Asian chopped salad

2 cups (4 oz) thinly sliced green cabbage

2 cups (4 0z) thinly sliced red cabbage

1 c grated carrot

1 red bell pepper, julienned into 1" strips

2 T chipped cilantro

1/2 c asian dressing

sesame seeds

combine the green and red cabbage, carrot, pepper and cilantro. Add the dressing and toss. Garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds if desired. Can be served with grilled chicken

asian dressing

1/3 c soft silken tofu

1/4 c white or yellow golden miso (fermented soybean paste used in Japanese cooking.)

1/4 c rice wine vinegar

2 T fresh lime juice

2 T water

2 T low sodium soy sauce

2 T natural unsweetened PB

2 T pickled ginger

1 T honey

1 1/2 t mustard powder

1 1/2 t garlic

1/2 t red chili flakes, optional

2 T minced scallions

2 T chopped cilantro

Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend smooth. Stir in scallions and cilantro

Egg Foo Yung

1/2 c finely shredded cabbage or fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained

1/4 c thinly sliced mushrooms

1/4 c thinly sliced or finely grated carrots

2 T finely sliced scallions

2 T chopped red bell pepper

1 t garlic

1 t fresh ginger

6 large egg whites, 1 whole egg, or 1 1/4 c egg substitute

2/3 c diced lean turkey, chicken, or pork

1/2 t ground black pepper

1 T fresh cilantro or scallions

Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with olive oil spray. Over med-high heat, cook cabbage-ginger for about 3 minutes. Transfer veggies to a bowl to cool. Clean the skillet to use again.

Beat eggs well. add veggies, turkey and pepper. Stir to combine

Again, lightly coat skillet with spray and place over med-high heat. While hot, add egg mixture. Cook 1 min or until set around edges. Reduce to low and cover. Simmer 2-3 min. Remove from heat and allow eggs to rest, covered, for 2 minutes. Fold the eggs in half then cut them in half again before transferring to 2 plates. Garnish with cilantro or scallions and serve hot with soy sauce.

Doc's Chili

3 cups chopped yellow onions

1 1/4 pounds 99% lean ground turkey or turkey sausage

3 cups diced tomatoes or 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth

2 T garlic

2 T chili powder

1 T fresh oregano or 1 t dried

1 t ground cumin

1 t mustard powder

1/2 c sliced olives

1/2 c chopped scallions or cilantro

coat large pan with olive oil spray. Add onions and cook over med-high heat until they are soft and brown. Add the ground turkey or sausage and cook over med-high heat, breaking up the meat with a spoon, for 6 min or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, beans, broth, garlic and spices. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low and simmer 20 min.

Garnish with olives and scallions or cilantro

makes 12 1 cup servings

150 calories per serving

Southern Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

from foodnetwork.com alton brown

Homemade Sweet Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS

1. Add ingredients in order suggested by your manufacturer.
2. Select "sweet bread" setting.

yummy with pulled pork sandwhich

Blondies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, plus butter for pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup light brown muscovado sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown muscovado sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons toffee chips
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and line a 9 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan with parchment paper, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Butter the lining too.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan; add both sugars and whisk until combined and sugar is melted, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Add the flour and whisk until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips, toffee chips and almonds and transfer the mixture to the prepared pan.

Bake for 24 to 27 minutes or until the top cracks slightly and is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the center comes out with moist pieces clinging to it. Remove to a wire rack and let cool completely. Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment handles, transfer to a cutting board and cut into 2-inch squares.

from foodnetwork.com Bobby Flay

Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter Brownies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk, divided
• 1/4 cup butter or stick margarine, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 1 (18.25-ounce) package devil's food cake mix
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme (about 1 3/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter morsels

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 1/4 cup condensed milk, butter, and next 3 ingredients (butter through egg white) in a bowl (batter will be very stiff). Coat bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Press two-thirds of batter into prepared pan using floured hands; pat evenly (layer will be thin).

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Combine 1/2 cup condensed milk and marshmallow creme in a bowl; stir in morsels. Spread marshmallow mixture evenly over brownie layer. Carefully drop remaining batter by spoonfuls over marshmallow mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

The Ultimate Chocolate Trifle

Wow. Okay. *Wow*. You know that dessert on table that simultaneously makes everyone’s jaw drop and mouth water? The one that’s gone first, everyone’s still talking about, and all the ladies are asking for the recipe? That’s this. And it’s so easy. But so, so impressive. You’ve gotta make it.

First, I started off by making my Best Chocolate Cake (ever!) recipe, mixing in smooth, luscious milk chocolate chips into the batter. The big kind. Not the mini ones. ;)

Gooey.

