Editor's note: Elaine Magee has decided to no longer publish The Recipe Doctor in newspapers. This will be her last column in the Lifestyle section.Dear Readers: Thank you all for reading my column over the years, but this is my final column. It is my hope that I helped bring ......

Dear Recipe Doctor, my family loves chocolate pudding but I don't want to use the instant puddings anymore. Have you ever lightened a chocolate pudding recipe? If so, please share!If you are using store-bought pudding mixes you have two options; make regular pudding with a regu......

Dear Recipe Doctor, I just enjoyed a moist and delicious chocolate cupcake from a bakery and it made me wonder if you had ever lightened a plain chocolate cupcake? If so, please pass along the recipe.Cupcakes are tricky because if you reduce the sugar too much and add too much whol......

Dear Recipe Doctor, I have been using my slow cooker lately and would love to know if you have a fun, new slow cooker recipe to share with us.I too have resurrected my Crock-Pot recently. I love that you can invest some time on the front end and then reap major rewards when you nee......

Dear Recipe Doctor, My family loves hamburgers. Do you have a lean but tasty burger recipe I can try this BBQ season?Are you ready for something a little different? I thought a Teriyaki Burger might be fun to try. The burger is made by blending a ground sirloin or extra lean ground......

Dear Recipe Doctor: Do you have a favorite brownie recipe that you could share with us? My family has loved your light and whole-wheat cookie recipes but wondered if you had done the same thing with brownies.You bet I have a favorite brownie recipe to share. Here's the big surp......

Dear Recipe Doctor, I would like a lighter potato recipe to try for this year's Easter Dinner. Thought you might have a suggestion or two.Many families across the country make some version of this popular potato side dish on Easter, but the truth is, it complements many differe......

Dear Recipe Doctor, I absolutely LOVE tamales and I would really like to make them at home without lard and with all sorts of more healthful ingredients. I don't have a lot of time in the kitchen though. Your thoughts?The fastest way to make homemade tamales is to make tamale p......

Dear Recipe Doctor, I had chicken-fried steak at a restaurant the other day and it reminded me how much I like this dish. Can you show me how to make this light and lean at home?When I think of chicken-fried steak I think of Southern comfort food. And it really is possible to keep ......

Editor's note: Why these rolls are called "zombies" is not known, but the dough must rise and it eventually oozes, so perhaps that's reason enough.Dear Recipe Doctor: I remember fondly the cheese zombies that the school cafeteria would make but they were made wit......

Dear Recipe Doctor, I am addicted to shortbread and I am begging you to make up a buttery but light shortbread recipe for me. Please help!I understand the affinity for shortbread and butter. I'm no Paula Deen though, so I whipped up a shortbread dough using half whipped butter ......

Dear Recipe Doctor, I'm always looking for quick all-in-one dinner recipes that I can make for my family. Any suggestions?This request seemed to scream "slow cooker" which reminded me of a slow-cooker lasagna I threw together the other day that gives you, along with t......

Dear Recipe Doctor, do you have an appetizer recipe that is easy but can be served at more elegant functions?Dear Reader: It's that wonderful time of year when we are attending all sorts of work and friend functions, many of which we are asked to bring an appetizer to. I like t......

Okay, so nobody asked me to come up with a biscuit recipe for the holiday season. This was just something I was inspired to try after drinking some light eggnog one November evening. Granted, you can only make these during the holiday season when eggnog is available. But after that, just switch t......

It's that wonderful week in November when pumpkin pie and roast turkey are front and center on dinner tables throughout the country. And it's probably the only time during the year when you buy the obligatory can of evaporated milk. I don't know about you but I always shudder when I s......

Dear Recipe Doctor: I would love to make a very lean steak at home with a mushroom sauce. I had something similar at a restaurant. I'm trying to switch to leaner cuts of beef and am looking for new recipes to try.Have I got a recipe for you! This savory main entrée was i......

Dear Recipe Doctor: I would like to make this recipe for chocolate cookie-cutter cookies that I saw on the Martha Stewart Web site. How would you make them more healthful?I like the idea of chocolate cookie-cutter dough (for a change), and I really like the idea of using cocoa powd......

