Sesame Noodles

Serves 6 as a main dish, 8 to 10 as a side dish

For the sesame dressing

• 3/4 cup sesame seeds plus 1 tablespoon
• 7 tablespoons peanut oil
• 3 medium or 2 large shallots (about 2 ounces total), sliced
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar (or to taste -- if making vegan, use cane sugar)
• 1 teaspoon hot chile paste
•  3/4 to 1 cups water (or less)
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

For the noodles:

• 12ounces fresh Chinese egg noodles (sometimes called wonton noodles) or other long thin noodles of your choice
• 3tablespoons peanut oil
• 1cup blanched snow peas, thinly sliced
• 1red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1cup daikon radish, thinly sliced
• 1cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2cup chopped peanuts
• 1cup scallions, thinly sliced

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Put the sesame seeds on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven until golden brown and fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes. Be careful not to overcook them. Put the toasted seeds in a blender.
2. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil over medium-low heat. Sauté the shallots and garlic until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Add the shallots, garlic, remaining 6 tablespoons peanut oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and chile paste to the sesame seeds in the blender. Blend on high speed just until a thick, rough paste forms, 2 to 3 minutes. Stop blending when most of the seeds have broken up and been puréed. After the paste forms, it will begin to get oily if you continue to purée it, as the seeds begin to give off their oil. If you have time, refrigerate the purée (for up to a day).
4. Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a rolling boil. Cook the noodles per package directions. If using fresh Chinese egg noodles, gently fluff the noodles and add them to the water, stirring. Return the water to a boil and cook the noodles for just 10 to 30 seconds. (These tiny fresh noodles don’t need much cooking. If it takes a minute or more for the water to come back to a boil, the noodles will already be done.) Drain the noodles immediately and cool them under cold running water. Drain well. Put the cold noodles in a bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons peanut oil.
5. When ready to dress the noodles, drain off any oil that has gathered on the top of the purée. Whisk about 3/4 cup water into the purée to thin it and to reach a creamy consistency; the sauce will lighten in color and become emulsified; add more water as needed. Add the chopped cilantro to the sauce.
6. In a large bowl, toss the noodles with about half the dressing. Add the snow peas, red pepper, and daikon, and toss to combine (using your hands is easiest). Add more dressing if you like. Put the noodles in a large serving bowl or on individual plates. Garnish with the cilantro leaves, chopped peanuts, and sliced scallions, or pass little bowls of the garnishes at the table
   
   Recipe Source:  Food52

Lager Molasses Steak Sauce

Beef is not permitted for the first year of the Swank Diet but after that 4 oz per week is allowed if it is lean and well trimmed.  But steak sauce is so good on many things like eggs, chicken, salmon, stews, soups and it would be great on the Engine 2 Meatloaf recipe on this blog.  This sauce is one of the best I have tried.  

Makes 2  1/2 cups

Keeps in the fridge a few weeks

Ingredients:

·         1 tbsp (15 ml) dry mustard powder (such as Keens)

·         2 tsp (10 ml) cold water

·         1 tbsp olive oil

·         1 medium onion, finely diced

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         2 cups (500 ml)  ketchup

·         3/4 cup (175 ml) lager beer

·         1/2 cup (125 ml) molasses

·         1/2 cup (125 ml) apple cider vinegar

·         1/4 cup (60 ml) brown sugar, packed

·         2 tbsp  (30 ml) Worcestershire sauce

·         1 tbsp (15 ml) Dijon mustard

·         1 tbsp (15 ml) cayenne

·         1 tbsp (15 ml) smoked paprika

Directions

In a small bowl, stir together mustard powder and water until smooth.  Set aside

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil and onion.  Cook stirring until softened but not browned 5 - 7 minutes.  Add garlicand cook stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Whish in remaining ingredients, including prepared mustard.  Increase heat to medium- high and bring to a boil, whisking constantly.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until sauce has reduced to about 2 1/2 cups (625 ml) 50 - 60 minutes.  Reduce heat and stir more often toward the end of coking time to prevent sauce from scorching. 

Remove saucepan from heat and let sauce cool to room temperature.

