Reduced-Fat Pimento Cheese

I really love pimento cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches, and the full fat version of pimento cheese is outrageously high in calories. It's 9 WW points per serving just for the pimento cheese if you made it full fat. If you make it reduced in fat, it's only 4 WW points per serving. That's 5 WW points less!! This recipe is great for weight watchers, and I'm currently on weight watchers and this is a nice treat to eat once in a while without feeling quite so guilty about it. :)

Six 2.5 oz. servings
WW Points: 4 points per serving

* 3 oz. light cream cheese
* 4 oz. / 1 cup reduced-fat shredded cheese (I used Sargento Reduced-Fat 4 cheese mexican blend)
* 1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
* 1/4 tsp crushed garlic, or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
* 1/4 cup pimentos, or chopped roasted red peppers (I used the roasted red peppers, it was very good in flavour)
* salt and pepper to taste


Place 3 oz. cream cheese in a small bowl, and microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power.

In a medium size bowl mix with a whisk together cream cheese, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and garlic paste.

Clean off whisk, and using a spoon mix in the pimentos/red peppers and shredded cheese until combined thoroughly. Place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set up. However, if you plan to make grilled cheese with the pimento cheese, you can use it right away.

Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.


If you make grilled cheese sandwiches with this awesome pimento cheese, be sure to use a reduced-fat butter spread on each slice of bread.

Weight Watchers Friendly Chicken-Etti

This is a great recipe, and it's low in fat but still tastes great! It's called Chicken-Etti. The original recipe has one pound of full fat cheese, and it comes out a bit oily and greasy... This is great because it's less cheese, but less oily. I actually like it better with less cheese. Plus the cheese used in this is reduced fat cheese. It's also only 5 weight watcher points per serving!

* 18 oz cooked whole wheat spaghetti cooked in salt water, drained
* 2 cups 2%/reduced fat sharp cheddar (I bought the Kroger 2% sharp cheddar)
* 1 can cream of celery
* 11 ½ oz. of Foster Farms fully cooked grilled chicken strips, defrosted in the microwave, and cubed (if you don’t use the foster farms grilled chicken, the points won’t be the same. We bought our foster farms grilled chicken at Costco.)
* 1 can mild Rotel tomatoes with green peppers/chilis, with juice
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1 green bell pepper, diced
* No added salt, or pepper.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease, or spray a 13 x 9 pan.

Spread out your cooked, and drained pasta on the bottom of the pan.

In a 1 quart glass pyrex measuring cup, place the can of cream of celery, chicken broth, rotel tomatoes with juice, and whisk. Add 1 cup of cheddar to the liquid mixture and microwave for 2 minutes, stir, then cook for another 2 minutes or until the cheese is just barely melted.

Add the diced bell pepper to the hot liquid and stir.

Spread out the cubed chicken over the spaghetti and pour the sauce over the top. Stir it around a little bit, then top with the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Serves 8

Weight Watcher Points: 5

Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream

I really love these cupcakes, they are so moist and light. The raspberry cream adds another dimension that makes them a taste sensation. If you don't like raspberry you could use blueberries, or even blackberries. I don't know how well strawberry would work. Give these a try, they are very light and refreshing. :)

Lemon Cupcakes:

* 1 1/3 cups flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 6 tablespoons butter, softened
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 tablespoon ground lemon zest
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350F; Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.

To make the batter whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

In medium bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy.

With mixer on high speed, gradually beat in sugar, and continue beating until mixture is very light and fluffy.

Lower speed to medium, beat in eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended, then beat in lemon juice, and zest and extract.

Lower speed to low, alternately beat in flour mixture and sour cream, beating just until blended.

Bake cakes about 20 minutes.

Raspberry Cream:

1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 10 oz. bag frozen unsweetened raspberries

Thaw raspberries; When thawed, blend in a blender until pureed.

Place sieve over a bowl, strain raspberry puree. With a rubber spatula press the sides of the sieve to get all the juice out.

