Week Day Recipes

It's Wednesday - half-way through the week. (Yay!) Here are today's recipes. Enjoy!

ANADAMA BATTER BREAD

This comes from Elizabeth Yetter, About.com's Bread Baking expert. She writes, “If you like dark breads with good flavor, you will want to try out this version of anadama bread. Made with molasses and a touch of brown sugar, this loaf makes a great snacking bread and tastes delicious when toasted and smothered in butter.” Prep Time: 120 minutes; Cook Time: 50 minutes; Total Time: 170 minutes; Yield: 1 loaf

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 cup water, room temperature

2-1/4 tsp (1/4 oz or 1 package) active dry yeast

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup molasses

1 Tbsp brown sugar, packed

4 Tbsp coconut oil

2 tsp sea salt

2-3/4 cups bread or all-purpose flour, about

Directions

In a large bowl, add water and yeast. Stir until the yeast is dissolved and then let stand for about 2 minutes. Next, add the cornmeal, molasses, brown sugar, coconut oil, and sea salt. Stir until the brown sugar and salt is dissolved. The salt does not kill the yeast. It “retards” or slows down the growth of yeast and brings out the flavor in the bread. Mix in 2 cups of the flour. Slowly add in the remaining flour.

Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and set to rise in a warm, draft free area for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

After the dough is finished with its first rise, stir down the dough inside the bowl. Grease a 9x5-inch bread pan with shortening. Lightly coat the bread pan with cornmeal. This is to help the bread release from the pan after being baked. If you don’t have cornmeal on hand, simply grease the bread pan and skip the cornmeal. Scrape the batter into the bread pan, cover with the clean kitchen cloth, and let rise a second time in a warm, draft free area for 45 minutes or until doubled. Bake the loaf at 375 degrees F for 50 minutes or until the top is dark brown and the bread sounds hollow when you tap on the top. Remove from oven and turn out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before storing or freezing.

You can easily freeze bread for toast or sandwiches. First allow the bread to cool completely. Slice the loaf as you would for sandwiches. Place all the slices in the bag, close it, and set it in the freezer.

To use, take out the slices you need to make sandwiches and allow them to thaw on the kitchen counter or lightly toast the slices. Make your sandwiches as you normally would.

Bread Baking Tips

Store brown sugar into an airtight container to keep it from becoming hard.

When measuring out brown sugar, always pack it down into the measuring cup or spoon unless the recipe tells you to do otherwise.

Use bottled water instead of tap water to make your breads. Water softeners and chlorinated public water can sometimes kill the yeast needed to make your bread dough rise.

An opened jar of molasses lasts up to one year.

To prevent the molasses from sticking to your measuring spoon, coat the spoon in a tiny amount of cooking oil.

Keep yeast stored in an airtight container and in the refrigerator. Heat, moisture, and air kills the yeast and prevents bread dough from rising.

ASPARAGUS CHEF SALAD

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/227.shtml

Source: Cooking Healthy and Fast

Yield: 4-1/2 (1 cup) servings

Ingredients

2-1/2 lb. asparagus, trimmed

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 oz. part-skim julienne Swiss cheese

2 oz. lean julienne ham

1 Tbsp.finely chopped onion

1 orange, peeled and cubed

Dressing:

1 pkg. lemon and herb salad dressing mix

2 Tbsp. water

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

Chop asparagus into bite-sized pieces and place in a microwavve-proof casserole dish. Add 2 Tbsp. water, cover, and Microwave for 2 minutes. Drain. Measure remaining ingredients into a salad bowl. Add asparagus when completely cool.

Prepare dressing in a shaker container and add approximately 1/3 of it to the salad. Save remaining dressing for greens and fresh vegetables.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 151; Fat: 5 g; Sodium: 347 mg; Cholesterol: 25 mg; Exchanges: 2 Vegetable; 1 Lean Meat; 1 Fat

PUMPKIN-MAPLE CRUSTLESS CHEESECAKE

This recipe begins, “Enjoy the warm flavors of pumpkin, maple, and ginger with this crustless cheesecake.”