Home-made Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup

Makes about 16 ounces (2 cups)

Like Hersheys chocolate syrup but without the chemicals and high fructose corn syrup.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dash salt

Directions:

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the cocoa powder, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix with a whisk until smooth.
2. Stir constantly with a whisk or a wooden spoon until it boils.
3. Allow it to boil for 1-2 minutes.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Add vanilla.
6. Syrup will be very thin. Allow to cool completely and it will thicken to about the same consistency as Hershey’s syrup.

Store the syrup in a mason jar or any other container. It will keep for several weeks in the fridge.

Original Recipe at Babysavers.com

Pumpkin Brown Sugar Cashew Biscotti

M-m-m, cookies! These are on my list to bake for Christmas this year.  I found this recipe at Whole Foods website. Their nutritional count says 0 grams saturated fat per cookie but there are 2 eggs in the recipe. I ran the recipe through my nutrition calculator and it came out the same. Maybe 2 eggs spread over 36 cookies works out to be only a trace of sat fat. Just to be safe, count it as 0.5 gram sat fat per cookie.

Ingredients:

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup pumpkin purée

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup raw cashews, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin, vanilla and eggs until well combined. In a second bowl, whisk together flour, cashews, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.   

Using slightly damp hands, shape dough into 3 (6x2 1/2-inch) logs and arrange on a large, parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, spacing them a few inches apart. (This will result in medium-size biscotti. For smaller cookies, shape into 8x2-inch logs.) Bake until just firm and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Set aside to let cool for 10 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 300°F.   

Using a serrated knife, cut each log crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange on 2 large, parchment-paper-lined baking sheets and bake, rotating the baking sheets and flipping biscotti every 10 minutes or so, until dried out and just crisp, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely, and then serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 36 biscotti
Amount Per Biscotti
calories 62
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 1 g	1 %
Saturated Fat 0 g	1 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g

Original Recipe at Whole Foods

Turkey, Avocado, and Hummus Roll Ups

No bread or wrap, the turkey is the wrap!

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1-2 slices of turkey
• 2 slices of avocado
• 1 tablespoon hummus

Instructions

1. Lay the turkey out flat. If using 2 slices then lay slices onto one another.
2. Spread hummus on top of the turkey. Add the avocado and roll up.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 roll up Calories: 100 Fat: 6 Carbohydrates: 6 WW Points +: 3 Fiber: 3Protein: 8

Original Recipe: Organize Yourself Skinny

Baked Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 4-oz uncooked Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, trimmed of any visible fat
• ¼ cup Honey (local if possible)
• ¼ cup Mustard (preferably stone ground)
• 1 tablespoon Parsley, fresh chopped
• 1 tablespoon Dried Basil
• 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• 1 tablespoon fresh Lemon Juice
• Sea Salt & Pepper, to taste
• Mrs Dash Extra Spicy Seasoning Blend (Optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit.
Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts and place in a large glass dish. Season them with sea salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken. Flip each one over a few times to coat it well.
Cook for 45-50 minutes, turning and basting them half way through.
Note: Make sure the chicken breasts are fully cooked by inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast to assure an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, slice into the thickest part of the breast to assure there is no pink.
Nutrition Information
Serves: 4  |  Serving Size: approx. 4 ounces of cooked chicken breast
Per serving: Calories: 282; Total Fat: 5g; Saturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 98mg; Sodium: 295mg; Carbohydrate: 19g; Dietary Fiber: 1g; Sugar: 18g; Protein: 39g
Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 61mg; Vitamin A: 8%; Vitamin C: 7%; Iron: 11%; Calcium: 4%

Original Recipe: My Fitness Pal

Peppermint Meringue Cookies

Makes 56 very small cookies

Ingredients 

2 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cider vinegar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup white sugar

3 peppermint candy canes, finely crushed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
2. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites, vinegar and salt to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar while continuing to whip until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Fold in 1/3 of the crushed candy canes, reserving the rest. 
3. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls, one inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets, or use a piping bag.  Sprinkle remaining crushed candy canes over the top.
4. Bake for 90 minutes in the preheated oven, or until dry. Cool on baking sheets.

Notes:

1. Be careful, they will brown if the oven is too hot. 
2. A plain cookie is easy to make too. Substitute 1/2 teaspoon vanilla for all of the crushed peppermint. Or experiment with other additions like finely chopped walnuts.
3. Pipe them on to the cookie tray with a large star tip and they make pretty cookies.

Original Recipe:All Recipes