Cookingwithellie

Note: The recipes in this column have been submited to WRPBradio by a third party. WRPBradio does not vouch for the the legitimacy of the diabetic friendly claim. If you are diabetic, please consult your physician before using any of these recipes.

~ Paula’s Apples ~

Diabetic friendly recipes

Paula has provided recipes for a diabetic Christmas dinner.

Christmas dinner

BROCCOLI SOUP

1 T. olive oil or cooking spray

½ c. old fashioned oats (oatmeal)

1 large onion, chopped

1 T. lemon juice

1 stalk celery , chopped

1 t. dried dill

2 cloves garlic, chopped

½ t. salt

2 bags frozen broccoli

Black pepper to taste

4 c. stock

Saute the onions, celery, garlic and salt, stirring often until translucent.

Add broccoli and stock, bring to a boil and the simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the oatmeal and cook gently, stirring often until broccoli is tender and the soup thickens. Remove from the heat and add lemon juice, dill and pepper. Puree the soup in a blender .

This is a pretty green soup. Decorate with a little roasted red pepper for Christmas.

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OVEN “FRIED” POTATOES

Peel potatoes and cut into wedges ( Yukon potatoes are said to have a buttery flavor). Line a jelly roll pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Arrange the potato wedges on the tin foil leaving a little space between them. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder and spray them again with cooking spray. Cook in a 400-425 degree oven until done.

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STUFFED BEEF

This is an adaptation of a recipe that I learned a long time ago. It may look complicated, but the beauty of it is that you can cook in a day or so in advance, so it is easy to serve to a group, or on a buffet table, without much fuss or mess. After cooking the meat you remove it from the juices and refrigerate it. Refrigerate the juices separately. Continue to prepare the sauce the next day and store separately. When you are ready to serve, cut the meat into 1” slices and arrange fan like on a platter. Decorate with baby spinach and tomatoes or roasted red peppers. Serve at room temperature with piping hot sauce in a gravy boat on the side.

1 eye round roast

Prepare small dishes of :

Plum tomatoes, ½" cubes

onions, ½"cubes

Green peppers, ½" cubes

garlic cloves, ½"cubes

Ham, ½"cubes

cilantro leaves (well washed)

Small pimento stuffed olives

capers

Save unused stuffing ingredients, you can mix them all together.

With a narrow bladed sharp knife, make three incisions lengthwise through the meat and stuff well with the above ingredients, alternating them randomly (When you slice the meat they will look like different colored jewels) Tie the roast in several places all the way to the ends so that the stuffing does not fall out and brown in 1-2 T. of olive oil or cooking spray. Add about 1c. broth. (I would use ham broth) Cover and simmer until tender.

Chill the meat and reserve the liquid seperately

Next day:

Remove the excess fat from the liquid. Discard the fat and bring the liquid to boiling in a sauce pan.

Blend the reserved stiffing ingredients, roasted peppers from the jar additional cilantro and a little fresh parsley in a blender and add with:

1 can tomato soup and

1 can tomato sauce to the reserved liquid.

The basis of this delicious Puerto Rican sauce is in order of amount and importance:

Onions garlic Cilantro peppers olives capers

If you can’t find cilantro use Italian parsley in the stuffing and add a couple of bay leaves to the sauce.

Another option is to use fresh basil in the stuffing and parsley and basil in the sauce. It will have a more Italian taste.

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COCOA BALL COOKIES or pie crust

3/4 c. oat flour

¼ c. whole wheat flour

¼ c. cocoa powder

½ t. baking soda

½ t. baking powder

¼ c. “zero” calorie butter spray

¼ c. yogurt butter*

1 c. Splenda

¼ c. Egg Beaters

1 t. vanilla

½ c. unsweetened grated coconut

Mix all ingredients together. Make small (1”) balls and place on a cookie sheet prepared with cooking spray. Bake 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Or, press into a pie plate and up the edges to form a crust and bake for about 10 minutes.

Allow to cool completes and fill with:

DRIVEN SNOW:

1 c. light yogurt, any flavor ( I like peach ) which has been mixed with a little diced fruit and a small container of frozen fat free whipped topping, defrosted.

