Lemon No-Bake Cheesecake Squares

• 1 pkg lemon-flavoured jelly powder (I used the light kind)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1-1/2 cups crushed, low-fat graham crackers
• 3 tbsp light butter or margarine, melted
• 1 tbsp packed brown sugar
• 8 oz light cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar (could be optional lol)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice, fresh is best
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups light frozen whipped topping, thawed

- In a small bowl, dissolve jelly powder in boiling water. Refrigerate until slightly thickened, but not set. (about 40-45min).
- Meanwhile, prepare crust. In a small bowl, combine graham crums, melted butter and brown sugar. Stir well using a fork. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Press crumb mixture evenly over bottom of pan. Refrigerate while you make the filling.
- To prepare filling, beat together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla on high speed of electric mixer. Beat until smooth. Add thickened jelly and beat on medium speed until well blended. Fold in whipped topping.
- Pour lemon mixture over prepared crust and spread evenly to edges of pan. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Cut into squares and serve. Makes 24 squares

Per square: 133 calories, 4.5g fat, 0.5g fiber -- 3pts per square

Mediterranean Eggplant Casserole

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. oregano, dried
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs. tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tbs. fresh basil, sliced
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs, seasoned
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 3 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 lg. or 2 1/2 lbs. eggplant, peeled and cut crosswise into 3/8" thick slices

1. Prepare a cookie sheet with fat free cooking spray and set aside. 2. Mix bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Beat egg whites with 1/2 tsp. salt. 3. Dip eggplant slices in egg whites, coat with seasoned bread crumbs. 4. Place eggplant slices on prepared cookie sheet. You will have 2 different batches. Spray eggplant slices with cooking spray. Set aside.
5. In a nonstick skillet heat oil over medium heat, add onion and garlic. Cook until softened. Add oregano, 1 tsp. salt and pepper. Cook for one minute. Add tomatoes, increase heat to high and cook until thickened, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and add basil. 6. Broil eggplant slices, 1 batch at a time for 3-5 minutes per side, until brown. 7. Preheat oven to 425 F. Layer eggplant slices in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Top with tomato mixture and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and remaining parmesan cheese. 8. Bake uncovered until cheese is bubbly, 10-15 minutes.

Makes 6 servings: Cal 249; Pro 13 g; Fat 8 g; Chol 17 mg; Carbs 34 g Sod 1,287 mg; Fiber 7 g; sugar 11 g

Scallops Provencale (4 servings)

• 1/4 lb fresh mushroom
• 1 (28 ounce) can italian tomato, seeded, juice reserved
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 4 garlic clove, minced
• 1 lb scallops (bay or sea)
• 2 tablespoons red wine
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• salt
• pepper

Slice mushrooms and set aside. Chop tomatoes. In 12-inch skillet over medium heat, heat butter and olive oil. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add scallops and saute 1 minute.
Add mushrooms and cook another minute. Stir in tomatoes with their juice, red wine, parsley, lemon juice, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer 5 to 7 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Calories 209; Fat 7.6g; Cholesterol 45mg; Sodium; Potassium 964mg; Carbohydrate 13.0g ; Dietary Fiber 2.8g; Protein 22 g

Moroccan Chicken

Chicken in a tomato based sauce with garbanzo beans, zucchini and some other stuff. I have to chase down this recipe. It was de-lish. Again, not really bad for you, its made with lean chicken breasts, tomato sauce, veggies. Practically guilt-free.

Orzo w/spinach, asparagus, mushrooms and feta

So good, pretty rich tasting because of the feta, but its all really quite good for you. Tons of vegetables in here. Not for the faint of carb though. Recipe will have to come later.
There are a few turkey meatballs sitting on top there. I'll skip those next time.

Two kinds of pancakes in the world

Well, there are probably more than two, but in my estimation, there are two. There are the big fluffy fat ones, and there are the really thin ones. Also known as crepes. This recipe is for the fluffy fat ones, and its the shit:

Super Fluffy Pancakes
(yields about 6 pancakes about 3.5" in diameter,
3WW points per pancake)

1 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp melted margarine

Sift together the dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix together the wet ingredients in another. Add the dry to the wet, mix well, but not too much. You know how to cook pancakes, right? I don't have to go over that do I? Hot pan, or griddle, etc? The batter will rise up and become thick in the bowl. I put sliced strawberries in mine (which was delish- the mild sweetness of the strawberries were complemented by the super-sweetness of the maple syrup); you can probably put any fruit you'd like into it. It's a hardy batter. It can take it.

Baked Chicken w/Peaches

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. 2. Place chicken in the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Place peach slices over chicken, then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, ginger, cloves, and lemon juice.3. Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, basting often with juices, until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

I enjoyed this, although, Richie did not. He liked the chicken OK, but not so much the peaches. I got a piece with a bit too much clove on it, and it sorta made my tastebuds angry, but it was good.

