Braised Lettuce

This recipe was given to me by a good friend and I tweaked it a little to my liking. It takes a couple of hours to prepare but is worth the effort when its aroma wafts through the whole house. And it is very healthful too!


Braised Lettuce

Ingredients:
3 or 4 heads of any sturdy lettuce - I used Romaine
2 medium size carrots - sliced
1 large onion - sliced
Low-sodium chicken stock
1 - 2 teaspoonful of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoonful of herbes de provence, or any preferred dried herb
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter - for greasing casserole

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease the bottom and sides of a deep casserole dish and set aside.

Clean and then blanch whole lettuce in boiling water for about 2 minutes until slightly softened. Drain in a colander. Gently squeeze to remove some water when cool enough to handle.

Place the sliced carrots and onions in the bottom of the casserole and top with the lettuce.
Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in the dried herb of choice.
Pour in enough chicken stock to reach the top of the vegetables.
Grease a piece of parchment paper with butter and place it, buttered side down, over the vegetables.
Cook in the oven for 90 minutes, turning the lettuce every 30 minutes.

Remove the braised vegetables onto a serving dish. Add 1 - 2 teaspoonful of balsamic vinegar to the braising liquid to suit your taste. Spoon liquid over vegetables.

This is a wonderful side dish that is low in fat. Leftovers reheat very well in the microwave.

Gone bananas!

I've gone bananas! :-)

Here's another banana recipe.

Banana Walnut Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoonful Baking Powder
3/4 teaspoonful Baking Soda
1 teaspoonful salt
1/2 teaspoonful cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup soy milk
1 teaspoonful vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoonful vegetable oil

1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease a medium size muffin pan (12 muffins), or use paper cup liners.

Sift flour, leavening agents, salt, cinnamon and sugar together.
Mix the beaten eggs, soy milk and vanilla together. Add in the mashed bananas and stir until combined. Add in the oil and mix well.
Fold liquid mixture into flour mixture gently until just combined.

Fold in 3/4 of the chopped walnuts, reserving the rest to sprinkle on top of the muffins before baking.
Spoon into muffin pan filling each paper cup about 2/3 full.

Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes.
Cool 10 minutes in the pan and remove onto a rack to finish cooling.

This recipe makes about 18 medium sized muffins.
















I made only 12 medium sized muffins and used the rest of the batter to make another 14 mini muffins.

Applesauce Banana Bread

This is a healthier version of the traditional banana bread. I have reduced the amount of butter used to 1 1/2 tablespoonfuls. Unsweetened applesauce and some orange marmalade impart moisture without a lot of fat.

Ingredients:
3 medium sized ripe bananas
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoonfuls orange marmalade
1 teaspoonful vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoonfuls melted butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoonful baking soda
1 tablespoonful baking powder
1 teaspoonful salt
2 cups All-Purpose flour

Directions:
Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Mash the bananas in the bowl of a mixer.
Add in sugar and mix until combined. Let stand for 15 minutes to ensure bananas are well macerated.
Add in melted butter, applesauce, marmalade, vanilla and eggs. Beat well.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
Slowly add in and mix until just combined.
Pour into greased loaf pan
Bake at 350F for 65 - 75 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
Let stand for 10 minutes and then remove from pan to cool on a wire rack.

Chicken Stuffed Shells

This recipe has been adapted from a recipe submitted by Teresa MacKrell that appeared in a collection of recipes from ABB employees.





Ingredients:
2 medium sized chicken breasts
2 cups dry herbed stuffing
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
3/4 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup mayo
1 can lower salt Cream of Mushroom soup
1 small can lower salt chicken broth
About 14 jumbo shells or 26 medium shells

Directions:
Prepare stuffing according to directions. Poach chicken breasts until cooked; cool and shred. Cook shells until al dente. Mix shredded chicken, prepared stuffing, celery, onion, mushroom and mayo until well combined. Stuff mixture into shells and place into a 13"x9" baking pan.

Mix the cream of mushroom soup with chicken broth thoroughly and pour over stuffed shells. There is no need for any additional seasoning as there is sufficient in the soup and broth.
Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Bake covered at 375 F for 45 - 55 minutes until bubbling.