In the meantime, with all the attention on Paula, we decided to look back into our recipe archives for a Paula Deen makeover recipe that we created last year.  The original recipe for Chicken Empanadas call for full-fat cream cheese and Colby cheese and a refrigerated pie crust. For our new recipe, we lighted things up and added two veggies: corn and red bell pepper. We also turned the recipe into kid-friendly hot pockets.

Chicken Empanada Hot Pockets
Makes 6 Servings

Paula’s original recipe has 610 calories, 40 grams total fat, and 20 grams of the bad saturated fat (about a day’s worth). It also has no fiber. We kept the flavors BIG, because after all, Paula Deen inspired the recipe! Serve our pockets with something green: Romaine lettuce salad, green beans, broccoli, asparagus.

2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken (8 to 10 ounces cooked)
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper (half a bell pepper)
3 ounces light cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons canned diced green chile peppers
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
One 16-ounce whole wheat pizza dough

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a large, rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Place the chicken, Cheddar cheese, corn kernels, bell pepper, cream cheese, green chiles, cumin, and pepper in a large bowl and stir until well combined.

3. Place the oil in the center of the baking sheet. Roll the dough in the oil until it’s completely coated. Use your fingers to gently stretch the dough until it covers the entire baking sheet. Your pizza dough should resemble a large rectangle at this point. Use your fingers to pinch together any tears in the dough.

4. Spread the chicken mixture evenly over the wider bottom half of the crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Carefully fold the top part of the dough over the filling. Use a fork (tines facing towards you and away from the pizza) to press the edges together. Make three 1-inch cuts across the top to allow steam to escape.

5. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Slice into 6 stuffed pizza pocket pieces and serve.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 pocket): 410 calories, 13g fat (3.5g saturated), 480mg sodium, 41g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 36g protein, 15% calcium, 35% vitamin C, 15% vitamin A, 10% iron

Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD and Liz Weiss, MS, RD are The Meal Makeover Moms, and together, they’re on a mission to help busy families eat better. For more recipes, check out their new cookbook, No Whine with Dinner. You can also read their blog, Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen or listen to their weekly podcast, Cooking with the Moms.

I have crossed off several things on the list, and am taking a small break as I wait to take the next batch of cookies out of the oven. Beyond time with friends and family, my favorite thing about this time of year is the food!

So, for those of you who might be looking for something, I thought I’d share some of my favorite recipes of this season:

Carmelized Pecans
Erin introduced me to the concept of sugar-encrusted pecans, but since she moved away, I had to find a new source or start making them myself! There are several recipes, but my favorite is made right on the stovetop. (The first year I looked for the recipe, I confused it with candy-coated pecans. They are not the same).

Cookies
With the extra time afforded by Christmas Eve on Saturday, I was able to indulge my children’s request that we make homemade cookies for Santa this year (I think the kids are trying to suck up to the big guy). I’m not a big fan of Christmas cookies, instead preferring a basic Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie (the chunks are good also).

Dinner
I don’t remember when my parents made the switch from turkey to beef on Christmas, but every  year my mom brings over the big piece of meat from the local butcher, my mouth starts to water! But a rib roast dinner wouldn’t be complete without our favorite sides – creamed spinach from The Pioneer Woman; popovers from the Barefoot Contessa (butter makes the difference); and my mother-in-law’s mashed potatoes (some day I’ll get Steve to write down the recipe for me).

We have a vegetarian joining us for Christmas this year, so we’re adding a new roasted vegetable dish to the mix using a recipe I found in the Wegman’s magazine.

Breakfast
Of course before we can eat dinner, we need to have breakfast while we open presents – an exercise that can take hours because I insist we pay attention to everyone as they open each present.

This year, at my son’s request, my mom will be bringing The Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls.  I can’t start the day on such a sweet note (sadly), but happily I have my favorite english muffins from Wolferman’s and blueberry preserves. My grandmother buys them for us each year, making sure they arrive a day or two before Christmas, and I love, love, love them. (Now ask me why I don’t order them any other time of the year… I have no idea).

Even as I link to all these favorites, I can feel myself getting excited about tomorrow’s meal. If I remember, I’ll take pictures of our big meal to post later.

But there is still much to do including vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, setting the table and visiting friends for cocktails tonight!

To quote our family card today – Happy Everything! And Happy Eating!

Lightened-Up Seven Layer Bars
Makes 30 Servings

Our bars are perfect for cookie swaps (Janice brought them to her neighborhood cookie swap this week) and Santa will certainly appreciate them. One of our bars has 160 calories and 2.5 grams of saturated fat. Not bad for a sweet holiday dessert and a lot better than traditional Seven Layer Bars with 200 calories and 7 grams of saturated fat.

1½ cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
One 14-ounce can low-fat sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Spread the oats evenly on a baking sheet and bake until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure even browning.  Remove and set aside. Place the walnuts on the same baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. (Keep a watchful eye on the nuts so they don’t burn!) Remove and set aside.

3. Place the toasted oats in the bowl of a food processor and process for 10 seconds.  Add the beans, wheat germ, butter, canola oil, and salt and pulse until well combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, and smooth down evenly with your fingers or palms to form a bottom crust.

4. Top evenly with the chocolate chips, cranberries, walnuts, and coconut. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the layers.

5. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, or until the coconut is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and cut into thirty 1¾ x 2-inch bars. Best if stored in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 bar): 160 calories, 7g fat (2.5g saturated, 0.5g omega-3), 50mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 14g sugar, 3g protein

Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD and Liz Weiss, MS, RD are The Meal Makeover Moms, and together, they’re on a mission to help busy families eat better. For more recipes, check out their new cookbook, No Whine with Dinner. You can also read their blog, Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen or listen to their weekly podcast, Cooking with the Moms.

Last night he proved that he hadn’t ignored my suggestion to find new recipes, by serving us a delicious dinner of steak (cooked perfectly), asparagus spears (also cooked perfectly) and rosemary roasted potatoes which had me licking the plate.

After the kids and I applauded his success, he shared that he found the potato recipe online. And now, I’m sharing it with you (I think Erin would approve of the source):

Ina Garten’s Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
From Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced

Directions

Tonight, faced with feeding the kids while Steve traveled on business, I realized we had enough shredded cheese, sausage, veggies and apples for a mini-fondue party for three.

Last night’s fondue, inspired by a recipe from the Inn at Danbury, included German beer, hot mustard and Worcestershire sauce (I say inspired because I didn’t do much measuring, instead throwing cheese into the pot until it was “just right”). For the kids, I updated the recipe, replacing the beer with apple cider and omitting the mustard and other spices.

Dinner, served at the coffee table, was (again) a big hit, with both trying (and liking) Pumpernickel bread, and Sophie experimenting with dipping items from last night’s veggie platter into the cheese (carrots, good. cucumber, not so much).

And the best part? No one got stabbed with a fondue fork and the kids told me I was “the best mom ever.”

Associated Press copyright prohibits me from republishing here in full, but you can get the recipe through this link.

From Barefoot Contessa (of course!)

Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts, cleaned of all sand (4 leeks)
1/4 cup good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups baby arugula, lightly packed
1/2 cup dry white wine, plus extra for serving
6 to 7 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
3/4 cup heavy cream (I used half & half)
8 ounces creme fraiche (I used sour cream)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Crispy Shallots, recipe follows, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the potatoes and leeks on a sheet pan in a single layer. Add the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss to coat the vegetables evenly. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes, turning them with a spatula a few times during cooking, until very tender. Add the arugula and toss to combine. Roast for 4 to 5 more minutes, until the arugula is wilted. Remove the pan from the oven and place over 2 burners. Stir in the wine and 1 cup of the chicken stock and cook over low heat, scraping up any crispy roasted bits sticking to the pan.

In batches, transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor fitted with the steel blade, adding the pan liquid and about 5 cups of the chicken stock to make a puree. Pour the puree into a large pot or Dutch oven. Continue to puree the vegetables in batches until they’re all done and combined in the large pot. Add enough of the remaining 1 to 2 cups of stock to make a thick soup. Add the cream, creme fraiche, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and check the seasonings.

When ready to serve, reheat the soup gently and whisk in 2 tablespoons white wine and 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Serve hot with an extra grating of Parmesan and crispy shallots, if using.

Crispy Shallots:

1 1/2 cups olive oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 to 6 shallots, peeled and sliced into thin rings

Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it reaches 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

Reduce the heat to low, add the shallots, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until they are a rich golden brown. The temperature should stay below 260 degrees F. Stir the shallots occasionally to make sure they brown evenly. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, drain well, and spread out to cool on paper towels. Once they have dried and crisped, they can be stored at room temperature, covered, for several days.

This recipe is originally from September 1999 issue of Country Living and is not available on line. In September 1999 I was one month away from being a married woman.

So apparently my love for cooking started before I was a wife. Who knew?