Citrus Shrimp Stir Fry

1/4 cup, plus 2 tsp. Orange Juice
2 tsp. Cornstarch
1 tbl. Splenda
1 tbl. Black Beans; rinsed, drained and chopped
3 tbl. Rice Vinegar
2 tbl. Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Sesame Oil (olive works just fine)
1 tsp. chili pepper flakes (or more if you like it to burn)
1 med zucchini sliced into half-coins
1 cup sliced mushrooms
handful of green beans, sliced in half on the bias
3/4 lb. uncooked large Shrimp; fresh or frozen (thawed) peeled and deveined
2 Green Onions; sliced (2 tbl. spoons)


1. Mix 2 tsp. orange juice and the cornstarch, set aside
2. Mix 1/4 cup orange juice, sugar, black beans, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil & chili flakes in a small bowl
3. Spray skillet or wok with cooking spray, add zucchini, mushrooms and green beans. Saute for a few minutes.
4. Add the orange juice mixture, heat to boiling, add shrimp.
5. Stir fry 4 or 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm.
6. Stir in cornstarch mixture, cook and stir for about 1 min. or until thickened. Stir in onions.

Serve about 1/2 cup of the shrimp mixture over 1/2 cup of brown rice.

I am not sure what the nutritional info is on this, because I made some substitutions and added some stuff, but, there is nothing bad in this except for the oil.

Grilled Scallop Skewers w/ grape tomato, boccocini and chick pea salad

I cribbed the recipe for the salad from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry, and I had some scallops kicking around the house, so I put this together.

Scallops (feeds 2)
Marinade about 10 medium scallops in the following for about an hour:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp garlic juice
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lime flavoured Red Hot sauce

While your scallops are marinading nicely, put in a big bowl:

• 1-19 oz can of chickpeas
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup mini boccocini, halved
• 1/3 cup chopped red onions
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (must be fresh)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used lime, and it worked just as well)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix it all together and let sit for a while. Tomatoes can lose their flavour when refrigerated, so if you are going to let it sit for a long time (which I would, because oil/vinegar salads taste best if left to marinate for a while) don't add them until just before you serve it. Although, I threw it all together and let it all rest and it tasted great.

Thread scallops on a skewer and grill on bbq for about 3 minutes each side. Really, its the size of your scallops that dictates how long you grill it for. Look for them to get opaque and less "squishy".

Serve with french bread, and enjoy!

Chunky Cod Stir-Fry

INGREDIENTS

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons sherry or additional chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen Oriental mixed vegetables, thawed
• 1 small sweet red pepper, julienned
• 1 pound cod fillets, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
• 4 cups hot cooked rice

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients until blended; set aside. In a nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry garlic in oil for 30 seconds. Add mixed vegetables; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add red pepper; stir-fry for 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove and keep warm. Add half of the cod to skillet; gently stir-fry for 3-5 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove and keep warm. Repeat with remaining cod.
2. Stir reserved broth mixture and add to skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Return vegetables and fish to the pan. Add peanuts. Gently stir to coat. Cover and cook for 1 minute or until heated through. Serve over rice.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1-1/2 cups fish mixture with 1 cup rice) equals 484 calories, 12 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 49 mg cholesterol, 1,117 mg sodium, 62 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 29 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 starch, 3 lean meat, 1 vegetable, 1 fat.

Cannellini Bean and Shrimp Stew

Cannellini beans are white kidney beans; substitute Great Northern beans, if you prefer.

Ingredients

1 pound unpeeled large shrimp
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups water
1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
1 bay leaf
3 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
4 cups cooked cannellini beans
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

Peel and devein shrimp, reserving shells. Cover and chill shrimp.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add reserved shrimp shells to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until shells turn pink. Stir in wine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in 2 cups water, clam juice, and bay leaf; simmer 12 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Set shrimp stock aside.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 8 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in thyme, salt, pepper, and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Strain shrimp stock through a colander over Dutch oven; discard solids. Add beans to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes; remove from heat. Stir in shrimp; cover and let stand 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Stir in parsley.

Yield

6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 318(15% from fat); FAT 5.3g (sat 0.7g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 24.9g; CHOLESTEROL 116mg; CALCIUM 340mg; SODIUM 486mg; FIBER 2.6g; IRON 5.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.7g

Key Lime White Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1.5 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup key lime juice
1.5 tsp grated lime zest
1-1.5 cups white choc chips (1 bag)
1/2 cup powdered sugar (for decoration)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheets. In a large bowl cream butter, sugar, egg and egg yolk until smooth. Stir in keylime juice and zest. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; blend into the creamed mixture. Add white choc chips and blend. Form dough into 1/2 inch balls and arrange on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Sift powdered sugar over cookies while still warm (Last step is optional.. best served when warm)