Oatmeal Pecan Pie

Recipe from Cooking Light

1/2 package refrigerated pie dough

cooking spray

1 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cup regular oats

1/2 cup chopped pecans*

2 tbs butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

*I didn't think 1/2 cup pecans was enough, so I probably used close to 2 cups; which worked out well.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into a 11-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under; flute. Combine brown sugar and remaining ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 12 servings

Calories: 311; Fat: 11.3g

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

I had some leftover ricotta I wanted to use up so I made these yesterday for my husband who a) doesn't like pancakes and b) does not like lemon. But he LOVED these! They taste almost crepe-like, light with a wonderful lemon flavor. I used both orange and lemon zest which tasted fabulous.

From Sunset Magazine

Yield: Makes about 8 pancakes; 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
Salad oil

Preparation:
1. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg yolks, and lemon peel to blend. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until evenly moistened. Gently stir in ricotta cheese.
2. In a bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. With a flexible spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter just until they are incorporated.
3. Place a nonstick griddle or a 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat (350°); when hot, coat lightly with oil and adjust heat to maintain temperature. Drop batter in 1/2-cup portions onto the griddle and cook until pancakes are browned on the bottom and edges begin to look dry, about 2 minutes; turn cakes with a wide spatula and brown other sides, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Coat pan with more oil as necessary to cook remaining pancakes.
4. Serve pancakes as cooked, or keep warm in a single layer on baking sheets in a 200° oven for up to 15 minutes.

Grilled Portobellos with Avocado Salsa

I decided to try this the other day when I wasn't feeling super hungry but wanted something with a lot of flavor. It is great either as an appetizer or just a mid-afternoon snack!

The recipe is from Yahoo Shine

ingredients

• 4, 6-to 8-ounce fresh portobello mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 medium avocado, seeded, peeled, and chopped
• 6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 4 green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup crumbled, crisp-cooked bacon (about 4 slices)
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro

directions

1. Cut off mushroom stems even with caps; discard stems. Lightly rinse mushroom caps. Gently pat dry with paper towels. Combine vinegars, olive oil, and red pepper in a bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup vinegar mixture for salsa.
2. Grill mushroom caps directly over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender, turning and brushing once with the remaining vinegar mixture halfway through grilling.
3. For salsa, combine the reserved vinegar mixture, the avocado, tomato quarters, green onion, crumbled bacon, and cilantro in a medium bowl.
4. Slice the mushrooms about 1/2 inch thick. Spoon the salsa over mushroom slices. Makes 8 servings.

Moroccan Skirt Steak w/ Roasted Pepper Couscous

(photo courtesy of eatingwell.com)

I got a subscription to Eating Well magazine for my birthday this year and just got my first issue last week. This recipe was the first one I tried from the Dec. '09 issue and Glendon and I both loved it! The spices are delicious and it was quick to prepare. It may even be company worthy. :o) I didn't have couscous so I made it with rice instead, which still tasted great. I just cooked the rice as directed but added the spices when the water boiled.

Ingredidents:
- 2 medium bell peppers (I only used 1)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 whole lemon, plus more lemon wedges for garnish
- 1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2/3 cup whole-wheat couscous
- 1 pound skirt steak or sirloin steak, 3/4 to 1 inch thick, trimmed
- 2 tablespoons chopped green olives (I didn't use)

Preparation:
1. Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler.

2. Place bell peppers on a baking sheet and roast under the broiler, turning every 5 minutes, until charred and softened, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a clean cutting board; when cool enough to handle, chop the peppers into bite-size pieces.

3. Meanwhile, combine cumin, coriander, salt, turmeric, cinnamon and pepper in a small bowl. Grate 1/2 teaspoon zest from the lemon. Juice the lemon into a 1-cup measure and add enough water to make 1 cup. Pour into a small saucepan and add the lemon zest, 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Bring to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover, remove from heat and let stand.

4. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering (but not smoking). Rub the remaining spice mixture on both sides of steak. Cook the steak 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare (I cooked for 6-8 min for medium well). Let rest on the cutting board for 5 minutes. Stir olives and the peppers into the couscous. Thinly slice the steak and serve with the couscous and lemon wedges, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 455
Fat:18g (5 g sat, 10 g mono)
Chol.: 67 mg
Carbs: 36 g
Protein: 36 g
Fiber: 7 g
Sodium: 663 mg
Potassium: 483 mg

Plum Galette

I got this recipe from the September '09 issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. A galette is a free form tart and this one is SO good. And don't worry because it looks a lot more intimidating to make than it really is. To make it way easier, I used store bought Pilsbury refigerated pie crust I already had instead of making the crust from scratch. Nice little shortcut and it turned out great! But I included the recipe for Martha's pie crust incase you do decide to go all out.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling
- 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup ice water

For the filling:

- 2 T. flour

- 5 T. sugar

- 1/4 cup whole, skin-on almonds, toasted
- 4 to 5 plums, halved, pitted, and sliced 1/4 inch thick (keep slices together)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preparations:

1. In a food processor, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, butter, 1 teaspoon sugar, and salt; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup remaining ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Dont overmix. Remove dough from processor and shape into a disk; wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.

2.Meanwhile, wipe bowl of food processor clean and add almonds, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 2 tablespoons flour; pulse until ground to a coarse meal.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. (If you are using refrigerated pie crust, lay it on a floured surface and roll out gently to thin out the dough a bit). Transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet; sprinkle almond mixture over dough. With a spatula, transfer plums to dough; press lightly to fan slices out, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold edge of dough over fruit. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Brush crust with cream; sprinkle galette with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until crust is golden and underside is cooked through, about 70 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings