Just because you eat gluten free, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a Valentine’s Day dessert. This decadent treat comes from the new cookbook, Straight from the Heart, by Taos chef and owner of Graham’s Grille, Lesley B. Fay.

Her 224-page cookbook includes recipes for appetizers, soups, salads and dressings, sandwiches, entrees and desserts; butters and spices and resources, shortcuts and tips.

Lesley’s flourless cake stands out due to its unique combination of espresso and merlot wine. Make sure to double check that ingredients like baking powder and vanilla are gluten free. The cake is best if it’s made the day before. Since it makes 16 cakes, you can put a few aside for midnight munchies after the fun on Valentine’s Day (hint, hint) or for the kids.

Flourless Chocolate Torte with Crème Anglaise

Makes 16 individual cakes.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 pound butter, softened and divided in half
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup espresso or strong coffee
• 1/2 cup merlot wine
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 tablespoon xanthan gum
• pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or coarsely chopped bar) sugar and cocoa powder for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Melt the semisweet chocolate with half the butter, and mix in the vanilla, espresso and merlot. In a separate bowl, cream the rest of butter until fluffy. Add sugar and beat until light yellow and smooth (about 5 minutes on high speed).
3. Mix together the cocoa, cornstarch, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt. Add these dry ingredients and the chocolate mixture to butter and sugar, alternating, and mixing well after each addition.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg, about 1 minute. Add semisweet chocolate chips. Pour into buttered cupcake tins or paper holders that have been sprinkled with sugar and cocoa powder.
5. Place a large open container of bowling water on the bottom rack of the oven. The stream helps cook the cakes and keeps them moist. Bake cakes on rack above the boiling water for 15 minutes. Turn off heat, open oven door and let rest for another 8 to 10 minutes. They should rise and be medium-soft to the touch. The trick here is to cook them long enough so they don’t fall, but not so long that they are dry.
6. Serve each cake in a puddle of Crème Anglaise. Garnish with fresh raspberries or a ribbon of lime (optional).

Crème Anglaise

Makes two cups.

Ingredients:

• 5 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients:

1. In a heat-resistant mixing bowl, stir together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and nutmeg with a wooden spoon until well combined. The sugar should be somewhat dissolved in the yolks. Combine the milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat and warm the milk just below the boiling point (the milk will start to form bubbles on the edges of the pan and it will become steamy just before it boils).
2. Remove the pan from the heat and stir just a couple of tablespoons of the hot milk into the eggs and sugar, mixing well the whole time. Gradually add the rest of the milk, stirring constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan over low to medium heat. Heat the sauce until it thickens, but do not boil or the yolks will curdle. The sauce is done when it stays on the wooden spoon without dripping (this takes about five minutes but will depend on your pan and your burner). As soon as the sauce is thickened, immediately remove it from the heat.
3. Pour the sauce into a heat-resistant bowl (you can pour the sauce through a strainer to remove any lumps).
4. Stir the vanilla extract and cover the sauce with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap down on top of the sauce, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Picture courtesy of Lesley B. Fay.

Valentine’s Day: Flourless Chocolate Torte with Crème Anglaise #glutenfree is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

If you’re wondering what you’ll be serving up for Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Boxing Day this year, these two gorgeous ecookbooks for the holidays can help.

Vegan Christmas

The first holiday ecookbook is by Nicola Griffiths of The Livity. Her ebook Vegan Christmas should appeal to anyone who is vegan as well as those who are gluten free or dairy, sugar and wheat free. It also comes with sample Christmas menus, which can be especially helpful if you’re cooking for someone who’s vegan – and you’re not.

Download a PDF of three sample recipes to view Nicola’s wonderful recipes and photography. I'm especially lusting over her recipe for Chocolate Truffles made with agave nectar! Her cookbook also features recipes for Olive Oil and Thyme Oatcakes, Roasted Beetroot Chutney, and Cashew Cheese. I especially love her "Amazing Gravy from Scratch" with porcini and portobello mushrooms - completely vegan and gluten free!

Vegan Christmas sells for £4.99 GBP or about $7.75 USD. You can order it via PayPal.

The Good Food Life Cook Book

Full Circle is a farm-to-table organic delivery service. This holiday season, they’ve produced a gorgeous FREE ecookbook, The Good Food Life Cook Book, with gorgeous food photography and wonderful recipes like Apple Stuffed Pork Loin, Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries & Hazelnuts, and Cranberry Quince Tart. Holiday drinks and wine pairings are included as are gluten free and vegan options. Download it here.

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Disclosure: Nicola sent me a copy of her ecookbook, Vegan Christmas, to facilitate this review.

Healthy holiday ecookbooks #vegan #glutenfree is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

I first came across Nadia G. of Bitchin Kitchen at a BlogWorld Expo 2010 food blogging session. I admired how she transitioned her online brand to primetime television. So, when I got home, I checked out her show on the Cooking Channel. I thought her cooking was rather elementary, but my son and husband said she was a babe and my eight-year-old daughter thinks Nadia’s sidekick, Hans, was also a hottie. Bitchin Kitchen is a show the whole family can enjoy watching together. Well, sorta.

Cookin’ for Trouble cookbook

When I received Nadia’s latest cookbook, Cookin’ for Trouble, I wasn’t expecting much. Her show’s rather campy and I thought the cookbook would be high on humor and not much on quality. I was pleasantly surprised to find that each Bitchin Kitchen recipe is accompanied by a gorgeous, full color photograph by Ryan Szulc and food styled by Noah Witenoff.

In addition, there are recipes for beginners as well as seasoned cooks. In addition, while her target audience is young and planning weddings and bachelor parties, families with kids will enjoy her dishes, too. I especially like her spin on classics such as pizza and lemon meringue to something more sophisticated and trendy.

Speaking of trendy, she also has recipes for sliders (tuna) and cupcakes (tiramisu). She even has some vegan and gluten free dishes. There are also healthy dishes like gazpacho, low sugar jam, and creamy cream-less soups. And for the ladies a few pictures of Hans with his shirt off – yay says Lucie! Nadia knows what her audience wants!

If you’re a fan of the show or just like great  food pictures and cool recipes, check out Cookin’ for Trouble. It would make a great holiday gift for the foodie on your gift giving list.

Nadia G’s Christmas roast beef

Nadia’s roast beef dish is called Midnight Prime Roast Beef in her Feast of the Seven Dishes show airing this month. (See the video below.) However, in Cookin’ for Trouble, it’s called Rockin’ Roast Beef with a boneless beef rump roast. The recipes are slightly different, but either way, it’s a classic Christmas dinner roast beef dish.

My first attempt at this dish was with a rather small – and lean - beef tip roast. It was given to me by my mother-in-law and had been sitting in the freezer for awhile begging to be cooked. I kept my fingers crossed that it would work. I followed Nadia’s directions, but cut down the amount of time and kept an eye on the meat thermometer. Even so, it was slightly overcooked while the potatoes were undercooked and needed to be microwaved before serving. Shoot!

When I make this again – and I will – I’ll use a real prime rib beef roast with a nice layer of juicy fat since the beef tip roast was delicious, but not as tender and juicy as I hoped. Also, I recommend doubling (at least) the amount of mushrooms as they smelled heavenly and tasted just as good. I used small red and purple potatoes, but fingerling potatoes would work very well, too. I also had trouble finding pearl onions, so I used regular onions cut into quarters.

You can serve this with the pan juices thinned with some beef broth for au jus. In Cookin’ for Trouble, Nadia gave recipes for a teriyaki sauce and a chipotle mayo as dipping sauces. I tried the spicy chipotle mayo sauce, which was a wonderful change from the more traditional prepared horseradish. The recipe is below, too.

Nadia G’s Rockin' Roast Beef

Recipe courtesy of Nadia G. and the Cooking Channel

Total time: 2 hours 25 minutes

Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 2 hours

Yield: 8 to 12 servings

Ingredients:

• One 3 1/2-pound beef prime rib roast
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups pearl onions
• 20 whole mushrooms
• 10 small potatoes

Directions:

1. In a roasting pan, place the beef fat side up and rub it with the ground mustard, black pepper, and sea salt.
2. Let it stand at room temperature for 2 hours. (This is really important to do so you get that pink color in the middle of your roast.)
3. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F and brown for roast for about 15 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. 
4. When the roast begins to drip its juices – about 30 to 60 minutes – add the potatoes, onions and mushrooms to the roasting pan.
5. Continue to cook until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the beef registers 135 degrees F.
6. Transfer to a cutting board to rest for about 15 minutes.
7. Slice the beef thinly, and serve on a large platter with the roasted onions, mushrooms and potatoes.

