EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

.....by Amy

Ingredients
1 large eggplant, 1 orange pepper and 1 green pepper, 1 red onion, med, chopped chives, zucchini, med2 tomatoes, med, bread crumbs, vinegar (homemade flavor or balsimic), garlic cloves, (to taste. I LOVE garlic so I use about 8 cloves),1 can fat-free spaghetti sauce,onion salt, oregano, other italian spices to taste, *fat free mozzerlla (or soy cheese)

Procedure:
basically I slice the eggplant and place on a plate. Sprinkle with balsimic(sp?) vinegar (or homemade oregon or garlic vinegar) and micro wave for about6-7 minutes to soften. Then I coat with breadcrumbs (which I have mixed thespices in with). Place them in a large baking dish, and cover with choppedpeppers, chives, sliced zucchini, sliced tomatoes, onions and garlic cloves. Then I pour the spag. sauce over the top and sprinkle with oregano. OptionallyI sometimes use Alpine lace fat free mozz. cheese. But someone mentionedsoy-cheese? to me and maybe that would work as well. Then I bake for about 1hr. at 350 degrees.

Peanut Butter and Bran Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup butter (use Smart Balance oleo for healthier cookies)3/4 cup packed brown sugar, 3/4 cup white sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup peanut butter, 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup wheat bran, 3/4 cup rolled oats, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 eggs, beaten (use Egg Beaters instead)

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt butter. Beat together with the sugars, vanilla, peanut butter and eggs.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, bran, oats and baking soda.
4. Stir mixture into butter mixture.
5. Drop by teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool.
Serving size: 2 cookies
Serving Information
Serves: 42
Fat: 8.0 g
Calories: 135

LowFat Cakes made from cake mix

Ingredients
Had occasion to build a birthday cake today - and as a 21st century woman, I use cake mixes. They are so much easier that starting from "scratch". The Pillsbury cake mix box had a GREAT tip that made me feel like I was cooking my hubby a healthy cake. This was a "moist" cake calling for 1 1/4 cups water, 1/2 cup oil & 3 eggs. Here is Pillsbury's recommended substitution:

"If desired, substitute 3 egg whites or 3/4 cup refrigerated or frozen fat-free egg product, thawed, for the eggs. Increase water to 1 3/4 cups, omit oil & add 2 tbsp. flour. Bake 5 minutes longer."


Procedure
It turned out pretty good - not as "moist" as the regular, but much better for you. I've found that when you get accustomed to eating less fats in your diet, when you eat something fattier than usual, it tastes & feels odd when you eat it. I' ve grown to prefer less fat in my diet.

Jello Fluff

Ingredients
2 small boxes sugarfree Jello (your favorite flavor)
1/2 cup skim milk
1 envelope Dream Whip
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Procedure
Prepare Jello; chill until almost firm.
Prepare whipped topping mix according to package directions, using skim milk & vanilla.
Fold whipped topping into the Jello slowly.
Chill for 2-4 hours.

Sometimes I make this with 1 1/2-2 cups drained crushed pineapple in it's own juice. I use the drained off juice to flavor the jello.

Also I suppose you could use fatfree frozen CoolWhip (thawed) instead of Dreamwhip, although I've never tried it yet, myself.

Fresh Rhubarb Crisp

Ingredients
1 1/3 to 2 C. sugar
4 C. 1" rhubarb pieces
3 Tbs. Minute Tapioca

Topping:
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. oatmeal
1/3 C. softened oleo

Procedure
Mix together sugar, rhubarb, and tapioca. Place into a 9x12 greased pan.

Combine topping ingredients. Sprinkle ove rhubarb.

Bake at 400 degress until fruit is bubbly and topping is brown. About 1 hour.

