Apple Cider Brine for Turkey

Ingredients :

8   Cups  Unsweetened Apple Cider -- Or Juice

2/3 Cup  Kosher Salt

2/3 Cup  Sugar

6  Slices  Unpeeled Fresh Ginger Root -- Quarter-Size

2  Bay Leaves

6 Whole Cloves

1 Teaspoon  Black Peppercorns -- Crushed

2 Teaspoons  Whole Allspice Berries -- Crushed

6 Cups  Ice-Cold Water

15 Pounds  Thawed Turkey -- 1 Thawed Turkey (10 To 25 Pounds)

2  Oranges -- Quartered

To Cook: -- 2 Turkey-Size Plastic Oven Bags

Preparation Method :

1. Combine the cider or juice, salt, sugar, ginger, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns and allspice in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Boil for 3 minutes then remove from the heat. Add 4 cups of the cold water and stir. Cool to room temperature.

2. Have ready a heavy roasting pan large enough to hold the turkey. Place 1 plastic oven bag inside a second bag to create a double thickness. Place the double bags, open side up, in the roasting pan.

3. Remove the giblets and neck from the body and neck cavities of the turkey. Rinse the turkey in cold water, drain it and pat it dry with paper towels. Stuff the orange quarters into the main cavity of the turkey.

4. Fold back the top third of the double bags, making a collar to help keep the top of the bag open. Place the turkey inside the bags, stand it upright and pour the cool brine mixture into the inner bag and over the bird. Add the remaining 2 cups cold water and draw up the opening of the inner bag, squeezing out as much air as possible, then secure it closed with a twist tie. Repeat with the outer bag. Position the turkey on its breast in the roasting pan and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, turning the turkey 3 or 4 times while it is brining.

5. Just prior to roasting, remove the turkey from the brine. Discard the brine, bags, the oranges from inside the bird and any cured herbs or spices remaining outside the bird. Rinse the turkey with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. The turkey is now ready to be roasted.

6. Makes enough for a 10- to 25-pound turkey (30 one-half pound servings)

7. Brines can sometimes be a lot of hassle for very little flavor. Not this one. The apple cider permeates and moistens the turkey meat, and the bird emerges from the oven with a burnished gold skin.

In Advance: The turkey must be brined for 12 to 24 hours in advance of roasting.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 

345 Calories; 

15g Fat (39.4% calories from fat); 

37g Protein; 

14g Carbohydrate; 

1g Dietary Fiber;

 122mg Cholesterol; 

2129mg Sodium.  

Exchanges: 

0 Grain(Starch); 

5 Lean Meat; 

0 Vegetable; 

1/2 Fruit; 

0 Fat; 

1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

Source:  "Tested by The Washington Post for The Washington Post."

Formatted by: Chupa Babi

* Exported from MasterCook *

Basic Pork Rib Rub

Ingredients :

4 Tbs. Pickling Salt

2 Tbs. Garlic Powder

2 Tbs. Onion Powder

2 Tbs. Paprika

1 tsp. ground Thyme

1 tsp. ground Sage

1 tsp. ground Bay Leaf

1 tsp. Celery Seed

1 tsp. Black Pepper

Directions :

1. Sprinkle seasonings on the ribs and rub. Refrigerate for 1-5 hours.

2. Prepare the grill for long-term, low-temp cooking. Baste the ribs with the basting sauce and let them dry while they reach room temperature.

3. Baste again and place on the grill. Baste and turn at 30-minute intervals for 5-8 hours until tender.

4. Do not let the temperature rise above 225 for extended periods.

5. Finish off with your favorite barbecue or finishing sauce.

6. Apply when the ribs are done and coals are cooler.

Diabetic Crispy Oven-Fried Fish

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients :


Sauce :

1/4 Cup Nonfat Or Light Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Finely Chopped Capers
2 Teaspoons Finely Chopped Onion

Rest of Recipe :

4 Cod, Orange Roughy, Flounder, Or Other White Fish Fillets (5 Ounces Each)
1/4 Cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Fat-Free Egg Substitute
1/4 Cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Finely Ground Special-K Cereal Crumbs
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Italian Seasoning
Olive Oil Cooking Spray

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. To make the sauce, combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix well.

3. Set aside.

4. Rinse the fish with cool water and pat it dry with paper towels.

5. Set aside.

6. Place the egg substitute in a shallow dish.

7. Place the cereal crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning in another shallow dish and stir to mix well.

8. Dip the fish pieces first in the egg substitute and then in the crumb mixture, turning to coat both sides well.

9. Coat a medium-sized baking sheet with the cooking spray and arrange the fish fillets on the sheet.

10. Spray the tops lightly with the cooking spray and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the outside is crisp and golden and the fish flakes easily with a fork.

