Life in Liz's Kitchen

Radiatore with Grilled Chicken & Eggplant

2011-08-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

I did my menu plan for the next week and one of the meals is from the August 2011 Rachael Ray magazine. It's called Radiatore with Grilled Chicken and Eggplant.

I made it tonight and hubs and I both liked it and will likely eat it again soon.

It is very simple, light, and healthy.

Here's the ingredients (I halved the recipe for just the 2 of us, so for 4, like the original, double it):

1 large tomato
1 Clove garlic
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
sprigs from a basil leaf
salt & pepper
Tri-Color Radiatore pasta (I used rotini, as I couldn't find radiatore at my store)
1/2 lb chicken
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
torn basil leaves (from the sprigs used earlier

1 eggplant (hubs did a great job of picking out a perfect eggplant!)
-Turn the grill on to medium-high
-Boil the water for the pasta
-grate the tomato and the garlic with a box-grater, put into a bowl
-add olive oil, pieces of basil sprigs, salt and pepper to bowl
-let the bowl of tomato mix sit for 20 minutes
-cook the pasta
-slice the eggplant into 3/4 inch slices
-season the eggplant and the chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill approx 10 min, flipping halfway through
-let the chicken and eggplant cool
-drain the pasta
-cut up the chicken and eggplant into bite size pieces
-using 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water add to the pasta and also add the tomato mix
-add the chicken, eggplant, red onion and torn basil to the pasta
-serve in shallow bowls
-top with shredded parmesan if desired.

This was tasty - a perfect summer meal!

3 Bean Minestrone

2011-02-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

I took some of the stock and roasted tomatoes from my last post and made Rachael Ray's 3 Bean Minestrone for dinner last night.

I turned out really good. The only thing I would change would be to use Kale rather than chard and to chop it smaller and to cook the green beans a little longer as they weren't as tender as I would have liked them. The soup had a great flavor to it though and was very healthy.

A perfect dinner for this time of year :)

Enjoy!

Parmesan & Herb Fortified Stock and Roasted Tomatoes

2011-02-13T15:32:00.000-08:00

So, Rachael Ray has a new show called Week in a Day. The premise of the show is to spend one day cooking and have 5 meals to enjoy throughout the week. I'll be honest it is a bit hit & miss in my opinion, some foods seem to be repeated week to week (such as a version of pork over pappardelle). I usually will like at least one dish, but never all 5 so far.

Anyways, the other week there was a pretty good one and I liked most of the meals. This one started with creating 2 'fillers' to be used in a variety of dishes throughout the week. The first was a Parmesan & Herb fortified stock and the second was roasted tomatoes. I made these 2 this weekend and plan on making 2 of the other dishes from that show as well later in the week (no, I didn't make them all ahead like the show intended, haha): Spaghetti Squash with Marinara and 3 Bean Minestrone.

I'll review the other 2 dishes later, today here is the review & recipe links for the stock & tomatoes. I did do them both at the same time since one is in the oven and the other on the stovetop.

For the stock you are to use the rind from a hunk of Parmesan-Reggiano cheese. I buy my parmesan at a healthy/organic type store similar to Whole Foods. They also sell the rinds - so I was able to pick up 3 smaller size rinds in a bundle for just over a dollar.

Let's start with the tomatoes:

Basically you put the tomatoes on a sheet, add some crushed garlic cloves to the sheet and drizzle olive oil on them. I was a bit worried as every time I've tried to roast with olive oil it smokes too much and sets off my smoke alarm. Usually I just end up spraying a bunch of olive oil cooking spray on the food rather than drizzling oil over it.

I googled it first and it said I shouldn't worry about it because even though the oven was going to be 500, well above olive oil's smoke point, the oil wouldn't be heating to that high.

So, I tried it. And my smoke alarm went off.

I think however that if I would have turned on the range vent when I started (rather than when I noticed the smoke) and maybe cracked a window that it might not have happened. So I will have to try that next time. Of course if it happens again I will just go back to using the spray olive oil.

Oh well, you live & learn I guess - and the tomatoes came out fine :)
Here is my play-by-play of the event:

Now for the stock:

Basically you are taking 1 quart of chicken stock and steeping it (like tea) for an hour or so with herbs and parmesan rinds to add more flavor. You are stretching your dollar with this as you end up with 4 quarts of stock at the end. A healthy additive to many meals. I often use stock when I cook rice and other dishes.

not sure why this picture went sideways on me...

the strained stock

the bits I strained from the stock - which I tossed. I couldn't think of anything to do with them and their flavor had pretty much been leached from them and into the stock.

All in all they went good. The tomatoes looked & smelled wonderful and the stock was simmering away and smelled like I was roasting a chicken with lemon and herbs - delicious.

I kept out enough of both for the 2 dishes I want to make this week and then portioned out the rest and froze them for use later.

Enjoy!

Creamy crab pasta

2011-02-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

I have been holding on to this recipe for a while meaning to post about it as it was absolutely delicious but haven't had a chance until now.

About 2 months ago or so the store was having a buy one get one free sale on fresh Dungeness crab. I couldn't pass that up!

So I went in search of a recipe to do something with it. I was thinking pasta, hubs was thinking creamy pasta. I didn't want it to be too unhealthy though so I searched and searched until I found something that met both of our needs and I'm glad I did as it turned out really well.

I found this recipe here and modified it a bit for my needs. I didn't take a picture for some reason, and the ones on this link do not do it justice - it tastes so much better than they look.

The first thing I had to do was get all the crab meat out of the shell. I didn't think about this too much in advance and I realized I don't own crab leg crackers or even nut crackers. So I had to get out my needle nose pliers, clean them and then use them - but they got the job done :)

Here's the list of ingredients for the dish:

1/4 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
1-1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp basil
2 TB parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup sour cream
2 TB corn starch

Cook the onions & garlic in butter & oil.

