Frozen Lemon Meringue Torte

Frozen Lemon Meringue Torte
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 Tbs grated lemon rind
1 cup lemon juice
6 eggs
1-1/2 cups whipping cream

Prepare this semifreddo first as it must cool completely. In sauce pan over medium-high heat, heat sugar, butter, lemon rind and juice, stirring until sugar is dissolved. In bowl, beat eggs; whisk hot lemon mixture into the beaten eggs (DON'T add eggs TO hot lemon mix). Return mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring, just until boiling; simmer for 1 minute. Pour into clean bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface and chill in refrigerator to room temperature. (Mixture can be refrigerated up to 1 day.) When ready to assemble, whip cream just to stiff peaks and fold it into the cold lemon mixture.

Meringues
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch
2 tsp grated lemon rind
6 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla

Trace four 8-inch circles on parchment paper or brown paper (do not just trace the bottom of the spring-form pan because the meringues will be too big); place, pencil side down, on upside down baking sheets or ones with no sides (you can trim the paper to ~10" or 11 circles which will allow the meringues room to expand beyond the 8" circle. DON'T attach the paper to the baking sheet with anything). Combine 3/4 cup of the sugar with the cornstarch and the lemon rind; set aside. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining 3/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla; fold in reserved sugar mixture. Spoon meringue onto circles, smoothing tops. Bake in 300 oven for 1 hour or until dry and lightly golden. Let cool. (Meringues can be stored in cool, dry place for up to 3 days.)

Assembly: I line a 9" or 9 1/2" springform pan (bottom and sides) with plastic wrap to prevent torte from taking on a tinny taste from the metal - if your pan is non-stick don't bother lining. Set aside the least attractive of the 4 meringues to use to decorate. Fit 1 meringue into the springform pan (trim if necessary). Carefully spread 1/3 of the lemon-whipped cream mixture over top. Add second meringue, and spread 1/3 lemon mix. over top. Add third meringue, and spread last 1/3 of lemon mix. over top. Crumble the fourth meringue and arrange some of it decoratively over top. You can also decorate with sprinkles if desired.

Freeze uncovered for at least 8 hours. Torte can be frozen, well wrapped, a week or more. Let soften in the refrigerator for 45 minutes before removing sides (and bottom if necessary) and serving.
Makes 12 servings.
*NOTES:
The first time I made this, I put all four meringues in the oven at the same time. The two on the bottom started to burn long before the ones on the top were cooked. You may want to cook them two at a time.

Orange Cilantro Black Bean Salad

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1/4 tsp cumin

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can mandarin oranges, rinsed

juice of half a lemon

Salt & pepper to taste

Combine oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, onion, cumin and cilantro in a bowl. Add black beans and mix. Add oranges at the end, and be careful not to over mix, as they can break easily. The longer you let this salad stand, the more the flavours will blend together. Enjoy!

From Vicky

Seb's Famous Dip

Put a nice coat of Philly cream cheese on the bottom of the bowl (getting it at room temp makes it easier to spread with a spoon)
Add a healthy coat of HOT salsa sauce
Add a healthy coat of sour cream (you can mix in to the salsa to get a nice rose color)
Add a healthy amount of your favourite shredded cheese all over the top so cannot see the sauce anymore
Add diced vegetables (mix on green onions, white or red onions, red & green peppers, tomatoes).

Very easy to make and people really like it!

From Lori

Vegetable Quiche Cups

This is a great snack or breakfast or appetizer. One serving is two quiches, which I love. Don't try to make this without the foil baking cups- trust me.

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup liquid egg substitute or 3 /4 cup egg whites (I use the flavoured kind of substitute for more flavour- yum, yum. Get this in the dairy aisle next to real eggs.)
1 package frozen chopped spinach (10 oz.)
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat / low-fat cheese
1/4 cup diced red or green peppers or mixture of both
1/4 cup diced onions (I use a bit more for that lovely onion flavour)
A shake or two of hot sauce (if you want)
Bit of salt and pepper
Foil baking cups (please, please use these. At my grocery store they are in with the plastic containers, and one-time pie plates, roasting trays, etc.)
Cooking spray

PREPARATION:Makes 12 mini-quiches
1. Heat oven to 350F
2. Thaw and drain spinach - just microwave it for two minutes-ish. Drain that spinach REALLY well- squeeze ALL the juice out. I mean it. You do not want wet quiche.
3. Line 12 cup muffin pan with foil baking cups, and spray the cups with the cooking spray.
4. Mix the spinach, egg substitute, cheese, peppers, onions, hot pepper sauce in a bowl.
5. Fill the foil cups with the mixture. This mixture is not runny, you can spoon it into the cups, and not pour it. Actually, I just used my hands and put big gobs of the mixture into the cups.
6. Bake at 350F or 20-30 minutes, testing so that a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. You don't want them to be wet, but you don't want them to be dried out either.
7. Remove from cups to serve. You can reheat these for about a minute in the microwave. Just chuck those puppies in a baggie and bring 'em to work. Also, you can eat them cold.

