I was in junior high the first time I had Quiche, My friend and I had her mother drop us off at this little tea room for lunch. We thought we were so grown-up and sophisticated sitting there sipping on tea and looking over the menu.

So the waitress came over and asked if we were ready to order and my friend proclaimed, in a very ladylike voice, “I’ll have the quickie of the day”. The kind waitress said of course, “the Quiche is excellent today”.  Still trying to be very grown-up and sophisticated, we finished our lunch and I never forgot how to pronounce Quiche!

Recipe:

2 1/2 cups shredded potatoes, Simply Potatoes hash browns

4 oz can diced green chilis, drained

1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded

1 cup lean ham, diced

3/4 cup milk

3 eggs

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp salt

pepper to taste

oil spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray a 9 inch pie plate with oil spray. Spread out potatoes over the bottom of the pie plate, mashing down lightly and spray top of potatoes generously with oil spray. Bake for 30 minutes until the edges start to brown.

Remove potato crust from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees. In the meantime, combine ham, cheese and green chilis.

In a small bowl whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Spoon ham mixture on the potato crust and then pour egg mixture over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until knife comes out clean from the center of the Quiche. Let sit a few minutes before serving.

Notes:

This is a great dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Just pair it with fresh fruit for breakfast or a salad for lunch or dinner.

I used skim milk and usually use skim whenever possible when a recipe calls for milk.

This pancake recipe is an old one my mom found in her recipe notebook. She said it had been given to her by their ‘gourmet group’ years ago. My mom and dad have been meeting with their “gourmet group’ for over 30 years, planning menus, having dinner and taking trips together. The collected stories and recipes from these folks could write a book.

When I was around 5, my mom was hosting gourmet and had slaved away all day on a perfect beef tenderloin. She had the beautiful platter all set out on the dining room table and my beloved poodle, Fitz, jumped upon the table and helped himself to the platter of meat before anyone could dig in. She was furious but to this day Fitz and the tenderloin is a much laughed about story.

Recipe:

2 cups low-fat cottage cheese

2 eggs

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour or a combination

pinch of salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Combine first six ingredients mixing well. Fold in blueberries.

Heat griddle or large pan over medium-high heat. Spray generously with oil spray and melt 1 tsp butter. Drop spoonfuls of batter and spread out a little. The batter is very thick so these take a little longer to cook than a regular pancake. Usually about 5-6 minutes per side.

Notes:

These pancakes a full of protein and only have a small amount of flour making them a great low carb breakfast.

I usually substitute all whole wheat flour in the recipe but if you don’t like whole wheat flour or aren’t familiar with it just use half regular flour and half whole wheat .

When the temperature drops, my visits to Starbucks increase significantly for my daily dose of chai lattes. In the summertime, the southerner in me wants iced tea but since I am southerner living in Ohio – it’s cold and I need a hot drink!

So on my frequent trips to Starbucks, I stumbled upon a new obsession – petite vanilla scones. Bite size and buttery, I knew I needed to figure out a way to lighten these babies up or I would have a little extra ‘winter padding’ to work off.

Recipe:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp butter, unsalted and at room temperature

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 egg

1 whole vanilla bean, use half for scones

In a large bowl combine flours, baking powder, salt and sugar. Drop in room temperature butter cut into small cubes and combine using a fork or pastry cutter. The mixture will become crumbly when the butter is incorporated.

Cut a whole vanilla bean and cut in half. Take one half of the bean and cut a slit down the center. Fold back the sides and then run a knife down the inside of the bean to scrape away the vanilla bean paste.

In a small bowl combine beaten egg, buttermilk and vanilla bean paste from half of the vanilla bean. Pour the mixture into the flour and lightly mix together. Batter will still be a little crumbly.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead lightly a few times until a dough ball forms. Then roll out to 3/4″ thickness, creating a rectangle shape with the dough. Cut into 24 small triangles.

Place scones on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Transfer scones onto a wire rack and let cool a few minutes before topping with vanilla glaze.

For vanilla bean glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tbsp low-fat buttermilk

other half of vanilla bean

In a small bowl, add powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste from other half of vanilla bean. Add buttermilk one tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition making sure glaze doesn’t get too thin.

Dip the top of the scone in glaze and place back on wire rack to let harden. There will probably be some leftover glaze, wait until the first layer of glaze has hardened and then drizzle remaining glaze over scones.

Notes:

I always try to use some whole wheat flour when baking. It seems to be a bit drier than regular flour so a little extra liquid may be needed especially when making muffins or breads.

Curious about the calorie content of these little gems, I used the recipe builder on My Food Diary, each scone was roughly 80 calories and 2 grams of fat.

Somewhere in the South a brilliant lady came up with the term ‘Girls raised in the South – GRITS. Grits are raised with a little bit of a heavier burden carrying on the traditions of their southern roots. One of the most important is being a good southern mama. I never quite fully understood the role of a good southern mama until my son was born and boy do I have some big shoes to fill!

My son is 11 months old and exploring new foods everyday. He is very independent, insistent on feeding himself at every meal. This week we have tried scrambled eggs, grown up oatmeal and of course, grits. I was nervous as I lifted the big spoonful of grits to his mouth but he ate them and then smiled wanting more. I breathed a sigh of relief and thought to myself – son of a grits!

Recipe:

Grits, quick cooking – follow directions for 6 servings

3 slices bacon

2 cups spinach, rough chopped – about 2 large handfuls

1/2 cup low-fat or 2% cheddar cheese

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 tsp garlic powder

cayenne pepper to taste

salt and pepper to taste

4 eggs

Cook grits according to package directions for 6 servings.

Cook 3 slices of bacon in a large pan, let drain on a paper towel and then wipe excess fat out of pan leaving just a light coating.

Heat pan to medium heat, toss in spinach, season with salt and pepper and cook for about a minute. Add grits to spinach, then stir in cheeses, garlic powder, cayenne and re-season with salt and pepper if needed. Let cheeses melt, then stir in crumbled bacon. Turn to a low heat to keep warm.

Fry four eggs to desired doneness. I like mine to be slightly runny. Grits should have a creamy consistency – add a little milk if they have gotten a little sticky.

Serve a fried egg on top of grits and top off with a dash of hot sauce.

Notes:

This is really quick and easy breakfast, lunch or dinner. If you have leftover grits just reheat and add a little milk to get back the creamy consistency.

I prefer Frank’s Red Hot sauce. I add it to a lot of my recipes.

Elaine had a million dollar idea when she became obsessed with muffin tops on an episode of Seinfeld. She insisted that you had to bake the whole muffin and break the top off the stump to get the muffin top. Little did she know that muffin tops would take on a whole new meaning.

A few years ago I mentioned that my jeans were giving me a muffin top and one of my male friends gave me bewildered look. I had to explain just exactly what that was – you see the jean makers of the world got together with the personal trainers of the world and came up with the crazy idea to sell really low-rise  jeans. The result, no matter how flat of a stomach you have those low riders are gonna push that extra fluff right up over that waistband!

So muffin top and all, I decided to make a healthy muffin that won’t add too much fluff to the waistline!

Recipe:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup oatmeal (quick cook oats), rough cut in a blender

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/4 cup applesauce, no sugar added

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

3 bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a blender or food processor, pulse oatmeal a few times for a rough cut – not to0 fine. Combine flours, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, mash bananas. Then add the egg, sugar, buttermilk, applesauce, oil, vanilla and stir together.

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together. Do not over stir.

Fill muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes. This will make 12-15 medium-sized muffins.

Notes:

I made extra-large muffins using Panettone paper baking molds from Sur La Table. The cook time for an extra-large muffin will be about 20-25 minutes.

When I punched in this recipe to My food diary’s recipe builder. The calorie count per muffin was around 170 calories with 5 grams of fat.

Is there anything prettier than a fresh batch of biscuits on a silver tray – I think not! In the south, biscuits are a way of life. Forget toast, bagels and english muffins. We want piping hot biscuits with gravy, eggs, molasses and homemade preserves. We take them so serious you can get famous if you make a great biscuit.

Case and point – growing up Ms. Carolyn was famous in our neighborhood, she got up every morning and cranked out fresh biscuits. It was not unusual for my sister and I to show up bright and early to play just so we could enjoy a biscuit. Then there was Cheryl, she was one of the wonderful cooks at Camp Monterey. She made biscuits every morning for hundreds of campers and we all loved her. Finally there was Carol Fay, she was crowned with the title ‘The Biscuit Lady’ and had worked at the Loveless Cafe for more than 25 years. Her biscuit recipe won her national acclaim and many appearances on television. In many ways Carol Fay and her biscuits were the heart of the Loveless. 

That leaves me. My three dogs hover around my feet and wait for the biscuits to start flying so I guess to them I’m pretty famous too!

Recipe:

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 cup half and half

2 cups self-rising flour

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Melt butter in a mixing bowl. Add half and half then stir in flour. Mix ingredients until just blended – it will be a little crumbly.

Turn dough onto a lightly flour surface. Knead a few times and then roll out to 1/2″ thickness. Do not overmix or over knead the dough it makes the biscuits tough.

Cut biscuits and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. I use the mouth of mason jar to cut  biscuits but you can use anything around the kitchen if you don’t have a biscuit cutter. This makes 12-15 biscuits.

Bake for about 10 minutes until light brown on top. Serve hot!

Every southerner should know how to make a good biscuit. They do require butter but I took a few shortcuts to create a more healthy but still delicious biscuit that you can proudly serve on a silver tray! 

Notes:

When I punched this recipe into My Food Diary, the nutritional calculation per biscuit was around 90 calories and 3.5 grams of fat. This is a great online tool for keeping track of calories!

My Grandaddy called me short stack. He was not so tall himself but he was the friendliest person you would ever meet. He was larger than life and never met a stranger. I think he prided himself on being a good teacher of life, you know street smart skills. He taught us all to play golf, taught my mother how to burn rubber in all 4 gears when she started driving and showed me how to make pancakes.

On Sunday mornings at Nana and Grandaddy’s they would have the coffee brewing, the intercom radio playing through the house and Grandaddy would have his griddle ready to go. He would pour the batter on the griddle as I stood and watched him explain that the pancakes had to bubble perfectly before you could flip them.

So to this day I credit him on my love of making pancakes on the weekends, how to golf and how to be a good friend!

Recipe:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1 egg

2 cups low fat buttermilk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Mix together all dry ingredients. Then add egg, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir well and then fold in blueberries.

Heat a large skillet or griddle to medium heat. Coat with canola oil spray. Pour 1/4cup of batter onto griddle for each pancake.

When bubbles appear around the egdes and middle its time to flip. Cook about a minute or two per side or until golden brown.

Makes 12 4″-5″ pankcakes.

My pancake taste tester gave his stamp of approval for this recipe!