Add broth, herbs & spices & cook 5 min. Then thicken with cornstarch & 3 TB water.

Cook pasta, toss with sour cream.

Add crab to seafood sauce & heat through - 5 min.

Then add the crab sauce to the pasta & toss.

Top with parmesan and black pepper.

This is a light, low calorie 'creamy' pasta with tons of flavor.

Enjoy!

Tuna Melt

2010-11-14T20:05:00.000-08:00

(hubs tuna on left, mine on the right)

Hubs and I decided on tuna melts for dinner the other night. He wanted his the traditional way and I wanted to lighten mine up a bit, so I did.

His included the following:
2 slices sourdough
1 slice havarti
1 3oz pouch, drained, of tuna in water
1/8 cup light mayo
2 tsp yellow mustard
2 tablespoons sweet relish
dash pepper

That is about 603 calories. (and technically just a tuna sandwich, not a melt, haha)

For mine I used the following:
1 slice sourdough
1 slice reduced fat swiss
1 3ox pouch, drained, of tuna in water
1 tsp olive oil (I used some fancy garlic & herb flavor olive oil I have)
1/8 cup chopped red pepper
1/8 cup chopped red onion
1 tsp lemon juice
dash pepper

I topped my bread with the tuna and then put the cheese slice on top and melted it in the oven. A total of approx 321 calories - nearly half of our 'traditional' way!
I count that as a win!

*fries not counted in calories totals

(side by side finished sandwich)

(close up of 'mine')

Pork Pesole Soup

2010-11-14T19:53:00.001-08:00

I made pulled pork in the crock pot the other day and today I used the leftover pork and broth to make a pork pesole soup.

It is delicious! I plan on freezing it in individual containers and taking it to work all week! I approximate it into 6 servings and about 200 calories each.

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cloves
5 oz. Pulled Pork (cooked with 1 onion, 4 cups chicken broth, seasoning (cumin, pepper, sage)
1 15oz can hominy
broth (I used approx 4 cups reserved broth from crockpot + 2 cups chicken broth [99%fat free, low sodium version])
1 small can of diced green chiles
1/2 cup peas (added just for extra veggies)
1/2 cup corn(added just for extra veggies

I did use leftover crockpot pulled pork for this - so I cooked a pork tenderloin for about 8 hours in a crockpot with sliced onion and 4 cups chicken broth and some seasoning. Then I pulled the pork out, shredded it and saved it for this recipe. I also saved all the broth and refrigerated it for today. When I opened it today I skimmed the fat off the top and then poured it into the pan.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add in the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Then add in the spices and cook for 1 minute. Add in the shredded pork and stir together for 1 minute.

Add in the hominy, broth, chiles and peas & corn (if using).

Then bring it to a simmer, turn the heat down a bit and let simmer for 1-2 hours. The longer it simmers the more the flavors blend together.

That's it - very simple and tasty too!.

Enjoy! :)

Chicken and Rice Soup

2010-09-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no pic on this one...

We were sick this weekend so I made us some brothy soup filled with veggies to try and help us get better. I just kind of put stuff together and created my own recipe.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, boneless, skinless, chopped into small pieces
2 TB butter, unsalted
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1-1/2 cup brown rice, cooked
1 small bunch leeks, chopped
1/2 bunch kale, chopped
4 cups chicken broth, 99% fat free, low sodium
4 cups water
2 chicken bullion cubes

I cooked the chicken until it was lightly browned. In the mean time I put the butter, celery, carrots, onion and green pepper in a large pot and started cooking it over medium heat. When the chicken was ready I added it, the rice, the leeks, kale, broth, water and bullion and brought to a simmer.

I let it simmer for about a half hour, then served. It needed a touch of salt, but otherwise was great.

I would have used 8 cups of chicken broth, but I didn't have it on hand - so water and bullion cubes worked fine.

This came out to be about 120 calories a serving (8 servings). Very simple, but perfect for getting over a cold.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Burgers

2010-09-20T20:50:00.001-07:00

This meal was inspired by a black bean burger I had at HUB about a month ago...I've been thinking about it ever since, so now that I am back from Italy and needing a break from pasta, I figured I would google a recipe and try it out.

I got the recipe from allrecipes.com at this link. I used all the same ingredients except that I had a can of 15oz (not 16oz black beans) and I used Cholula hot sauce rather than Thai chile sauce. It came out pretty good flavor wise. I have a crappy food processor that doesn't 'puree' it just kinda chops to a point and then just spins...so I put my fairly fine diced bell pepper, onion, garlic and the beans all together in it and blended it into a paste. I probably should have done like the recipe suggested and did just the pepper, onion and garlic, then strained the juice, then added the beans. The reason was that while they were firm and cooked up on the outside, they were too soft on the inside - more like burrito filling than a burger texture. The flavor I liked though - so if I get some of the liquid out next time it should be just right.

I used whole wheat buns and I put a small amount of fat free sour cream on the bottom bun and about 1/2 a small smashed avocado on the top and served with hubs favorite - tater tots.

I will definitely be trying this again - it is low cal, tasty, and very filling!

Enjoy!

Shrimp, Scallops and Avocado Salad

2010-06-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

So, it has been FOREVER since I posted a recipe on here...so I figured I would tonight - because I loved this meal!

It was just me tonight, hubs is out at a game. So I tried to think of something I normally couldn't eat with him (since he is pickier than me) and I came up with this light, refreshing and full of flavor meal.

Here is what I used:

1 mango
1 avocado
1 roma tomato
5 small shrimp
2 medium scallops
1 tsp olive oil
dash salt & pepper

I diced up the mango, avocado and tomato and tossed them together and put on my plate. Then I removed the shrimp tails and dried off the shrimp and scallops. I heated a pan over medium and added the olive oil, once heated I added the shrimp and scallops. I tossed the shrimp around a bit to make sure all sides got cooked, and I let the scallops sit on each flat side for a few minutes until cooked through. Once done I placed them on top of my salad. Then I sprinkled a dash of salt & pepper on top.

