Roasted Tomatoes

2006, Ina Garten,

 Ingredients

• 12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, cores and seeds removed
• 4 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle the garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper over the tomatoes. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are concentrated and beginning to caramelize. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

adapted from the Weight Watchers site

makes 1 loaf  of  10 slices, 4 points per slice
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp  salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tsp canola or walnut  oil
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 medium egg whites, beaten
- 3 large bananas, ripe
- 1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients including the oats and cinnamon.
In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.  Batter will be fairly thick.
In a medium sized bowl, with an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites until medium stiff peaks form.  Fold the egg whites into the batter in three additions.
Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Slice loaf into 10 equally sized slices.

Maple-Mustard Pork Chops with Winter Squash

Recipe featured in March 2010 Cooking Light
Maple- Mustard Pork Chops with Winter Squash Puree
Source:  Cooking Light, March 2010


For pork chops:
ingredients:
4 (6-ounce) bone-in-center-cut pork chops
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
cooking spray
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

instructions:
1.  Sprinkle both sides of pork with 1/4 tsp. salt and pepper.
2.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through, but with a slight blush in the center.  Remoe from pan; keep warm.
3.  Return pan to medium-high heat.  Add butter to pan, swirling to coat.  Add shallots; saute 3 minutes or until tender and translucent.  Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute.  Stir in mustard, syrup, and remaining 1/4 tsp. salt; cook 1 minute or until slightly thick.  Return pork to pan.  Cook pork 1 minute on each side or until thoroughly heated (be careful not to overcook pork).  Serve pork with sauce.  Garnish each serving with 1 1/2 tsp. parsley.


For Winter Squash Puree:
ingredients:
1/3 cup fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
2 (12-ounce) packagees frozen cooked butternut squash
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. grated orange rind
1 1/2 tsp. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
instructions:
1.  Place broth and squash in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Cover and cook 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.  Add butter and remaining ingredients; stir until combined.
Yield:  4 servings
Nutritional Information for pork chops (serving size:  1 pork chop & 1 Tbsp. sauce):
calories  283, Fat  15.1g, Protein 27.1g, Carb 8.2g, fiber .3g, cholesterol 84mg, iron 1.1mg, sodium 456 mg, calcium 44mg
Nutritional Information for squash puree (serving size 3/4 cup)
calories  100, Fat  3g, Protein 2.4g, Carb 19g, fiber 4.9g, cholesterol 8mg, iron 1mg, sodium 204mg, calcium 37mg

Roasted Chicken with Pinot Noir Sauce

This recipe from Lynmar Estates via Cooking Light is wonderfully delicious! I tend to get bored with chicken, but the herbs, method of cooking, and sauce in the recipe bring it to life. I followed the instructions for the sauce exactly and it turned out perfect.

This recipe is simple and would impress any guests! Enjoy :)


Ingredients
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
8 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 cups pinot noir
1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Sprinkle thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and rosemary evenly over chicken. Dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess flour. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 chicken breast halves to pan; cook 2 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 1 minute. Remove chicken from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and remaining chicken. Arrange chicken in a single layer on the rack of a roasting pan coated with cooking spray; place rack in pan. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160°. Remove from oven. Cover and let stand 10 minutes.
3. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots to saucepan; sauté 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Increase heat to high; bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until wine is reduced to 1 cup. Add broth; cook 16 minutes or until broth mixture is reduced to 1/3 cup. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and sugar. Gradually add butter, stirring constantly with a whisk until smooth. Serve sauce with chicken.

Nutritional Information
Calories:
258
Fat:
10g (sat 4.1g,mono 3.7g,poly 1.2g)
Protein:
35.2g
Carbohydrate:
5g
Fiber:
0.2g
Cholesterol:
105mg
Iron:
1.7mg
Sodium:
349mg
Calcium:
26mg

Welcome =)

After a year or so of going through the weekly frustration of searching for healthy dinner recipes, Erin and I decided to start this blog to share with all of you our favorite recipes we've come across. Hopefully this will help to break up the monotonous cycle of tacos and spaghetti every week :)

We will continue to add our favorite recipes as well as great wines we come across!

I can't wait to see the recipes that everyone has to share!