Maggie's World...
Good morning! What a great bunch of recipes we have today. I owe thanks to Larry for his excellent contribution of the recipes located in the “Favorites” section today. Whether you serve them up together as suggested or steal a few to be prepared individually, each recipe is wonderful. He also provides us with an interesting background to his suggested menu “A Holiday Tapa Party for Eight”. We lighten up a bit with our “Heart Healthy” and our “For Two” selections. All in all, you will be in a cutting and pasting frenzy, my friends.
I’m so pleased that the discussion forum has generated some interest. I do hope you’ll join in the current discussion or start one of your own. This service provider makes it as easy as clicking a link. In a flash, you are there and able to read and/or add messages. I feel this is going to be a great addition to A to Z Recipes.
Just a friendly reminder...
Some of you had your recipe submissions returned to you (past two days) due to the recipe email address being full. No, it was not full of recipes. It was filled to capacity by lengthy non-recipe emails. Please, friends, read the submission instructions every once in a while as a refresher. ONLY recipes are to be sent to the Fastmail account. To be totally honest...I don’t have the money to buy extra storage at two email addresses. And, let’s face it, this publication is not generating enough income to buy any, either. I am not mad, dear hearts. And...I am not going to go on a rampage about donations. The donation option remains open for those who can afford to help defray my time and expenses. The email inboxes, however, should remain uncluttered
for everyone. I check each inbox often to keep from going over my limit. Meet me half way, will ya? Thanks.
Enjoy!
Ramblings...
Someone Special
Shared by Bette, Pittsburg, CA
Think about this. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.
1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. You are special and unique.
8. Someone that you don't even know exists, loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look:
Always remember the compliments you received.
Forget about the rude remarks.
Click here to submit an item for posting in this section.
Did You Know?...
Losing Weight: 10 Tips to Reshape Behavior
-Pan-fry or saute foods with a non-stick spray or low-calorie butter substitute. Bake or broil instead of frying.
-Eat high-fiber foods, such as a bran muffin instead of the morning donut.
-Use sugar substitutes when sweetening foods and beverages.
-Order from the light menus now offered at many restaurants, or purchase low-calorie or reduced-fat products at the grocery store.
-Try a meal plan using "exchange lists" based on foods grouped together according to similar food values. Most exchange lists include several "free" foods: those lower than 20 calories per serving, such as many low-calorie, sugar-free foods and beverages.
-Never skip meals. Eat three to six times a day in smaller portions to keep from getting hungry.
-Use a smaller plate at mealtime to satisfy your psychological need to see a full plate.
-Eat and chew slowly. Learn to stop eating before you feel full. (It takes 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain that it is full!)
-Weigh yourself on a regular schedule, but don’t become a slave to your scale.
-Reward yourself with pleasures other than food--buy some new clothes, get a different hair style, see a movie, visit a friend, etc.
Click here to submit an item for posting in this section.
Discussion Forum
Our discussion forum at QuickTopic for our topic "Eating and Cooking Healthier" is well under way. To join in (or just to read) use your web browser to go to:
A to Z Recipes Discussion Forum
You don't have to register or sign in, and you can choose to receive email for newly posted messages -- just click the
Subscribe button when you get there.
NOTE:
Maybe once you get to the site using the above link, you could add it to favorites. Links that are easy to find are more likely to be used again.
Next Monthly Theme...
Favorite Diet Recipes
I thought this was appropriate as we will all be looking for ways to shed some of the pounds gained by all the "holiday cheer". Now, here is the NEW set of rules:
A to Z Recipes continues with its popular Theme Issues. We will share theme recipes and post them on the first Sunday of each month. Send your recipes no later than the last Friday of each month to have them posted in the next monthly theme issue. You may send in TWO of your favorite theme recipes in ONE email. If the number of recipes exceeds those needed in the issue, the publisher will post as many from every submitter as possible and save the remaining recipes for the following Sundays of that month. The rules for recipe submissions for the monthly theme issues are the same as ALL recipes submitted for posting.