Chipotle Mayo

Recipe courtesy of Nadia G

Ingredients:

• 1 cup prepared mayonnaise
• 6 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a food processor, blend together the mayonnaise, chipotle peppers, sea salt and black pepper to taste.
2. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

This is my entry for the Zanussi Cookers make every meal a masterpiece competition.

Featured at:

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Disclosure: I received a review copy of Cookin’ for Trouble to facilitate this review. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Christmas dishes: Nadia G.’s Rockin’ Roast Beef is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

To celebrate Earthbound Farm’s 25^thanniversary of their organic packaged salads, they’re giving fans of organic salad the opportunity to download a FREE eCookbook!

Salads for Every Season: 25 Recipes from Earthbound Farm by Myra Goodman (who’s been called “The Queen of Greens”) is 83 pages of delicious salad recipes from Myra’s first two cookbooks, Food to Live By and The Earthbound Cook.

Earthbound Farms thinks you'll find it especially handy for lightening up the menu during the holidays! Some fall and winter salad recipes include:

• Jicama and Orange Salad with Orange-Sesame Vinaigrette
• Escarole with Walnuts, Dates, and Bacon
• Roasted Beet Salad alla Caprese (this one’s gorgeous)
• Autumn Salad with Persimmons and Pomegranate Seeds. 

The eCookbook also features a field guide to salad greens, sidebars exploring ingredients and salad basics, how to grow your own sprouts and infuse your own oils, and a chapter dedicated to versatile dressings and dips. Not bad for FREE!

Download your free copy

These online retailers will be carrying Salads for Every Season: 25 Recipes from Earthbound Farm for free until 12/31/11. After that, the eCookbook will retail for $2.99.

• Amazon.com for Kindle
• BarnesAndNoble.com for Nook
• Google eBooks for reading online, Android, iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch, iRiver, Nook and Sony
• iTunes for iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch
• Coming soon to Kobobooks.com and Sony's eBookstore, too

More free eCookbooks on Amazon

While I was checking out Salads for Every Season: 25 Recipes from Earthbound Farm on Amazon, I noticed that there were many very interesting FREE eCookbooks available such as:

• A Parchment Paper Thanksgiving: A Holiday Sampler Menu from the Parchment Paper Cookbook by Brett Sember who did a guest post a few weeks ago here: Parchment paper packet cooking: Easy Greek Chicken
• Healthy South Indian Cooking
• Easy Vegetarian Recipes
• Aprovecho: A Mexican-American Border Cookbook
• Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture: Ancient Festivals, Significant Ceremonies, and Modern Celebration
• Sephardic Israeli Cuisine: A Mediterranean Mosaic

Makes you want to run out and buy a Kindle Fire, eh?

Free eCookbook from Earthbound Farm is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Today’s guest post is by Brette Sember, author of The Parchment Paper Cookbook. She blogs about parchment paper cooking at No Pot Cooking and writes the popular food blog, Martha and Me.

I’ve cooked fish in foil, but never tried parchment paper cooking. It’s a great time to try it since this week only (until 11/19/2011) Brette's The Parchment Paper Thanksgiving eBook is available for ONLY $0.99 on Amazon and ITunes. Wonderful timing with Thanksgiving just around the corner.

The ebook features parchment paper packet cooking recipes that offer a twist on tradition dishes like:

• Spinach Artichoke Pie Hors d ‘Oeuvres
• Turkey with Tarragon, Rosemary, and Cranberry
• Roasted Carrots, Parsnip, and Rutabaga with Maple Syrup
• Brussels Sprouts with Pumpkin Seed Oil and Pecans
• Sweet Potatoes Gone Light
• Rustic Apple Tart
• Easy Indian Corn Pudding

Download your copy today!

Parchment paper means no clean up!

I love cooking, but sometimes the clean up gets to me. I set out to find a way to make dinner without having to do a sink full of dishes - and I found it in parchment paper! Parchment paper packet cooking is a wonderful, revolutionary method that decreases the amount of fat needed for cooking and locks in flavor and nutrients. Best of all, with parchment paper cooking, there is no mess to clean up – no pots and pans to scrub. The food cooks in a parchment paper packet in the oven, making this perfect for busy moms, people with small kitchens, and anyone tired of doing a sink full of dishes after dinner.

Parchment paper is recyclable and compostable. Cooking with parchment also means you can cook your entire meal in one oven without turning any burners or using lots of hot water to scrub pots and pans.

You can buy parchment paper in your grocery store next to the foil and plastic wrap, or online from sellers like Amazon. Wilton and Reynolds both make parchment. The secret of parchment paper is that it’s coated with silicone, which keeps moisture and flavors in, and keeps food from sticking. You layer your food onto the paper (no pots, pans, or big mixing bowls needed), fold it and bake. It’s that simple!

Parchment paper packets are a snap to cook with. Cut off an 18-20 inch piece of parchment and place your food in the center. Leave at least 4 inches on the sides. Now, grab the long ends of the paper and have them meet in the air in the middle, then just fold them down until you get to the food. You’ll end up with a long package. Now all you have to do is simply twist each end. (You can see parchment paper cooking illustrations here.) Place the packets on a baking sheet or toaster oven tray for ease in moving them around.

Easy Greek Chicken

Each packet serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cooked couscous
• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/4 cup packed fresh baby spinach leaves
• 2 slices tomato
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon Greek seasoning (substitute oregano if you don’t have this mix)
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 cup feta cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and prepare parchment paper.
2. Place the couscous on the paper in roughly the shape of the chicken breast. Place the breast on top and place the spinach over that, then the tomatoes.
3. Season with salt, pepper, Greek seasoning and onion powder and crumble the feta cheese over it.
4. Fold the parchment and bake for about 35 minutes.

Tip: You can also add 1/8 cup sliced black olives to this or substitute one canned whole tomato, chopped, for the tomato slices.

More about Brett Sember

Brette Sember is the author of The Parchment Paper Cookbook, published by Adams Media. She blogs about parchment paper cooking at No Pot Cooking and writes the popular food blog Martha and Me. She’s also the author of the upcoming titles The Organized Kitchen and The Muffin Tin Cook Book from Adams Media.

Brette’s a former attorney and author of more than 35 other books, including How to Parent with Your Ex, The Complete Credit Repair Kit, The Divorce Organizer & Planner, and The Complete Divorce. She’s also a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

She lives in Buffalo, NY with her husband, two children, and two golden retrievers. Her web site is www.BretteSember.com and you can follow her on Twitter @brettesember.

Photo courtesy of Brette Sember.

Parchment paper packet cooking: Easy Greek Chicken is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh, author of 300 Best Potato Recipes: A Complete Cook's Guide writes in her cookbook:

I once knew a family of Carolinians who moved from the South to New York City many years ago. No doubt because of their Southern roots, these folks always called sweet potatoes “Carolinas.” This is the pie they made every Thanksgiving, which I think is the best sweet potato pie I have ever tasted. Serve it with unsweetened whipped cream.

Sounds like a Thanksgiving dessert winner to me!

Carolina Sweet Potato Pie

This recipe is excerpted from 300 Best Potato Recipes: A Complete Cook's Guide by Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh © 2011 Robert Rose Inc. www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with permission.

Equipment:

• 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate
• Handheld blender or electric mixer

Pastry ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup lard or vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 5 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1⁄4 cup ice water
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Filling ingredients:

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1⁄4 pound butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 large eggs, separated
• Zest of 1 small orange, finely grated
• 1⁄2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1⁄2 cup table (18%) cream

Pastry directions:

1. In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or a large fork, cut in lard and butter until mixture is crumbly.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together ice water and egg, then stir a little more than half into flour mixture until blended into a dough (add more egg mixture if dough still looks too crumbly and does not hold together when pressed between your fingers).
3. Divide dough in half and gently flatten each portion into a disk. Wrap separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate one disk for about 2 hours. (Freeze second disk for another use. Uncooked pastry can be frozen for up to 3 months if properly wrapped and sealed.)
4. When you're ready to cook, preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to fit pie plate. Transfer to pie plate, trimming the edges. Set aside.

