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!
If you were to tell me I'd be snacking on kale, I would have thought you were nuts! You would have to have your head in the sand to not hear about all the healthy properties of kale these days. But, what do you do with it? I've used it in simple recipes ususally sauteed with raisins and pine nuts. Delicious! It can be thrown into salads, soups and egg dishes.
My latest snack is kale chips. I've never been a big fan of potato chips (thank God!). Hand me a bag of Cheetos, though, and I'll be your friend for life! These kale chips don't taste like Cheetos, however! I can appreciate the fact that they are good for me....and they're so easy to make.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
You can buy pre-cut kale in bags now at most stores. Or, you can purchase stalks of the same in the organic (preferably) section of the supermarket. To prepare the kale for roasting, cut from the stalk and remove any hard stems, cut into pieces.
Spray a cookie sheet with either butter spray or olive oil spray. Lay out the kale evenly on the sheet and spray with a spritz of pan spray. Sprinkle with sea salt (not too much). Roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Halfway through "shuffle" the kale. Remove and eat when cool. These are great on salads, baked potatoes, for starters and are GUILT FREE! The longer they sit and cool, the crispier they become....try it!
Whole wheat pasta appears on my bucket list. I wanted to make a more wholesome, healthy version of pasta this time around. The taste was nuttier and texture a bit dense. But, when you're craving ANY pasta dish, this satisfies! To finish it off, I added shrimp, artichoke hearts, garlic and mushrooms. Not bad!
I'm fortunate enough to have a Kitchen aid mixer with all the pasta rollers and cutters (bells & whistles). Hand rolling is not for me! Lately the two most used gadgets in my kitchen are my food processor and my kitchen aid mixer. Everything else I could live without (I think.) Ready to make some whole wheat pasta? Let's do it!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat (I used white whole wheat this time)
1/2 cup regular flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs (room temperature)
1 Tbsp olive oil
In the food processor add the flours and salt and pulse. Then add the eggs and pulse. The mixture will not "come together" until you start adding some oil. Depending on the weather (seriously) you may need to add a bit more oil.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board. You should be able to form it into a ball. Knead slightly and then form into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30-40 minutes. It will be easier to work with.
For this recipe I only used 1/3 of the dough. To roll, first I cut smaller pieces, rolled with a rolling pin (a 2 x 4 inch size is good) so it would fit into the pasta roller attachment. Pass the dough through on #1 setting. It will knead and roll. Pass through again, then bump up the setting to 2, 3, 4, 5, and finally #6. The strip will get wider and thinner with each pass.
As I do each one I lay the strips onto a floured tea towel. Now, you change attachments to the cutter. You can choose spaghetti, fettuccine or leave them alone for lasagna noodles. I did fettuccine. As the strip gets cut, cradle and twist into "nests" and lay them back on the floured tea towel.
You can cook them immediately or freeze for later. If cooking now, they only take a fraction of the time the dried noodles take. Usually only 2-3 minutes. I prepared the shrimp/artichoke "sauce" right before. The pasta needs your undivided attention!
The sauce is only a mixture of garlic, olive oil, artichokes, mushrooms sauteed, then throw in the shrimp. Cook until done. Add the pasta with a bit of pasta water and maybe a bit more olive oil (only to moisten) Lately, I've been substituting broth instead of oils. It works!
NOTE: I guess you've noticed, this is not for beginner's. Give it a try though.....fresh pasta is always better!
Spring has sprung, finally! The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, the barbecue is out and the warmth from the sun is a very welcome feeling. I'm more than ready to get my hands into the dirt to cultivate my garden. There's nothing better than doing my produce shopping in my garden! Right? Fresh spinach, lettuce, mint, chives to snip and baby tomatoes to pluck.
This recipe for Springtime Couscous can be made with orzo, or barley, but I like pearl couscous the best. It will be a staple for many Summer barbecues.
Ingredients:
1 cup pearl couscous
1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1 Tbsp parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small can of black olives, rinsed
1 tsp lemon zest
the juice from 1/2 lemon, squeezed
Cook the couscous according to package directions. In a mixing bowl, add all the remaining ingredients. When couscous is done, drain off any liquid remaining and add to the bowl. Blend well and add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or longer.
The lemon and mint flavors are the perfect Springtime combination. You can easily increase the amounts to feed loads of people for a brunch or party. You'll love this cold salad!
