Today was a snowy winter day in Northeast Ohio. I was working at home, and Brett’s flight was returning in time for supper for once. I decided it would be nice to greet him with a homemade dinner as opposed to his normal Wendy’s chili. I looked in the freezer this morning to see what struck me as a good choice. We had recently reorganized our freezer making items easier to find. I spotted a pile of ground turkey in freezer bags. I set it out to defrost as I worked through the day.

During the day I thought it would be nice to make something other than turkey chili or a turkey meatloaf, our typical use for ground turkey. Salisbury steak came to mind. I had the base of the  recipe set. During the holidays I saw a lot of pork recipes that called for apples and onions. Since then I have wanted to try other masts with this combination. They are some of our favorite tastes. Thus was born this recipe. I basically added in low fat and low calorie ingredients to make it a healthy dish.

The result was quite delicious. I served it with healthy garlic smashed potatoes. The recipe made a generous 6 serving main dish. I hate to use the oven for small dishes. A large recipe is just as much effort as a small recipe but yields many dinners. For us, this recipe made 3 dinners. It’s so much easier to microwave the leftovers for a quick dinner after work. This is truly Midwest wintertime comfort food for me.

Apple Gobbler Salisbury Steak

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tart apples, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
1 large onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 pounds ground turkey breast
1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning (for turkey patties)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons flour
1 ½ cups of cider or apple juice
1 ½ cups of low fat chicken broth (one can)
1 small can of mushrooms, drained
1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning (for gravy)

Preparation:

1. In a medium skillet, melt the butter and add the olive oil. Add the chopped onions and apples. Sauté the onions and apples until they are tender, stirring frequently. When the mixture is just about done, stir in the minced garlic and cook an additional minute or so to blend the flavors. Allow to cool slightly.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the ground turkey, 2/3 of the sautéed onion apple mixture, 1 teaspoon of Montreal steak seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce. Shape into 6 oval patties about ½ inch thick.
3. Generously spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Place on medium high heat. Add the turkey patties. Fry for 4-5 minutes until the bottoms brown and form a crust. Turn and fry 4-5 minutes until the other side is brown and crusted.
4. Generously spray a 2 quart flat casserole with non-stick cooking spray. A 9”X 13” glass cake pan works wonderfully. Arrange the turkey patties in the casserole.
5. In a small bowl. stir the flour into the cider/apple juice. I use my Magic Bullet blender to do this. It makes a beautiful smooth mixture with ease.
6. Return the remaining apple and onion mixture to the burner in the medium skillet in which they were sautéed. On medium high heat, add the apple juice and chicken broth stirring to blend. Add the mushrooms and 1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning. Continue stirring until mixture bubbles, comes to a boil, and thickens. Allow it to simmer an additional minute. Remove from the heat and pour over the turkey patties.
7. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Serve with garlic smashed potatoes.

Garlic smashed potatoes brings visions of Paula Deen throwing a stick of butter and a block of cream cheese into a pot of potatoes with cups of shredded cheddar. This recipe is a healthy version that is almost a tasty. OK, I have to admit that you can’t compete with butter, cream cheese and cheddar cheese. The tastiness of these potatoes is largely due to the roasted garlic. Roasting garlic is easy. I was first intimidated to do it. The dish is an ideal side dish for a roast or baked chicken. The oven is on and the garlic just goes along for a free ride. 

One note about this recipe: I used fat free cottage cheese. It also works as well with non fat Greek yogurt. Many people on bariatric diets look for opportunities to add protein to their diet. Greek yogurt is the ideal high protein ingredient for sauces and dishes that call for cream cheese, ricotta cheese or cottage cheese. The results will be the same but the amount of protein will likely be doubled.