Mix whipped cream until soft peaks form, add 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup of sugar depending on how sweet you'd like it to the whipped cream. Once heavy peaks form, spoon in the strained raspberry puree a little at a time into the whipped cream and continue to whip with the mixer. Once you've added as much raspberry as you'd like, cut the cupcakes in half and dollop the raspberry cream between the two halves. Dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Sore Throat Remedy

Okay, so I have a sore throat right now, and my sister made me this remedy... It doesn't taste very good, but it really helps. It numbs the throat a little bit, and it soothes the soreness.

1/2 - 1 shot whiskey
1/2 lemon juiced
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons honey
Wedge of lemon
Boiling water

In a mug, add half a shot to one shot of whiskey.

Add the juice of half a lemon.

Add sugar and honey, and stir the mixture.

Add the boiling water to fill the mug 3/4 of the way full, and stir.

You can float the wedge of lemon in your glass for a little bit to add more lemon if you'd like, if it starts to taste bitter, take the lemon wedge out.

Now, it's going to be hard to drink it, but you need to drink it warm. The warmth helps, and if you want you can take two 500 mg tylenol (paracetamol in Europe) right before drinking this remedy.

It seriously helps, my throat was cured for a bit, and it helped me sleep throughout the night. The whiskey helped me sleep.

Pancakes with Coconut Syrup

So, I love pancakes with coconut syrup, sliced bananas, toasted coconut, and toasted pecans. You could make it with toasted macadamia nuts as well. This recipe is very easy to make and it's sooo good. :3

Buttermilk Pancakes:

2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, unbeaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup melted butter

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients and stir lightly to just moisten dry ingredients. Mixture will be thick and lumpy.

Pour 1/4 cup batter into a hot pan and cook until golden on both sides, approximately 2 minutes per side.



Coconut Syrup:

3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 15 ounce can coconut milk
Pinch of salt

In a saucepan over medium heat add the sugar and water. Bring to a boil, and turn to medium low stirring frequently until reduced by half.

Add the coconut syrup and a pinch of salt and bring to boil, turn down to medium low stirring frequently until syrup is reduced by half.

Remove syrup from heat and set aside.



Toasted Coconut and Pecans:

Preheat oven to 350 F

In two tin pie pans, put one cup coconut in one pie pan, and one cup pecans in another pie pan.

Bake for 15 minutes stirring every 5 minutes.

I hope you enjoy these delicious pancakes with bananas sliced on top, toasted coconut and pecans with the coconut syrup. It's truly a taste sensation! ^_^

Homemade Ginger Ale

So, I've decided to start making my own soda... I don't like the fact that most companies put caffeine in their soda, and other ingredients that are not needed. I like this all natural soda, and it has a great taste.

Ginger Simple Syrup

1/2 cup peeled, organic ginger root
2 cups raw sugar
1 cup water
1 lemon
cans of sparkling water (which is the same thing as club soda)

In a saucepan add sugar and water. Bring to a light boil over medium heat.

While the syrup is coming to a boil, peel the ginger and wash your lemon.

Once the syrup comes to a boil turn down the heat to medium-low, and let simmer while you finish peeling and ginger.

Cut the lemon in half and juice it; Set aside.

Add the peeled ginger to the syrup and simmer for 9 minutes.

Cut the juiced lemon into quarters, removing the end pieces.

Add the lemon quarters to the syrup and cook for 1 minute.

Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Strain the syrup through a sieve into a bowl. Cool to room temperature, and store in a jar, or air tight container in the refrigerator.

To make a soda:

3 - 6 tablespoons ginger syrup to taste
1 can sparkling water
Ice if desired

Pour the syrup into a 16 oz glass / tall glass, add ice if desired, and pour over the sparkling water and stir until well combined. You've just made homemade ginger ale with no added dyes, or preservatives! Enjoy!

Giveaway From Tricia's Dish

I know this is not cooking related, but there is a giveaway over at Tricia's Dish for a handbag, and I so I thought I'd share this with everyone else.

