In this healthy version of the classic appetizer, we are using frozen spinach and frozen artichokes.  Unless you harvest the spinach right out of your garden, frozen is a good way to go because spinach rapidly looses nutrients after it has been harvested.  Frozen spinach is harvested and frozen right away, locking in the nutrients.  Artichokes are best fresh, but very labor intensive, frozen is the next best thing.

Quick Tip: Assemble, but don’t bake.  Keep in the fridge for a day and bake according to the recipe or wrap with plastic and foil and freeze for a few months.  Bake from frozen in a 400° oven for about 1 hour covered, uncover and bake until bubbling.

Serves: about 6-10

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup light mayo
• 1,  8 oz package 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 3/4 + 1/3  cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 3/4 cup artichoke hearts, frozen and thawed, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
• 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, minced

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375°.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine mayo, cream cheese, mascarpone, 3/4 cup parmesan, sour cream, garlic, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Mix well.
3. Stir in the artichoke hearts, spinach and sun dried tomatoes.
4. Spread into a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/3 cup parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling.
5. Serve with whole wheat crackers.

Serves 10-15

Quick Tip: Assemble the veggies up to 1 day ahead and the dressing up to 2 days ahead.

Ingredients

• 8 cups broccoli, cut into small florettes
• 3 red pepper, sliced into strips
• 4 medium zucchini, sliced on the diagonal
• 3 cups cherry Tomatoes
• 1 large head celery, sliced into 3 inch sticks

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli. Blanch for 30 seconds and strain out hot water and run cold water over the broccoli to stop the cooking. Drain.
2. On a large platter arrange the vegetables.

Basil Ranch Dip – Ingredients

• Makes about 1 cup
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/2 cup mayo
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 8 basil leaves

Directions

1. Place all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor, blend until well combined.

Make Ahead Tip: You can assemble the meatballs and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer. Once frozen place in a freezer ziplock and store up to 2 months.

Bake in a 400° oven on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°
If you don’t want to freeze they can be baked and kept in the fridge for up to 2 days.  Reheat in a large pot with sauce.

Recipe makes about 30

Sauce – Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup yellow or white onion, 1/2 inch dice
• 4 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 3/4 teaspoon ginger, ground
• 1 cup canned pineapple chunks
• 2/3 cup pineapple juice, from canned pineapple
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Sauce Directions

1. In a medium sauce pot pour in olive oil over medium heat, add the onion and sweat for 2-3 minutes or until translucent.
2. To the onions, stir in the vinegar ketchup, ginger, pineapple chunks, pineapple juice and sugar.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken broth and the cornstarch.
4. Whisk chicken broth mixture into the sauce and bring to a simmer. Allow to lightly simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn down to low and keep warm.

Meatballs – Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 2 Tablespoons grated yellow onion
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger, ground
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 pounds ground chicken

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. In a large bowl mix together the garlic, onion, eggs, soy sauce, coriander, ginger and panko.
3. Add chicken and mix until well incorporated.
4. Scoop into quarter size balls.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temp reaches 165°.
6. Add meatballs to the sauce and serve.

Vampire Veggies
Serves 4-6
Quick tip: You will know when the oil is hot enough when you dip a wooden spoon in the oil and bubbles form around it.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 8 oz package or 2 cups sugar snap peas
• 2 cups carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium/high heat until oil is glistening. Add the peas and carrots to the skillet and cook on high for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Turn heat down to low and add garlic, sesame seeds, salt and pepper.

*If you can’t find black sesame seeds you can use toasted sesame seeds.

Pork Tenderloin Wrapped in Fall Apples and Maple Bacon Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 strips maple bacon
• 1 pound pork tenderloin
• sprinkle of salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup  blue cheese crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon sage, dried or fresh
• 3, 1/4 in thick slices cut in half, granny smith or honey crisp apple, cut remaining apple into  quarters and reserve for roasting with vegetables
• 1 cup parsnips, peeled, diced into 1 inch thick squares
• 1 small yellow onion, cut in half and then quartered
• 1 1/2cups carrots, peeled cut into 1 1/2 inch sticks
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°.
2. Lay the bacon strips vertically on a cutting board and place the tenderloin horizontally on the bacon.
3. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the top of the pork.
4. Evenly pat blue cheese crumbles on to the pork. Sprinkle Sage over blue cheese.
5. In a single layer, layer apples covering the blue cheese and sage.  Beginning at one end of the tenderloin wrap bacon slices all the way around the pork.  Continue until the tenderloin is covered with bacon.
6. Set in a baking dish.
7. Surround pork with apples, parsnip, onion and carrots.
8. Pour apple juice and broth over pork.
9. Bake in the oven about 35-40 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 155°.

