Tag Archives: yogurt

Hardcore Hobbit: Rarebit Muffins

Posted on May 3, 2013 | Leave a comment

For those not in the know, Welsh rarebit is a tasty dish of a melted cheese sauce (usually cheddar and mustard) poured over toast and devoured with gusto. In LOTRO rarebit muffins are made with black barley flour, goat cheese, milk and an egg. All fabulous starting points as usual but this time I decided to use some extreme guidance from Nigella Lawson. Her recipe is simply delicious, I lightened it up, changed a few things around and it still came out delish…my husband, the Surly Dwarf, ate about 6 of them. I call that a win! Want to make some too and not feel the guilt? Let’s go!

100_2967

  • 275g flour (I used the nutrigrain flour, hurray whole grains!)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • 100g rathtrevor cheese (this is a great local cheese made by Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, if you can get it go for it! If not a nice sharp cheddar is good too)
  • 1/4 cup melted light cooking margarine
  • 150g 0% fat greek yogurt (use the kind with no gelatin)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbl worcestershire sauce (keep the bottle on hand for sprinkling)
  • 1/2 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
  1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and mustard powder. I don’t always sift but for these I always do. They work out best this way, totally worth the effort. Here I will prove it, I actually sifted.100_2962See? Told ya.
  2. Add the cheese, reserving a couple tbl worth for topping later. Toss to coat the cheese.
  3. In a measuring cup combine the remaining ingredients.
  4. Add the yogurt mixture to the flour, stir until moistened. Don’t over stir, the lumps help make this airy when you bake it instead of dense.
  5. Scoop into a greased 12 muffin tin. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven top with remaining cheese and a sprinkle of worcestershire sauce. Back in the oven for 5 minutes.
  7. Serve while warm but not piping hot. Cheese burns are lethal.

Makes 12 servings. Each serving contains 142 calories, 5.3g fat, 17g carbs, 2.3g fibre, and 7.2g protein. Pretty great for a super tasty savoury muffin. I paired this with a salad topped with my garlic dressing for dinner. Good times. Enjoy!

Leave a comment

Posted in Breakfast, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Lunch, Snack, The Hardcore Hobbit

Tagged , , ,

Hardcore Hobbit: Bread and Jam

Posted on February 18, 2013 | 3 comments

I thought long and hard about this one. After all, the game makes this one just a little too easy. A ball of dough and some blackberry jam. I need a challenge! So, I made a bread specifically to match with the jam. As it says hobbits LOVE nothing better than bread and jam. I have to make it the best I can! Afterall, what says “I’m serious about bread and jam.” more than making your own bread to showcase your homemade jam? A flavour that I love to pair with blackberries is lime. I know, you would think it’s all tart enough but, I love a lot of zing in my tasty treats sometimes. Especially for something that is so perfect to serve at tea time. I could see this doing just as well with orange instead of lime though if you are looking for a milder flavour. Want to see what I did? Behold, the yogurt lime bun with blackberry jam.

workingwithjam 011

  • 1 1/2 cup of flour, divided (1 cup and 1/2 cup)
  • 1 cup probiotic fat free plain balkan style yogurt (I’m sure greek would work fine too)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • juice of two lime wedges
  • Hardcore Hobbit blackberry jam
  1. Combine 1 cup of flour and the yogurt in a bowl. Sprinkle with sugar. Loosely cover with a damp towel and set aside in a warm place for 3 hours to proof.
  2. Add the remaining flour, baking soda, baking powder and lime juice.
  3. Lightly roll out the dough on a floured surface. Don’t push out all that air we proofed for!
  4. Using a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter, cut out 16 shapes and place on a sprayed baking sheet.
  5. Bake at 425F for 10-15 minutes.
  6. Allow to cool for a few minutes, serve warm with a 1/2 tsp of blackberry jam.

Makes 16 buns or biscuits. Each one contains 51 calories, 0.1 gram fat, 9.6. grams carbs, 0.3 gram fibre, 2.7 grams protein. Add the nutritional values for your jam and you have one pretty guilt free tasty tea time treat. Wow, a quadruple T. Win.

3 Comments

Posted in Breakfast, Comfort Foods, Snack, The Hardcore Hobbit

Tagged , , ,

Frozen Yogurt Cake

Posted on July 13, 2011 | 2 comments

I made this for my husband’s birthday. You can get all sorts of ice cream cakes out there, they are indeed nummy but the nutritional info on them is…less than nummy. Some places make a frozen yogurt cake such as Ben and Jerry’s but the one around here closed a year or so ago. So, getting a lower fat style of frozen cake was looking like a no go. This has never stopped me before! Time to figure out how to make one. Surprisingly, not very hard. Once I figured out what I wanted in the cake it was just a matter of assembly. I know that we love the fudgy layer in those cakes, the cookie crust, and overall creaminess. A little culinary architecture and tada! A tower of num. My husband loves his mocha so for this one I went with a chocolate and coffee style of cake. Go with your favourites and change it up! Soon you too can have your own customized frozen cake dessert.