The rules are as follows:
As a service to your fellow readers, please send only recipes that are in a form that others could easily copy and save for their own use. Recipes that would require a lot of editing or cleaning up or use non-standard measurements should not be submitted. Recipes without a name and location of sender may NOT be posted or posted without any credit given. There will be NO recipes posted that are from other recipe-zines. A to Z Recipes protects the privacy of its readers and does NOT publish email addresses. There will be no exceptions.
The deadline for January's theme issue is Friday, December 26th.
Theme recipes must have subject: "Favorite Diet Recipes" and will be posted on Sunday, January 4th.
Click here to submit an item for posting in this section.
America's Hometown Favorites Cookbook
with FREE mini spatula & spring whisk
from Better Homes and Gardens
Crazy Corner...
Dear Dogs
Shared by Bette, Pittsburg, CA
Dear Dogs:
When I say to move, it means go someplace else, not switch positions with each other so there are still two dogs in the way.
The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.
The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help, because I fall faster than you can run.
I cannot buy anything bigger than a king size bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort. Look at videos of dogs sleeping, they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing but doggy sarcasm.
My compact discs are not miniature Frisbees.
For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, try to turn the knob, or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. In addition, I have been using bathrooms for years; canine attendance is not mandatory.
Does Your Cat Own You?
Do you select your friends based on how well your cats like them?
Does your desire to collect cats intensify during times of stress?
Do you buy more than 50 pounds of cat litter a month?
Do you scoop out the litter box after each use? Do you wait at the box with the scoop in your hand?
Do you think it's cute when your cat swings on the drapes or licks the butter?
Do you admit to non-cat owners how many cats you really have?
Do you sleep in the same position all night because it annoys your cats when you move?
Do you kiss your cat on the lips?
Do you feed your cat tidbits from the table with your fork?
Does your cat sit at the table (or ON the table) when you eat?
Does your cat sleep on your head? Do you like it?
Do you have more than four opened but rejected cans of cat food in the refrigerator?
Do you watch bad TV because the cat is sleeping on the remote?
Did you buy a video tape of fish swimming in an aquarium to entertain your cat?
Will you stand at the open door indefinitely in the freezing rain while your cat sniffs the door, deciding whether to go out or come in?
Would you rather spend a night at home with your cat than go out on a bad date?
Do you give your cat presents and a stocking at Christmas? Do you spend more for your cat than you do for your spouse?
Do the Christmas cards you send out feature your cat sitting on Santa's lap? Does your cat sign the card?
Do you put off making the bed until the cat gets up?
Does your cat eat out of cut crystal stemware because you both watched the same commercial on television?
Do you microwave your cat's food? Prepare it from scratch?
Do you climb out of bed over the headboard or footboard, so you won't disturb the sleeping cat?
At the store, do you pick up the cat food and kitty litter before you pick out anything for yourself?
Do you cook a special turkey for your cat on holidays?
Does your cat "insist" on a fancy Sunday breakfast consisting of an omelet made from eggs, milk, and salmon, halibut, or trout?
Do you have pictures of your cat in your wallet? Do you bring them out when your friends share pictures of their children? (Pollsters claim that 40 percent of cat owners carry their pet's pictures in their wallets, by the way.)
When people call to talk to you on the phone, do you insist that they say a few words to your cat as well?
Do you accept dates only with those who have a cat? If so, do you eventually double-date with the cats to see how they get along?
When someone new comes to your house, do you introduce your cat, by name, to them?
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Your Favorites...
A HOLIDAY TAPA* PARTY FOR EIGHT
(Spanish appetizers)
~Sent in by Larry Holmes, Ontario, Canada
*Tapas: Back in the 13th Century, following a decree by King Alfonso X of Spain that taverns must serve food with wine, when a glass was poured, the tavern keeper would place a slice of bread or ham over the top. This met the king's decree but it also served a more important role: it kept the flies out of the wine! As time went on, the food offering expanded to create small one- or two-bite morsels - let's call them appetizers. Today, around the globe, one can find tapa bars in which the morsels have expanded to exotic and substantial levels.
