Mini Pizzas

• English muffins (South Beach adaptation - whole wheat English muffins, or sliced broiled Portabella mushrooms)
• Pizza (or spaghetti) sauce (South Beach adaptation - low sugar sauce; Picky eater adaptation - add small jar of baby food squash or carrots to the sauce for extra veggies.)
• Preferred pizza toppings (South Beach adaptation - ham, Canadian bacon, and/or veggies)
• Mozzarella Cheese (South Beach adaptation - 2% Mozzarella).

1)  Slice and toast English muffins (or broil Portabellas)

2)  Preheat oven to 350

3)  Top English muffins (or Portabellas) with sauce, toppings and cheese

4)  Bake 10-12 minutes or until cheese is golden brown

Make it a meal:  Salad (South Beach adaptation - 2 Tbsp. vinaigrette dressing)

Enjoy!

~A healthier twist on an old favorite

Pecan Crusted Chicken

• 1 package boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 cup pecan halves (more or less to taste)
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp. salt (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. pepper (more or less to taste)
• Olive oil

1)  Place pecan halves in ziplock bag and crush, place on large plate
2)  Place eggwhites in large bowl and whip
3)  Add salt and pepper to eggwhites
4)  Coat skillet with olive oil and turn on medium high heat
5)  Coat both sides of the chicken in the eggwhite mixture
6)  Press chicken into pecans
7)  Place chicken into skillet and cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked through.
8)  Salt and pepper to taste

Serving suggestion:  spread with a wedge of light garlic flavored Laughing Cow cheese

Make it a meal: Steamed fresh green beans

Enjoy!

~Created by: Josh Kellems

Peanut Butter Chocolate Suprise No Bake Cookies

• 1/4 cup peanut butter (South Beach adaptation - use low sugar or natural)
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 small jar baby food sweet potatoes or squash
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 cup rolled oats (South Beach adaptation - use old fashioned, not quick oats)

1) Place peanut butter, chocolate chips, baby food and oil in a microwave safe bowl
2) Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring until melted
3) Add rolled oats, stir
4) Roll into balls and place on waxed paper.
5) Refrigerate until firm

Enjoy!

~Created by: Claire Kellems

The Idea for Kellems' Kitchen

We have an overflowing recipe box with scraps of paper, magazine clippings, and handwritten recipe cards as well as a shelf full of cookbooks in our cabinet. I'm sure most kitchens have a similar array of recipes, but it seems like most people fall into a rut - cooking the same meals over and over again. I have been looking for a way to organize my recipes and track what we like and don't like, and I decided I could share this information with all of you. We are currently in Phase II of the South Beach diet, so our eating habits have drastically changed in the past few weeks. This has led to some new and interesting recipes that I'd like to share. Our son is a picky eater, so we have to be creative to get any vegetables into his diet. I will post some of the ideas we've come up with that may be helpful to some of you. I hope you find this interesting, enjoyable and helpful. I added some gadgets to the sidebar that went with the food theme. The in season vegetables may give you some ideas. Enjoy!