Monthly Archives: June 2014

Steak and Potatoes Revisited

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steak&potatoesrevisited

Steak:

I marinated the steak in the following: (I only marinated it in the fridge for an hour, over night would be best!

Marinade
  • 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  •  3 Tb honey
  • 1 scallion (green onion), thinly sliced
  • 1 Tbls Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp garlic, minced
  • fresh ground pepper to taste
  • sea salt ground – approx 1/2 tsp

After the steak has been marinating the the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, place on grill, OR the grill pan. Grill for 7.5 to 8 minutes per side for a medium temperature steak. Enjoy!!!

(If you use the grill pan, drain all marinade extra marinade off of steak, and place onto HOT grill pan that has been sprinkled with sea salt)

Let your steak rest for 8-10 minutes on a plate before you cut into it.

Potatoes, Onions & Carrots

Wash and cut 8 potatoes into 8 pieces each. Then peel and cut carrots into large chunks. Then, cut up onion into large pieces. Put them onto a tin foil-lined cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. spread them out on the cookie sheet and cover with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and fresh rosemary. (about 1/2 tsp of each). Then cut up 2 TB of butter into small pieces and put over the vegetables. Put into the oven at 425 degrees for 40 minutes. Do this BEFORE the steak!!!!! (or as it finishes marinating!)
Take out when the carrots and potatoes fall apart from the fork.

Enjoy!

Lighter Version of Banana Bread… and JUST AS GOOD!

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lighterbananabread

2 large bananas
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cage free egg
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup half&half
1/4 cup apple sauce
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
2 cups all purpose flour

 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease bread loaf pan, unless it’s non stick.

Mix all dry ingredients into a large bowl, make sure to mix well.

Mix all wet ingredients in another bowl, make sure to mix thoroughly.

Add liquid mix to dry mix and stir thoroughly.

Put into bread loaf pan and cook for approximately 55 to 65 minutes. I always start checking the colour around 50 minutes, should be a nice golden brown. Insert a toothpick in centre to check if it’s done. Toothpick may be moist from bananas, just make sure it’s not moist from batter.

Let bread cool in pans for about 5 to 10 minutes. Run a knife along outside edge to loosen sides.

Looking for something sweet, add chocolate chips! You can also add walnuts or pecans for extra flavor!

Homemade Pot-Pie!

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The above pictures shows the progression of Homemade Pot-Pie! (I didn’t make the crust homemade, because I had one leftover in my freezer. You buy a box w/2, use only 1, and you’ve got an extra in your freezer for whatever!! Pot Pie for me!)

Original Recipe: http://www.simplyscratch.com/2012/12/chicken-pot-pies.html

COOK TIME: 25-30 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes {give or take}

INGREDIENTS:

5 Boneless skinless chicken tenderloins (sauteed in skillet and cooked through, then diced)

2 TB butter

1.5 cup frozen mixed vegetables

2 Celery Stalks, diced small

1/2 sweet onion diced small

1 cup Chicken Broth

2 TB flour

2 teaspoons Kosher Salt, more or less to taste

1/2 teaspoons Black Pepper, more or less to taste

1 teaspoon cumin

1 frozen pie crust, thawed to room temperature

4 ramekins

 

DIRECTIONS:

TO Sautee the chicken: Place all chicken tenderloins into skillet w/1 turn olive oil (1 TB). Season with salt, pepper and a dash of coriander (1/2 tsp). Cook until BARELY cooked through.

TO MAKE THE POT PIES: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and grease 4 10-ounce ramekins with olive oil cooking spray.

 

Thaw the pie crust out and use a bowl {slightly larger than the ramekin}, trace and cut out 4 circles, using the scraps to make more if needed. Keep the dough circles in the fridge so they stay cold.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet.

Add in the onions and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Season with a teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/4 tsp cumin. Cook until the onions are soft.

Now add in 1 TB olive oil, and the 2 TB of flour to form a roux.

Pour in the 2 cups of chicken broth. Let that simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened 3-5 minutes. Then add the 3 TB of grated parmesan cheese.

Next add in the mixed frozen veggies, cooked chicken and season w/salt&pepper to taste. Stir.

Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Spray w/ fat free olive oil cooking spray. (At this point, if you wanted to, you could add diced potato to the bottom of the ramekins.

Spoon the pot pie filling evenly, filling the ramekins to the brim. Let them cool down a bit before placing the pie dough over top and crimping the edges. With a sharp knife make slits for ventilation.

Slide the tray of pot pies into a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden.

Remove and let them cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

NOTES:

*For a glossy top crust, try spraying w/cooking spray and sprinkling with sea salt.