Freeze

Take it out a few minutes before you are ready to serve and decorate for the season with red and green maraschino cherries, or mint leaves and pomegranate seeds

*Yogurt butter is a mixture of 2 cups of plain fat free yogurt which has been drained in a coffee filter set in a strainer over a bowl in the refrigerator over night, mixed with 8 ounces of reduced fat margarine ( I like Olivio).

Thank you Graham Kerr

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GREEN BEAN CASEROLE

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

ONION TOPPING:

2 medium peeled onions, cut in half and sliced thin

¼ c. whole wheat flour

2 T. high fiber “flake” style cereal crumbs, or bread crumbs from high fiber bread

1 t. garlic powder

¼ t. coarse grained salt

Mix all of the onion topping ingredients together and spread on a tin foil lined baking sheet. (use all of the mixture). Bake for 40-45 minutes until browned, repositioning them after every 10 minutes. ( You can do this early in the day or the day before.)

Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

CASSEROLE:

2 lbs. frozen green beans, thawed and drained

1 T. olive oil

8 ounces baby bell mushrooms, sliced

1 mudium red pepper, diced

2/3 c. low sodium chicken broth

1 c. fat free or reduced fat sour cream

Sauté the mushrooms and the red pepper in the oil until the mushrooms are browned (about 5 minutes). Add the green beans and the broth and cook until almost dry. Turn off the heat and add the sour cream. Put the green bean mixture in a casserole dish and bake covered for about 15 minutes. Uncover, top with the onion mixture and bake 10-15 minutes more.

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(End of Christmas dinner recipes)

COULD YA MAGINE CHOCOLATE CAKE

2 c. oat flour 1 c. Splenda

3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder 1 t. Baking soda

¼ t.

salt ½ t. Baking Powder

1/3 c. Butter flavored spray (not aerosol) 1 T. vinegar

1 ½ t. vanilla 1 c. cold water

Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make three depressions in the dry ingredients and add the butter spray to one, the vinegar to another, and the vanilla to the last.

Mix all together gently, when blended pour into a 9” cake pan prepared with cooking spray and bake 30 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

(I spread a little cherry all fruit spread on top, add a dollop of whipped topping and a fresh cherry. A friend of mine thought I bought it in a bakery.)

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SIMPLY WONDERFUL FRUIT AND CRÈME DESSERT

1 pkg. fruit flavored sugar free gelatin dessert

1 c. fruit flavored fat free yogurt

1 c. boiling water

fat free whipped topping

Fresh fruit in small pieces (I like berries)

In a bowl combine the gelatin powder and water. Mix well to dissolve and allow to come to room temperature. Add the cold yogurt and refrigerate, covered, until firm. Turn out onto a plate and decorate with whipped topping and fresh fruit.

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PUMPKIN BREAD

1 15 oz. can of pumpkin (not pie mix) 1/3 c. low fat milk

2 T. butter flavored spray (not aerosol) ¼ t. vinegar

½ c. liquid egg substitute 1 c. oat flour

1 c. Splenda 1.c. Fiber One Cereal

2 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda

¼ t. salt dash ground nutmeg

¼ t. ground ginger 1/8 t. powdered Classic orange drink mix

Cooking Spray

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients including the pumpkin and mix well. Pour the batter into a 9” square cake pan prepared with cooking spray.

Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool a little and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Cut into four quarters, and then cut each quarter into two triangles.

Good plain in the morning or with a dollop of fat free whipped topping later in the day. You can use a gelatin mold with a mechanism for releasing the pressure so that the finished dessert slides out easily from the bowl, or you can dip the bowl into hot water for a few seconds before turning it out onto the plate.

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PUMPKIN PIE

1 15 oz. can of pumpkin (not pie mix) ¾ c. Splenda

1 t/ ground cinnamon ½ t. ground ginger

½ t. salt 2 jumbo eggs, beaten

1 can fat free evaporated milk 2 T. orange juice

¼ c. water

Pour into an unbaked pie shell and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 1 hour or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Custard is then set. Serve with fat free whipped topping

DO NOT BAKE AND REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT. Bottom will become soggy.

You can omit the crust and bake in a soufflé dish sprayed with cooking spray at 350 degrees for one hour. Serve with fat free whipped topping.

Mmmuffin Mania

This recipe makes 12 nice sized delicious muffins. Not those monster muffins one can buy at the grocery or coffee shop but realistic sized muffins, so you can eat more than one (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it). I have found that those muffins often taste of the leavening agent used, are sometimes dry and are otherwise tasteless.

