Crustless Ham, Cheese and Spinach Quiche

I subscribe to Cooking Light magazine. Usually I have trouble finding something that interests me because I have such simple tastes. But this month page 160 just jumped out at me, so before I recycled my magazine, I tore this page out and set it aside. This golden nugget is for a Crustless Smoked Turkey and Spinach Quiche - of course, I had to adapt this recipe because I've never before seen smoked turkey ham as the recipe calls for, and the swiss cheese I had in my house seemed to have gone past its expiration date.

But after coming up with a mix of cheeses that I did have in the fridge - 4 cheese mexican blend, american cheese, and keeping with the reduced fat cheddar - this turned out FANTASTIC. I was so happy with the results as it was my first quiche ever. So if I'm ever craving a quiche again, this will definitely be my go-to recipe!

Crustless Ham, Cheese and Spinach Quiche

Adapted from Cooking Light, June 2008

3/4 cup cubed ham

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

3/4 cup shredded mexican cheese blend, separated in 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup

1/4 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese

1 slice of american cheese chopped up

3/4 cup fat-free cottage cheese

1/2 cup evaporated fat-free milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup baby spinach leaves

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add ham, onion and pepper to pan and saute 4 minutes until ham is lightly browned.

3. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/4 cup mexican blend cheese in pie plate. Top with ham mixture.

4. In a large mixing bowl, gently whisk together the eggs, remaining cheeses, cottage cheese, and evaporated milk.

5. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add flour to egg mixture and gently stir in.

6. Add spinach to egg mixture and gently mix in.

7. Pour the egg mixture over ham mixture in pie plate.
8. Bake for about 45 minutes until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Eating clean?

This is sort of a new concept for me. I sort of get it. I might just be overthinking it. Either way, my friend, Jess, was looking for a clean way to prepare tilapia and came across this blog and recipe. Jess raved about it, and of course I was leery, because avocado is something that I'm just learning to experience, all thanks to Jess for that one. But I decided to give it a try - I figured beans and rice and sour cream make everything better.

So I did my research on how to pick an avocado, and I think I did a pretty good job. And for a first timer, I had no trouble at all extracting the avocado from the pit and the skin. And considering that the dish ended up being fresh and fabulous, I can say that my first experience with using avocado was a hit.

I made enough for 3 meals and now have enough for 2 lunches after I had it for dinner tonight. And let me tell you - this was amazingly easy and FAST to cook up.





Ingredients (estimated):
4-6 Tbsp fat-free sour cream
4-6 Tbsp salsa
1 cup black beans
3/4 - 1 cup rice (I used brown rice)
3 tilapia fillets
1/2 avocado, diced
1 small tomato, diced
salt and pepper





1. Season your fish with salt and pepper. Coat a large pan lightly with a spray of EVOO (courtesy of Misto) or whatever you have on hand (the original recipe posted uses coconut oil). Lightly brown the fish on both sides until cooked through, them with a spatula, break up the fish into bits.

2. While your fish is cooking, mix up the sour cream and salsa in a medium sized mixing bowl.

3. When fish is done, toss all ingredients into the mixing bowl with the sour cream and salsa and stir gently to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Revisiting a childhood favorite...

As a kid, my mom would occasionally make crescent-wrapped cheese dogs. My sisters and I loved them. Even my husband loves them. After talking to my friend Jess one day about what to do about a bunch of hot sausage she had to cook up, we sort of devised this idea. It's beyond simple, and as always, versatile.

Ingredients:
2 links of hot sausage, butterflied (optional: remove skins)
a few slices of mozzarella cheese
1 can reduced-fat crescent rolls
parmesan cheese

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a skillet, brown the butterflied sausage links over medium heat.
3. After the sausage is done, roll out the crescent roll dough and create 2 squares by pressing or rolling the triangles together.
4. Lay mozzarella on one half of each crescent square. Top with sausage link and close by pressing edges together.
5. Place on parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top and bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

So for those cooks who are looking for something quick, simple and delicious for dinner, give this one a try!

My first risotto...

My friend Lindsey has been making a lot of risottos lately. And of course, being an avid watcher of Hell's Kitchen, I've noticed risotto is a sort of popular dish these days. Who knows if it was popular before Hell's Kitchen - cuz honestly, I've never even heard of it before I started watching the show.

