• Banana Nog
• Cranberry Relish
• Sweet Potato Pear Soup
• Cranberry Stuffed Chicken Breasts
• Thai Crab Cakes w/ Cilantro-Peanut Sauce
• Lite Pumpkin Pie!

Banana Nog

Add all ingredients except nutmeg to blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Serve in four fancy serving glasses and top each with a pinch of nutmeg.

Cranberry Relish

Put cranberries and oranges into food processor. Pulse until chopped; put cranberry mixture into large bowl. Add pineapple and sugar to cranberry mixture; stir well. Cover; let stand at room temperature overnight. Refrigerate and eat the next day.

Sweet Potato Pear Soup

Start with olive oil in a soup pot over low heat. Add onion; simmer until soft. Add pears, sweet potatoes and remaining ingredients (except the spices). Bring to a boil, then simmer 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Puree in blender or food processor. Serve hot and garnish with allspice or nutmeg. (I use a potato masher because I prefer a lumpier texture, I also throw in a dollop of yogurt before serving)

Cranberry Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the diced apple until tender, about 3-4 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the cooked apple, cranberries, shallots and a splash of the chicken stock. Set aside. Cut a deep, horizontal pocket in the side of the chicken breast. Make the pocket as large as you can without piercing the top or bottom of the breast. Place ¼ of the apple mixture in the pocket of each chicken breast. Secure with toothpicks, threading along the side to close. Heat the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil in a heavy skillet until it begins to barely smoke. Cook each side of the chicken until brown. Add the vinegar and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes per side until cooked through. Remove chicken breast from skillet and keep warm. Continue to cook the sauce until it reduces to a thick syrup. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over each chicken breast to serve.

Thai Crab Cakes with Cilantro-Peanut Sauce

Combine the first 9 ingredients, breadcrumbs through crabmeat, in a medium bowl, cover and chill 1 hour. While chilling, prepare Peanut sauce for dipping (recipe below). Divide mixture into eight equal portions, shaping each into a ½-inch thick patty. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large, nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add 4 patties and sauté until each side is lightly browned. Remove patties from skillet. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels; recoat with cooking spray and repeat procedure with oil and 4 more patties. Serve with Peanut Sauce.

Peanut Sauce

Combine the first 7 ingredients, vinegar through garlic, in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth. Cool. Add cilantro and mint.

Lite Pumpkin Pie!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a glass 9-inch pie pan with oil. Combine gingersnaps and cereal bar in blender or food processor. Pulse until fine. Form the crust, lining the pan with crumbs but not all the way to the top edge. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Pour into crust slightly over the edge – this prevents the crust from burning. Bake on the bottom oven rack until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes.

Hint: You can make your own pumpkin pie spice with 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and a ½ teaspoon each of ground ginger, ground nutmeg and ground cloves.