In a trifle bowl, I scooped a layer of:

1. Chocolate Cake
2. Chocolate Jello Pudding
3. Cool Whip

Now, remember those football brownies I cut out? Well, there were lots of scraps leftover. :D And while Kevin and I scarfed most of them down, there were *just* enough left over… *grin* So, after the first cool whip layer, I added the fudgy brownie scraps. :D

I did another layer of cake, pudding, and cool whip, then topped with crushed, double chocolate oreos. Oh. Baby. Come to mama.

A couple of notes:

1. I only had 1 box of jello pudding, but the second layer was pretty skimpy. You might want to do 2 boxes, although I don’t know if you’d need two full boxes.

2. I definitely needed a second tub of Cool Whip, although I only used about half of it. Maybe I should’ve just done smaller layers. Wait what! Nevermind. Forget I said that. ;)

3. This is best when it’s super fresh, so try to try make it and serve it within a few hours of each other. If you have to refrigerate it overnight, be sure and cover it tightly (hard to do when it’s overflowing like mine was!) and let it come (mostly) to room temperature before serving.

Mmm. Leftovers. :D

BTW, that chocolaty background in these pics is the color of my living room walls. It’s Sherwin-Williams Latte. I love it. We think it should be called “Frosty” because it’s the exact color of a Wendy’s Frosty. :D Complements this ultimate chocolate trifle cake perfectly dontcha think? ;)

Football Brownies

We’ll start off innocently enough… ;) I saw these cute little football brownies over on Paige and Brooke’s blog- have you seen this blog? It’s so cute. So many fun ideas! And I knew I had to make these scrumptious little brownie bites. I sent them to work with Kevin on Friday- there are a couple of new guys and they’re all big SEC football fans over there. I got the football cookie cutter at Hobby Lobby and I used this icing to decorate them with:

Pumpkin Bread

* 1 1/2 c. flour
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1 c. sugar
* 1 tsp. baking soda
* 1 c. pumpkin puree
* 1/2 c. vegetable oil
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1/4 c. water
* 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
* 1 tsp. cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp. allspice
* 1/4 tsp. cloves
* 1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional) OR CRAISINS YUM!

Preheat your oven to 350. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, & baking soda. In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, oil, eggs, water, & spices. Pour into the bowl w/ dry ingredients & mix just until all are combined - don't stir too much! Stir in the nuts, if you're using them (I like it better w/o the nuts). Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3-in. loaf pan, bake 50-60 minutes until done in the middle. Remove from pan, cool on a rack.

Keep wrapped in the refrigerator. Really good w/ cream cheese, or chopped walnuts in cream cheese.

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

Who doesn't love poultry with a tangy Mexican twist? From The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook

Makes 4 servings

1 1⁄2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 garlic cloves, minced

1⁄2 small jalapeño, seeded and minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large red bell pepper, quartered

1 large green bell pepper, quartered

1 large red onion, cut into 1⁄2-inch-thick rounds

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 (8-inch) whole-wheat tortillas

In a resealable plastic bag, combine chicken, lime juice, garlic, and jalapeño; turn to coat well. Marinate chicken at room temperature for 20 minutes or refrigerate overnight. Remove chicken from marinade and season lightly with salt and black pepper.

Lightly coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray and heat to medium-high. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board.

While chicken is cooking, in a medium bowl toss bell peppers and onion with oil. Using a grill basket or grill topper, if necessary, grill vegetables, turning occasionally, until softened and lightly charred, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer onions to a platter. Transfer peppers to a cutting board and cut into thin strips; transfer to the platter with onions.

Grill tortillas until warm and lightly browned, about 30 seconds per side. Wrap in foil to keep warm.

Slice chicken breasts into 1⁄2-inch-thick pieces. Place on the platter with vegetables and serve with warmed tortillas. Top with a dollop of salsa and nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt, if you like.

Nutrition at a Glance

Per serving: 350 calories, 7 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 43 g protein, 28 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 340 mg sodium

Mashed "Potatoes"

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Makes 4 (1-cup) servings

1 1/2 pounds cauliflower, cut into large florets (about 8 cups)
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 (14-ounce) cans lower-sodium chicken broth
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

In a large saucepan, combine cauliflower, garlic, and broth. If cauliflower is not completely covered by broth, add water to just cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 12 minutes.

Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid, then drain cauliflower and garlic. Transfer cauliflower and garlic to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, pulsing in some or all of the reserved cooking liquid, if necessary, to moisten mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, stir in chives. Serve warm.

Nutrition at a Glance
Per serving: 80 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 8 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 183 mg sodium

Variations: Fold in shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese or a small amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese after puréeing; mix in cooked, chopped turkey bacon; or use chopped fresh parsley or basil in addition to or in place of the chives.

Adapted from The South Beach Diet Supercharged by Arthur Agatston, MD with Joseph Signorile, PhD. Copyright (c) 2008 by Arthur Agatston, MD. Available where books are sold.