Delicious!

Here's the stats I came up with:

1 serving
465 calories
40 carbs
32 fat
13 protein

Hot Sauce Chicken with Green Beans

2010-02-10T18:56:00.001-08:00

Today didn't go quite as planned...

First of all I apparently forgot to set my alarm before bed last night and hubs woke me up about a half hour before I was supposed to leave for work. So no workout this morning as I rushed to get ready and out the door.

That's ok though, I survived and the rest of the day went pretty well. Tonight I made a recipe I found in Rachael Ray's magazine a couple months ago. I have now made this five or six times and we love it, the flavor is great!

Here is a pic. If you want the recipe go here.

Alright, that's it for tonight. I will update again in a few days.

xoxo
Liz

Green Eggs & Ham

2009-09-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

Well, my version of it anyway :)

A coworker brought in some veggies from her garden for the taking the other day and I had 3 Anaheim peppers and 1 green bell pepper to use up before it went bad.

So, I made some hashbrowns (just frozen shredded potatoes cooked in a little spray olive oil, salt & pepper). And I chopped up the peppers along with 3 little slices of canadian bacon and lightly fried them in some spray oil. Then I added in some eggbeaters (about 1/2 cup or 2 eggs each) and a couple tablespoons of salsa (I used a roasted tomatillo salsa).

Scramble the eggs, veggies, ham & salsa together until done and top with a dollop of sour cream. All in all it was just under 500 calories each for brunch for hubs & I today. Not bad and quite tasty! :)

(Also, easy to make all your own!)

Skewers

2009-06-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

A typical summer meal for us is anything on the barbecue.

One of the easiest things are skewers. Just slice up some veggies and marinate some meat, string them up and grill until done. Simple and satisfying.

I usually make my own skewers and either make up a marinade or buy a pre-made one, but this time I saw these yummy sounding ones already done up at the meat counter so I brought them home and paired them up with my own skewered veggies.

I love red onion and mushrooms especially when grilled, the flavors are just wonderful...and I also had a bell pepper on hand. Other things I like are zucchini, yellow squash, plums, nectarines, and eggplant. I usually make some brown rice as a side dish for the meal.

These are before and after pics. The skewers were spicy szechuan chicken and chipotle rosemary pork.

Enjoy!

Spinach Pasta with Salmon and Tomatoes

2009-06-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

Last week we picked up some fresh pasta from one of our favorite booths at the farmers market. This was a new one for us: fresh organic spinach angel hair pasta.

The fresh pasta just takes 2 minutes to cook in boiling water and has so much flavor. I tossed it with a bit of olive oil and freshly grated parmesan and a little salt & pepper. Then I topped it with a bit of salmon and some sauteed tomatoes on the side.

The salmon....a friend told me the other day about these little frozen pouches of fish at the grocery store (Albertsons...I don't think they are a national chain, more of a regional I think) that she found in the frozen aisle by the 'healthy stuff' (think veggie burgers, tofu meals, etc). Well the come in little vacuum sealed pouches, single serving size, that are thin pieces meant to be able to thaw quickly and bake for about 10 minutes. That is exactly what I did, baked them at 400F for about 10 minutes with just a bit of salt and pepper on them.

The salmon went perfect with the flavor of the spinach pasta. And a bonus, hubs said he thought it was good and that it didn't taste 'fishy' (can you tell he is not a fan of fish, haha).

Then I sauteed some tomatoes in about a tablespoon of olive oil (spray works just as good too) with some minced garlic, basil (I used dried but fresh is even better) and a bit of salt & pepper.

It was a wonderful meal!

Enjoy!

Avocado Soup

2009-06-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

(sorry the pic is sideways...can't seem to fix it...it is avocado soup with grilled shrimp and mini quesadillas)

This is a favorite summertime recipe of mine. It is a cold soup that is totally refreshing and it has that good fat that is in avocado's.

This recipe is from a Rachael Ray Magazine, although I do change up a couple things:

ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic, peeled & halved
1 jalapeno chile, seeded
4 avocados, halved and peeled
grated peel of 1 lime and juice of 3 limes ( I usually don't have limes on hand so I just use lime or lemon juice from the little squeeze bottle you pick up in the produce section)
3/4 cup cilantro leaves
salt & pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups fresh corn kernals (roasted on the grill or in the oven)
dash of hot sauce (my addition)

Using a food processor, finely chop 2 cloves garlic and the jalapeno. Add the avocados, lime peel, lime juice, and 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, season to taste with sale and pepper. Process until just combined. With the machine on, slowly pour in the chicken broth until smooth. If the soup is too thick, slowly add up to 1 cup water.

In a small nonstick skillet, toast the corn kernels over medium heat, stirring until lightly browned. Season with salt and let cool. Stir 1-1/2 cups corn into the soup.
Top the soup with the remaining corn kernals and cilantro.

Enjoy!

White Turkey Chili

2009-03-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a while since I posted some food up here...sorry about that. I have been cooking, just nothing exciting I guess, haha.

Anyways, I have seen a lot of recipes and talk about white chicken chili lately and have been wanting to try it. Hubs on the other hand, who loves regular chili, wasn't looking forward to it. I have a new cookbook I am using for my inspiration...it is the new Cooking Light Cookbook and that is where I got this recipe. The only changes I made was to add some roasted corn to the recipe. If I make it again I would like it to be a bit thicker and spicier so I would double the amount of green chilis and use my regular spice (including a small bit of masa to thicken it up) kit that I get at the store. And maybe a small dollop of fat free sourcream on top.

Overall, I thought it was ok, but too thin and hubs thought it was too much meat and needed something else added into it.

Here goes:

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces ( I used ground turkey)
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground coriander
2 (4.5 oz) cans chopped green chilis, undrained
1 cup water
2 (15.5 oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 oz) can fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped green onions

1. heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan, cook 10 minutes or until chicken is browned, stirring frequently.

2. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan, saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, saute 2 minutes. Stir in cumin, oregano, and coriander, saute 1 minute. Stir in chilis, reduce heat to low, partially cover, and cook 10 minutes, Add chicken, 1 cup water, beans, and broth, bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in hot sauce. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with the cheese, cilantro, and green onions.

8 servings

Calories: 233
Fat: 5.9g
Protein: 32.7g
Carb;p 11.7g
Fiber: 3.4g

Enjoy :)

Brazilian Black Bean Soup

2008-11-30T20:43:00.000-08:00

Something the hubs and I do regularly on weekends is to go to the local New Seasons grocery store (it is kind of like a Whole Foods, but better, like a local version of a Whole Foods) and get lunch. They have a great deli with made-to-order sandwiches and made from scratch soups.

Well, we went in for sandwiches this weekend and tried a couple of soups too, and decided to share some of the Brazilian Black Bean soup they had out. It was delicious! They list the ingredients (for allergy info) so I copied them down and made my own version tonight.

Warning: it is a bit spicy, if you don't like spice just alter the amount of cayenne to get it where you like it :)

Ingredients:

2 small cans of black beans
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp bay leaves
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
3 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 cup orange juice
juice of one lime
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, and garlic and saute until tender. Rinse & drain the black beans, then add to the pot. Add the cumin, coriander, bay leaves and cayenne pepper and stir. Add the cider vinegar and stir. Add the orange juice & lime juice and stir. Add the vegetable broth and salt & pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until everything is heated through.

Serves 4. Calories: 247, Carbs: 48, Fat: 1, Protein: 13.

Enjoy :)

HG Pumpkin Cheesecake

2008-11-26T22:36:00.000-08:00

Many of you I am sure get the Hungry Girl emails daily....well when I saw the pumpkin cheesecake recipe I knew I was going to have to try it. I usually do the desserts for Thanksgiving and Christmas and if I can do a healthier version of a classic then that is even better :)

Here is a link to the recipe.

I decided to test this out before the big day, so I made it last weekend and hubs and I taste tested it. Personally, we did not like the sourcream topping at all. It made it just too tart. Also, the flavor of the cheesecake tasted a bit off.

Hubs wasn't crazy about the crust. He knew something was different about it - it wasn't graham cracker, that's for sure, haha....so he asked and I told him the truth...it was made of fiber one cereal. Well, he didn't think that sounded good, so he was done with the pie after that. I liked the crust a lot though, so I wasn't making any changes to it.

I knew I was still going to make the cake, so I needed to make some adjustments to get it up to flavor standards. So I took a piece out and scraped off the sour cream topping and the crust, then I took the filling and stirred it up so I could work with it. I added about a tsp of splenda to it...and voila, the flavor was perfect.

So, today I made a new cake to bring over for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, and I skipped the sour cream topping and added 1/2 cup extra splenda to it. I think it will taste 'right' now and we will see what everyone else thinks about the crust and flavor :)

When I saw the cake had 8 slices and was only 160 calories per slice, I knew it was 'the one' for this holiday season :)

Happy Holidays!

Savory Crescent Chicken and Sauteed Tomatoes

2008-11-26T22:15:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com a while back and just came across it the other day and decided to finally try it. I thought it was good and simple and just the right amount to satisfy me tonight!

Ingredients:

1 pkg pillsbury crescent rolls
6 oz cooked chicken breast, diced
1 Tbsp onion, chopped
8oz. fat free cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp butter, softened
1 Tbsp butter, melted (for brushing on the pastry)
bread crumbs
salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Unroll the cresent rolls so that they are in 4 rectangles. Press the perforation between the two triangles to seal them so you can use the rectangles. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and butter until well mixed. Then add in the chicken, onion, and salt & pepper. Put 1/4th of the mixture into each rectangle and pull the ends up and twist and seal to hold all the filling inside. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush with melted butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

calories 683, 63 carbs, 35 fat, 30 protein.

Sauteed Tomatoes

I came across this recipe recently in my 'Trim & Terrific Cookbook by Holly Clegg' when I was looking for some sort of veggie side dish the hubs would actually like and eat....and it worked :)

Ingredients:
1 pkg cherry or grape tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
salt & pepper
1 tsp sugar (or 1 spritz of splenda spray which is what I used)
1 Tbsp olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a small pan, add the tomatoes and stir frequently for about 2 minutes, add the garlic and herbs, and cook until the tomatoes start to burst. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and spinkle or spritz with splenda.

Calories: 93, 7 carbs, 7 fats, 1 protein.

Delicious :)

Potato Hash

2008-11-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I had some veggies around the house and was craving potatoes, so I decided to throw some stuff together for a potato hash for dinner one night last week.

Here is what I put in it:

4 small yellow potatoes
1 yellow summer squash
1 orange bell pepper
1 zucchini
1 tomato
1 oz diced prosciutto
1/2 cup egg beaters
2 oz shredded reduced fat cheddar jack cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil

I diced up all the veggies. Then heated a pan and put the olive oil in and tossed in the potatoes to get them cooking. Once they started browning and crisping up I added the bell pepper, squash, and zucchini. Once those were cooked I added in the tomato and prosciutto, once heated through I added the egg beaters and mixed it all up.

Very simple, full of color and veggies, and delicious :)

Calories: 578, 77 carbs, 16g fat, 36 protein.

Enjoy!