SANGRIA
CHAFING-DISH OLIVES
TUNA-EGG TRIANGLES PISTO
SALTED TOASTED PINE NUTS
CRAB-FILLED MUSHROOMS
CHORIZO EMPANADILLAS
POTATO OMELET
BUÑUELOS
SANGRIA
2 bottles dry red wine
4 ounces brandy
4 ounces triple sec
1 cup sugar
6 ounces fresh orange juice
6 ounces cranberry juice
diced apples, pears, orange and lemon wheels for garnishes
Combine all in large bowl. Stir well. Refrigerate overnight. Pour into a large pitcher. Stir again. Add sugar or brandy to taste; it should be fairly strong and fairly sweet, almost syrupy. Add the garnishes and stir to mix in. Serve in wine glasses.
CHAFING-DISH OLIVES
2 6-ounce cans pitted ripe olives
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
In a jar or plastic container, combined undrained olives and garlic. Cover; refrigerate for 4 to 7 days.
To serve, drain the olives, reserving ½ cup liquid. In the blazer pan of a chafing dish combine olives, reserved liquid and oil. Heat through. Place blazer pan over hot water sit over flame. (Or, heat olive mixture in heatproof serving dish; keep warm on heating tray.
TUNA-EGG TRIANGLES
6 slices thinly sliced firm white sandwich bread
1 3 ¼-ounce can water-packed tuna, drained
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
mayonnaise or salad dressing
12 pimiento-stuffed olives, halved crosswise
Remove bread crusts; toast bread slices. Cut each slice into quarters. Wrap in plastic wrap.
In small bowl, flake tuna. Add eggs, butter, green onion, lemon juice and salt. Mix well. Cover; chill for 3 to 24 hours.
Just before serving, spread tuna-egg mixture on toast triangles. Spoon a small dollop of mayonnaise atop each. Place an olive half, cut-side up, on mayonnaise.
SALTED TOASTED PINE NUTS
2 cups pine nuts
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Spread pine nuts evenly in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake in 325° F. oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until toasted, stirring once during baking. Remove from oven. In a heat-resistant bowl, immediately toss nuts with olive oil.
Sprinkle with salt; cool. Refrigerate in a tightly covered container for up to 3 months.
CRAB-FILLED MUSHROOMS
1 6-ounce can crabmeat, drained, flaked, cartilage removed
2 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
2 tablespoons snipped parsley
dash salt and freshly ground pepper
10 1 ½- to 2-inch fresh mushroom caps, washed and well drained
sliced canned pimiento
3 tablespoons butter, melted
In a small mixing bowl combine the crabmeat, bread crumbs, green onion, snipped parsley, salt and pepper. Remove mushroom stems from caps; reserve stems for another use.
Place mushroom caps in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan, crown side down. Mound crabmeat mixture into caps. Place a thin strip of pimiento on top of each cap. Cover and chill 3 to 24 hours.
To serve, uncover, drizzle with butter. Bake in 350° F. oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender.
CHORIZO EMPANADILLAS
8 ounces chorizo sausage links or Italian sausage links
½ cup water
2 sticks piecrust mix
1 4-ounce carton semi-soft herbed cheese spread
- or -
½ of an 8-ounce package soft cream cheese with onion and chives
1 beaten egg
Prick each sausage link with a fork. In a medium saucepan heat sausage links and water just to boiling. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 to 15 minutes, or until no pink remains; drain and cool sausage links.
Meanwhile, prepare piecrust mix according to package directions. On floured surface roll half of pastry to 14x10-inch rectangle. Cut sausage links into 35 pieces. Place the slices on pastry in 7 rows of 5. Mound about ½ teaspoon of the cheese spread on each sausage slice. Roll out remaining pastry to 14 1/2x10 ½-inch. Moisten pastry with water. Place over first pastry, moistened side down. Press, then cut between the sausage mounds to make thirty-five 2-inch squares. Seal edges of squares together with a fork. Place squares on baking sheet; brush with beaten egg. Bake in 400° F. oven about 15 minutes or until pastry is browned.
To make ahead: To refrigerate, fill empanadillas as directed above. After pressing edges, place on baking sheet. Cover and chill up to 24 hours. To bake, brush with egg; bake in 400° F. oven 15 to 18 minutes or until golden.
