Mom's Best Brownies (from Healthy Meals in Minutes)

Makes: 12 squares

1/2 cup cake flour, sifted
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1 large egg
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 inch square baking pan with vegetable cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa and salt. Mix well. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, egg, sugar, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until just blended, do not overmix. Pour batter into prepared pan, sprinkle with walnuts. Bake until just set and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Place pan on a wire rack and cool for at least 15 minutes. Cut brownies into squares and place on a serving plate.

Variation:

For slightly chewier brownies, replace the 1/2 cup of cake flour with 7 tablespoons of all purpose flour. Sifting is not necessary. Proceed with the recipe as directed. Also, instead of walnuts, try sprinkling brownie batter with chopped pecans or almonds.

Lemon Mousse Pie (from Pillsbury)

Serves: 8

1 (15 ounce) package pie crusts

Filling:

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
6 to 8 drops yellow food color
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups whipping cream, whipped

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare pie crust according to package directions for unfilled one crust pie using 9 inch pie pan. (Refrigerate remaining crust for later use.) Bake at 450 degrees for 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. In small saucepan, combine gelatin, lemon juice and water. Let stand 1 minute. Stir over medium heat until dissolved. Stir in lemon peel and food color. In small bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add softened gelatin, blend well. Refrigerate until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Fold in whipping cream. Spoon into cooled baked crust. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Garnish as desired. Store in refrigerator.

Perfect Apple Pie (from Pillsbury)

Serves: 8

1 (15 ounce) package pie crusts
1 teaspoon flour

Filling:

6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pie crust according to package directions for two-crust pie using 9 inch pan. In large bowl, combine all filling ingredients. Toss lightly. Spoon apple mixture into pie crust lined pan. Top with second crust and flute, cut slits in several places. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown.

Tips:

• Two (20 ounce) cans apple fruit pie filling can be substituted for apple filling above. Bake as directed.
• Cover edge of crust with strips of foil after 15 to 20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning

Chicken Creole

Serves: 4

Note: 2 grams of fat per serving

1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 whole chicken breasts, halved and skinned
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (12 ounce) can low sodium stewed tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup defatted chicken broth or water

Saute the onion, pepper, celery and garlic in 1/4 cup water in a medium size skillet. (If using frozen onions and peppers you don't need to use any water. Enough will cook out of them to do the job.) Saute the onion is just tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small dish. Sprinkle the chicken with paprika and cayenne pepper. Put the chicken in a skillet and cook about 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Add half the cooked the vegetables to the skillet along with tomatoes, rosemary, marjoram and bay leaf. Reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until fork tender. Dissolve the flour in the chicken broth. Stir into the pan juices and cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Add the reserved cooked vegetables and heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Served with rice and steamed okra.

Cheesy Oat-Baked Chicken

Serves: 6

Note: 2 grams of fat per serving

2 cups quick cooking oats
1/4 cup fat-free Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 egg whites or egg substitute

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 18 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Combine the oats, parmesan, paprika and pepper. Dip the chicken in the egg whites, then coat with the oat mixture. Arrange the chicken pieces in the prepared pan, spray lightly with cooking spray. Bake uncovered until tender, approximately 30 to 45 minutes.

Miniature Pecan Tarts

Recipe by: Nancy Redman

Makes: 24 tarts

Crust:

3 ounce package cream cheese
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
Dash of salt

Filling:

1 egg
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecans, chopped

Allow cream cheese and butter to come to room temperature. Make pastry of crust ingredients and roll into 24 balls and press into small muffin tins. For filling - beat eggs and add sugar, milk and vanilla. Then add pecans and pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until filling is set.

Layered Chocolate Pie

Recipe by: Kitty Brinkley

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 stick melted butter
5 tablespoons milk
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell

Mix all ingredients and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.