Recently I was contacted by them and asked if I would share some of their “Alfresco” recipes. Of course I said yes! Following are the recipes for bruschetta, gazpacho, bacon ketchup, corn and black bean salsa, green beans with tomato & feta cheese! Enjoy!

Simple, elegant and so flavorful, this appetizer is ready to serve in about 10 minutes!

Bruschetta
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Start to Finish: 10 Minutes

Bruschetta!

1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen® organic diced tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
16 slices (1/2 inch thick) baguette (about 6 oz), toasted

1. In medium bowl, mix tomatoes, basil, olive oil and garlic.

2. Spoon mixture onto toasted bread slices. Serve immediately.

Substitution: For a flavor twist, use our fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of the plain diced tomatoes.

16 appetizers
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.

1 Appetizer: Calories 40 (Calories from Fat 10); Total Fat 1g (Saturated Fat 0g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 85mg; Potassium 45mg; Total Carbohydrate 6g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 1g
% Daily Value: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 2%; Calcium 0%; Iron 2%; Vitamin D 0%; Folic Acid 6%
Exchanges: ½ Starch
Carbohydrate Choices: ½

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There’s nothing more refreshing than chilled gazpacho on a hot summer evening! Chilling the soup before serving blends the flavors.

Gazpacho
Total: 1 Hour 20 Minutes
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Chill: 1 Hour

Gazpacho

1 can (28 ounces) Muir Glen® organic diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken or vegetable broth
1 red onion, minced (3/4 cup)
1 green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 celery stalk, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Mix all ingredients in large bowl.

2. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Health Twist: This dish is perfect for tomato lovers. It’s brimming with so many fresh vegetables that there’s little room for fat.
Variation: Although gazpacho is usually served cold, this is also delicious hot. Serve with croutons as an accompaniment.

10 servings
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft) No changes.

1 Serving: Calories 35 (Calories from Fat 0); Total Fat 0g (Saturated Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 370mg; Potassium 95mg; Total Carbohydrate 6g (Dietary Fiber 1g); Protein 2g
% Daily Value: Vitamin A 6%; Vitamin C 20%; Calcium 0%; Iron 2%; Vitamin D 0%; Folic Acid 0%
Exchanges: 1 Vegetable

***********

Bacon Ketchup by Lisa Carlson of Chef Shack

Bacon katchup

1 medium onion, diced into small pieces
10 raw garlic cloves, diced into small pieces
1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can (28 oz) Muir Glen® whole peeled tomatoes, strained and chopped
4 large red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, destemmed and chopped
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs of fresh thyme, or more to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
5 pieces thick bacon

1. Sauté onion and garlic until tender and caramelized in a tablespoon or two of oil.

2. Add brown sugar to caramelized onions and garlic, and cook a couple of minutes until well integrated. Add tomatoes, roast bell peppers, paprika, bay leaf and fresh thyme. Simmer about 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add balsamic vinegar at the end. (This will balance the sugar.)

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place bacon strips on a baking sheet in the oven until it is crispy all over. Drain on paper towels, and dice into small pieces; fold into ketchup.

4. Serve warm with hamburgers, French fries, grilled cheese, or anything else you wish had some bacon on it. Keeps well in a refrigerated container for about three weeks.

12 servings (1/4 cup each)

Serving Size: 1 Serving (1/4 cup): Calories 100 (Calories from Fat 15); Total Fat 2.5g (Saturated Fat 0.5g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 180mg; Potassium 150mg; Total Carbohydrate 17g (Dietary Fiber 1g); Protein 2g
% Daily Value: Vitamin A 40%; Vitamin C 80%; Calcium 2%; Iron 4%; Vitamin D 0%; Folic Acid 2%
Exchanges: 1 Other Carbohydrate, ½ Vegetable, ½ Fat
Carbohydrate Choices: 1

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This is a great salad to make ahead for your next gathering–and it’s so pretty to serve!

