This was a part of Alton Brown's diet plan, and he lost 50 lbs!
Ingredients
4 ounces plain, low-fat soy milk 4 ounces acai, grape or pomegranate juice (acai used for nutritional value calculation) 4 ounces frozen banana 4 ounces frozen strawberries 4 ounces frozen blueberries 4 ounces frozen peaches
Directions
Combine the soy milk, juice, banana, strawberries, blueberries, and the peaches in the carafe of a blender. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 8 hours.
In the morning, or when the fruit is partially thawed, put the carafe on the base of the blender, start at the lowest speed and slowly accelerate to medium, until you achieve a vortex. Blend on medium for 1 minute. Increase the speed to high and blend for an additional minute. Serve immediately. Makes 1 - 24 ounce serving
1 ½ cups large elbow macaroni (use whole grain pasta) 3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour ½ tsp salt 2 cups shredded cheese* (Set ¾ cups of cheese aside) 3 Tbsp Butter 2 cups milk Dash of White Pepper
Cook macaroni in boiling water until tender but not too done.
In a separate saucepan and on medium heat, melt butter and blend in flour. Add salt. Slowly stir in milk until mixture is fluid but thick (if you don’t stir, mixture will be lumpy). Add pepper and cheese to sauce. Stir until cheese melts.
Mix macaroni and sauce together and put in 1 ½ quart baking dish. Put the cheese that you set aside on top.
Bake at 350ºF for about 20 minutes or until cheese melted and bubbly on top.
Serves 6-8 people.
* ½ cup sharp cheddar, ½ cup Monterey, and 1 cup medium cheddar
Nancy Note: I use more than 2 cups cheese total and a little heavy on the sharp to give it a bit of a nip.
1 (5-inch piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2 to 3 pieces or 2 teaspoons ground
15 to 20 whole allspice berries
6 ounces blanched almonds
6 ounces raw or roasted walnuts
6 ounces raw or roasted pistachio
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon rose water
1 pound phyllo dough, thawed
8 ounces clarified unsalted butter, melted
For the syrup:
1 1/4 cups honey
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 (2-inch) piece fresh orange peel
Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the cinnamon stick and whole allspice into a spice grinder and grind.Or just use what you have that is already ground up!J
Place the almonds, walnuts, pistachios,(I use just walnuts (twice as much and no pistachios) sugar and freshly ground spices into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, but not pasty or powdery, approximately 15 quick pulses. Set aside.
Combine the water and rose water (plain tap water works just as well!) in a small spritz bottle and set aside.
Trim the sheets of phyllo to fit the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch metal pan. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with butter; lay down a sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat this step 9 more times for a total of 10 sheets of phyllo. Top with 1/3 of the nut mixture and spread thinly. Spritz thoroughly with the rose water. Layer 6 more sheets of phyllo with butter in between each of them, followed by another third of the nuts and spritz with rose water. Repeat with another 6 sheets of phyllo, butter, remaining nuts, and rose water. Top with 8 sheets of phyllo brushing with butter in between each sheet. Brush the top generously with butter. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cut into 28 squares. Return pan to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for 2 hours before adding the syrup.
Make the syrup during the last 30 minutes of cooling. Combine the honey, water, sugar, cinnamon stick and orange peel in a 4-quart saucepan and set over high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Once boiling, boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and discard the orange peel and cinnamon stick.
After the baklava has cooled for 2 hours, re-cut the entire pan following the same lines as before. Pour the hot syrup evenly over the top of the baklava, allowing it to run into the cuts and around the edges of the pan. Allow the pan to sit, uncovered until completely cool. Cover and store at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to overnight before serving. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days (Ha! It never lasts that long).
Here is the recipe which I have stolen from Barbara Hartman over the years!
She swears by Ro-tel chilis but I have used others that have turned out just as well! Of course you will have to at least double this for it work in the big warming pan!
10 eggs 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 cup flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 pint cottage cheese 1 pound shredded cheddar cheese (I use the Mexican shredded kind :) 1/2 cup butter-melted 2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chilis
In a bowl of an electric mixer beat eggs until light and lemon colored. Add Flour, baking powder, salt, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, and melted butter. Blend till smooth.
Pour mixture into a buttered pan (9 X 13).
Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until brown. Feeds six people!
Combine the soy milk, juice, banana, strawberries, blueberries, and the peaches in the carafe of a blender. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 8 hours.
In the morning, or when the fruit is partially thawed, put the carafe on the base of the blender, start at the lowest speed and slowly accelerate to medium, until you achieve a vortex. Blend on medium for 1 minute. Increase the speed to high and blend for an additional minute. Serve immediately.
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. To make the cupcakes, in a medium bowl whisk together both flours, the baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In another medium bowl, combine the granulated sugar, buttermilk, orange juice concentrate, oil and eggs. Whisk thoroughly until the orange juice concentrate is dissolved.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold just until blended. Divide the batter among the 18 cups (each cupcake should be about half full). Bake until the tops spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes.
5. Cool the pans on a rack until the cupcakes are cool enough to handle. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool completely on a rack before frosting, about 40 minutes.
6. To make the frosting, in a medium bowl combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and orange juice concentrate. Use an electric mixer to beat until smooth and creamy.
Ingredients: 2 c Cornmeal (yellow) 2 c Plain flour 2 c Buttermilk (I use buttermilk powder) 4 eggs 8T vegetable oil 4t baking powder 1 t soda 1 t salt 10 T sugar
Combine all dry ingredients. Combine buttermilk, eggs, and oil. Stire together dry and liquid ingredients only until combined.
Pour into 13 x 9 pan. Let it rest for 10 min before baking.