Mrs. Weasley's Rock Cakes Updated

So, I realised that my conversion skills from metric to imperial really blow, so I had to change the recipe to the correct conversion. The original recipe I posted was a half recipe, so I just had to change the half recipe to metric... Before the metric recipe was the whole recipe, and I converted it to imperial in a half recipe not knowing that my conversion was off. However, the conversion to imperial turned out to be an exact half recipe, so the Americans were making half recipes and the metric users were making the full recipe. I'm really sorry for this, now the metric users can have a half recipe, and the Americans can have a full recipe. So, I have updated it to give the correct imperial conversion.

Here is the link to Mrs. Weasley's Rock Cakes Updated

Cherry Almond Muffins

These muffins are so moist and light. I love the cherry preserves and the almond flavouring... This was a major hit in my house!


Yield: 18 muffins

Topping:
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* Pinch ground cinnamon
* 1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
* 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Muffins:
* 3 cups cake flour
* 2 cups superfine sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 cup butter
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 3 eggs
* 1/8 cup vegetable oil & 1/8 cup melted butter
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
* 1/2 cup cherry preserves (I used Trader Joe's)


Muffins:

* Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
* Stir to combine.
* Spoon butter into dry ingredients and beat well with mixer on medium speed.
* Mix until no chunks of butter are visible.
* The mix should resemble cornmeal.
* Using an electric mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, oil, butter, extract and preserves. Batter will be somewhat lumpy.
* Use an ice cream scoop to evenly fill each muffin pan with the batter. Sprinkle tops of muffins with 2 teaspoons of almond topping. Bake 17 to 21 minutes.

Topping:

* In a medium bowl combine all topping ingredients except almonds. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, combine ingredients to a course consistency. Once combined, fold in the almonds.
* Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin tins with paper liners for 18 muffins.

Peachy Keen Splash

Here is the recipe for the peachy keen splash that you can get at Red Robin... The Monin syrup was a little more effort than going down to a store and buying it. I had to call Red Robin and ask them if they'd sell me a couple bottles and they agreed. They had to order it for me and I had to wait a few days, but I got it at wholesale price. Anyway, here is the recipe.

* 2 tablespoons Monin Peach Syrup (I might buy some peach flavoured Torani just to see if it would taste the same)
* 1 tablespoon Minute Maid Lemonade (I used the frozen lemonade)
* 1 12 ounce can Sprite
* 1/8 cup diced peaches (optional)
* Ice
* If you want a spiked drink you can add 1 oz. Bacardi Rum to the drink


In a 20 ounce glass pour in syrup and lemonade. Stir.

Fill glass with ice. Pour in Sprite and top off with peaches.

Enjoy!

*NOTE: The peaches don't really change the flavour of the drink, so you can leave them out if you don't feel like trying to find frozen diced peaches, or dicing a fresh one yourself. However, the peaches are great if you are having a party and you are entertaining, they make the drink look nice.

Purple Fuzzy Cow

This drink is similar to a Purple Cow, but the reason why it's called a Purple Fuzzy Cow is because of the carbonated soda. I love these drinks and my mum used to make them for me when I was young child, and I've loved them ever since!

Serves 1

2 - 3 scoops lemon or lime sherbet
2/3 cup grape juice
1/2 - 1 cup 7 up (7 up is the best for this drink, it's not quite as sweet as other lemon-lime sodas, you can also use an all natural soda from a health store if you wish)

In a 20 ounce glass, place 2 or 3 scoops sherbet.

Pour grape juice over the top, then top off with 7 up.

Eat with a spoon like you would a root beer float. Enjoy!

Chicken Teriyaki Burgers

I made up this recipe because I wanted something new, and low in fat to eat. I wasn't expecting these burgers to be as good as they are. I really love these burgers, and on weight watchers they are 11 points per burger.

Serves: 4

1 lbs ground chicken
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (Recommended: Yoshida's)
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger (I used minced ginger in a jar, and it's more of a pureed texture)
2 tbsp pineapple juice
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2 oz. provolone cheese
1 can rings of pineapple (optional)
Green Leaf Lettuce (optional)
Sliced Tomatoes (optional)
4 potato hamburger buns


Preheat a greased non-stick pan or skillet over medium heat.

In a bowl small mix together the teriyaki sauce, garlic, ginger, and pineapple juice.

In a medium sized bowl, mix chicken and 2/3 of the teriyaki mixture. Add the bread crumbs and mix well.

Pat four pineapple rings dry and brush the teriyaki mixture over both sides and sauté in the preheated pan on both sides for 2 - 3 minutes or until golden brown. Side pineapple aside.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Weigh out 4.25 ounces of chicken mixture, or divide into four equal parts and shape into patties. Then cook on both sides for about 6 - 7 minutes or until medium brown. Using some of the left over teriyaki, brush the tops of the chicken burgers once they have been flipped. This will add a golden colour to the burgers, and also add more teriyaki flavour.

Keep your oven on warm and place burgers inside warm oven with half a slice of provolone cheese on top to melt.

Place patties on buns, and add pineapple, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Easy Rice Breakfast

I came up with this the other day because I had some left over rice and didn't know what to do with it... I'm supposed to try to limit my wheat consumption, so I decide to go gluten free for this breakfast. I hope you all enjoy!

4 oz. cooked rice (I used jasmine rice)
1 tablespoon toasted coconut
1 tablespoon toasted sliced almonds
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
2 tablespoons low-fat 1% milk
2 teaspoons honey of your choice

In a bowl weigh out your rice. Pour in your milk, honey, and cranberries and microwave for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and stir; add almonds and coconut. Enjoy!

Coconut Laddu

Coconut Laddu is a very popular sweet treat in India. It's very rich and easy to make. These coconut laddu's are not low in calories... On Weight Watchers they are 4 points per coconut laddu. You can reduce the calories by using fat-free condensed milk, but it only cuts the weight watcher points by 1, so they are 3 points per coconut laddu with the fat-free condensed milk.

* 1 tbsp butter
* 1 14 ounce package dried shredded coconut(bakers brand is the best), ground up in a food processor or if you can find finely ground coconut, that would work too.
* 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (or fat-free for less calories)
* 2 pinches freshly ground cardamom, or 1/8 teaspoon of jarred ground cardamom

In a non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat.

Add 3 cups finely ground coconut and brown for about 5 minutes or until most of the coconut is golden brown through out.

Add one can sweetened condensed milk and stir for about 6 - 8 minutes or until it's very sticky and thick and comes together in one mass.

Turn off the heat and add the cardamom and mix well.

Let the mixture cool enough to handle, you still want the mixture warm or you won't be able to form balls.

Set aside the rest of the coconut in a bowl.

With the warm coconut and condensed milk mixture, make balls about the size golf balls, then roll the coconut laddu's in the coconut that has been set aside.

Makes roughly 20 coconut laddu's

Creamy Tomato Bisque

Okay, this recipe is normally very fattening, and if you'd like to make it the original way, I will post how much butter and cream you need to use. When I make this reduced in calories, my family can't tell a difference. I thought it tasted the same as well. It was really nice in texture and the flavour was the same as always. This soup is fantastic on a cold night when you want something warm and comforting. When I was a child, I hated tomato soup from the cans and I swore to never eat it again, but my family was begging me to make a tomato bisque. So, I reluctantly made it and I was astonished with the difference from homemade to canned crap. I love this soup and I would hope that you guys would try it too. :)

* 4 tablespoons Brummel & Brown or real butter
* 3 slice bacon, finely chopped
* 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
* 1 carrot, chopped
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 litre chicken broth
* 28 ounces tomato sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I grew my own and sometimes I use fresh, if you use fresh throw in 3 sprigs fresh thyme)
* 2 tablespoons pesto
* 1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream, or 1 cup heavy cream
* Kosher salt to taste
* Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until crisp and most of the fat has rendered, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Place a soup pan over medium heat, add the brummel & brown, or butter. When the soup pan is hot add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and tomato sauce and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Add the thyme and pesto. Lower the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Working in batches, transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the pot and reheat over medium heat.