Cuban Black Bean Stew with Rice

2008-11-16T20:29:00.000-08:00

I cut this recipe out of the Newspapers Food-Day section a couple of weeks ago... from the Oregonian, gotta give credit :)

I wasn't sure if it would be good, and I really wasn't sure if hubs would even be interested in eating it...but it sounded ok and was low cal/low fat and something new so I figured, what the heck, I am gonna give it a try.

It is really quick and simple...and we loved it. Hubs tasted it and then went and got some tortillas out of the fridge and made some mini-burritos with it. He wants it with chicken and some salsa next time he said. And he has asked me every day since I made it when I am going to make it again...so I have a feeling it might become a regular in our home.

Here is the recipe...I hope you try it out and like it too :)

Cuban Black Bean Stew with Rice
(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups long grain white or brown rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
2 19oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5oz. can vegetable broth
1 table spoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
course salt and freshly ground black pepper
*optional garnishes: lime garnishes, fresh cilantro, and sliced radishes (we didn't use any but I think the cilantro would definitely go great with it)

1. Prepare rice according to package instructions (I used the brown rice in the rice cooker)
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper.
4. Cook, stirring occasionally until onion is softened, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Add beans, broth, vinegar and oregano.
6. Cook, mashing some beans with the back of a spoon, until slightly thickened, about 6-8 minutes.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Fluff rice with fork.
9. Serve beans over rice, with garnishes if desires (I mixed the rice and beans stew together and then served it in bowls).

Per Serving: calories - 439, protein - 13.8 grams, total fat - 5.1 grams, saturated fat - 0.6 grams, carbohydrates - 81.4 grams, dietary fiber 10.3 grams.

Enjoy! :)

Taste Testing

2008-10-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

I tried out several new recipes this week - well new to me, but all from my lovely blogger buddies and the internet...

Here is what I had and what I thought:

Roni's Mexican Pie - delicious! I loved the crust and it is only 205 calories a serving. Hubs thought it tasted like a tamale pie, but I haven't had one to compare it to.

Thinking Thin's Pineapple Cranberry Pork Roast - good, but a bit sweet for us...we like spicy more than sweet when it comes to dinner.

Diana's Stuffed Cabbage - This turned out good and we definitely liked it. I have never had stuffed cabbage before this but hubs talks about it and has gotten it at this german restaurant we like, so I figured I would give it a try, I will definitely be making it again. I also made 2 kinds of winter squash to go with it and they were delicious. Only 139 cal per cabbage roll.

Roni's Baked Rigatoni & Zucchini - Good, and hubs liked it too. It wasn't too heavy, and I think zucchini is hubs favorite veggie so that made it an easy choice. 360 cal per serving.

Roni's Slow Cooked Mild Turkey Chili- This was ok and hubs ate all that I gave him, but this was actually too sweet for me. Next time I think I will leave out the molasses and add in more chili powder/spice to kick it up a notch for me. It was great though to throw it all in the crockpot and come home from work and have it ready to eat. 325 cal per serving.

Cookinglight.co's Herbed Linguine - I picked up some homemade linguine noodles at the farmers market over the weekend and came across this recipe. It was really good, although the noodles definitely were what made the dish. I would make it again for sure. Also, I added a little chicken in place of shrimp to the dish as well - lightly fried and but into bite size pieces ( I know I should have baked it, but didn't think of it at the time).

As you can see I got lots of my ideas from Roni's Green Lite Bites Blog. She has a ton of great sounding recipes that I want to try...especially since hubs saw her stuffed mushroom recipe the other day....I have found so many resources online for great people-tested healthy recipes, it is amazing....I just keep trying out new ones!

And I made some Spaghetti with my own recipe. I used the pizza sauce I made a few posts back, and some whole wheat spaghetti noodles and some ground turkey. It turned out pretty good!

And dessert: Mini Apple Pies - I made this up, but I had some great honeycrisp apples that I bought at the farmers market and hubs wanted some type of apple pie thing...I figured the small portions of this would be for me to control how much I ate. It is about 213 calories each...next time I will need to use splenda and low fat butter....

I have got some more on my plate for this week, so will keep you updated with what I find :)

Southwestern Turkey Burgers

2008-10-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm, Yum!

I made these Southwestern Turkey Burgers from Roni's GreenLiteBytes blog...and they were delicious. I put mine on whole wheat buns with a tiny amount of light mayo and ketchup, and some avocado slices.

I didn't take any pics of my own (the one above is from Roni), but they came out looking a lot like Roni's so that is a good sign. Also, hubs loved them too...and you could not taste the oats in them at all (which I had been worried hubs would notice).

The patties end up being about 1/2 meat and 1/2 veggies, so you get a pretty good meal out of them. Also, Roni had already figured out the nutritional info and one patty is about: 100 calories, 2g fat, 2g fiber, and 2 weight watcher points.

I definitely recommend trying them :)

Pizza Sauce

2008-09-25T14:10:00.001-07:00

I know pizza isn't really the 'healthiest' food out there, but it is one of our faves, so I have been working on ways to make it better for us. My blogger buddy, Annette, gave me some ideas for homemade pizza sauce full of veggies. So I made some on Tuesday and it turned out great for our dinner last night!

Even hubs liked it, and he is picky about pizza sauce...he likes lots of it and he likes it thick, and this was not only thick sauce but full of flavor - and good for you too!

I actually bought a bunch and made several batches and bagged them up into 1 meal each and froze the extra.

Here is the recipe:
15oz can Tomato Sauce
6oz can Tomato Paste
Spinach (1 used about 2 cups, coarsely chopped)
Zucchini (I used about 3/4 cup, coarsely chopped)
Onion ( I used about 1/3 of a large onion, coarsely chopped)
2 cloves of garlic
1 TB of Pizza Seasoning (we have this is our spice rack, but it is a blend of oregano, basil, marjoram and ground garlic)

I put the spinach, zucchini, onion and garlic in the food processor and ran it until they were blended into a sauce and then I added the tomato sauce, tomato paste and pizza seasonings and blended until well mixed.

