1 package of refrigerated mashed potatoes, heated

1 stick margarine

3 small onions, chopped

1 c low fat shredded cheddar cheese

8 lasagna noodles, cooked

Black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375.

Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.

Line the bottom of the pan with 4 lasagna noodles.

Cover with mashed potatoes & spread onions on top.

Place remaining lasagna noodles on top of onions.

Sprinkle with cheese & pepper.

Cover with foil & bake for 45 minutes.

Turkey Noodle Casserole

Like any other American post-Thanksgiving, I wanted to find something to make that would use up at least some of our turkey leftovers and, in hindsight, I probably couldve used a little more turkey.  While turkey is a lean meat, it still can be excess calories in terms of balance in a casserole.  When my roommate asked me what Id made for us this week for lunch (she was out of town), the best description I could think of was "turkey noodle soup in casserole form".  The only thing it's missing is a couple of veggies mixed in there which I may add next time I make this.  Regardless, it was delicious & VERY filling!

Recipe adapted from Better Recipes.
Yields 12 servings.
342 calories per serving.

INGREDIENTS

2lb leftover turkey, cut into bite size pieces

2 onions, chopped

2 tbsp margarine

2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup, condensed

16 oz fat free half & half

16 oz whole wheat egg noodles

Salt & pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325.

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray & set aside.

Cook noodles according to package directions.

Drain & place in casserole dish.

Meanwhile, in a large pan melt margarine over medium heat.

Add onions & saute until softened.

Add turkey & stir to combine.

Remove from heat & sprinkle with salt & pepper.

In a bowl whisk together half & half and soup together.

Pour over pasta.

Add turkey mixture & stir until mixed.

Cover with aluminum foil & bake for 30 minutes.

Skinny Crustless Quiche

I saw this recipe on The Skinny Fork yesterday morning & realized that that we had everything to make it.  I emailed it to my roommate & we decided to make it for dinner last night.  We added a chicken breast to it and HOLY CRAP -- delicious!  It might be an unpopular choice to make quiche without crust but, for me at least, it's not worth negating all of the effort Ive put forth for 10 minutes of satisfaction.  And hell, there was absolutely NO sacrifice here.  It was even more delicious second day.

Recipe slightly adapted from The Skinny Fork
Yields 8 servings
100.8 calories per serving

INGREDIENTS

10 oz frozen spinach, thawed

8 oz sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c reduced fat feta cheese, crumbled

2 large eggs

4 large egg whites

1 c skim milk

3/4 c reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded

1 chicken breast, grilled & diced

Salt & pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350.

Spray a 9 inch pie pan with cooking spray & set aside.

Drain liquid from the spinach & place at the bottom of the pie dish.

Over medium heat, cook saute the mushrooms & garlic until the mushrooms are cooked through.

Spread mushrooms on top of the spinach.

Sprinkle the feta over the mushrooms.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, egg whites, milk, salt, & pepper & 1/2 c of the cheddar.

Whisk together until well blended & pour over top of all ingredients in the dish.

Sprinkle the chicken & then the remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 50 - 60 minutes.

Green Bean & Mushroom Casserole

I slightly adapted this from Budget Bytes.  It was just a couple of substitutions to make it just a little more healthy.  My roommate, Katie, described this all "mushroom stuffing deliciousness" although she was a little wary of the texture before actually tasting it.  Ill take that as a seal of mouth watering approval.

Yields 6 servings.
141 calories per serving.

INGREDIENTS

2 cans green beans

4 tbsp margarine, divided

1 small onion

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1/4 tsp thyme

1/8 tsp salt

2 tbsp flour

1 c vegetable broth

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, shredded

1 c panko

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375.

Spray a 9x9 cooking pan with cooking spray.

Dice the onion & cook over medium heat in a large pan with 2 tbsp of margarine until they are tender.

Add the mushrooms to the skillet & add salt & thyme.

Cook until the moisture from the mushrooms has mostly evaporated.

Add flour to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the veggie broth and stir until flour has dissolved.

Allow mixture to simmer and whisk in 1 tbsp of parmesan.

Add the green beans, stir to combine & remove from heat.

Meanwhile, melt the other 2 tbsp of margarine in a bowl.

Add panko and parmesan & stir to combine.

Add the mushroom mixture to the baking pan.

Top with panko mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes.