Wednesday Recipes

Wednesday - half-way through the work week (yay!). Here are six yummy recipes to help you through the day, including Peanut Butter Cup Pie and Tex-Mex Rice and Bean Casserole. Enjoy!

GREEN TEA, BLUEBERRY, AND BANANA SMOOTHIE

This recipe, as well as the next one (Blueberry-Lemon Scones), was found in an article on Prevention, titled “11 Recipes with Fresh Blueberries.” Click here to see the article and all twelve recipes.

SERVINGS: 1

3 tbsp water

1 green tea bag

2 tsp honey

1 1/2 C frozen blueberries

1/2 med banana

3/4 C calcium fortified light vanilla soy milk

Microwave water on high until steaming hot in a small glass measuring cup or bowl. Add tea bag and allow to brew 3 minutes. Remove tea bag. Stir honey into tea until it dissolves.

Combine berries, banana, and milk in a blender with ice crushing ability.

Add tea to blender. Blend ingredients on ice crush or highest setting until smooth. (Some blenders may require additional water to process the mixture.) Pour smoothie into tall glass and serve.

NUTRITION (per serving) 269 cal, 3.7 g pro, 3.4 g carb, 7.8 g fiber, 2.7 g fat, 0.2 g sat fat, 52.3 mg sodium

BLUEBERRY-LEMON SCONES

SERVINGS: 12

Scones

3 C all-purpose flour

1/2 C granulated sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 C cold butter, cut into small cubes

1 C buttermilk

1/4 C unsweetened applesauce

1 C fresh or frozen blueberries

Glaze

1 1/2 – 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

3/4 c confectioners' sugar

To Make the Scones: Heat oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Put flour in large bowl. Reserve 1 Tbsp of the flour in small bowl. Add granulated sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt to large bowl with flour. Cut in butter with pastry blender or hands until fine crumbs form.

Combine buttermilk and applesauce. Gradually mix with dry ingredients, stirring gently to form dough. Toss berries with reserved flour in small bowl and gently fold into batter. (Mix well, but do not overwork dough.) Separate into 2 equal portions.

Flour a clean surface and your hands. Press dough into two 1"-thick rounds. Cut each round into 6 wedges.

Transfer scones to prepared baking sheets. Bake until firm to the touch and golden brown on top, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on rack.

To Prepare the Glaze: Gradually mix lemon juice into confectioners' sugar in small bowl until just pourable in consistency. Drizzle over scones. Cover leftovers with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.

NUTRITION (per scone): 227 cal, 4 g pro, 43 g carb, 1 g fiber, 4.5 g fat, 2.5 g sat fat, 285 mg sodium

FROZEN PEANUT BUTTER CUP PIE

This comes from Diana Rattry, Southern Cooking guide for The Spruce. Diana wrote, “This awesome frozen peanut butter cup pie is the perfect dessert or weekend treat for a hot summer day. The classic graham cracker pie shell and simple cream cheese and peanut butter filling take no more than 10 to 15 minutes to prepare; just mix, freeze, and enjoy!

“To make this even easier, use a store-bought deep-dish graham cracker pie shell. An oreo or chocolate cookie crust would be an excellent choice as well.

“Freeze the peanut butter cups to make chopping them much easier.”

Prep Time: 14 minutes; Cook Time: 0 minutes; Yield: 8 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Crust

1 3/4 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar or granulated sugar

Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup sweetened condensed milk using a liquid measuring cup

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tub (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 cup chopped peanut butter cups, frozen for easier chopping, plus more for garnish if desired

Sweetened whipped cream or whipped topping, for garnish

Warm chocolate syrup or chocolate sauce, for garnish

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the crushed graham crackers with melted butter and 1/4 cup of brown sugar or granulated sugar. Mix well and press firmly over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Cover and refrigerate the crust to chill for at least 1 hour.

In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, and confectioners' sugar. Beat on medium speed of an electric mixer until smooth and well blended. Fold in the whipped topping until blended, and then fold in the chopped peanut butter cups.

