6-Ingredient Strawberry Flan

prep: 20 minutes
bake: 45 minutes
resting time: 4 hours (or more)
serves: 6

you’ll need…
1¼ cups sugar
¼ cup water
1 can (14 ounces) fat-free sweetened condensed skilm milk
1 pint strawberries, with stems removed, divided
8 egg whites or 1-cup liquid egg white substitute
1 4-ounce chocolate bar

let’s get to it…
Place six 6-ounce ramekins in a 13x9x2-baking dish; set aside. Heat oven to 350°F. Boil 4-cups of water; set aside.

Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan on medium high heat. Stir gently with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Take care not to splash the sides of the saucepan or the sugar will crystalize. Reduce heat to medium and cook without stirring for 5 to 8 minutes or until sugar has turned a golden brown.

Remove from heat immediately and pour caramel evenly into ramekins, rotating each so caramel coats sides and bottom.

Blend half of strawberries in a blender container until smooth (you’ll want about 1-cup pureed strawberries). Add sweetened condensed milk and egg whites or egg substitute. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute.

Pour mixture evenly into ramekins on top of caramel sauce. Pour boiling water into baking dish to come up to half the height of the mold. Cover lightly with foil. Bake for 40 to 45 minute, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean and the Strawberry Flan custard is set.

Remove ramekins from water and cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate Strawberry Flan at least 4-hours or overnight.

Run a thin knife around the mold edges to loosen.

Hold a plate over the mold; quickly turn over to unmold the Strawberry Flan. Let caramel drip down the sides.

Slice remaining strawberries in half. Cut the top part where you removed the stem into a V; set aside.

Microwave chocolate on a microwaveable plate on high for 15 to 20 seconds. Slowly pull a vegetable peeler over the bottom of chocolate, allowing a thin layer to curl as it is peeled off. For thinner curls, pull peeler over the edge of the chocolate bar. Use toothpicks to move chocolate curls. Garnish each flan with curls and strawberry hearts.

Cook’s Tip: No ramekins? Make it in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate! Place the pie-plate in a large roasting pan after pouring in the caramel. Add the prepared flan mixture. Increase the baking time to 55 to 60-mminutes.

If some of the caramel remains in the ramekin after unmolding, dip the bottom in very hot water. Pour over flan.

Make-Ahead BBQ Ribs

prep: 30 minutes
cook: about 1 hour to 1¼ hours
serves: 8

you’ll need…
for the ribs and the rub:
2 racks pork spare ribs (about 8 lbs.)
⅓ cup ground black pepper
⅓ cup paprika
⅓ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon salt

for the sauce:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
⅓ cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons chili powder

let’s get to it…
Heat oven to 300°F. Spray a rimmed baking tray with nonstick cooking spray. Place ribs on tray and pierce meat with a fork; set aside.
Mix pepper, paprika, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Rub ribs generously on both sides with rub.
Cover ribs tightly with foil; roast 1 to 1¼ hours. Remove from oven; cool and refrigerate until ready to grill.
Heat oil in a saucepan on medium high heat for 1 minute. Sauté the onion and garlic for 30 seconds to 1-minute. Add ketchup and vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and chili powder. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Heat grill to medium high; brush grill with oil. Place oven-roasted ribs on grill rack and brush with barbecue sauce. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes; turn, brush with sauce and cook 5 minutes longer. Remove from grill, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

cooking tip: Roast ribs the day before. Cool completely and wrap tightly in Saran™ Premium Wrap; refrigerate. When ready to grill, remove Saran™ Premium Wrap and cook as directed.

Chipotle-Honey Sweet Potato Wedges

prep: 20 minutes
cook: 25-30 minutes

you’ll need…
1 Tablespoon olive oil or non-stick spray
2 lbs. sweet potatoes
½ cup honey
2 Tbsp. orange juice
2-3 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, according to taste
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup crumbled queso fresco (optional)

let’s get to it…
Heat oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with foil. Coat with olive oil or spray with nonstick spray.
Peel sweet potatoes. Cut lengthwise into quarters. Cut into ½ inch planks. Place in a gallon size Ziploc® Brand Freezer Bag; set aside.
Blend honey, orange juice and chipotle chilies until smooth in a blender container. Pour into bag with sweet potatoes. Seal and shake gently to coat evenly. Remove sweet potatoes from Ziploc® bag and place on foil lined baking tray, reserving chipotle honey glaze.
Roast 15 minutes; turn and brush with glaze. Bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until fork tender. Remove from oven and brush with remaining glaze. Top with cilantro and queso fresco, if desired.

cooking know how:

• Cut sweet potatoes and blend honey chipotle mixture. Place in Ziploc® Brand Freezer Bag and refrigerate overnight; roast the following day as directed.
• Chipotle is a smoked, dried chile. Canned chipotle is usually packaged with adobo sauce, a spicy marinade. You can find canned chipotle in the ethnic section of your supermarket.

Easy Guava & Cheese Empanadas

prep: 20 minutes
bake: 10 to 12 minutes

you’ll need…
48 3-inch round or square wonton wrappers
2 eggs, beaten
8 ounces low-fat cream cheese
8 ounces guava paste, cut into 48 small pieces
nonstick butter spray

let’s get to it…
Adjust oven rack 6 inches from the top. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray a baking tray with nonstick butter spray.
Place 6 wonton wrappers on cutting board. Brush edge of each with egg. Place 1-teaspoon cream cheese and 1-piece of guava paste in center of each wrapper. (If using round wonton wrappers, fold over to make a half-moon and crimp edges. If using square wonton wrappers, fold over one pointed edge to make a triangle and press down to seal. Fold sides down toward center and fold center up.) Brush with egg wash and place on baking tray. Proceed as directed with remaining ingredients.
Spray tops of finished empanadas with nonstick butter spray. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes on top rack of oven until crisp and lightly brown. Serve immediately.