Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Garlic Mashed Potatoes (from Kraft Recipes, Servings: 8, Total Time: 30 minutes)

Ingredients

·         2-1/2 lb. baking potatoes (about 7), peeled, quartered

·         4 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 tub (8 oz.) Cream Cheese Spread

·         1 Tbsp. margarine

Directions

1.      Cook potatoes and garlic in boiling water in large saucepan 20 min. or until potatoes are tender; drain.

2.      Mash potatoes until smooth.

3.      Add remaining ingredients; mix well.

I made this dish for Thanksgiving and the family really enjoyed it.  I used one or two additional cloves of garlic and it worked out perfectly.  My husband loves garlic and I am OK with it, but we both loved the potatoes.  The potatoes were soft and creamy, a perfect complement to my family’s turkey and my Tofurky!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
Makes 12-14

Pie Ingredients

·         3 cups All Purpose Flour

·         1 Tbsp. cinnamon

·         1 tsp. baking soda

·         1 tsp. baking powder

·         1 tsp. ground ginger

·         ½ tsp. salt

·         ½ tsp. ground nutmeg

·         ¼ tsp. ground cloves (or allspice)

·         1 cup brown sugar

·         1 cup sugar

·         1 cup canola oil

·         1 - 15 oz. can of pumpkin

·         2 large eggs

·         1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.      Beat together brown sugar, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.

3.      Using a pastry bag with a round tip, or a big zip top plastic bag with one corner snipped, squeeze out concentric circles of batter, starting from the middle and working outward until the circles are about 2 inches in diameter.

4.      Bake for 11 minutes and cool on a rack.

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients

·         1 - 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

·         1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

·         1 - 16 oz. package of powdered sugar

·         about a capful of vanilla extract

·         1/8-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon (to taste)

Directions

1.      Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Frost flat side of half the pies and top with another piece.

2.      Enjoy right away or chill overnight.

My husband sent me this recipe and asked me to make them. I am not sure of the source.  The only adjustment that I made was using canola instead of vegetable oil and upping the cinnamon in the cream cheese filling (my husband loves cinnamon).  I am not a fan of whoopie pies or cinnamon, but they were for him and his family for Thanksgiving.  I didn’t have a pastry bag and I’ve found that Ziploc bags can get messy with this type of work, so I just used a spoon to dollop the pumpkin mixture on the baking sheets.  That may have been a mistake - These were huge!  I’m talking bigger than my hand huge.  Oh well.  Everyone that had them enjoyed them and I even tasted one.  It was pretty good, even with my aversion to cinnamon.  I recommend going for it!

Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese

Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese (slightly adapted from Sweet Anna’s, Servings: 6, Total Time: 25 minutes)

Ingredients

·         1 box (about 16oz) pasta - elbows or shells
·         1 Tbsp. olive oil
·         1 clove garlic, minced
·         3-4 large fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
·         1 cup water
·         ½ cup skim milk
·         8 oz. fat-free or Neufchatel cream cheese
·         2 cups shredded taco cheese
·         salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

1.       Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente.  Drain.
2.       While the noodles are cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and preheat the broiler of your oven to Low.
3.       In the heated skillet, drizzle in the olive oil & then add the jalapeños and garlic, sautéing until tender, about 5 minutes.
4.       Reduce the heat to low and stir in the water, milk & cream cheese, stirring often until melted and smooth. Turn off the heat and stir in the shredded cheese until melted. Taste and add salt & pepper to taste.
5.       When the noodles are done, toss them in with the cheese mixture and if your skillet is oven-proof place in the oven. If it is not oven-proof, place mixture into oven-proof dish and then pop into oven.
6.       Broil for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully, until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling.
7.       Let sit for 5 minutes and then serve.