Anyway, Lindsey posted an awesome looking Lemon Risotto with Shrimp and Peas. As soon as I saw it I knew it had to be my first try with risotto. So, I set out to find that special rice in my grocery store. Of course my lame grocery store didn't have it, but I found it at the second store I went to. I came right home and started cooking this dish up.



My personal thought on this dish is that I really loved it before I added the pecorino romano cheese. I think I'm a weirdo who doesn't like cheeses that smell like feet or something. So while I was sort of put off by the final product because of the cheese, I'm definitely going to be trying other variations of risotto in the future.

I don't know if the texture of my risotto was right either as I don't have anything to compare it to. But I'll have to make it a point to try it out - either at Lindsey's place (wink, wink), or out at a restaurant.

Chicken Calzones

On the quest to cook dinner more often, I needed to come up with some new ideas for dinner. Nobody likes the same old dinners week in and week out. We love to order calzones from our local pizza place, so why couldn't I give it a shot? Well, I'd tried it once a ball of dough and failed, miserably. So now it was time to revert back to "convenience" foods. In comes the Pillsbury pizza dough found in the refrigerator section of your supermarket. This was SO EASY! No rolling of dough required. Those close to me know that I suck at rolling out doughs and have grown to fear doughs now. So if you have a fear of rolling out pizza dough, this was a great alternative and I would encourage you to give a shot for your own baked-at-home pizzas/calzones/strombolis.

1 refrigerated Pillsbury pizza dough crust
1/2 small block of part-skim mozzarella, sliced
1/2-1 cup part-skim ricotta
2 grilled chicken breasts, sliced
parmesan cheese

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1. Open up the pizza dough flat and cut in half into 2 rectangles.

2. Lay mozzarella cheese on half of each half.

3. place 1 cut up chicken breast on top of mozzarella.

4. Spread a few tablespoons of ricotta over chicken.

5. Fold dough over toppings and seal edges.

6. Lightly spray the tops with EVOO and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

7. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

The versatility of these calzones is endless - put your favorite toppings in for a simple, quick and delicious dinner!

Parmesan Pork Chops w/ Creamed Spinach

Hello! Long time no blog! It's been a whole month since my last blog post. I honestly hardly cooked at all in that time! Have you ever gotten into a total food rut? Well that's what happened to me. But I was finally able to pull myself out of it, so hopefully my blog posts will be more frequent now.

The dish to pull me out of this most recent food rut was Giada's Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops. I've only heard rave reviews over this dish, one from my friend Lindsey over at Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings, and it did not disappoint! Seriously, when I took the leftovers into work today and heated them in the microwave - 2 people asked, "What smells so good?!" Followed by, "I'm just gonna go get my plate," and "so you'll come by my house tonight to cook dinner, right?" I think that's one of the bests compliments you can get on your cooking.

PARMESAN-CRUSTED PORK CHOPS
Source: Food Network

For ingredients and directions, visit the source link as I followed it exactly.

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Now, when I was thinking of a side I knew I wanted some simple buttered noodles. I really like Ronzoni's Healthy Harvest extra wide noodles with a touch of Smart Balance and parsley. But I needed a vegetable. I thought of some creamed spinach that I recently had from a local bbq joint. I'm usually not a fan of cooked spinach, but it was so good! So I found a lightened up version from Cooking Light and gave it a test drive. I found that it was relatively simple and easily halved, however I would drastically reduce the amount of shallot. Here's the halved recipe (serves 1-2) with my recommended changes noted.

CREAMED SPINACH
Source: Cooking Light

1 10 oz. bag of spinach
cooking spray
1 Tbsp minced shallot (I would only use 1 tsp)
1 tsp all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg (excluded)
1/4 fat-free milk
1/4 reduced fat cream cheese

-----

Remove large stems from spinach, and rinse with cold water; drain. Place a large Dutch oven over medium heat, and add spinach. (Spinach will need to be tightly packed into the pan to cook all of it in one batch). Cover and cook 5 minutes or until spinach wilts; stir spinach well after 2 minutes. Place spinach in a colander, and drain well, pressing spinach with the back of a spoon to remove as much moisture as possible.
Place pan coated with cooking spray over medium heat until hot. Add shallots; sauté 2 minutes. Combine flour, salt, and nutmeg; add to pan, stirring well. Cook 30 seconds. Add milk and cheese, stirring with a whisk; cook 1 minute or until thick. Add spinach; cook 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated.

Grandma's Cheesecake Tartlets

Today is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day, MOM! And to all of the other mothers out there who maybe happen to read my piddly blog.

Yesterday my mom decided to have all of her girls over for dinner at her house. Better her than me, because having people over generally causes me anxiety! So I had to offer to bring dessert. Mom wanted crock pot cake, and my younger sister wanted cheesecake. Yes, both of my sisters are also moms so I wanted to oblige my sister's request also.

I didn't feel like cooking a whole cheesecake (umm, I never have, yet, and didn't want to buy 5 packages of cream cheese!). So I called up grandmom who I knew had a recipe for cheesecake tartlets which she used to make at family functions all the time.

So if you're ever looking for something really really simple to please the cheesecake lovers out there, definitely give this a shot!

CHEESECAKE TARTLETS
Source: my grandmom, Joan (where she got it from, I have no idea)

2 packages cream cheese (I used one regular, and one 1/3 less fat)
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (which I just realized while typing this that I totally forgot!)
Nilla wafer cookies
foil cupcake wrappers
cheesecake topping of your choice (the drug of choice in my family is canned cherry pie filling)

-----

1. Combine first 4 ingredients and beat well.
2. Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake wrappers (keep the white wrapper inside each foil wrapper).
3. Place 1 Nilla wafer in the center of each cupcake wrapper.
4. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour about 1/4 cup of the cheesecake batter into each cupcake wrapper, covering the Nilla wafer.
5. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until set. (mine took exactly 18 minutes).
6. Let cool, then store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
7. Before serving, top with your choice of topping.

Yield: I got 22 tartlets by measuring about 1/4 cup into each cupcake wrapper

What's that you say? You don't like toppings on your cheesecake? Well, neither do I. I much prefer my cheesecake unalduterated. The good news is they're just as good with no topping! It's the only way I eat them :)

Tex-Mex Turkey Burgers

My WC sis, Lindsey, never ceases to give me reasons to love her. When I saw this dinner on her blog today, I began drooling all over my desk and had to pull out the disinfecting wipes. It was perfect because I had no dinner plans and was going to be home alone for dinner. I printed out the recipe and went straight to the grocery store after work to get some ground turkey. I couldn't wait to mush up these burgers.

I pulled out my digital scale and measured out 4 (5 oz.) servings from my package of ground turkey and froze 2 servings for future use. I decided to cook up 2 of these flavorful burgers so I would have something to take to work for lunch tomorrow (by the way, I so thought today was Friday, phhffft).

Here's the recipe scaled down for 2 burgers/servings:

TEX-MEX TURKEY BURGERS
Source: Lindsey

10 oz. 99% fat free ground turkey
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
dash of hot sauce (I excluded because I was too lazy to grab it out of the fridge)
1 Tbsp diced jalepeno peppers
1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I omitted)
1/2 small yellow onion, thinly sliced (I generally only keep sweet onions on hand because I prefer the taste)
1 sliced bell pepper, any color (I used 1 cup frozen tri-color pepper strips)
1 tsp olive oil

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1. In pan over low heat, saute 3/4 of onion and bell peppers in olive oil; stir occasionally to avoid burning.
2. In mixing bowl, combine turkey, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne black pepper, hot sauce, jalapeños, cilantro and the remaining 1/4 of the onion(finely chopped).
3. Using hands, mix until ingredients are combined. Divide mixture into two equal parts and form into patties.
4. Place patties on prepared grill or grill pan. Cook for five minutes per side or until no longer pink in center.
5. Remove from heat and top with onions, peppers and your favorite salsa.

To follow with Lindsey's suggestion, I served with 1/2 cup black beans

So, if you're looking for a very flavorful and quite healthy mexican dinner, you should definitely, hands down, give this one a try! Thanks, Lindsey!!

