Description:
I got this recipe from my new Blender manual. It's delicious!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup white grape juice
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
2 chunks frozen banana, less than 2 inches in length
frozen slized peaches (approx. 2/3 cup), less then 2 inches length
3 small ice cubes or 2 medium ice cubes (I appreciated how specific the ice cube instructions were)
6-8 oz. low-fat peach yogurt

Directions:
Place ingredients into blender in order given above. Blend for approximately 1 minute or until desired consistency. (I think they also put a lot of thought into how long to blend because each recipe has a different length of time, this one is 15 seconds longer than a milkshake).

Description:
This is my favorite dip. It is delicious and also very impressive to behold. I feel bad at having stolen it from Julie and claimed it as my own, so I hereby list it with its proper attribution.

Ingredients:
1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated
1 pound shrimp, boiled, peeled, & chopped
1 (12 oz) jar cocktail sauce
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce, to taste
2 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
6 to 8 green onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 to 3 tomatoes, peeled, and chopped

Directions:
* Place mozzarella cheese in the bottom of a springform pan and distribute evenly.
* Place shrimp on top of mozzarella cheese.
* Pour cocktail sauce over shrimp and cheese.
* Blend cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and garlic. Spread evenly over top of layers.
* Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. Will keep up to 2 days.
* When ready to serve, unhook springform pan and invert onto serving platter or tray.
* Top with onion, pepper and tomatoes.
* Serve with crackers or baguette.

(I'm making it this weekend, I'll post the photo then!)

Description:
Also from Cooking Light. I love these, sometimes I will make a whole batch just for me.



Ingredients:
4 large egg whites
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (such as Hershey's)
2 (1.4-ounce) chocolate-covered toffee bars (such as Heath), crushed
Cooking spray


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Beat egg whites in a large bowl with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.

Combine powdered sugar, cocoa, and candy bars in a small bowl, and mix well. Fold half of cocoa mixture into egg whites (egg whites will deflate quickly). Fold in remaining cocoa mixture until smooth. Drop the egg mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes (puffs will be soft in center).

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 52 (24% from fat); FAT 1.4g (sat 0.9g, mono 0.5g, poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 1.1g; CARB 9.9g; FIBER 0.7g; CHOL 1.7mg; IRON 0.3mg; SODIUM 19mg; CALC 7mg;

Description:
This is "relatively" light, it is still Cheesecake! It's from Cooking Light magazine. My sister and I made it over Thanksgiving and I've made it a bunch of times since then (it became much easier after I bought a food processor, it was a little hellish using a hand mixer). Sure to please!

Ingredients:
6 chocolate wafers (about 1 1/2 ounces)
Cooking spray
1 cup sugar
1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup (4 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 large egg
2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate minichips


Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°.
Place wafers in a food processor, and pulse until coarsely ground. Sprinkle crumbs into bottom of an 8-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray.

Place sugar and next 8 ingredients (sugar through cream cheese) in a food processor, and process until smooth. Add egg, and process until blended. Pour the cheese mixture into prepared pan, and sprinkle with minichips. Bake at 300° for 55 minutes or until the cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove cheesecake from oven, and run a knife around outside edge. Cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 292 (30% from fat); FAT 9.7g (sat 5.7g, mono 2.5g, poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 10.9g; CARB 40.2g; FIBER 0.4g; CHOL 52mg; IRON 1.2mg; SODIUM 418mg; CALC 76mg;

Description:
From kraftfoods.com.
An easy and delicious dip!

Ingredients:
1 tub (8 oz.) Cream Cheese Spread
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1 cup pizza sauce


Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese spread and seasoning with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
Spread on bottom of 9-inch pie plate. Top with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese.
BAKE 15 to 20 minutes or until dip is heated through and cheese is melted.
Serve with crackers, pita, etc.

Description:
This is my sister's recipe. We have it at all sorts of events, even cuisine-inappropriate ones (what's better at a Thanksgiving dinner than a Japanese Cucumber salad??).

Ingredients:
2 large cucumbers, peeled
1/4 tsp salt
6 TBS rice wine vinegar
6 TBS sugar
2 tsp dark sesame oil
2 TBS toasted sesame seeds


Directions:
Cut cucumbers into very thin slices. Layer slices in a bowl. Sprinkle
salt over slices. Let sit for 10 minutes. Rinse out salt from cucumbers.
Blend vinegar, sugar and oil; add to cucumbers; toss. Refrigerate 2
hours. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds

Description:
I've found baby eggplant at chinese or indian groceries, probably available other places too.

(from Mediterranean: food of the sun cookbook)

Ingredients:
12 baby eggplant, halved lengthwise
1 cub extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 cloves
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons raisins
1 tablespoon sugar
1 bay leaf
large pinch of dried red pepper flakes
salt and ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the broiler to high.
Place the eggplant, cut side up, in the broiler pan and brush with a little of the olive oil.
Broil for about 10 min, until slightly blackened, turning them over halfway through cooking.

combine remaining olive oil and all other ingredients and mix well.

Place the hot eggplant in an earthenware or glass bowl, and pur the marinade over.

Let cool, turning the eggplant once or twice.

Serve cold.

(Notes from personal experience, if you are leaving overnight in fridge, make sure bowl in tightly covered or else it will gel up. If that happens, let it warm up and add some more vinegar.)

Description:
This is one of my stand-bys, it is SUPER easy and everyone loves it (and are always amazed to find out what's in it). This one woman I work with has become obsessed with this dish, at first making it for her events, then next trying different variations of it. We even had a meatball taste test in her office one day. However, after all of her variations, we both think this original is still the best one...

Also, there are steps for making your own meatballs and some think that is a more pure recipe, however, the frozen ones are fine. I use Armour homestyle, but any brand would do (just make sure they are plain or caramel coating, not italian flavor or something).

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups chili sauce
1 cup grape jelly
2 teaspoons dijon mustard

Approx. 30 meatballs



Directions:
Combine chili sauce, grape jelly, and mustard in crock pot and stir well.
Add meatballs to sauce, stir to coat, cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.

NOTES: I have a large crock pot and would find that the meatballs would get burned leaving them. I either stir more often/cook for less or make a double batch to fill it up more. I think it works out OK in a smaller crock pot.

Some variations are BBQ sauce instead of chili sauce and different flavors of jelly. However,this one is the best. You will be amazed at people's reactions!