When I picked up my bi-weekly CSA bag, I had one large jalapeno, a habanero, and two red chilies.  My first thought was “What am I going to do with these since I just made salsa?”  As I’m sure you know by reading other entries, my husband is not in love with hot food – although he is better than he used to be, he’s still not up to my level of heat.  So, I went online to find something, anything, that would appease both of our palettes.  I saw this recipe and thought that it was a good option considering all of the dairy products – they would help dampen the heat down.  I made it two days after receiving my veggies.  Unfortunately, in that short time, my jalapeno rotted, but the habanero and the chilies were still good. 

I made a few adjustments to the original recipe to cut back on fat and calories – using skim milk instead of heavy cream, fat-free cream cheese instead of full-fat, and eliminating the parmesan and tortilla chips.  I think it turned out great – still very cheesy and tasty, with just a bit of kick.  My husband even liked it – and ate most of the leftovers!  A win in my book!  I used medium shells as the past, and I think that was a great idea because the cheese really coated the little openings to the pasta.  I will let you know that the cheese congeals when it cools.  Maybe using Neufchatel cheese instead of fat-free is good (fat-free also takes a while to melt down).  I like this dish and intend on making it again.

Black Bean Burritos

Black Bean Burritos (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, Servings 2-4, Total Time: 25 minutes)

Ingredients

·         Flour tortillas

·         1 small onion, chopped

·         ½ red bell pepper, chopped

·         1 tsp. minced garlic

·         1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 tsp. canned green chilies

·         3 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese

·         ½ tsp. salt

Directions

1.      Heat skillet over medium heat (can use oil if desired).  Place onion, bell pepper, garlic and chilies in skillet, cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2.      Pour beans into skillet, cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.      Cut cream cheese into cubes and add to skillet with salt.  Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.      Spoon mixture evenly down center of warmed tortillas.

It says it in the name of the recipe: delicious!  I wasn’t sure how good these would be, but I can say that I really enjoyed them.  The onion and peppers stay just a bit crunchy, and work nicely against the smoothness of the beans and cream cheese.  The filling is creamy and cheesy, but the cream cheese flavor is in no way overpowering.  I served the mixture in burritos on top of lettuce and tomato to cut back on calories and fat and amp up the vegetable content.

Beer Cheese Dip

Beer Cheese Dip (slightly adapted from Kraft Recipes, Servings: 15, Total Time: 3 hours, 5 minutes)

Ingredients

·         1 pkg. (8 oz.) Neufchatel cream cheese, softened

·         ¼ cup ranch dressing

·         1 cup shredded taco/nacho cheese

·         ¼ cup beer

·         2 green onions, chopped (white parts only)

Directions

1.)    Beat cream cheese and dressing in medium bowl until well-blended.

2.)    Stir in remaining ingredients.

3.)    Refrigerate until chilled.

I was a little hesitant to try this recipe after reading some of the reviews, but I’m glad that I took the plunge.  It was delicious!  I normally would have used fat-free or light ranch dressing, but I didn’t want to mess up the recipe, so I stayed with full-fat.  I also used taco/nacho cheese instead of shredded, I thought that a little Mexican-flavor couldn’t fail.  Finally, I used Yuengling Light beer to keep the dip from being overpowered by a beer taste.  In the future, I’ll probably stick with this, although I’d be tempted to try something else a little more full-bodied (maybe regular Yuengling or an Amber Lager).

The taste was mostly ranchy Mexican – a little hint of spice, a lot of cheese, and a good bite of ranch.  I couldn’t taste the beer, but it did make it very creamy and easy to spread on crackers.  I chopped the onions very small and I think that added just a hint of onion flavor – I don’t even think that I’d notice them if I hadn’t made the dip.

This went over really well with my party attendees. My mom even asked for the recipe!  Awesome!  Unfortunately, there were no leftovers.

Easy Cheesy Ravioli

Easy Cheesy Ravioli (slightly adapted from Kraft Recipes, Total Time: 25 minutes, Servings: 6)

Ingredients

2 pkg.  (9 oz. each) refrigerated cheese ravioli or tortellini

1  red pepper, chopped

1 tub  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread

1 cup  frozen peas

1 cup  shredded Italian cheese

Directions

1.)    Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

2.)    Cook and stir peppers in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Add 3/4 cup of the reserved water, cream cheese spread and peas; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is melted and peas are heated through.