WW POINTS: either ONE point or TWO points depending on the low-fatness of your cheese, and the calories in the egg substitute. I use a bit less cheese to make it one point. One serving is two quiches. This is from the South Beach cookbook. I would try to freeze these, but I haven't tried yet.
Difficulty: Easy Peasy but give yourself time to cook them, and cool them before storing.
Rating: 10/10 so yum, and so cheap on WW points
Freezable: Sure, why not?

Pizza meatloaf

• 1 1/4 lbs extra lean ground beef
• 8 oz light mild italian sausage, casing removed
• 1/3 cup italian bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup minced onions
• 1/3 cup + 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
• 1 cup packed shredded light cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 tbsp chopped green onion

- Preheat over to 375 F. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray
- Combine ground beef, sausage, bread crumbs, onions, 1/3 cup pizza sauce, parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, salt, pepper into a large bowl. Mix together with hands. Divide mixture in half and press into two cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes until the meat is no longer pink.
- Remove pans from oven and drain liquid. Transfer to cookie sheet and blot dry with paper towels. Spread half of remaining pizza sauce on each pizza and top with cheese, tomatoes, bacon and green onions.
- Bake fore 10 more minutes until cheese is completely melted.

Note: Recipe originally from Eat Shrink and be Merry cookbook. (go buy the cookbook, it rocks:)

Rating: 10/10 YUM!
Difficulty: easy/moderate
Freezable: yes, but without toppings.

Mexican Lasagna

Layered Mexican casserole with beef, beans, tortillas, and cheese

• 1 1/2 lbs (680 g) extra-lean ground beef (you can use ground chicken)
  
• 1 cup each diced red onions and diced green bell pepper
• 2 tsp garlic
• 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup frozen or canned corn
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup medium salsa
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro (I use the frozen cubes)
• 4 large or 8 small whole wheat flour tortillas
• 1 1/2 cup shredded light cheddar
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 cup light sour cream (I skipped this)

- Preheat overn to 375 F. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spra and set aside
- In a large pot cooke beef, onions, green pepper and garlic until meat is no longer pink.
- Add black beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder, and cumin. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Add pasta sauce, salsa. Bring to boi. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro and remove from heat.
- To assemble lasagna, spread 1/3 sauce mixture over bottom of casserole dish. Top with 1/2 tortillas, overlapping as needed. Top with 1/3 mixture, then 1/2 the cheese. Cover with remaining tortillas, then sauce and the top with remainder of cheese and green onions
- Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and make 10 more minutes. Let lasagna stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream.

Note: Recipe originally from Eat Shrink and be merry cookbook.

Rating: 9/10
Difficult: Moderate - it takes awhile.
Freezable: yes

Cabbage Roll Casserole

6 cups shredded cabbage and carrots
3/4 pound cooked extra lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup raw long grain rice
26 ounce can low fat chunky spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

Place half the cabbage and carrots in crock pot. Crumble ground beef over top. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper over beef. Evenly spread onion, the rice over top. Top with remaining cabbage, salt and pepper. Combine spaghetti sauce, water, basil and seasoned salt. Pour over cabbage. Cover and cook on low 5 to 6 hours or until rice is tender.

Note: this was excellent except the rice was not quite completely cooked. I would add a can of beef broth next time I tried this one.
Recipe found on: http://www.aliciasrecipes.com

Rating: 7/10
Difficulty: Easy!
Freezable: I haven't tried yet, but a friend has and says yes

Pump up the Jambalaya

Spicy jambalaya with turkey sausage and scallops

• 1 tsp canola oil
• 1 cup each chopped onions, chopped green bell pepper, and chopped celery
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 8 oz turkey kielbasa, casing removed, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2-1/2 cups low-sodium low-fat chicken broth
• 1-1/3 cups mild salsa
• 1-1/4 cups uncooked, long-grain rice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• ½ tsp each dried thyme and dried oregano
• ¼ cup chopped, fresh parsley

- Heat oil in a large, non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions, green pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes.

- Add kielbasa and cook for 2 more minutes. Add al remaining ingredients, except scallops and parsley. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of pan.

- Stir in scallops and parsley. Cook for 5 more minutes, until scallops are cooked through and rice is tender.


Makes 6 servings.

Notes:

This recipe comes from the Crazy Plates cookbook and has been a hit every time I've made it. You can substitute many things. I've used chicken instead of scallops and regular kielbasa instead of turkey kielbasa. You can also use hotter salsa and play with the seasoning (I often add Cuban).

Rating: 9/10
Difficulty: Easy
Freezable: I haven't tried