Baked Potatoes with Mushrooms

Source 

Improvised

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 3 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 2 medium sized potatoes (310 cal)

- 5 white mushrooms (20 cal)

- 1/2 cup low fat milk (65 cal)

- 1/2 cup chicken broth (5 cal)

- 1/2 tsp canola oil (20 cal) 

- 2 tbsp butter (200 cal)

- 2 garlic cloves (10 cal)

- 1/4 tsp dried basil

- salt and pepper to taste

- parsley twig for decoration

Total 630 cal, 2 servings, 315 cal per serving

Instructions

1. Wash the potatoes, do not peel. Slash 1/16-1/8 inch thick slices, but don’t cut all the way, so that the slices still hold together. Place the potatoes in an oven proof pyrex dish with a lid, pour milk and chicken broth over the potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover with the lid and bake in an oven preheated to 350F for about 30 minutes. 

2. Wrap the garlic cloves in aluminum foil and place in the oven near the pyrex dish to bake together with the potatoes. 

3. In the meantime, wash the mushrooms. Cut into 1/8 inch thick slices. In a small frying pan, heat the canola oil, and saute the mushrooms on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes. Add salt, pepper and dry basil and saute for 5 more minutes until all the liquids evaporate. 

4. Take the garlic and the pyrex dish out of the oven. Rotate the potato, so that the side that faced up now faces down. Add the mushrooms, close the lid and bake for another 30 minutes. 

5. Cut top of the garlic cloves and squeeze out the garlic. Mince it and mix with 2 tbsp of butter slightly warmer than the room temperature (you can place the butter on top of the stove, while the oven is on to warm it a little). 

6. When the potatoes are done, spread the butter on top, decorate with parsley and serve warm.

Afterthoughts

A very nice dish - buttery potatoes, a perfect comfort food. And because of the thin slices it’s all very uniformly baked. 

Challah in 5 Minutes a Day

Source
Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day 

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients / Instructions 
available online here or in the book

Afterthoughts
This is such a robust recipe - I made every possible mistake and it still turned out  wonderful. I love the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and this looks like one of the best recipes from it!
I mixed half of the suggested amount, and miscalculated the amount of yeast, I put way too little, so the dough would not rise.  I added more yeast after the dough had fermented for 2 hours. The yeast did not dissolve, and I tried to mix the dough once again with the hands.
I left it outside for 2 hours and refrigerated overnight, but when I tried to shape the Challah the next day, there were grains of undissolved yeast all over the dough, so I left it outside for 6-7 hours to ferment again. Now it has finally risen.
After one more night in the fridge I started shaping the dough again and had to braid it twice, because the first time it looked really ugly.
And to finish up, I baked this Challah together with potatoes, so I thought it might catch some of the potato and garlic smell.
Yet in spite of all this, it turned out AMAZING - soft, light, sweet, probably the best Challah I've ever had.

Apple and Dried Fruit Tart

Source

Here and there. Good source of ideas for pies is the Joy of Baking site.

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 3 (out of 5) 

Ingredients

For the crust

- 1 1/2 cups/ 200 g all purpose flour (675 cal)

- 1/2 cup/ 110 g unsalted butter or margarine (815 cal)

- 2 tbsp sugar (90 cal)

- 2 tbsp honey (120 cal)

- 1/2 cup ice water 

- egg wash (1 egg + 1 tbsp water + 1 tsp sugar) - you will not need the full amount

For the filling

- 2 large tart apples (180 cal)

- 1 cup orange juice (120 cal)

- 1/4 cup fresh cranberries (15 cal)

- 10 prunes (200 cal)

- 10 dried apricots (250 cal)

- 1 tbsp citrus zest

Total 2465 cal, 12 servings, 205 cal/serving

Instructions

1. For the crust: Place the flour and the sugar in food processor, mix for 30 seconds on low speed. Add chilled butter 1 tbsp at a time while the processor is on. Then gradually pour the honey and the water, keep mixing until the dough just comes together. Remove the dough from the food processor, form a ball, wrap in a plastic paper and refrigerate for an hour.