Stinking Rose Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 pounds of russet potatoes, unpeeled and cut into ½ cubes
½ head of garlic (about 8 cloves)
½ cup of non-fat cottage cheese or Greek Yogurt
½ cup skim milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel away the outer cloves on a head of garlic leaving 8 cloves attached to the base. Cut the top 1/3 of the head of garlic off and discard. Place the garlic head on a square of heavy duty foil. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the cut ends. Bring up the foil around the head and twist shut. Place the foil packet in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. This is a perfect dish to make with a roast or other baked meat that can share the oven.
2. Cut unpeeled potatoes into a ½” dice. Cover with water in a medium saucepan. Cook until fork tender; about 20-25 minutes. Drain thoroughly and return to saucepan.
3. Open the foil garlic packet. Grasp the base of the garlic head. Use your fingers to push the roasted garlic from the papery outer garlic covering. It will squeeze out like toothpaste. Squeeze it into a small mixing bowl. Add cottage cheese/yogurt and skim milk. Whisk until smooth. This is also another excellent use of the Magic Bullet blender.
4. Pour the garlic mixture over the potato cubes. Using a potato masher, smash the potatoes mixing in the liquid as you go. Salt and pepper to taste.

I am back! 2009 was a hectic year for me with my wedding. I’ve resolved to publish entries to this blog a on a regular basis. This morning I am posting one of my favorite breakfast recipes. Waffles and pancakes are just not on a bariatric diet. Both are typically too high carb and are topped with high sugar syrup. The heavy bread texture gives me issues as a lap band patient. This cottage cheese based recipe has a much more lap band friendly texture. It makes healthy waffles without the sugar and carbs. It is based on a Martha Stewart cottage cheese pancake recipe. I removed the sugar and substituted lower fat options where I could.

This batter makes a delicious pancake as well. What I have found out is that the cottage cheese based batter takes a long time to cook as a pancake. I tend to over-brown and burn them on the griddle. I have much more success with the batter in a waffle iron. The texture is not as bread-like as traditional waffles, but the result is a delicious fluffy waffle. It as the perfect choice for this snowy cold morning.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 packets Spenda sweetener
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
2/3 cup skim milk
1/2 cup Eggbeaters
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions:

In a blender (a Magic Bullet works great), blend the cottage cheese, milk, Eggbeaters, vanilla extract and canola oil until smooth. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, Splenda, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk in the blended liquid ingredients. Allow batter to sit 5-10 minutes.

Heat a waffle iron. When the iron comes to temperature, evenly spread batter and close. Be careful and do not overfill. A typical waffle iron takes about 1 cup of batter. This recipe makes about 2 1/2 full waffles. Each of my waffles is made up of four smaller waffles. The extra waffles freeze well and can be reheated in the toaster like the store bought frozen waffles.

Top with a butter substitute and no-fat or low–fat syrup. 

No Sugar Pancake Syrup

Looking for a tasty no-sugar syrup? Smuckers actually makes a delicious no-sugar pancake syrup. If you want to turn up the volume on taste without adding a lot of calories, try adding some Smuckers Simply Fruit spread to the syrup.

1/2 cup of sugar-free pancake syrup
1/4 cup of sugar-free fruit spread, like Smuckers Simply Fruit

Combine in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir and serve on hot waffles.

Like Garfield, I loves my lasagna! Unfortunately since my lapband surgery I do not handle pasta very well. Actually that’s a blessing since pasta is one of the dishes that I overate for many years. My workplace has a farmer’s market several days a week where local farmers bring in produce and fruit to sell. Earlier this week there were some beautiful eggplants. I bought two and was planning on making eggplant Parmesan.

Tonight on my way home I decided to try something different than the regular eggplant Parmesan. I decided to use the eggplant like lasagna noodles and add some lean ground turkey breast to make a healthier version of classic meat lasagna. The finished dish turned out very good and really resembled lasagna. This is a good recipe variation that is higher in protein and lower in fat and carbs. I used eggplant as the substitution for noodles. I think zucchini or summer squash could also be substituted for the noodles with very similar results. I used my favorite marinara sauce recipe for the pasta sauce.

Lost my Noodles Lasagna

2 medium eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, minced
1 pound lean ground turkey breast
1 cup of white flour
1/2 cup of EggBeaters
1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups of prepared marinara sauce
1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 350.