11. Serve hot, accompanied by the sauce.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe):

Calories: 194,
Carbohydrate: 9 g,
Cholesterol: 65 mg,
Fat: 3 g,
Saturated Fat: 1.2 g,
Fiber: 0.4 g,
Protein: 31 g,
Sodium: 457 mg,
Calcium: 106 mg

Diabetic Exchanges : 

3 Very Lean Meat,
1/2 Starch

Source : "The Complete Diabetes Prevention Plan" via The Diabetic Gourmet Daily Recipe Mailer

Garlicky Pork with Basil Core / 3 points

Ingredients :

3/4 Pound  Lean Pork Tenderloin

1 Teaspoon  Olive Oil

1/4 Cup  Chicken Broth

1/4 Cup  Chopped Fresh Basil

                       OR

1 Tablespoon  Plus 1 Teaspoon Dried Basil Leaves

1/8 Teaspoon  Ground Red Pepper (Cayenne)

4 Cloves  Garlic -- Crushed

Method :

1. Trim fat from pork if necessary. Cut pork crosswise into 8 pieces.

2. Flatten each piece to 1/4-inch thickness between waxed paper or plastic wrap. Heat oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook pork in oil about 3 minutes, turning once, until brown.

3. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 5 minutes or until pork is no longer pink in center.

NOTES : If you're concerned about sodium in your diet, try using reduced-sodium versions of prepared foods such as chicken broth.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items) : 

120 Calories; 

4g Fat (32.2% calories from fat); 

18g Protein; 

1g Carbohydrate; 

trace Dietary Fiber; 

55mg Cholesterol; 

91mg Sodium.  

Exchanges : 

0 Grain(Starch); 

2 1/2 Lean Meat; 

0 Vegetable; 

0 Fat.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Curried Pork Peach Schnitzel

Ingredients :

1 Lb. Schnitzel (4 Slices)
1/2 Onion, Coarsely Chopped
1 Cup Vegetable Broth
4 Tsps. Cornstarch
1/2 Cup Peeled & Coarsely Chopped Fresh Or Canned Peaches, Packed In Juice,Drained
2 Tbsps. Peach Jam
2 Tsps. Curry Powder
3/4 Tsp. Ground Ginger
1/4 Tsp. Salt


Preparation Method :

1. Place each schnitzel between sheets of waxed paper and, using a mallet or rolling pin, pound lightly.

2. In nonstick or lightly oiled skillet over medium heat, saute schnitzel with onions, until it is golden brown on both sides, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low.

3. In medium bowl, blend vegetable broth and cornstarch; stir in remaining ingredients and pour mixture over schnitzel.

4. Cook and stir gently until sauce thickens, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Analysis :

Calories 220,
Fat 5 g,
Cholesterol 100 mg,
Sodium 590 mg,
Carbohydrate 17 g,
Fibre 1 g,
Protein 28.

Taco Casserole

Ingredients :

1 Lb Ground Skinless Chicken Breast
1/2 C Onions, Chopped
1/2 C Bell Peppers, Chopped
1 Clove Garlic
1 Pkg Taco Seasoning Mix
8 Ozs Taco Sauce
1 C Fat-Free Sour Cream
1 C Fat-Free Cottage Cheese
1 C Low-Fat Tortilla Chips, Crushed
1 C Low-Fat Cheddar Cheese, Shredded

Preparation Method :

1. Heat oven to 400. Spray cooking spray on bottom of a 2-quart casserole dish; set aside. 

2. In a skillet, cook chicken, onion, peppers, and garlic clove until tender. 

3. Add seasoning mix and taco sauce; set aside. 

4. In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese; set aside. 

5. Place half the crushed chips in the bottom of casserole dish. 

6. Add meat mixture to cover the chips, then cover the meat with sour cream mixture. 

7. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining crushed chips. 

8. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Nutritional Analysis :

287 Calories;
4g Fat (13% calories from fat);
25g Protein;
34g Carbohydrate;
43mg Cholesterol;
1002mg Sodium

Low Fat Krab Kakes

Ingredients :

14 to 16 oz. prepared seitan (see below)
2 cups 1-cm-cube bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh, minced onion
1 ripe plantain
2 teaspoons lemon juice and pulp
5 dashes Tabasco sauce
4 tablespoons mayonnaise (see below)
8 teaspoons Old Bay (see below)
1/4 cup or less of chopped dried nori (seaweed)
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped


Method :

1. Cut the seitan into pieces roughly 1cm by 1cm by 3cm -- you know, the size of picked crab meat. 

2. Gently mix it in a large bowl with the bread crumbs. Add the onion and mix again.

3. Process the plantain with the lemon juice and Tabasco sauce in a food processor or with an electric blender until smooth. 

