Mozzarella Tomato Olive Cocktail Skewers


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Ingredients
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese (small balls, if available)
16 grape tomatoes
16 kalamata olives, pitted
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 dash crushed red pepper flakes
32 small fresh basil leaves (plus additional for garnish-optional)
16 wooden skewers (4"-6-inch)

Directions
1. Cut the mozzarella into bite sized pieces. If you are lucky enough to find the small balls, keep them whole. Place in a medium bowl and stir in the tomatoes, olives, oil, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and red pepper. Cover and refrigerate 1-3 hours.
2. If basil leaves are large, cut into smaller pieces.
3. Thread the marinated cheese, tomatoes and olives onto skewers, placing the basil leaves in between. Place skewers on a platter; garnish with additional fresh basil. Enjoy!

Salt Free Seasoning Mix

No salt season mix : from Ann


1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1-1/4 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon celery seed
1-1/2 teaspoons white pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon dried lemon peel
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

This can be kept in a glass container for up to 6 months. It is great on chicken, fish and veggies.

Low Carb Dry Onion Soup Mix

Makes 4 tablespoons or equivalent of one envelope dry onion soup mix

3 tablespoon minced onion dried onion
1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
up to 1/2 tsp. salt substitute if using no or low sodium bouillon

Mix, store in tightly covered container or jar.

Without salt substitute:

Per Batch: 72 calories; .1g fat; 16.9g; 1310mg sodium; total carbs; 1.6g fiber; 15.3g net carbs; 1.7g protein

Per 1 tablespoon serving : 18 calories; 327.5mg sodium; trace fat; 4.23g total carbs; .4g fiber; 3.83g net carbs; .425g protein

Roasted Tomato Basil Spread
Makes 8 tablespoons



Ingredients:
14 1/2 oz. diced canned tomatoes, very well drained but reserve juice
cooking spray like PAM
2 teaspoons dehydrated minced onion
2 teaspoons dried basil
up to 2 tablespoons olive oil


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F

2. Drain tomatoes very well, reserving juice

3.Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray

4.Put tomatoes on cookie sheet spreading out nicely so heat can dry the tomatoes. Roast for about 18-20 minutes, turning after the first 5 to 7 minutes or so, re-spread, and then repeat every few minutes until dried and at desired doneness. You want them dry, but not shriveled up.

5. While tomatoes are roasting, add the onion and basil to the reserved tomato juice. Let rehydrate for 5 minutes or so. Drain juice.(Discard juice or save to use in another recipe.)

6. When tomatoes are done. add the tomatoes, onion, basil and one tablespoon olive oil to food processor (small basket attachment works great) and pulse two or three times. If too thick for your liking, add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Pulse again to desired conistency.

Store in tightly covered container in fridge




Nutrition facts:

For entire recipe
Calories 341
Fat 27.1g
Carbohydrate 21.1g
Dietary Fiber 4.4g
Net Carbs 16.7g
Protein 4.0g

Per tablespoon:
Calories 42.6
Fat 3.4g
Carbohydrate 2.6g
Dietary Fiber .55
Net Carbs 2g
Protein .5g

Mern, these sound really good. Thanks for posting them.

I did homemade pizza last night...whole wheat crust from scratch, sauce from scratch (hubby's mom's Italian; it is always sauce from scratch!), shredded reduced fat cheese and some veggies baked on a pizza stone. My neighbor built a brick pizza oven in his backyard, but we're not that ambitious, so I just did it in the oven and served it with a big salad. It turned out great, I knew exactly what went into it, and much less fat and fewer calories (and dollars!) than ordering out.

cassie ~ the pizzas sound awesome. hmmm makes me think i should make some for my son tomorrow.

mern ~ omg that salt substitute sounds amazing i'll have to try that.

Cassie, you'e welcome for the recipes. Fun sharing! Your pizza does sound delicious--dough from scratch! You're a real pro!

Stacey, I do enjoy the salt free seasoning on all kinds of stuff. A lady from Australia sent me the recipe. Nice thing is you can change up the ingredients, adding and subtracting as you like. I hope you enjoy it. :)

when making supper tonight for my son i pulled out from my freezer lovely home made pirogies. my girlfriend & i got together the beginning of february & made 100's of them that we shared. which got me to thinking cooking in bulk & with a friend is great. not only do you share the cost, the effort, but we also end up having a good time & have a few glasses of wine as well. i'll go to her place for the weekend with my son. she lives on an acreage. so a get away for my son & i he gets to play outside with their dogs which he adores. my girlfriend & i get a 'girls' type weekend we do salsa the same way, but didn't make salsa that weekend.

That is an awesome idea, Stacey; thanks for sharing it!

Cassie,

To get the brick oven flavor with pizza, I put it on my gas grill. It's awesome!


My family loves good Italian food. Here's a recipe that I used a lot last year when my daughter craved my old Alfredo, but I didn't want the calories. I had kind of forgotten about it. I'm going to post it here so I don't lose it again.

Fettuccine Alfredo

8 oz. whole wheat fettuccine
1 1/4 c. fat-free chicken broth
4 tsp. flour
1/3 c. light cream cheese spread
3 T. grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 T. chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta as per pkg. directions. Combine broth and flour in med. saucepan. Stir in cream cheese spread, 2 T. Parmesan, nutmeg and pepper. Cook 2 minutes stirring constantly until mixture bubbles and thickens. Toss pasta with sauce. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and parsley.

4 servings, 1 cup each

Cal. 300
Fat 6 g (sat. 3)
Carb. 46g
Fiber 4g
Protein 14 g