Zucchini Spice Muffins

First here’s the original recipe from the book Low Fat Living

Zucchini Spice Bread
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs (or 4 egg whites or ½ cup fat-free egg substitute)
2 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
1 cup honey
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or canola oil
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°
Lightly coat two 8” x 4” loaf pans with no-stick spray.
In a large bowel mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs, add zucchini, honey, butter or oil, applesauce and vanilla. Mix.
Pour into the flour mixture and mix just enough to incorporate the ingredients.
Pour the batter into the pans and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly moist but not wet.
Cool slightly in pans, remove from pans and cool on a rack.
Makes 20 slices.
Nutritional information per slice: 157 calories, 2.1 g fat, 3.3 g protein, 33.1 g carbs, 2.5 g fiber

Here’s my tweaked version.

Zucchini Spice Muffins
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup Spenda granulated
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs
2 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla
About a teaspoon or so of ground flax seed (I didn’t measure, I just sprinkled it in)

Spray muffin pan or foil muffin cups with Pam.
In a large bowel mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg.
In a medium bowl beat eggs, add zucchini, honey, butter or oil, applesauce, vanilla and flax seeds. Mix.
Pour liquid mixture into flour mixture and mix just enough to incorporate the ingredients.
Fill muffin cups about 2/3 of the way to the top.
Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly moist but not wet.
Cool slightly before removing from pans/cups and cool on a rack.
Makes 20 muffins
Nutritional information per muffin: 126 calories, 2 g fat, 3 g protein, 24 g carbs, 3 g fiber.

Patti’s Notes: I basically subbed half the sugar for Splenda granulated, used canola instead of butter, decreased the honey to ½ cup and increased the applesauce to ½ cup. I buy unsweetened applesauce in the individual serving cups. They are ½ cup each. Even though they are unsweetened, they are still naturally sweet. I used the whole container to add moisture from decreasing the honey and a little sweetness that was removed by only using half of the honey. I added ground flax seed which I always think about doing but usually forget.
I decided to make muffins so I can freeze them for a good grab, nuke and go breakfast.
I shaved about 30 calories and 9 carbs per serving and they taste pretty darn good.

Easy Meter: Not too bad. Be careful when using a box grater. They tend to want to bite your knuckles. Just sayin'...

Tip of the Day: Spray your measuring cup with Pam before adding the honey. It will pour right out.

Added Bonus: It took 1½ zucchinis to make 2 cups of shredded. What to do with ½ leftover zucchini? Zucchini Chips. Why not? I sliced the remaining half zucchini as thin as I could. Put them out on a baking sheet, drizzled with EVOO, sea salt and ground pepper, tossed and put them in the oven (single layer on baking sheet) til crispy. About 20 minutes or so.

M-M-Good.

Italian Stuffed Chicken Breast

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
4 Slices Prosciutto
4 Slices Mozzarella Cheese
4 Tablespoons Low Fat Ricotta Cheese
4 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Italian Spice Blend
1 Cup Patti's Marinara Sauce (see recipe June 21, 2010)

Preheat oven to 350º
Butterfly chicken breast (slice towards the meatier edge) to open up. On each breast put one slice mozzarella, one slice prosciutto, spread 1T ricotta over the prosciutto and top with 1T parmesan. Sprinkle with Italian spice blend, salt and pepper to taste. Roll up and secure with kitchen twine (or toothpicks). Place in baking dish and top each chicken bundle with 1/4 cup marinara sauce. Bake about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way thru.

~Source: I made this one up myself ;-)

Patti’s Notes: You could use store bought marinara sauce, but my sauce is so quick and easy to make and has no added chemicals or preservatives. Instead of butterflying the chicken, you could pound the chicken between pieces of plastic wrap but I’m not a fan. Don't forget to remove the twine (or toothpicks) before serving.
Tip of the Day: Deli Counter. I got the prosciutto and mozzarella at the deli counter. That way I only had to buy 4 slices instead of an entire package of each.

Healthy Meter: for a 6 ounce chicken breast: 227 cal; 6g fat, 6 carbs, 39g protein.
Note to Aaron: I even got out the food scale and weighted the raw chicken just for you. :xoxo:

My plate as shown above: just under 300 calories for 1/2 chicken breast, 1/2 cup whole wheat pasta with marinara, roasted Brussels sprouts (with EVOO S&P). Paul's plate as shown below, around 500.

Easy Meter: Not difficult but assembly required. I’d say on a scale of 1-10, 1 being easiest, this would be about a 3.5.