2. Once the dough is chilled, grease a 9 inch pie pan. Divide the dough into 2 parts: about 2/3 of the dough for the base, and about 1/3 for the top. This dough is surprisingly easy to roll, you don’t even need much extra flour to prevent it from sticking. Roll the base part into a 12 inch circle, place it in the pie pan, with your fingers press it to the bottom and the sides, so that it takes the shape of the pan. Cut the excess dough. Pierce the bottom of the pastry with a fork to prevent it from puffing up when it bakes. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill until the pie is ready to be baked. Roll out the other piece into a 10 inch circle. You can cut the circle in strips with a pizza cutter if you want to create a grid or weave them around each other.  Place this dough in the refrigerator to chill as well.

3. In the meantime preheat the oven to 425F. 

4. Peel, core and slice the apples into 1/8 inch thick slices. In a medium sized frying pan, pour orange juice and cook the apples and the cranberries on medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the apples are soft and the juice is almost completely absorbed. Chop the dried fruit and add them to the apples for the last 5 minutes. 

5. Place the apple mix into the pie pan lined with pastry. Arrange the upper crust on top of the fruit. If you leave it in one piece, slash the top with the knife to allow the steam to escape. Brush the top crust with egg wash (do not drip the egg wash over the fruit filling, it will look like a cooked egg). You can also replace egg with milk, if you prefer. This wash creates the glossy look. 

6. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and firm. 

7. Allow to cool in the pie pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove from the pan and let the pie cool on a rack for about an hour. 

Afterthoughts

- The filling is great, I might skip the cranberries: the apples are already tart, and the orange zest and juice are a bit sour, so the cranberries are not necessary. 

- The dough was surprisingly easy to handle, and turned out very nice. Next time I might make it a little sweeter, maybe use 2 more tbsp of sugar or honey. I am also not a big fan of the top crust, so next time I’ll skip it. This way I could only use 2/3 of the dough and save quite a few calories. 

Sun Dried Tomato and Roast-beef Pizza on Buckwheat Crust

Source: 

Improvised

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 10 oz / 300 g buckwheat dough (from the Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day) (600 cal)

- 4 tsp sun dried tomatoes in oil (90 cal)

- 2 slices roast-beef, chopped (220 cal)

- 2 oz / 60 g coarsely shredded mozzarella cheese (200 cal)

- 2 oz / 60 g corn kernels (50 cal)

- 1/2 tsp minced garlic

- salt and pepper to taste

Total 1220 calories, 1 12-inch pizza, 2 servings, 610 cal/serving

Instructions

1. Prepare all the toppings in advance. Preheat the oven to 500F. 

2. Shape the dough into a ball. Dust the ball, the working surface and the rolling pin with more flour and roll the dough into a 9 inch disk. The dough is very wet and sticky so you might need to add quite a bit of the flour. 

3. Place the dough on a 9 inch pizza pan. Spread the sun dried tomatoes and the garlic with the spatula, leaving about 1/2-inch border at the edge. Add the beef pieces and the corn. Sprinkle with cheese, salt and pepper. 

4. Place the pizza pan into the stove and bake for about 12-15 minutes. 

Afterthoughts

I wanted to bake the pizza directly on the baking stone, but the dough kept sticking to pizza peel. Of course, you could line the pizza peel with parchment paper and slide it onto the stone together with the pizza, if you want harder crust. In my case the crust was very soft and fluffy, and we actually really really liked it this way. 

