Spice-Roasted Butternut Squash and Onions

Thanksgiving is all about tradition.   I'll be sharing some of my holiday favorites with you this week.

As much as I love the tried-and-true favorites, I love to shake it up a little bit, too.  This is a new recipe that I will introduce to my extended family on Thanksgiving.  I recently discovered this recipe in a Weight Watchers Weekly brochure at a meeting and fell in love with it at first bite.  This is a low-calorie, rich-tasting side dish that features the warm spices of garam masala (an Indian blend that usually includes cinnamon, cardamom, pepper and ground coriander seed) plus the zip of fresh cilantro. I love it with baked chicken and I think it will be outstanding with the turkey.

The bonus:  It's delicious reheated.  You can bake this the day before, reheat it in the microwave (if you're really pressed for time on the big day) and toss in the cilantro at the last minute.

2 1/4 pounds fresh butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 medium red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garam masala (The Spice Hunter brand makes this.  It can be found at larger grocery stores or look for it online:  www.spicehunter.com.  Also available at:  www.penzeys.com.)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a large, nonstick baking sheet with Pam.

Scatter squash and onion on the prepared baking sheet; drizzle with oil and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with garam masala, salt and pepper; toss to coat.

Roast, tossing about halfway through cooking, until vegetables are tender and slightly browned (about 25 minutes).

Transfer vegetables to a serving piece and sprinkle with cilantro; toss to coat.  Serves 6.  2 Weight Watchers POINTS per 3/4 cup serving.

Blueberry Breakfast Bread Pudding

The morning started innocently enough--sipping on coffee, checking out my Facebook page...

Then this showed up on my home page.  Thank you, King Arthur Flour, for your lovely bit of morning indulgence.  I had been craving bread pudding and this was amazing!!!!!

I'm a fresh blueberry junkie during the summer months.  I tweaked the recipe to make it more Weight Watchers-friendly.  (But you can go the more luxurious route, if you wish.)  All the food groups were represented, it was easy to throw together and it was on the table in under 15 minutes.

1 slice bread, crusts removed (Their recipe called for white bread.  I used Nature's Own WhiteWheat bread.)
1 teaspoon butter (I used Land O'Lakes Light Butter With Canola Oil.)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons fresh blueberries
1 egg (or equivalent amount of Egg Beaters)
1/3 cup half-and-half cream or milk (I used 1% milk.)
1 tablespoon sugar (I went for it!  No Splenda this time! If the berries are tart, you can go up to 2 tablespoons sugar.)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup fresh blueberries, for garnish

Spray the inside of a 10 oz. Pyrex ramekin with Pam.  Set aside.

Spread butter on the bread.  Sprinkle it with cinnamon and cut it into small cubes.  Place half the cubes into the ramekin.  Top with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the blueberries.  Repeat.

Whisk together the egg, cream or milk, sugar and vanilla.  Pour over the bread and berries in the ramekin.  Set aside for 10 minutes.  The soaking will give the finished product a silky, custardy texture.

Microwave on HIGH power for two minutes.  Check for doneness.  If it's too mushy, microwave for another 30 seconds.  Carefully remove the ramekin (it's hot!) and invert it onto a serving plate.  Remove the ramekin and top the yummy pudding with the blueberry garnish.

(Weight Watchers info:  6 Points.)

Swiss Steak Remix

One of my favorite dishes as a child was Mom's Swiss Steak.  She seasoned round steak with garlic salt and pepper, cut the meat into strips, rolled the strips in flour and browned them in about a cup (!) of Wesson oil in a cast iron skillet   Next, she threw in onion chunks and cooked them until softened.  She mixed in flour for thickening and stirred in water, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.  She slapped on a lid and allowed the beef to cook slowly for at least two hours.  Buttered rice and garlic bread were the go-withs.

I was craving that flavor but had to make it healthier--less oil, more vegetables.  Here is my version, with southwestern seasonings. (Weight Watchers-friendly; 7 POINTS.)

1 pound round steak, cut approximately 3/4" thick
3/4 teaspoon fajita seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning (or 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium Vidalia onion, peeled and sliced into half-moons
1 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Newman's Own Farmer's Garden Salsa (Medium)*
1/2 cup water
2 cups hot cooked white rice

Spread plastic wrap over a large cutting board.  Cut steak into four pieces.  Place the pieces of steak on top of the plastic.  Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap.  Pound with a meat mallet to 1/2-inch thickness.  Combine seasonings and flour in a large zip-top bag.  Add the pieces to the bag one at a time, seal it up and shake to coat evenly. Set the meat aside.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the meat and brown well on both sides.  Remove the meat to a plate.

Add the onions and peppers to the pan drippings; lightly brown the vegetables.  Add the minced garlic; cook for one minute.  Deglaze the pan with the salsa and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat.  Return the steaks to the pan.  Cover and cook for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until tender.  Serves 4.

*Note:  Any tomato-based salsa would be great.  I love this particular salsa because it contains grated carrot, which adds a lot of richness to the dish.

Also, you can transfer this to a slow cooker and cook on High heat for four hours.

Guilt-Free Pecan Pie Squares

Pecan pie...sigh.

I make one (or two) for every holiday.  Well, I'm back on Weight Watchers (and I've lost 8 pounds in a month, thankyouverymuch).  My usual recipe just won't work for this Fourth of July.

Weight Watchers Annual Recipes for Success 2008 came to my rescue.  Their excellent recipe has all of the decadent ingredients--pecans, brown sugar, corn syrup and butter--but smaller amounts of them.  Plus, it's cut into 16 neat little squares for portion control.  (Each square=5 POINTS.)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

Cooking spray

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 large egg

4 large egg whites

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.  Cut butter into the mixture with a pastry blender until it achieves the texture of coarse meal.

Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.  ( I used a disposable aluminum pan for easy removal after baking.  I'll explain this at the end of the instructions.)  Pour the flour mixture into the pan and press firmly to make a bottom crust.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, mix together the brown sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan.  Heat until boiling over medium heat, stirring gently.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Whisk the eggs together in a small mixing bowl.  Pour one-fourth of the hot syrup into the eggs; whisk while pouring to prevent curdling the mixture.  Add this mixture back into the saucepan.  Stir in pecans and vanilla.  Pour the filling over the crust.

Continue baking for 30 minutes or until set.  Remove the pan from the oven.  Cool thoroughly on a wire cooling rack.  Cut around the sides of the pan to release the pie.

I snipped the corners of the pan with kitchen shears and flattened out the sides of the pan, thus removing the pie in one piece.  

Cut into 16 squares and enjoy!