Weight Watchers points values per my calculations:
5 oz. 99% fat free ground turkey breast: 3 points
1/2 cup black beans: 2 points
1/2 tsp EVOO: 1 point
onions/peppers: 0 points
TOTAL: 6 points

Dinner and Dessert with Dana

My friend, Dana, and I try to get together about once a month to cook each other dinner then try baking a new recipe. It was my turn to host so I decided to make some chicken parmesan because I finally found some panko bread crumbs in my grocery store. For dessert we decided to make these chocolate chip cookies. After I saw these in bakingblonde's blog, I knew immediately I had to try them and I wasted no time forwarding the recipe and pictures to Dana. It was then agreed that this would in fact be our next new recipe we would try. I think it was especially fun for Dana because she regularly bakes chocolate chip cookies for her husband and is always testing out new recipes.

CHICKEN PARMESAN for TWO
Source: Me

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts marinated in italian dressing (4 oz. each)

panko breadcrumbs

jarred marinara sauce

fat free and part skim mozzarella (I like to mix both because the fat free cheese doesn't melt well)

1. Bread italian marinated chicken breasts in panko breading.

2. Lightly spray pan with EVOO. Cook chicken on both sides to lightly brown.

3. Add marinara to bottom of 8x8 inch baking dish. Lay chicken breasts in baking dish. Spoon marinara over chicken. Sprinkle cheese on chicken. Bake at 350 for about a half hour or until chicken is done.

Serve with whole wheat pasta and a nice healthy salad.

For my salad, I just mixed romaine and spinach, lightly sprayed with EVOO and a few splashes of red wine vinegar, season with italian seasoning, salt and fresh cracked pepper. So yummy and much healthier than dousing with dressings.

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COPY CAT LEVAIN BAKERY THROWDOWN COOKIES
Source: bakingblonde

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (I used 2 tsp)
3 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt (I used regular table salt)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts (I omitted)
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1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

3. Beat the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in eggs, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. The dough will be stiff and thick. Finish mixing by hand if needed until just combined. Gently fold in chips and nuts if using.

4. Use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop out dough balls. Place dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. You can make smaller dough balls but be sure to adjust baking times as needed to prevent browning.

5. Bake 15-25 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies and your oven) or until cookies are pale brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy. I baked my cookies for 22 minutes exactly.

6. Cool cookies on cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack until cooled completly. Serve or store in airtight container.

These cookies were amazingly soft, fluffy and puffy. Of course, that's the type of cookie I like. Dana said she felt it had too much flour in this recipe and would reduce the amount of flour next time she tried this recipe. The only downfall to these cookies is that you really can only eat one at a time! Well, I guess that would be a downfall for some, and an upside for others!

Enjoy!

Thanks Katie!!!

You rock! Thank you so much for my new blog header!

For Ashlee

I'm so sorry that there still are no updates :*(
But I wanted to give you a shout out in hopes that you might forgive me.
Hopefully I can make it up to you something serious this week!

Ribs

The hubs and I were craving ribs lately so I decided to make them this weekend, along with an au gratin potato recipe I've been wanting to try. When I went to get the ribs I was able to find some boneless ribs, score. So this is the method I used to cook them:

1. Boil a large pot of water. Add ribs to the boiling water. Gently boil for 1 hour.
2. Remove from pot and drain on paper towels.
3. Season with garlic salt and pepper.
4. Set the oven to broil. Line a pan with aluminum foil. Place ribs on foil-lined pan and baste with your favorite bbq sauce.
5. Place pan under broiler for about 2 minutes. Remove, flip ribs, baste again, return to broiler for about 2 minutes. Repeat for each side and enjoy!

This method of cooking ribs is a combination of the way my family did it, and the method I found in Katie's blog.

To go with the ribs, I used Ashlee's potatoes au gratin recipe. It was really easy and good. I can imagine how great they would be if I didn't use low-fat cheese and if I would've doubled the amount of cheese.

Ribs would also go great with some homemade potato salad. Look for that in the blog this summer!

Grilled Spicy Lemon Chicken

I do the best I can without an actual "fire" grill. I use a grill pan and it doesn't always result in great grill marks, but it's still super easy. I have to give credit for this idea to my friend, Jess (thanks, Jess!). It's a great light, summery (and low-fat too!) way to prepare chicken. If you're looking for a way to spice up your next chicken dinner, definitely give this simple and versatile marinade a try!

