Tuscan Ravioli Stew

I got some new cookbooks right after the New Year started, and I spent 3 days going through them and marking what I would like to try. Then, I handed them off to the husband and told him to pick three-five meals he wanted to try and I would pick up the stuff for them when I went shopping. So he did. And all was well.

The first book we deicded to try (and remembered to take pictures of) is Our Best Diabetic Living Recipes. I picked this one up for several reasons: One, I have loved the recipes I've tried out of the magazine so much so far; Two, the other book I wanted was not available; and Three, the pictures were pretty. I made a very good decision. The first recipe we tried was this stew/soup. Now, I've never cooked or even eaten Broccoli Rabe (which I have also seen spelled raab), so I was a little unsure how it was going to taste or even how to cut it up. But this was by far, one of the best soup/stews that I have ever eaten, and it was easy to make. Another thing that we think helped, was freshly grated Asiago cheese. Instead of buying that prepackaged stuff, we went to New Seasons and got a big hunk of it and grated it ourselves. And then we started using it on everything. See what you think.

Totally worth every penny and the time and effort

Tuscan Ravioli Stew
makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large leek, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 1/2 oz. no-salt added stewed tomatoes, undrained*
1 14 oz. can beef broth**
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
5 cups coarsely chopped broccoli rabe or Swiss chard (about 6 oz)
1 9 oz. package refrigerated chicken or cheese filled ravioli***
1 Tablespoon snipped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)****
1/4 cup finely shredded Asiago Cheese

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add leek and garlic; cook about 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in undrained tomatoes, beef broth, the water, and if desired, crushed red pepper; bring to boiling.

 

2. Stir in broccoli Rabe, ravioli and rosemary. return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes or until broccoli rabe and ravioli are tender. Ladle into shallow bowls. If desired, garnish with rosemary sprigs. Top individual servings with Asiago cheese.

 

*I used cut up stewed tomatoes, rather than whole stewed tomatoes

**Again, I used Better Than Bullion, it just has better flavor and you don't have to worry about waste

***We bought our fresh ravioli at New Seasons, but couldn't decide on a flavor, so we got Cheese, artichoke and olive; and chicken mushroom, I think. Both were fantastic. I highly suggest freshly made (like that day, if you can), it takes less time to cook, and the flavors are usually amazing.

****Fresh Rosemary tastes great. Problem is? I don't like sticks in my food. The dried spices are easy to grind down and still have that flavor, so that's what I do. But I don't need it as a garnish. All it is, is for looking anyway, so unless you're having the queen for dinner, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

How fabulous and tasty does this look to you?

Low-Carb Pumpkin Cheesecake

I wanted cheesecake. I wanted pumpkin pie. What could be better than having pumpkin cheesecake? Well, it's not exactly the best thing for me, I'm afraid. Even eaten in small portions. So, luckily, I found this Low-Carb recipe for pumpkin cheesecake. It's not very sweet, but it's very rich and very thick and creamy. And pumpkinny. I made it for our Christmas dessert. Unfortunately, we were both too full to have any on that day, so I have been having it with my lunches every day since. It hasn't caused a sugar spike, so that has to be good, right?

This is pretty easy to make, just kind of time consuming. I used fresh pumpkin in mine, so I just measured out the same amount that it asks for. I find that usually gives it a richer, fresher flavor than the canned stuff. Make sure it is really well mixed. Sometimes, I don't end up mixing mine well enough and I get chunks of cream cheese that separate from the rest a little. And make sure you really scrape the sides often while mixing. My mixes tend to slough off on the side and stick.

I hope that if you make this, you really enjoy it. I am pretty sure you can add more Splenda than I did. It can be really tasty and the nut crust give it a really interesting flavor. I got this recipe from 500 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Butter
1/2 Cup pecans, coarsely chopped
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened (I use Neufchatel, it's lower in fat and tastes EXACTLY the same)
1/2 to 3/4 cup Splenda sweetener
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups pure canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground gloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
Butter thebotom and sides of a 9 1/2-inch springform cheesecake pan. Sprinkle the botom of the pan with chopped pecans, distributing them evenly.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electic mixer to beat the cream cheese, Splenda, and vanilla until fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides of the bowl and beaters.

Add the pumpkin and sour cream, mixing thoroughly on medium speed.

 

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each one. Mix the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. 

Pour the batter over the nuts in the pan.

Bake for 60 to70 minutes, or until a knife placed in the center comes out clean.

Cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan, and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Mom's Stuffing

Warning: This is NOT diabetic friendly, unless you eat it in very small amounts (like 1/2 cup).

This is my favorite stuffing ever. It's my mom's recipe, and it's fabulous. I hated stuffing when I was a kid, but grew to love it. Especially once it was not cooked in the bird anymore (yuck!) My mom told me that if you plan on putting this stuffing into the turkey, to make it a little dryer, but if you want to leave it out, add a little more chicken broth. I found that I actually didn't need to add any, it was perfect for me.

So, here is the recipe:

Mom's Stuffing

2 cubes butter
1 whole box Mrs. Cubbison's cubed stuffing (not corn bread and not torn bread), this comes seasoned
2 cans chicken broth*
2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 Tablespoon poultry seasoning

Melt one cube of butter in large skillet or deep pan, add onions and celery.

Cook until opaque.

Stir in 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning.
Add 1 can chicken broth and the other cube of butter. Stir, heat, melt.

 In a large bowl put bread crumbs and pour mix over it, stirring until mixed well. If it's dry add some more chicken broth, until you reach the desired consistency that you want.

Bake @ 325 degrees for 25 min covered
Cook for another 20 min uncovered.

*If you do not used canned chicken broth (I don't, I use Better Than Bullion), each can is 10 1/2 oz.