Then I poured this into 2 quart size freezer bags, and froze one and put the other in the fridge to use on the pizza yesterday.

* One thing I figured out was it was really hard to pour stuff directly out of the food processor (still getting used to this new appliance of mine) into the baggie. So, what I did was line a glass with the baggie, folding the zippered top over the top edge of the glass, then it was much easier to pour into here, when it was filled to the top of the glass I pulled the baggie out, squeezed out the excess air, and zipped the top closed, leaving about a 1/2 full baggie full of sauce.

I think this would be good no matter which veggies you base it with, the flavor basically came from the tomato sauce, tomato paste and the pizza seasoning. Hubs even thought it would make a great spaghetti sauce too.

Oh, and did I mention it is low-cal, lo-fat? Well, I plugged it into sparkpeople to figure out the calories etc and here is what I came up with for 1 baggie full (which covered 2 regular size boboli pizza crusts): 86 calories, 10g carbs, 0g fat, and 2g protein!

Now, I need to work on figuring out a low-cal, low-fat crust to work with...so far I haven't had success in making my own and maybe a fat-free cheese....

Artichoke Chicken Bake

2008-08-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I saw this recipe on a can of artichokes that I was opening last week...and figured I would try it out. It is really simple. After making it, I thought it was good, but that it was missing something, so next time I think I will add some rice or pasta to it.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 can condensed mushroom soup
3/4 cup salsa verde
1/4 cup black olives
1 can artichoke hearts
1/4 tsp cumin

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together the soup, salsa, and cumin and set aside. Place the chicken in an 8x8x2 baking pan and bake for 20 minutes. Then add the artichokes around the chicken, spread the soup mix evenly over the chicken and artichokes, then top with the olives and bake for another 25 minutes or until the chicken is done.

It really can't get much simpler than that, and the sauce had a good taste and texture to it...but overall I think it would be improved if I poured it over some rice on my plate.

Southwestern Chicken with Bean Sauce

2008-08-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

This meal is very low-cal, but with a lot of flavor! We have had this meal a couple of times now and it is just delicious....so full of flavor that is fills you right up!

(my chicken is almost completely hidden beneath that delicious bean sauce. I served this with some rice - white rice cooked in chicken broth with taco seasoning, and some frozen corn and mixed veggies)

This is from a cookbook I have called "The New Holly Clegg Trim & Terrific Cookbook."

This is the description Holly puts in the cookbook:

"The beans dissolve to create a great tasting secret sauce for the chicken. Top with cheese and chopped green onions, and serve with yellow rice. "

Ingredients:
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts ( I used chicken tenders since that is what I had on hand)
1 (16 oz) can fat-free refried beans
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 (16 oz) jar salsa (this is where you can twist the recipe - different flavors of salsa will make it different, but always good...today we used a Pace Triple Pepper Salsa, spicy but flavorful)
1 Cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese (optional)
1/4 cup chopped green onions (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place the chicken breasts in a 2-quart oblong baking dish coated with non-stick cooking spray. Spread the beans to cover the top of the chicken. Sprinkle with the onions. Pour the salsa evenly over the top. Cover with foil, and bake 80 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Sprinkle with the cheese and green onion, if desired, and serve.

Nutritional Info: 608 servings, Calories: 193, Protein: 29 grams, Carbohydrates: 11 grams, Fat 1 gram. Calories from fat: 7%, saturated fat: 0 grams, dietary fiber: 3 grams, cholesterol: 66mg, sodium: 558 mg, diabetic exchanges: 3.5 very lean meat, 1 starch.

If you try it, let me know what kind of salsa you chose and how you liked it :)

Eggs with Mediterranean Vegetables

2008-08-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

I forgot to take a picture for you....but I thought this dish was really good. The hubs isn't so into eggs for dinner that much though, so he liked the veggie part but not the eggs so much. Personally, I happen to really like the flavors of baked eggs. Anyways, I would eat this again :)

This is a recipe from the Food Day section of the Oregonian on 7/22/08, and the recipe is cieted as coming from "Fantastico! Modern Italian Food" by Gina D'Acampo.

Ingredients:
3 TB olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
3 medium zucchini, roughly chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 14-oz. can chopped tomoatoes, undrained
5 fresh basil leaves, coarsley chopped (I was out so used dried italian seasoning)
1/4 cup pitted kalamate olives, coarsley chopped ( I omitted because we don't like them)
4 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a large, oven-safe skillet and saute the onion, zucchini and pepper until soft and browned, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, add in the tomatoes and their juice, basil and olives. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat for about 8-10 minutes, or until the liquid from the tomatoes is well reduced.

Meanwhile, place an oven rack 6" from the broiler element and preheat. Make 4 slight hollows in the tomato mixture and gently break 1 egg into each. Sprinkle the cheese over and broil for about 7 minutes or until the eggs are done to your liking. Remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with warm, crusty bread.

4 servings, calories: 384 (64.6% from fat), protein: 17.4 grams, total fat: 27.3 grams, saturated fat: 8.9 grams, cholesterol: 241 mg, sodium: 253 mg, carbohydrate: 19.6 grams, dietary fiber: 4.8 grams.

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Chicken and Couscous

2008-08-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

This is literally one of our favorite dishes! We probably eat this almost once a week. It is from Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats cookbook.