  • 12 reduced fat oreo cookies
  • 1 tbl cold coffee
  • 7 scoops vanilla low fat frozen yogurt
  • 7 scoops cappuccino low fat frozen yogurt
  • 1/2 cup fat free dark chocolate sauce
  • plastic wrap
  • 8″ springform pan
  1. Line a springform pan with 2 sheets of plastic wrap that hang about 6 inches over the sides. Drap one sheet and then drape the other crosswise.
  2. Crush the oreo cookies, cookies and filling together. Add the coffee. Press the mixture into the pan (on top of the plastic wrap you used to line it)
  3. Once the crust is down begin scooping the vanilla frozen yogurt on top of the crust. Then, using a spoon smooth out the frozen yogurt to create a seamless layer.
  4. Top with the fudge sauce, then scoop the mocha frozen yogurt on top. Use a spoon to smooth the layer as before but more carefully to prevent the sauce from moving around too much.
  5. Optional: Top with some extra chocolate sauce to add words or a picture.
  6. Cover with the overhanging plastic wrap and foil for extra protection. Freeze for atleast 4 hours or overnight. To serve take out of the freezer and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Unwrap and spring the pan off. Heat knife under hot water and slice.
  7. We sliced ours into 16 pieces. They are tall and ever so decadent. Enjoy!

Serves 16. Yes, That is a 16th of the cake! Nutritional information totally depends on the brands you choose for yourself. Although with this one you can rest a bit easier knowing that this cake is certainly not as bad for you as most of those ice cream cakes out there.

2 Comments

Posted in Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Dessert

Tagged , ,

Tzatziki

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Making your own tzatziki is really fun and I love the ability to customize according to taste…which storebought just doesn’t do. I’ve mentioned my love affair with garlic, well I like my tzatziki to reflect that. Perhaps you like a fresher more lemony taste to yours? Or perhaps a different texture? Go nuts there are so many ways to enjoy tzatziki! My favourite? On a ham sandwich instead of mayo. Num! With all the Mediterranean dips I’ve been working on my summer evening Mediterranean al fresco dinning experience is getting closer and closer! I can’t wait!

  • 1 cup no fat greek style yogurt or non fat yogurt strained in cheesecloth overnight
  • 1 small cucumber peeled, seeded, finely grated, and squeezed dry.
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic (less if you are not as in love)
  • 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp fresh dill (optional)
  1. Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and allow to sit for atleast 2 hours. Overnight is best!

Serves four generously (about 1/4 cup). Each serving contains 45 calories, .2 gram of fat, 7.3 grams of carbs, 3.9 grams of protein, and .4 gram of fibre. Great on falafel!

Leave a comment

Posted in Sidedish, Snack

Tagged , , , , ,

Sham Shake of the Shamrock

Posted on March 18, 2011 | Leave a comment

I hummed and ha’d about posting this one since there are already so many recipes of this out there. You know…it can’t hurt to have another one. So no picture this time sadly since I consumed this bad boy last night without snapping a single pic. I was so excited when I heard the shamrock shake was out again…I love mint…mmm…mint. I figured I deserved that tasty minty treat, so I looked up the nutritionals on it to see how hard of a hit I would be taking. Then I found out for an itty bitty small it would cost me 530 calories and 14 grams of fat. Big time frowny face over here. Might as well have a big mcnaughty for 10 more calories and 10 more grams of fat. Sheesh. Well, this was in need of a hungry hobbit makeover bigtime. So, I celebrated last night with an attempt that won me over…granted I had no taste comparison since I haven’t had a shamrock shake in years.

  • 1/2 cup vanilla frozen yogurt
  • 3/4 cup skim milk
  • 1/4 tsp mint extract
  • green food colouring (optional, I don’t since food colouring like that weirds me out a bit)
  1. Combine and blend, blend, blend!!!
  2. Omnomnom.

This makes one serving of sham shake goodness. Contains 175 calories, 2.3 grams of fat, 27.7grams of carbs, 8.9 grams of protein, and no fibre. Although, I totally recommend adding a clear fibre supplement to this. Does nothing to hurt the taste but makes this even better for you. Now those values make me much happier. I will sip my sham of a shake and think no more of this other shake silliness.

