welcome to elaney!

• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 lb. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
• 14 oz can artichoke hearts
• 7 oz jar roasted red peppers rinsed
• 4 scallions chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 oz prosciutto, trimmed and julienned
• tomato vinaigrette
• arugula for garnish

Chop sun-dried tomatoes. Cook tortellini in boiling water then drain and rinse under cold water. In a large bowl, combine sun-dried tomatoes, tortellini, artichokes, red peppers, scallions, tomatoes, basil and proscuitto. Add vinaigrette and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Mound tortellini salad on arugula.

We learn to make Christmas food health conscious-friendly!! Check out this low-fat egg nog from Food Network.

• 2 cups nonfat milk
• 2 large strips orange and/or lemon zest
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• White rum or bourbon (optional)
• Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish

Combine 1 1/2 cups milk and the citrus zest in a medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds; add the seeds and pod to the saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, sugar and cornstarch in a medium bowl until light yellow.

Gradually pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, then pour back into the pan. Place over medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon in a figure-eight motion until the eggnog begins to thicken, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the remaining 1/2 cup milk to stop the cooking. Transfer the eggnog to a large bowl and place over a larger bowl of ice to cool, then chill until ready to serve.

Remove the zest and vanilla pod. Spike the eggnog with liquor, if desired, and garnish with nutmeg.

Per serving (1/2 cup): Calories 90; Fat 2 g (Saturated 1 g); Cholesterol 96 mg; Sodium 59 mg; Carbohydrate 13 g; Fiber 0 g; Protein 5 g

*pun and recipe compliments of Chef and Reader edykes

After you have your indugent dinner on Thursday and your crazy Black Friday outing the next morning, plan a healthy breakfast!

Hakuna Ham and Asparagus Frittata

• 2/3  cup  chopped 33%-less-sodium ham (about 3 ounces)
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) shredded low-fat Jarlsberg cheese
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 3  large egg whites
• 2  large eggs
• Cooking spray
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped onion
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped bell pepper
• 1/2  cup  (1-inch) slices asparagus
• 1/4  teaspoon  Italian seasoning

Preheat broiler.

Combine ham, cheese, black pepper, salt, egg whites, and eggs, stirring well with a whisk.

Heat a 9-inch nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and asparagus; sauté 3 minutes. Add egg mixture; reduce heat to medium. Cook, covered, 3 minutes or until almost set. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Wrap handle of pan with foil; broil 3 minutes or until egg is set. Cut into 4 wedges.

In our efamily, everyone has an assigned dish that they are given at a young-ish age.  Well, let’s rephrase.  elaney, emum, and eaunts all have 1 relatively easy dish, and egrandmum has about 12 really complicated dishes that inevitably someone moans about if she tries to move one out of the rotation (eg, anon:  ”why aren’t you making the oyster casserole this year?!? it’s my favorite!!”  egrandmum:  ”funny you’ve never mentioned that before, and the CDC deemed them risky and emum freaked out…” anon:  ”whaaaaaa”).  So while egrandmum is slingin Crisco in the kitchen, this is what we are making:

elaney’s Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled cubed, and boiled until tender
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup heated milk
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup melted butter

Drain potatoes and mash while warm.  Add sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, salt, and eggs and cream well.  Mix topping and spread over top.  Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes, until hot and browned.  Serves 6 to 8.

In honor of the Pilgrims (and how difficult it probably was to make Thanksgiving dinner without Publix), we are having an all recipe week.  Check out this great Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, compliments of Joy the Baker.  Oh, btw.  While looking for the recipe, we discovered some commentary on “How to Impress a Boy by Baking.” Favorites, don’t mind if we do.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup canola or corn oil
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips, or any chip you like

Position a rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.  Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.

Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. You could also simply use a 1/4-cup measuring cup if you don’t have a scoop. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.  Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

One thing we love about Reader Kenny is that she has the best easy, healthy recipes!  The same woman who taught us to love the Crock Pot shared with us this veggie Tex-Mex lasagna.  So delicious.

But we are running out!  Please share some of your fav easy, healthy Tuesday Night dinners on this last Friday in August.

Ingredients

• 3/4  cup  bottled salsa
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  ground cumin
• 1  (14.5-ounce) can no salt-added diced tomatoes
• 1  (8-ounce) can no salt-added tomato sauce
• Cooking spray
• 6  precooked lasagna noodles (such as Barilla or Vigo)
• 1  cup  frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
• 1  (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2  cups  (8 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
• 1/4  cup  chopped green onions

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine first 4 ingredients; spread 2/3 cup sauce in bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; top with 1/2 cup corn and half of beans. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese; top with 2/3 cup sauce. Repeat layers once; top with remaining 2 noodles. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Cover and bake at 450° for 30 minutes or until noodles are tender and sauce is bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes. Sprinkle with onions.

The universe wants us to share this dip with you.  What had happened was:  a few months ago, we had this dip at a party and loved it.  Hadn’t thought about it since.  Then randomly decided to make it for a cookout last Saturday and intended to email the chef (who we don’t even know that well) for the recipe.  Then, coincidentally on Saturday morning, Reader g-love mentioned that she had been going through our cookbooks to find some dip that some different girl from Columbus (who neither of us know) made.  Lo and behold, it’s the same dip.  Then if that wasn’t random enough, Darby of Fly Through Our Window posted it Sunday, so we decided, there is someone out there that just needs this recipe (tweaked a little, per elaney):

Feta Black Bean Dip
Serves 10
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 {15 oz} cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 {15 oz} cans of Shoepeg corn, drained and rinsed
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 {4 oz} block feta cheese, crumbled

Whisk sugar, vinegar and oil in a large bowl. Add the black beans, corn, scallions, cilantro, and feta and mix well. Chill until serving time. Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips.