Awesome Breakfast: Whole-Wheat-Blueberry Pancakes

Did you know that this week is National Pancake week? As far as I am concerned, any day can be pancake day with these Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes. Weighing in it at only 350 calories and 9 grams of fat, these pancakes are guiltless. These are wonderful without the blueberries but are great with them too. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do, and it’s just in time for the weekend.

 

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes

Yield: 6 servings 

Ingredients

3/4  cup  all-purpose flour

3/4  cup  whole wheat flour

3  tablespoons  sugar

1 1/2  teaspoons  baking powder

1/2  teaspoon  baking soda

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1 1/2  cups low-fat buttermilk

11/4 cups fresh blueberries

1  tablespoon vegetable oil

1  large egg

1  large egg white

Cooking spray

Maple syrup, butter (optional)

Preparation

1. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine buttermilk, oil, egg, and egg white, stirring with a whisk; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Gently stir in blueberries.

2. Heat a nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle. Turn pancakes over when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Serve with syrup and butter, if desired.

Dinner in Under 20 Minutes: Five-Spice Pork

Five-spice powder is a spice used often in Chinese cooking, but it’s a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and szechuan peppercorns. It is now commonly found in all grocery stores in the spice section and yields lots of unique but delicious flavors. If you don’t eat pork, this recipe works great with thinly sliced chicken breasts. Serve with rice, Asian noodles or steamed broccoli and a salad for a complete weeknight meal.

 

Five-Spice Pork

Prep:  5 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

2 tablespoons honey

11/2 pounds thinly sliced boneless pork loin chops

Ingredients

1. Whisk together first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl; pour over pork. Marinate 30 minutes to 1 hour, if desired. Cook in a large lightly greased saute pan over medium-high heat 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad

Since spring is around the corner, I was getting so excited that I decided to make my favorite spring/summer salad. And since I have tomato and basil on my mind from yesterday’s blog, I thought I would give you this recipe that is so easy and a true favorite at my house. Serve it with practically any main dish. Even my kids eat this salad, and they especially like it when I serve it with some warm crusty bread. Don’t forget to serve it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar so they can dip.

 

Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad

For an extra sprinkling of color, use multi-colored peppercorns and grind them over the salad just before serving.

Prep: 20 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

1/2  pound  fresh mozzarella cheese*

2  large red tomatoes, sliced

1  large yellow tomato, sliced

3  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground pepper

1/2  cup  shredded or chopped fresh basil

Balsamic vinegar

Preparation

1. Remove cheese from brine, and cut into 12 slices; sprinkle tomato slices. Alternate tomato and cheese slices on a platter; drizzle with olive oil. Cover and chill 4 hours if desired. Just before serving, sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and basil. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Note:*Fresh mozzarella is a soft white cheese available in the gourmet cheese section of any local grocery stores.

Quick and Easy-Tomato Basil Pizza

It’s pizza night at my house, so I thought I would share this recipe. With only 240 calories and 9 grams of fat, you can’t go wrong. Feel free to add cooked chicken or shrimp on this pizza. And if you want a shortcut, purchase jarred pesto in the grocery store. I love using Mama Mary’s crust or Boboli, which work great on busy weeknights (which is always at my house with 3 kids, especially during baseball season).

 

Tomato-Basil Pizza

Prep: 15 minutes

cook: 12 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

FOR THE PESTO:

4  cups basil leaves

2  garlic cloves

1/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1  tablespoon grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1  tablespoon olive oil

FOR THE PIZZA:

1  (1-pound) pizza crust (such as Boboli or Mama Marys)

3  cups  chopped seeded tomato (about 2 pounds)

3  garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4  cup  thinly sliced basil leaves

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 475°.

2. To prepare pesto, place 4 cups basil leaves and 2 garlic cloves in a food processor, and pulse 5 times or until coarsely chopped. With processor on, add broth, Parmesan, and oil through food chute; process until well-blended.