Leave a comment

Posted in Beverages, Craving Buster

Tagged , , ,

Smoothie

Posted on January 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

My husband has been on a liquid and mush diet this week due to having his wisdom teeth removed. I asked him if it was painful losing wisdom stats, it was. A friend suggested he have a smoothie to help. So in the parade of things that were made I figured this was one of those I would actually eat too, and did. It’s nice to have the occasional smoothie. I haven’t made one for awhile but they are wonderfully simple and as I discovered great for when you sitting in front of a game all weekend. Hehe, so bad. I keep reading smoothie recipes that overly complicate the matter. Honestly a great tasting smoothie is not difficult and does not have to come from a lonely bottle on a supermarket shelf.

  • 100 grams light yogurt (I like source, this one used exotic coconut, pineapple, and banana but any flavour will do)
  • 1 small banana
  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 cup ice cubes
  1. Using a blender combine until smooth. Serve!

Now wasn’t that easy? Serves 1, contains 171 calories, .7 gram of fat and 2.4 grams of fibre. I had one for breakfast the other day with a fruit cup and was all set until lunch…aaand I had started my day with a couple of fruit servings and calcium under my belt already. How awesome is that?

Leave a comment

Posted in Beverages, Breakfast

Tagged , ,

Butterless Butter Chicken

Posted on July 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

Oh butter chicken how do I love thee….let me count the ways…mmmmm sorry, were we talking? Butter chicken is one of my go to dishes when trying out a new indian place, that and chicken korma. After succeeding with those dishes I will usually start to branch out. Well, butter chicken is a naughty one ofcourse. It makes no bones about it really…it’s in the title. Still, I hear it’s siren call when I pass a tasty looking indian place. Something had to be done! Done it was!

  • 4 Boneless Skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tsp tandoori powder
  • 6 tbl Fat Free yogurt
  1. Combine and allow to marinate overnight.
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp tumeric
  • 3 tbl tomato paste
  • 1 tbl ginger root, grated
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 cup fate free yogurt
  • 2 tbl cooking margarine
  • 1/4 cup water
  1. Grill the chicken using desired method or bake at 400F for 30 minutes, set aside. I highly recommend grilling if you can.
  2. Add margarine to a deep saucepan or wok on medium. Cook onions and garlic until tender, about 3-5 minutes.
  3. Add ginger, garam masala, and tumeric. Cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste, water, salt, and pepper. Stir until combined. Reduce heat to low.
  4. Slice the chicken. Add chicken and yogurt to the pan. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Serve!

This makes 4 servings. Each serving contains 149 calories, 2.3 grams of fat, and 1.3 grams of fibre. So tasty and so healthy. I declare this butter chicken craving quelled. Hurray! I served this recently with my own homemade garlic naan (posted yesterday) and skipped the rice. I was soooo full.

Leave a comment

Posted in Craving Buster, Dinner

Tagged ,

Shire Rations

Posted on July 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

I had fun with this hardcore hobbit attempt. In the game shire rations are made of marinated chicken cutlet, apple, and sharp cheese. The marinated chicken cutlet is made of chicken, green onion, and fine seasonings. This is really a double hardcore in one…and that sounds nasty hehe. Now I could see a hobbit being happy with just marinated chicken, some cut up apples and cheese BUT I think they would be much happier with my changes. I kept all the main ingredients like I usually do but changed it up. I approached this like an episode of ‘chopped’, on chopped just cutting up the ingredients and putting them on the plate just won’t fly…well they won’t here either. I fancied up the shire rations by making the apple portion an apple slaw, and the cheese portion a nice cheese sauce for the chicken. I served them on our camping plates though just to make them more ration like hehe. I think the hobbits would be pleased and would never leave their hole without these shire rations.

Apple Slaw:

  • 2 royal gala apples, sliced into matchsticks
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • 4 tbl fat free plain yogurt
  • 2 tbl honey
  1. Combine, chill for 20 minutes and serve.

Marinated Chicken Cutlet:

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1 tbl steakhouse pepper spice
  1. Combine and marinate for atleast 4 hours.
  2. Grill the chicken until cooked using desired method.

Sharp Cheese Sauce:

  • 64 grams of light cheddar cheese, grated
  • 2 tbl flour
  • 2 tsp light cooking margarine
  • 2 tbl parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  1. Melt the margarine in a saucepan over medium heat and combine with the flour.
  2. Whisk in the milk and the salt slowly to prevent lumps.
  3. When the milk is heated stir in the cheeses. Do not allow to boil!
  4. Heat and stir until thickened. Serve on the chicken.

