yogurt

Nilla Wafer Yogurt Freeze

Leah Short — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:57:58 +0000

Here’s a recipe that happened because another one didn’t. I’m starting to get pretty good at not letting food go to waste when my plans don’t work out. Which is a good thing, since wasting food is a huge pet peeve of mine. I bought a box of Nilla Wafers not too long ago because I’ve been dying to make a cake that’s a twist on a classic dessert (no spoilers here since I still want to make it). I planned on making this cake for a coworker’s birthday, but then luck would have it, I found out she didn’t like one of the main ingredients, so I switched to plan B. That left me with a box of Nilla Wafers. If I opened them, mindless snacking would surely ensue. I’m not going to pretend that still didn’t happen. Right there on the side of the box was a recipe for Nilla Wafer Yogurt Freeze. Three ingredients and no harder than waiting for them to freeze. Sold!

So how’s it taste?

So good! I just whipped them together and thought, “Ok these will be decent for a low calorie snack.” Really had no expectations. Oh yum! I made two flavors, one key lime and one strawberry. Both were really good and so refreshing, but the strawberry had me going “OMG these are incredible!” I think it’s because the strawberry yogurt I used had chunks of real strawberry. These treats would be great with any fruity flavor of yogurt. I think they’d be super tasty with some frozen fruit sprinkled in there, too. You can really have fun with this dessert!

Read more on Nilla Wafer Yogurt Freeze

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Tzatziki Sauce

Leah Short — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:33:37 +0000

I’m not sure I’ve ever discussed on this blog that I don’t like melon, and I mean anything melon. No watermelon, no canteloupe, and especially no honeydew. Even that Midori stuff gives me the heebie jeebies. I have no explanation for it and what makes it even more weird is that I ate watermelon and canteloupe as a kid. No clue what happened. Cucumbers also fall into this category. They are very melony, if you will. I want to like them, they look so good and fresh. What I’ve discovered about cucumbers is I may not like them by themselves or in huge chunks, but I will totally devour them sliced very thin on a sandwich (like this chicken salad or this Mediterranean sandwich) or diced very small in this Tzatziki Sauce! I had four cucumbers that I needed to use and a big tub of hummus that was about to expire. So you see how my mind went to homemade tzatziki sauce.

So, how’s it taste?

I wasn’t expecting much. I’d had tzatziki sauce many times before and liked it, but it’s just sauce, right? Wrong! Holy mother of freshness did this homemade version blow my mind. You probably already have all the ingredients on hand, which recipes like that make me do a happy dance. It’s fresh, tangy, and just a bit of bite from the garlic. You can grate your garlic if you prefer, but I liked it in this sauce minced. I diced the cucumber very fine, and it was perfect for a dipping sauce. And dip I did!

I polished off this entire batch in two separate stints of me standing in the kitchen, hovered over the bowl, shoveling it in on pita wedges as fast as I could. I have no shame. Eight servings, schmeight servings. You know what else is really freakin’ delicious? Take your pita wedge, first dip it in hummus, then dip that in the tzatziki! You can thank me later.

Tzatziki Sauce

by Liz DellaCroce of The Lemon Bowl
makes 8 (1/2 cup) servings
per serving: 42 calories, 0.1g fat, 4.1g carbs, 0.2g fiber, 6.3g protein

Ingredients:

2 cups plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
2 cups cucumber, very small dice
1/2 cup fresh dill, minced (or 2 tbsp. dried)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined. Taste for seasoning and add more of any ingredient to adjust to your liking. (I added a tad more salt to mine.)

2. Serve immediately with pita wedges or store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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Artichoke Bread

Leah Short — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 17:00:24 +0000

This post today is part of the Secret Recipe Club. Each month bloggers are assigned a blog and make something from it. For March, my secret blog is Jenna’s Cooking Journey! I started drooling the minute I found Artichoke Bread on her blog. I’m obsessed with dips, especially creamy, rich ones and this reminded me of hot artichoke spinach dip. What I like about this recipe is that you don’t have to bother with dipping…it’s already smeared on the bread for you! I don’t want to tell you how many pieces I ate when this was hot out of the oven. Let’s just say it was my dinner with a big glass of milk!