Peel the eggplant and cut into rounds approximately 3/8” thick. Place on a paper towel and lightly salt. This will remove some of the moisture.

Brown the ground turkey breast with the minced onion and garlic.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Roll eggplant rings in flour until well coated. Dust off excess. Dip eggplant slices in egg and milk mixture. Roll in season bread crumbs. Brown the eggplant in the skillet for approximately 2-3 minutes per side until they are nicely browned. Set aside rounds as you prepare the remaining rounds in batches.

Assemble the lasagna: Spray a 11” X 7” baking dish with non-stick spray. Cover the bottom with 1/2 cup of pasta sauce. Add a layer of eggplant rounds. Add 1/3 of the browned ground turkey. Ladle 1/3 of the remaining pasta sauce over turkey. Top with basil. Sprinkle 1/3 of mozzarella cheese on top and dust with Parmesan cheese. Repeat this layering more 2 times.

Make an aluminum foil tent and place over the casserole. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil tent and bake an additional 10 minutes.  

Makes 6 generous servings.

It has been a long time since I have published a recipe. My life has been preoccupied with wedding planning and just too many activities this summer. Tonight I wanted to make a simple salad for dinner. I don’t like to cook much on hot summer days. My grill gets used just about every night.

I dug through the refrigerator and freezer for ingredients. I put together this romaine salad topped with grilled shrimp tossed in hot sauce like Buffalo chicken wings. I changed a traditional blue cheese dressing recipe to use no-fat and lower fat ingredients. The result was amazingly good.

Spicy Buffalo Shrimp Salad

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Old Bay seafood seasoning
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup Frank’s Hot Sauce (Original)
1 stalk of celery, medium dice
1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped or a bag of hearts of romaine salad mix

Heat a grill pan or BBQ grill to medium, 350 degrees. Peel and devein the shrimp. Toss with olive oil in bowl. Place shrimp on the grill and liberally dust with Old Bay. Cook for 2 minutes, until the shrimp turns light pink. Be careful not to overcook shrimp. Turn and repeat for the other side of the shrimp. It generally takes 3-4 minutes to grill shrimp.

Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Whisk in Frank’s Hot Sauce. Toss the shrimp with the hot sauce mixture until well coated.

Place a bed of chopped romaine in a large salad bowl. Chop the celery to a medium dice. Toss over the romaine. Top with grilled sauced shrimp. Dot the salad with the chunky blue cheese dressing.

Makes 4 lunch size salads or 8 side salads.

Chunky Low Calorie Blue Cheese Dressing

1/2 cup fat free or reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 cup fat free or reduced-fat mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon low-fat (skim) milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Use a fork to break up large chunks of the blue cheese. Chill and serve cold. This dressing must be used within a week.

Picnic season is just around the corner. I have been searching for the perfect baked fried chicken recipe. I love a piece of fried chicken at a picnic. I guess that comes from my childhood when my mother seemed to always pack chicken in the picnic basket. Hot or cold, fried chicken rules. A huge amount of calories and fat are removed when the chicken is baked and not fried. Up until this point, I hadn't found the perfect recipe.

In a recent issue of Paula Deen's magazine, there was a pretty good recipe for  baked fried chicken.I used it as the base for this recipe and made some changes. I think a crucial step in making a great fried chicken is marinating it overnight in buttermilk and some hot sauce. I can't say for sure, but I think it adds depth to the flavor and additional moistness. I also substituted fried onion rings for the crushed potato chips in the original recipe . French's has been running ads in many magazines with a baked chicken recipe using their fried onion rings. I thought that would add some spice to the chicken that the potato chips wouldn't.

The result was a resounding success. This chicken was delicious. It turned out so moist and crispy. It really is a baked chicken recipe that can pass as a fried chicken recipe. It's definitely going in my picnic basket this summer.

