Zucchini Tots

Zucchini Tots 
Skinnytaste.com
adapted from The Two Bite Club

Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 1 packed cup grated zucchini
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 medium onion, minced
• 1/4 cup grated reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt and black pepper to taste
• Directions:Preheat oven to 400°F.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
  Grate the zucchini into a clean dish towel until you have 1 packed cup.  Wring all of the excess water out of the zucchini, there will be a lot of water. In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  
   Spoon 1 tablespoon of mixture in your hands and roll into small ovals. Place on the cookie sheet and bake for 16 to 18 minutes, turning halfway though cooking until golden. Makes 12

Crab and Pasta Salad

Small shell pasta (1 box)
Celery chopped (1 whole stalk)
Imitation Krab meat (1- 1 1/2lbs)
Mayo
Seasoned salt
Dill weed
pepper

Cook pasta, strain, and cool under cold water.  In bowl, combine pasta, chopped
celery, and krab meat (flake the meat).  Add mayo until creamy and season with
seasoned salt, dill weed, and pepper to taste.

-April Orr

Deviled Egg Pasta Salad

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

8 oz. large pasta-I used Rotini

12 hard boiled eggs

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 T. Dijon style mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 cup chopped sweet pickles (I used sweet relish)

1 1/2 cups very thinly sliced celery

 

In a small saucepan combine onion, vinegar and sugar.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat; set aside.

 

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions (do not overcook).  Drain and rinse well with cold water.

 

Coarsely chop one egg for garnish, and set aside.  Halve remaining eggs; separate yolks from whites.  Coarsely chop egg whites; set aside.

 

For dressing, place yolks in a medium bowl; mash with a fork.  Add mayonnaise, mustard and vinegar/onion mixture.  Mix well. Gradually stir in 2 T. water, salt, paprika and pepper.  Set aside.

 

In a large bowl combine the egg whites, pickles or relish, celery, pasta and dressing; toss to combine.  Top with reserved egg and sprinkle with additional paprika and pepper.  Serve at once or cover and chill up to 6 hours.  Makes 10 servings.

 

Each serving has:  273 calories, 15 g fat, 422 mg sodium, 21 g carb, 1 g fiber, 11 g protein.

Green Bean Casserole Lightened Up

When I was a kid, Green Bean Casserole (you know the one with cream of mushroom soup and french onions on the top! Such a great comfort food!!) was one of my favorite dishes. Of course, I didn't realize how much fat and sodium was in them....nor would I have cared if you had told me! But now that I am trying to eat healthier, I was excited when I came across this recipe. I adapted it a little to my tastes and cooking experience and plan to experiment on my family at Thanksgiving Dinner this week!


2 quarts water
1 T. salt
1 1/2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut (or frozen)
10 oz. mushrooms, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
pinch cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
2 T. flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 T. apple juice
3/4 cup fat free half and half (or whole milk)
1 1/2 slices whole wheat bread
1 T. butter
1/8 tsp. salt
1/16 tsp. pepper
1 3 oz. can French fried onions

Bring water and salt to boil in large pot. Add beans to boiling water. Cover and cook for 6 minutes. Drain beans and spray with cold water to halt cooking process. Remove as much water as possible. Set aside.

Spray a non-stick pan with Pam and heat. Add mushrooms, garlic, cayenne, salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are very soft. Whisk the flour into the chicken broth and add to the mushrooms along with the apple juice. Simmer, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Add half and half and simmer until thick, about 5-10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings and stir in the beans.

For the casserole topping: put the bread, butter, salt and pepper into food processor and pulse until crumbly. Pour into a bowl and add the onions. Stir to combine.

To assemble: Put the green beans into a greased casserole dish and top with the onion mixture. Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes. If you are not baking right away, do not add topping until ready to bake.

Serves 8. 2 pts plus

Peach Salsa

2 peaches, cored and diced
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced very finely
small handful of cilantro, chopped finely
pinch of coarse salt
juice of 1/2 lime

Mix ingredients, cover and refrigerate. Great on pork loin or eaten with tortilla chips, or fish tacos.

Source: Annie's Eats

Toasted Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad

This was a salad that April (Brad's wife) Orr's sister Tammy made for her bridal shower. It was wonderful!

3 lbs. chicken tenders, cooked and cubed
16 oz. radiatore pasta
2 bunches asparagus
2 c. candied pecans (recipe below)
Sesame Ginger Dressing (recipe below)

Rinse asparagus, clip ends, blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Cut into 2" chunks. Mix with cubed chicken, candied pecans and add dressing just before serving.

Candied Pecans
1/2 c. melted butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 c. pecans

Preheat oven to 375. Combine melted butter and brown sugar until dissolved. Fold in pecans and spread on 9x13 pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool and break into pieces.

Sesame Ginger Dressing
1/2 c. frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 c. toasted sesame oil
1/2 c. rice vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. worchestershire sauce
2 T. lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ginger
4 T. toasted sesame seeds

In a small skillet toast sesame seeds until golden brown (about 2 minutes on medium heat). Mix other ingredients in a blender except seeds. Stir in seeds and put dressing ina bottle. Shake well before serving.

Easy Fritos Salad

1/2 red pepper, cubed
1/2 yellow pepper, cubed
1/2 orange pepper, cubed
fritos
catalina dressing to taste

Just mix in a bowl and add enough salad dressing to taste. Will not keep, so don't make more than you can eat. This is really yummy! Aunt Laura made it for us when we were in Cardston this summer.