Olympic Turkey Meatballs

Source

Improvised

Taste 3 (out of 5)

Difficulty 3 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 10 oz / 300 g ground turkey (705 cal)

- 5 oz / 150 g bread (370 cal)

- 1/2 medium onion (30 cal)

- 2 garlic cloves (10 cal)

- 2 tsp sun dried tomatoes in oil (45 cal)

- 4 egg whites (60 cal)

- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro

- 1 tsp dried basil

- 1/2 tsp black pepper

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/3 cup water

For the sauce

- 1/2 cup orange juice (65 cal)

- 1/2 cup chicken stock (5 cal)

- 4 tbsp tomato sauce (40 cal)

- 1/2 tsp soy sauce (5 cal)

- 1 tsp dijon mustard (5 cal)

- 1/4 tsp sambal oelek

Total 1340 cal, 30 meatballs, 45 cal/meatball

Instructions

1. Cut the crust off the bread and soak the crumb (the softer inside part) in water.

2. Puree all the ingredients, except the meat and the wet bread, in a blender.

3. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a large baking sheet with a silicon mat or a lightly greased aluminum foil.

4. Mix everything, form 1 inch balls, and place them on the baking sheet . It might be helpful to have a bowl of warm water nearby to wet the hands if the meat sticks.

5. Bake for 15 minutes on one side, flip the balls and bake for 15 more minutes on the other side.

6. For the sauce: combine all the ingredients in a small sauce pan and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the sauce reduces by half.

Afterthoughts

- The balls turn out to be very moist, whether it’s good or bad - it’s up to your personal taste. I like the baking part, because there is no need to use the oil (saves calories).

- Goes well with baked veggies (served with baked zucchini in the picture).

“Babel” Salad with Daikon Radish

  

Source
Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 5 oz / 150g daikon radish (30 cal)

- 1 tomato (20 cal)

- 5 romaine lettuce leaves (10 cal)

- 2 slices yellow bell pepper (10 cal)

- 1/3 oz/ 10 g crumbled feta cheese (30 cal)

- 2 walnuts, chopped (50 cal)

- 2 parsley twigs for decoration

For the dressing (50 cal at most)

- 1/4 tsp dijon mustard

- 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

- 1/2 tsp lemon juice

- 1 tsp orange juice

- 1/2 tsp olive oil

- 1/4 tsp dried basil

- salt and paprika to taste

Total 200 cal, 2 servings, 100 cal/serving

Instructions

1. Cut the radish and the pepper into 1/4 inch slices, the tomato - into 1/8 inch. Tear lettuce leaves. Arrange the vegetables in layers. Place the parsley on the top and sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and walnut pieces.

2. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing and drizzle over your babel tower.

Afterthoughts

A very nice salad, the daikon radish is sweetish and goes well with the light orangey sauce. This would be a great salad for a hot summer afternoon, but even on a rainy winter day it tasted good.

Broccoli Cauliflower Creamy Soup

Source

Improvised

Taste 3 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 1 lb frozen Normandy Mix: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots (200 cal)

- 1/2 cup frozen corn (60 cal)

- 1 cup low fat milk (120 cal)

- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped

- salt and pepper to taste

Total 380 cal, 4 servings, 95 cal/serving

Instructions

1. In a medium sized sauce pan cook the Normandy mix with 1/4 gallon / 1 l of water on high heat until boils. Add cilantro and salt and pepper to taste and cook for another 10 minutes on medium heat until the broccoli and the cauliflower soften.

2. Let cool slightly. Puree with an emersion blender.

3. Add the milk and the corn and cook on medium heat for 10 more minutes.

Afterthoughts

- A very light, healthy and easy soup. Nice when you don’t have time or if you have too many frozen veggies and want to empty your freezer.

- Serve with fresh bread (a homemade buckwheat bread “in 5 minutes a day” in the picture).