Here you go:

Ingredients:
4 TB EVOO
1/2 cup flour
4 6-oz. boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 pinch saffron (I don't use, it is too expensive and I can't taste the flavor enough to make it worth it for this recipe)
4 garlic cloves, 1 crushed and 3 chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
1 TB fresh thyme leaves, chopped (I use dried and it works just fine)
1 15-oz. can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup dry, white wine
10 kalamata olives, pitted, cut in half (I omit because we don't like kalamatas)
1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsley chopped (dried is ok too, but fresh has more flavor)
20 fresh basil leaves, coarsley chopped (dried is ok too, but fresh has more flavor)

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 TB of the EVOO. Place the flour in a shallow dish, season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and the cayenne, then transfer the seasoned chicken to the dish with the flour, toss around in the flour, then shake off the excess. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side. While the chicken is cooking, make the saffron couscous.

In a sauce pot, bring 2 cups of the chicken stock up to a boil with the saffron, the crushed clove of garlic, salt and pepper. When the stock is at a boil, add the couscous, cover with a lid, and turn the heat off. Let the couscous stand for 10 minutes.

Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pan and cover with a piece of aluminum foil to keep warm. Return the skillet to the heat and add the remaining 2 TB of EVOO. Add the onions, the 3 cloves of chopped garlic, the thyme, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes. Add the artichokes and wine tothe pan, bring up to a simmer, then add the remaining 1 cup of chicken stock, olives, and grape tomatoes. Return the liquids to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the grape tomatoes start to burst and the sauce has reduced by half. Give thesauce a taste to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Add the chicken back to the skillet and warm through. Add the parsley and basil to the completed dish and stir to distribute the herbs.

To serve, fluff the couscous with a fork, remove and discard the crushed garlic clove, and transfer the couscous to serving plates. Servie the chicken whole or sliced on top of the couscous. Top the chicken with some of the sauce and vegetables.

4 servings.

Cherry Tomato Spaghetti all'Amatriciana

2008-08-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

So, this is the tomato pasta dish I mentioned. It is from the September '08 Rachael Ray magazine. I forgot to take a picture of it though, and it isn't up on the magazine's website yet....so sorry for that. It was good and flavorful, and you can control the amount of spice to it by adjusting the amount of red pepper flakes you put in.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 pound regular or thick spaghetti (I used wheat spaghetti today)
3 TB extra virgin olive oil
1/4 pound chunk pancetta (I used prosciutto since the store was out of pancetta when I went), cut into pieces
1 red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth (I used broth)
2 pints small cherry tomatoes
2/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (I used dried since I was out of fresh)
pepper
1 cup basil leaves, torn or chopped
2/3 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (I used regular parmesan that I grated)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta cooking water.

2. While the pasta is working, in a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium to medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp, 3-4 minutes. Add the red onion, garlic and crushed red peppera nd cook until softened, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, parsley and a generous amount of salt & pepper. Cook until the tomatoes burst, 8-10 minutes.

3. Stir in the reserved pasta cooking water and then the pasta, tossing to coat. Turn off th heat, add the basil and cheese and serve.

Serves 4.

Spanish Rice with Shrimp

2008-08-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

I mentioned I would review this dish and show you pictures.... let me tell you, it was delicious! and also very low-cal. I saw this recipe in the Food Day section of the 7/22/08 Oregonian, but it is listed in the article as being from 'Fine Cooking Annual" Vol. 2.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound shrimp (about 2 cups; 18-20 large shrimp) peeled, shells reserved
2 cups water
1 cup bottled clam juice
pinch crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
3 TB olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored and diced (optional)
1 cup medium-grain rice, uncooked
2 TB chopped fresh italian (flat-leaf) parsley (optional)
lemon wedges, for serving

In a small saucepan add the shrimp shells with the water, clam juice, pepper flakes, paprika and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a 10-inch skillet with the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato, green pepper, if sing, and cook until softened, 2-3 minutes.

Remove the shrimp-shell broth from the heat and strain through a sieve into a 4-cup measure. You should have 2-3/4 cups liquid, if there is less, add water to make up the difference.

Increase the heat under the skillet to medium high. Stir in the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until it becomes somewhat translucent, about 1 minute. Add the strained broth, spread the rice into an even layer and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer vigorously for 5 minutes. Arrange the shrimp on top of the rice and simmer another 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer gently until the rice in just tender and the liquid is absorbed - another 8-10 minutes. (It's all right if the rice starts to stick to the bottom of the pan; it can be brown, but don't let it burn.)

Remove from heat, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the parsley, if using, and serve with lemon wedges.

Nutritional info: This makes 3 servings. Per serving: calories: 376 (14% from fat), protein: 13.9 grams, total fat: 5.8 grams, saturated fat: 0.9 grams, cholesterol: 64 mg, sodium, 959 mg, carbohydrate: 64.8 grams, dietary fiber 1.7 grams.

*substitutions I made when I cooked this:
-I accidentally bought shrimp that were already peeled, so I didn't have any shells for the broth, so I just used the extra tablespoon or 2 of clam juice left in the bottle (I had an 8oz bottle and there was a little left after the one cup for the recipe) and pored that in since it had some little clam chunks in it.
-I used orange bell pepper instead of green...I say use whatever kind of bell pepper you like (or is on sale that week)
-I didn't use any lemons, but I did put the parsley in it
-don't skimp on the salt, I just sprinkled in a little when I was cooking, and it definitely needed the amount called for. Once I added some more to the food on my plate the flavors really popped.

Pork Kebabs with White Rice

2008-08-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday I told you I was going to make kebabs for dinner...and I did. The weather was starting to cool off, but it was still too hot to cook in the house so a nice grilled dinner was the perfect recipe.

Here is what I did;

1 pkg boneless pork ribs
1/2 cup teriyaki marinade & sauce
1 large onion, quartered
1 zucchini, 1/4 " slices
12 mushrooms, whole
1 green bell pepper, cut into large chunks, approx 1" pieces
9 wooden skewers
2 cups rice

Cut the pork ribs into 1-1/2" cubes (approx.) and place in a ziploc plastic bag with the teriyaki sauce. Shake around then put in fridge to marinate for about 30 minutes.

