Pumpkin's Recipes
I am going to re-post some of my favorite recipes here...

Tacos TACO SEASONING: - 1 tbsp ground cumin - 1 tbsp garlic powder - 2 tsp ground oregano - 2 tsp onion powder - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne Mix all of this up in a little bowl. Adjust seasonings based on your own personal taste. TACO MEAT: - 1 lb lean or extra lean ground beef or ground turkey - 1 medium onion, diced - 1/2 red bell peppers, diced - *TACO SEASONING, as desired - 1 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro and/or parsley Spray a skillet with olive oil cooking spray. Put in the onions and bell pepper and sauté until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the ground beef or turkey. Cook mixture until half way done. Add 1/2 of the TACO SEASONING. Add more depending on your own taste. Sauté until meat is cooked and brown. Finish with chopped cilantro (or parsley if you don't care for the cilantro), stirring it through. To serve, take 1/4 of the taco meat (make sure you weigh your own portion) and sprinkle it over the top of your favourite salad, or roll in your mountain bread. Things that would go well include: sliced onions, tomatoes, bell pepper, green onions, and black olives, or pretty much anything you wish to add and is SS friendly. Dress with your favourite friendly dressing, or leave bare. Serves 4

Creamy Onion Sauce with Roasted Garlic and Thyme 7 Cloves whole garlic 2 med onions finely sliced 1/2 tsp oregano 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 1/2 c chicken or vegetable broth salt and pepper to taste chopped chives In a pan sprayed with olive oil spray add garlic and cook until light brown, about 6 minutes. Add onions and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add oregano and balsamic vinegar and sauté for 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Blend until very smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chives. Nice served over fish or chicken. Just make sure that if you are using it for fish to use the veggie broth!

Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry INGREDIENTS: 3 tbsp tamari 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 tsp grated lemon zest 3/4 pound chicken breasts, cut into strips 1 tbsp olive oil (optional, I use spray) 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 4 scallions, cut into 1-inch diagonal pieces 1/2 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch diagonal pieces 1/2 zuchinni, julienned PREPARATION: In a glass dish, stir together tamari, lemon juice and zest. Add chicken pieces and coat well with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes. Heat oil, if using, in a large nonstick skillet. Add garlic and cook until softened. Reserving the marinade, add chicken followed by the scallions, asparagus and zuchinni. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink. Add marinade and cook, about 1 minute. Serves 4. PI's Notes: I had this for dinner tonight and thought I would share, I made rice for DH and I ate it as is. Very good.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce 1 red pepper, (top, seeds and membrane removed) quartered. Place cut sides down on pan beneath broiler and BROIL until pepper is blackened (5-10 minutes). Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, remove blackened membrane and discard. Chop pepper into chunks and blend in food processor or immersion blender with: 1 clove of garlic, minced 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon fresh parsley 1 teaspoon fresh lemon or lime juice 1 teaspoon dry mustard Blend until smooth, and serve over hot foods if you want it warmed, since you don't heat the olive oil. This stuff is addictive and particularly yummy served over eggs or cooked veggies or cooked salmon or...you get the idea! I eat 2 tablespoons of this and it comes out to about 15grams. (works with yellow or orange peppers, too)

Ginger-Garlic Chicken INGREDIENTS: 4 4-6 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1/2 cup tamari 2 tsp minced ginger 2 garlic cloves, crushed PREPARATION: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Tear off 4 sheets of foil measuring 12 x 18 inches each. Combine tamari, ginger and garlic. Place one chicken breast in the center of each sheet of foil wrap. Cut two small slits in each chicken breast. Drizzle the ginger-garlic-soy mixture over the chicken. Bring up the sides of the foil and turn over the top edge twice. Seal the ends, leaving enough room inside the packets for air to circulate. Place on a cookie sheet and cook for 20 minutes. Serves 4. PI's Notes: This is super easy and also very good on the bbq, I serve it with a veggie (rice for DH) and a nice salad.

Lemon Herb Chicken Servings: 2 • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves • Juice of 1 lemon • Salt and lemon pepper to taste • 1 generous pinch dried oregano • 2 sprigs fresh parsley, for garnish • Olive Oil Spray Cut lemon in half, and squeeze juice from 1/2 lemon on chicken. Season with salt to taste. Let sit while you heat a small skillet sprayed with cooking oil spray over medium low heat. When skillet is hot, put chicken in skillet. As you sauté chicken, add juice from other 1/2 lemon, oregano, lemon pepper and salt to taste. Sauté for 5 to 10 minutes each side, or until juices run clear. Serve with parsley for garnish. PI's Notes: This is super easy and great for lunch. I make it the night before and then eat it on top of a green salad, since I don't mind it cold. I also cut up the chicken so it is faster to cook and easier to eat on top of a salad.