Servings: 12

Serving Size: 1 slice (1/12 of cheesecake).

View online: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/1279.shtml

Ingredients

3 (8 ounce) packages fat-free cream cheese, warmed in a microwave for 15 seconds

1/3 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

3 large eggs

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

1/2 cup low-fat maple or vanilla yogurt

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon imitation maple or rum flavoring

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup thinly sliced crystallized ginger (garnish)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and Splenda Brown Sugar Blend until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in pumpkin, yogurt, flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, maple flavoring, and vanilla.

Pour filling into prepared pan. Bake until outer rim is puffy and center is slightly wobbly, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven and run a butter knife around the inner edge but do not remove the pan side.

Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Refrigerate warm cake, uncovered, until cold. Then cover with foil and refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to 3 days). Remove 1 hour before serving.

When ready to serve, carefully remove side of pan. Cut into 12 wedges with wet knife wiped clean between cuts. Garnish with crystallized ginger, if desired.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 130; Protein: 11 g; Fat: 2.5 g; Sodium: 420 mg; Cholesterol: 60 mg; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Dietary Fiber: 1 g; Sugars: 7 g; Carbohydrates: 16 g

POTATO AND ONION SOUP

This is from Roadfood.com. The send out emails periodically which are almost always interesting. This recipe, from Harry Caray's, starts off, “Cooking potatoes in beef stock gives the starchy vegetable a savor that all carnivores will appreciate. A sprinkle of Parmesan on each serving adds just the right zip.”

Preparation Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes Servings: 6

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups peeled and sliced Spanish onions

3-1/2 cups homemade beef stock or equivalent amount of canned, low salt beef broth

3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan and add the olive oil.

Add the onions and sauté until they become clear and turn a light brown. Set aside.

In a large stock pot, bring the beef stock to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the diced potatoes. Simmer over medium heat until the potatoes are soft.

Add the onions to the stock pot and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

Salt and pepper the soup to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese on top and serve.

CROCKPOT VEGETABLE MINESTRONE

Linda Larsen, About.com's Busy Cooks guide, writes, “This hearty recipe has a very complex flavor. One of the more surprising parts of the recipe is that pasta cooks right in the crockpot.”

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 8 hours; Total Time: 8 hours, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable broth or stock

4 cups tomato juice

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. dried basil leaves

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 carrots, sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

1-1/2 cups uncooked rotini pasta

Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients except pasta and cheese in a 4-5 quart crockpot. Cover crockpot and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours until vegetables are tender. Stir in pasta. Cover and cook on HIGH setting for 15-25 minutes until pasta is tender. Sprinkle each serving with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 12 servings

CHILLED CUCUMBER SOUP: TART, TANGY, TINGLY

This comes from Kevin D. Weeks, About.com's former Cooking for 2 guide. He wrote, “I know people who say "Ech!" when I mention chilled soups. The idea of eating cold soup simply offends their sense of "rightness" - soup should be hot and savory, something for a cold January day. But a chilled soup, enjoyed on the patio on a hot summer day while the grill is roasting a few steaks is almost the apotheosis of good times in the summer time. Slightly spicy with a nice lilt of curry and a refreshing tartness from the buttermilk, yogurt, and lime, this soup is wonderfully cool and refreshing soup served with grilled fish. Serves 2.

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 10-inch cucumbers; peeled, seeded, and chopped

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 sm. shallot; finely chopped

1 Tbsp. fresh mint; finely chopped

1/2 tsp. curry powder

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp. ground white pepper

Preparation:

Place cucumbers, scallions, mint, and lime juice in a food processor.

Pulse four or five times, scraping down sides once, then and process until finely chopped - about one minute longer.

Scrape down sides and add remaining ingredients and process another minute. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Chill for at least 4 hours. Taste and adjust seasonings again before serving.