POTATO OMELET
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons cooking oil
4 medium potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped onion
4 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
In 10-inch skillet with nonstick coating, heat olive oil and cooking oil over medium heat until hot. Add potato slices a few at a time to prevent them from sticking to each other. Sprinkle with first ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook until tender and golden on edges, turning occasionally. Add onion; cook until tender but not brown, stirring occasionally. Drain vegetables.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl beat the eggs with pepper and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Add potato-onion mixture. Spread in hot skillet. Cook omelet until form but not dry, shaking skillet occasionally to prevent omelet from sticking.
Remove skillet from heat. Place a plate over omelet; invert skillet over plate and turn omelet out onto plate. Return skillet to heat. Carefully slip omelet back into skillet, browned side up, to brown on the other side. Cook just until omelet is browned. Turn out onto a warm serving platter. Cut into small wedges and serve at once or serve chilled.
BUÑUELOS
1 10-ounce package frozen cut asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
½ cup butter
1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon dried basil, crushed
¼ teaspoon salt
4 eggs
shortening or cooking oil for deep-frying
grated Parmesan cheese
Cook asparagus according to package directions until crisp-tender. Drain thoroughly; coarsely chop.
In medium skillet heat the olive oil. Add onion; cook until tender but not brown. Add asparagus; toss lightly to mix. Drain vegetables and set aside.
In medium saucepan melt butter. Add water; bring to boil. Add flour, basil and salt all at once. Stir vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball that does not separate.
Remove from heat; cool about 10 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon after each addition for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Stir in asparagus mixture.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoons, about 6 or 8 at a time, into deep, hot fat (375°) for 3 to 3 ½ minutes or until golden. (If they do not turn over in the oil by themselves, turn them to cook evenly.) Drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.
To make ahead: Prepare and fry as directed. Cool completely. Place in a moisture and vapor-proof container; seal, label and freeze. To serve, place on 15x10x1-inch baking pan and bake in 400° F oven about 10 minutes.
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Heart Healthy...
RASPBERRY CREAM CAKE
“Light & Tasty” Magazine
Diabetic Exchanges
Serves: 14
~Sent in by Bev, FL
1 pkg. (18-1/4 oz.) reduced-fat yellow cake mix
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1-1/3 c. water
2 T. baking fat replacement (Smucker’s Baking Healthy)
4 egg whites
1-1/3 c. cold skim milk
1 pkg. (1 oz.) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 c. unsweetened raspberries, ‘divided’
1/2 c. fat-free hot fudge ice cream topping
1 T. light corn syrup
In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix and baking powder. Add the next 3
ingredients; beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Pour into two 9-in. round baking
pans coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350-F for 28-32 minutes or
until a toothpick inserted neat the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes
before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. For Filling: Beat
milk pudding mix and vanilla in a mixing bowl on low speed for 2 minutes. Let
stand for 5 minutes. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with
pudding mixture and sprinkle with 3/4 c. raspberries. Top with second cake
layer. Combine ice cream topping and corn syrup to achieve a glaze
consistency; spread over top of cake, letting glaze drip over sides. Arrange
remaining raspberries on top.
Nutritional Analysis: One slice equals: 248 calories…2 gm fat (1 gm
saturated)…trace cholesterol…371 mg sodium…53 gm carbohydrate…1 gm fiber…4 gm
protein ++++ Exchanges: 2 starch…1 fruit…1/2 fat
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For Two...
WEIGHT WATCHER CHICKEN CORDON BLEU (FOR ONE)
~Sent in by Edna, Decatur, IL
1 tsp oleo (divided)
4 oz chicken breast pounded 1/8 inch thick
1/2 oz baked ham
1/2 oz Swiss cheese
2 1/4 tsp plain dried bread crumbs
Cook chicken in 1/2 tsp oleo...just until done (no pink showing). Transfer to plate. Top with ham, cheese. Roll and secure with a toothpick. In same skillet heat 1/2 tsp oleo over low heat until bubbly. Add crumbs and stir. Sprinkle buttered crumbs over chicken roll and bake in dish until cheese is melted (400 degrees for 2-3 minutes) or pop in microwave for a minute or two.
This is an old WW recipe....I don't know the points, but is equal to 4 servings of protein and 1 fat with 20 optional calories.
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Always remember:
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