Category Archives: Recipes

March 15, 2009 · 3:26 pm

FIERY FISH WITH FENNEL

RECIPE

Fiery Fish with Fennel and Onion
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1-1¼ pound any firm fish fillets (I prefer catfish)
1 fresh bulb fennel
1 large yellow onion
1 Tbsp. lemon juice or 1 lemon, sliced
½ tsp – 1 tsp Redneck Pepper Flamin Fish seasoning (optional for sissies)

Directions:

Preheat a large electric skillet to 250°. Quarter, core, and slice fennel bulb into ¼” slices. Peel and slice onion into ¼” slices. Arrange fennel and onion slices in bottom of the skillet and cover, simmering for about ten minutes. Meanwhile, rinse the fish fillets, sprinkle with lemon juice (or if you prefer, cover fish with lemon slices when cooking), then season fillets with the Redneck Pepper Flamin Fish seasoning (or regular lemon pepper if you can’t find Redneck Pepper*) on both sides.

Carefully placed the fish fillets on top the sliced fennel and onions, cover, and steam for approximately fifteen minutes. Avoid lifting the lid, but if too much steam escapes, adjust temperature a bit lower, to about 225°. Check fish after fifteen minutes. If done, unplug skillet and serve. If fish needs additional time, cover and time an additional five minutes. Check again.

Serve the fish with a side of the cooked onions and fennel slices, cornbread, and a side vegetable of your choice. Tasty and healthful, too!

*For information on how to purchase Redneck Pepper, call 1-78-REDNECK2 or visit http://warningnotforsissies.com. You’ll be glad you did!

Liquid Core Electric Skillet

Liquid Core Electric Skillet

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February 19, 2009 · 2:31 pm

Easy Quiche for Two

I got the inspiration for this recipe from the electric skillet quiche that my friends Gary and Linda Straka make using a refrigerated pie crust. Their recipe is delicious, but it makes 6 servings (Or 8 if using the 12″ skillet). I wanted to be able to make an easy, healthy, stove-top quiche for my husband and me.

I’ve been using tortillas for years as pizza crusts, an idea I borrowed from Weight Watchers®. Why not use a tortilla for a quiche crust? Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I headed to the laboratory kitchen to experiment.

We had the quiche this morning for breakfast. For a first-time effort, it turned out good! I used whole wheat tortillas, egg substitutes, skim milk, and reduced-fat cheese.

RECIPE

3/4 cup egg substitute (or 3 eggs)
1/4 cup skim milk
½ tsp salt (and other seasonings to taste)
1 8″ flour tortilla
1 tsp. butter
1/4 cup optional ingredients (your choice)
1/4 cup reduced fat cheese (your choice)

Combine the egg substitutes, milk, and salt in a blender and whip until frothy. Melt one teaspoon butter in the bottom of a quality, stainless steel pan (I use a 2 quart, but whatever fits your tortilla is fine). Place the tortilla in the skillet to form the crust of the quiche. Heat the pan on Low.

Pour the egg mixture into the tortilla “crust.” Add whatever ingredients you prefer (e.g. mushrooms, diced ham, peppers, onions) then sprinkle grated cheese on top.

Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Check to see if the egg mixture is set. If not, cook a few minutes more. Don’t overcook. (Caution: Don’t mistake melted cheese for uncooked egg product)

Remove from heat. Carefully cut the quiche into fourths and lift from the pan, using a small spatula.

As I prepared it, two quarter pieces of the quiche counts as three points on Weight Watchers®.

For the optional ingredients, I used minced onion, red bell pepper, and broccoli. Or use a handful of frozen seasoning blend, which I keep on hand. It is a mixture of diced onions, bell peppers, and celery, and is a wonderful time-saver available in the frozen food section of your supermarket. Next time I’ll try sliced mushrooms and Swiss cheese. Yum! Experiment and have fun with this recipe. Bonus: No need to light the oven!

Cheri

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February 4, 2009 · 5:33 pm

Happy Valentine’s Day

heartlineWant to bake your sweetie something for Valentine’s Day but nothing too unhealthful?  Try my valentine heart cookies. Although I use refined flour and sugar, there’s no cholesterol, no high fructose corn syrup, and only good fats. If you don’t overindulge, a couple of these cookies won’t ruin your diet.  In the spirit of hasty tasty meals, this one skips the measuring of dry ingredients and the mess of food coloring by using red velvet cake mix.  It’s a trick I use for Christmas cookies, too.  Enjoy!

RECIPE

Valentine Heart Cookies
(Makes 3-4 dozen medium cookies)

Ingredients

1 18.25 oz. box of Red Velvet cake mix
½ cup canola oil
¼ cup egg substitute

Directions

Mix together into a stiff batter (If too stiff, add a tablesp0on of water) and roll out for cookie dough (approximately ¼” thick).  Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies and arrange on an ungreased stainless steel cookie sheet about ½” apart.

Bake cookies at 375°F for about ten minutes or until barely brown around the edges.  To avoid overcooking, remove the cookie sheet from the oven but leave the cookies for about 5 minutes.  They will continue to cook on the residual heat of the cookie sheet.  Then using a spatula, move each cookie to a rack to cool.

Serve cookies on paper heart-shaped doilies.

If you’ve followed my newsletter and blog, you know that I advocate a reasonable approach to diet. I’m hardly a health nut. But I do steer clear of a few bad ingredients, i.e. trans fats, added growth hormones, and high fructose corn syrup by carefully reading all labels. I drink organic skim milk and avoid unhealthful fats as much as possible. Lately, though, I’ve seen television ads defending high fructose corn syrup. Lest you be confused, let’s ask the food industry an important question: If high fructose corn syrup is nothing but corn syrup, why does it appear on labels listed separately and in addition to corn syrup? Sorry, but I’m unconvinced of its wholesomeness.

To add to my wariness, I read in EATING WELL magazine a report that according to two studies, HFCS is contaminated with Mercury. Ouch! That’s not appetizing.  If you’re interested in your sweetheart’s health, don’t buy him or her products containing HFCS.  Play it safe.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

“Chef Cheri”

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December 31, 2008 · 12:22 am

Meal Replacement Drinks

I got this idea from the Vita-Mix website while watching a demo video for a green smoothie. Here is my recipe for a meal replacement shake. It provides a serving of dairy protein, a serving of vegetables, and two servings of fruit in each shake.


RECIPE

Meal Replacement Drink

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup skim milk

¼ cup nonfat dry milk

¼ cup Splenda® or other sugar-free sweetener

½ tsp. Vanilla extract

dash nutmeg

1 orange, peeled

1 apple, cored and quartered

1 cup frozen mixed fruit (I use a peaches, pineapple tidbits, strawberries, and melon mix)

1 cup frozen spinach

Add ingredients to the Vita-mix container in the order listed. Start on Low then gradually flip switch to the High setting. Blend for approximately 90 seconds or until fully blended. Pour into two large glasses and drink immediately.

Ignore the icky green color. This smoothie is delicious, nutritious, and filling.  You can experiment with variations by adding carrots or cabbage combined with other fruits.  I recommend always including an apple and an orange for balanced nutrition.

If you don’t have a Vita-mix, visit their website.  There’s nothing comparable on the market.  I’ve owned one for 14 years and can’t imagine life without it!

Cheryl

 

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