Grilled Spicy Lemon Chicken
Source: adapted from my friend Jess

juice of 2 lemons
3 tsp EVOO
1-2 tsp crushed red pepper
1-2 tsp crushed garlic
a dash of dried oregano
season with salt and pepper
2-4 chicken breasts
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Combine all ingredients (except chicken) in a small bowl. Mix well with a whisk to help incorporate the oil. Transfer marinade and chicken to a large plastic baggie. Place in fridge to marinate for about 15-30 minutes. Grill or cook until no longer pink.

Oh sweet nachos...

I love mexican food. Mexican food can sometimes be a challenge on the Weight Watchers diet. I heard great things about the Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight! cookbook. And lucky for me, there was a special section for Mexican food alone. The first thing that grabbed my eye for ease of execution and best probability for tasting great was the Nachos Supreme. THANK GOD I found this recipe. Seriously - if you're on Weight Watchers, this recipe is a must-try!

NACHOS SUPREME
Source: Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight! cookbook - copyright 2002

1 teaspoon olive oil (I excluded)
1 onion, finely chopped (I excluded)
1 garlic clove, minced (I excluded)
1/2 pound ground skinless turkey breast
2 Tbsp taco seasoning mix
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 (8-ounce) jar taco sauce
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into quarters
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese (I used a 2% mexican blend)
1 Tbsp sliced pickled jalepenos, chopped (I buy diced jalepenos in a jar)
1 tomato, diced
2 scallions, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I excluded)
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1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the onion and garlic. Cook stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-5 minutes. (I skipped this entire step)
2. Add the turkey and the taco seasoning mix. Cook, breaking up the turkey, until browned, about 6 minutes.
3. Stir in the beans and taco sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Preheat the broiler. Arrange the tortilla pieces in one layer on the broiler rack; spray the tortillas lightly with nonstick spray. Broil 4 inches from the heat, turning frequently, until crisp, about 4 minutes. (I cooked each side for 2 minutes - Keep an eye on them so that they don't burn)
5. Transfer the tortilla chips to a 9x13-inch broiler proof baking pan (I just used a baking sheet lined with foil for both steps 4 and 5). Spoon the turkey mixture evenly over the chips. Sprinkle with the cheese and jalepenos. Broil 4 inches from the heat until filling is hot and the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes (keep an eye on them).
6. Top with tomato, scallions and cilantro. Serve at once.

OPTIONAL: I served each chip with a small dollop of fat-free sour cream

SERVINGS: 6
NUTRITIONAL INFO (1/6 of nachos): 215 cals/4 g fat/5 g fiber
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS VALUE (1/6 of nachos): 4 POINTS



BONUS!!!!!
I use this recipe for my taco seasoning mix:

2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp black pepper

It makes a good amount which I just store in a spice jar.

Spicy Shrimp Scampi with Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash? "What's that?" I asked my friend, Dana. She tried telling me how closely it resembles actual spaghetti. Now, on my Weight Watchers endeavors I need to find ways to get veggies in wherever I can. But I was skeptical to say the least. So, about a month ago I found a spaghetti squash in the grocery store. I'd never even noticed them before, because quite frankly, I'm not a fan of squashes (or is it squeesh?). Yes, friends, it took me a month to get up the guts to cook it. Now, Dana said she bakes her spaghetti squash. My friend, Jess, says she microwaves her. My Google search for spaghetti squash cooking tips landed me here. I found this site quite helpful for the spaghetti squash novice.

Well, I couldn't think of a better recipe to try the "squash instead of spaghetti" method than the Shrimp Scampi recipe previously featured on my blog here. Well, that was thanks to Dana again - because she tried it first.

Well, I made this dish last night - it was experimental. But guess what - I liked it SO DAMN MUCH that I had it again tonight! So I decided to blog it. Now, for those Weight Watchers followers - 1 cup of spaghetti squash is a ZERO point food! One cup of wheat pasta is 3 points! And 1 cup of regular pasta is 4 points!

To make this dish more enjoyable, I realized after the "experimental" half of the dinner last night that I would like it so much better with more sauce. So today I made up a new batch of sauce, cooked up some more shrimp, microwaved my leftover spaghetti squash and scarfed it down.

