Recipes by Alissa:
Rainbow Rice Salad
4 cups of uncooked rice
2 bottles of salad dressing - vinaigrette style any flavor - Italian, Oil & Vinegar, etc.
1 red pepper
Baby carrots
1 Yellow squash
1 Cucumber - scoop out the seeds
1 Red onion
1 stick of pepperoni
1 can of sliced black olives
Cook the rice according to package directions (I use the 20 minute variety for this salad). Add salad dressing as the rice is cooling. Chop all the vegetables into small pieces. Cut the pepperoni into small quarters. Toss everything and your done! Save some dressing to add right before serving. You might also need to add some additional olive oil to keep the rice moist.
Rainbow Coleslaw
1/4 small head (4 ounces) each white, green, and red cabbage
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup shredded spinach
1 sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper
Pinch of curry powder
Trim the stem ends from the cabbages. Remove and discard any outer wilted leaves. Using a long, sharp knife, cut the cabbages lengthwise in half and then into quarters.
Cut out and discard the cores from the cabbage quarters. Thinly shred the cabbage leaves, cutting lengthwise or crosswise across the cabbage, depending on the size of shred desired.
Place the shredded cabbage in a large bowl with the shredded carrot, spinach, red pepper, and red onion.
Make the dressing: In a small bowl, mix the yogurt, olive oil, mayonnaise, mint, vinegar, salt, pepper, and curry powder. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss together until well coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
To reduce fat, make the dressing with nonfat yogurt and reduced-fat mayonnaise. To add nutrients: cabbage and carrots are high in beta carotene, spinach provides iron, and all are rich in vitamin C. Add nuts or lean meat for protein. Serves 12. Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus chilling time.
Nutritional Information: (1 serving) Calories 56, Saturated Fat 1g, Total Fat 4g, Sodium 53mg, Cholesterol 1mg, Protein 1g, Carbohydrate 4g, Fiber 2g
Maple-Glazed Roasted Salmon
1/4 cup grated peeled fresh ginger
1/4 cup rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 (2-1/2-pound) salmon fillet
6 shallots, halved lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
Chopped parsley (optional)
1. Combine first 3 ingredients in bottom of a large platter. Add fish, skin side up, to ginger mixture. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 20 minutes. Remove fish from marinade; pat dry with paper towel to remove excess marinade.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
3. Place a baking sheet in oven 5 minutes. Place shallots and fish, skin side down, on baking sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush fish with 1 tablespoon syrup. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Brush with 1 tablespoon syrup; bake an additional 7 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 5 ounces fish and 2 shallot halves).
CALORIES 342 (41% from fat); FAT 15.6g (sat 2.7g, mono 7.5g, poly 3.4g); PROTEIN 38.8g; CARB 9g; FIBER 0g; CHOL 123mg; IRON 1mg; SODIUM 284mg; CALC 19mg
Mexican Cream Cheese Dip
1 large block of cream cheese (2 depending on the dish you use)
1-3 cups of salsa
1 package of shredded cheese - Monterary Jack, Mexican Blend, Cheddar, etc.
Spread the cream cheese in a shallow baking dish cover with the salsa and sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Bake for at 375 until the cheese is bubbly. Serve with corn chips.
Chili Cheese Dip
1(or 2) large block of cream cheese
1(or 2) can of Hormel chili
8 - 12 oz of Monterary Jack cheese cut into chunks
Mix all ingredients in a deep baking dish and bake until the cheese is melted through. Serve with corn chips.
Salmon Dip
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. sour cream
1 Tbsp. minced onion (I like red onion)
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
8-12 oz. smoked salmon or lox, chopped.
Fresh dill
Mix well. Good on bagels or baguettes.
Chicken and Apple Burgers
2 chicken breasts, skinned and cut into chunks
1 large apple shredded
1 small shallot or onion (optional)
Place all ingredients in a food processor and whirl until it is a chunky mince.
Form into 10 small patties and shallow fry or bake in the oven. These can be eaten as finger foods or served on a bun. You can also make stick shapes rather than round shapes to pick up.
Jungle Juice
1 cup apple juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1 4 ounce jar of baby banana
1/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt
Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth, place in a blender and whirl until smooth. Serve in a sippy cup.
New England Pumpkin Pie
1 can of pumpkin or squash
1 can of evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 T melted butter
Dash lemon juice
1/4 c molasses
2 cups sugar
1 T cornstarch
1/2 salt
1/2 Cinnamon
1/2 Ginger
1/2 Nutmeg
Mix all the wet ingredients together, (Let the butter cool a bit before adding
the beaten eggs). Sift the dry ingredients together and stir into the wet
ingredients. Pour into pie shell and bake on 450 for 15
min then turn the oven down to 350 for 50 minutes.
Pie Crust (double crust)
2 cups flour
1/2 T salt
2/3 cups shortening (I use Crisco or butter flavored Crisco)
6 - 7 T ice cold water
I put the dry ingredients plus the Crisco in Tupperware container
so I can shake it, I also use a pastry cutter - two butter knives work well
too. (A great lesson I learned a long time ago to keep your pie crust flaky
is to use ice water and touch it as little as possible) I add 2 T of water at
a time and keep checking the consistency.
Some pie crust variations:
After I roll out the crust I sprinkle some cinnamon on it. Use orange juice
instead of water for the liquid. Another idea for apple pie is to mix in
shredded cheddar cheese.
Cinnamon Swirls
Roll out the leftover pie dough from the pie crust recipe fairly thin. Spray with butter spray, sprinkle with lots of brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll into a tube, slice into<1/4 in. circles (it helps to refrigerate the tube before you slice it - while the pie is in the oven at the high temp) and bake along with the pie for about the last 20 minutes at 350.
Alissa's Crockpot Chicken
Last week I cooked a roasting chicken in my crock pot. I added a can
of cream of chicken soup and a packet of onion soup mix (I was out of
onions!). I added some rosemary and tyme and half a bag of baby
carrots. Then I filled the pot with water. I cooked it on high for 9
hours.