Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

I've made this twice- once for Marc's birthday and once for our 4th year anniversary dinner.  So I guess you can say it's our "special occasion" dessert.  Except it's really easy and the great thing about this recipe is that it's made with low fat milk.  Most of the recipes I found were packed with tons of egg yolks and heavy cream.  We could not even tell the difference!

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee from this recipe from Cooking Light

4 large egg yolks

• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup nonfat dry milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 300°.

• Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl.  Whisk and set aside.
• Pour milk into a medium saucepan. Add vanilla, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, and dry milk to pan. Heat mixture over medium heat to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around the edge, stirring occasionally with a whisk. Do not boil.
• Gradually add hot milk mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Divide milk mixture evenly among 6 (4-ounce) ramekins. Place ramekins in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Fill pan with hot water up to about an inch. Bake at 300° for 1 hour or until center barely moves. Remove ramekins from pan and cool completely. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Sprinkle the tops of ramekins with granulated sugar.  Using a torch, brown the tops.
• ***If you don't have a torch, the original recipe is as follows:  Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and water.  Microwave at HIGH 30 seconds; stir until sugar dissolves. Pour evenly over each dessert, quickly tipping ramekins to coat tops of brûlées. (There will be a thin layer of melted sugar.) Let harden.

Pumpkin Dip

I made this to go with apples for dessert.  It was really good!  The original recipe calls for 6 oz. of reduced fat cream cheese.  I used 8oz.  If you want it sweeter, I would just use the 6 oz.

Pumpkin Dip from this recipe from Cooking Light

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cut up apple slices

Put all ingredients in a small bowl and beat at medium speed until well mixed.  Cover and chill at least 30 minutes.  Serve with apple slices or grahm crackers.

Watermelon Margaritas

When I saw these in the July issue of Cooking Light, I knew I had to try them.  They were delicious and refreshing.  These margaritas seemed a lot lighter than regular margaritas and are great for the summer.  At only 105 calories, definitely give them a try!

Watermelon Margaritas from this recipe from Cooking Light

 Yield: 6 servings

2 teaspoons sugar
1 lime wedge
3 1/2 cups cubed seeded watermelon
1/2 cup tequila
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Triple Sec (orange-flavored liqueur)
Lime wedges or watermelon balls (optional)

1. Place 2 teaspoons sugar in a saucer. Rub the rims of 6 glasses with 1 lime wedge; spin rim of each glass in sugar to coat. Set prepared glasses aside.

2. Combine watermelon and next 4 ingredients (through Triple Sec) in a blender; process until smooth. Fill each prepared glass with 1/2 cup crushed ice. Add 1/2 cup margarita to each glass. Garnish with lime wedges or melon balls, if desired.

Calories:105      Fat:0.2g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.1g)
Protein:0.6g      Carbohydrate:14.1g
Fiber:0.4g         Cholesterol:0.0mg
Iron:0.2mg        Sodium:1mg
Calcium:7mg

Bittersweet Chocolate Souffles

I made these for a special dinner and they came out fabulous!  I really liked the chocolate flavor and texture.  They were also pretty simple and didn't take too much time.

Bittersweet Chocolate Souffles from Cooking Light

Prep:  20 min.  Cook:  20 min.

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large egg yolks

4 large egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Coat 8 (4 oz.) ramekins with cooking spray, and sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.  Place ramekins on a baking sheet.

3.  Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cocoa, flour, and salt in a small saucepan.  Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Cook until thick (about 3 min.), stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and let stand for 3 min.  Gradually stir in vanilla and egg yolks.  Spoon chocolate mixture into a large bowl and cool.

4.  Place egg whites in a large bowl;  beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy.  Gradually add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and cream of tartar, beating until stiff peaks form.  Gently stir 1/4 of egg white mixture into chocolate mixture.  Gently fold in remaining egg white mixture and chopped chocolate.  Spoon into prepared ramekins.

5.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until puffy and set.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Serve immediately.  Yield:  8 servings  Serving size:  1 souffle

CALORIES:  206   FAT:  5.5 g  FIBER:  2.3 g