Food and Features

Ingredients:
1 pound ground hot pork sausage or turkey sausage
1/4 cup chopped onion
2.5 cups frozen cubed hash browns
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded 2% sharp Cheddar cheese
1.75 cups 2% milk
1 cup all-purpose baking mix
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Toppings: picante sauce or green hot sauce, sour cream

Directions:
Cook sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until meat crumbles. Stir in hash browns, and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink and potatoes are lightly browned. Drain mixture on paper towels; spoon into a greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

Stir together eggs, cheese, and next 4 ingredients; pour evenly over sausage mixture, stirring well. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Bake, covered with nonstick foil, at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, and let stand 5 minutes. Serve with desired toppings. Makes 8 servings.
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Ingredients:
4 bell peppers
Salt
5 tbsp. EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 lb. lean ground beef
1.5 cups of cooked rice
1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp. of dried oregano
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
dash of Tabasco sauce

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut top off peppers 1 inch from the stem end, and remove seeds. Add several generous pinches of salt to boiling water, then add peppers and boil, using a spoon to keep peppers completely submerged, until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Remove skillet from heat, add meat, rice, tomatoes, and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well. (You may find it easier to put the ingredients at this point into a large bowl and mix together with your hands.)

Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil inside the peppers. Arrange the cut side of the peppers up in a baking dish, then stuff peppers with filling. Combine ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl, then spoon over filling. Add 1/4 cup of water to the baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (or longer, depending on how big the peppers are that you are stuffing), until the internal temperature of the stuffed peppers is 150-160°F.

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Ingredients:
Crushed candy canes, to yield 1 cup
2 pounds white chocolate
Peppermint flavorings, optional

Directions:
Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate (add peppermint flavoring at this point if desired.) Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces (like peanut brittle.)

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Ingredients:
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1/4 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
3 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
Directions:
Combine blue cheese, horseradish, mayonnaise, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Combine 1 tablespoon cheese mixture, vinegar, honey, and garlic in a medium bowl. Add 1/4 teaspoon pepper, cabbage, celery, and basil.
Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spread remaining cheese mixture evenly over tortillas. Divide beef and cabbage mixture evenly among tortillas; roll up. Cut each rolled tortilla in half crosswise.
Yields 6 servings.
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Filling:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated low-fat milk
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin
Crust:
1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
Cooking spray
Topping:
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Directions:
Position oven rack to lowest position.
Preheat oven to 425°.
To prepare filling, combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add pumpkin, and stir with a whisk until smooth.
To prepare crust, roll dough into an 11-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under and flute.

Pour pumpkin mixture into the crust. Place pie plate on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet on lowest oven rack. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove pie from oven); bake an additional 50 minutes or until almost set. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare topping, beat cream with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Add powdered sugar, and beat until blended. Serve with pie.

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Ingredients:
12 cups cauliflower florets (about 2 heads)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°.
Place cauliflower in a large roasting pan or jelly-roll pan. Drizzle with oil; toss well to coat. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until tender and browned, stirring every 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, thyme, tarragon, and garlic. Bake 5 minutes. Combine cauliflower mixture, cheese, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; toss well to combine.

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Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
2 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. chile-garlic sauce, or to taste
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
8 oz. whole-wheat spaghetti
1 12-oz. bag fresh vegetable medley, such as carrots, broccoli, snow peas.

Directions:
Put a large pot of water on to boil for cooking pasta.
Meanwhile, place chicken in a skillet or saucepan and add enough water to cover; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size strips.
Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chile-garlic sauce and ginger in a large bowl.
Cook pasta in the boiling water until not quite tender, about 1 minute less than specified in the package directions. Add vegetables and cook until the pasta and vegetables are just tender, 1 minute more. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Rinse the pasta and vegetables with cool water to refresh. Stir the reserved cooking liquid into the peanut sauce; add the pasta, vegetables and chicken; toss well to coat. Serve warm or chilled.
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Ingredients:
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 cup instant long-grain rice
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 lime wedges
Sliced green onions (optional)
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Sliced jalapeño pepper (optional)

Directions:
Combine chicken broth and water in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil. Stir in instant long-grain rice, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes.
Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, red pepper, and shrimp; sauté 3 minutes or until shrimp are done. Stir shrimp mixture into broth mixture. Divide soup evenly among 4 bowls, and serve with lime wedges. Top each serving with onions, cilantro, and jalapeño, if desired. Serves 4.
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Ingredients:
1 (8-oz.) package vermicelli
2 tablespoons butter
1 (8-oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms
3 ounces finely chopped prosciutto
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup frozen baby English peas, thawed
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
1 (10-oz.) container refrigerated light Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Marsala
1 cup (4-oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add mushrooms and prosciutto, and sauté 5 minutes.

2. Stir together mushroom mixture, chicken, next 5 ingredients, and 1/2 cup cheese; stir in pasta. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

3. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until bubbly. Serves 6-8.

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Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 cup prechopped onion
2/3 cup prechopped green bell pepper
1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can pink beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup diced avocado

Directions:
Heat a small nonstick Dutch oven over medium-heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeño to pan; sauté for 2 minutes. Add pork; cook 3 minutes. Add broth and next 6 ingredients (through tomatoes); bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes or until pork is done, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in cilantro. Serve with avocado.
Serves 4. [Full Story »]