Quick Swiss Ham Bake

While this photo is not one of my best, this last minute 'throw together' dinner turned out so yummy that I just had to share it with all of you. This took minutes to throw together and can be altered to your liking. I used Swiss cheese but Gruyere would be perfect in this as well. Use ham, Canadian bacon or turkey bacon if you prefer. I used broccoli because my kids love it but spinach or any veggie you like can be added.  

The trick is sauteing the white parts of a green onion, leek or a minced shallot and  then browning the ham. Meanwhile, you want to whisk your eggs very well with a splash of milk. Add your salt, pepper and seasoning (I used tarragon)

and then pour the eggs into your oven ready pan. Wait a minute, then push the eggs towards the center of the pan, working your way around once or twice till the eggs just start to set. Sprinkle on your grated cheese then pop it in a pre-heated oven at 450F for 8-13 minutes (depending on how many eggs you used).

Voila! Dinner is served.

Top 20 Skinny Recipes For 2011

Whew, the Holidays are almost behind us, I can finally exhale and slow down for the next few days and reflect about what a great year it has been for Skinnytaste and myself in 2011.

When I started this blog back in 2008, it was just a hobby that I really enjoyed. Never in my dreams would I have imagined what was to come.

In March of 2011, I left my full time job and career in the city which allowed me to give my 100% to Skinnytaste and spend more quality time with my baby. It was scary and exciting at the same time, but I wouldn 't change a thing!

And to my surprise, Skinnytaste even won some awards this year! I was so honored to win the SHAPE Magazine Best Healthy Eating Blogs 2011 and the Kitchn's The Homies: Best Home Cooking Blog for 2011 . But of course, none of this would have happened without you, and for that I am humbly grateful.

So now it's time to do my yearly round up of your favorite recipes for 2011. I asked all of you on facebook and twitter to share your favorite recipes from 2011, and I narrowed it down to these top 20, in no particular order... Thanks for all your feedback!! Hope you enjoy the recipes I have planned for 2012!!


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Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

Everything I love about chicken enchiladas... in a bowl! I love turning classic meals into soups lately, it's an easy (maybe even lazy) way to make a meal and it doesn't require dirtying too many pots.

I basically took my chicken enchilada recipe and added some black beans, corn and chicken broth and threw it all into the crock pot.

A few hours later this delicious bowl of soup emerged which I topped with cheese, scallions, cilantro and a dallop of fat free sour cream. I served it with avocado on the side since I grew up eating avocado in my soup. This was very tasty, filling and had just the right amount of kick! Add more or less chipotle to your taste.

I've labeled this as freezer friendly, whether you want to make your meals ahead to freeze for the month, or save your leftovers for lunch. To reheat you can microwave or reheat over the stove. To see other freezer friendly meals, click here.


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Chicken with Leeks, Sun-Dried Tomatoes in White Wine Sauce

Thin sliced chicken cutlets sauteed in a white wine sauce with leeks and sun-dried tomatoes. Dinner in less than 20 minutes!

I love the mild onion flavor of leeks, I use them in soups, pasta dishes and chicken dishes. Paired with the robust flavor of the sweet sun-dried tomatoes, this dish is sure to please the palate!

Try to find sun-dried tomatoes that are not packed in oil. I look for the ones that are soft and ready to eat, but depending on the brand, some may need to soak in warm water if they are very hard. A little goes a long way!

I used rice flour for a gluten free dish and to test if it changed the taste from wheat flour and I thought it worked out well. If you are on a gluten-free diet, use rice flour; if not all purpose flour or whole wheat is fine.


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Brownie Batter Pancakes

I am very happy to have Katie of Chocolate-Covered Katie as my first guest post here on Skinnytaste. Her recipes are a great fit for Skinnytaste as they are all healthy and low fat, but she also brings something else to he table... all her recipes are vegan! Whether you are a vegan or not, I guarantee you will spend hours drooling at the photos on her blog! Please welcome Chocolate-Covered Katie to Skinnytaste.

Hi chocolate chips!

I’m Katie, of the blog: Chocolate-Covered Katie, and I’m so honored to be a guest on Gina’s blog. I love Gina because she shows that healthier food can taste incredible when it’s prepared the right way. On my own blog, I try to show this, too.

One exception: my blog is only desserts.

Just like Gina, I believe you shouldn’t have to sacrifice good taste in order to be healthy. And today, Gina asked me to share one of my “does not taste healthy” recipes that can be a breakfast or dessert: brownie batter pancakes. This recipe is also vegan AND can easily be made gluten free with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free flour mix!

Hope you enjoy!!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Merry Christmas

From My Home to Yours, Wishing You All 

A Merry Christmas and a Wonderful Holiday!

Hugs and Kisses,

Gina

 

Make-Over Breakfast Sausage and Mushroom Strata

A make-ahead breakfast casserole made with day old bread, eggs, cheese, sausage and mushrooms. This recipe from the archives is perfect for Christmas morning so I thought I would revive it to give it some attention. You can make this with just about anything, just use your imagination!

Breakfast stratas can be pretty high in fat, generally using at least 8 eggs and 2 to 3 cups of cheese. To lighten this dish I used less eggs, turkey sausage in place of pork sausage, fat free milk, reduced fat cheese and whole wheat ciabatta bread.

You can easily swap out the mushrooms for asparagus or bell peppers, use ham instead of sausage, and make it with any cheese you like. Enjoy, whatever flavor combination you come up with!!

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Skinny Coconut Shrimp

Golden baked coconut encrusted shrimp with a sweet and spicy apricot dipping sauce. Set these out on a platter in front of some hungry guests and I guarantee they will disappear!!

"The best coconut shrimp I ever had" to quote my husband, that's how good these are, and he didn't even touch the dipping sauce! These will absolutely be making an appearance at my Christmas Eve dinner this year.

I tried these using all egg whites but the crumbs stuck better with a whole egg, as for the flour, you will only use about 1 tbsp worth so that is what I calculated.

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Flounder Piccata

Lightly pan fried breaded filet of flounder served in a lemon, wine, butter sauce with capers and parsley. A wonderful way to enjoy flounder, tilapia or any white fish.

We often have this with chicken for those of you who don't like fish, but I discovered it's great with fish too, and perfect for Christmas Eve for those of you who eat fish.

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Tuscan White Beans with Spinach, Shrimp and Feta

Shrimp, white beans and wilted spinach topped with crumbled feta. Perfect for a weeknight meal, this dish is delicious and super easy to make!

This recipe was slightly modified from the The Salt Solution Cookbook, a wonderful cookbook with over 200 recipes that offers solutions on how to cut your sodium while boosting flavor.

In this dish, a touch of vinegar, fresh sage and crumbled feta give this dish a flavor boost without the need for salt. Even I didn't miss the salt, and I like my salt.

This week, I'm giving away 3 copies of The Salt Solution Cookbook and The Salt Solution, both written by Heather K. Jones with the editors of Prevention Magazine. If you are interested in this giveaway, go to Skinny Bits for a chance to win, ends Thursday 12/22.

And I really think you will love this one pan dish; it's lean, high in fiber and full of flavor!

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Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti

Don't you just love a good biscotti in the morning with a cup of coffee? These Italian biscotti cookies are loaded with pistachios and cranberries, then twice baked to form a crispy delicious cookie, perfect for dunking!

My husband always brings up the Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti I posted last year. I try not to make those too often because the two of us have no self-control when I bake them (so good!).

This year I played around with this cranberry-pistachio version which I adapted from last year's recipe. I cut back on the butter a bit which created a stickier dough... a bit messy to work with so I sprinkling some flour on the dough and cookie tin or you can handle the dough with wet hands but the results where so darn good I wouldn't change a thing next time!

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Vanilla Bean Sugar

Beautiful specks of vanilla beans are combined with sugar to make a simple yet impressive handmade gift.

There is something special about handmade gift, carefully thought out and made with love. For the past few years my girlfriends' and I have been doing a Secret Santa exchanging our handmade creations and it's always fun seeing what we all come up with.

This doesn't require much talent at all, but that doesn't mean it's not special! Vanilla beans are pretty expensive, but the flavor you get when you use them is worth the added expense.

This is wonderful added to a cup of coffee, or topped on French toast, or even sprinkled over homemade scones; whatever your recipient decides to do with it I'm sure they will feel very special knowing this was handcrafted by you!


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Golden Glittered Poinsettas ~ Home Made Gift Giving

Usually this time of year I'm completely stressed out, cranky and worn to bits. The endless 'To Do' list is insurmountable and catches me off guard every year. I decided to take a different approach this year and make things much simpler for myself and my family. While I can't say I've completely succeeded, I am definitely feeling happier and full of the Christmas spirit for the first time in a while.

Usually, in the weeks preceding Christmas I spend most of my time worrying about buying the perfect gifts and then end up forgetting what I've actually purchased and end up frantically running from store to store in the days before Christmas buying junk that will be tossed aside in the matter of minutes.

No more I say! No more. All of my friends said I wouldn't stick to my convictions, but not only have I managed to not buy oodles of things and masses of prettily packaged rubbish but I have found a way to keep things simple and personal with small, home made gifts from the heart.

People just want to feel loved and cared about. I know I do. Even if you don't have lots of money you can probably find a way to let the people you care about know it with a simple gift from the heart.

Do you bake? Drop by a neighbors home with a small batch of cookies and make their day.

Are you crafty? No? Me neither. Pick up a poinsettia and  spray a bit of Gold Glitter on the tips of the leaves  and watch it transform into a beautiful Holiday centerpiece.

This falls under the category  "SEAMO4CDI"!

{So Easy a Mom of 4 Can Do It}

Skinny Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles

Whole wheat skickerdoodle cookies coated with cinnamon, spice and everything nice! If you have plans to do some baking this weekend, these cookies are a must!

I absolutely loved these cookies which I adapted from Cooking Light magazine. I swapped the flour for white whole wheat and the corn syrup for agave and they turned out too darn good if you know what I mean!

When I was in DC a few months ago, I met Matthew Petersen, the executive Pastry Chef of CityZen and Sou'Wester at the Mandarin Oriental and "chef'testant" on Bravo's Top Chef Just Desserts, and he was a huge fan of King Arthur flour. I've been using it since and always love the results.

Skinny Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 42 • Size: 1 cookie • Old Points: 1 pts • Points+: 1 pts (3 pts+ for 2)
Calories: 50.9 • Fat: 1.3 g • Carb: 9.5 g • Fiber: 0.7 g • Protein: 0.8 g • Sugar: 5.9 g
Sodium: 20.2 mg

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tbsp agave
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 3 tbsp sugar*
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon*
• cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Line two baking sheets with Silpat mats and spray with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Combine 1 cup of sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.  Add the agave, vanilla and egg; beat well.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, beating just until combined.  Cover and chill for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine 3 tbsp sugar with cinnamon, stirring with a whisk to combine.  With moist hands, shape dough into 42 (1-inch) balls.  Roll balls in sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Place balls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets (I slightly flattened them).   

Bake 375°F for 5-7 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft).  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes.  Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Cooking Light.

I discarded 2 tbsp of the sugar cinnamon mixture so I deducted 1 tbsp sugar  from n.i. to play it safe.

Rudolph the Red Velvet Cupcake

Red velvet yogurt cupcakes topped with a chocolate glaze. These festive reindeer cupcakes are easy to make perfect for a Holiday party!

I saw these cute cupcakes on Pinterest (yes, I'm addicted) and knew I wanted to make them. After great success with my snowman cupcakes, I knew I wanted to make them with Greek yogurt again.

Super easy, I used a box of red velvet cake mix, fat free Chobani yogurt, egg whites and water. Does it get easier than that? You can use any flavored cake mix... chocolate, butter, devil's food cake, etc. as long as your boxed cake mix is 18.25 oz.

Oh, and Chobani now comes in 32 oz holiday containers, I'm giving away THREE cases away to THREE lucky winners. If you are interested, enter here for a chance to win (ends Saturday)!

I've included the nuritional info with and without the candy because realistically you probably won't eat the antler's and nose... or at least I wouldn't. I'll leave that up to you.

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

{giveaway} Chobani 32 oz Holiday Containers

Chobani yogurt has decked the dairy halls with their 

brand NEW 32 oz holiday containers!

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

Apple Cranberry Crumble

Delicious, comforting and perfect for your Holiday table! Apples and cranberries topped with oats, nuts and a little brown sugar are baked in the oven and served warm. Now this is my kind of comfort food!

This was a makeover request I was HAPPY to tackle. I was asked to lighten up a Christmas must-have for her table, perfect for dessert, but she also serves this for breakfast table.

We taste tested both her original recipe and this lightened up version and we know she will be pleased with the new results!

To serve a large crowd, simply double the recipe and use a larger baking dish. You can easily make this ahead, then reheat when you are ready to serve.

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Chicken Panini with Arugula, Provolone and Chipotle Mayonnaise

One word to describe this hot panini... dee-licious!

I'm in love with the flavor combination of this grilled chicken panini made on Ciabatta bread with melted provolone, arugula and a spicy chipotle mayonnaise.

This sandwich is perfect for lunch or dinner and you can easily prepare this for one or a family of eight!

A panini press is on my Christmas list this year, but not having one has never stopped me from making paninis before. I lightly spray the bread with oil and use my George Forman grill and it's ready in minutes. You could even use a grill pan on the stove and place an iron skillet on top to press it down.


And if you are new to my site, don't forget my tip on how to make a bigger sandwich for less calories!

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Low-Fat Gingerbread Cookies

These gingerbread cookies have less than half of the fat than most gingerbread cookies but the same great flavor. Gingerbread cookies are probably the most popular holiday cookie. I say this because I have gotten so many requests for a low-fat version the past few weeks.

These requests did not fall on deaf ears, I've been experimenting with many different versions but most of the recipes failed. Cookies are not the easiest to make low fat, but finally I found a recipe that worked.

I'm personally not a fan of gingerbread, but my two year old loved these cookies and I didn't feel guilty letting her eat them knowing they didn't have a lot of butter. I've had them in a container for several days and they are still as fresh as day one, and slowly they have been disappearing.

The one thing I must point out is that the dough is a bit stickier than traditional gingerbread dough, since most of the butter is replaced with applesauce. Dusting the work surface with flour before rolling the dough, and dusting a little flour on top makes them easier to work with. As you can see, they turned out great. Any flour on the surface after baking can easily be brushed off.

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