Crispy Oven Fried Chicken

5 pound cut-up fryer chicken
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon Frank's hot sauce
3/4 cup flour
1 cup French fried onions
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt

Prepare the chicken: I remove the skin from the breasts and thighs and leave the skin on the wings and drumsticks. Place them in a 1 gallon Zip-loc storage bag. Pour 1 cup of buttermilk over the chicken. Add the hot sauce. Remove as much air as possible from the storage bag. Seal and mix the chicken, milk and hot sauce. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Overnight is best.

Preheat your oven to 425. Place wire baking racks on top of a 15X10 jelly roll pan. Generously spray with cooking spray.

Prepare your dipping station: Place 4 pie plates adjacent to each other on your counter with the jelly roll pan at the end. Place a colander in the third pie plate and drain the milk from the chicken into the plate. Place the colander of drained chicken into the first pie plate to catch any excess milk. Place the 3/4 cup flour in the second pie plate. Crush the French fried onions in a small Zip-Loc bag until they resemble course crumbs. Mix the crushed French fried onions, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, paprika and salt together in the fourth pie plate.

Dip the chicken: Take a piece of chicken and roll into the flour. Dip into the milk. Roll in the breading mixture. Lightly dust off loose crumbs. Place onto the wire baking rack in the jelly roll pan. Continue until all pieces are breaded.

Place into the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until chicken tests done (170 in the thickest portion of a breast.) Serve.

My only experience with microwave scrambled eggs was 34 years ago when my mother bought her first microwave. They were rubbery and not very tasty at all. Several months back, my daily Hungry Girl e-newsletter had a recipe for scrambled eggs with cheese that sounded pretty good. I was leery since it was a microwave recipe. I decided to give it a shot.

This is a very low-calorie and low fat recipe. It uses Egg Beaters and has no cooking oil. The cheese is the 35 calorie Laughing Cow cheese wedge.

To my surprise, these eggs are pretty good. They are not at all rubbery and are light and fluffy. I think the cheese makes the difference. This recipe is also an excellent choice for those who are beginning their post-op bariatric journey. It can be eaten in the early stages after surgery. I know you might me uncertain about this recipe. I urge you to give it a try. You will have  tasty scrambled eggs in less than 2 minutes.

Actually Pretty Good Microwave Scrambled Eggs

1/2 cup of Egg Beaters egg substitute (equivalent of 2 eggs)
1 wedge of your favorite flavor Laughing Cow low calorie cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking spray

Lightly spray a tall coffee mug with cooking spry. Pour the Egg Beaters into the mug. Salt and pepper to taste. Microwave for 1 minute. While the eggs are microwaving, cut the cheese wedge into small pieces. Remove the mug and stir in the pieces of the cheese wedge. The eggs will be half cooked. Return the mug to the microwave and cook for an additional 45 seconds.  That's it!

 One of my siblings and my favorite dish as a child was city chicken. I think it was mostly because it was unique. Plus, there’s just something about eating anything off a stick that appeals to kids. If you are unfamiliar with city chicken, it is pork (sometimes veal) cubed and threaded on skewers. You just don’t see it in the meat department much any more.

My mother always breaded the skewered meat and pan fried it. She served it with a pan gravy made from the drippings. This is an interesting take on the dish. It’s much more low-fat: minus the pan gravy and grilled verses fried. The combination of Asian flavors gives the dish an unexpected and fresh taste.

Not your Mother’s City Chicken

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon of water
1 pound lean pork tenderloin or boneless chops, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

Prepare the marinade in a blender by combining the soy sauce, lime juice, chopped onion, peanut butter, honey, minced garlic, ginger, cumin, cilantro and water. Blend for a minute until the mixture is smooth.

Place the pork cubes in a 1 gallon Zip-Loc bag. Pour the marinade over the cubes. Seal the bag by letting out as much air as possible. Turn a few times. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

The wood skewers that are readily available in most dollar stores make ideal city chicken skewers. Prepare 6 skewers by soaking them in water while the pork cubes are marinating in the refrigerator.

Preheat your grill to 350 or a medium high heat.

Drain the pork reserving the marinade. Thread 1/6 the pork cubes onto each skewer. Place the skewers on the grill and grill for approximately 8-10 minutes until done, turning every 2-3 minutes to prevent them from burning.

