Judy a la Carte: Recipes for the Holidays

By Judy Gilliard, “Judy a la carte”

The holidays are perfect occasions to visit friends and family and show them how much you love them. During this time of gift giving, there is nothing as nice as giving a gift from your kitchen. Especially when that gift tastes great and falls within the guidelines of good health!

You can create baskets filled with homemade pumpkin muffins, brownies and Peanut butter Bars wrapped in cloth holiday napkins or kitchen towels.  Alternatively, you can take an individual pumpkin cake baked in festive Bundt pans, and place it on a red paper plate. Wrap it with plastic wrap, tie it up with a cheerful ribbon and it‘s ready to be given to that special someone. 

For me, any time is the right time for pumpkin pie, so I created a recipe that tastes great but isn’t high in fat or calories. This can also make a lovely gift when given in a pretty pie plate or a disposable tin.
 
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season! 

PUMPKIN CAKE
The perfect holiday gift, this recipe will make two large Bundt cakes or four small ones. If you want to be ready at all times with a baked gift, you can bake the cakes ahead of time in the loaf pans, wrap with aluminum foil and freeze.  Then all you have to do is take them out of the freezer, wrap some colored plastic wrap around them, decorate with some ribbon and you’re set!

Mix together:
8-oz. egg substitute
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup skim milk
1 28-oz. can solid pumpkin

Mix together:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 T baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 T pumpkin pie spice
1 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

1.  Preheat the oven to 350.

2.  Fold dry ingredients into liquid until well mixed.

3.  Pour mixture into 2 large or 4 small Bundt pans sprayed with nonstick spray.

4.  Bake in preheated oven. 45 minutes for 4 small cakes or 60 minutes for 2 large cakes.

5.  Let cool. Unmold on plates and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

PUMPKIN MUFFINS
I like using pumpkin in recipes because it adds so much moisture.  These muffins make great gifts at the holidays. Just wrap them up in a big cloth napkin or make them a part of a holiday basket.

1½ cups unbleached flour
2 tsps baking powder
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 cup canned solid pumpkin
½ cup skim milk
4-oz. egg substitute
½ cup chopped dates
½ cup chopped walnuts

1.  Preheat oven to 375.

2.  Mix all dry ingredients together. Set aside.

3.  Combine all liquid ingredients. Add dry ingredients and mix until moistened.

4.  Fold in dates and nuts.

5.  Spoon into muffin tins sprayed with nonstick spray.

6.  Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven or until done. 
 
PEANUT BUTTER  BARS
These are perfect to take to the office if you need a breakfast on the run.

2-cups natural peanut butter
½ cup sugar
¼ cup molasses
2/4 cup egg substitute
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup nonfat milk
2 cups low-fat Bisquick
3 cups oatmeal

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Cream together peanut butter, sugar, molasses, egg substitute and vanilla.

3.  Add milk, Bisquick and rolled oats and mix well.

4.  Put mixture in 9”x13” baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray.

5.  Bake in a preheated oven for 15 to 20  minutes. Be careful not to overcook as they will dry out easily.

6.  Cool and cut into 16 bars.

BROWNIES
This recipe is a great way to enjoy brownies that are not loaded with fat and sugar. However, they certainly taste like it!  You can also add ½ cup of chopped walnuts to the mixture. Or you can add ½ cup finely chopped walnuts and sprinkle them on the bottom of the pan, so that when you turn out the brownies, the nuts will be on top.

4-oz. egg substitute or 2 eggs
½ cup non-fat milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned solid pumpkin
2 cups unbleached flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¾ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Mix together egg, non-fat milk, vanilla, sugar and pumpkin.

3.  Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder into liquid mixture and mix well.

4.  Fold in chocolate chips.

5.  Pour into a tube pan sprayed with non-stick spray.

6.  Bake for 40 min.

7.  Cool and cut into 16 bars.
 
PUMPKIN PIE WITH GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
It looks and tastes like old fashioned pumpkin pie, but the only thing missing is 50% of the calories!

Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 T sugar
½ tsp all-spice
2 T butter melted

Mix all ingredients together. Press into a 9” pie pan.  Bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 8 minutes, cool.

Filling
½ cup eggs substitute or 4 egg whites, slightly beaten
1½ cups canned solid pumpkin
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
1½ cup 1% milk

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2.  Mix all ingredients together and pour into crust.

3.  Bake 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes or until knife inserted into the center of pie comes out clean. Cool before serving.

HERB BLENDS
Herb blends can be customized to your individual tastes. The blends listed here are all made with dried herbs and should be mixed in a mini-chopper. Herb blends also make nice gifts. A small, interesting air-tight jar of your own personal herb blend is an environmentally friendly and usable gift, sure to please.
 
For these herb mixes, I used "parts" so you can create whatever size batch you need. For your own kitchen, I suggest you use 1 tablespoon as the "part." If you are blending herbs to use for gifts, you might want to use a cup or a half cup, depending on how much of the blend you want to give away.

Herb Salt
2 parts onion powder
1 part garlic powder
1 part dry parsley
1 part marjoram
1 part  salt
1/2 part basil

Greek Blend
2 parts garlic powder
1 part lemon peel
1 part oregano
1/2 part ground black pepper

Italian Blend
2 parts basil
2 parts marjoram
1 part garlic powder
1 part oregano
1/2 part thyme
1/2 part rosemary
1/2 part crushed red pepper

Mexican Blend
1 1/2 parts cumin
1 part onion powder
1 part garlic powder
1/2 part ground ginger
1/2 part paprika
1/2 part oregano
1/2 part dry mustard
1/4 part cayenne pepper
1/2 part parsley flakes

Vegetable Blend
1 part marjoram
1 part basil
1 part chervil
1/2 part tarragon
1/2 part celery seed

Chicken Blend
2 parts marjoram
1 part basil
1 part parsley
1 part dill weed
1 part paprika

Dip Blend
4 parts dill weed
1 part garlic powder
1 part chervil

Basic Herb Blend
4 parts parsley
2 parts chopped chives
2 parts dill weed
2 parts oregano
1 part rosemary
1 part thyme