Orange Chicken with Turnip Puree and Cabbage

Source

Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 12 oz / 350 g turnip (100 cal)

- 1 lb / 450 g cabbage (110 cal)

- 2 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (220 cal)

- 1 garlic clove, minced (5 cal)

- 1/2 cup orange juice (55 cal)

- 1 cup chicken broth (10 cal)

- 1 tsp agave nectar (20 cal)

- 1/4 cup milk (30 cal)

- 1 tsp canola oil (40 cal)

- 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

- 1/2 tsp soy sauce

- 1/2 tsp dried basil

- salt and pepper to taste

Total 590 cal, 2 servings, 295 cal/serving

Instructions

1. Saute the minced garlic clove in 1 tsp of canola oil for about 3 minutes, stirring. Add the chicken and cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes. In the meantime mix together the orange juice with the balsamic vinegar, the soy sauce, 1/3 cup of the chicken broth, salt and pepper. Flip the chicken, pour the sauce over it and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

2. Peel the turnips and chop into 1/2 inch cubes. Boil water, add the turnips and salt to taste and cook on medium high heat until soft, for about 20 minutes. Drain the water, add the milk and using an emersion blender mash the turnips.

3. Cut cabbage into 1/4 inch-wide slices. Cook on medium heat with 2/3 cup of chicken broth for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp agave nectar, salt and pepper to taste, stir well and cook for 5 more minutes, until the cabbage softens a little.

4. All the ingredients should be ready in about the same time. Enjoy.

Afterthoughts

I like it: it’s a combination of sweet and salty, it’s healthy, it has the variety and the vitamins and all in less than 30 minutes and 300 calories.

Shrimp, Corn and Baked Zucchini

Source

Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 2 oz / 60 g shrimp (50 cal)

- 1 oz/ 30 g corn (25 cal)

- 1 garlic clove (5 cal)

- 1 tsp canola oil (40 cal)

- 1/4 cup chicken broth (5 cal)

- 1/2 medium zucchini (15 cal)

- 1 tsp sauerkraut

- 1 tsp yogurt (5 cal)

- dried basil, salt and pepper to taste

Total 225 cal, 1 serving

Instructions

1. Cut the zucchini in 4 slices lengthwise, brush the top with a little bit of oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried basil, and bake in an oven preheated to 350F for 20 minutes. I used half of the zucchini (2 slices) for this recipe, but having the full zucchini would only add 15 calories.

2. In the meantime, heat the remaining oil in a small frying pan, finely chop the garlic and saute for about 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the shrimps and the corn and cook for 5 more minutes on low-medium heat.

4. Season with dried basil, salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth if the shrimp sticks to the pan (the broth has much less calories than oil or butter, and works pretty well for sauteing). Cook for 5-10 more minutes until done.

5. The shrimp and the zucchini should be done at about the same time. Serve with yogurt (for zucchini) and sauerkraut, or whatever else you prefer.

Afterthoughts

An easy, quick and light meal. Very nice if you’re watching your calories, and even if you don’t.

Smetannik - Russian Sour Cream Cake

Source

Attempt to recreate an old grandma's recipe

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 4 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 3 cups flour (1350 cal)

- 1 cup/ 230 g sour cream (480 cal)

- 2/3 cups sugar (1660 cal)

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp salt

For the cream

- 1 cup/ 230 g sour cream (480 cal)

- 2/3 cups sugar (1660 cal)

Total 5630 cal, 9 servings 625 cal/serving

Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients and divide in 4 equal parts.

2. Shape 4 balls with your hands. Roll out into rounds and cut based on the size of a large plate.

3. Bake each layer separately for 12 minutes at 450F.

4. Cover each chilled layer with cream and stack on top each other.

5. Let the ready cake rest in the refrigerator at least overnight, possibly longer - it only gets better with age.

Afterthoughts

- I rolled the layers out too thin, so I ended up with 5. As a result they were too crispy, began to puff up like pitas in places, and did not absorb the cream as expected. I believe that if I stick to the plan of 4 layers next time, the results will be better.

- Taste-wise, an amazing cake, just the right combination of sweetness and a tartness. I will be making more of them.

- Might try no-fat sour cream, though, to make it a bit less scary...625 calories...