Corn and Black Bean Salad
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Start to Finish: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

Corn & Black Bean Salsa

1/2 bag (16-oz size) Cascadian Farm® frozen organic sweet corn (1 3/4 cups)
2 cans (14.5 oz each) Muir Glen® organic plain or fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained, rinsed
1/4 cup chopped red onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and chopped

1. Cook corn as directed on bag. Rinse with cold water; drain.

2. Stir together corn and remaining ingredients except avocado. Refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 1 hour.

3. Stir in avocado just before serving.

Special Touch: Spoon this colorful salad into Bibb lettuce leaves and garnish with fresh sprigs of cilantro.

8 servings (1/2 cup each)
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.

Serving Size: 1 Serving: Calories 120 (Calories from Fat 50); Total Fat 5g (Saturated Fat 1g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 240mg; Potassium 370mg; Total Carbohydrate 15g (Dietary Fiber 4g); Protein 3g
% Daily Value: Vitamin A 4%; Vitamin C 20%; Calcium 4%; Iron 8%; Vitamin D 0%; Folic Acid 10%
Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1 Fat
Carbohydrate Choices: 1

************

Next time you’re looking for an impressive side dish, choose this—it’s simply delicious!

Green Beans with Tomatoes and Feta
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Start to Finish: 20 Minutes

Green beans with tomatoes and feta cheese

2 boxes (7.4 oz each) Cascadian Farm® frozen organic French-cut green beans with toasted almonds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen® organic diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, if desired
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 oz)

1. Cook beans as directed on boxes, reserving almonds; drain.

2. Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is crisp-tender.

3. Stir in tomatoes, oregano and pepper flakes. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and most of liquid has evaporated.

4. Spoon drained beans onto serving platter; top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and reserved almonds.

*Muir Glen is a Registered Trademark of Small Planet Foods, Inc.

Has anyone else tried Muir Glen’s different canned tomatoes??

This is what the can looks like

Jenn's homemade crackers!

With all the rain we had this weekend, I was able to spend time in the kitchen!! Yeah!!

I made these only once before last year, but was thinking about them again, so it’s worth posting again.

Here is the recipe!!!

The other day (last year!)while reading blogs, I came across www.ceramiccanvas.com blog. He had made home made crackers that he had read about from a book called Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf.

I said to myself, I’ve made home made bread, home made english muffins, I think I will try these crackers! And it was so easy to make!

Here’s what you will need:

1 cup flour
1 tsp. kosher salt (I used sea salt)
1 tsp. sugar
2.5 TB unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk, plus 1 TB. for later
1 large egg

Mix of dill, sesame and poppy seed (I didn’t have any dill, so I omitted that)

I’ve actually had sesame and poppy seed for the longest time, I store them in my freezer, so I can use them whenever I want and it keeps them fresh.

I combined the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. I added the butter and using my hands, just kind of broke up the butter into the flour. Add the 1 cup of milk. His suggestion was to knead by hand for 5 minutes. I used the dough hook on my kitchen aid and mixed it for 5 minutes.

Cover it with wax paper and leave it for an hour.

After the hour, take the dough ball out and divide it into 4 equal parts. Take one piece and put it on a flat surface dusted with flour. The other 3 pieces, place back in the bowl and cover until ready.

Roll out the dough as flat as you can and transfer to a cookie sheet covered with foil.

Using a pizza cutter, I just cut the dough into strips, then again to make squares.

In a small dish, beat 1 egg and the remaining 1 TB. of milk. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the dough with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the poppy and sesame seeds and bake at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes.

I was so excited about how good they turned out. Very light and crispy! Once they are fully cooled, you can store them in an airtight container. Serve with your favorite dip or tompenade!

Come back tomorrow, when I will have a video from Rouxbe cooking school to share!

So, since I had no plan yesterday, I ran to Whole Foods at lunch and I was going to get a salad, but when I was walking the aisles, I saw the Amy’s frozen lunches. I saw the tortilla bowl and looked at the nutritional information. Not bad! 380 calories, 18 grams of fat and 9 grams of fiber. I also picked up a bag of Guiltless Gourmet Tortilla Chips. I’ve never tried them before, but what I liked was that you got 18 chips per serving at 120 calories per serving.