Mushroom-Herb Chicken

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
3 large shallots, peeled
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Preparation
1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/3-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; coat with cooking spray. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until browned.
2. While chicken cooks, cut shallots vertically into thin slices. Remove chicken from pan. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add mushrooms and shallots to pan; coat vegetables with cooking spray. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in sherry and marjoram. Return chicken to pan; cover and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and chicken is done. Transfer chicken to a platter. Pour mushroom mixture over chicken; sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

~source – Cooking Light

Patti’s Notes: I made a few changes to this recipe. First, I don’t pound chicken. I handle raw chicken as little as possible. I didn’t use cooking spray; I put a little olive oil in the pan instead which only added 30 calories per serving which was worth the flavor (IMO). I bought whole mushrooms and sliced them myself because they were much cheaper. I used marsala wine instead of dry sherry because that’s what I had. After I sautéed the mushrooms and shallots and added the chicken back to the pan and put the fry pan in the oven at 350º until the chicken was done, about 10 minutes. (That probably wouldn’t be necessary if you pounded the chicken however the entire meal only took about 40 minutes so it wasn't much of an investment in time.)
Serving suggestion was mashed potatoes and broccoli. I made Brown & Wild Rice and fresh Green Beans.
Healthy Meter: Here’s the info from Cooking Light (from original recipe):
Calories 226 (10% from fat); Fat 3g, Carbohydrate 5g; Protein 41.6g
My version upped the calories and fat a smidgeon with the olive oil to about 256 calories per serving.
Easy Meter: Easy schmeasy.

ETA: alcohol cooks out of food so don’t be afraid to serve this to children. If you are totally opposed to cooking with wine you can sub apple juice or grape juice.

Corn & Basil Cakes

Ingredients
1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour
1/2 cup low-fat milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 2 large ears) or frozen
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Preparation
Whisk flour, milk, eggs, 1 tablespoon oil, baking powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. Stir in corn and basil.
Brush a large nonstick skillet lightly with some of the remaining 1 tablespoon oil; heat over medium heat until hot (but not smoking). Cook 4 cakes at a time, using about 1/4 cup batter for each, making them about 3 inches wide. Cook until the edges are dry, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, 1 to 3 minutes more. Repeat with the remaining oil and batter, making 10 cakes total. Reduce the heat as necessary to prevent burning.

Nutrition: Per serving : 180 Calories; 9 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 86 mg Cholesterol; 21 g Carbohydrates; 7 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 329 mg Sodium; 250 mg Potassium

ETA: Recipe makes 10, serving size is 2 pancakes. I only ate one which was plenty, so 90 calories each.

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~Source: Eating Well

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Patti’s Notes: I cut the oil in half by using the tablespoon as recommended in the batter but used Pam instead of oil in the pan. I used AP flour, fresh corn and instead of low fat milk I used unsweetened almond milk to almost the ½ cup mark and topped it off with a splash of cream to add a little fat back in. I would not recommend using dried basil. The fresh basil really made the cakes special with that pop of flavor. When I read the recipe I thought they might need some type of sauce but they didn’t need anything at all. They were nice and moist and had an interesting texture with the crunch of the corn and great flavor from the basil. Paul said “don’t lose this recipe”.

Serving suggestion was steak or BBQ chicken. I made steak but I think these would also go great with pork chops.

Easy Meter: I’d say bordering intermediate because of removing the fresh corn from the cob but would bump it down to average if you used frozen corn. There is also that turning before burning but not before the batter is cooked thing that comes into play.

Fig and Blue Cheese-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed

1/2 cup dried figs, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon apple jelly, melted

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°. Slice the pork in half lengthwise, cutting to, but not through the other side. Open the halves, laying pork flat. Place pork between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle figs and blue cheese over pork, leaving a 1/2-inch margin around outside edges. Roll up the pork, jelly-roll fashion, starting with long side. Secure at 2-inch intervals with twine. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper, and place on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes. Brush jelly over the pork. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). Let stand for 10 minutes. Discard twine; cut pork into 12 (1-inch-thick) slices.

~Source: Cooking Light

Patti’s Notes: Two oven mitts up, this one is a keeper. I only made a couple of minor deviations from the original recipe. I used fresh figs, Gorgonzola instead of Blue Cheese and sugar free apricot jam instead of apple jelly because that’s what I had in the house. The pork was extremely tender. The pungent cheese and the sweetness of the figs complimented each other nicely. If you don’t eat pork, this recipe would also work well with chicken. I think you could also play around with this and use dried cherries if you can’t find figs. Paul doesn’t like Blue Cheese but he’ll eat Gorgonzola, which is similar to blue but not as strong. If you don’t like that either you could probably sub goat cheese, although, for me that would be too bland. If using dried figs I’d probably run them thru the food processor because they tend to be chewy if not reconstituted. Jelly roll pan is not necessary; you can use a regular baking sheet.