When I make muffins I am reminded of Sampson, Vickie’s wonderful cat. She had just adopted him and he was just the cutest little thing. He had not yet learned that his place was not wherever he chose to go; his manners, to say the least were a little underdeveloped. Anyway I made these muffins late in the evening, thinking that it would be lovely to have them for breakfast in the morning. After removing them from the oven I left the muffins on the dining room table to cool, and went to bed.

All night long the delicious aroma of bran muffins filled my senses so, when in the morning when I smelled the coffee, I hustled downstairs with the intention of bringing Vickie (and myself) a little treat.

Imagine my surprise when halfway down the stairs I stepped on an empty muffin paper. It seems our lovely kitten had explored and discovered a little snack; and also that muffins make great toys when knocked off the table. It took almost as long to locate and clean up the mess as it did to mix and bake the things.

The cat has learned better manners and no longer goes on the dining room, however we still do not tempt him by leaving these apparently irresistible to feline as well as human, breakfast/snack food languishing about.

Bran Muffins

These can be reheated in the microwave for 30 seconds, but best eaten fresh

1 egg

¾cup brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons shortening

1 cup bran or all bran cereal**

2 tablespoons dark molasses

1 ½cups flour

1 cup sour milk or buttermilk

1 tsp, soda

1 tsp salt

½ - 1 cup raisins or chopped dates, (optional)

**If you use all bran cereal soak it in the sour milk for a few minutes.

Cream shortening and sugar, just use a spoon to blend, and add egg. Beat well then add the bran.

Sift flour and salt together.

Mix soda into milk.

Add flour and milk alternately into the original mixture. Add raisins and mix well.

Spoon into paper lined muffin tin and bake in 300 degree F. oven for 30

minutes.

The reason the raisins are optional is because Tommy, my brother doesn’t like raisins so when I take him muffins I simply leave them out. Even without the raisins the taste is still superior to purchased muffins and this makes him a happy camper.

Happy baking, Ellie

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What does Ellie do besides write columns, you ask?

As some of you may know I am in real life a writer of mysteries. One of my characters is food editor Ellie Wilson. In the first book of my mystery series, Hullabaloo at Huron Shores, Ellie and Lucy Wilson try to help a friend out of a nasty situation (A dead abusive husband’s body needs to be disposed of.) I know many of you would have offered to help friend Betty, just as Ellie offered Lucy’s help…and her own of course. Anyway when Ellie isn’t hauling bodies around she writes her columns. I thought you might enjoy a recipe from Hullabaloo at Huron Shores.

Cooking With Ellie Wilson

Autumn, the time for our annual retreat back indoors, is upon us. The grill is relegated to a corner in the garage and the picnic gear lies languishing in the basement. Cool nights prompt memories of hearty dinners, hot from the oven. Wispy reminiscences of enticing aromas transport us back to the days when a pot of stew simmered on the back of the old cook stove. Dumplings, everyone’s favorites often extended or filled out the meal. Mmm…can’t you almost taste it?

My first offering of the season is a rabbit casserole my daughter often serves, hence the name Lucy’s Lapin.

Lucy’s Lapin and Sage Dumplings

½ pound bacon

1 rabbit quartered

4 large carrots

4 small leeks

1 large onion

4 or 5 stalks celery

4 tablespoons flour

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups water and a bouillon cube

½ cup dry white wine

3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

1½ tablespoon dry sage

fresh ground black pepper

salt to taste

1. Place the bacon which you’ve snipped into ½ inch pieces, into a high sided heavy skillet, over medium high heat. Fry until the fat is released and add the rabbit quarters, browned on all sides.

2. Remove rabbit quarters to an oven safe casserole or Dutch oven. With a slotted spoon scoop the bacon over the rabbit, leaving the grease in the skillet.

3. Add the coarsely chopped carrots, leeks, onion and celery to the reserved fat. All vegetable pieces should be an inch or so long. Sauté for 10 minutes and transfer to the Dutch oven with the rabbit and bacon.

4. Sprinkle the flour over the casserole contents. Add the chicken stock or two cups of water and a crumbled bouillon cube and the wine, sage and pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil, stirring often; season to taste.

