Suggested by Kris - Strawberry Gelato

Oh dudes.

I made the yummiest strawberry gelato. I got it from the cooking light compilation recipe book I have.

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 cups lowfat buttermilk
4 pints fresh strawberries

Put water and sugar in saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil until the sugar is completely dissolved, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Place strawberries in blender and puree. Pour buttermilk into large container, add strawberry puree and sugarwater. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer directions.

This was so yummy. Each 1/2 cup has 100 calories and 0.8g fat. The strawberries we used were incredibly delicious. I think that I would reduce the amount of water/sugar to maybe 1 cup water and 1.5 cup sugar, because it was a bit too sweet. I also added about 1 tsp vanilla extract to the mixture. Instead of pureeing all of the strawberries, I kept about 8 out and chopped into pieces to have going through the gelato. It was really really yummy and refreshing!

Grilled Apples and Sweet Potatoes, from Amy

I'm going to make apples and sweet potatoes on the grill. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com, but I don't remember amounts or anything.

2 sweet potatoes diced
1 apple, peeled and sliced
brown sugar
ginger (I'm adding ginger...I just like it)

mix everything in a bowl and wrap into 2 or 3 foil packets. Grill over medium heat about 20 minutes (or until sweet potatoes are soft) turning every 5-7 minutes.

Suggested by Mandy - Turkey Jerk Burgers

Here is the recipe for the jerk turkey burgers from last week. The family likes them a lot, though we don't use rolls and I substitute mango for the papaya (I am cheap like that). The squeeze of lime juice is what makes it super.

Turkey Jerk Burgers (swiped from Rachael Ray)

1 1/3 pound ground turkey breast, the average weight of 1 package
1 garlic clove, minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1-inch ginger root, grated
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, a few sprigs, leaves stripped and chopped
1 teaspoon allspice, eyeball the amount
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg,
freshly grated or ground
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
Coarse salt
Extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil, for drizzling
1 ripe lime, juiced
4 bib or green leaf lettuce leaves
4 crusty plain or cornmeal dusted Kaiser rolls,

split Papaya Salsa:
1 large, ripe papaya, seeded, peeled and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, a palm full of leafy tops, finely chopped
1 navel orange, juiced
Coarse salt


Preheat a large nonstick skillet, indoor grill pan or tabletop grill to medium high heat. Combine the turkey, garlic, scallions, ginger, thyme, allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Form mixture into 4 large patties no more than 1-inch thick. Drizzle the patties with a touch of oil. Place patties in a hot pan or on a hot grill and cook 6 minutes on each side. Squeeze the juice of 1 ripe lime over the patties before removing them from the heat. Place the cooked patties on bun bottoms and top with lettuce leaves. Combine the papaya, red bell pepper, red onion, serrano or jalapeno, cilantro and orange juice in a bowl. Season salsa with salt, to your taste. Pile salsa on top of the lettuce resting on cooked patties and add bun tops to the burgers. Serve with Chili Lime Avocados and pineapple wedges.

Butternut Squash and Pear Curry Soup, from Jenifer

Butternut Squash and Pear Curry Soup
(I got thisoff the 'net years ago and have tweaked it a bit)


1 1/2 lbs butternut squash
4-5 bartlett pears (RIPE-which means yellow or red NOT green)
medium onion
large clove garlic
1 tbls olive oil
1 tsp curry
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
6 c veggie broth (you could use chicken)

Prepare veggies: scoop seeds from sauash and cut in a/2 lengthwise; peel, core and cut pears into small pieces; dice onion; mince garlic. Put squash flesh side down in baking dish with 3/4" of water...cover and cook on high in miocrowave for 15 minutes- you want it soft but not shriveling. Saute onions in oil on med heat until golden- add garlic, curry, cumin, and brown sugar- mush around for about 45 seconds, Peel outer rind from squash and add flesh to pot with pear and broth. Simmer 10 minutes...let cool. Puree until smooth

Suggested by Kris - Raspberry Slushies inspired by Cooking Light

I'm trying my hand at making fruit slushy ice today. I had 2 cartons of fresh raspberries that were going to go bad if I didn't use them. I found a recipe in this month's edition of Cooking Light (thanks Heather!) for blackberry slushy ice, and I just substituted raspberries. I used all my fresh and half a bag of frozen to equal the 1 pound. If this works out well, I'll try another batch with splenda, just to decrease the sugar we are consuming. If I like it, then I'll make different fruit slushy ice and serve it with frozen margaritas. Then, island grill night at my house will have jerk chicken, limey-coconut rice and fresh fruit slushy margaritas! My house will be popular....