Filling directions:

1. Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and add cold water to barely cover. Cover loosely and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Drain well.
2. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 1 to 2 minutes. Using a potato masher, mash. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg and mash until blended.
3. In a separate bowl, thoroughly whisk egg yolks.
4. Using a wooden spoon, beat into mashed sweet potatoes along with orange zest, orange juice and cream until blended.
5. In another bowl, using a handheld blender, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold into sweet potato mixture (do not over mix).
6. Scrape mixture into pie shell, gently smoothing top.
7. Bake in preheated 425°F (220°C) oven for 12 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for about 35 minutes or until filling is puffed, crust is golden and a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

This Mama’s tips

• If time is not a factor, cook the sweet potatoes whole, in their skins, for maximum flavor.
• If you’re pressed for time, feel free to use a premade pie crust. I won’t tell!
• If you’re gluten free, use a GF pie crust mix or purchase a frozen GF pie crust at Whole Foods or your favorite health food store.
• To reduce saturated fat, use your favorite buttery spread instead of butter in the filling. (I’m not sure you can get away with it in the pie crust.)
• An alternative to brown sugar is coconut palm sugar. It’s naturally low on the glycemic index (GI about 35), unrefined and gluten free. It has a soft caramel flavor, similar to light brown sugar.
• To cut down sugar calories, substitute stevia powder for half the brown sugar.

Photo credit: Colin Erricson

Countdown to Thanksgiving: Carolina Sweet Potato Pie is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

I still don’t know what we’re doing for Thanksgiving. Either we’re going to a friend’s or staying home. Then it’s just me and the kids (and maybe my mother in law) as my husband has already headed to Boston to start work.

When I asked the kids what they wanted to eat for Thanksgiving, they said, “Mashed potatoes and gravy!”

“That’s it?” I asked.

“Oh maybe some turkey, too,” they replied. “And pie! Or cheesecake! And sweet potatoes and stuffing if you want that, mommy.”

Well, that’s a big help, so I’ve asked my book publisher and food contacts for some recipe ideas. Let’s start with the potatoes first.

300 Best Potato Recipes: A Complete Cook’s Guide

This recipe is excerpted from 300 Best Potato Recipes: A Complete Cook's Guide by Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh © 2011 Robert Rose Inc. www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with permission.

300 Best Potato Recipes also has recipes for dishes like Gnocchi-roni and Cheese, Saffron Potato Cakes, Sweet Potato-Crusted shrimp , and even Potato Fudge! If you’re a lover of all things potato, put this cookbook on your holiday present list.

Pan-Fried Sweet Potatoes with Gremolata

Makes 4 servings

Gremolata is a fragrant mixture of lemon zest, parsley and garlic, sometimes with added bread crumbs. This is a lovely dish to serve alongside turkey or pork.

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces pancetta, cubed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large sweet potato (about 1 pound) peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1⁄4 cup butter
• 1⁄3 cup bread crumbs
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems trimmed, finely chopped
• Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a heavy skillet over medium heat, combine pancetta and oil. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Toss sweet potato into pancetta. Cook, without stirring, for about 10 minutes or until sweet potato pieces are golden brown on the bottom. Using tongs, turn and cook for 6 to 10 minutes more or until tender and browned on the other side. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.
3. In another skillet, melt butter over medium heat until bubbling. Stir in bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until golden brown and crisp (don't let them burn). Remove from heat and stir in parsley and lemon zest. Season to taste with salt (remember, the bacon may be salty) and freshly ground pepper.
4. Scrape bread crumb mixture over sweet potato mixture and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

This Mama’s tips

• Substitute orange zest for the lemon zest.
• For a nice color contrast, add a few handfuls of baby spinach to the sweet potato mixture for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
• If you can’t find pancetta, substitute bacon. Turkey bacon will work.
• Instead of butter, use your favorite buttery spread.
• If you’re gluten free, make GF bread crumbs by toasting your favorite GF bread. Put bread into a blender or food processor and process until turned into bread crumbs. You can also do this with frozen bread slices.
• If you have vegetarians coming to Thanksgiving, use tofu bacon. It’s actually pretty good and people will like it until you tell them it’s tofu.

Photo credit: Colin Erricson

Countdown to Thanksgiving: Pan-Fried Sweet Potatoes with Gremolata is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Pizza’s a great dish for Meatless Monday nights . This recipe is from Food Network star, Robin Miller’s new cookbook Robin Takes 5: 500 Recipes, 5 Ingredients or Less, 500 Calories or Less, for 5 Nights/Week at 5:00 PM coming to bookstores on November 1, 2011.