5. Cover the casserole and place in preheated oven at 325° for about 1½ hours or until rabbit is tender.

To make the dumplings combine:

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ salt

¾ cup milk

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Drop generous tablespoons of dumpling mix into the hot stew. Re-cover and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until dumplings are well risen and cooked through. Serves 4.

I do urge you all to try the robust rabbit version of this dish, as it received rave reviews but a few of my guests preferred the delightful chicken adaptation I developed for those readers who cannot locate or simply dislike rabbit.

Luscious Chicken and Dumplings

The ingredient list is much the same as for the rabbit stew with the following substitutions:

1½ cups whole baby carrots rather than sliced carrots.

1 cup pearl onions not chopped onions.

3 tablespoons chopped sweet marjoram

1½ tablespoon dry marjoram instead of sage though sage is lovely too.

And:

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup small button mushrooms browned in butter

Steps 1 through 5 remain the same as in the lapin recipe. Add the thyme during step 5 and the browned mushrooms when you drop the dumplings into the stew.

For the dumplings substitute sweet marjoram for sage though once again sage is very nice. The oven dumplings are great because they are wonderfully light and fluffy.

Send questions to www.cookingwithellie.com

I do hope you try this recipe, it is delicious. The only danger is that the aroma may bring people off the street to see what is cooking.

Stay well and love one another, Ellie

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Isn’t friendship grand?

A couple days ago my neighbor came to the door with a plastic bag in one hand and a paper in the other. No she was not selling an illegal substance.

The bag contained a ‘starter’ for Amish Friendship Bread and on the paper was written the entire recipe. The contents of this bag turned out to be the starter for an incredibly delicious sweetbread.

The friendship part is this; you make 5 times as much starter as you need; you use one to make the bread now and put 4 into plastic bags (directions to follow), give 3 to friends and keep one for yourself for later.

I certainly am glad my neighbor is also a friend and thought enough of me to share this treat. With the holidays coming doesn’t this sound like a nice thing to do?

Amish Friendship Bread

Do not use any kind of metal spoon or bowl for mixing.

Do not refrigerate.

If air forms in the bag let it out.

It is normal for the batter to rise, bubble and ferment.

Day 1 – Do nothing. This is the day you receive the batter. Bag is dated day #1.

Day 2 – Mush the bag.

Day 3 – Mush the bag.

Day 4 – Mush the bag.

Day 5 – Mush the bag.

Day 6 – Add to the bag: 1 cup of flour, 1cup of sugar, 1 cup of milk – Mush the bag

Day 7 – Mush the bag.

Day 8 – Mush the bag.

Day 9 – Mush the bag.

Day 10 - Follow the instructions below

Pour entire contents of bag into a non-metal bowl. Add 1 ½ cups of flour, 1 ½ cups sugar and 1 ½ cups of milk. Measure out 4 separate 1 cup portions of batter into 4, 1 gallon Ziploc bags. Put the date on each bag. Keep 1 starter for yourself, give instructions and starter to 3 friends. Starter can be frozen for a later date. When you thaw it out, make that day #1.

Preheat over to 325 F.

With the remaining batter in the non-metal bowl add the following.

3 eggs beat and fold in

1 cup oil OR (½ cup oil and ½ cup applesauce)

½ cup milk

1 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp vanilla

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 large package or 2 small packages instant vanilla pudding

Optional: nuts and raisins

Grease 2 larger loaf pans. Mix additional ½ cup sugar and 1 ½ tsp cinnamon. Dust the greased pan with ½ of the mixture. Pour batter evenly into the pans and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake 1 hour. Check at 50 minutes. Cool until bread loosens from pan evenly. Place on serving dish. Serve warm or cold.

P.S. I gave one to my sister-in-law Anne Wood, she misread the recipe and added the eggs before bagging the starter for her friends. Do not do that! The starter spoils rapidly, but we had a good laugh. She did ask for another starter.

You know I always say read the recipe right through before starting however in this case that proved the wrong thing to do. Anne is one of those delightful people who can laugh at herself. She is a treasure.

Happy cooking,

Ellie

As always we love to hear from you. You can email your comments or problems to cookingwithellie@yahoo.com or radiopalmbeach@yahoo.com, or both just to make certain that one of us get it. I have found that email has a way of going astray, wandering off so to speak. Do you suppose there is a rest stop somewhere along the information superhighway where all the undelivered email congregate to have a party? Hmmm, now my mind is wandering, I hope it doesn’t get too lost…