Pumpkin Parmesan Popovers

I had some leftover canned pumpkin the other day (after making my pumpkin spice cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting) and I didn't want to waste it.  I somehow knew that I must be able to make a popover or something with the pumpkin - even though I have never made a popover in my life, and may have only ever eaten one.  I checked out a few different recipes, and eventually came up with one that I thought might work.  For a dinner party.  Yes - I am one of those people who makes things they have never made before for guests and prays that they turn out.  Yes - I am a mediocre baker who probably shouldn't risk baked goods given the number of flops I have brought to family dinners.  None of these facts are enough to deter me, so off I went, and you know what?  Even though I forgot about them for a minute and let them get just a * little * bit too brown, they were damn near perfect - just a bit crisp and browned on the outside, but soft and a bit wet in the middle.   They were delicious and four of us polished off 12 of them.  Win!

Pumpkin Parmesan Popovers
4 eggs
1 c milk (I used fat free)
1/2 c pumpkin (canned is fine)
3 tbsp butter - melted
1 c flour
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp chili powder or cayenne pepper
Parmesan cheese (oh go on - you know how much you like; just keep in mind that the Parm keeps the popovers from, well, popping over, so you might want to go easy on it.  I probably used a pinch per popover.)

Preheat your oven to 375 and spray a muffin tin with cooking spray (I used butter flavored).  Whisk together the wets: eggs, milk, butter and pumpkin.  Combine the drys (flour, salt, chili powder) and whisk those into the wets.
Pour into the muffin tin; filling each no more than 2/3 full - this was just enough batter for 12 popovers for me.
Sprinkle a pinch of Parmesan on top of each.
Bake for 30 minutes or so; slit tops to allow steam to escape and bake 10 minutes more.

And yes, you can do these in advance and reheat them - I'd say a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes or so should do it!

Chicken and Biscuits

Well, it IS possible. You can make a South Beach version of Chicken n Biscuits. I'm not a huge fan of this dish in general, but was determined to make a nice comforting SB version.
Starting with this recipe for the main dish, and recipe for Carquik biscuits from this site and tweaked them to make my final dish. I wasn't wild about the whole wheat flour in the dish - it made it look a bit weird and seemed just a tad gluey on reheating the next day; maybe next time I'll use more broth.

SB Chicken & Biscuits
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped baby carrots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons Splenda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups chicken broth (or more as needed for desired consistency - I wanted a thicker sauce)
1 (15 ounce) can peas, drained
4 cups diced, cooked chicken meat (I used a rotisserie chicken for this)
cooking sherry or Dry Sac
fat free half and half

Biscuits:
2 cups Carbquik
1/2 fat free half and half cup
1/8 cup water
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp dried basil
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place dry mix & baking soda in mixer bowl. On low speed, slowly add liquid until dough forms. Do not overwork dough.
Break into 6 equal portions; roll dough into balls and smoosh flat to be placed on top of the casserole mixture before baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Cook and stir the garlic, onion, celery, and carrots in butter until softened; add in the mushrooms and 1/4 c of the sherry and let the liquid cook down a bit until veggies are tender. Mix in the flour, sugar, salt, 1 teaspoon dried basil, and pepper. Stir in broth, and bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, boil 1 minute, reduce heat, and stir in peas and half and half. Simmer 5 minutes, then mix in chicken. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish.
Place the prepared biscuits on top of the casserole and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Cover with foil, and bake for 10 more minutes.

Carbquik

My fellow SBers probably miss their starchy carby treats as much as I do, so I'm sure that these suggestions will create a flurry of activity in Carbquik sales.

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits
* makes 16 biscuits *
2 c Carbquik
2 oz cold butter
1/2 c shredded lowfat cheddar cheese
1 pinch garlic powder
1 pinch salt
1/4 c TJs ff half and half
1/4 c water

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees -Cut the cold butter into the Carbquik with either a pasty cutter or two knives, till the mixture resembles coarse meal. -Add the shredded cheese, a pinch of salt, and garlic powder and blend well. -Mix the cream with water to equal 1/2 cup of liquid, pour into dry mix -Mix till dough forms and comes together, but do not overwork the dough. -Drop the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet approx 1 ounce size portions. -Bake in hot oven 8-10 minutes till biscuits are golden brown.

Blue Cheese Bites (not quite so healthy. . . )
* makes 4 dozen *

2 4 ounce packages crumbled blue cheese 1/2 cup butter-softened 1 1/3 cups Carbquik Mix 1/3 cup poppy seeds 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper Walnut or pecan halves (optional)

Beat cheese and butter at medium speed of electric beater until creamy. Add Carbquik, poppy seeds and red pepper, beat until blended. Divide dough in half-shape each half into 8" log. Wrap in wax paper and chill 2 hours or until firm. The dough can be rolled into logs, chilled overnight, and sliced and baked the next day. You can omit the chilling time by rolling the dough out to 1/4" and using a 2" biscuit cutter to cut out rounds. Preheat oven to 350. Cut each log into 1/4" slices, place on ungreased baking sheets. Press a walnut or pecan half into each slice-if desired. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Cool 1 minute on pans-remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Carbquik Beer Batter (onion rings here I come . . . )

1 pound fish fillets 4 tablespoons Carbquik 1 cup carbquik 1/2 cup low carb beer 1 whole egg 1 teaspoon salt Canola oil for frying Low Carb Tartar Sauce (ew) 1/2 cup Mayonnaise 1/4 cup Sour Cream 3 tablespoons pickle relish, no sugar added

Heat oil (1 1/2 inches) in heavy saucepan or deep fryer to 350ºF. Lightly coat fish in the 4 tablespoons of carbquik. -Mix remaining ingredients with hand beater or wire whisk until smooth. (If batter is too thick, stir in additional beer, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.) -Dip fish into batter, letting excess drip into bowl.(Being very careful not to break the batter using a very light touch on the fish, or use a fork to spear the fish) -Fry fish about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown; drain. Serve hot with Low Carb tartar sauce.

Carbquik Banana Bread
2 1/3 c Carbquik
1/2 c Splenda
1/2 c Steel's Nature Sweet Brown Crystals
1/3 c canola oil
3 eggs
1 tbs milk
3 large, very ripe bananas
1 tbs vanilla extract
3/4 c chopped nuts

Mix together Carbquik, Splenda, brown crystals, oil, eggs and milk; beat well. Stir in bananas. Add vanilla and nuts. Bake in loaf pan at 350 degrees 55-60 minutes. Let cool on rack 15 minutes, then invert on plate or rack.