And then I would put some of the black beans on the chip…

I didn’t like it at all!

Just kidding, if I could have licked the bowl I would have!!

And it’s weigh in Friday again! The weeks are flying by.

I was EXACTLY the same!! I always think that’s weird when you work out differently, eat different things, yet stay the same… but hey, I am glad its not up!

Today is going to be a challenge at work. We have our annual Turkey Day Potluck. With 50 people bringing food, grilling out burgers and brats, its going to be hard. But, a bunch of people play tag football afterwards, and I am going to play and burn some calories!

I am bringing turkey meatballs.

This is the recipe. One of my coworkers brought this last year and they were amazing!

GRAPE JELLY MEATBALLS

2 12 oz jars Heinz chili sauce
1 32 oz jar grape jelly
1 bag meatballs (about 80 in a bag)
Put chili sauce and jelly in a large pot, heat until jelly is melted and sauce is smooth, stirring often. Add frozen meatballs; heat until meatballs are thawed and then simmer for 3 hours.

I know it sounds disgusting, but trust me, they taste AMAZING. These will be simmering at my desk all morning in my crock pot before the party so I am going to have to be strong and not eat a ton before it even starts!

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!!

Also, check out these great ideas from Fitness Magazine for the Holidays!

Fitness Magazine’s 10 Holiday Super Foods

Also, Fitness Magazine, 9 healthy appetizers to make/bring to a party.

The result? A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!

The dough is a no-rise dough

1 cup warm water
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 packet yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp yeast)

In a glass mixing cup, add the warm water and yeast and stir.

In a mixing bowl add the flour and salt. Add the warm water with yeast. With my dough hook I just mixed it together for about 2 minutes, or until it looked like this:

For the whole dough, its 18 points, so I divided it by six dough balls.

3 oz. of the dough is 3 points!

So, I rolled out the dough, (I can never make it a circle!) and added a little bbq sauce, red onion, 1 oz. cheese and 2 slices of turkey bacon. Then you crack an egg in the middle.

Then bake at 375 for about 10-12 minutes (on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray) or until the egg looks cooked through.

This huge pizza is only 370 calories!!! The dough was crispy, the onions carmelized, the egg was perfectly cooked.

The best part about this recipe, is you can use whatever kinds of veggies and cheese you want. Everyone can make their own favorite breakfast pizza!

What a super way to start the day!

The other day while reading blogs, I came across www.ceramiccanvas.com blog. He had made home made crackers that he had read about from a book called Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf.

I said to myself, I’ve made home made bread, home made english muffins, I think I will try these crackers! And it was so easy to make!

Here’s what you will need:

1 cup flour
1 tsp. kosher salt (I used sea salt)
1 tsp. sugar
2.5 TB unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk, plus 1 TB. for later
1 large egg

Mix of dill, sesame and poppy seed (I didn’t have any dill, so I omitted that)

I’ve actually had sesame and poppy seed for the longest time, I store them in my freezer, so I can use them whenever I want and it keeps them fresh.

I combined the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. I added the butter and using my hands, just kind of broke up the butter into the flour. Add the 1 cup of milk. His suggestion was to knead by hand for 5 minutes. I used the dough hook on my kitchen aid and mixed it for 5 minutes.

Cover it with wax paper and leave it for an hour.

After the hour, take the dough ball out and divide it into 4 equal parts. Take one piece and put it on a flat surface dusted with flour. The other 3 pieces, place back in the bowl and cover until ready.

Roll out the dough as flat as you can and transfer to a cookie sheet covered with foil.

Using a pizza cutter, I just cut the dough into strips, then again to make squares.

In a small dish, beat 1 egg and the remaining 1 TB. of milk. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the dough with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the poppy and sesame seeds and bake at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes.

I was so excited about how good they turned out. Very light and crispy! Once they are fully cooled, you can store them in an airtight container. Serve with your favorite dip or tompenade!