Hello, Lover!

RED VELVET WAFFLES

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream “Frosting”

Valentine’s Breakfast for a special someone?  Perfect.  Lazy Sunday morning for those you love all year?  Amazing gesture!

These are gorgeous and have the familiar red velvet flavor that’s coveted.  A hint of cocoa, slightly sweet…and a fun deep red that makes them seem more work than they are!  I topped them with a traditional cream cheese-whipped cream “frosting”, and a drizzle of syrup.   

No matter when you make them, or who you make them for…you’ll be loved in return!

I also think this batter would work as pancakes, if you don’t have a waffle maker…might as well give it a shot! 

(These are not low carb…simply low in sugar.  But for a special day, we’ll live through it!)

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Waffles:

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup Whey Low Granular (Splenda or sugar)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cup skim or 2% milk  (if making into pancakes reduce to 1 1/4 cup)

3 eggs, separated

6 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon red food coloring

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

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In a large bowl whisk together the cake flour, cocoa powder, Splenda (sugar), salt, and baking powder.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the milk, egg yolks, melted butter, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar.  Add to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined.

In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff.  With a spatula, fold into the batter mixture.  (It’s okay if a few fluffs remain.)

Make in a preheated waffle iron per instructions.  Serve immediately with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream.

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Cream Cheese Whipped Cream:

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup Splenda (or powdered sugar)

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened

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Beat the whipping cream, Splenda, and vanilla until stiff peaks form.  Beat in the cream cheese until smooth.

Makes approx 7 servings, depending on your waffle maker.  I used a Belgium maker and the photo below is from one batch in the maker.  Stats are for seven servings (two waffles, each about 5 inches square; approx 1/3 cup of topping) that look like the photo.

Per Serving:  Calories 341; Fat 15 g, Protein 13 g; Carbs 30 g, Fiber 2 g; Sugar 7 g; Sodium 399 mg

 

 

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In case your day’s not lovely enough…!

RASPBERRY CREAM CHEESECAKE PIE

Love, love, love this pie.  It’s rich enough that a sliver will do just fine as a wonderful ending to your special dinner.

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1 1/2 cups sugar-free chocolate cookie or chocolate graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Two 8-ounce pkgs. reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup Splenda
1/4 cup DaVinci sugar-free Raspberry syrup (or Torani, or any other brand)
2 cups Splenda-sweetened whipped cream (1 1/4 cups unwhipped)  OR  one 8-ounce container Cool Whip, thawed
1/2 cup sugar-free raspberry jam, warmed
Sugar-free dark chocolate shavings for garnish

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl combine cookie or graham crumbs with melted butter. Press into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate. Bake for 7 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

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In a large bowl beat together cream cheese, Splenda, and syrup until smooth. Beat in 1/2 the whipped cream OR 1/2 of the container of Cool Whip. Pour filling into cooled crust. Spread warmed jam over the cream cheese mixture. Cover loosely with plastic wrap (try not to let the wrap stick to the jam – use 3 or 4 toothpicks if necessary) and chill for 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with remaining Cool Whip and chocolate shavings.

Makes 16 servings.

Per Serving: 155 Cal; 4 g Protein; 11 g Fat; 11 g Carb; 0 g Fiber; 3 g Sugar; 150 mg Sodium

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Dinner for Your Love…

TILAPIA VERA CRUZ

ASPARAGUS WITH CITRUS MAYO

This dish is simple but full of flavor.  Soft, spicy fish and crisp-tender asparagus with a tangy sauce.  A nice special occasion meal that’s beautiful and impressive!

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Vegetable cooking spray
1 1/2 pounds fresh or frozen tilapia, thawed if frozen
One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup sliced green pimento-stuffed olives
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Juice from one lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
1 Roma tomato, finely diced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat a long casserole dish with cooking spray. In casserole combine undrained tomatoes, garlic, olives, cumin, and lime juice.

Rinse fish and pat dry. Cut into four pieces and lay fillets over tomato mixture. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt (sparingly – the olives make it salty) and black pepper.

Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Spoon some of the sauce mixture over the top of the fish. Sprinkle with diced fresh tomatoes. Continue to bake for another 7-10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork. Makes 4 normal or 8 Weight Loss Surgery servings.

Per WLS Serving: Calories 201; Protein 34 g; Fat 6 g; Carbs 4 g; Sugar 2 g; Sodium 233 mg

Per Normal Serving: 402 Cal; 69 g Protein; 12 g Tot Fat; 7 g Carb; 1 g Fiber; 4 g Sugar; 467 mg Sodium

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ASPARAGUS WITH CITRUS MAYONNAISE

 

1 pound fresh asparagus spears

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Greek-style yogurt or plain yogurt
Juice and zest from half an orange
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper

Snap off or trim woody base from asparagus spears. In a medium saucepan cook asparagus in boiling water for 4-6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Meanwhile in a small bowl combine mayonnaise, yogurt, orange juice and zest, cumin, and lemon pepper. Drain asparagus and serve with citrus mayonnaise and freshly ground black pepper.
Makes 4 servings.

Per Serving: 47 Cal; 2 g Protein; 3 g Fat; 3 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 3 g Sugar; 60 g Sodium

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Valentine’s Dinner…show a little love!

PECAN CHICKEN KIEV

This has been one of my most popular recipes and for as elegant and yummy as this is, it’s very quick to put together.  For a special someone…for a dinner party…for yourself with a favorite TV program…it’s a winner!

I’ve paired it with some fresh green beans, roasted with minced garlic and olive oil – a little sea salt and black pepper sprinkled over.

This makes a dinner for two – double or triple at will!!

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Two skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Kosher salt and black pepper
Two ounces Havarti cheese, deli sliced
One green onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, divided
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter

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Flatten each chicken breast half to 1/8-inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper. Place one slice of cheese on each. Sprinkle each piece with half of the green onions and spinach and a teaspoon of chopped pecans. Tightly roll each breast into a spiral, pressing edges to seal.

In a shallow dish, beat together the egg and water. Place flour in another shallow dish and pecans in a third. Coat each chicken roll with flour, dip into egg, and roll in nuts to coat. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in olive or butter about 5 minutes or until golden on all sides. Place in a baking dish and bake for 15-18 minutes or until no longer pink. Allow to rest for 2-3 minutes, slice and serve.  Makes two rolls.

WLS serving is 1/2 roll. Per Serving: 244 Cal; 19 g Protein; 12 g Tot Fat; 6 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 1 g Sugar; 103 mg Sodium

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