Heck yes! Appetizers for dinner is perfectly okay with me. No surprises, though....these "entrees" were already featured in a post. Pan grilled champagne orange shrimp was simply a redo from margarita shrimp using a different marinade. Spring time artichokes...I revised these to be void of butter. Italian stuffed mushrooms completed our meal. These were lightened by making them with panko breadcrumbs and a bit of low fat cream cheese.
Mondays are always a good opportunity for a fresh start after overindulging during the weekend. By overindulging I don't mean devouring a hot fudge sundae or a piece of tiramisu, although that's not a bad idea! Usually it means a glass or 2 of wine. Whoopee!
I'm always surprised as I inspect any restaurant menu how most appetizer selections are either deep fried or laden with salt. I'm sure this isn't a fluke, it's by design. It's a proven fact that those salty heavy foods require you to consume more beverages, usually a high calorie alcoholic one. Vicious cycle, huh? It doesn't have to be with a few tricks and tweaks. Hey, that's a great name for a book!
My point is, food can taste great and be healthy if you use a few tricks during the cooking stage. Use fat free broth to "saute" veggies instead of butter or oils. Use more fresh herbs instead of salt. If you must have cheese and that's a hard one to give up, choose good quality goat or feta cheese sparingly instead of those processed cheese products. If you like salty food, switch to spicy food. At least it may speed up that sluggish metabolism! Learn to make your own marinades and salad dressings. Your body will thank you.
Have a great week....
Nothing evokes the taste of the Tropics better than a juicy bite into a fresh ripe mango, right? It's mango season, so now is the time to create ANY recipe featuring this beautiful fruit. This is perfect for those hot Summer days and super easy to put together. I mounded the filling into romaine lettuce "wraps", but they would be good in a sandwich or appetizers in puff pastry cups or Belgium endive leaves.
You can buy precooked chicken these days, however, I usually bake or boil some breast meat to have on hand for last minute meals or salads.
Mango Chicken Lettuce Wraps
2 cups cooked and cubed breast meat.
2 green onions (scallions), chopped
2 Tbsp mayonnaise (or a combination of mayo/plain yogurt)
1 mango, peeled and cut up
1 heaping Tbsp of fresh chopped cilantro
salt & pepper to taste
Mix all the above ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Then, fill the lettuce wraps and garnish with avocado. Yum!
When I saw this recipe online last week, I knew it would be a hit. It's great for snacks and a good low carb selection. I had to try it! It beats plain old steamed squash. This a MUST TRY for the self professed "culinary challenged" crowd, and you know who you are.
Crispy Baked Squash Chips
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a small pie pan mix the following: 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 tsp herb de Provence (optional, but good) Dried thyme would also be a good substitute.
Cut 2 medium size summer squash or zucchini into about 3/4 inch slices. Place 1 Tbsp of olive oil into a bowl, throw in the squash and mix. Dip the oiled squash rounds into panko on both sides. Some of the breading will stick although they won't be completely covered. That's okay.
Place each round onto a cookie sheet which has been sprayed with pan spray. Salt and pepper is optional. Put the extra panko on top of each until mixture is gone.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes. No need to turn. Serve immediately.
Almost three years ago when this blog was started I wondered how to get past the 75 or so recipes that were in my repertoire. I wracked my brain and listed every recipe I've ever made. Since then I continually strive to push myself to exhibit variety. I'm happy to say I've surpassed the 400 post and I realize I'm just scratching the surface. I never knew how to disguise chicken in so many ways. Here's another one for those of you who need that special chicken dinner!
Chicken Rollups
4 chicken breast, boneless, no skin and pounded
1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
2 mushrooms, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
NOTE: Additional ingredients inside the text.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a non-stick frying pan add the spinach, mushrooms and garlic. Stir on medium heat until wilted. Add the garlic. Then add 1/4 cup raisins and about 1/4 cup water to plump the raisins and to keep things moist.
On a breadboard lay out the chicken. Salt and pepper both sides. Have 8 toothpicks handy to secure the chicken. Mound some filling on the bottom third of each chicken breast. Add 1/2 Tbsp of crumbled feta cheese on each one. Roll up and secure with two toothpicks per breast.
Using an oven proof pan (one you can put on the stove top, also) brown the chicken seam side down first, then turn over. Add 1/4 cup of broth and 1/4 cup white wine into the pan. Place into the oven to bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until done. If there is any leftover broth liquid, pour it over the chicken. Serve.
It's a rare occasion when this girl makes a dessert around here. Don't get me wrong...I love sweets! That's the problem. I don't have a sweet tooth....just a mouthful of sweet teeth! I'm from the club - "Eat dessert first". One thing you don't know about me....I will share any part of my meal with you, EXCEPT my ice cream! My hubby thinks I've lost it when he asks for a taste of my ice cream...He knows better now after getting so many looks that could kill! So, if you see me out and about with ice cream in my clutches, STEP AWAY!
So, once in a great while these sweet teeth need to be satisfied. I found this simple dessert that fits in perfectly on my current "eating plan". It's surprisingly tasty..try it. I even incorporated some nectar of the Italian gods, limoncello. Yum!
Ingredients:
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 Tbsp of limoncello
2 Tbsp of honey
zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter (or use butter flavored spray) two 1-cup ramekins. Whisk together ALL of the ingredients and pour into the ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes. This can be served warm over biscotti or as a pudding warm or cold. Sprinkle a bit of nutmeg on top to finish it off. Delicious!