The apple slaw serves two, each serving contains 163 calories, .5 grams of fat, and 3.8 grams of fibre. The Chicken makes two servings, each serving contains 142 calories, 1.3 grams of fat, and .4 grams of fibre. The cheese sauce serves four (I like to save the extra to have cheese fries when I feel naughty), each serving contains 85 calories, 2.9 grams of fat and .1 grams of fibre. All together, just to make it simple, a serving of shire ration contains 390 calories, 4.7 grams of fat, and 4.3 grams of fibre.

*phew* That is a load of info. Definitely a tasty meal. This was how I celebrated the end of my first challenge. Definitely decadent seeming but not really in the end. The beauty of this success was that each of these recipes can stand alone and be used for other things…bringing them together is what makes a hobbit happy though. I have a feeling I could actually bring it together when camping. I would definitely give it a try, a fun challenge! I have a feeling that chicken over a fire would be to die for.

Leave a comment

Posted in Dinner, Ingredient, Sidedish, The Hardcore Hobbit

Tagged , , , , ,

Lembas Bread I

Posted on June 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

When I started pondering the idea of lembas bread I came up with two different approaches, rather than trying to decide on just one I am going to be making both of them. This is obviously the first one hehe. This one is inspired by the game. In the game Lembas is made from barley flour, fresh cream, and clover honey. To me this sounds more like a bread style of loaf as opposed to what they show in the movie which was more like a shortbread cookie. I’m going to tackle that shortbread another time, I have ideas. So this is more of a bread style of lembas. Not being able to find any of the banana or tea leaves I would have loved to wrap these in I used corn husks instead. They made such cute packages!

  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 cup fat free plain yogurt (this is my cream substitute)
  • 3 tbl brown sugar
  • 3 tbl clover honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup lemon flavoured water
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tbl baking powder
  1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Add the yogurt, sugar, honey, vanilla and water gradually and combine until a ball of dough forms.
  4. Divide the dough into 10 balls.
  5. Flatten each ball to about 1/2″ thickness and a rounded rectangular shape. Place on a cookie sheet.
  6. Bake for 12-17 minutes, they should be lightly golden. Wrap in leaves of choice and serve!

Makes 10 servings. Each serving contains 155 calories, 0.4 grams of fat, and 0.9 grams of fiber. This makes a lembas that is like a slightly sweet bread. This would be delicious with all sorts of berries picked from the woods as I imagine elves would want to liven it up…and maybe not tell the mortals that its more fun than eating it plain. Silly mortals, lembas is for elves!

Leave a comment

Posted in Dessert, Snack, The Hardcore Hobbit

Tagged ,

Shahi Murgh Korma

Posted on May 11, 2010 | Leave a comment

Also known as royal chicken korma. A tasty chicken dish cooked in yogurt. So tasty, so creamy, so naughty if you order it in a restaurant. Oh how I love my korma! Thankfully, I can still have my korma and lose weight too. Again, no need to remind folks of how healthy the yogurt part is. Hurray for yogurt! Usually Shahi Murgh is done with whole chicken pieces but I opted for cubed chicken just for ease of cooking. I also loved how the house smelt after cooking this dish. All the aromatic herbs in this dish made the house smell like those delicious spice stores. Mmmmm.

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
  • 1 cup plain fat free yogurt
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 8 cardamom pods
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 2 inch cinnamon stick
  • 2 1/2 tbl raisins
  • 2 1/2 tbl blanched and slivered almonds
  • 3 tbl fat free yogurt (aside from the 1 cup)
  1. Combine the 1 cup of yogurt, pepper, cumin, cayenne, and garlic. Set aside.
  2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
  3. Spray the pan, add cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. Stir, once they are aromatic add the chicken. Brown and transfer to a bowl.
  4. Add the raisins and almonds and stir until the raisins begin to plump.
  5. Add the chicken and yogurt mix. Stir and simmer covered on low for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
  6. Uncover, raise the heat to medium to reduce the sauce. Remove the whole cardamom and cloves.
  7. Stir in the 3 tbl of yogurt and serve.

Makes four servings. Each serving has 206 calories, 3.4 g of fat, and 2.5 grams of fiber. I recommend servings this on the turmeric rice I had posted yesterday. The two have such great flavours when served together. I had made this dish with the hopes of having leftovers to pack for my husband’s lunch but he liked it so much there were no leftovers to be found. Hehe, I guess that means it was very tasty!

Leave a comment

Posted in Dinner

Tagged ,