Here's the recipe:

1.5 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 lb raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 tsp grated fresh lemon rind
1 TBSP fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp rose water (I omitted this)

Mix water and sugar in saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves. Pour into blender with remaining ingredients and puree. Pour through strainer into glass baking dish. Place in freezer and stir with a fork every 45 minutes until frozen. After about 3 hours, fluff with fork and serve. Will keep in freezer for 3 days.

Fruit Gazpacho, by Jenifer

2 c. tomato puree
3 c. orange juice (we like low acid)
2 t sugar ( or honey-this is what we use)
grated zest of one orange
grated zest of 1 lime
1 mango (or papaya) diced
2 c. diced cantaloupe
2 c. diced honeydew
1 diced apple (peeled)
1 c. blueberries
1 c. seedless grapes (halved)
sliced strawberries
sliced kiwi

Combine first 6 ingredients- process half of mixture in food processor (or blender). Recombine with remaining half. Add all but last two ingredients and chill for several hours. Garnish with kiwi and strawberries. Makes about 8 servings.

Chicken Legs in Apple-Peach Gravy, from Sue

I made chicken legs in an apple/peach gravy w/ morels;
Ingredients:

garlic, onions, leeks, olive oil, Kosher salt, apple, dried apricot, potatoes, chicken stock, bay leaf, celery flakes, sherry vinegar, sugar, cornstarch.

First I grilled the chick legs to seal in the juice (I don't know if this was actually necessary, but I did it anyway. The more dishes I dirty, the more proficient I feel)

In a large saute pan cook the garlic/onions/leeks in olive oil w/ a little Kosher salt. Add stock and bay leaf and simmer. Add the rest of the ingredients except the sugar. Let simmer until the apples start to get soft. Place sauce and chick legs in large pan and place in oven set to 375*. Cook until chick is done. Remove chick from pan and strain remaining liquid (arrange the solid pieces on serving plate) reserving it in a sauce pan. Place taters in a pan and bake a little while longer until done (you may want to broil them for a couple of minutes so they get crispy). In the mean time heat up sauce and slowly add corn starch (that has already been diluted in icewater) until you reach the gravy consistency you desire. Add sugar if you need it and then drizzle over chick & everything else.

Sarah's Sensational Fruit and Walnut Salad, from Sarah

I don't really believe in measurements for cooking, so you'll have to figure it out for yourself!

Sarah's Sensational Fruit and Walnut Salad

Sliced strawberries
Blueberries
Mandarin orange slices
Jicama (sliced thin)
Walnuts
Green peppers
Carrots
Cherry tomatoes
Spinach or green leaf lettuce (or both!)
Goat cheese crumbles (or better yet, crumble some yourself off the block)

Goes GREAT with Brianna's Blush Vinaigrette - yum! You can use almonds or some other nut if you prefer.

Fruit Salad, an idea from Carrie

Some sliced bananas, strawberries, grapes, oranges.

Crockpot Pork Chops, an idea from Carrie

I'm doing pork chops in the crockpot. I browned them in the skillet with a little oil then put them in the crock. Then I added thinly sliced Gala and Granny Smith apples that I had tossed with lemon juice, cinnimon and brown sugar.

I'll probably serve it with stuffing and corn.

Carrie later added: It did turn out pretty well. The only thing I think I would have done differently is add a bit of white sugar towards the end so the apples were a bit sweeter and then right before serving I should have pulled out the chops and used an immersion blender to puree the apples and juice, adding a bit of corn starch to thinken it up a bit. It would have worked as a topping for the chops a lot better that way. As it was, the sauce was kind runny.

A dessert idea from Heather

For dessert we have lowfat vanilla yogurt with fresh blackberries, raspberries, & mango. YUM!!