Chicken Livers Sauté

Ingredients

6 oz raw Chicken Livers

4 oz diced fresh Onion

1 teaspoon Butter

½ teaspoon Sage

½ teaspoon Thyme

1 teaspoon Oregano

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Salt and Pepper (amount to your preference)

1 cup shredded Lettuce

Directions

Fry Liver quickly in ½ of the melted Butter.  Set aside.  Fry diced Onion in the other half of the melted Butter over medium heat until Onion becomes translucent in appearance. Add all Seasonings and Liver stirring mixture well.  Total cooking time approximately fifteen minutes.  Serve over lettuce.

Abstinent Measuring

1 recipe = 1 protein, 1 vegetable

*contribution from Area II Cookbook 2004

Dressing Du Jour

This is called “du jour” because you can create an almost infinite number of new dressings every day. 

Ingredients

1 teaspoon Oil

1 TBLspoon Water

2 teaspoon Vinegar

1 teaspoon Spices

Optional

1 teaspoon Fat-free Sugar-free dressing

A portion of protein

A liberal dose of imagination is always a good ingredient!

Directions

Whisk together a choice of Oil, Vinegar, Spices and Water, adding a portion of protein or fat-free dressing as you like.  Experiment and enjoy.  There’s no reason to become bored with your salad or its dressing!

Abstinent Measuring

2  TBLSpoon = 1 Salad Dressing.  Include protein if used.

Note

OIL: Monday use olive oil, Tuesday use mayonnaise, Wednesday use sesame oil, Thursday use safflower oil, Friday use peanut oil, Saturday use hazelnut oil, Sunday use walnut oil

VINEGAR: cider vinegar, brown rice vinegar, white vinegar, red wine vinegar, tarragon vinegar, white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar…

SPICES: blends of Italian, Chinese, Cajun, Garden mix, pepper mix, Creole mix, sweetened (artificial sweetener) blends with ginger and orange rind… try adding a fresh herb like cilantro, basil, dill, oregano or grating in a vegetable you don’t usually put in your salads like celery root, beets, turnips or rutabaga.

INCORPORATING PART OF THE PROTEIN: buttermilk, yogurt, cottage cheese, feta, blue cheese, Parmesan, Romano, other shredded cheeses are all fair game in small doses.

*contribution from Area II Cookbook 2004

Quick ‘n Easy Soup in a Hurry

Ingredients

1 cup Bouillon (or chicken, vegetable or beef broth)

1 cup of your favorite  Vegetable (see note below)

your favorite spices, ½-1 teaspoon, to preference

salt/pepper to preference

Optional

4 oz precooked chicken, beef or pork.

½ cup cooked brown rice or whole grain pasta

Directions

Place all ingredients in the microwave or in a pan.  Cook until vegetables just reached tender. Voila! There’s Soup!

Makes 1 serving

Abstinent Measuring

Each serving = 1 vegetable

Note

Vegetable Choices: carrot, onion, green pepper, celery take longer to soften. Chopped cabbage, tomato, summer squash, zucchini and especially mushrooms take much less time to soften.

Favorite Spices:  if in doubt, use pre-mixed spices like Mrs Dash, or Poultry Seasoning

Make-it-a-meal

A nice quick meal: double the recipe and add the optional Protein. Abstinent measure = 1 veggies and 1 protein

*contribution from Area II Cookbook 2004

Wild Berry Yogurt

Ingredients

½ cup plain Yogurt

½ cup Sugar-free Gelatin (Cherry or Strawberry or Raspberry or a combination)

3 TBLspoon Oat Bran

2 TBLspoon Sugar-free Syrup (preferable a berry flavor)

1 packet Artificial Sweetener

1 cup mixed Fruit – your choice - Berries, Pineapple, Banana…

Directions

Mix all ingredients in large cereal bowl and place in freezer for 10 to 20 minutes.  Ready to enjoy!

Makes 1 serving

Abstinent Measuring

Each serving = 3 TBLspoon Bran, 1 Protein, ½ c Jello

Note

A scant ¼ teaspoon of Crystal Light Raspberry Tea (or other flavor of your choice) can be used in place of Sugar-free Syrup

*contribution from Area II Cookbook 2004

Salsa Salmon

This is so easy to make you’ll be amazed.  Salmon and salsa is all you need.  Cooks up fast and they will think you slaved for hours!  Great leftovers.

Ingredients

Salmon Steak(s)

1-2 TBLspoon Salsa per Salmon Steak

Olive Oil

Directions

Use frying pan (that has a lid) that is large enough to hold all the Salmon you are going to prepare.  Wet bottom of pan with Olive Oil and put on medium heat.  Place Salmon Steaks in pan, skin side down.  Spoon 1-2 TBLspoons of Salsa over each steak. Be very careful of cross-contamination—see Note 2.  When all Salsa is ladled out, spread the salsa to cover the steaks more evenly.  Cover pan and let the fish cook for 5 minutes.  Turn the steaks.  This is a good time to remove the skin, since it should just peel off easily. (Throw the skin away.)  Ladle some of the Salsa off the bottom of the pan to the top of the steaks and cover for 5 more minutes.  Don’t overcook fish! When it flakes, it’s done.  Serve warm.

Abstinent Measuring

4 oz Salmon = 1 protein

Note

1.        You can spend a bunch on the Salsa, but I’ve found that the cheap stuff works just as good, if not better.  My favorite is “Mrs. Renfro’s Roasted Salsa”, because it adds a smoky flavor.    

2.       Cross-contamination:  this is just a discussion of sanitary food practices when dealing with raw fish (or any other protein for that matter).  When you are ladling salsa out of the jar and on to the fish, be careful not to touch the fish with your spoon and then put the spoon back in the jar for more salsa.  Raw protein is ripe with bacteria and by touching the fish you are “contaminating the spoon and then plunging the spoon into the salsa which contaminates the salsa.  If you put that contaminated jar in your fridge, you now have a little petri dish for those bacteria to grow.  Ok, maybe my background in the food industry makes me paranoid… but it’s true none-the-less!  If your spoon touches the fish, throw it in the sink and get another one!  Only when you get done dipping your spoon into the jar and have set the jar aside is it safe to have the spoon touch the fish.  And the cooking will kill all the bacteria you transfer from fish to fish.  Again… this is just basic food safety J

Cottage/Apple Bran Muffin

Ingredients

1 Egg, beaten

2 oz Cottage Ccheese

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

Cinnamon (amount to your preference)

6 TBLspoon Bran

½ cup Unsweetened Applesauce

1 packet Artificial Sweetener

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin pan with nonstick spray. Mix ingredients in the order listed.  Fill each muffin cup ½ full. Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 3 muffins

Abstinent Measuring

Each muffin = 1/3 protein, 1/3 fruit, 2 TBLspoon bran

*contribution from Area II Cookbook 2004

Home Made Chicken Soup

Ingredients

2 cup Water

2 – 5 TBLspoon of Chicken Soup Mix (check for sugar)

¾ cup Celery, sliced

¾ cup Carrots, sliced

½ cup Onions, chopped

4 oz Chicken

Directions

Bring Water to a boil.  Start with 3 TBLspoon Chicken broth – seasoning amount to your preference.  Add Vegetables and Chicken.  Cook Chicken in soup.  When Chicken is fully cooked, remove from soup and shred with a fork, then return to soup.  Cook until everything is soft.

Makes 1 serving

Abstinent Measuring

Each serving = 1 protein and 2 vegetables

Optional
After first 30 days you may add 1 oz of a Grain such as program approved Buckwheat (kasha) or Brown Rice

Note

The original recipe from the 2004 Area II Cookbook called for Knorr Chicken Broth.  And yes you can find it in Cubes without sugar… but when it’s in the can as a powdered from… the sugar gets “slipped” back in.  ARG!.  So just be careful and read the labels. 

Personally I save the drippings from any baked or “fried” chicken I make, freeze it into ½ cup portions and use that for chicken broth.  The ½ cup size allows some portion control (lol!) even when many times my recipe sizes call for more than one chicken broth ice cube.  When I run out of the frozen “homemade” stuff, I use the Knorr Cubes.

*contribution from Area II Cookbook 2004

Broccoli Puree

Ingredients

2 large bunches (about 2 ½ lbs) Broccoli, trimmed

1 TBLspoon + 1 teaspoon Butter

3 Shallots, finely chopped

1 clove Garlic, minced

1 cup Vegetable or Chicken Broth

Salt and freshly ground Pepper

Pinch freshly grated Nutmeg

Directions

Remove Broccoli tops and cut into 1/2-inch florets. Chop Broccoli stalks into 1/4-inch pieces. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt 2 teaspoon Butter.  Cook Broccoli stalks, Shallots, and Garlic, and season with Salt,  Pepper, and Nutmeg, stirring 3 to 5 minutes, until Shallots are tender. Add Broth, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, or until Broccoli stalks are very tender and liquid has almost completely evaporated. In a food processor, puree until smooth.  Meanwhile, cook Broccoli florets in boiling Salted Water 3 minutes, or just until tender. Drain in a colander and shock under cold running water to stop the cooking; drain.

To serve: In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat puree just until warmed through. Stir in Broccoli florets, remaining 2 teaspoon Butter, and season with Salt and Pepper.

Makes 4 servings

Abstinent Measuring

Each serving = 1 cup = 1 vegetable, 1 teaspoon oil.

*contribution from Area II Cookbook 2004