So, how’s it taste?

It’s fantastic. It really is like eating dip on bread. It’s great because it’s already prepared for you. No guessing how many crackers you need versus how big a scoop of dip is on your plate. It’s almost too easy seeing as I kept shoveling it in my mouth! The original recipe calls for scooping out some of the bread, but I hate wasting food, so I kept the loaf of bread in tact. I’m glad I did because the dip is very rich and decadent and the bread helps balance that out so you don’t get a mouthful of cream cheese. It’s very hearty, too, so pairing this bread with soup or salad would make a fantastic meal. Unless you’re like me and make the bread a meal. Nothing wrong with that! I tried to lower the calories where I could, but this is still by no means a low calorie choice, but totally worth the splurge. You all know I’m a cheese lover and this one has three kinds, so no complaints from me!

This bread would be great for parties as an appetizer. I had some of the spread leftover (because I didn’t hollow out the bread), but I already have plans for it. I think it would be great as a spread on sandwiches. Thanks, Jenna, for this awesome recipe! It won’t be the last time I make it!

Artichoke Bread

adapted by Closet Cooking via Jenna's Cooking Journey

Ingredients:

1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 green onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature (low fat works fine)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (low fat works fine)
1/2 cup greek yogurt or sour cream (nonfat greek or low fat sour cream works fine)
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan or asiago cheese, grated
1 loaf Italian bread, sliced in half lengthwise

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the artichoke hearts, green onions, garlic, cream cheese, mayonnaise, yogurt or sour cream, mozzarella, and parmesan, reserving some of the cheese.

2. Spread the mixture onto the bread slices and top with the reserved cheese.

3. Bake covered in foil for 15-20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is melted and golden brown.(At this point, I used my broiler setting to brown the cheese and bread. Only takes a few minutes and watch carefully as it will burn quickly.)

4. Slice into "sticks" for easier eating.

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Chickpea Curry with Rice

Leah Short — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:10:09 +0000

I think I have a thing for chickpeas. Every time I see them in a recipe, it’s instantly bookmarked. Add the word curry and we’re in business. This dish may sound familiar since I have a Chickpea Curry with Cashews on the blog, but they are pretty different. This Chickpea Curry with Rice has a tomato-based sauce and isn’t quite as full of spice as the one with cashews. I loved the sauce in this dish. Hearty chickpeas surrounded in a creamy, yet figure-friendly yogurt sauce.

So, how’s it taste?

I really enjoyed this dish and thought that might be the case since I loved the other chickpea curry recipe. It’s refreshing due to the yogurt sauce, but hearty and very filling thanks to the chickpeas and rice. The crushed tomatoes were a nice touch, too. It became this creamy, tomato sauce and I couldn’t get enough of it. Usually I really like spinach in dishes, but for this one, I kept noticing how the spinach gave an odd texture to the dish. Normally I chop the baby spinach to avoid this and didn’t this time. I’ll be sure to do that next time I make it. I don’t like getting globs of spinach in my mouth. I also upped the yogurt a bit. I hate to waste food, so instead of using 1/2 cup of yogurt, I used the full 6 oz. serving. I’m a sauce lover, so it only made it more decadent. The recipe calls for 2%, but you could certainly make this with lower fat or fat-free Greek yogurt. Both work very well.

This is great meal that comes together in no time and is very satisfying without being heavy…all for only 305 calories!

Chickpea Curry with Rice

by Cooking Light, January 2013
makes 4 servings
per serving: 305 calories, 5.8g fat, 12.2g protein, 52.8g carbs, 9.5g fiber

Ingredients:

1 (3.5 oz.) bag boil-in-bag basmati or brown rice
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp. garam masala
2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can unsalted crushed tomatoes
1 (6 oz.) package fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Cook rice according to package directions; drain.

2. While rice cooks, heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in garam masala; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, and spinach; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in yogurt and salt. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve over rice.

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