Entertaining

Mona’s Family Favorites: Not all party finger foods have to be heavy, greasy “calorie bombs.” These little “cherry bombs” are a simple and satisfying alternative for your guests. With only 25 calories in each filled tomato, you can go back for a second, or third, or fourth without any guilt!

Guacamole-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: The Perfect Portion

Recipe type: Entertaining

Makes: 24 Tomatoes or 6 Appetizer portions

Ingredients

• 24 large cherry tomatoes (about 2 pints)
• 1 lime, halved
• Salt
• 1 cup Fresh Guacamole (see recipe below)
• 6 corn tortilla chips, crushed
• Chili powder
• Fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Slice the tops and bottoms off each cherry tomato, cutting just a thin sliver from the bottoms for the tomatoes to stand upright.
2. Use a melon baller or grapefruit spoon to remove and discard the pulp and seeds from each tomato, placing them on a serving dish as you finish.
3. Squeeze the lime over all the tomatoes on the serving dish, and then lightly sprinkle with salt.
4. Fill each tomato with 2 teaspoons of the Fresh Guacamole, letting it pile up and out of the tomato.
5. Top the filled tomatoes with crushed tortilla chips, and then sprinkle lightly with chili powder. Garnish each with a leaf of fresh cilantro and serve.

HELPFUL TIP: Stores are often overstocked with (oval) grape tomatoes and have very few (round) cherry tomatoes. If you are having trouble finding them, don’t forget to check the organic produce section. They may even have both yellow and red cherry tomatoes to make a multicolored platter!

Serving size: 4 tomatoes Calories: 100

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Avocados are known to be an expensive, temperamental fruit, so it’s no wonder that store-bought guacamole is often loaded with fillers and preservatives to bulk it up and prolong the shelf life. Yet the one thing they don’t seem to bulk up guacamole products with is flavor! We vastly prefer homemade! The best time to make guacamole is when avocados go on sale, as they’re not only less expensive, but they’re typically at their peak as well.

Fresh Guacamole

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: The Perfect Portion

Recipe type: Entertaining

Makes: 3 Dip or 6 Topping portions

Ingredients

• 2 medium Haas avocados, halved and pitted
• Juice of ½ lime
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 1 tablespoon seeded and minced jalapeño
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Use a large spoon to scoop the avocado out of the peel, then roughly chop.
2. Place the chopped avocado in a medium-size mixing bowl, and toss with lime juice.
3. Use a heavy fork or potato masher to mash the avocado until creamy and mostly smooth.
4. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Serve immediately, or cover tightly and refrigerate for 1 hour to let the flavors combine.

HELPFUL TIP: A ripe Haas avocado has brown skin, is slightly soft to the touch, and reveals green when the short stem on the top is pulled out. Hard avocados should be ripened at room temperature. Ripe avocados can be kept in the fridge for 2–3 days before using.

Serving size: ¼ cup Calories: 100

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Forget about the packaged powder dips… bring your own amazing onion dip made with caramelized onions. The secret ingredient for the perfect 100 calorie portion? Greek Yogurt!

Forget about packaged powdered dips. We build layers of phenomenal flavor by first caramelizing onions and then mixing in bold seasonings. Cool, creamy, and loaded with onion flavor, this is a dip that you won’t want to wait to dive into!

French Onion Dip

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

Author: The Perfect Portion

Recipe type: Entertaining

Makes: 9 Appetizer portions

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups diced yellow onions
• 18 ounces plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¾ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper

Directions

1. Place the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, and cook until well caramelized, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the cooled onions and all the remaining ingredients, folding until well mixed.
3. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving garnished with additional chives, if desired.

HELPFUL TIP: Two cups of diced yellow onions is about the yield of two medium onions. Sweet yellow (Vidalia) onions are recommended over Spanish onions, as the natural sugars in the Vidalia onions will help them caramelize in step 1.