Mini Pepper “Nachos”

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These mini-pepper nachos are probably now one of my favorite either “snacks” or light and easy dinners. I followed the recipe exactly, so I cannot claim it as my own… and the picture was taken on my husbands cell phone late at night with bad lighting… 🙂

BUT… this is one I HIGHLY recommend. The only difference is that we use PLAIN Organic Greek Yogurt instead of Sour Cream.

http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/10/mini-pepper-nachos-with-corn-black.html

 

Enchilada Casserole

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This is a DELICIOUS dish that you can actually make with combining leftovers from other dishes! Kind of like a “pantry cleaning out” night… or a refrigerator “clean out” night!

I combined 2 different recipes to come up with the above… totally worth it!

Recipe #1 http://www.food.com/recipe/mexican-casserole-6-5-weight-watcher-points-135814

Recipe #2 http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=674526

Ingredients: 

1 lb extra lean ground beef (drained or rinsed!) (I used 1/2 lb. leftover taco meat, already seasoned with taco seasoning)
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
1/2 can Rotel with green chilis (mild) (OR 3/4 cup of salsa from your fridge!!)
1 1/2 cup frozen corn
1 roasted red bell pepper, diced
1 (15 ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained)

(If you don’t have leftover taco meat, you need 1 packet taco seasoning, as well in the list of ingredients… OR, use this to MAKE YOUR OWN taco seasoning! Quite easy!! : http://www.abigmouthful.com/homemade-taco-seasoning-and-turkey-tacos/ 

3-4 Flour tortillas (depending on how many layers you want to make)
3/4 cup nonfat sour cream
1/3 cup reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend, shredded
1/3 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste (or less (or more)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Line a deep-dish 9″ pie pan (or Springform cheesecake pan) with foil, then coat with cooking spray. 

Place a small saute pan over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray. 

Add the onion, corn, and cumin, and cook until corn starts to brown, about five minutes, then remove from heat.

Place one tortilla in the bottom of the prepared pie pan. 

Layer on half of the ground beef, diced pepper, black beans, cilantro, corn and onions. Pour on 1/2 cup salsa (or Rotel), sprinkle on 1/3 cup cheese and top with a tortilla. 

Repeat for the second layer, then top with the remaining tortilla, 1/2 cup salsa and 1/3 cup cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes. 

Let cool for five minutes before slicing into six wedges and serving. 

 

Easy Salmon Steaks

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ok, time for some honesty here. I LOVE to cook, and I feel like most of the time, I’m pretty good at it. But, like most people, I have weaknesses. Fish is one of those weaknesses. I recently learned how to properly cook white-fish (aka: tilapia, dover sole, etc).  Salmon, is a whole other ball game. Seriously. There are so many different thicknesses of  steaks, and cuts etc… so when it comes to cook time, it’s so hard to judge. You also have to time it JUST RIGHT, to take it out of the oven where it’s SLIGHTLY undercooked, and then let it rest in the juices to get just right… and not over cooked.

Tonight… I slightly over cooked it. This recipe is REALLY good… if it wasn’t over cooked. Seriously… I’m working on it! Don’t feel bad if you fail the first time!

Oh, and the dill? Just for the pretty picture… not used in the recipe at all!

original recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=322103
Minutes to Prepare: 5
Minutes to Cook: 15
Number of Servings: 4

 

Ingredients

1/4 raw organic honey
2-3 TB toasted sesame oil
2-3 TB Seasoned Rice wine vinager 
1 tsp minced garlic
12 ounces fresh or thawed salmon
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a gallon-size ziploc bag, shake it up, and then add the salmon. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for an hour, turning after half an hour. Pour the salmon and the marinade into a baking dish and bake in a 350 degree oven, covered with foil, for 15 minutes. The salmon is done when it flakes easily at the thickest part. Enjoy! Makes (4) 3 ounce servings. Make sure to pull the salmon out BEFORE you see the milky-white substance seeping out! That means it’s over cooked. Right when it’s starting to flake, and let it sit in the marinade for 5 minutes. Double check it’s “done-ness” and enjoy!

