Friday Recipes

It's finally Friday. Here are six yummy recipes to help you through the weekend, including Grilled Chicken Breasts With Fruit Salsa and Lemon-Glazed Baby Carrots. Enjoy!

AFRICAN BEEF SPINACH STEW (SHOKO)

This recipe begins, “This spicy and hearty stew will hit the spot!”

View this online at http://www.diabeticconnect.com/diabetic-recipes/general/956-african-beef-spinach-stew-shoko

Ingredients

1 can tomatoes — undrained

1 whole hot chili peppers

2 large onions

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper — capsicum

6 tbsp vegetable oil

2 lb beef steak, cut in cubes

1 cup water — or beef broth

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp minced ginger

1 lb fresh spinach

Directions

Reserve 1/2 cup of juice from the canned tomatoes, and discard the rest of the juice.

Combine the chile, tomatoes, onions, and green bell pepper in a food processor, and process until the vegetables are minced but not pureed.

Heat the oil in a large, cast-iron pot, and saute the vegetables and beef for 5 minutes over high heat.

Add the reserved tomato juice, water sugar, salt, cayenne, and ginger.

Cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 2 hours.

Stir occasionally to keep from burning.

Meanwhile, soak the spinach in warm water for 15 minutes.

Then rinse thoroughly, separate, rinse again (and even a third time if you want to be extra careful), shred coarsely, and set aside.

After 2 hours, add the spinach to the pot and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, until the water is gone and the spinach is cooked.

Nutritional Facts: Servings: 4; Per Serving: 244 Calories; 21 g Fat (73.5% calories from fat); 5 g Protein; 13 g Carbohydrate; 5 g Dietary Fiber; 0 mg Cholesterol; 230 mg Sodium.

Diabetic Exchanges: 2 Vegetable; 4 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

ALMOND-STUFFED PEARS

Yield: 2 servings

Online Recipe: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/663.shtml

Source: Mix 'n Match Meals in Minutes for People with Diabetes

Book Info: http://diabeticgourment.com/book_archive/details/13.shtml

Ingredients

2 small ripe pears

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

2 teaspoons almond extract

Garnish: Mint leaves (optional)

Directions

Slice pears in half and remove core. Cut a thin slice from the rounded side of the pear so that it will sit flat.

Toast slivered almonds in a toaster oven until slightly golden, about 30 seconds.

Place pear halves on 2 small dessert plates and sprinkle almond extract in the cored center of each half.

Spoon slivered almonds in the cored center and place sprig of mint on the side.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 141; Protein: 2 g; Fat: 5 g; Sodium: 1 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Dietary Fiber: 4 g; Sugars: 18 g; Carbohydrates: 23 g; Exchanges: 1-1/2 Fruit, 1 Fat

PASTA SALAD

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list, though I suspect it's a diabetic recipe, as it has the nutritional info. Yield: 6 servings (6 cups total)

Ingredients

3 cups cooked tricolor spiral pasta (1-1/2 cups dry), or 3 cups other cooked pasta

1 large ripe tomato, cored, seeded, and chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup black olives, drained and sliced

1/2 cup prepared fat-free Italian or Parmesan-pepper dressing

Directions

Combine all the ingredients; toss to mix. Chill to blend the flavors. (This salad is even better the second day.)

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1 cup): Calories: 165, Fat: 4 g, Cholesterol: 10 mg, Sodium: 355 mg, Carbohydrate: 22 g, Dietary Fiber: 2 g, Sugars: 5 g, Protein: 9 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 Starch, 1 Vegetable, 1/2 Fat

GRILLED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH FRUIT SALSA

Recipe Yield: Yield: 4 servings; Serving Size: about 4 ounces

Source: The Diabetes Food and Nutrition Bible

Book Title: The Diabetes Food and Nutrition Bible

View this online at https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/grilled-chicken-breasts-with-fruit-salsa.

Ingredients

Fruit Salsa:

2 cans (8 oz each) crushed pineapple, packed in juice, drained

1 mango, peeled and cubed

1/2 papaya, peeled and cubed

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp finely minced cilantro

1 Tbsp minced red pepper

Grilled Chicken:

2 whole chicken breasts, boned, skinned, halved (10 oz meat each)

2 tsp olive oil

Garnish:

Kiwi slices

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine salsa ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat an oven broiler or outdoor grill. Brush the chicken breasts with the olive oil. Grill or broil the chicken about 7 minutes per side or until no pink remains.

To serve: Place fruit salsa on a plate using a few spoonfuls per person. Top with a cooked chicken breast. Garnish with kiwi slice.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 305; Fat: 6 g; Fiber: 3 g; Sodium: 79 mg; Cholesterol: 85 mg; Protein: 32 g; Carbohydrates: 30 g; Sugars: 25 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 4 Very Lean Meat; 2 Fruit; 1 Fat

CHICKEN AND EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Yield: 4 servings

Source: The Best Diabetes Cookbook

Book Title: The Best Diabetes Cookbook

View this online at https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/chicken-and-eggplant-parmesan.

Ingredients

4 crosswise slices of eggplant, skin on, approximately 1/2 inch thick

1 whole egg

1 egg white

1 tablespoon water or milk

2/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 4)

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 cup tomato pasta sauce

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray baking sheet with vegetable spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together whole egg, egg white and water. On plate stir together bread crumbs, parsley and Parmesan. Dip eggplant slices in egg wash, then coat with bread-crumb mixture. Place on prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until tender, turning once.

Meanwhile, pound chicken breasts between slices of waxed paper to 1/4-inch thickness. Dip chicken in remaining egg wash, then coat with remaining bread-crumb mixture. heat oil and garlic in nonstick skillet sprayed with vegetable spray and cook for 4 minutes, or until golden brown, turning once.

Spread 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce on each eggplant slice. Place one chicken breast on top of each eggplant slice. Spread another 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce on top of each chicken piece. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 325; Fat: 11 g; Sodium: 924 mg; Cholesterol: 127 mg; Protein: 35 g; Carbohydrates: 19 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1 Vegetable, 4 Lean Meat

LEMON-GLAZED BABY CARROTS

Recipe Yield: Yield: 4 servings

Source: America's Everyday Diabetes Cookbook

To view this online, go to https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipe/lemon-glazed-baby-carrots.

Ingredients

1 pound peeled baby carrots

1/4 cup chicken stock, or vegetable stock

1 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley or chives

Directions

In a medium saucepan, cook carrots in boiling salted water for 5 to 7 minutes (start timing when water returns to a boil) or until just tender-crisp; drain and return to saucepan.

Add stock, butter, brown sugar, lemon juice and rind, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, 3 to 5 minutes or until liquid has evaporated and carrots are nicely glazed.

Sprinkle with parsley or chives and serve.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 91; Fat: 3 g; Fiber: 3 g; Sodium: 251 mg; Cholesterol: 8 mg; Protein: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 15 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 2 Vegetables, 1/2 Fat