Grilled Chicken with Pear and Goat Cheese Salad

Sweet pear, tart cherries and goat cheese, and perfectly grilled chicken. What combination could possibly go better for a summer salad?

Ingredients:
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 Red Pear (Anjou), quartered and thinly sliced
3 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. honey
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed
2 Tbs. chopped walnuts
3 oz. spinach (i prefer stems trimmed)
1 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
2 Tbs. dried cherries, chopped
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with tinfoil and spray with non stick cooking spray. Spread out the sliced onion on the prepared sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the balsamic, 1 Tbs. olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. Set aside. Meanwhile, season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Set a grill pan on medium heat. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil (about 1 tsp. each) and place on the grill. Cook for 5 minutes on each side and let rest while gathering the salad ingredients.

In a small skillet, toast the walnuts on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Place the spinach in a bowl and add 1 Tbs. of the balsamic mix; toss together. Divide the spinach onto two serving plates. Top with the sliced pear, chopped walnuts and cherries, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle with more fo the balsamic dressing. Slice the chicken into strips and place next to the salad. (Serve with a small bowl of the dressing instead of drizzling if you are worried about the spinach wilting.)

Skinny Cheesecake Stuffed Pears with a Cranberry Orange Sauce

I love pears cooked in some sort of fruity liquid. They still hold their shape (which is perfect since these are stuffed with cheesecake), yet they become so soft that you can eat them like a pudding!

Ingredients:

3 pears, cut in half and cored
1 cinnamon stick
1 c. 100% cranberry juice
1 c. 100% orange juice
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Cheesecake filling:

1 c. light cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 c. dried cranberries (Craisins)
1/2 c. sliced almonds

Place the pears in a very large saucepan. Add the cinnamon stick, juices, and scrape out the vanilla bean seeds and add both the seeds and the stems. Bring the pan to a boil and then reduce the heat. Cover the pan with a lid and let simmer for around 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the cream cheese, vanilla and almond extracts until you have a smooth creamy consistency. Stir in the cranberries and almonds.

Spoon the pears very carefully into a tupperware container in a single layer. Cover and refrigerate them until they are fully cool to the touch (at least a half an hour). While they are cooling, boil the liquid mixture until it is reduced to half the amount and is thicker in consistency. Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean from the liquid mixture.

To serve, fill each cavity of the pears with the cheesecake mixture. If the cheesecake mixture is still too thick, add a few tablespoons of the reduced cooking liquid. Place the pear  on your serving plate and drizzle with the sauce.

Caramelized Pears

This pear recipe with a homemade pan caramel sauce is to die for! Salty, sweet and juicy all at the same time.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 pears, cored           

1/4 c. brown sugar   

1 tsp. vanilla

Pinch of salt

       

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high. Add pears cut side down and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook 3 minutes. Turn pears to other side and cook 4 minutes.

Add sugar and 1 tablespoon water, moving the pears around in the pan to combine the ingredients. Turn pears skin side down again and cook for two more minutes. Stir in vanilla and pinch of salt. Serve warm with light Cool Whip (or if you are a whipped cream fan).

Asian Pear Cinnamon Water

 

If you are anything like myself, you, if you can help it, do not drink plain water with no flavoring. Unlike what people say, water does indeed have a taste, we just don't know how to describe it. This recipe is a perfect way to spruce up water using ingredients that you most likely have in your home, and the best part about it is that it is all natural. And if you are on any diet program, it is still just flavored water, and zero points!

Ingredients:

1 Asian pear, cored and thinly sliced
6 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp. ground ginger (mine is from a squeeze bottle, you could use a small piece of fresh ginger)

Ready for the recipe? There isn't one.....you just add all of the above ingredients to a pitcher, fill with water, and if possible let sit overnight in your refrigerator so that the ingredients can seep into the water. The longer you leave it, the stronger the flavoring.

Pear Ginger Pie

Ingredients:

1 store-bought pie crust (or homemade)
5 Bosc pears, peeled and sliced
1 lemon, grated, plus 1 Tbs. juice
2 Tbs. flour
3 Tbs. orange marmalade

3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
5 Tbs. cold butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spread the crust out evenly inside a pie dish and fold the ends over (or do whatever pattern you normally do for pies). Spread the orange marmalade on top of the crust in the bottom of the pie dish. In a large bowl, mix the pears, lemon peel and juice, and 2 Tbs. flour together. Pour into the prepared crust and spread in an even layer. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and butter together either with your fingers (I find this much easier) or a pastry blender. Crumble on top of the filling in a somewhat even layer. Bake the pie for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 40 more minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Banana Pear Petite Muffins

Ingredients:

1/3 c. sugar
5 Tbs. butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 c. milk, 1%
4 large ripe bananas, mashed
3 pears, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In an electric mixer, beat the softened butter with the sugar until it is fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and continue to combine. Add the baking powder and baking soda and continue to mix. Add half of the flour, then the milk, and the remaining flower as you are mixing. Fold in the bananas and the pears (the batter will be really thick before adding the fruit). Line mini muffin tins with baking cups. Fill the baking cups almost all of the way full. Bake for 12 minutes in the oven, let cool slightly in the pans, and then cool fully on a wire rack. (This recipe makes approximately 70 mini muffins. (Makes 70 petite muffins, 1 WW point per muffin.)

Ginger Apple Pear Muffins

Ingredients:

1 large pear, with skin, finely chopped
1 large apple, peeled and cored, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 c. sour cream
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. pear extract
1/3 c. milk, 1%
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. beet powder (or a drop of red food coloring)
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbs. warm water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with liners. Combine the apple, pear, cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl, and set aside. In medium size bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg, vanilla, pear extract and milk, and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and soda and salt together. Make a well in the center. Pour half of the wet mixture and fruit mixture into the center of the well. Mix everything together gently with a spatula. Then add the remaining liquid mixture and fruit mixture. Mix just until everything is incorporated well. Divide evenly among the muffin cups. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack. While the muffins are cooling, mix the powdered sugar, ground ginger, beet powder and warm water together with a spoon. Drizzle on top of the cool muffins, and top with your sprinkles! (Makes 12 muffins, 4 WW points each.)

Poached Pears in a Chocolate Raspberry Wine Sauce

Ingredients:
3 firm pears, peeled, cored, and cut into quarters
2 c. Chocolate Raspberry Wine (photo after directions)
3/4 c. sugar
1 vanilla bean, cut lengthwise
cool whip for topping

Heat the chocolate raspberry wine and the vanilla bean in a saucepan on medium-low heat. When the wine starts to bubble slightly, add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add the pears to the wine and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the pears and place on your serving dish. Simmer the wine a while longer (3-5 minutes) to thicken to a syrup/sauce consistency. Spoon over your pears. Add cool whip or ice cream to serve with it.

Pear with pancetta and goat cheese

I found this recipe in a magazine, and it looked SO GOOD! I made it for my college graduation party. They turned out great!

2 pears, cored and sliced sideways so they make thin rings. 

4 oz. goat cheese, spread out and crumbled on top of pears.

Pancetta, baked for 10-14 minutes at 375 degrees and are crispy, then crumbled on top.

Honey to drizzle on top of the stacks.

Garnish with a thyme sprig.