Valentine's Day is coming next month...so....

what would be the perfect Theme... of course

...tons of chocolate...

Decadent Desserts IV

Feb. 10th

Healthy Foods That Taste GOOD!!! (Jan. 2010)

Green Smoothie
Amber Bodily

Anything green goes, rule#1 :)

Fill blender 1/3 with water or rice milk
Add a handful of spinach, handful of Kale, some collards (anything green)
1 lemon with the rind (cut off ends)
2 apples
a squeeze of Agave Nectar
An orange
Half of a small beet (you can add a whole beet if you like the flavor)

BLEND until smooth. A VitaMix and BlendTec you can get it blended and smooth in 10-12 seconds. With a regular blender it might take 60 seconds or longer.

Add frozen fruit or berries of any kind until the blender is full.
(I didn't have on hand- but makes it creamy- is a banana.)

You can start off using 60% in the smoothie and work your way up to 90% greens.

You could start off with just spinach and a little kale to get used to it. Slowly start adding all kinds of greens. Beet tops, carrot tops, wheat grass, chard, etc. You can also add any fruit you have!

Enjoy! Cheers to good health and all the wonderful things God put in the garden:)

Papaya pudding
Elizabeth Champion

1 small papaya
2 bananas

Peel papaya and bananas and chunk.
Place chunks in blender and whirrr.

Mediterranean Lemon Chicken with Olives
Anne Epperson

Serves 4
1 large onion diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 to ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
4 chicken breast cut into bit size pieces
(use chicken legs and thighs if desired)
3 lemons cut into quarters
1 c reduced sodium chicken stock
¼ to ½ c green olives, drained, pitted and cut in half
¼ to ½ c black olives, drained, pitted and cut in half
1 Tbsp capers, drained
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
Salt and pepper to taste

In a Dutch oven sauté the minced onions in olive oil over med heat till translucent. Add in the ground cumin, ginger, garlic and red pepper (optional), stir and sauté for 30 sec to 1 minute to develop flavor. Add chicken, do not crowd the pan, and brown for 3-4 minutes per side (if using thighs and legs adjust time to allow for browning). Add lemons, no need to squeeze the heat will extract the lemon juice, and chicken stock.

Cover pan, lower heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes (chunked chicken breast, or 30 – 40 minutes for thighs and legs). Remove lid, add olives, capers and artichoke hearts, simmer until everything is heated thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning, salt might not be needed.

If you have excessive liquid, remove the chicken, stir in orzo (any small pasta or rice), cook according to box, add chicken back in, heat and serve.

If the broth is too acidic, add another cup of chicken broth – sauce can be tightened with a corn starch slurry.

Strained Yogurt

1 16 oz container plain low fat or nonfat yogurt
1 strainer to accommodate yogurt volume
1 large bowl to hold strainer and allow yogurt to drain
2 sheets paper towel

Use any commercial yogurt, line a fine strainer with paper towel (or cheese cloth), place strainer over bowl that provides a 1 inch gap between bottom of strainer and bottom of bowl, empty contents into paper lined strainer and cover with another towel, place a heavy object on top of towel. Yogurt will release upwards of 1 cup of liquid per 16 oz.of regular yogurt, less for Greek style yogurts.

Set over night for cream cheese consistency. For looser spread, shorten time.
Use in dips, spreads. Experiment in your favorite recipes.

Note: Fage yogurt (found at Trader Joes and Costco) works well, yet there will be much less liquid extracted.

Breakfast Pizza

Use any dough you like, I have used pizza dough and sticky bun dough, you can also use bread dough. Roll out in a 8 – 9 inch circle. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake 350 degree F for 15 minutes or till to desired doneness.
Let cool
1 cup strained yogurt
1 Tbsp honey, agave nectar, or other sweetener

Mix well and spread over cooled dough
Cover with mixed berries, in season or defrosted
Frozen berries flavor can be enhanced by adding a tsp of vanilla extract to berries and warming over a med heat. Variation: orange peel, lemon peel, or other flavor enhancers. Go slow and taste often.
Cut and serve.

