Cheesy Chips

Skill Level: Easy
Sticker Shock: $$$$
Taste: ★★★★

One of the things I've missed most since becoming diabetic is crunchy things. If you think about it, there aren't too many crunchy things that aren't fairly loaded with carbs. On top of that, crunchy things are often loaded with other bad things like fat and sodium.

The sodium content in these tasty chips is not super great, but it's not horrible either. It is still less sodium than a serving of potato chips. They also have fewer carbs and less fat than potato chips. So, I'd say these are a good choice for an occasional snack when you just HAVE to have that crunch!

Ingredients:

10 wonton wrappers
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Take each wonton wrapper and cut in half diagonally to form 2 triangles. Place them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. *I used a pizza cutter to cut these, and it was super easy.

In a small bowl combine the cheese with oil and garlic powder.

Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the wonton triangles.

Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until the wontons are golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Nutrition information: Servings Per Recipe: 4; Amount Per Serving: Calories: 75.2, Total Fat: 3.5g, Sodium: 156.4mg, Total Carbs: 7.8g, Dietary Fiber: 0.3g, Protein: 3g

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Skill Level: Easy
Sticker Shock: $$$$
Taste: ★★★★

Yesterday was my mom's birthday, and we had her over for dinner. She loves oatmeal raisin cookies, so I thought I'd find a low-carb recipe and try them out. I don't get into cookies that much, and oatmeal raisin is not my favorite, but these were good. We all enjoyed them. Jeff, my husband, said he actually thought they were a little too sweet for his taste, which says a lot for a low-carb/diabetic-friendly cookie recipe I'd say! These also have much fewer ingredients than a lot of cookie recipes I've seen, so it was easy to make these without a trip to the store first.

Ingredients:

3 medium bananas mashed (overripe bananas have a higher carb content, so be sure to choose fresh bananas)
2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1/3 cup margarine, melted
1/4 cup fat free milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes so that the oats will absorb excess moisture.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Let cool for 1 minute on baking sheets and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Nutrition information: Servings Per Recipe: 36; Amount Per Serving: Calories: 51.5, Total Fat: 2.1g, Sodium: 20.9mg, Total Carbs: 7.7g, Dietary Fiber: 0.9g, Protein: 0.9g

Balsamic Pork Chops

Skill Level: Easy
Sticker Shock: $$
Taste: ★★★★

If you're looking for an incredibly easy pork chop recipe, this is the one for you. It didn't live up to my flavor expectations, but marinated meats rarely do for some reason. I even marinated the chops for the full 24 hours.

My family enjoyed it; my daughter, who very rarely eats much of her dinner at all (and especially not meat), actually said she liked it.

Ingredients:

8 boneless pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
1 cup balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing

Directions:

Place chops in large, re-sealable bag; add vinaigrette dressing. Seal bag and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.

Prepare medium-hot grill. Remove chops from marinade and pat dry. Discard remaining marinade.

Grill chops directly over heat for about 8 to 10 minutes, turning once.

Nutrition information: Servings Per Recipe: 8; Amount Per Serving: Calories: 210, Total Fat: 11.7g, Sodium: 351.2mg, Total Carbs: 3.9g, Dietary Fiber: 0g, Protein: 20.4g

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

Skill Level: Easy
Sticker Shock: $$$$
Taste: ★★★★

I thought these turned out quite yummy! My husband, kids, and parents-in-law seemed to enjoy them, too. I used fat-free cream cheese because it's what I had on hand, and I did 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup Splenda. They still turned out great. The nutrition information provided is for the recipe as written below. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

cooking spray
8 oz low fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 cup light sour cream
1/3 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Spray an 8 inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and line with a 12 inch piece of parchment paper. Spray paper with nonstick cooking spray; place a second sheet of 12 inch parchment in the opposite direction so they lay crisscrossed. Spray second sheet with cooking spray; set aside.

Place cream cheese and sour cream in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add in the cocoa powder, cornstarch, sugar, and eggs, blending until smooth, scraping the sides of container at least once.

Pour into baking dish and evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips. Bake on middle rack until just set, about 35-40 minutes.

Place on cooling rack for 20-30 minutes, then in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Lift brownies out of pan using the parchment paper as handles, cut into 9 even squares.