Dear Recipe Doctor, I saw this recipe for Boudin Bakery Brownies in the LA Times and really want to make a healthier version at home and I need the recipe to make a smaller amount (the original recipe makes a 9-inch-by-13-inch pan). Can you help? I wouldn't trust this recipe to anyone but the......

DEAR RECIPE DOCTOR: I love your column. Can you give me any ideas for the Shepherd's Pie at The Cheesecake Factory, how to make it less fattening and low in carbs? Thank you for any help you may be able to give me.I modeled this Light Shepherd's Pie recipe after the Cheesec......

DEAR RECIPE DOCTOR: My friend's dad makes these flavorful cheeseburgers, and I want to make them myself, but I think he uses onion soup mix, barbecue sauce, melted butter and breadcrumbs with the ground beef. Can you help?It doesn't make sense to buy a nice, lean ground sir......

DEAR RECIPE DOCTOR: I've been wanting to try making cupcakes in ice cream cones using a cake mix and wondered if this still works with lighter cake batters? Is there a way to make these even lower in calories?It absolutely works! Since Labor Day is the next national holiday, I ......

DEAR RECIPE DOCTOR: I found a Paula Deen's recipe for crab cakes and I would like to try them, but I don't want to make them as rich as the original recipe. I have loved what you have done with Paula's recipes before; will you take this one on?Crab Cakes are one of my f......

DEAR RECIPE DOCTOR: My husband, who needs to eat heart-healthy, has been asking me to make corn fritters. … I was hoping you had a light recipe?Even though I'm from a region of the country where you can go an entire year without ever hearing "corn fritter," bel......

DEAR RECIPE DOCTOR: One of my favorite summer side dishes is fried green tomatoes. Is there a way to make these so they aren't so high in fat and calories?We can make "crispy on the outside and moist on the inside" fried green tomatoes by pan-frying them in a nonstick......

DEAR RECIPE DOCTOR: I had a delightful dessert at a restaurant and they won't give me the recipe. Could you work up a light version? It had brownie on the bottom, then Kahlua cheesecake filling with a chocolate ganache type topping.I pulled a few different Recipe Doctor recipes......

DEAR RECIPE DOCTOR: I tasted a mudslide cookie at a local bakery and thought I had died and gone to heaven. Have you ever lightened this type of cookie? If so, I would love to have the Recipe Doctor version in time for summer and then fall and the holidays. You get the picture. I need this recipe......

Q. We eat a lot of salads in our house, and we can only find white-flour croutons. Can you help?
A. Croutons are easier to make at home than people think. They keep well, too, in a resealable plastic bag, so you can make a nice batch of croutons to last a couple of weeks. Wh......

Q. I would love for you to invent a new and exciting granola. I enjoy granola as a snack, and I love to mix it into my yogurt. I'm just tired of the granola you can buy at the store, and I'm willing to make it at home.
A. I can't explain this, but when reading this reader's ......

Q. I had these chocolate-caramel bars at a birthday party and asked the host for the recipe, which I never normally do. When I looked at it, I was horrified by all of the oil, butter and other ingredients. Can you trim this down but still keep the bars yummy?
A. Because the ......

Q. I'm looking for a cookie that I can make with a cake mix. I stock up on them when they go on sale, and I often need to make a batch of cookies for church or school functions. Any suggestions? I've really loved your other cake-mix recipes, so I trust you can do this too!
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Q. I'm looking for a nice salad to serve that doesn't require a lot of effort and can be a main- or side-dish salad. I've tried some of your past salad recipes, and my wife and I have loved them. Just wondering if you have another salad up your sleeve?
A. I love using spinac......

Q. I've tried several of the light versions of Food Network stars' recipes you've done in your column, and my whole family has loved them. Now I'm asking you to take on this onion cornbread recipe from Paula Deen in time for summer picnics.
A. I love lightening Paula's recip......

Q. I saw this recipe on marthastewart.com for Banana Split Brownies and would like to make them lighter and healthier. I also just want to make a small square pan of them instead of a big pan.
A. There's nothing like fresh-from-the-oven moist brownies and making a smalle......

Q. I found this recipe for a fancy strata from Bon Appetit's December 2003 issue. I would love to make it but can't unless it is dramatically lightened. Please help!
A. Strata is one of those dishes that's particularly desirable because you assemble it the day be......