2 tsp EVOO (2 points)
6 oz shrimp (3 points)
minced garlic to taste (about 2-3 cloves)
1/2 cup white wine (2 points)
zest and juice of 1 lemon (or to taste)
crushed red pepper to taste (for spicy I used 1 tsp)
1 cup cooked spaghetti squash (0 points)
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1. Heat oil. Add shrimp and saute until pink and firm (1-2 minutes). Remove shrimp and set aside.
2. Add minced garlic to pan and saute until fragrant (about 30 seconds) - Be careful not to burn.
3. Add wine and lemon juice. Reduce a pinch.
4. Return shrimp to pan and remove from heat.
5. Serve over spaghetti squash.

Serves: 1 (easily doubled)

Seriously, this is a delicious, healthy and elegant 7 point meal. And you can reduce or eliminate the oil altogether to save on points.

Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

This is one of our FAVORITE meals. My husband, of course, only eats the chicken and the rice, but that leaves all the veggies to me, which is a good thing as I just officially joined Weight Watchers. I usually make this dish by eyeballing everything, but for the purpose of my new Weight Watchers lifestyle, I measured everything out so that I could calculate the points value. Now this IS a spicy dish. If you choose to try it yourself and don't like really spicy food, feel free to alter the amount of red pepper and chili oil, or omit it altogether! That's just one of the many beauties of this dish.

SPICY CHICKEN STIR FRY
Source: Violet, an old friend who now lives in the U.K.

CHICKEN
2 chicken breasts (8 oz.), sliced thin
3 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp chili oil

VEGGIES
1 green pepper, chopped to your liking
1 small sweet onion, chopped to your liking
1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp chili oil
2 tsp crushed garlic

SAUCE
3/4 cup cooking sherry (or any dry white wine)
4 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp corn starch

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1. For the chicken - in a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, garlic, crushed red pepper and chili oil. Add chicken and stir to coat the chicken well.

2. For the veggies - in a large skillet, heat the sesame oil, chili oil and garlic over medium heat until fragrant. Add veggies and saute until tender crisp. Remove veggies and set aside.

3. Add chicken mixture to skillet and cook chicken over medium heat until cooked through.

4. While the chicken is cooking, mix together the sherry, soy sauce and corn starch for your sauce.

5. When the chicken is cooked through, pour in the sauce mixture and return veggies to skillet. Stir and simmer until the alcohol is cooked off or until your veggies reach the desired tenderness.

Serve with rice. Enjoy!

Servings: 4

Weight Watchers points value: 5 points (not including rice)

Cals: 241/Fiber: 2/Fat: 7

Disclaimer: the nutritional information was calculated on Spark Recipe's food calculator, which I then used to calculate the Weight Watchers points values.

What's up, doc?

Ever since I came across this recipe about 4 years ago, it's been a must-have for Easter dinner every single year. If you're looking for a new carrot cake recipe to try, I highly recommend you try this one! It's so moist and has the perfect density. The only change I make is I exclude the nuts entirely, and I prefer it baked in a 9x13 cake pan (which takes about 35-45 minutes).

GIGI'S CARROT CAKE
Source: Emeril Lagasse - Food Network

3 sticks, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Pecan Cream Cheese Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter 3 (9-inch) cake pans with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer.
Add the sugar, and beat.
In a medium bowl or on a piece of parchment, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the eggs, beating well after the addition of each.
Add the vanilla extract and mix.
Add the carrots and beat on medium speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes.
Fold in the nuts.
Divide between the 3 cake pans and bake until set and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest in the cake pans for 10 minutes.
Invert onto wire racks, remove from the pans, and let cool.

For the Frosting:
In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly.
Add the vanilla and pecans.

When the cake is cool, place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or stand. Spread the top with cream cheese frosting and top with a second and third cake layer, spreading the icing between each layer. Spread the icing around the sides of the cake and let harden slightly before serving.

Scone? What's a scone?!

No, people, I've never had a scone. In my life. EVER. But alas, the day has come! I had about a half gallon of milk about to go bad. Basically my milk was dated today. I'm sure there are people like me; I hate to use milk past the date on the jug (I don't I've ever used the word 'jug' in my everyday life. Wow, another first!). I've wasted milk before, but I've never been ambitious enough to find a way to use up my kitchen and pantry items before they go bad. I don't know what came over me, but I knew if I asked my friend Katie, she'd have plenty of ideas for me to get rid of my almost-sour milk.