Nutrition information: Servings Per Recipe: 9; Amount Per Serving: Calories: 140, Total Fat: 4.6g, Sodium: 44.4mg, Total Carbs: 20.8g, Dietary Fiber: 0.6g, Protein: 4.2g

Baked Brie Casserole

Skill Level: Easy
Sticker Shock: $$$
Taste: ★★★★

This is a very tasty casserole. The flavors work together very well. I did notice it lost some of its tastiness if I didn't have a bit of each layer on my fork. I like Brie, but the Brie flavor tended to take over if one or two of the other layers weren't included in a particular bite. This sounds ridiculous as I'm typing it, but I don't know how else to describe it!

My daughter wouldn't touch it (she's two-and-a-half and very rarely has interest in dinner), but my son (18-months-old) gobbled it up, as he does pretty much anything I put in front of him. My husband enjoyed it but noticed the same thing I did about the flavor.

I think this will be a dish that we have maybe two or three times a year. I could see it being something I crave every so often. I don't think it will become a regular part of our meal rotation, though.

Oh, and just for reference, I chilled mine for about six hours before putting it in the oven.

Ingredients:

2 small zucchini , cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices (about 2 cups)
cooking spray
6 oz bread, sourdough, torn into bite size pieces (equal to 6 cups)
brie, 4.5oz package
1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes, halved (or grape tomatoes )
1 cup egg substitute
2/3 cup evaporated, nonfat/skim milk
1/3 cup fresh chopped green onion
3 Tablespoons fresh dill weed (or 1 tablespoon dried dill weed)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

In a covered medium saucepan, cook zucchini in a small amount of boiling, lightly salted water for 2 to 3 minutes or until just tender. Drain zucchini. Set aside.

Meanwhile, coat a 2 quart rectangular baking dish with cooking spray, and arrange 4 cups of the bread pieces in the prepared baking dish.

If desired, remove and discard rind from cheese, cut cheese into 1/2 inch cubes.

Arrange cheese evenly over bread in baking dish, arrange zucchini and tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with remaining 2 cups bread pieces.

Combine egg product, evaporated milk, green onion, dill, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour evenly over mixture in baking dish.

Lightly press down layers with back of spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 4 to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and remove plastic wrap from casserole, cover with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for additional 25 to 30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition information: Servings Per Recipe: 6; Amount Per Serving: Calories: 193.1, Total Fat: 6.5g, Sodium: 592.4mg, Total Carbs: 20.1g, Dietary Fiber: 1.2g, Protein: 12.7g

Angel Food Cookies

Skill Level: Incredibly Easy
Sticker Shock: $$$$
Taste: ★★★★

These are the easiest cookies I have ever made, maybe even easier than the break apart dough cookies you can buy at the store! They are also very tasty. My husband didn't care much for them, but he likes extra stuff in his cookies (he's not fond of shortbread or sugar cookies, either). Oh well...They are also versatile—you could really use any fruity flavor of diet carbonated beverage. We just happened to have some peach on hand. These are also decent-sized cookies, so if you have to limit yourself to just one, you can still feel like you have satisfied your sweet tooth (without a lot of calories and fat, even!).

Ingredients:

1/2 cup diet carbonated beverage
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 angel food cake mix, 14.5oz package
cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with the cooking spray.

Put the carbonated beverage, almond extract, and angel food mix in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat at a medium pace until it becomes smooth. Set 28 equal spoonfuls of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for approximately 9 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet using a spatula and let cool before serving.

Nutrition information: Servings Per Recipe: 28; Amount Per Serving: Calories: 54.9, Total Fat: 0.1g, Sodium: 108.7mg, Total Carbs: 12.5g, Dietary Fiber: 0g, Protein:1.3g

Apricot Sticky Drumsticks

Skill Level: Easy

Sticker Shock: $$$$

Taste: ★★★★

I am not a huge fan of dark meat chicken. If you were here, my husband would feel obligated to tell you a mildly humorous story about me and dark meat chicken. Anyway, I'm even less fond of removing the skin from chicken—not because I prefer to eat the skin, but because it is gross and icky to touch chicken skin! But, I took one for the team, and I'm glad I did. This was very tasty! In fact, for the first time in a long time (or maybe ever), I actually finished eating before my husband did. My only real complaint, gross and icky skin aside, was the cleanup. My jelly roll pan may never be the same again. I will definitely be lining it with something the next time.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup apricot preserves

1/4 cup low sodium teriyaki sauce

1 Tablespoon packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 raw chicken drumsticks, skin removed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

In a large bowl, whisk the apricot preserves, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, and salt until well blended. Add chicken and toss to coat well.