Whisk the evaporated milk and heavy cream, or just all heavy cream into the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide among warm soup bowls and serve immediately with bacon on top of the soup.

Gypsy Chicken

Okay, so this is a Spanish dish that my sister's husband's grandmother gave to me... When I say Spanish, I mean Spanish. From Spain. Not Mexico. So, anyhoo... This is a great recipe. You just throw everything in a pot and let it cook for a couple hours, and then serve it with some cooked rice. Please don't snub your nose at this when you see that it has raisins and green olives. It's actually really good. I didn't think it sounded good until I actually tasted it, and it's an amazing dish.

Serves 6

You will want to cook this dutch style (in a large pot with a tight fitting lid).

Combine together into large pot:

2 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup dark raisins
1 cup green Mediterranean olives
1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 1/4 teaspoon oregano
4 large bay leaves
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
4 pounds chicken legs or chicken breast, whatever part of the chicken you prefer



Bring to a boil for 2 - 3 minutes, stir, then reduce heat to low and simmer covered for at least 2 hours. You can stir occasionally throughout the cooking period. Serve over white or brown rice.

*NOTE: I usually simmer this for about 3 hours. The longer you let it simmer the better the sauce tastes.

Flourless Chocolate Kahlua Cake

I love making this cake because it's so light and airy, but extremely rich and chocolaty. The cajeta sauce is amazing as well. I hope you all like it!


Yield: 10 to 12 servings


Ingredients

* 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
* 8 ounces semisweet chocolate
* 7 egg yolks
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 ounces coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua -- I've used hazelnut coffee liqueur before and it turned out really nice)
* Whites from 5 eggs
* 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
* Cajeta, recipe follows


Cajeta:

* 1/2 cup water
* 1 cup sugar
* Approximately 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 2 tablespoons butter


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch round pie pan. Line pan with greased parchment or waxed paper. In the top of a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate and stir until smooth. Whip the egg yolks and the sugar until fluffy and pale in color. Fold butter and chocolate mixture into the egg yolk and sugar mixture, adding the coffee liqueur. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks and gently fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the pie pan and bake for 25 to 35 minutes then allow to cool completely.

Cover cake and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Cajeta: In a medium saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil, do not stir. Remove from heat when the sugar is amber in color and add enough cream to thin the caramel to a fairly liquid consistency. Stir in butter. To test consistency, dip a spoon into the caramel mixture and allow to cool. If the "cajeta" is gooey but holds its shape, it's ready; if it hardens too much, add a little more cream and test again.

Drizzle warm cajeta over individual slices of cake and sprinkle each slice with 1 - 2 tbsp toasted almonds.

Mongolian Pork with Vegetables and Rice

I found this recipe on the net, but the only thing I used was the sauce recipe for the pork... The vegetables and the method of cooking is all my own. I tasted the sauce before it was cooked and it didn't taste very good, and I was starting to wonder if it was going to ruin my pork chops, but fear not... This recipe, if cooked the way I am telling you, will turn out beautifully. I have some left overs for lunch and thank God for that because this stuff is wicked good.