Savory Bread Pudding

Source

Improvised

Taste 3 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 1 lb stale bread (600 cal)

- 1 cup milk (130 cal)

- 1 egg (70 cal)

- 2 egg whites (30 cal)

- 2 tbsp sun dried tomatoes (135 cal)

- 2 tbsp tomato paste (20 cal)

- 1 tbsp dijon mustard (30 cal)

- 1 oz / 30 g feta cheese (100 cal)

- 2 garlic cloves, minced (10 cal)

- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

- salt and pepper to taste

Total 1125 cal, 6 servings, 188 cal/serving

Instructions

1. Cut the bread into 1/2 (1 cm) inch cubes.

2. Mix all other ingredients well and pour over the bread. Mix a little more to make sure that all the bread is covered well.

3. Preheat the oven to 350F. In the meantime, let the bread stand and soak in the flavors and soften.

4. Bake in a 6’’x7’’ lightly greased dish for about 30 minutes.

Afterthoughts

- It works instead of bread or as a side dish.

- Other flavors on can add: olives, pumpkin seeds, buttermilk, yogurt, cheese to sprinkle on top, za’atar, and pretty much whatever you like.

Beet Potato Salad - a Russian Vinigret

Source

Home sweet home

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 2 (out of 5) - lots of chop chop chop

Ingredients

- 3 medium beets (105 cal)

- 3 medium carrots (75 cal)

- 3 medium potatoes (490 cal)

- 1 medium red onion (60 cal)

- 6 large pickled cucumbers (30 cal)

- 3 tbsp olive oil (360 cal)

- salt and pepper to taste

Total 1120 cal, 8 servings, 140 cal/serving

Instructions

1. Boil the beets, the carrots and the potatoes without removing the skin, until done.

2. Let cool, peel and slice all the vegetables into 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) cubes.

3. Mix well, add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Afterthoughts

It looks festive because of the bright red color, but is quite easy to make, except for the chopping time.

Apple Muffins

Source

Adapted from The Stone Soup blog

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 2 cups/ 9 oz/ 250g all purpose flour (910 cal)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3.5 oz/ 100g brown sugar (380 cal)

- 2.5 oz/ 75 g agave nectar (280 cal)
- 2.5 oz/ 75g non-hydrogenated margarine (560 cal)
- 7 oz/ 200g non fat yogurt (90 cal)
- 1/2 cup low fat milk (65 cal)
- 2 eggs (140 cal)
- 7 oz/ 180g/ 1 large Granny Smith apple (95 cal)

Total 2520 cal, 9 large or 18 small muffins, 140 cal/ small muffin

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Combine all ingredients except apples and mix, preferably with an electric mixer, until smooth. Peel the apple and slice into 1/4 inch cubes. Add to the dough.

3. Grease muffin tins and pour in the mixture.

4. Bake for 30 – 45 minutes or until muffins are lightly golden and feel firm and spring back when you push them gently on the top.

Afterthoughts

Very nice muffins. Can be made into a loaf as well.

Hawaiian Pizza

Source

Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 3 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 2 pieces of Hawaiian style chicken with sauce (360 cal)

- 1/2 cup pineapple chunks (80 cal)

- 2 oz/ 55 g coarsely shredded mozzarella cheese (200 cal)

- pizza dough for a 12’’ pizza (I used Peter Reinhart’s Napoletana dough recipe)(500 cal)

Total 1140 cal, 2 servings, 570 cal/ serving

Instructions

1. Cook the sauce in a small sauce pan over low heat until thickens and reduces by half.

2. Roll out the pizza dough to 12’’ diameter. Place the dough on a pizza peel lined with a parchment paper. Spread the sauce over the pizza crust, place the chicken and the pineapple chunks, and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella on top.

3. Slide the pizza with the parchment paper onto the hot baking stone.

4. Bake for 8 minutes in an oven preheated to 550F.

Afterthoughts

A very good pizza, I liked it way better than the original chicken recipe :-).