Spoon sauce coated chicken into a 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 inch jelly roll pan, bake for 15 minutes.

Remove jelly roll pan and brush chicken with sauce.

Continue baking chicken, basting every five minutes until cooked thoroughly, about 20 more minutes.

Remove chicken from oven, brush with remaining sauce, and let cool in pan for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition information: Servings Per Recipe: 6; Amount Per Serving: Calories: 447.8, Total Fat: 19.7g, Sodium: 456.7mg, Total Carbs: 21g, Dietary Fiber: 0g, Protein: 43.7g

Thin-Crust Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza

Skill Level: Easy
Sticker Shock: $$$$
Taste: ★★★★

I am usually a minimalist when it comes to pizza. I'm a pepperoni OR sausage kind of gal, so I was a bit wary going into this recipe. It sounded good, but I've been burned before when things sounded good. I was pleasantly surprised with my first bite! The crust is very crispy and flavorful, and the toppings are a good combination. My zucchini, unfortunately, wasn't as fresh as I'd hoped, so I had to skip that altogether.

I might play around with the sauce a bit next time. It was good, but a bit bland compared to jarred sauce or what you'd get at the local pizzeria. I still gave the recipe 4 stars because it was still really good, just a bit different if you were expecting a restaurant taste.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup white all purpose flour , divided
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp Yeast, baker's, dry active
1 1/2 tsp ground basil leaves , divided
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium garlic cloves , minced
1/2 cup water (warm: 120 - 130 deg F)
1 teaspoon cornmeal
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup fresh mushroom slices
1/2 cup sliced zucchini
1/3 cup fresh chopped green onion
1 serving roasted red peppers with brine , drained, cut lengthwise into thin strips
1 cup part skim shredded mozzarella
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Directions:

Combine 1/2 cup all-purpose flour with the whole wheat flour, yeast, 1 teaspoon basil, and salt.

In a small cup, blend the oil with garlic and stir with water into the flour mixture. Stir 1/4 cup all-purpose flour into the mixture until dough forms that is soft and slightly sticky, adding 1/4 cup of additional flour if necessary to prevent mixture from sticking.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Shape dough into a ball, then cover the ball with an inverted bowl or clean towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Place oven rack on the lowest position possible and preheat to 400 degrees F. Spray a 12-inch pizza pan or baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, then sprinkle with cornmeal and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a large circle and transfer to the prepared pan, then stretch the dough so it reaches the edge of the pan.

In a small bowl, blend the tomato sauce with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon basil and spread the mixture evenly over crust. Top the crust with mushrooms, zucchini, green onions, roasted bell pepper, and mozzarella, then sprinkle crushed red pepper on top of the pizza.

Place pizza in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Nutrition information: Servings Per Recipe: 4; Amount Per Serving: Calories: 274.9, Total Fat: 8.8g, Sodium: 345.6mg, Total Carbs: 36.3g, Dietary Fiber: 4g, Protein: 13.5g

Easy Rolls

Skill Level: Easy
Sticker Shock: $$$$
Flavor: ★★★★

These would probably have been more accurately called biscuits, but they still hit the spot. I gave three stars because I was truly expecting more of a dinner roll type consistency. I served these with an Italian soup and salad.

Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising flour
6 tablespoon light mayonnaise (or mayonnaise substitute)
1 cup low fat buttermilk
1 cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and combine the first three ingredients in a bowl.

Spoon the batter into muffin pans coated with cooking spray.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the rolls are lightly brown.

*Note: I had to bake these another 2-3 minutes beyond what the recipe directed before they browned.

Nutrition information: Servings Per Recipe: 12; Amount Per Serving: Calories: 107.2, Total Fat: 2.9g, Sodium: 345.8mg, Total Carbs: 17.1g, Dietary Fiber: 0.6g, Protein: 2.8g

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

Skill Level: Easy
Sticker Shock: $$$$
Flavor: ★★★★

How can you go wrong with mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese? Even my toddlers gobble this one up.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
2 pounds tilapia fillets

Directions:

Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.

In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.

Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

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I have a hard time not sampling the Parmesan cheese mixture before I add it to the fish. It has such a zing to it! This dish can easily be paired with a variety of side dishes for a balanced meal.

Nutrition information: Servings Per Recipe: 8; Amount Per Serving: Calories: 231, Total Fat: 13.3g, Cholesterol: 65mg, Sodium: 278mg, Total Carbs: 0.8g,
Dietary Fiber: 0.1, Protein: 26.1g