Makes 8 servings


18 oz. raw pork chops on the bone, trimmed of all fat
8 cups cooked jasmine rice to serve

Mongolian Marinade:

* 1 cup hoisin sauce
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce (if you use reduced sodium, I cannot guarantee that they will turn out good)
* 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 1 teaspoon any brand hot sauce sauce
* 1 1/2 teaspoons lee kum kee black bean chili sauce
* 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed ginger (I bought the ginger in a jar that is like a paste)
* 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
* 3/4 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper

Stir-Fry:

* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1/2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
* 2 zucchini's
* 1/2 an onion
* 1 red bell pepper
* 1 green bell pepper
* 1 yellow bell pepper
* 1/2 cup of reserved marinade set aside

Trim the excess meat and fat away from the ends of the chop bones, leaving them exposed. Put the pork chops in a clean plastic bag and lightly sprinkle with water to prevent the meat from tearing when pounded. Using the smooth side of a meat mallet or heavy object like a bottle of wine or a marble rolling pin, pound the meat down to an even 1 inch thickness, being careful not to hit bones. Alternatively, have your butcher cut thinner chops and serve 2 per serving. To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Take out 1/2 cup marinade and set aside for later. Coat the pork chops liberally with the rest of the marinade and marinate for 1 hour.

Place the pork chops and the marinade the chops were in into a slow cooker on high. Cook for 3 1/2 hours, then take the pork chops out and remove the bone and any gristle and cut each chop into strips and cook for an additional 1 hour.

Turn the slow cooker off, and let the chops and sauce sit while you make the stir fry.

In a large frying pan or wok, heat olive oil over medium high. Add the vegetables and salt and stir frequently until the vegetables are no longer crunchy, but still have a crispness to them.

Once the vegetables are cooked, remove from heat and coat the vegetables with the 1/2 cup of reserved marinade and let them stand for a few minutes.

Cook the rice about 20 minutes before the vegetables then remove from heat and keep covered until ready to serve.

Low-Fat Cherry Clafoutis

I love Cherry Clafoutis, it's like a custard with cherries in it. This is a low-fat version and it's really good, despite the fact that it's "low-fat". Don't let those words scare you, because this is a wonderful dessert. I got this recipe from weight watchers, but I made a couple changes to it. I hope you all enjoy!


1 14 ounce can pitted dark cherries, drained
3 large egg(s)
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 oz cognac
1 cup(s) 1% low-fat milk
2/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup(s) powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon powdered sugar, for garnish
6 tablespoons aerosol whipped cream


EDIT: July 28th, 2009
I used my own cherries, I took about 1 1/2 lbs to 2 lbs of cherries, and rinsed them, stemmed them, and slit the side of the cherries. Then I brought 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar to a boil, then cooked the cherries in the simple syrup for 20 minutes. Then I drained the cherries, and kept the syrup left over. Let the cherries cool a bit, then pinched the pit out, and cut the cherries in half.

I also tripled the recipe, and I used 2 cups whole milk, and 1 cup half and half and I tripled all the other ingredients.


Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a 10-inch pie plate with cooking spray.


Arrange cherries on bottom of prepared pie plate; set side.


In a large bowl, whisk eggs until frothy; whisk in extract, salt, cognac and milk. Add flour and 1/3 cup of sugar, a little at a time, whisking with each addition; mix until just combined. Pour mixture over cherries and bake for 10 minutes.


Reduce oven temperature to 300ºF and bake until center of clafoutis puffs up and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Allow clafoutis to cool before sprinkling with 1/4 teaspoon of powdered sugar. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.

Minestrone Soup

I created this soup because I wanted something light for dinner and it's getting quite cold outside now, so I wanted something warm and comforting. This is a great recipe if you are trying limited to the amount of calories you can eat. I'm not exactly sure how many calories would be in this, but on Weight Watchers it's 3 points per serving.

8 cups beef broth
1 cup red wine (something good enough to drink)
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
4 tablespoons basil pesto
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
2 large potatoes with skin on, cubed
1 carrot, diced
1 14 ounce can kidney beans, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt or kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 ounces uncooked pasta (I used Barilla Piccolini Mini Wheels pasta)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, boil broth, wine, diced tomatoes with juice, basil pesto, garlic, and tomato paste for one hour.

Add potatoes, carrots, kidney beans, celery salt, and sugar. Cook covered for another 45 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Add pasta and cook covered for 15 minutes or until al dente.

Makes 12 - 1 cup servings