Ingredients:

Dough:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons milk

Filling:
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup brown rice syrup (or light corn syrup)
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt. In a large mixing bowl, add cream cheese, butter and milk. Beat until creamy and well combined. Mix in the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Scoop dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a couple times until it comes together. Evenly divide dough into 24 pieces. Lightly coat 24 mini muffin cups with nonstick spray. Press one dough piece into the bottom and up sides of the muffin cup.

For the filling: Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon walnuts in each cup. In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, brown rice syrup, zest, juice, salt and egg. Pour about 2 teaspoons over walnuts in each muffin cup. Bake until the crusts are lightly browned and the filling is very puffy - about 18-22 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove each tassie, running a knife around the sides if necessary, and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Ingredients:

1 cup oat bran
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup flaxseed, ground
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup raisins (can use raisins)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 oranges, whole (washed, quartered and seeded)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup 1% milk
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup oil (If you sub applesauce - use 1 cup)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda

Procedure:

In a large bowl, combine oat bran, flour, flaxseed, wheat bran, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a blender or food processor, combine oranges, brown sugar, milk, vinegar, oil, eggs and baking soda. Blend well until smooth. Pour orange mixture into dry ingredients. Mix until just moistened. Fill paper lined muffin tins almost to the top. Bake in 375 degrees F. oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center. Makes 18 muffins.

Ingredients:

3 cups corn kernels (about 6 ears)
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1/2 cup egg substitute
2 tablespoons 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine corn, chives, thyme, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk together the milk, egg substitute, cream cheese, and egg in a medium bowl. Add the milk mixture to the corn mixture, and stir well to combine. Pour the corn mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 55 minutes or until top of pudding is golden brown.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup whole golden flaxseeds, ground fine with a coffee grinder
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons raw sugar

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 400degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together ground flaxseeds, flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and maple syrup. Add in buttermilk, oil, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla - whisk until blended. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together just until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. Evenly divide the batter between the wells of a 12 cup muffin tin lightly coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle tops with the raw sugar. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly for 5 minutes. Carefully remove muffins to a wire rack and cool completely.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1 garlic clove, minced
8 ounces ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 medium Granny Smith apple, chopped
1 cup chopped tomato
3 tablespoons chopped green olives
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 whole wheat pitas, sliced in half

Procedure:

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Stir in onion and garlic - cook until the onions begin to soften, about 2 to 4 minutes. Add turkey - cook, stirring to break up the meat, until lightly browned, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, salt, pepper and cloves - stir to combine and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in vinegar and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Stir in chopped apples, tomato, olives and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until any liquid in the pan has reduced to a syrupy glaze, about 8 minutes. Scoop into pita halves to serve. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

Blackberry-Wine Sauce (see recipe below)
2 to 4 petite pork tenderloins
3/4 cup coarse salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup boiling water
1 gallon cold water
1 tablespoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
parsley, minced (for garnish)

Procedure:

Trim the tenderloin of fat and silverskin. Note: Silverskin is a silvery-white connective tissue. It doesn’t dissolve when the tenderloin is cooked, so it needs to be trimmed away. If the silverskin is not trimmed off, it will cause the tenderloin to curl up into the shape of a quarter moon. Pat the roast dry with paper towels. A heavy-duty plastic tube, stainless-steel bowl, or resealable plastic bag can work as a brining container, as long as the pork is fully submerged. Weight with a plate, if necessary, to keep the meat fully covered by the brine. To determine how much brine you’ll need, place the meat to be brined in your chosen container. Add water to cover. Remove the meat and measure the water. Dissolve salt and sugar in the boiling water. Add it to the cold water. Dissolve salt and sugar in the boiling water. Add it to the cold water; add pepper and stir to combine. Place pork roasts in the water; cover and refrigerate 6 to 12 hours. Remove the pork from the brine. Rinse pork twice after removing it from the brine solution; discard brine. If you are not ready to cook at the end of the brining time, refrigerate until ready to use. Rub olive oil over the entire roast before grilling. Preheat barbecue grill. Bring roasts to room temperature before cooking. Place pork roasts onto hot grill; close the lid and grill for 7 minutes. Turn the pork over, close the lid, and grill for another 6 minutes. Turn off the heat (keep the lid closed) and continue to cook the pork for another 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, insert an instant-read meat thermometer into thickest part of the roast, temperature should read 145° to 150&degF (if not, close the lid and let the pork continue to roast). Once brined, the pork cooks faster so be careful and use a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat. The meat will remain pink from the brine. Remove from grill and transfer onto a cutting board; let pork roasts stand 15 minutes before carving (meat temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it is removed from the oven). Cut the pork across the grain into 1/2-inch slices. To serve, spoon some Blackberry-Wine Sauce onto each individual serving plate. Place pork slices on top of the sauce like dominos (overlapping each slice). Sprinkle parsley over the dish to add some extra color. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Blackberry-Wine Sauce:
1 1/2 cups red wine (I like to use pinot noir wine)
1/2 cup seedless blackberry jam
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced
2 to 3 tablespoons butter

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add red wine. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently until sauce is reduced to the consistency of heavy cream. (If it is reduced too much, use more wine to make sauce the desired consistency.) Remove from heat and drop in the minced hot pepper. Just before serving, whisk in blackberry jam and butter until blended.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds salmon fillet
1/3 cup mayonnaise (light or non-fat)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh herbs of your choice
Coarse salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Procedure:

Preheat barbecue grill. Wash salmon and pat dry. Place salmon fillet (skin side down) onto a large piece of aluminum foil. In a small bowl, with a wire whisk, combine mayonnaise, lime juice, and herbs until smooth; spread over top of salmon. Sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper. Place salmon (with aluminum foil) onto hot grill. Cover barbecue with lid, open any vents, and cook 8 to 12 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. (salmon will be slightly opaque in thickest part).
Note: During this time the salmon continues to cook (meat temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it is removed from the grill) and the juices redistribute. Carefully remove salmon from grill and transfer onto serving platter and serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Approximately cooking times for salmon:
1/4 to 1/3-inch - 3 to 4 minutes
1/2 to 3/4-inch - 4 to 6 minutes
1 to 1 1/2-inch - 8 to 12 minutes

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups water
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:

In a medium saucepan, combine water and quinoa. Bring to a boil and then cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Stir in parsley and remaining ingredients. Cover and let stand at least 1 hour for the flavors to absorb.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 ounces chopped ham
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/8 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
2 cups milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potato, sliced into 1/8″ rounds
3 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Add oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté shallots and garlic for 2 minutes or until tender. Remove skillet from heat and stir in ham, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, nutmeg, and spinach. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, flour, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Lightly coat an 8″ or 9″ square baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange half of the potato slices over the bottom and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread ham and spinach mixture over potato slices. Place remaining potato slices over spinach mixture and pour milk mixture over top. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover with foil lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese; bake an additional 15 minutes. Preheat broiler. Broil gratin for 2 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Watch closely as this does not take very long.

Ingredients:

2 (1 1/2-ounce) slices whole wheat bread
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (approximately 1 pound), cut into chunks
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives or green onions
3 tablespoons light or low-fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vegetable oil or olive oil

Aioli:
2 tablespoons light or low-fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 clove garlic, minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon salt

Procedure:

For Aioli: In small bowl, combine mayonnaise, horseradish, garlic, and salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve with chicken cakes.

Prepare Aioli; refrigerate until ready to serve. Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs. Measure out 1 cup to use in this recipe’ set breadcrumbs aside. Place chicken pieces in food processor; pulse just until ground. Be carefully not to process too long. In a medium-size bowl, combine ground chicken, chives or green onions, mayonnaise, Cajun seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon salt, egg whites, and breadcrumbs; mix well (mixture will be wet). Divide mixture into either 4 large or 8 small patties, approximately 1/2-inch-thick each. In a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat, add vegetable or olive oil and heat. Add chicken patties; cook 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove from heat. Serve with a dollop of Aioli on each chicken cake. Makes 4 servings.