4. Add this blend to the seitan mixture and gently stir. 

5. Add the mayonnaise, Old Bay, nori, and parsley, and stir. Cover and chill at least one hour.

6. Dust hands with flour and shape the mixture into 12 or 15 patties or balls. 

7. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees F until brown and heated through (30 or 40 minutes). 

8. Serve hot, garnished with parsley and a slice of lemon. 

9. Squeeze a lemon over them and/or flavor with Tabasco sauce.

Notes:

Important notes about Seitan: 

Seitan is available in natural food stores, prepared, flavored, and packaged in tubs. This seitan is not recommended, because it is seasoned for Asian dishes and has ginger in it. Ginger is not an appropriate flavoring for a crab cake, vegetarian or not! Your best bet is to obtain unflavored seitan or to make it yourself. Arrowhead Mills sells packages of "Seitan Quick Mix," which is easy to prepare. (Seitan can also be made from scratch with normal bread flour, but this process is long and tricky.) Finally, to get a nice seafood flavor in the seitan, toss a handful or two of dried nori (seaweed) and a teaspoon of Old Bay into the water as the seitan dough boils.

Note about Mayonnaise: 

You can purchase prepared vegan mayonnaise from many natural-food stores, and it can also be made from tofu. I don't have a tofu-mayo recipe; Nasoya's "Nayonaise" works well.

Note about Old Bay: This is a blend of spices easily found on the U.S. East Coast. Now that McCormick has bought the original company, it's distributed nationwide and can be found in the fresh fish area or spice aisle of any large supermarket. If you can't find it, any other blend of crab boil should do. Preparation time is about an hour, plus preparation time for the seitan.

Low-fat Tuna Casserole

Ingredients :

1 box of macaroni and cheese (use one that has powdered cheese)
2 tsp of butter or margarine (optional)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup skim milk
1 can low-fat cream of mushroom soup
2 cans tuna in spring water, drained
1 small can of early young peas


Directions :

1. Boil the noodles according to package directions. 

2. In a non-stick skillet, sauté onions until glazed using the margarine or a little water. 

3. Mix in the remaining ingredients, including the noodles, and pour all into a casserole dish. 

4. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 20 minutes. 

5. Sprinkle a little non-fat cheese on top before baking.

Low Fat Creole Chicken and Vegetables

Enjoy the flavor of summer anytime by using frozen bell peppers and frozen okra in this speedy Creole dish. For a filling meal, serve over rice.

Yield:  4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients :

Cooking spray
1 pound Chicken Breast Tenders
2 cups frozen Pepper stir-fry (such as Bird's Eye brand), thawed
1 cup frozen cut Okra, thawed
3/4 cup thinly sliced Celery
3/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground Red Pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced Tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh Parsley
1 tablespoon Butter

Method :

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.
2. Add chicken, cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned.
3. Add pepper stir-fry and next 6 ingredients (through red pepper),stirring to combine.
4. Pour tomatoes over chicken mixture. Bring to a boil.
5. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
6. Uncover and cook 3 minutes.
7. Add parsley and butter, stirring until butter melts.

Per Serving :

CALORIES 199 (20% from fat);
FAT 4.4g (sat 1.8g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.5g);
IRON 1.9mg;
CHOLESTEROL 73mg;
CALCIUM 71mg;
CARBOHYDRATE 11g;
SODIUM 550mg;
PROTEIN 28.3g;
FIBER 3.2g

Source : Cooking Light, JANUARY 2006 via myrecipes.com

Low-Fat Asian Crockpot Chicken

Ingredients :

1 large onion

1 red pepper

3 peeled carrots

2 celery sticks

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces

1 tablespoons chopped ginger

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon water

Preparation Method :

1. First prepare the vegetables. Cut the onion in half, and then slice off one end. Now, peel off the outer layer. Now, by cutting  vertically and then across, dice the onion.

2. Take the red pepper, cut it in half, and remove the seeds. Slice the pepper into thin strips, and then chop  them into small pieces.

3. Next, cut the celery into slices, and then into  small pieces.

4. For the carrots, cut them into thirds, and then quarter each section lengthwise. Combine the Ingredients in the CrockpotNow, spray the crockpot with cooking spray. Place the vegetables on the bottom.

5. In a separate bowl, combine the chopped ginger, crushed garlic, orange juice, and soy sauce.

6. Next, take the sliced chicken breasts and lay them in the crockpot on top of the vegetables. Then pour the sauce mixture over everything. Cook the Asian Crockpot ChickenStart cooking by placing the crockpot on

high for 1 hour, then cook on low for an additional 4-6 hours.

7. About 30 minutes before it's finished, mix the cornstarch and water to make a thickening solution. Add it to the pot and mix it up.

8. Cook for the last 30 minutes, and you'll see this will thicken the juices. 

9. Eat the chicken by itself or on top  of some brown rice.