3. To prepare pizza, place pizza crust on a baking sheet. Spread pesto over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border; top with the tomato, garlic slices, and mozzarella. Bake at 475° for 12 minutes or until the cheese melts. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup basil. Cut the pizza into 8 wedges.

Light and Healthy Oven-Fried Chicken

Who doesn’t love fried chicken? Developing a good oven-fried chicken recipe is not an easy task, but I am very happy with this version. Using nonfat buttermilk and egg whites works perfectly with the mixture of flour and cornmeal. If you want to add herbs, you can combine dried seasonings or finely chopped fresh herbs into the flour mixture. Also, if you want to speed up the cooking process a bit, purchase chicken cutlets or chicken tenders which are smaller and thinner. This is a family-favorite that’s great anytime of the year.

 

Oven-Fried Chicken

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 40 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1  cup  nonfat buttermilk

2  large egg whites, beaten

1  cup all-purpose flour

1/3  cup cornmeal

1  teaspoon kosher salt, divided

3/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4  teaspoon ground red pepper

3  chicken breast halves, skinned (about 11/4 pounds)

3  chicken drumsticks, skinned (about 3/4 pound)

2 tablespoons  canola oil

Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine buttermilk and egg whites in a shallow dish; stir well with a whisk. Combine flour, cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper in a separate shallow dish; stir well. Sprinkle chicken evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Dip chicken in buttermilk mixture; dredge in flour mixture.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet; lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

15 Minute Prep Time: Apricot-Banana Bread

I love to make quick bread, which in food terms, means “bread that is quick to make because it requires no kneading or rising time”. And whether you have 3 kids or not, time is everything. Using dried apricots and bananas creates a wonderful flavor combination. You can also add red or golden raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries and flaked coconut if you wish. I like it how it is below, and it’s perfect to have on hand for the weekend (except for the fact that it goes so fast). Please share with me some of your favorite quick bread recipes when you get some open time. Thanks, Alison

 

Apricot-Banana Bread

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 1 hour

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

3  cups all-purpose flour

1  cup  granulated sugar

2  teaspoons baking powder

1  teaspoon baking soda

1  teaspoon ground cinnamon

4  tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

1  cup chopped dried apricots

1/2  cup chopped pecans (optional)

2  large, very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1  cup nonfat buttermilk

2  eggs, beaten

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350º F. Lightly coat a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan with vegetable cooking spray. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it looks like coarse crumbs. Mix in apricots and pecans, if desired. Stir in the bananas, buttermilk, and eggs until well blended. Pour into pan.

2. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack.

What’s For Dinner: Healthy Spaghetti and Meatballs

If you think you can’t be healthy eating Spaghetti and Meatballs, you’re wrong. This version uses ground turkey, whole wheat spaghetti and egg whites. I like to bake the meatballs on a rack in the oven first, then put them in the sauce. I made this recipe for some kid’s cooking classes I taught 2 summers ago, and it was an instant hit. They had no idea I had slipped in turkey for the beef, and for many of them, it was the first time they tried whole wheat noodles. They really liked them! This is a super easy recipe and a family favorite at my house, so I hope you will enjoy it in your home too. Also, please comment by clicking on the button below, and tell me what type of recipes you would like to see. Alison

 

Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

11/2 pounds ground turkey 

1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs

2 egg whites

1/4 cup minced onion

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 (3-pound) jar marinara pasta sauce 

1 (16-ounce) package whole-wheat spaghetti 

Fresh basil, optional

Preparation

1. Combine turkey, breadcrumbs, egg whites, onion, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Shape mixture into (1-inch) balls. (I used a tablespoon cookie scoop for the balls.)

2. Place a rack coated with cooking spray in a lightly greased aluminum foil-lined broiler pan. Arrange meatballs on rack. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes or until meatballs are browned.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

4. Pour marinara sauce into a Dutch oven. Add meatballs. Cover and simmer over low heat 30 minutes. Serve over pasta and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, if desired.