Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing

 

1 cup Dannon Oikos plain nonfat greek yogurt
1 packet hidden valley ranch (dressing, not dip)
1/2 cup 1% milk

Whisk together in bowl and chill for 1 hour before serving.  As you can see below this filled my canning jar.  There is a lot of talk about HOW much milk to use, to get the right consistency and I found this dead on for 'regular' ranch or any other creamy dressing.

The best part....this ENTIRE jar of dressing, is only 255 calories, 1.75 grams of fat, 42 carbs and 34 protein. That calculates to 8pts on the new points plus system. For an entire jar of dressing. I would hazard a guess that this would yield about 20-24 servings.

Greek Yogurt Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup	Oats (old fashioned kind, not quick cooking)
1 cup	Plain low fat greek yogurt
2	Eggs
12-15 packets	Stevia
1 1/2 tsp	Baking powder
1/2 tsp	Baking soda
1 1/2 cup	Strawberries, diced, and patted dry + (optional 1/2 cup strawberries, diced to place on top of muffins)
Optional	1 tsp lemon juice
*Note	The paper liners don’t work well when baking with a base that does not include flour (which is the case with this recipe), they always seem to stick to the paper. If you don’t have a silicone muffin tin or liners, I recommend buying the foil cupcake liners at the store, and removing the paper inserts so you are only using the foil part of the liner! That way no sticking will occur!  OR Just spray your muffin pan very well, and the muffins won't have liners.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with silicone or foil liners, (or just use a silicone muffin pan).

2. Place all of the ingredients (except the strawberries) in a blender or food processor, and blend until oats are smooth. Pour mixture into a medium sized bowl, and stir in strawberries. Divide remaining 1/2 cup diced strawberries over the top of each muffin. (This step is optional, but it really makes the strawberries burst with color and flavor on top of each muffin!)

3. Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Raspberry Wine Slush

1 bottle Merlot or Syrah
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 pint raspberries

Add wine, juice and berries to a blender. Blend until smooth and freeze. The alcohol will keep your slush from becoming a brick of wine-ice. For faster results, blend the ingredients in an electric ice cream maker until desired slushiness is achieved. Delicious

Sesame Chicken

Sauce

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup chicken broth

1-2 tablespoon sesame oil (to personal taste)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic

1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

1 dash red chili pepper flakes

2 teaspoons cornstarch (or more is you want a thicker sauce)

Chicken

4 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon sherry wine

1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder (optional)

2 drops sesame oil

cornstarch, to coat chicken

Vegetable oil or Peanut oil (for frying)

Sesame Seed (to garnish)

Sliced Green Onion (to garnish)

Directions

1. Combine chicken ingredients except cornstarch and let marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

2. Remove chicken from marinade and toss in cornstarch then cook chicken in hot oil on the stove or deep fryer until cooked thru.

3. Remove from pan and keep warm in oven while making the sauce.

4. Combine all sauce ingredients EXCEPT cornstarch in a sauce pan and bring to a boil over med. heat.

5. Mix cornstarch with a little water (about 1/4 cup) in a cup until dissolved- then slowly add to the sauce mixture on the stove and heat until thickened to the consistency of gravy.

6. Add the chicken into the sauce. Heat thoroughly.

7. Serve over hot rice.

8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions!

For a healthier option: Skip coating chicken in corn starch, then frying. Simply brown chicken cubes, then add the sauce.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Ingredients

• 6 oz of your favorite Greek yogurt
• 1 egg
• scant 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda

Directions

• Open the yogurt container and stir the yogurt until it’s smooth and creamy. Crack an egg over the yogurt and stir to combine leaving. The resulting mixture should be pale yellow in color and have a few lumps here and there.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda.
• Pour yogurt/egg mixture into the bowl with the flour and baking soda. Stir to combine. The batter will be extremely thick.
• Spoon the batter onto a sprayed griddle or pan heated to medium-high. I usually make four big pancakes, but you could also make 8 smaller ones.
• Flip the pancakes when they start to bubble a bit on the surface. Cook until golden brown on both sides and serve with butter, syrup, fruit, Nutella….anything! Enjoy!

For lower-calorie Greek yogurt pancakes, use nonfat yogurt and an egg white instead of the whole egg. Equally delicious and easy to prepare.

Get Organized with Paul & Peg

Used the Husky Secure Lock Trac. Works great.
A proud moment at The Daniels'

Tequila Lime Flank Steak with Red Potatoes

• 1 cup roughly chopped garlic (approximately 3 bulbs)
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (approximately 8 large limes)
• 1/2 cup clear tequila
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 bunch roughly chopped cilantro, leaves and stems
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 serrano pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
• 12 corn tortillas, wrapped in foil

Potatoes

• 1½ lbs. red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into even sized large chunks
• 
  
• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat butter or a reduced-fat spread such as Smart Balance Light
• 
  
• ¾ to 1 cup reduced-fat (2%) milk
• 
  
• ¼ cup fresh chives, chopped fine
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Combine the garlic, lime juice, tequila, soy sauce, cilantro, peppers, cumin, and black pepper in a resealable plastic gallon bag. Add the steak and let marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove from refrigerator, let marinate at room temperature another 30 to 45 minutes.

Prepare grill to medium-high heat. Remove steak from marinade, reserving marinade. Put marinade in small sauce pot and bring to a boil, then strain and reserve. Put tortillas on the corner of the grill and flip package a few times to heat through while steak is cooking

Place steak on the grill, cook for 4 minutes, turn 180 degrees, and cook for 3 minutes more (to create cross grill marks). Flip over and finish cooking for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on desired doneness. Remove from grill to a cutting board, and let rest, lightly covered, for 5 minutes. Slice against grain; serve immediately with reserved marinade, garnishes, tortillas, and hot sauce.