Serving size: ⅓ cup Calories: 100

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Smart Dipping

SALSA is the healthiest dip around—all fresh chopped veggies with a flavor kick!

Most homemade salsa recipes are made by either dicing tomatoes for a very chunky, pico de gallo style or by puréeing them to a thin, tomato sauce-like consistency. This recipe uses both techniques to give you a variety of fresh flavors and textures in every bite.

Restaurant-Style Salsa

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

Author: The Perfect Portion

Recipe type: Entertaining

Makes: 2 Appetizer or 8 Topping portions

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds plum tomatoes, halved
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ¼ cup finely diced green bell pepper
• 1 large jalapeño pepper, finely diced, with seeds
• Juice of 1 lime
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

Directions

1. Core, seed, and dice the plum tomatoes, and place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients, and toss to combine, adding any additional salt to taste.
3. Transfer ⅓ of the salsa to a food processor, and process until very finely minced and almost smooth.
4. Fold the puréed salsa back into the diced salsa, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to let the flavors combine before serving.

HELPFUL TIP: For a milder salsa, discard the seeds of the jalapeño, as that is where most of the heat comes from. Or simply omit the jalapeño and increase the diced green bell pepper from ¼ cup to ⅓ cup.

Serving size: 1⅓ cups Calories: 100

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Our moist and tender party meatballs hit all the parts of your taste buds, keeping you coming back for more. We boost the flavor of these miniature morsels by generously seasoning the meat with bold ingredients and then simmering them in a rich and tangy sauce. To keep the meatballs warm on a party buffet, simply serve them in a slow cooker set to low heat.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Author: The Perfect Portion

Recipe type: Entertaining

Makes: 24 meatballs or 6 appetizer portions

Ingredients

• 1 pound 93% lean ground beef
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 3 tablespoons minced yellow onion
• 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons parsley flakes
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to combine all meatball ingredients, except the canola oil.
2. Form the meatball mixture into 24 meatballs that are 1 inch in size (about the size of a ping-pong ball).
3. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Add the meatballs to the skillet, and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
5. Add all the sauce ingredients to a large sauce pot over medium heat and stir to combine.
6. Transfer the browned meatballs into the sauce ,and toss to coat. Cover, and let cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve stuck with toothpicks to easily pick up.

Sauce:

½ cup ketchup
⅓ cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon onion powder



HELPFUL TIP: These can also be made with extra lean (99% fat-free) ground turkey, if you prefer, though the final result will have nearly the same amount of calories.

Serving size: 2 meatballs Calories: 100

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We double the serving size of the average slice by using flatbread for our supreme pizzas! Cut the flatbreads at alternating angles for a sophisticated-looking appetizer that you know your guests will love. Enjoy a whole delicious flatbread pizza for lunch!

Supreme Flatbread Pizza

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

32 mins

 

Author: The Perfect Portion

Recipe type: Entertaining

Makes: 4 pizzas or 6 appetizer portions

Ingredients

• 4 flatbread pizza crusts (see tip)
• 1 cup prepared pizza sauce
• 1 ⅓ cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 32 slices turkey pepperoni
• ¾ cup sliced baby bella mushrooms
• ½ cup diced green bell pepper
• ¼ cup sliced black olives
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F, and place the pizza crusts on sheet pans.
2. Spread ¼ cup of the pizza sauce over each pizza crust.
3. Top the pizza sauce on each crust with ⅓ cup of mozzarella cheese.
4. Arrange 8 slices of turkey pepperoni and an equal amount of the mushrooms, bell peppers, and olives on each pizza. Sprinkle lightly with Italian seasoning.
5. Bake for 8–12 minutes, just until the cheese is bubbly and the pepperoni is crisp.

HELPFUL TIP: Many brands now sell low-calorie flatbread pizza crusts (usually
located in the deli, near the pita bread Standard sizes are 5 x 13 or 7 x 9 inches).

Serving size: ⅓ flatbread Calories: 100

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