Boneless Buffalo Wings

Recipe courtesy EatingWell.com

Serves:8

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons nonfat buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
• 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar divided
• 2 pounds chicken tenders
• 6 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
• 6 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil divided
• 2 cups peeled carrot sticks
• 2 cups celery sticks
• Spicy Blue Cheese Dip (recipe follows)

Directions

Whisk buttermilk, 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce and 2 tablespoons vinegar in a large bowl until combined. Add chicken; toss to coat. Transfer to the refrigerator and let marinate for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, whisk flour and cornmeal in a shallow dish. Whisk the remaining 1 tablespoon hot sauce and 1 tablespoon vinegar in a small bowl.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and roll in the flour mixture until evenly coated. (Discard remaining marinade and flour mixture.) Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with cayenne.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken, placing each in a little oil. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and chicken, reducing the heat if necessary. Transfer to the platter. Drizzle the chicken with the reserved hot sauce mixture. Serve with carrots, celery and Spicy Blue Cheese Dip.

Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Wed Jan 28 2009

© 2009 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Res

KATHY'S SLIMMED DOWN SPLIT PEA SOUP

1 16-ounce bag split peas
1 small onion, diced
8 cups water
2 1/2 Tablespoons ham flavored soup base
Red pepper flakes...I use 1/8 tsp
Combine all ingredients in soup pot and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer over medium-low for a couple of hours until the beans have softened and melted into the broth. Add extra water if needed to prevent the soup from becoming too thick.

CROCKPOT PORK AND PEACHES

This is pretty close to Core, and depending on whether or not you switch out the brown sugar for an artificial sweetener and the peaches packed without sugar, you might not have to allow for any WPAs.

4 boneless pork chops with all fat removed
28 ounce can sliced peaches, drain and save 1/4 cup for sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 cup cider vinegar
8 ounce can tomato sauce

Salt and pepper the pork chops and place in bottom of crockpot. Top with the drained peach slices. Stir together remaining ingredients and pour over everything. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
I thought the sauce was rather thin so I put it in a saucepan and reduced it until it was thicker. I served it with 1/2 cup of rice for each of us. Serves 4.

LOW-FAT WINTER FRUIT GRANOLA

From Bob Greene’s “The Best Life Diet”

Makes 24 1/4-cup servings

• 4 cups regular rolled oats
• 1/4 cup unprocessed wheat bran
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup chopped dried pears or apples
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup chopped dates
• 2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the oats and bran on a large baking sheet.

In a small pan over medium heat, stir in the canola oil, maple syrup, and vanilla and almond extracts. When the mixture begins to bubble, pour it over the oat mixture and mix well.

Bake for about 10 minutes. Add the almonds and stir the mixture thoroughly. Continue to bake until the oats and almonds are lightly toasted, about 10 minutes more, stirring again halfway through.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Bake until the oats are crisp, about 5 minutes longer.

Remove the pan from the oven and stir the mixture. Let the granola cool for 5 minutes, the stir again.

When completely cool, store the granola in an air-tight container for up to 4 weeks.

I received this recipe in a Recipe Exchange...another great way to have oatmeal!

Grandma’s Famous Oatmeal Muffins

“Quaker Oatmeal Applesauce Muffins”

Topping

¼ cup Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Muffins

1 ½ cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

½ cup low fat milk

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Preparation Steps

1. Heat oven to 400 F. Line twelve medium muffin cups with paper baking cups or spray bottom only with cooking spray.
2. For topping, combine all ingredients in small bowl; mix well. Set aside.
3. For muffins, combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in large bowl; mix well. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do Not Over mix)
4. Fill muffin cups almost full. Sprinkle with reserved topping, patting gently.
5. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool muffins in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm.

Recipe Yield: 1 Dozen

Serving Size: 1 muffin

Nutrition Information: Calories: 180, Calories from Fat: 50, Total Fat: 5.5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 140 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 31g, Dietary Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 12g, Protein: 4g

ZUCCHINI BUTTERMILK SOUP

This was the soup recipe I found during my Google ingredient search the other day. I tried it for supper last night and was so happy with it...the Hub thought it was pretty tasty too!

In fact, we were so busy eating it that I forgot to get a picture, but imagine a smooth pale green soup with flecks of bright green throughout. I've never tried buttermilk in soup before and found it to be an excellent choice...better than the evaporated skim milk I've used in soups in the past. It adds a thickness and a little more body than the evaporated milk, and the flavor is very pleasant.

I've never been a fan of buttermilk as it stands alone. My dad loved a glass of cold buttermilk with soda crackers...one of his favorite snacks. But I do enjoy using it in my cooking for the little extra flavor it adds to baked goods. Now I have one more way to finish off what is left in that container after I make the muffins or cornbread that I bought it for in the first place.

Another note...try it in place of regular milk or water in a packaged cake or muffin mix! It is a great substitute! And low-fat!

So here is the recipe I used last night...very easy!

ZUCCHINI BUTTERMILK SOUP

1 medium zucchini cut into chunks...leave the skin on
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
1/2 medium onion cut into chunks
1 cup buttermilk
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, combine the zucchini, onion, and chicken broth. Bring to boil and simmer until the vegetables are soft. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. Add the buttermilk, salt and pepper and serve either hot or cold.

I used my immersion blender that I found at a yard sale for a dollar and it worked perfectly. We had a little bag of tortilla strips and I added a couple to the top of each bowl just for a little textural interest.

I will definitely be making this again and probably with other vegetables now that I know how well the buttermilk works in creamed soups...cauliflower...potato...yellow squash with a little nutmeg?

OVEN-ROASTED CHERRY TOMATO SAUCE

What do you do when you have too many cherry tomatoes? A good problem to have.

When the first one ripened a couple of weeks ago, we happily split it and were happy to have just that little taste of what was to come! And now, as tomatoes do, they are ripening at a pace that we can't keep up with by just eating a handful at a time.

The problem was lessened by having our 8 year old granddaughter, Audrey, stay for a couple of days...she eats them like candy!

So, I took what was left today and prepared a pan of roasted tomatoes which will end up tossed with some angel hair spaghetti at some time in the future.

I prepare them by washing and stemming the cherry tomatoes...these are a combination of Sweet 100's and Baby Romas. I then put them in a pan large enough that they are basically in a single layer. I don't measure anything accurately, but I drizzle them with probably two tablespoons of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and a few red pepper flakes. Then I add about a tablespoon of minced garlic, and then a good sprinkle of oregano and basil flakes.

I usually roast them at 400 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes until they pop open and the juices begin to caramelize around the edges a bit, but tonight I was baking some stuffed peppers...the peppers also from our little garden...and so I baked them at the same time at 350 degrees for a little over an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes.

Tomatoes prepared this way are sweet and very fresh tasting compared to stove-top preparations. I'm going to pack each batch in freezer bags and they will be ready for a quick spaghetti dinner later in the year when the tomato patch has been put to bed for the winter.