Orange-Spiced Fruit Bread
Carol Hansen

Bread:
1/2 C golden raisins
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C dried figs
(I used 1-1/2 C dried Golden Berry Blend from TJ)
2 C unbleached bread flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)
1-1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 TBsp aniseed
1-1/2 tsp ground allspice
1-1/4 tsp instant quick-rising or bread machine yeast
1-1/4 tsp salt
1-1/4 C ICE water plus more if needed
6 TBsp clover honey
1/4 C mild molasses
2 TBsp corn, canola, or other flavorless veg oil
2 tsp finely grated orange peel

Soaking Syrup
3 TBsp orange juice
2 TBsp clover honey

Optional Glaze
1/3 C confectioners' sugar, sifted
2-3 tsp orange juice

1 Mix dough. Soak dried fruits in hot water for 10 mins, drain well, and cool. Thoroughly whisk 1-11/4 C ice water, honey, molasses, oil and orange zest in a med bowl. Vigorously stir the honey mixture and drained fruit into the dry ingredients until well blended. The dough should be moist, somewhat sticky, but stiff. If too dry, stir in a bit of ice water to facilitate mixing, but don't over-moisten. If dough is too wet stir in a little flour. Lightly coat the top with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

2. First rise: Let dough rise at room temp (70 degrees) for 12-18 hours.

3. Second rise: Coat a 10-C bundt pan (or similar tube pan) with oil. Vigorously stir the dough to deflate it. If it is soft, stir in just enough flour to yield a firm but moist dough (it should be fairly hard to stir). Transfer dough to the pan. Lightly coat the top with oil. Press the dough evenly into the pan. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise about 1-1/4 to 2-1/2 hrs. at 70 degrees.

4. Let rise at room temp (70 degrees) until dough is 1" below top of pan. Preheat oven to 350.

5. Bake on rack in lower third of oven. for 60-70 mins. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 mins.

6. Syrup: Combine juice and honey in a small bowl. Brush half over the top of the loaf. turn out the bread onto the rack and brush the other half syrup on the bread.

Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar with orange juice in small bowl. Drizzle over the cooled loaf and let set.

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Nancy Holladay

Combine in a large pot (I use a 6 qt. pot), peeled and chopped as you want – smaller pieces cook faster:

6 potatoes
6 carrots
4 celery stalks
1 large onion
(broccoli stems if you have them – if I buy broccoli florettes or crowns there usually are none)
3 chicken bouillon cubes, or another flavor if you prefer
Enough water to almost cover vegetables

Cover and simmer for about 1 hour, until vegetables are mushy. Blend smooth. Add water or broth as needed to adjust thickness. Add:
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
Stir until dissolved. Add:
3-4 cups broccoli florettes – cut to bite size
I prefer to steam my broccoli first to a tender crisp and then add just before serving. You could add the raw broccoli if you plan to let it cook for a while before serving.
We like it with French bread, garlic bread or toast.

Yogurt Dip
Heidi Little

1.5 cups drained yogurt
1 peeled & chopped cucumber(whole)
.25 cup (or more) chopped chives
1tbs lemon juice
dash of pepper

stir and refrigerate to blend flavors
enjoy with baked crackers, chips or vegis

Grilled Chicken Salad with Creamy Balsamic Dressing
Wendy Pellissier

Mix the following in a blender until smooth: (dressing)
1/2 cup white (Great Northern) beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 T. balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 1/4 t. of the minced garlic that comes in a jar in the produce section)
8 large basil leaves
1/8 t. salt

Toss the following in a large salad bowl:
5 oz. mixed baby greens
1 and 1/2 cups grilled chicken tenders (I seasoned mine with "Mrs. Dash garlic & herb" before I grilled them.)
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss lightly to coat.