Thursday Recipes

Here are today's six recipes to help you through the day, including Mediterranean-Style Chicken Salad and Apple Zucchini Crisp. Enjoy!

SPICY BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

This recipe begins, “This silky-smooth butternut soup gets a hit of spice from chipotle, cloves and cumin. Adapted from Chef Jesús González, Chef of La Cocina Que Canta at Rancho La Puerta.”

Time: 80 minutes (45 minutes prep)

This is from Diabetic Connect

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds (1 small to medium) butternut or other winter squash

1 teaspoon canola oil

2 stalks celery , chopped

1 small onion, diced

1 carrot , chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile (see Tip)

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

6 cups vegetable broth

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives or chopped parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut squash in half and seed. Place the halves on a baking sheet, cut-side down. Bake until tender when pierced with a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Scoop out flesh when cool enough to handle.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, onion and carrot and stir to coat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the squash flesh, cumin, chipotle to taste and cloves. Add broth and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are very tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Puree the soup with an immersion blender or a regular blender (in batches) until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with a drizzle of yogurt and sprinkle of chives (or parsley).

Tip: Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. Ground chipotle can be found in the specialty-spice section of most supermarkets or online at penzeys.com.

Nutritional Facts: Servings: 6; Serving Size: about 1 1/4 cups; Calories: 91; Carbohydrates: 17 g; Fat: 2 g; Saturated Fat: 0 g; Protein: 3 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Dietary Fiber: 4 g; Potassium: 354 mg; Sodium: 694 mg

PENNE ALLA PESTO

Prep Time: 15 Minutes - Cost: $

Servings: 4 - Difficulty Level: 2

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/194.shtml

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups fresh basil, stems removed

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 lb. cooked penne, hot

Directions

Wash and dry basil. Place basil in a blender or food processor with garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, cheese and pepper to taste; purée.

Transfer cooked penne to a serving bowl. Add pesto and toss thoroughly to serve.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 209; Protein: 5 g; Fat: 13 g; Sodium: 66 mg; Cholesterol: 2 mg; Carbohydrates: 19 g; Exchanges: 2-1/2 Fat; 2-1/2 Starch

SMOKY CHEESE DIP

Yield: 16 servings (2 tablespoons per serving)

Source: "The Diabetes Food and Nutrition Bible"

Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/11.shtml

Print: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/662.shtml

Ingredients

1 cup fat-free cream cheese

1 cup fat-free sour cream

1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise

1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup cooked crumbled low-fat turkey sausage

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring

2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

In a food processor, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise. Process until smooth. Fold in by hand the remaining ingredients. Serve with crackers or pita bread.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (2 tablespoons): Calories: 50, Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 7 mg, Sodium: 224 mg, Carbohydrate: 5 g, Dietary Fiber: 0 g, Sugars: 2 g, Protein: 5 g, Diabetic Exchanges: 1/2 Carbohydrate

MEAT MARINARA SAUCE

Yield: 10 Servings

Serving size: 1/2 cup

Print Friendly: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/bin/print.cgi?ID=690

View recipe: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/690.shtml

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3/4 cup fresh chopped onion , chopped

1/4 tsp garlic powder

3/4 cup sliced green bell peppers, chopped

30 ounces whole-canned unsalted tomatoes, 2-15 ounce cans

30 ounces no-salt tomato sauce , 2-15 ounce cans

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp ground thyme

1 pound 90% lean ground beef or ground turkey

Directions

Heat oil in sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic powder, and green pepper to oil. Cover and heat 2 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Mash tomatoes into small pieces and stir into tomato sauce.

Add spices and tomato mixture to sauce pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer.

Brown beef or turkey in skillet. Place in a colander or strainer.

Bring a tea kettle full or 3 quart sauce pan of water to a rapid boil. Place colander over a large bowl and pour boiling water over the meat to remove excess grease.

Add meat to tomato sauce mixture and continue to simmer another 20 minutes on medium heat.

Remove bay leaves and serve over pasta or rice.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 225; Protein: 14 g; Fat: 8.5 g; Sodium: 67 mg; Saturated Fat: 2.5 g; Dietary Fiber: 4 g; Sugars: 11 g; Carbohydrates: 23 g; Exchanges: 3/4 Fat, 1-1/2 Meat, 4-1/2 Vegetable

APPLE ZUCCHINI CRISP

This recipe begins, “Your favorite apples and garden-fresh zucchini become a low-carb dessert that will have your family clamoring for seconds.”

This is from Diabetic Connect.

Click here to view this online.

Ingredients

1 cup apples, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cups zucchini, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon, divided

a pinch of nutmeg

3 TBL lemon juice

1/3 cup almond meal

1/3 cup sliced almonds

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Toss the apples, zucchini, 1 tsp of cinnamon and the lemon juice together.

Pour into an 8x8 inch baking dish.

Mix the brown sugar, remaining 1 tsp of cinnamon, nutmeg, almond meal, almonds and pecans together.

Stir the vanilla in with the melted butter and pour over the nut mixture. Mix well.

Crumble the nut mixture evenly over the apples and zucchini.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Top with whipped cream if desired.

Nutritional Facts: Servings: 9; Calories: 156; Total Fat: 12 g; Saturated Fat: 3.8 g; Trans Fat: 0 g; Carbohydrates: 10 g; Protein: 2.5 g; Sodium: 4.25 mg; Dietary Fiber: 2 g

MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE CHICKEN SALAD

Makes 4 servings.

Print Friendly: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/bin/print.cgi?ID=697

View recipe: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/697.shtml

Ingredients

3/4 pound baked or grilled chicken breasts

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. dried oregano

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 2.2-ounce can (1/2 cup) black olives, pitted and roughly chopped

1 Tbsp. tiny capers, well-rinsed and drained

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup thin green beans, cooked, drained, and cooled

Romaine lettuce leaves, for serving bed (whole wheat pita bread for sandwiches optional)

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Directions

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Place in a bowl and combine with oil, oregano and lemon juice. Let stand for about 1 hour.

Toss the chicken mix with olives, capers, tomatoes and green beans. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Arrange the salad on the romaine leaves. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. This recipe would also work on whole-wheat pita bread.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 240; Protein: 27 g; Fat: 12 g; Sodium: 280 mg; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Dietary Fiber: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 6 g