Honey Lime “Guacamole”… or “A Twist on Guacamole”

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I could also call this “Messy Bowl” 🙂

original recipe: http://easyrecipestodo.blogspot.com/2013/11/grilled-corn-avocado-and-tomato-salad.html

INGREDIENTS
1 pint grape tomatoes (I’m not a big tomato fan… I only had a few in there for “garnish”…)
1 ripe avocado
1 bag of Steam Fresh sweet corn (or 2 ears freshly grilled corn from original recipe)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
HONEY LIME DRESSING
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp honey
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS
Remove husks from corn and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes. The corn should have some brown spots and be tender and not mushy. Cut the corn off the cob then scrape the cob with the back of your knife to get the juices. Set aside and let cool. Slice the tomatoes in half. Dice the avocado and chop the cilantro.
HONEY LIME DRESSING
1. Add all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. Combine the sliced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and grilled corn and honey lime dressing and mix gently so everything is evenly coated. Be careful not to mash the avocados. Let the salad sit for 10-15 minutes to let flavors mingle. Enjoy.

Sunday Lunch

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There are a few recipes that need to go in here… so I’ll start with the simple.

Beets:

Fresh beets, cut up and boiled for 20 minutes. Then, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. YUM!

Guacamole:

2 avocados, sliced and diced
the juice of 1 lime
1/4 sweet onion
splash of hot sauce
1 small bunch of FRESH cilantro (about 1/4 cup)
grape tomatoes sliced in half (I used around 10)

Shrimp Caprese Orzo Pasta

Original recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2746948

Minutes to Prepare: 5
Minutes to Cook: 10
Number of Servings: 4

 

Ingredients

Orzo Pasta, 1 cup 
Grape Tomatoes cut in 1/2, 1 cup 
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Basil, 1 tbsp
 White Balsamic Vinegar, 1 tbsp 
Salt, 1 dash
Pepper, black, 1 dash
*Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 tbsp
Juice of 1 lemon, plus the zest
Shrimp, raw, 10 medium
1/4 of a cucumber, sliced
FRESH mozzarella cut into slices
While orzo pasta is cooking according to box instructions, mix the tomatoes, half the garlic, the basil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and mozzarella cheese in a serving dish.In the oven, at 350 degrees, cook shrimp in the remaining garlic and the EVOO. About 8-15 minutes (depending on size and if they were frozen).

Drain pasta and stir together with diced tomato mixture and then top with cooked shrimp.

Serving Size: Makes 3-4 Dinner Portions

Number of Servings: 4

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

 

Greek Chicken:

adapted from this recipe: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/06/greek-marinated-chicken/

Ingredients
  • 1 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • ½ Tbsp dried oregano $0.08
  • 1/2 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 medium lemon
  • ½ tsp ground himalayan sea salt
  • freshly cracked pepper $0.05
  • ¼ bunch fresh parsley $0.20
  • 3½ to 4 lbs chicken pieces $6.86
  • Instructions
    1. To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a fine holed cheese grater or a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from half of the lemon (about 1-2 Tbsp). Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Roughly chop a big handful, or about ¼ bunch, of parsley and stir it into the marinade.
    2. Add the chicken pieces and marinade to a gallon sized zip top bag. Remove as much air as possible, close the bag tightly, and massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes.
    3. After marinating for 30 minutes, either cook the chicken on a grill OR preheat the oven to 375 degrees in preparation to bake the chicken.
    4. To bake the chicken, place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish (9×13). Bake the chicken in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

 

 

Tikka Masala

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Indian food – not spicy!!

my recipe is adapted from this original recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=65763

Minutes to Prepare: 20
Minutes to Cook: 20
Number of Servings: 4
6 Chicken tenderloins diced small
4 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 to 3/4  onion chopped finely
1 tsp ground (powdered) ginger 
2 tsp garlic, chopped
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup (to 1/2 cup, depending on how thick you like it) tomato puree
Salt to taste
Coriander to garnish1/4 cup waterPut the oil into a pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the ground cardamom. Add the onions and cook while stirring, until brown. Add the spices , garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala and chili powder and stir. Add the remaining ingredients. Add the tomato and puree and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour in the water and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly. Taste the sauce and season with salt.
Add the chicken cubes and mix well into the masala. Simmer for 10-12 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and tender. Garnish and serve .Number of Servings: 4

My LOVE of Grapefruit

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Grapefruit…

Do you like grapefruit? Have you ever tried it warmed up with Brown Sugar melted into it??? If not… DO!

I have memories of going to visit my grandparents in Tampa and going out and picking a grapefruit off of their tree and bringing it inside and making it like in the picture. MMMMMM!!!!

So, what you need: 1/2 grapefruit cut and sectioned
1-2 TB of brown sugar

Cut the grapefruit in half and then take a serrated knife and cut out each individual triangle in-between the membrane. Then, take the same knife and cut around the outside of the citrus, but not into the pith. Then, top w/brown sugar and microwave for 1 minute.

ENJOY!!!