Healthy Meter: Here’s the info from Cooking Light: Calories: 274, Fat: 9.2g, Protein: 28.4g, Carbe:19.7g, Fiber: 2.5g.

Easy Meter: This is a little more difficult than marinating a tenderloin and tossing it in the oven. It’s still pretty easy but moves to intermediate because you have to butterfly the pork; roll it up and tie it. Gourmet skills not necessary.

Anne Burrell would be proud of my tying technique! She taught me well.

The meal suggestion from Cooking Light was to serve with rice and green beans. I made roasting fingerlings with garlic and onions and roasted beets.

ETA: I normally would have done a green veggie with the potatoes, not two root vegetables. They had organic beets on sale when I bought the pork. My sister was coming for dinner and we love beets. Since the oven was already going to be on, what the heck!

Swirled Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients

Cheesecake topping
4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, (Neufchatel)
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Brownie layer
2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 large egg whites, or 4 teaspoons dried egg whites (see Ingredient note), reconstituted according to package directions
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup strong (or prepared instant) coffee, or black tea
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat a 7-by-11-inch brownie pan or baking pan with cooking spray.
To prepare topping: Place cream cheese in a small mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Add egg, flour, yogurt and vanilla; beat until well blended.
To prepare brownie layer: Whisk whole-wheat flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl. Place egg, egg whites and brown sugar in a large bowl and beat with the electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add oil, coffee (or tea) and vanilla; beat until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until well blended, stopping once to scrape down the sides.
Scrape about half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Slowly pour the topping evenly on top. Drop the remaining brownie batter in large dollops over the topping. Draw the tip of a sharp knife or skewer through the two batters to create a swirled effect.
Bake the brownies until the top is just firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Coat a knife with cooking spray and cut into 24 bars.

~Source: Eating Well Magazine

Patti’s Notes: I used a 9x9 square pan, Greek yogurt (Fage 0), coffee (not tea), 1 cup brown sugar (instead of 1¼, real egg whites (not dried) and they took 35 minutes to bake (not 20). I cut them into 20 ‘bars’ aka brownie bites. They say they freeze well so in the freezer about 16 of them will go.

Healthy Meter: They advertise them as Diabetic Friendly, low cal, low carb, low cholesterol, low sat fat, low sodium, heart healthy and healthy weight.

Easy Meter: they rate them as intermediate. I guess it was because you have to separate your egg white from yoke, mix your batters separately and do the swirling thing. I didn’t think they were that difficult to make. After the 20 minute suggested time was up, I reset the timer for 5 minutes and checked again, again, again therefore there was a little babysitting involved.

Perfect Poached Eggs

Ingredients
Water
White Vinegar
Eggs

Directions

Put about 1 ½ to 2 inches of water in a skillet and bring to a simmer. You should see bubbles starting to dance around but not a raging boil.
Add about a tablespoon of vinegar into the water.
Crack eggs into individual custard cups or ramekins.
Put the cup all the way to the edge of the water and gently drop the egg into the water. Move on to the next egg. Don’t do more than 4, it will crowd the pan. Cook 4 ½ minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. I rest mine on a towel for a couple of seconds to make sure all the water is off the spoon before placing it on the toast.

Patti’s Notes: Don’t rush the getting*the*egg*into*the*water part. If you do this fast or don’t put the cup to the edge of the water you will end up with egg drop soup! Don’t worry about some of the egg white moving into the water. Plenty of white will be surrounding the yoke into a perfect packet. I don’t like my eggs runny so I set the timer for 5 minutes. It’s a little firm but still creamy in the center. Most people like when the yoke runs into the toast so adjust your time accordingly.

Healthy Meter: You just prepared a delicious egg without any added fat. 74 calories each and less than 10 minutes of your morning. People seem to like Hollandaise sauce on poached eggs. Seriously, when something is so good on its own, why cover it up?!

Easy Meter: Not that difficult. If you can boil water, not rush the egg dropping process and set a timer - you’ve got it made. If you undercook an egg, put it back in the water. If you overcook an egg, try it again. Eggs are fairly inexpensive.