SLIMMED-DOWN POT ROAST

This recipe is from Healthy Homestyle Cooking, by Evelyn Tribole. It makes a great Fall or Winter dinner, & it's so easy to make. The original recipe called for baby carrots, and those are simpler (no peeling or chopping), but I like regular carrots better for cooking, so I'm using them in this recipe. It does need some time to cook, so allow at least 21/2 hours from start to finish. It's great for leftovers, and you can easily double the ingredients to ensure that you have some. If you have a "meat & potatoes" person in your house, they'll love this.

12 oz. Yukon Gold (or other) potatoes, halved
11/2 lb. beef top round roast, trimmed of all visible fat
11/2 cups vegetable juice cocktail (such as V-8 juice)
2 tbls Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried basil
6 to 8 large carrots, peeled & cut into 2" chunks
2 small onions, quartered
3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally into 1" pieces

Preheat oven to 325˚. Brown roast: I prefer to grill (no cleanup & nice grilled flavor), but you can also do this in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Preheat grill or pan over med-high heat. Spray w/nonstick cooking spray & brown meat for 2-3 minutes per side, or until browned but not cooked through. Drain and discard drippings if using pan. Place meat in large covered casserole. Cover with onion, celery, potatoes & carrots. (If using large potatoes, cut them into quarters instead of halves.) In small bowl, combine vegetable juice cocktail, Worcestershire sauce, & basil. Stir well. Pour over meat & veggies. Cover casserole & bake 11/2 to 2 hours (maybe even more) until meat is fork-tender.

6 servings
Per serving:
392 cals
11 g fat
108 mg chol

BAKED PEARS WITH CINNAMON CREME SAUCE

This is an elegant-looking yet very simple and light dessert. Tasty, too!

4 medium pears
2 tbls packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tbls lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Creme Sauce:
1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbls packed brown sugar

Prepare creme sauce ahead of time:
Combine all sauce ingredients in small bowl & mix well. Chill to blend flavors.

Preheat oven to 350˚. Peel pears, cut in half lengthwise, and scoop out core. Place, flat-side down, in a small shallow baking dish. Combine brown sugar, water, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Pour over pears. Cover and bake 45 mnutes, or until pears are tender. Baste occasionally with pan juices whilte baking.
To serve, place 2 pear halves in each of 4 individual serving bowls. Spoon pan juices over pears, then top each serving with a dollop of creme sauce. Serve immediately.

Serves 4
Per serving:
134 calories
2 g protein
1 g fat
32 g carbs
24 mg sodium
2 mg cholesterol
6.7 g fiber

SAVANNAH-STYLE CRAB SOUP

I found this recipe in the KC Star years back, but it is from Cooking Light magazine originally. It is really good--very distinctive. Browning the flour gives a great nutty flavor to the soup. The nutritional info is based on 1-cup servings, but I always serve it as a main dish with some really good, hearty bread & a salad.

1/2 cup flour
1 tbls butter
2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbls Old Bay seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
4 cups clam juice or chicken broth
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup half and half
1 lb crab meat (canned is fine)
1/3 cup dry sherry

Place flour in heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat 15 minutes, or until browned, stirring frequently with whisk. Remove from heat & set aside. (If flour starts to brown too quickly, remove from heat & stir flour until it cools. ) Melt butter in Dutch oven or stockpot. Over medium-high heat, add carrots, celery, onion, peppers, & garlic. Saute 5-10 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Add all seasonings. Cook & stir 1 minute. Sprinkle browned flour over veggies, and cook 1 minute longer, stirring well. Stir in clam juice (or chicken broth), and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Stir in milk & half and half; cook 4 minutes. Stir in crab meat & sherry; cook 5 minutes, or until soup is thoroughly heated. Discard bay leaf.

Enjoy!
Approximately 9 servings
Per 1 cup serving:
151 cals
5 g fat
46 mg cholesterol
13.3 g carbs
13 g protein
835 mg sodium
1.8 g fiber

CHICKEN & VEGGIE TORTILLA SOUP

This is a very hearty, meal-in-one soup.

1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
4 oz green chilies, chopped (more or less to taste)
1 can Mexican-style tomatoes
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp lemon pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 can pinto beans, rinsed & drained
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups carrots, sliced or chopped
4 tbls flour
1/2 cup water
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
2-4 corn tortillas for tortilla strips (instructions below), or tortilla chips, crumbled

Saute onion & garlic in oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Add green chilies, tomatoes, broth, lemon pepper, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, & cumin. Stir well. Add beans, corn, and carrots. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low. Cover & simmer 30 minutes. Whisk together flour and water; blend until smooth. Add to soup, and bring to a boil again, stirring constantly. Add diced chicken. Stir well. Reduce heat, & simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is just cooked through. Add sour cream to soup. Stir well to blend, & simmer gently for 5 minutes more. Garnish with tortilla strips.

Tortilla strips:
You can use purchased tortilla strips, crumbled tortilla chips (look for the unsalted variety), or make your own:
Preheat oven to 400˚. Slice corn tortillas into strips. Spread out on cookie sheet. Spray lightly w/cooking spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Turn once during cooking, and be careful not to burn--once they begin to brown, they can burn quickly.

CHEESE TORTELLINI WITH PUMPKIN & RICOTTA

This recipe is from the cookbook Vegetables for Vitality. It's a really different recipe. You can find the pie pumpkins at HyVee near the bagged salads--they are the smaller pumpkins used for cooking. The only difficult part to this recipe is chopping the pumpkins. Be very careful, as you have to use a lot of force to remove the peel. Hint: Chop the pumpkin in half, seed, & then slice each half into about 6 wedges. Lay each wedge on the side to carve off the peel.

The cheese tortellini can be found in the frozen food section near the ravioli.

1 tbls olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs. pie pumpkin or butternut squash, seeded, peeled, & cut into 3/4" cubes (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp leaf sage, crumbled, or 1/4 tsp dried
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
12 oz cheese tortellini
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated Romano (or Parmesan) cheese
1 tbls finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, & cook until golden, about 10 minutes. Add chopped pumpkin, broth, sage, salt, & pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce heat & cover. Simmer just until pumpkin is fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes. Do not overcook, or pumpkin will be very mushy. Meanwhile, cook tortellini in large pot of boiling water until tender, following package directions (usually about 2-3 minutes). Drain. Toss tortellini with ricotta in large bowl. Add pumpkin, Romano cheese, and parsley to tortellini mixture. Toss gently to combine. Serve at once.

4 servings

Nutrition: Cal 305, Protein 15g, Carbs 36g, Fat 12g, Chol 26mg, Fiber 5g