Living With Heart

The Best Catfish Ever

2008-07-01T17:55:00.002-04:00

That is what we are having for dinner tonight. It is the same recipe we have used for years with one tiny change: Instead of regular Italian dressing, I now use Newman's Own light Italian dressing. The end product tastes the same. Here's what you do:

Ingredients

Catfish
Italian dressing
Italian flavor bread crumbs
We no longer use the salt and pepper and don't miss it.

Method

Preheat the oven to 450. Spray a cookie sheet or other pan. Pour some of the dressing on a plate and dump some bread crumbs on another plate. One piece at a time, slosh the catfish first in the dressing to coat and then in the breadcrumbs to coat. Lay the coated fish on the pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until crispy and brown. Yum yum!

Saturday's Breakfast

2008-06-28T09:03:00.002-04:00

I continue to be surprised at how easy the adjustment in our diet seems to be. Last night we had a vegetarian entree from one of the American Heart Association Cookbooks. It was a bowtie pasta, olive, tomato, and feta salad -- just the thing for a hot summer night -- and was just delicious. It made four portions: Guess what's for lunch today? There was just one tablespoon of olive oil in the dressing, too.

This morning I put a couple of strips of turkey bacon in the skillet. In another small sprayed skillet, I put some finely chopped onion and zucchini, about 1/3 cup of each, and set them to lightly browning. I sprayed a 7 inch square dish and when the veggies were ready, spread them around in it. Shook up a half cup of Egg Beaters and poured them on. Covered and zapped for 45 seconds. Stirred. Recovered and zapped 20 seconds more. Sprinkled with fresh chopped basil and about 1-1/2 Tablespoons freshly grated parmesan, covered again, and zapped for ten seconds. Topped with a few halved cherry tomatoes. It was delicious with the bacon, some good whole wheat toast. juice and those fresh black cherries.

Honna's Bread

2008-06-24T08:17:00.000-04:00

Heart Healthy Pumpkin Bread

From “BetterRecipes.com”

(we used 1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour instead of what they called for)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup pumpkin (generous)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 tsp vanilla

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, sift together flours, baking soda, salt and spices. In separate bowl, combine egg, applesauce, pumpkin, brown sugar, oil and yogurt. Gradually add dry ingredients to mixture, mixing thoroughly. Mix in vanilla. Pour in greased 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and serve.

Number of servings: 8

Breakfast Fruit Parfaits

2008-06-22T07:32:00.002-04:00

When we stayed at the Joshua Wilton House in Harrisonburg, their breakfast first course was a lovely and delicious creation. They simply took a tall parfait glass and layered mixed fresh fruit, yogurt and topped with their fantastic home-made granola.

This morning we're going to have a version of this -- fat-free vanilla yogurt, blackberries, and purchased low-fat granola.

I've been looking at granola recipes, and sometime next week I'd like to try making some.

A Greek Style Dinner for Company

2008-06-21T17:11:00.000-04:00

Tonight Honna and George are coming to dinner. This is only the second time I've cooked for company Since.

We're having:

. . .Cold drinks on the deck with hummus, cauliflower, snap peas, and broccoli
. . .*Sherry's Greek-Style Chicken Skewers with Vegetables and minty dipping sauce
. . .*Roasted carrots
. . .Couscous with pine nuts
. . .Mango slices
. . .Honna's bread
. . .*Blackberry cobbler

*recipes below

Greek-Style Chicken Skewers with Vegetables

12 oz skinless, boneless chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ of a small eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (2 cups)
1 large zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces (1 ½ cups)

Marinade
¼ cup olive oil
2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons snipped fresh oregano (can substitute dried)
1 tablespoon honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

1 cup cherry tomatoes
8 oz haloumi cheese, cut into four ¼-inch slices (optional)

Place chicken, eggplant, and zucchini into Ziploc bag set in large bowl. Combine marinade ingredients. If using cheese, remove 1 tablespoon marinade into small bowl to set aside in fridge. Pour remaining marinade over chicken and vegetables, seal bag. Marinade in refrigerator 2 to 4 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Skewer chicken and vegetables, including tomatoes. Discard marinade or reserve for basting. Grill.

If using cheese, brush both sides of cheese slices with reserved marinade and grill during last 2 minutes.

Serve with Cool Yogurt Dip:
8 oz plain yogurt
2/3 cup finely chopped seeded cucumber
2 tablespoons snipped fresh mint
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp salt

Herb-and-Honey Roasted Carrots

1 pound baby carrots
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or rosemary
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp honey

Preheat the oven to 425F. Lightly oil a baking pan large enough to hold the carrots in a single layer. Arrange the carrots in a single layer and sprinkle with the herbs. Drizzle with the oil and roll to coat evenly.

Roast for 15-20 minut4es, until the carrots are mostly tender when pierced with a fork, stirring the pan occasionally for even cooking. Drizzle with the honey and return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes to finish roasting. Watch carefully and do not let the carrots burn.

Blackberry Cobbler

Filling
4 cups blackberries (or other berries)
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp reduced fat Bisquick
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Crust
1 cup reduced fat Bisquick
1/3 cup skim milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp grated lemon rind

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a 12 x 8 x 2 inch baking dish.

Make the filling: In a large saucepain, stir together all ingredients except vanilla. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and pour into baking dish.

Make the crust: Combine all ingredients, stirring just until blended. Drop batter in 8 mounds over the filling.

Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to stand at least 20 minutes before serving.