Healthy eating

Buffet Brunch – make most of it ahead, enjoy your guests
Written and photographed by Nancy Monaghan

Breakfast burritos
6 small fat-free flour tortillas
½ cup chopped baby Portobello mushrooms (about 7 mushrooms)
¼ cup chopped scallions (about 4, white and light green parts only)
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
½ cup reduced-fat grated cheddar cheese
2 cups egg substitute
¼ tsp low-sodium taco seasoning
1/2 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
6 tbsp salsa

Place tortillas on a cookie sheet and spread cheese on top. Cover with foil and warm in preheated 350-degree oven. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, mushrooms and jalapeno pepper, season with salt and pepper and sauté about three minutes. Add taco seasoning and stir to mix. Add egg substitute, stir and cook until eggs are set.
Divide egg mixture among the six tacos, fold on top, press seams together and top with salsa.

Cheese-stuffed tomatoes
¼ cup creamy blue cheese
Scant ¼ cup fat-free cottage cheese
Pinch of salt
1 pint of small cherry tomatoes
2 tsp fresh snipped chives

Cut tops off tomatoes and slice a small piece off the bottom so they stand up without rolling. Remove centers – a grapefruit knife works well for this. Mix together blue cheese, cottage cheese and salt.

Put cheese mixture in the corner of a small ziptop plastic bag and snip the end. Pipe cheese into each tomato and sprinkle with chives.  Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mushroom and Onion Tarts
30 mini-phyllo shells (2 boxes)
8 oz baby portobello mushrooms (about 12 mushrooms)
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tbsp)
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped (white, light green, and a little dark green - reserve about 2-3 tbsp for garnish)
3-4 tbsp Madeira wine or dry sherry
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp grated Swiss cheese (plus another tbsp or so for tops)
3-4 tbsp bread crumbs
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper

Wipe dirt off mushrooms and chop fine, stems and all. Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet, add shallots and saute about three minutes. Add mushrooms and chopped  scallions, saute until everything's soft and cooked through, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add wine and cook down until liquid is almost evaporated.
 
Take mixture off heat. Add Madeira, cheese, bread crumbs, herbs and spices and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
 
Spoon mixture into phyllo cups and place on a cookie sheet. Put a tiny pinch of swiss cheese on top, bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Sprinkle tops with remaining chopped scallions. Mushroom mixture can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight.
 
(This easily makes 2 dozen and will go up to 30 if you stretch it, add a few extra mushrooms and don't fill the cups over the top.) This recipe is based on a version of stuffed mushrooms found in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” cookbook, and those mushrooms would also make an ideal brunch dish.

Buffalo Chicken Tenders
1 lb chicken tenders
2 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup Louisiana Hot Sauce*
1 tbsp butter
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp white vinegar

For the celery dip:

Celery sticks
1 cup nonfat mayonnaise
½ cup nonfat sour cream
1 tbsp finely minced onion
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 cup cumbled blue cheese

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Saute tenders about 6 minutes on each side, turning twice until cooked through and outsides are slightly browned. Drain on paper towels and let cool slightly.

Heat butter in small saucepan, stir in garlic powder and add hot sauce and vinegar, stir and heat through. Cut chicken tenders into bite-sized pieces. In a bowl pour hot sauce over tenders and stir to coat completely. (One pound of tenders will make slightly more than two dozen pieces.)

Measure out mayonnaise in a medium bowl and whip until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients, sour cream through blue cheese, stir to combine, season with salt and pepper and serve with celery sticks.

*Editor’s note: Don’t be tempted to use tabasco sauce (which will make the sauce grainy and too peppery) or any other hot sauce you have on hand. Louisiana hot sauce has exactly the right heat and texture for traditional Buffalo chicken wings.

White Bean Crostini
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 14-1/2 oz can of Cannellini beans, undrained
Loaf of baguette bread
1 tbsp roasted pine nuts
1 roasted red pepper
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Olive oil for drizzling

Put first three ingredients in a skillet and heat over medium heat until sizzling. Add beans and mash with wooden spoon til chunky, and cook until mixture is a loose spread. Season with a pinch of salt if desired. Remove from heat, and mixture will thicken.

Slice bread and bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees until golden, about ten minutes. Drizzle with olive oil and top with bean mixture. Serve warm. Yield about 12 slices.

For topping: If using jarred peppers, drain pepper and process it with the pine nuts and a splash of balsamic in a food processor. Spoon on top.

Note:  This crostini is perfectly delightful by itself with no topping, but if you wish to add color or an extra layer of flavor this is an easy addition.  A French batard, a shortened  version of the traditional  baguette, is the perfect size for this recipe.

Cranberry Orange Muffins
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
¾ cup orange juice
¼ cup egg substitute
2 tbsp applesauce
Zest of one orange
1-1/2 cups chopped cranberries (about 1/3 bag of cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a muffin tin (1-cup size). Combine sifted flour with all dry ingredients. Add orange juice, egg, and applesauce. Stir well to combine all ingredients. Add chopped cranberries and orange zest, stir to mix. Spoon batter into muffin cups sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and bake about 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Yield: 6 large muffins.

Note: We adapted this recipe from one for cranberry bread on Ocean Spray cranberries. We eliminated the nuts, substituted applesauce for the shortening and egg substitute for the eggs. It’s a very moist and delicious bread and even a little easier to make and serve than the muffins. Just pour batter into a loaf pan sprayed with nonstick spray and bake about 55 to 60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Waldorf Salad
4 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped
1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
¾ cup diced celery
½ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
¼ to ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine apples, grapes, celery and mayonnaise and mix well. Fold in nuts.

(For an extra taste, toast whole nuts in a hot dry skillet for a few minutes before chopping.)

Oven Omelet
2 cups egg substitute, such as Egg Beaters
2 tbsp reduced-fat 2% milk
1/8 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp ground red (cayenne) pepper
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
¼ cup shredded Monterey Jack-Colby mix cheese
¼ cup reduced fat block extra sharp Cheddar cheese such as Cracker Barrel

Lightly spray a 9-1/2 inch glass pie plate with fat free cooking spray. In a bowl whisk together egg substitute, milk, and seasonings. Add shredded Jack-Colby, stir and pour into prepared pie plate. With a cheese knife, thinly slice the block cheddar and cut pieces in half. Arrange slices on top of egg mixture, and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until set. Let cool about five minutes before serving.