"You're brave," she said. And no, I was not about to do anything spectacular like skydive or attempt to take Abby's beloved "Puppy" away from her so he could get a much needed bath. I was "brave" (according to my Mom) because I tried not one, not two but THREE new recipes for Easter lunch. If that qualifies me as brave, well then I guess I'll wear that mantel. And since they were all a success, I'll share them with you, too. Buckle up, because here they come.
The first--cleaned up hash brown potato casserole. Not a lick of butter (sorry, Paula Deen) or cream of chemical soup. I saw that and figured I'd give them a whirl. Yes, you know I do my best to eat clean most of the time. I do. I really do. And there's all that 80/20 talk, too. I knew I was making a carrot cake for dessert, so I decided to clean and lighten up where I could so that a piece of that cake could be in my plan. And it was. Oh, it was!!!
1 cup Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup low-sodium broth (i used veggie..chicken would be fine too)
1/4 cup 2% Milk (use at least 2%….need the fat to work as a binder)
1 heaping T good grainy mustard
1/3 onion (i used red…whatever you have on hand) grated in for juice, then dice a bit up
2-3 cloves minced garlic (or you can grate this in too)
1 tsp all purpose seasoning or Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
dash salt
1 cup shredded cheese (i used a sharp cheddar….just don’t use low-fat, it won’t melt right and the consistency will be off)
What You'll Do
Mix all together in a bowl.
Spray glass or ceramic dish…DO NOT USE METAL!!! Never use metal pans when working with yogurt!!! The acidity will affect the taste….not in a good way!
Pour in GLASS or CERAMIC dish and bake 350 for at least an hour.
I also topped mine with smoked sweet paprika before baking. You could use chili powder, reg paprika, etc…(if you don’t have fresh garlic or onions you can substitute 1 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp onion powder)
Next up, a delicious and really pretty salad. The recipe serves 4, so I doubled it to feed our guests...and there was plenty!
What You'll Need:
Bring a pot of water to the boil.
Add the asparagus, green beans and fava beans and cook for 3 minutes.
Immediately drain and toss into a pot of ice water for a few minutes, then place the asparagus and green beans in a salad bowl.
Peel the fava beans (by removing the leathery outer skins) and add to the same bowl with the carrot, cherry tomatoes, yellow pepper and zucchini.
Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a screw-top jar and shake well to combine.
Toss the salad ingredients gently with the dressing just before serving.
And finally, a fantastic and super easy fruit dip. I made this on Saturday, and I think it gave the flavors a good chance to develop. Yum!
What You'll Need:
4 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup plain non fat Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional; I skipped it---okay, I forgot it!)
Strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, graham crackers for serving
What You'll Do: In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat together the softened cream cheese and yogurt until creamy and completely combined.
Add in the powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract and beat again until thoroughly combined and creamy, about 3 minutes.
Cover and chill until ready to serve.
Serve with strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, or graham crackers for dipping.
I went with berries only (saving room for the cake, remember?!), but I could see this with mini vanilla wafers, too. It was light, fresh and easy!
And that, my friends, is how I managed to clean up Easter AND make room for a little piece of carrot cake. Hey, that has veggies in it, too, right? So it can sorta count as healthy.....come on, help a girl out!
