Main Dish, Vegetarian

Spinach and Cheese Meatballs

SERVINGS | Makes 30 balls
SOURCE: Recipe was modified from this one

Ingredients
1 pound ground turkey (or extra-lean ground beef)
1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
4 oz mozzerella cheese, grated
1 cup crushed bran flakes, corn flakes, or bread crumbs
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 egg)
1/4 cup dried chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Italian seasoning (or 1/2 tsp basil and 1/2 tsp oregano)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Instructions
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly and shape into 30 balls. Spray a skillet with nonstick spray and fry balls just until browned, about 2-3 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put balls onto broiler pan (or pan with wire rack) sprayed with non-stick spray, and bake for 30 minutes.

Breads

Pumpkin Scones with Pumpkin Butter

SERVINGS | Makes 8 scones
SOURCE: Recipe was modified from this one to lower fat and increase fiber

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup all purpose white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup buttermilk (or use 1/3 cup skim milk & 1 tsp lemon juice)
1/2 cup pumpkin, canned
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
Mix together flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter. Add buttermilk, pumpkin and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead gently just a few times. Shape into a circle about 1-2 inches thick, and cut into 8 equal wedges (like a pie).

Bake at 375° for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve with pumpkin spice butter (below)

Pumpkin Spice Butter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup pumpkin, canned
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice

Combine all and mix till creamy.

Main Dish

Bumpy Meatballs

SERVINGS | 16 meatballs
SOURCE: unknown – been in family for years

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked instant brown rice or regular white rice
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (11 oz) condensed cream of cheddar soup
1 1/4 cup milk
paprika

Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients (except soup, milk and paprika) together. Shape into 16 meatballs. Brown in skillet.

Place meatballs in ungreased casserole. Mix soup and milk until smooth, pour over the meatballs. Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake for 75 minutes (1 hour, 15 minutes)

Main Dish, Vegetarian

Mexican Bean and Rice Casserole

SERVINGS | 6 – 8
SOURCE: unknown

Ingredients
1 15oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 10oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 8oz container plain fat-free yogurt, or 1 cup fat-free sour cream
1 cup (8 oz) salsa
8 oz Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups cooked brown rice (1 cup uncooked + 2 cups water)

Instructions
Cook brown rice according to package directions.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and pour into 9×13 baking dish. Bake 45 minutes. Let sit 10-15 minutes before serving.

Main Dish

Chicken Veggie Rice

SERVINGS | 6
SOURCE: unknown

Ingredients
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons low-fat margarine
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 can chicken broth (14.5 oz)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup instant rice, uncooked
1 cup frozen peas

Instructions
Cook chicken, onions, carrots and garlic in large skillet with butter 5-7 minutes, until chicken no longer pink.

Combine cornstarch, lemon juice, broth, salt in bowl, pour over chicken and vegetables. Stir, then bring to boil and boil 2 minutes until thickened.

Add rice and peas and stir thoroughly. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand 5-10 minutes, until rice is cooked.

Side Dish, Vegetarian

Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes

SOURCE: Martha Stewart Living magazine, edition unknown (I got this secondhand, from a forum).

Ingredients (there are no exact measurements; adjust as desired)
Sweet potatoes (or yams)
Kosher salt
Fresh Garlic (lots)
Thyme
Olive oil

Instructions
Slice sweet potatoes into bite sized pieces (thin is better than thick).

Mix in a bowl with freshly minced garlic (the more the better – I cannot stress this enough), olive oil, kosher salt (to taste) and thyme. Put into baking pan or glass casserole and bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until tender.

Main Dish, Vegetarian

Pizza Fondue

SERVINGS | 4
SOURCE: who knows – my family’s been making this for decades

Ingredients
1 can pizza sauce
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz mozzerella cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 loaf french bread, cut into bite-sized cubes

Instructions
Pour pizza sauce, cheese, cornstarch and seasoning into a fondue pot. Turn the pot on low and stir often until the cheese melts.

In the meantime, toast the bread cubes under the broiler just until lightly browned.

When the cheese is melted, dip toasted bread cubes in fondue.

Main Dish, Vegetarian

Meat(less) Loaf

SERVINGS | 4-6
SOURCE: from the back of a “The Turkey Store” package; modified

Ingredients
1 pkg veggie crumbles ground meat substitute
1 cup chopped onion (fresh) or 1/2 cup dried chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg or 1/4 cup egg substitute
3/4 cup catsup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together veggie crumbles, egg, 1/4 cup catsup, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, onion and garlic in bowl. Mix well.

Pack into 8×4 loaf pan. Spread remaining 1/2 cup catsup on the top.

Bake for 50-55 minutes. Let stand at room temperature about 5 minutes before slicing.

Desserts

Litterbox Cake

SERVINGS | Depends on how squeamish people are
SOURCE: Unknown

Ingredients
1 spice cake mix, made according to box directions
1 white cake mix, made according to box directions
1 (small) package vanilla pudding, made according to box directions
1 package vanilla (white) sandwich cookies)
Tootsie rolls
Green food coloring
Small litterbox (or appropriately sized pan)
New litter scoop (or flat metal spatula – the kind with holes)

Instructions
Make the spice cake, white cake, and pudding all according to box directions.

Crush entire package of vanilla sandwich cookies into small pieces.

Crumble cooled cakes and mix them with the pudding and 3/4 of the crushed cookies.

To the reserved 1/4 crushed cookies, stir in a few drops of green food coloring. It doesn’t take very much. The green is supposed to resemble the chlorophyl bits they used to put in non-scoopable litters, for odor control.

Place cake/cookie/pudding mix in clean litterbox. The lumpier it looks, the better.

Unwrap a few tootsie rolls and put on a plate; microwave for about 5 seconds – just until warm and pliable. Shape appropriately and then have fun. I recommend burying a few in the cake/pudding mix, or artfully gathering a few together in a little clump in one corner. If you are feeling particularly artistic, you could nuke a few for a few more seconds, and then drape them over one side of the box.

Sprinkle the green cookie crumbs over the top of the cake/pudding/tootsie roll concoction. Serve with litter scoop.

Alternate ingredients (depends how ‘realistic’ you want this to be):

  • Small glops of chocolate or butterscotch pudding
  • Roll the warm tootsie rolls in a few sesame seeds (looks like tapeworms)
  • Coil some cooked spaghetti in one corner (roundworms)
  • Anything else your imagination can come up with
Breads

Gingerbread Pancakes

SERVINGS | Makes about 10 pancakes
SOURCE: Unknown

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 2 egg whites)
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
Mix all ingredients until blended. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto heated skillet for each pancake.

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