Roasted Beet Salad Tossed with Blue Cheese and Balsamic
Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 large beets or 6 small beets (3 1/2 cups)

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon thyme, dried

• 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled (use

• 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 2 Tablespoons pine nuts

• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°
2. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet.
3. Wash beets and towel dry.
4. Place beets on the foil and rub beets with olive oil and sprinkle with thyme.
5. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour or until fork tender.
6. Remove from the oven, uncover and allow to cool.
7. Once cooled, with the back of a knife peel of skin and cut off tops and bottoms and discard.
8. Slice peeled beets into 1/4 inch thick slices, then cut slices into 1/4 inch strips and then cut in half. Place in a medium bowl.
9. Add crumbled blue cheese, vinegar and pine nuts to the beets. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss together and serve or refrigerate up to 2 days.

Goat Cheese and Bartlett Pear Crostini with Honey and Walnuts
Makes 12

Ingredients

• 12, 1/2inch slices of a baguette

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

• 12,  1/2 inch slices of goat cheese

• 1 Bartlett pear, 12 , 1/4inch slices

• 2 Tablespoons honey

• 12 walnut halves

Directions

1. Turn your oven on to broil.
2. Place the baguette slices on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Toast under the broiler for 2-3 minutes (make sure to watch, they will burn easily).
4. Turn slices over and toast the other side for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
5. Top toasted slices with goat cheese, drizzle honey over the goat cheese, top with a pear slice and place a walnut on top of the pear, serve.

This Chicken Taco Soup Recipe is easy to make before work and keep it cooking in your slow cooker, so its ready for you when you get home.   I love serving this soup after a day of skiing, with some toasted garlic bread.

Click here to read more and get the recipe.

3 Point Dunkers
Serves 1

• 1/2 Cup each carrot sticks, celery and whole wheat pretzels.

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons each whipped light cream cheese, honey and almond butter.

Place veggies and pretzels in cups and the dips in 3 separate bowls.  Dunk veggies and pretzels in dips.

Apple Cup Crunch
Serves 1

• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce.
• 1/4 cup golden grams, smashed.

Top applesauce with smashed golden grams.

Turkey Pinwheels
Serves 1

• 1 whole wheat tortilla
• 2 Tablespoons light cream cheese
• 2 slices turkey
• 3 small dill pickles

Spread  cream cheese over tortilla, lay the turkey over the cream cheese and make a line of pickles in the center.  Roll from one end to the other, slice into 8 pinwheels and secure with a toothpick.

Peach Gingersnap
Serves 1

• 1 peach, sliced in half and pit removed
• 1/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 1/4 cup gingersnaps, crushed

Spoon yogurt into the cavity of  each half of peach, top with gingersnaps.

Baked Steak Fries
Serves 4

• 1 1/2 pound fingerling potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Johnny’s Seasoning salt

Pre-heat your oven to 400°.  Slice potatoes in half length wise.  Place on a Silpat (healthier alternative) or greased cookie sheet and sprinkle evenly with olive oil and seasoning. Bake on the top rack for 25-30 minutes.

Honey mustard sauce: mix together 1/4 cup honey Dijon mustard, 1/2 tablespoon honey and a pinch of salt.

‘Smiley’ Pita Pizza
Serves 1

• 1 whole wheat pita
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup low-fat mozzarella
• 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 3 slices turkey-roni
• 2 tablespoons pineapple chunks

Spread tomato sauce over the pita, sprinkle cheese over it evenly, make eyes and nose with the turkey-roni and a mouth with the pineapple chunks.   Bake in a toaster oven at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.