Patriotic Stuffed Strawberries

Very impressive recipe for that very special dinner. Add a small flag and you have a perfect Fourth of July dessert.

Stuffed Strawberries


Ingredients:

1/2 tbsp. Jell-O Sugar
Free Fat Free Vanilla Instant pudding mix


1/2 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated) or 1/2 tbsp. sugar
1 drop vanilla extract


1/4 cup Cool Whip Free (thawed)


2 tbsp. fat-free cream cheese, room temperature

6 extra-large strawberries

2 tsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips



Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix, sweetener, vanilla extract, and 1 tbsp. cold water. Stir vigorously until smooth and slightly thickened. Stir in Cool Whip and cream cheese until smooth. 

Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 10 minutes.



Slice the stem ends off the strawberries, about 1/2 inch, revealing an opening in each berry. Use a narrow spoon to remove about half of the flesh inside each berry, allowing room for filling.



Spoon pudding mixture into a bottom corner of a plastic bag; snip off the tip of that corner to create a small hole, and pipe the mixture through the hole into the strawberries.



Press chocolate chips into the exposed filling. Serve and enjoy!



MAKES 1 SERVING

Thanks to Hungry Girl for the statistics.
Entire recipe: 173 calories, 4g fat, 309mg sodium, 30g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 16.5g sugars, 5.5g protein.
Granulated white sugar in place of Splenda, this recipe is 194 calories, 35.5g carbs, and 22.5g sugars.

Grilled Veggie Wraps

Vegetarians can enjoy delicious food on the grill.

Grilled Veggie Wraps

Ingredients:
2 Low Carb High Fiber Large Tortillas
Two 1/2-inch-thick peeled eggplant slices (cut lengthwise)
1 large portabello mushroom cap
1 red bell pepper, halved, seeds removed
1 small zucchini, ends removed, cut lengthwise into 4 slices
3 tbsp. plain fat-free yogurt
1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. crushed garlic
2 dashes salt
2 dashes black pepper

Directions:
Spray grill well with nonstick spray, and bring to medium-high heat.

Grill all the veggies for 5 minutes with the grill cover down. Then carefully flip with long barbecue tongs.

Grill veggies for about 5 minutes longer with the grill cover down, until slightly soft and blackened. Remove from grill and allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a small dish, combine yogurt, basil, and garlic, and mix well. Set aside.

Once veggies are cool enough to handle, cut mushroom cap and pepper halves into slices. Then warm tortillas slightly in the microwave (or carefully and quickly on the grill).

Spread half of the yogurt mixture onto each tortilla. Place a slice of eggplant down the center of each tortilla, and place a slice of zucchini on either side. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper.

Evenly distribute mushroom and pepper slices between the two tortillas, laying them in the same direction as the other veggie slices. Roll each tortilla up like a burrito.

Slice each wrap in half (giving you four halves total).

MAKES 2 SERVINGS

Thanks to Hungry Girl for statistics PER SERVING (two halves): 145 calories, 3.5g fat, 483mg sodium, 31g carbs, 16.5g fiber, 8g sugars, 12g protein

Need Fresh Fruit for My Oatmeal

Fresh peaches, blueberries and bananas in Steel Cut Oatmeal. Adding yogurt is also delicious. What a great way to start the day.

It's like Yogurt Parfait, page 52 in Tastes & Treasures, recipe from Hassayampa Inn but with cooked oatmeal instead of granola.

Yogurt Parfaits
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups fresh raspberries
2 cups granola
Strawberry yogurt
Mix the blueberries and raspberries in a bowl. Alternate layers of the berries and granola in parfait glasses or wine glasses and top with the yogurt.
Note: You can use homemade or commercial granola and low-fat yogurt in this recipe.
Serves 6

Enchiladas from Mary Parker

Mary Parker writes, "On the League's tour to Yuma, this was one of the (many!) dishes Tina Clark fixed us for lunch at the Old St. Paul's Church, where she has a cooking school, too. I served this to company & it's very easy & tasty (my kind of recipe!). For the chicken, I just got a roasted chicken & tore up the meat."

Can't wait to try this easy chicken dish. Thanks to Mary for sharing it.

GREEN CHILI CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Ingredients:
½ cup cooked, shredded chicken
½ bunch of cilantro
1 bunch of green onions, chopped with green tops
½ - 1 lbs Monterey Jack cheese
1 large 29 ounce can of mild green enchilada sauce
1 dozen corn tortillas

Directions:
Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if using a glass dish)

In a large bowl, combine chicken with cilantro, onion s and all but one handful of the cheese.

Pour a bit of sauce in bottom of baking dish. Also pour ½ cup enchilada sauce into shallow dish and dip tortillas one at a time in this sauce, turning to coat them on both sides. Line the bottom of the dishe with 4 of the tortillas. You may want to tear some in halves & quarters to cover the corners & edges.

Pour half of the green chili mixture into the dish. Cover with another layer of 4 sauce-coated tortillas. add the rest of the green chili mixture cover with the last of 4 sauce-coated tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce evenly over the casserole. Top with cheese. Bake until it bubbles at the edges, about 25 minutes.

Makes 6+ servings.

Avocado soup

Nothing like Cool dishes for Hot Summer days.

Creamy and Cold Avocado Soup
Ingredients:
2 medium, ripe avocados (seeded and peeled)
2 ½ cups cold water
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
8 ounces cream
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic
4 tsp Maggi chicken stock

Directions:
Place ingredients in blender; cover. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Garnish with chopped avocado and cilantro; serve immediately.

Makes 5 to 6 servings.

Historical Book from Carolyn Hartman

Cleaning up can often lead to fabulous discoveries. New League member Carolyn Hartman found this book with her father's memorabilia. Stanford Hartman M.D. was well-respected and loved Arizona history.

Originally published in 1884, this book was reprinted in limited edition in 1967. Recently Carolyn donated book copy #81 of 300 to the Arizona Historical Society Museum at Papago Park.

Accepting the book is Linda Whitaker with collections at the museum.

Pumpkin Cake decorating ideas

Imagine turning your pumpkin cake into a work of art.


Since Peggy Murphy won the cookbook contest with her Pumpkin Cake recipe, here are a few ideas to decorate the cake.