While the city chicken is grilling, bring the reserved marinade to a boil over medium heat and boil for 1-2 minutes. Add additional water as needed to maintain a sauce consistency.

Remove the city chicken from the grill. Drizzle with the heated marinade. Sprinkle with chopped salted peanuts. Serve.

If you follow my recipes, you know that I like to use the technique of substituting spices for the flavor of fats. Spicy food really excites your taste buds and unlocks the flavors in lower fat meats like ground turkey or chicken. This recipe is a pretty flexible recipe to keep handy. I chose to make meatballs. It can easily be adapted into a southwestern meatloaf. There isn't much fat in this recipe. The Simple Southwestern Sauce that I serve these in gives them a very moist and tasty sauce to enhance the flavor. If your diet allows you to have some rice, you might also like my Simple Southwestern Rice. It is a low carb and diet friendly side dish that works well with this recipe.

Spicy Southwestern Turkey Meatballs 

1 pound ground turkey breast
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon pickled jalapeno slices
3/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup Egg Beaters (or 2 egg whites)
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix until well blended. 

Spray a jelly roll pan or large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Cover with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Lightly spray the top of the parchment paper.

Form the meat mixture into 1 1/4" meatballs. You will have approximately 30 meatballs. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn meatballs. Bake for another 10 minutes. Serve with Simple Southwestern Sauce (recipe follows), cheddar cheese and sour cream. Excellent served over pasta.

Simple Southwestern Sauce

Mix together the following and heat in a microwave until hot:

1 cup medium chunky salsa (any variety, black bean and corn salsa is delicious.
1 cup of your favorite marina sauce
1/4 cup of finely chopped cilantro

Simple Southwestern Rice

Prepare a microwave Minute Brown Rice according to directions. While the rice is cooking, drain and rinse a can of black beans.

In a medium microwave safe bowl, combine 1 cup of salsa, drained and rinsed black bens and the cooked brown rice. Stir. Microwave 4-5 minutes until heated through. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped cilantro. Serve.

Lent is just a few days away. Every day to and from work I pass a Russian Orthodox Church that has terrific fish fries on Fridays during Lent. These Catholic and Orthodox fish fries are common throughout Northeast Ohio. The Russian Orthodox fry near my house is delicious. What is also nice is the fact that they offer a baked fish alternative to the high fat beer battered dipped fried fish. I do love the fried fish, but I am avoiding it with my bariatric diet.

I created this recipe that closely imitates that deep fried fish and chips taste. The key to this recipe is baking the fish and French fries on very high heat. The crunchy coating on the fish comes from Fiber One cereal crumbs. With 14 grams of fiber in 1/2 cup of cereal, it makes a great alternative to purchased bread crumbs. I buy a box and process it into crumbs to use in meatloaf, breading and other recipes calling for bread crumbs.

Baked Fish and Chips

Chips Ingredients:

4 medium Idaho Russet potatoes
1 egg white
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon Franks Hot Sauce

Fish Ingredients:

1 pound firm white fish, like ocean perch or tilapia
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
1 teaspoon Franks Hot Sauce
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup Fiber One crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450. Peel and cut potatoes into French fries. In a medium bowl, beat egg white until it is frothy. Stir in Old Bay Seasoning and Hot sauce. Toss French fries in the egg whites. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a medium baking sheet. (This makes clean-up a breeze.) Spread fries evenly in the pan, taking care to separate fries. Bake for 10 minutes. Stir. Bake for another 10 minutes. Stir. Bake for a final 10 minutes. Salt if desired.

While your fries are baking, cut fish into 1" X 3" pieces. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, mix egg beaters and hot sauce. In a second shallow bowl or pie plate, mix together Fiber One crumbs, salt, pepper and Old Bay. Dip the fish in the egg mixture. Dredge in the Fiber One crumbs. Place on small baking rack set in a medium baking sheet. By elevating the fish, it will bake crisper and give it that deep fried appearance. Bake for 12-14 minutes until firm.

Serve with tarter sauce if desired. Serves 4.