Fruit Kebabs with Lime Cream

1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
sugar substitute equivalent of 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
1/2 ripe honeydew melon, about 2 pounds, peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes
1 pound strawberries or blackberries, cleaned

Combine the sour cream, lime juice, sugar substitute, and lime zest in a small bowl.Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.Alternate the fruit on four skewers. Arrange on a platter. Cover and refrigerate for upto an hour. To serve, spoon a puddle of the lime cream on a dessert plate. Top witha fruit skewer and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Fresh Vegetable Pizza

2 (4-ounce) fresh pizza bread shells olive oil vegetable spray
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
1/2 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 small yellow summer squash, 3 ounces, thinly sliced
1 plum tomato, 3 ounces, thinly sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, 3 ounces, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450F. Place the pizza shells on a pizza stone or heavy non-stickcookie sheet. Lightly coat shells with cooking spray and sprinkle each shell with1/8 teaspoon of the garlic powder. Sprinkle each shell with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.Arrange the mushroom slices around the outside of the shell. Cover the shell with squashslices and then, tomato slices and bell pepper. Top with fresh basil, the remaining garlicpowder, the remaining mozzarella cheese, and the Parmesan cheese. Coat again withcooking spray.Bake for 12 -15 minutes until vegetables are cooked and cheeses have melted. Cut inhalf and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Fourth of July Cheesecake

3 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
4 Tablespoons margarine, metled
3 Tablespoons NutraSweet® Spoonful
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin
1 cup skim milk
2 packages (8 ounces each) reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 package (3 ounces) reduced fat cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 to 1/2 cup NutraSweet® Spoonful
1 pint blueberries
2 pints raspberries

Mix crumbs, margarine and 3 Tablespoons NutraSweet® Spoonful in medium bowl;pat evenly on bottom of jelly roll pan, 15 by 10 inches.Sprinkle gelatin over milk in small saucepan; let stand 2 to 3 minutes. Heat over mediumlow heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved. Cool to room temperature.Beat cream cheese until fluffy in large bowl; gradually beat in milk mixture. Beat in lemonjuice and rind, vanilla and 1/3 to 1/2 cup NutraSweet® Spoonful. Pour mixture over crust;refrigerate until set, 3 to 4 hours.Before serving, decorate to look like an American flag, using blueberries for the stars andthe raspberries for the stripes.

Diabetic Fruit Cookies

3 medium sized ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped mixed dried fruits (such as dates, apricots and raisins)
1/3 cup peanut or safflower oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds or pecans)
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup uncooked oat bran

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 2 large cookie sheets. Mash bananas in large bowl untilsmooth (You should have about 1-1/2 cups). Stir in oil, vanilla and salt. Add oats, oatbran,mixed fruits and nuts; stir well to combine. Drop by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls ontoprepared cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart. Flatten out slightly with back of spoon.Bake about 20-25 minutes or until bottom and edges of cookies are lightly browned.Transfer cookies onto wire rack to cool completely. Store in refrigerator.

Yield: 24 servings

Cream Cheese and Jelly Cookies

3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 teaspoons Equal® for Recipes or 8 packets Equal® sweetener or 1/3 cup Equal®Spoonful
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup black cherry or seedless raspberry spreadable fruit

Beat margarine, cream cheese and Equal® in medium bowl until fluffy; mix in flourand salt to form a soft dough.Cover and refrigerate until dough is firm, about 3 hours.Roll dough on lightly floured surface into circle 1/8 thick; cut into rounds with 3-inchcutter.Place rounded 1/4 teaspoon spreadable fruit in center of each round; fold rounds in halvesand crimp edges firmly with tines of fork. Pierce tops of cookies with tip of sharp knife.Bake cookies on greased cookie sheets in preheated 350 degree F oven until lightlybrowned,about 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Makes about 3 dozen

Chocolate Cheesecake

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 packages (8 ounces each) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup plus
2 tablespoons sugar, divided
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 container (16 ounces) reduced-fat sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the graham crackercrumbsand butter; mix well. Press into a 10-inch springform pan, covering the bottom and sides.Chillwhile preparing the filling. In a large bowl, blend the cream cheese and 1 cup sugar with an electric beater. Add theeggsone at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and the cocoa; mixwell,then pour into the chilled crust. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until firm. Remove from theovenand let cool for 5 minutes. (Leave the oven on.) In a medium bowl, with a spoon, mix the sour cream and the remaining 2 tablespoonssugarand 1 teaspoon vanilla until well combined. Spread over the top of the cheesecake andbake for5 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate overnight before serving.

Chocolate Banana Mousse

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
1 cup evaporated skim milk
3 tablespoons granulated sugar replacement
2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 bananas, sliced

Combine chocolate, 1/4 cup of the milk and the sugar replacement in top of doubleboiler. (Chill remaining milk in freezer.)

Cook and stir over simmering water until chocolate melts. Pour amount of hot chocolatemixture over egg yolks and beat well. Pour egg mixture into chocolate mixture on top ofdouble boiler. Stir in salt. Cook and stir over hot water until mixture thickens. Coolcompletely.

Scrape cold or slightly frozen milk into mixing bowl and beat until very stiff. Foldchocolatemixture into stiffly beaten milk. Fold in vanilla extract and banana slices. Spoon into mold,freezer tray or individual cups and freeze until firm.

Yields 8 servings.

Chicken Pasta Salad

1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons sherry
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon. pepper
1 cup cooked spiral pasta, drained
2 cups cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups fresh snow peas, strings removed and blanched
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup water chestnuts, sliced
1/4 cup toasted almonds, for garnish

In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, soy sauce, sherry, ground ginger, and pepper.Set aside. In a separate bowl combine pasta chicken, snow peas, green onions, and waterchestnuts and toss with dressing mix. Refrigerate overnight. Sprinkle with toasted almondsbefore serving.

Cherry Turnovers

8 frozen phyllo dough sheets, thawed
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
6 Tablespoons no-sugar-added black cherry fruit spread
1 1/2 tablespoons cherry liqueur (optional)
1 egg
1 teaspoon cold water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly brush each phyllo sheet withbutter; stack. Cut through all sheets to form six (5-inch) squares. Combine fruit spread and cherry liqueur, if desired.Place 1 tablespoon fruit spread mixture in center of each pile of eight phyllo squares; brush edges of phyllo withbutter. Fold edges over to form triangle; gently press edges together to seal. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Beattogether egg and water; brush over phyllo triangles. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 6 turnovers

Apple-Cheddar Popovers

butter-flavored cooking spray
1 tart apple, such as Pippin, Granny Smith, or Fuji, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/3 cup shredded 2% sharp cheddar cheese
2 large eggs
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup low fat (1%) milk
1 tablespoon reduced-fat margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 450F. Lightly coat 8 popover cups with cooking spray. Place 1 tablespooneach of the apple and cheese at the bottom of each popover cup. In a food processor orblender, combine eggs, flour, and salt. Process until well blended. With the machinerunning,add milk and margarine through the feed tube. Process until smooth. Fill the cupstwo-thirdsfull with the batter. Bake for 15 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 350F, and continue tobake for another 20 minutes until popovers are puffed and golden brown. Let cool at least15 minutes, then remove from pan.

Makes 8 servings.