Fill the chilled graham cracker pie shell with the peanut butter mixture.

Cover the pie tightly and freeze for at least 2 hours, or until the filling is firm.

Set the frozen pie out at room temperature for a few minutes before slicing.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or whipped topping and drizzle with warm chocolate sauce. Sprinkle with reserved chopped peanut butter cups, if desired.

Tips:

If possible, freeze the pie for several hours or overnight before serving.

Give the pie about 10 minutes at room temperature to soften slightly before slicing.

If desired, bake the crust in a preheated 400 F oven for 10 minutes. Cool completely and chill slightly before filling.

Make this peanut butter sauce to drizzle over the pie along with the chocolate syrup.

ITALIAN GRILLED STUFFED PEPPERS

This is from Kraft, and begins, “Discover these Italian Grilled Stuffed Peppers and bring a little bit of Italy into your kitchen! These grilled stuffed peppers are delicious!”

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 45 minutes; Servings: 6

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1-3/4 cups water, divided

1-1/2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked

2 cups frozen BOCA Veggie Ground Crumbles

1 small zucchini, chopped

1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

1-1/2 cups OLIVO by CLASSICO Traditional Pasta Sauce, divided

1-1/2 cups KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1 large each red, yellow and green pepper, cut lengthwise in half, seeded

Directions

Heat grill to medium-high heat.

Bring 1-1/2 cups water to boil in medium saucepan. Add rice; cover. Simmer 5 min. Remove from heat; let stand 5 min. Stir in crumbles, zucchini, seasoning and 1 cup each pasta sauce and cheese; spoon into peppers.

Place each filled pepper half on center of 12-inch-square sheet heavy-duty foil. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bring up foil sides. Spoon 1 Tbsp. of the remaining water onto bottom of each foil packet. Double fold top and ends to seal packets, leaving room for heat circulation inside.

Grill 20 to 25 min. or until peppers are crisp-tender and filling is heated through (160ºF).

TUSCAN-STYLE QUINOA

This is from the November 2005 issue of Runner’s World.

1 1/2 C quinoa

3 C water

2 Tbls olive oil

3 coves garlic, minced

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

6 C shredded Swiss chard

1 large tomato, diced

1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

1/3 C Parmesan cheese

Place one tablespoon of the olive oil in saucepan, heat to medium-high, pour in quinoa to toast for four minutes. Cover with water, turn down to simmer, cook for 15 minutes until tender. Heat nonstick skillet with remaining olive oil & sauté garlic & onion until golden, about 5 minutes. Add chard & sauté until wilted. Add tomato & heat through. Fold in cooked quinoa, season with salt, pepper, & chili flakes to taste, & top with Parmesan cheese. Let stand 3-5 minutes to blend flavors.

TEX-MEX RICE AND BEAN CASSEROLE

This is from Weight Watchers. Total Time: 55 minutes; Prep: 15 minutes; Cook: 40 minutes; Serves: 6; Difficulty: Easy; Points: 5

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 spray cooking spray

1 cup canned yellow corn, drained, or frozen, thawed corn kernels

1 Tbsp canned green chili peppers, chopped, mild or hot

15 oz canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup long grain cooked brown rice, fresh or day old

7/8 cup Weight Watchers Reduced fat Mexican blend shredded cheese

3/4 cup fat free sour cream

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp table salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp uncooked scallion(s), chopped (dark green part only)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 2-quart glass baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine corn, chilies, beans, rice, 3/4 cup of cheese, sour cream, chili powder, salt and pepper; stir in scallions.

Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of cheese. Return to oven and bake until cheese melts and casserole is slightly bubbly, about 10 minutes more. Let stand for 5 minutes to firm up before slicing into 6 pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.

Notes

Change the beans or cheese to your liking: white or black beans, reduced-fat cheddar or Monterey Jack cheeses all work well.If you want to brown the cheese more, place the dish (make sure it's broiler safe) under the broiler for a minute or two.