Robin Takes 5 features 500 recipes that require five ingredients (or fewer). Each recipe is 500 calories or less, too. Whether you’re cooking for one or are a busy parent feeding the whole family, this could be the cookbook for you.

Robin also features many recipes that are great for entertaining and the holidays. (They’re marked with a special icon.) Plus, there’s some great Thanksgiving recipes like Roasted Turkey Breast with Maple Mustard and Sweet Potatoes that will make your holiday cooking easier and healthier.

I’m looking forward to trying out some of her desserts like Molten Lava Brownies or Coconut Macaroons, too.

Niçoise Pizza with Olives, Red Peppers, and Gruyère

From Robin Takes 5! 500 Recipes, 5 Ingredients or Less, 500 Caloies or Less, 5 Nights a Week at 5:00 PM by Robin Miller/Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Print
Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh or frozen bread or pizza dough, thawed according to package directions (or you could try my healthy whole wheat pizza dough recipe, if you have the time)

• 2 cups thinly sliced roasted red peppers
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 cup shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
2. Roll the dough out into a large circle or rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Transfer the dough to a pizza pan or baking sheet.
3. Top with the peppers, olives, cheese, and oregano.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Total Time: 25 Minutes

Nutrition Grade NA from CalorieCount

Weight Watchers POINTS = 7

Servings: Serves 6

• Serving size: 1/6 of the pizza
• Calories: 322
• Total Fat: 12g
• Saturated fat: 4g
• Unsaturated fat: 8g
• Sodium: 826mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 39g
• Fiber: 1g
• Protein: 12g
• Cholesterol: 20mg

Photo courtesy of Robin Miller/Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Meatless Monday: Niçoise Pizza with Olives, Red Peppers, and Gruyère is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Beginning today, Thursday June 30th to Monday July 4th, you can get the Cookouts Veggie Style! ebook by Jolinda Hackett for FREE for the Amazon Kindle, the Sony eReader, or from the Apple iTunes eBookstore.

This eBook contains 225 vegetarian (and some vegan) recipes that are fresh, fun, colorful, healthy and delicious and incorporate vegetables along with various meat substitutes and tofu. Incorporate these meat-free meals with other traditional cookout dishes or create a veggie spread for your Fourth of July entertaining or summer pool parties.

Cookout Veggie Style! contains recipes like Halloumi Skewers with Lemon Parsley Chimichurri, Cajun-Rubbed Portobello Caps, Fiery Chipotle Butter Corn on the Cob, and many more!

To view and download the full, FREE copy of Cookouts Veggie Style!, please visit:

• Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/iQssgn
• Sony eReader: http://bit.ly/jWJYiE
• Apple/ iTunes (preview): http://bit.ly/msbC9o

Get Cookouts Veggie Style on your ereader for FREE is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Adams Media just put their Everything Mediterranean Diet Book ebook on sale TODAY, June 22 to Friday June 2 for only $1.99!

This exotic cookbook provides endless yummy dishes to whip up while sticking to a healthy diet! The combination of nutrient-rich vegetables, healthful olive oils, and plenty of exercise can help you get lean and keep your body super healthy.

With 150 original recipes, menu plans, and dieting tips, you'll get a comprehensive tour of the Mediterranean diet. By combining nutrient-rich vegetables, healthful olive oils, and plenty of exercise, this lifestyle can help you shed pounds and prevent myriad diseases. You'll learn how to adopt heart-healthy habits and create recipes like:

• Chicken Tagine with Whole-Wheat Couscous
• White Bean and Tomato Pizza
• Grilled Fennel Shrimp
• Pancetta with Peaches
• Hazelnut Ricotta Cake

By learning the science behind better eating and how to utilize the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, you will eat your way to better health!

Where to get the Everything Mediterranean Diet Book for only $1.99

The eBook will be available for $1.99 on Amazon Kindle, Sony eReader, or from the Apple iTunes eBookstores.

To view and download the full, discounted copy of The Everything Mediterranean Diet Book, please visit:

• Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/kT7Vhs
• Sony eReader: http://bit.ly/jk2rh0
• iTunes/Apple (preview): http://bit.ly/joSs97

Get the Everything Mediterranean Diet Book for only $1.99 is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!