Just as soon as you put away your Super Bowl party supplies this year, it’s time to take out the Mardi Gras masks. Once again, we have an opportunity to get together with our friends and enjoy great times and great food. Since we don’t want Fat Tuesday to turn into Fat February, especially with swimsuit season only a couple months away, we turned to Holly Clegg, author of Holly Clegg Trim & Terrific Home Entertaining The Easy Way. Here are some wonderful recipes with all the Cajun flavor of Mardi Gras with fewer fat and calories.
“Low” Fat Tuesday Menu
Mardi Gras Punch
Mardi Gras Salad
Speedy Shrimp Jambalaya
Crawfish Fettuccine
Sweet Potato Praline Coffee Cake
Gooey Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
Mardi Gras Punch
Makes approximately 6 quarts.
Get in the spirit with this purplish punch, full of wonderful juices. Float the lime slices on top. To serve a smaller group, simply halve the ingredients. Best yet, this drink is fat-free.
3 cups grape juice
1 (46-ounce) can pineapple juice
4 cups orange juice
1 (2-liter) bottle ginger ale
Limes, sliced
In a large bowl or container, mix together grape juice, pineapple juice, and orange juice. Pour in ginger ale before serving.
Mardi Gras Salad
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
This festive salad is enhanced with Mardi Gras colors and a sensational slightly sweet dressing. Make the dressing ahead of time toss with salad ingredients when ready to serve.
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 head red leaf lettuce, washed, drained and torn into pieces
1 (10-ounce) package baby spinach, washed, drained
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 (11-ounces each) cans mandarin oranges, drained
1/3 cup shredded carrots
4 slices center cut bacon, crisply fried, crumbled
Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the onion, vinegar, sugar, mustard and olive oil. Refrigerate until ready to toss salad. In a large salad bowl, combine lettuce, spinach, red onion, mandarin oranges, carrots and bacon. Toss dressing with salad when ready to serve.
Speedy Shrimp Jambalaya
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Talk about easy, talk about good. Serve this succulent dish over rice, pasta, patty shells, cornbread, or biscuits. Using reduced-fat sausage and fat-free sour cream makes this recipe a healthier rendition compared to the classic jambalaya dish.
Ingredients:
1 (16-ounce) jar roasted pepper and garlic chunky salsa
8 ounces reduced-fat smoked sausage, diced
1/2 pound peeled small shrimp
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 bunch green onions (scallions), sliced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3/4 cup fat-free sour cream
Directions:
Mix salsa, sausage, shrimp, thyme and 1/3 cup green onions in skillet. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix cayenne and sour cream. Serve with an extra dollop of sour cream on top.
Crawfish Fettuccine
Makes 10 servings.
If you are a crawfish fan, this mouthwatering low-fat meal will be high on your list. This dish is great for crowds and it even freezes well.
Ingredients:
1 pound fettuccine
1/4 cup margarine
1 large onion, chopped
2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups skim milk
2 pound light pasteurized cheese spread
2 pounds crawfish tails
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Directions:
Cook fettuccine according to directions on package, omitting oil and salt. Drain and set aside. In a large pot, melt margarine and saute green pepper, red pepper, and garlic until tender. Add flour, stirring until mixed. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Add cheese, stirring until melted. Rinse crawfish tails and drain well. Add crawfish, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne. Toss with pasta, heat, and serve.
Sweet Potato Praline Coffee Cake
Makes 12 servings
Hot out of the oven, a scrumptious melt-in-your mouth cake is hard to beat. The sensational Praline topping makes every bite a yummy one. You may use cooked fresh Louisiana yams or canned yams – remember to look for the Louisiana variety for the sweetest! Make two and freeze one for later.
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, divided
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 1/2 cups biscuit baking mix
1 (15-ounce) can sweet potatoes (yams), drained, mashed or 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a 9 x 9 x 2-square non-stick baking pan, melt the butter in the oven (remove pan once butter melts and set it aside). Stir in 2/3 cup brown sugar and corn syrup and spread the mixture evenly in the pan. Sprinkle with pecans. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the biscuit baking mix, sweet potatoes, and milk until the dough forms a ball. Turn dough onto a surface dusted with baking mix, knead several times and roll or pat into a 12-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with the remaining 3 tablespoons brown sugar and cranberries. Roll up the dough jellyroll style from the longer side. Cut crosswise into one-inch pieces and arrange sitting on top of the pecan mixture in pan. The dough will spread when baking. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately turn upside down onto serving plate.
*To freeze, cool to room temperature, wrap with plastic wrap, label and freeze for up to 6 months. When ready to serve, thaw to room temperature and reheat in an oven at 350 degrees F.
Gooey Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
Makes 36 brownies
Rich and gooey yet simple to make, these incredible brownies are like melt-in-your-mouth miniature candy bars – but with less fat!
Ingredients:
1 (18.25-ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (12-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk, divided
1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 large egg white
1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1/2 cup peanut butter morsels
1/2 cup chopped peanuts, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13x9x2-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, mix together cake mix, 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, and margarine or butter. Pat two-thirds of the batter into bottom of pan (the batter is stiff and sticky). Bake for 10 minutes. In a mixing bowl, mix remaining sweet condensed milk and marshmallow creme. Stir in peanut butter morsels and peanuts. Carefully spread mixture evenly over partially baked brownie layer. Drop remaining batter by spoonfuls over marshmallow mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.