Soak the wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes.

Make the rice, I used white rice in my rice cooker, but brown rice would also work, and you can cook it on the stove if you don't have a rice cooker. Just follow package directions.

Then put the meat and veggies on the skewers. This works best if you leave space between the food, also since the meat and veggies cook at different speeds you are supposed to put the meat on one skewer and the veggies on the other.

Then grill over medium heat until done.

When finished I put some rice on a plate and then topped with the meat and veggies from the skewers.

Very simple yet delicious and satisfying :)

Menu Plan for this week

2008-08-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

Every week I make out a menu plan for the next 4-5 nights, plus our work lunches and breakfast and then because I am really anal about my grocery shopping list, I make a list of all the ingredients I will need to buy, and then I re-write my list by category (meat, dairy, veggie, etc.) and go shopping.

Well, this week I was able to snag 2 $10 off a $50 purchase Safeway coupons. So I made my list of meals out for today through next Sunday, including work lunches, and breakfast and lunch next weekend (usually we end up eating out for lunch and dinner on the weekends, so this is an improvement for us), so 3 meals a day for 8 days. Then I broke the list in half and got half today and will use my 2nd $10 off coupon on Tuesday(the last day before it expires) and get the rest of the food.

Hey, saving $20 bucks this week on groceries is good...plus with my Safeway card I save towards 10cents off gas and get my airline miles....so life is good :)

Here is our menu plan for the week:

Today (Sunday): B - We had a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast.
L - We went out to The Ram Brewery (we ate pretty good though)
D - Teriyaki Kebabs with Pork, bell pepper, onion, mushroom, zucchini
and white rice. (usually I make brown rice, but I am out and just have
white on hand.

Monday: B - cereal (this week is raisin bran with fat free milk for me, and rice chex for hubs)
L - salad for me, turkey sandwich for hubs, a cheese stick, carrot snack pack, and
orange. (we will eat this all week - unless we bring leftovers from dinner)
D - Spanish Rice with Shrimp - I saw this recipe in Food Day in the Oregonian a couple
of weeks ago and looks really good.

Tuesday: D - Tomato Pasta Dish - it's a Rachael Ray recipe from the September magazine...I
can't remember the real name of it but I know it has wheat spaghetti and cherry
tomatoes and some other stuff - I will review it after I make it and let you know.

Wednesday: D - Mediterranean Chicken with couscous...this is one of our favorites... I will
definitely post a pic and the recipe later this week.

Thursday: D - Grilled salmon sandwiches and a ceasar salad.

Friday: D - Mediterranean Veggies and Eggs...this is another recipe I got from the FoodDay
section of the paper and it looks yummy. It is a tomato-y sauce that you simmer up
and then crack some eggs into it and bake it till they are done...low cal too. I was
gonna make it tonight, but it is too hot to cook in the house so decided to use the grill
and do the kebabs tonight and the egg dish on Friday.

Saturday: B - bagel and cream cheese
L - summer citrus salad (see below post), probably without the shrimp though
D - tuna sandwiches and baked tater tots

Sunday: B - bagel and cream cheese
L - hot dogs (I will have to list the brand but there is one we found that tastes good and
is low in fat and calories and isn't made with a bunch of junk either...I think it is either
chicken or turkey, but I will have to look at it.
D - Southwestern Chicken with Black Bean Sauce and corn on the side...this is a recipe
from my Holly Clegg: Trim & Terrific cookbook. We have had this once before and it
was really delicious...you bake if for a while (like 80 minutes, which is why I will do it on
the weekend rather than after work) and the beans mix into this wonderful creamy
sauce.....yum!

So, that is what we are eating this week. It isn't perfect, but I think it is pretty healthy and a good plan for us for now.

I will try and take pics and post the recipes each night so you can try them out too :)

Summer Citrus Salad

2008-08-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

I made this salad a few days ago when we were having some hot weather and I didn't want to do any cooking in the house. It turned out very delicious and I am looking forward to having it again soon.

Ingredients:
3 Cups Romaine Lettuce, chopped
3 Cups Mixed Salad Greens, chopped
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 Red Onion, chopped
3 Green Onions, chopped
2 Avadado, chopped
1 small can of Mandarin Oranges, rinsed
1/4 Cup of Golden Raisins
6 oz. Shrimp, deveined
4 TB Bernstein's Chardonnay Citrus dressing & marinade

Remove shells and tail from shrimp and skewer. Then grill for a few minutes until pink and done.
Toss together the fruit & veggies with the dressing and put into serving dishes. Top with skewered grilled shrimp.

This would also be good adding a few sunflower seeds in for crunch and texture.

I showed you mine, now show me your summer salad!

Welcome to my kitchen!

2008-08-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

In my original blog I talk about my workout to reach my goal of living a healthier life. A huge part of being healthier is food and what you eat. So, in my effort to eat better I am dedicating this blog to my foods.

I am not one of those cooks that can easily just 'think up' something to throw together to eat. So, most of my inspiration comes from my cookbooks, restaurants, and what I hear other people talk about. I am a huge fan of the Rachael Ray cookbooks, especially because they are mostly 30 minute meals (45-60 for me since I am not a quick prepper, haha) and I work full time so I don't have that much time to make dinner. Also, I read the food-day section of the newspaper each week, watch the food network on tv, and look for new cookbooks. I don't always follow the recipes exact - I do like to throw my own twist or version into them.

Now I realize not all of my food is going to be super healthy...this is a progress and we are just starting out...but I am trying to learn new things about food, cooking techniques, etc to get me there. What I list in this blog will be things I made that I liked.

I hope you enjoy this peek into my kitchen!