Makes 8 Servings

Cake:
5 large eggs
8 1-oz bittersweet chocolate squares or bars (compare the top brands here)
1/2 C butter
2/3 C sugar
2/3 C ground almonds

Chocolate ganache:
6 1-oz bittersweet chocolate squares or bars
1/2 C heavy cream

1. Prepare cake. Heat oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch springform pan. Separate eggs, placing whites in a medium bowl, and yolks in a large bowl; bring to room temperature.

2. Melt the 8 1-oz bars of chocolate in a bowl in the microwave (cook on high 1 minute at a time until melted. Do not over cook). Set aside to cool.

3. With electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set egg whites aside. Using same beaters, beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and light yellow–about 5 minutes.

4. Stir almonds and chocolate mixture into yolk mixture. (Make sure chocolate is not too hot or you will scramble the eggs!) Using a rubber spatula, fold egg whites into a chocolate-almond mixture. Pour batter evenly into pan.

5. Bake until cake springs back when gently touched with finger, appox. 20-25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack. Remove ring from springform pan and let cake cook 10 minutes more on wire rack.

6. Prepare chocolate ganache: Melt 6 1-oz squares of chocolate and 1/2 C of heavy cream in microwave for one minute at a time, until entirely melted. Combine well. You can also do this in a double boiler but the microwave is a lot easier.

7. Slice cake and transfer to plates. Pour chocolate ganache over cake. YUM.

Sweet Apple & Squash Lasagna
Makes 8 Servings

We’ve never made a roux with basil pesto before, but wow, it really worked out great. The pesto adds a big burst of flavor to the lasagna, and we love the convenience. Janice grew a lot of basil in her garden this summer and used it to make pesto (you can freeze leftovers  in ice cube trays).

1/4 cup basil pesto
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups 1% low-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg
12 no-boil lasagna noodles (one 8-ounce box)
One 12-ounce box frozen cooked pureed winter squash, thawed, placed in a bowl and seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste (if you have fresh squash on hand, you can use it instead!)
1 medium apple, quartered, peeled, and very thinly sliced
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the pesto and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and stir to combine. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk the milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg slowly into the flour mixture. Raise the heat and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat, simmer, and stir until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.

2. Lightly oil or coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles evenly on top of the sauce. Spread 1/3 of the winter squash and 1/3 of the sliced apples over the noodles. Top with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 3/4 cup sauce.

3. Repeat layering two more times. Top with the remaining 3 noodles and the remaining 1 cup sauce. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese evenly over the lasagna. Return to the oven and continue to bake, uncovered, until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 more minutes. Cool about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 380 calories, 15g fat (5g saturated), 410mg sodium, 43g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 18g protein, 40% calcium, 10% vitamin C, 10% iron

FYI: Giada’s recipe has 450 calories, 22 grams fat, and 11 grams saturated fat per serving. You can read all the gooey details about our makeover by visiting our blog.

Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD and Liz Weiss, MS, RD are The Meal Makeover Moms, and together, they’re on a mission to help busy families eat better. For more recipes, check out their new cookbook, No Whine with Dinner. You can also read their blog, Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen or listen to their weekly podcast, Cooking with the Moms.

What have been some of your favorite recipes and new food discoveries this summer? Last month, we learned how to “put up” with a recipe for Bread and Butter Pickles. After a busy day fussing about in the kitchen with equipment we’d never used before, we discovered that home canning is a lot of work but incredibly rewarding; there’s nothing better than biting into a crunchy, homemade pickle!

Sweet Carrot Ginger Soup
Makes 6 Servings

We use slightly-sweet vegetable broth for this recipe so it’s 100% vegetarian.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup red onion cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper, optional
One 32-ounce carton all-natural vegetable broth (4 cups)
2 cups carrot juice
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small 10-ounce sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, pepper, paprika, and cayenne as desired (remember, just a pinch), and cook an additional 1 minute.

2. Stir in the broth, carrot juice, carrots, and sweet potato. Cover, raise the heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the lime juice.

3. Let the soup cool slightly. Transfer to a blender and puree in batches until very smooth and creamy. You can also use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish (see tip below).

Garnish Idea: Toast up thin slices of French bread, and spread a thin layer of soft goat cheese on top. Place on soup, sprinkle with chives, and drizzle with a bit of honey as desired.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 generous cup): 150  calories, 5g fat (0.5g saturated), 410mg sodium, 23g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 3g protein, 590% vitamin A, 30% vitamin C

Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD and Liz Weiss, MS, RD are The Meal Makeover Moms, and together, they’re on a mission to help busy families eat better. For more recipes, check out their new cookbook, No Whine with Dinner. You can also read their blog, Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen or listen to their weekly podcast, Cooking with the Moms.