Easy Mix Cookie Bars Revisited

Ingredients
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Smart Balance Shortening
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup raisins
1 cup boiling water
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat bran (millers wheat)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder

Procedure
In order listed, measure all ingredients into 3-4 qt. mixing bowl. Do NOT stir until all are in the bowl. Beat thoroughly. My recipe sais spread out 1/4 inch thick on greased 17-1/2 x 11-1/2 x 2 inch cookie pan. (I used one pan 9" x 12" x 2" & one 8" square pan.)
Bake in 375 degree oven about 20 minutes or to a rich brown. Drizzle confecioner's frosting over cookies while hot. Cut into 40 2 inch bars.

It actually looked more like a nice moist cake & I didn't cut it all ahead of time.

CONFECTIONER'S FROSTING: Combine 1-1/4 cup powdered sugar with 1 tsp. vanilla & 1/4 cup liquid (may be milk, water or orange juice.) Mix until smooth & spread on cake or cookies.

Creamy Cheesecake

Ingredients
CRUST:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (14 squares)
4 1/2 tbsp. sugar
4 1/2 tbsp melted margarine
CAKE:
3 8-oz. packages fatfree cream cheese, softened
(or lowfat if fatfree is not available)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. flour
3 tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup egg substitute
1 8-oz. carton fatfree lemon yogurt

Procedure
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine first 3 ingredients, mix well & pat into bottom of 9" or 10" springform pan. Set aside.

Beat cream cheese, sugar & flour together until light, fluffy & smooth.
Gradually add lemon juice & egg substitute & beat well.
Stir in lemon yogurt & mix thoroughly.
Pour over prepared crust.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until center of cake is set.
Gently run tip of knife between cake & edge of pan.
Cool to room temperature before removing rim of pan.
Chill.
Top with fresh fruit or a fruit sauce like my blueberry sauce recipe


This recipe is lowfat but watch out for the calories!!! I don't know how many are in it, but I don't make it more than a couple of times a year because it's addictive.

A hint from Sharlene: To keep your cheesecake from cracking on top, wrap two layers of aluminum foil around the bottom of your springform pan & sit it in a pan of water (not to exceed the height of the foil) when you put it in the oven.

When cake is done, turn off oven, leave cake in oven for an hour with door held open a crack with a wooden spoon. Thanks Sharba!

Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients
2 1/2-3 cups frozen blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp. minute tapioca

Procedure
Combine all ingredients. Let rest 15 minutes (to soak up the tapioca).
Microwave on high 3-5 minutes, until boiling.
Continue at 30% power 6-8 minutes more (until thick).
Serve hot or cold, depending on what you are topping with it.

NanaBanana's Very Berry Pie

Ingredients
1 reduced fat graham cracker crust
1 3.4 oz. pk. Instant Lemon Jello Sugar-free Pudding
1/2 pint fresh blackberries or bosenberries, cleaned and well drained
1/2 pint fresh raspberries, cleaned and well drained
1 pint strawberries
2 cups non-fat milk
1 egg white, beaten lightly

Procedure
Brush crust with egg white and bake according to package directions. Let cool completely.

Combine milk and pudding. Beat with wire whisk for 2 or 3 minutes or until pudding has thickened. Pour into cooled pie crust.

Slice strawberries lengthwise. Place berries standing up in pudding around edge of pie crust. Make 2 rings of strawberries around the edge. Put blackberries or bosenberries over the pudding and top with the raspberries.

Maybe served with reduced fat Cool Whip. I prefer it without.

Windy's Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 eggs(may use egg beaters)
1/4 C. oil
3/4 apple sauce
2 C. sugar
2 C. grated zucchini
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 C. flour
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 C. dried fruit (raisins, cherries, cranberries)

Procedure
Prepare the pans by lightly greasing with Crisco or spraying with Pam. Dust with cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Mix eggs, oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla until light and foamy. Mix and add baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour cinnamon. Add fruit if desired.