3.)    Add pasta; stir to evenly coat. If sauce is too thick, thin with remaining reserved cooking water. Top with shredded cheese.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe, but wanted to include the basic information here.  First, I used tortellini instead of ravioli because it was lower in calories and sodium!  I could not find the low fat version of the cream cheese spread, but if your local store has it, go for it.  I used fresh instead of frozen peas because we had them in our CSA bag.  I followed the directions as above, but should have thrown in the fresh peas with the red pepper.  As is, they are quite crunchy (a little too much).  I also did not use the shredded cheese, I don’t feel that the dish really needed it.

Now, on to the taste of the dish.  I thought it was OK, but I didn’t love it.  I did add in some chopped garlic greens in the leftovers and that has really helped the flavor!  My husband liked it as is, so I guess it all depends on your preference for cream cheese (by the way, he also did not add extra cheese, which is a big deal!).  I recommend adding some pepper or garlic if you make this recipe.  If I make it again, I might try one of the other flavored cream cheese, just to see if that works a bit better.

Easy Cheesy Ravioli

Easy Cheesy Ravioli (slightly adapted from Kraft Recipes, Total Time: 25 minutes, Servings: 6)

Ingredients

2 pkg.  (9 oz. each) refrigerated cheese ravioli or tortellini

1  red pepper, chopped

1 tub  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread

1 cup  frozen peas

1 cup  shredded Italian cheese

Directions

1.)    Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

2.)    Cook and stir peppers in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Add 3/4 cup of the reserved water, cream cheese spread and peas; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is melted and peas are heated through.

3.)    Add pasta; stir to evenly coat. If sauce is too thick, thin with remaining reserved cooking water. Top with shredded cheese.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe, but wanted to include the basic information here.  First, I used tortellini instead of ravioli because it was lower in calories and sodium!  I could not find the low fat version of the cream cheese spread, but if your local store has it, go for it.  I used fresh instead of frozen peas because we had them in our CSA bag.  I followed the directions as above, but should have thrown in the fresh peas with the red pepper.  As is, they are quite crunchy (a little too much).  I also did not use the shredded cheese, I don’t feel that the dish really needed it.

Now, on to the taste of the dish.  I thought it was OK, but I didn’t love it.  I did add in some chopped garlic greens in the leftovers and that has really helped the flavor!  My husband liked it as is, so I guess it all depends on your preference for cream cheese (by the way, he also did not add extra cheese, which is a big deal!).  I recommend adding some pepper or garlic if you make this recipe.  If I make it again, I might try one of the other flavored cream cheese, just to see if that works a bit better.

Cheesy Wild Rice Casserole

(slightly adapted from BHG.com)  

(6 Servings, 1 hour total)

Ingredients

1.) 1 6-oz. package long grain and wild rice mix

2.) 1 4-oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained

3.) 2.5 cups water

4.) 1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach

5.) ¾ cup chopped onion

6.) 1 Tbsp. margarine

7.) 2 tsp. prepared mustard

8.) ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

9.) 1 8-oz. package 1/3 fat cream cheese, cut into cubes

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.) In a 2-quart casserole, combine rice mix and seasoning packet with mushrooms. In a medium saucepan, combine water, spinach, onion, butter, mustard, and nutmeg. Bring to boiling, stirring to break up the frozen spinach.  Remove from heat and pour over rice mixture. Stir in cream cheese until melted.

3.) Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Stir mixture. Cover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more or until rice is tender. Stir again. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Overall, I liked this dish – not heavy on the spices, but all of the flavors worked quite well together.  I was actually surprised by the taste.  The first night it was just OK, but after letting it sit in the refrigerator overnight, the flavors really melded together.  This dish does not have a lot of protein, so I added some veggie sausage or ham to increase that nutrient. It is low on fat (especially with using margarine and 1/3 fat cream cheese) and has a good amount of carbs. By adding the extra protein, it makes a well-rounded and filling meal.