GRUB RUB 1 T. garlic powder 1 t. cayenne 1 T. dry mustard 1 T. ground cumin 1 t. ground cloves 1/2 t. splenda 2 T. dried parsley 1/2 t. oregano 1/2 t. ground rosemary, 1) In a small glass bowl, combine all the ingredients well. 2) Sprinkle or rub (all over!) onto steaks, chicken, whatever meat you desire. Let the rubbed meat sit at least an hour in the fridge before grilling. 3) Store the extra in airtight glass container

CINNAMON CHICKEN Serves: 2 Ingredients: olive oil spray 1 small onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 1 medium tomato, diced 1 bay leaf 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (maybe a little more!) 1/4 cup chicken broth (low sodium, fat free) 2 chicken breasts Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat and spray with olive oil spray. Add the onions and garlic, and cook (stirring as needed) until the onions are transparent/soft (about 5 minutes). Add the diced tomato, bay leaf, cinnamon, and a little of the broth and stir to mix. Then add the chicken and the rest of the broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Discard the bay leaf and serve, spooning sauce over chicken. PI's Notes: I think this recipe will work well even if you adjust the amounts of ingredients to fix your own personal taste. I may have used as much as 1 tsp of cinnamon (I just added some from the container - I LOVE cinnamon!) You can use about 1/3 of a 14.5 oz can of No-Salt-Added Diced Tomatoes instead of a fresh tomato. If you double this recipe to make more, DON'T increase the amount of chicken broth (very much) - still use about 1/4 to 1/3 cup, or the sauce will be VERY thin! The kitchen smelled wonderful while this was cooking!

Italian Eggs and Peppers Serves 4 1/2 cup onion, chopped 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped 8 eggs 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon crushed chili flakes (optional) 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped In a large skillet sprayed with olive oil, cook and stir onion and green pepper until tender. Beat eggs until blended; add black pepper and crushed chili flakes. Pour into skillet with onion and green peppers. Cook over medium heat. As mixture begins to set at bottom and sides, gently lift cooked portion with spatula so the uncooked egg can flow to bottom. Avoid stirring constantly. Cook until eggs are thickened throughout but still moist, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot with fresh basil on top. Just another way to eat your eggs in the morning...I hope you enjoy

Chicken Marinara Ingredients Serves 2 chicken breast - chopped 1 large garlic clove - minced 1 slice of onion - chopped 1/2 zucchini - peeled and sliced 1-2 tomatoes 1 tbsp fresh basil 1 tbsp fresh oregano salt to taste Method Pour boiling water over tomatoes to cover in a bowl. Let sit 5-10 minutes then remove from water, peel and chop. Cook chicken pieces sprayed with olive oil for 2-3 minutes or until browned then add rest of ingredients and squash the tomatoes in the pan. Simmer covered until chicken is cooked through. PI's Notes: if you are allowed spaghetti squash like I am you will love this. If not, it is still very nice as is since it isn't that much sauce, and you could spoon some of the sauce on some other veggies that you would be eating.

Braised Balsamic Chicken INGREDIENTS: 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves Ground black pepper to taste Salt to taste ½ teaspoon garlic powder Onion, sliced or diced (your allowance) 1-tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 tomato, crushed with a little water added about 1/8 cup ¼ teaspoon dried basil ¼ teaspoon dried oregano ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary ¼ teaspoon dried thyme DIRECTIONS: Season chicken breasts with ground black pepper and garlic powder and salt. Heat a medium skillet sprayed with cooking spray, and brown the onion and seasoned chicken breasts. Pour crushed tomato and balsamic vinegar over chicken, and season with basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme. Simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 15 minutes.

To make mayonnaise using a hand blender: Put the following in this order into the tall jug that came with the blender: 1 clove of garlic, crushed 1/2 teaspoon of mustard powder salt pepper juice from 1 lemon 1 egg 250ml of olive oil, poured carefully on top of the egg Set the blender to the fastest speed (if you have a variable speed blender) and put the blade right down to the bottom of the jug. Start the blender and leave the blade flat on the bottom until you hear the sound change when it thickens, then slowly draw the blender up the jug until all the oil is incorporated. It makes the thickest, most delicious mayonnaise ever in no time at all. I sometimes put a handful of parsley in too. On SS this can only be used with an egg meal and counts for your olive oil allowance. **This is f00dies recipe but a favorite of mine so I thought I would add it!!

Mediterranean Lemon Chicken INGREDIENTS: 1 lemon 2 teaspoons dried oregano 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 6 chicken breasts ________________________________________ DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). In baking dish, grate the peel from 1/2 the lemon, squeeze out the juice (about 1/4 cup) and add to peel with the oregano, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Stir until mixed. Coat chicken pieces with the lemon mixture and marinade for 2 hours or overnight. Arrange chicken in the baking dish. Cover dish and bake for 20 minutes. Turn and baste chicken. Reduce heat to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and bake uncovered, basting every 10 minutes, for about 25 more minutes. PI’s notes: I serve this with some steamed broccoli for myself, and while roasting the chicken I add some baby carrots and new potatoes in with the chicken for my husband, tossed in some of the marinade that I have reserved. Actually, I add the potatoes and carrots in for 20 minutes before I add the chicken since they take longer to cook. Then add the chicken and cook as stated above. I also add a bit of marjoram to the ingredients since I like the way it tastes with this.

Smooth Cauliflower Soup INGREDIENTS: 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 5 cups water 1 head cauliflower, chopped 1/3 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DIRECTIONS: In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Spray pot with PAM. Cook garlic for 30 seconds, then stir in nutmeg, pepper and salt and cook 30 seconds more. Pour in the water and introduce the cauliflower and onion. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until cauliflower is tender. Puree cauliflower soup in a blender or food processor or with an immersion blender. Stir in reserved parsley. Serve. I also added a bit more garlic powder after I pureed the cauliflower and a bit of oregano, since I found it needed a bit more flavour. I also added some cooked broccoli florets to the top of my husbands soup which he liked (I will to mine next time since I thought of doing that after I had weighed it out) For garnish I saved some of my cheese from my sandwich and melted into the top of my soup!! Also, instead of all the salt I added some celery salt instead for a different flavour (only 1 tsp).