So I emailed Katie, and she came back with a few ideas, and I was like nah, that's not doing it for me, so then she wrote back with "blueberry scones." DING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER! I knew I had all of the ingredients on hand at home (that's a first!).

I came straight home after work and immediately starting working on these babies. They turned out great!

BLUEBERRY SCONES

Source: Katie - Good Things Catered

2 c. flour plus 2 Tbsp, plus 1 Tbsp

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 Tbsp sugar

1/8 tsp salt

6 Tbsp butter, plus 1/2 Tbsp, chilled

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 c. half and half, chilled (I used 1% milk with a few spoons of fat free vanilla yogurt)

2/3 c. frozen Maine wild blueberries (store brand frozen berries for me!)

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1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment (I used my silpat sheet).

2. In small bowl combine frozen blueberries and 1 Tbsp flour and toss to combine.

3. Place blueberry mixture back into freezer.

4. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

5. Take butter out of fridge, cut into chunks and add to flour mixture. Cut butter into flour until pea sized or smaller.

6. Add vanilla and half and half and mix in with a spoon until just barely incorporated.

7. Take blueberries out of freezer and knead into mixture until mixture forms a ball of sticky dough.

8. Turn dough out onto floured surface and pat down into rough 9-10 inch circle.

9. Cut into 8 triangles and place triangles onto prepared baking sheet at least an inch apart.

10. Take 1/2 Tbsp butter and cut into 8 small pieces. Place one small piece of butter on top of each scone.

11. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy. Now as I've said, I've never had a scone before in my life, so I don't have anything to compare mine to, but if I still wanted more after eating one, that must be good!

"mock" Chicken Marsala and Oven Roasted Broccoli

I'm not really one for making elaborate or fancy meals. In fact, I have nothing against cooking with condensed soup. I came up with this really simple, delicious and healthy dish that also comes together really quickly. And recently somebody posted on the WC board raving about this oven roasted broccoli recipe. I'm always looking for a new interesting way to cook broccoli and it fit the bill. I tried it once last week and am officially in love with it.


"mock" Chicken Marsala
Source: me

olive oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
1 can fat free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 can condensed golden mushroom soup
thin/angel hair spaghetti
salt and pepper to taste
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1. Set pot of water to boil for cooking pasta.
2. Heat pan and lightly coat bottom of pan with oil (I use my Misto sprayer). Add chicken and cook until lightly browned.
3. Add chicken broth and simmer while pasta is cooking.
4. While pasta is cooking, add condensed mushroom soup to pan, stir well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until pasta is done.
5. Drain pasta and serve with chicken and sauce.

Oven Roasted Broccoli

Source: Alton Brown - Good Eats

1 pound broccoli, rinsed and trimmed (I just used one crown)

2 tablespoons olive oil (I just spray with Misto sprayer until lightly coated)

2 cloves garlic, minced (1 clove per crown)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs (I did not use)

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan or sharp Cheddar
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1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Cut the broccoli florets into bite size pieces. Cut the stalk into 1/8-inch thick, round slices.

3. Place the broccoli into a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic, kosher salt and pepper and set aside.
4. Spread the panko into a 13 by 9-inch metal cake pan and place into the oven for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted.

5. Remove the panko from the oven and add to the bowl with the broccoli mixture. Toss to combine.

6. Return the mixture to the cake pan, place in the oven and roast just until the broccoli is tender, 8 to 10 more minutes.

7. Remove from the oven, toss in the cheese and serve immediately.

My notes: Instead of cutting into bite size pieces and the stalk into rounds, I just cut into small spears. It just takes a little longer to roast.

...and I'd like to thank my fans!

Who would've thunk I'd've made somebody's day with my measly blog. Well I did! Crazy, I know, I have no lofty goals with my blog, I just like to, well, eat! Simple stuff at that. And every now and then I'm inspired to make something a little more creative from other blogs. So I must say I'm thrilled to have fallen into the blogging world and am able to make anybody's day with my own! I guess it's sort of voyeuristic, getting all up in somebody's kitchen, the good, the bad, and the ugly of it (hello numerous baking DISASTERS!).

Anywho, I won this beautiful award that I will proudly display here






And would now like to also call the following people for their acceptance of the award!

Lindsey, my "sis", over at Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings. I love to get all up in your kitchen ;) (I hope you don't mind getting another award, considering as you received it and then passed it on to me. