Butterscotch Chocolate Pie

Butterscotch Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
Pinch salt
1/4 cup heavy cream

Pie Filling:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips
1 (6-ounce) pre-made chocolate cookie pie crust (recommended: Oreo or Keebler)

For the butterscotch sauce: melt the butter in a sauce pot over medium-high
heat. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a simmer and stir
until golden amber in color, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly
stir in the cream. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

For the filling: add the mascarpone cheese and the heavy cream to a large bowl
and whish until combined. Add the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Whisk until soft
peaks form, then fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the filling into the crust,
smoothing out the pie surface. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and serve
drizzled with butterscotch sauce.

Meatballs In Garlic Sauce

Meatballs:
2 pounds extra lean ground turkey
8 large cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup liquid egg substitute or 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup  evaporated skim milk
1 teaspoon  crushed dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon  paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon  freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons  minced parsley
3 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
Sauce:
olive oil cooking spray
6 large cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
4 large plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cups (480 ml) 98% fat free, no-salt-added canned chicken broth
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry sherry

Preheat oven to 425°F

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, garlic, onion, parsley, egg substitute, bread crumbs, evaporated skim milk, thyme, paprika, cumin, salt (if using), and pepper. Mix well and form into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. (You should get about 5 dozen meatballs). 


Place meatballs on rimmed nonstick baking sheets and bake
for 15 minutes, until nicely browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer
meatballs to a large platter and set aside.

To make the sauce: 
Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft but not browned.

Stir in tomatoes, broth, and sherry. 


Bring to a boil.

Add meatballs to the skillet, reduce heat to simmer and continue to cook
until meatballs are cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes,
occasionally spooning the sauce over the meatballs.

Transfer meatballs and sauce to a large serving platter and
sprinkle with parsley and almonds. Serve with toothpicks for spearing
the meatballs.

Makes 15 servings

Per 4 meatball serving: 113 calories (13% calories from fat), 17 g
protein, 2 g total fat (0.3 g saturated fat), 7 g carbohydrates, 1 g
dietary fiber, 41 mg cholesterol, 80 mg sodium
Diabetic exchanges: 2 very lean protein, 1/2 carbohydrate (bread/starch)

Strawberry Mousse Cake

Makes 10 to 12 servings

Cake Layers
1 1/4 cups butter, softened
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
7 egg whites, at room temperature
3 1/2 cups cake flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Strawberry Mousse
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup whipping cream

Strawberry Frosting
3/4 cup butter, softened
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3/4 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
Garnishes
Halved fresh strawberries, edible flowers

1. Prepare Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 350°. Beat 1 1/4 cups softened butter and 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until fluffy. Gradually add egg whites, one-third at a time, beating well after each addition.

2. Sift together cake flour and baking powder; gradually add to butter mixture alternately with 1 cup water, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla and almond extracts. Pour batter into 4 greased and floured 8-inch round cake pans.

3. Bake at 350° for 22 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).

4. Prepare Strawberry Mousse: Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Process 2 cups sliced strawberries and 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Transfer strawberry mixture to a small saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add gelatin to strawberry mixture, stirring constantly until gelatin dissolves. Cover and chill until consistency of unbeaten egg whites, stirring occasionally (about 30 minutes).

5. Beat cream at low speed until foamy; increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture until well blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes or just until mixture is thick enough to hold its shape when mounded.

6. Spread about 1 cup Strawberry Mousse between each cake layer, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edges; cover and chill 3 hours or until mousse is set.

7. Prepare Strawberry Frosting: Beat 3/4 cup softened butter at medium speed 20 seconds or until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar and 3/4 cup finely chopped strawberries, beating at low speed until creamy. Spread frosting on top and sides of cake.

Southern Living
APRIL 2012

Vegan Sweet & Spicy Jicama Salad

Ingredients

• 1 large jicama, peeled and julienned
• 2 navel oranges, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 hothouse cucumber, diced
• 3 small sweet yellow peppers, sliced
• 2 small sweet orange peppers, sliced
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced
• 3 Thai chile peppers, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine jicama, orange chunks, red bell pepper, cucumber, sweet yellow and orange peppers, radishes, Thai chile peppers, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, lemon juice, and black pepper in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate until flavors blend, about 30 minutes.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 119 | Total Fat: 0.5g | 

Cholesterol: 0mg

Yummy Chickpeas

2 Tbsp Water
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or as tolerated)
16 oz can white potatoes, drained and diced
15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
14.5 oz. can tomatoes
frozen spinach (the kind in a bag, not the frozen brick)
salt and black pepper

Heat a high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the 2 Tbsp of water, then the garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes, if using, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the potatoes, chickpeas, and the tomatoes with their juices. Take a couple handfuls of frozen clumps of spinach and distribute them around in the pan. Cover the pan and let it sit on the burner on medium heat for awhile, at least 10 minutes, so the flavors can blend and the spinach can cook into the tomato juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once it's all hot and bubbly you can eat it.

Gluten FREE Chocolate Chip Cake

(check labels to make sure you are using gf ingredients)

• 1-1/2 cups of cooked, cooled and well-drained cannelini beans (or one can, rinsed and well-drained )
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup evaporated cane juice or organic sugar
• 1/2 cup almond flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
• 1/3 cup sorghum flour
• 1/3 cup brown rice flour
• 1/3 cup tapioca flour
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

1. Blend the beans, applesauce, oil and vanilla in a food processor until smooth.
2. Place the baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, almond flour, sorghum flour, brown rice flour, and tapioca flour in a large bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients together until all  lumps are removed and the flours are combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the food processor and buzz until the two mixes are well-integrated.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips or, add to the processor and buzz carefully a few times until the chips are mixed in but not broken.
5. Spread the batter (it will be fairly stiff) into the greased pan and smooth the top.
6. Bake in a pre-heated 350˚ oven for 40 to 50 minutes until a toothpick in the center comes out sort of dry. The edges of the cake will be drier than the center, which will stay a bit moist.
7. Cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before removing from the pan. If you haven't used a spring-form pan, good luck. 
8. UPDATE: I placed a round of parchment paper on the pan bottom and greased it, before adding the batter and baking. After the cake had cooled about 20 minutes, I placed a plate over the top, flipped it over, peeled off the paper, placed a serving plate over the cake and flipped the cake right side up. It worked much better than trying to remove the cake from the pan bottom.