Pour in two prepared loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Jalapeno Corn Bread (for bread machine)

Ingredients
2/3 cup water 80 degrees F
2 tblsp. olive oil
3/4 cup whole kernel canned corn, well drained
3 tblsp. well drained jalapeno peppers, minced
2 tblsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 cups bread flour
1/2 cup corn meal
2 tsp. active dry yeast

Procedure
Put in bread pan in the order listed.
Program for Basic - 1.5 lb.

In my machine it was done in 3 hours & 20 minutes.

It's delicious - a little coarse, like "peasant bread".

Serve with beans & rice & something green (veggies, not old & moldy)
I think this is a good bread to go with any "South of the Border" recipe!
I added the rest of the tiny can of jalapenos in the Fiesta Vegetables we had with this meal.

NOTE: The jalapenos I used were canned & not hot at all, although they have a "jalapeno flavor" without the hot. In season, I will use minced fresh jalapenos because we like the heat of jalapeno peppers.

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

by.....Windy

Ingredients
2 C. fresh blueberries
2 C. flour
3/4 C. granulated sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 C. butter
1 egg beaten(may use egg substitute instead)
1 C. skim milk


Procedure
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture with pastry cutter until butter is size of small peas. Beat egg and milk together. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir with fork until dry ingredients are moist. Batter will be lumpy. Add berries and quickly stir until blended. Fill muffin tins halfway. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Makes 20 muffins.

Dad's Applesauce Waffles with Buckwheat

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup powdered skim milk
approximately 1 1/2 cups 1% milk
3 eggs (or Egg Beaters)
3 cups buttermilk pancake mix
1 cup buckwheat pancake flour
1 pint unsweetened applesauce or any canned fruit
(or if you're desperate, 1/2 cup grape jam or any jam)
(He also adds 2 Tbsp. wheat bran)
Vegetable spray

Procedure
In large mixing bowl, combine eggs, water, milk & applesauce or other substitute for it.
Whip with wisk until well mixed.
Add powdered milk & whip until dissolved.
Remove wisk & add flour slowly, mixing with a large spoon.
When batter has small lumps remaining, stop mixing.
If too soupy, add more flour slowly & carefully. If too stiff, add lowfat milk slowly until it's the right consistency.
Heat waffle maker to temperature.
It's very important to SPRAY both upper & lower grids with vegetable spray, even with non-stick surfaces.
Spoon in mixture to fill griddle & bake until it stops steaming or until done.
Spray grids each time you add batter to the waffle maker. It will stick if you don't.
Repeat until batter is all gone.
Good luck!! We love them. We freeze the extras & heat them in the toaster.
Makes 16 4- inch waffles.

My Fairly Heart Smart Cheese Ball

Ingredients
8 oz. fat free cream cheese
16 oz. lowfat shredded cheddar
2 tbsp. chopped fresh onion
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 - 3/4 tsp. garlic powder (to taste)
2 tsp. bacon bits
1/2 cup chopped nuts or fresh parsley

Procedure
Puree onions with cream cheese until cheese is fluffy. Add all ingredients except nuts or parsley & mix by hand until well mixed. Form balls, roll in nuts or parsley. Wrap in SARAN & refrigerate at least 12 hours to marry flavors.

Serve with low fat crackers and veggies.

Note: If you do the whole operation in a food processor, the mixture will be a little softer & I often do it this way to serve as a cheese spread instead of forming into balls.

Mexican Cheese Fondue

Ingredients
.....Windy
1 jar Cheez Whiz Light
2 small cans Hormel Chili - With or without beans

Procedure
Warm together in a fondue pot or slow cooker. Use as a dip for taco chips.

Cheesy Bean Dip

Ingredients
1 can Mexican style chili beans
1 cup shredded lowfat or fatfree cheddar cheese
1/4 cup salsa (hot or not, according to your preference)

Procedure
Mash the beans with a fork.
Mix in cheese & salsa.

Heat in microwave, stirring at least once, 2-4 minutes (microwave ovens vary)
or heat on top of the stove, low heat until hot.

Serve with WOW corn chips, or any low fat baked chips.