Sweet Treats
Friday, February 29th, 2008
#1: Layered Pumpkin Loaf
Serves: 16
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup plus 2 tbs. granulated sugar, dived
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 egg whites, divided
1/2 cup fat free milk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese or to cut fat use Neufchatel cheese
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a nonstick 9×5-inch loaf pan; set aside. Mix pumpkin, 1 cup granulated sugar, then brown sugar, 3 of the egg whites, milk and oil in a large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, pie spice and salt; stir just until moistened. Set aside. Beat cream cheese, remaining 2 tbs. granulated sugar and the remaining egg white with a wire whisk until well blended.
Spoon half of the pumpkin batter into prepared pan; spoon Neufchatel cheese mixture evenly over the batter. Cover with remaining pumpkin batter.
Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 5 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Run a knife or thin spatula around the edges of pan to loosen the bread. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan to wire rack; cool completely before cutting.
#2: Chocolate Pudding Pie
Serves: 10
1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 pkg. (4-servingss) chocolate flavor instant pudding
1 chocolate pie crust
2 cups thawed whipped topping, divided
Pour cold milk into a large bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk for 2 minutes, or until well blended. Spoon half of the pudding into the crust.
Gently stir 1 cup of the whipped topping into remaining pudding; spoon over pudding layer in crust.
Top with the remaining 1 cup whipped topping. Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Store in refrigerator.
#3: Apple-Pear Crumble Pie
Serves: 10
3/4 cup crushed vanilla wafers (about 24 wafers)
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of a 15-oz. pkg.)
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, softened
2 large baking apples, peeled, and sliced
1 large pear, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups thawed whipped topping
Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix wafer crumbs, brown sugar and butter until well blended, set aside.
Place pie crust in 9-inch pie plate. Spread cream cheese carefully onto bottom of crust; sprinkle with half of the crumb mixture. Set aside. Combine fruit in a large bowl. Add granulated sugar, flour and cinnamon; toss to coat. Spoon over crumb layer in pie crust; sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.
Bake 35 minutes or until fruit is tender and crust is lightly browned, covering loosely with foil after 25 minutes. If necessary to prevent crust from over browning. Cool on wire rack. Serve with the whipped topping. Store leftover in the refrigerator.
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Earthly Eating Recipe
Southwest Stuffed Burgers
Serves: 6
1 1/2 lb. extra lean ground beef or lean round turkey
1/4 cup light mayonnaise, divided
1 pkg. (1 1/4 oz.) taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup Colby & Monterey Jack cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup salsa, divided
6 lettuce leaves
6 sliced tomatoes
6 whole wheat hamburger buns, split
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Mix meat, 3 tbs. of the mayo and the seasoning mix; shape into 12 thin patties. Combine cheese and 2 tbs. of the salsa; spoon over 6 of the patties. Cover each with one of the remaining patties; pinch edges together to seal.
Grill 7 minutes on each side or until cooked through (160°F). Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tbs. salsa and remaining 1 tbs. mayo.
Place lettuce, tomatoes and burgers on bottom halves of buns; top with salsa mixture. Cover with tops of buns.
Happy Eating!