Cheese bread on light side

Dear Recipe Doctor: My mom used to make a cheese bread in the skillet, and I can sometimes find a similar skillet bread at certain steakhouse restaurants. It was delicious, but pretty rich. I would like to make it at home for my family but I want to make it as healthy as possible … suggestions?

A: I’m calling this Texas Cheese Toast because it works well to make this skillet cheese bread with thickly sliced bread. You can either buy thickly sliced whole wheat bread in the grocery store or you can buy whole wheat bread at a nearby bakery and ask to have it cut into thick slices.

Often this type of cheese skillet bread is buttered on both sides of the bread, but we are going to cut the calories and fat dramatically by lightly spreading one side of each bread slice with a good tasting low-fat margarine with plant sterols added if desired (which help lower serum cholesterol).

Sprinkle a pinch of garlic powder over the margarine then gently press the margarine side of the bread into a mixture of shredded parmesan and shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese. The calories drop from 354 to 250 per serving, and the grams of fat go from 19 grams to 8, saturated fat from 10 to 3 grams, cholesterol from 43 to 9 milligrams. Fiber increased from 1 gram to 4 grams.

Quick Fix Texas Cheese Toast

4 thick (large) slices of whole wheat bread

2 tablespoons less fat margarine (with 8 grams of fat per tablespoon) with plant sterols added – whipped butter can be substituted if desired

4 pinches garlic powder

4 pinches cayenne red pepper (optional)

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 ounces shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese (about 1/3 cup lightly heaping and firmly packed)

Spread one side of each large bread slice with 1 1/2 teaspoon margarine. Sprinkle a pinch of garlic powder (and a pinch of cayenne pepper if desired) over evenly over each margarine-topped bread slice.

Add Parmesan and shredded cheddar to a small food processor bowl (if you don’t have one of these, just toss the two cheeses together in a medium shallow bowl) and pulse briefly to create a nice blended cheese mixture. Place in a medium shallow bowl.

Gently press the margarine side of each bread slice into the mixture of shredded parmesan and shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese. You can also sprinkle a fourth of the cheese mixture over the buttered side of each bread slice then gently press it down with your fingers.

Start heating a large nonstick skillet or frying pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, place the slices cheese side down in the hot pan. After about 60 to 90 seconds, use the spatula to check if the underside of the cheese bread is lightly brown. Then flip each slice over to lightly brown the unbuttered side of the bread. Serve with soup, salad, entrees or as an appetizer.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 250 calories, 8 grams fat (3 grams saturated, 30 percent fat calories), 34 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams dietary fiber, 9 milligrams cholesterol, 370 milligrams sodium. Weight Watchers Points: 5