I need help adapting this menu...

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2003
I need help adapting this menu...
12
Mon, 06-21-2004 - 3:21pm

I make a wonderful Christmas breakfast every year that a lot of people come to.  They all love it and talk about it all day which is very good for my ego.  LOL anyway, I will make it this year, but want to start trying adapted versions of the recipes to make them more SBD friendly.  I don't cook complicated recipes often so I don't know what ingredients substitute well for others so I'd love any advice.  By this time of year I hope to be nearing my weightloss goal and the end of phase 2.  Here are the ingredients:


Cream Cheese Scrambled Eggs


12 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half
8 oz cream cheese
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup butter or margarine


I'm going to try reduced fat cream cheese and light margarine.  I don't know what to do about the half-and-half.


 


Sausage and Wile Rice Casserole


1 package Uncle Ben's Long-grain and wild rice mix
1 pound hot ground pork sausage
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion chopped
1 8oz pkg fresh mushrooms
½ cup fresh parsley chopped
3 T soy sauce
½ cup natural sliced almonds


This is where I really need help.  I want to make this work with wild rice and brown rice from the health food store, but I'm not sure how to duplicate the flavoring the Uncle Ben's mix adds.  I also wonder if I should learn how to make my own sausage or is there a brand I can buy in the store that is lean and sugar-free? 


 


Ruby Pears


2 29oz cans pear halves, drained
2 cups ginger ale
¼ cup fresh orange juice
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T butter or margarine
½ t ground cinnamon
1 12oz jar red currant jelly
homemade whipped cream on top


I'm going to try diet ginger ale, unprocessed orange juice, light margarine.  I don't know what to do about the jelly.  Maybe I'll just have to make this dish for everyone else and not have any for myself.  I think I'll put a can of redi-whip on the table as an alternative to the homemade whipped cream.


 


 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-03-2004
Mon, 06-21-2004 - 6:35pm

I'm going to try reduced fat cream cheese and light margarine.

Melissa

Change takes CHANGE!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-19-2002
Mon, 06-21-2004 - 9:25pm

Cream Cheese Scrambled Eggs


12 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half (fat free Land O Lakes half-and-half)
8 oz cream cheese

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Mon, 06-21-2004 - 9:40pm
You could substitute Crystal Light
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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2003
Mon, 06-21-2004 - 9:44pm

Thanks.


iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Mon, 06-21-2004 - 10:06pm
Read the list of ingredients off the box of long grain and wild rice.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Mon, 06-21-2004 - 11:55pm
I'm always the devils-advocate when it comes to things like this. I just can't let it go without my two cents worth. LOL. So, I'd say that if you make the other substitutions, you'd be ok using the Uncle Ben's. There is over 2 lbs of meat and plenty of vegetables to counteract one package of rice, half of which is the legal wild rice. I also wouldn't use diet pop in the pear recipe. There is a huge difference in taste between diet and regular gingerale. I think you'd be better off making it with regular soda, and just limiting yourself to a tiny bit. It is the holidays, after all. But like you said, if you don't care much for it then you won't miss it.

Here are my suggestions:

Cream Cheese Scrambled Eggs

12 large eggs

1 cup half-and-half (use FF)

8 oz cream cheese (use light, but NOT fat-free, which is yucky)

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ cup butter or margarine (is this for the pan? I'd spray the pan with canola oil and use 1/2 the quantity of butter for flavor)

Sausage and Wild Rice Casserole

1 package Uncle Ben's Long-grain and wild rice mix (I'd use it)

1 pound hot ground pork sausage (use hot italian turkey sausage)

1 pound ground beef (use lean)

1 large onion chopped

1 8oz pkg fresh mushrooms

½ cup fresh parsley chopped

3 T soy sauce (lite has less sodium, which is always a good thing)

½ cup natural sliced almonds


Ruby Pears

2 29oz cans pear halves, drained (use fresh pears, or pears canned in juice no sugar added -- this is the kind I buy for my kids. It's usually labeled "lite".)

2 cups ginger ale (use as is, unless you're sure guests like diet pop)

¼ cup fresh orange juice (use it. It a small quantity)

2 T fresh lemon juice

2 T butter or margarine

½ t ground cinnamon

1 12oz jar red currant jelly (use 100% fruit spread, sub raspberry if you need to)

homemade whipped cream on top (reddiwip, coolwhip, or homeade whipped cream -- you could make another version with splenda for yourself)

Just my 2 cents!

Leslie



iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2003
Tue, 06-22-2004 - 12:56pm

Thanks, Leslie.


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 06-22-2004 - 1:50pm
I was thinking about your recipe when I went to bed last night... LOL... the rice one sounds really good! :) I was wondering if you'd really even miss that flavor packet with all the flavors from the onions, spicy sausage and stuff? You might try it with just brown rice and wild rice, maybe add a minced clove of garlic or two to the mix when you're sauteeing. I bet it would be just as good. Plus, it'd be pretty much P2 friendly so you wouldn't have to save it for a special treat. I imagine it would freeze well, too.

I agree on the cheese thing. I buy super sharp cheddar, and since it is so flavorful, I don't have to use very much for something like an omelette to taste super cheesy. Mmmmm.... and I looooove cheese. That's why I like SBD so much! It's all in the cheese. ;-)

And for what it's worth, I always use real butter (salted). Just a touch for the flavor, plus a little olive oil or canola for the non-stick value. I'd rather go without than use margerine.

Leslie

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-05-2004
Tue, 06-22-2004 - 8:03pm
My two cents. . .

I would also use some chopped fresh parsley in the wild rice. And maybe some chicken stock.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 06-22-2004 - 9:29pm
Good suggestions! Now that I think about it, I bet at least 75% of that Uncle Ben's flavor mix is the equivalent of boullion (powdered chicken broth).

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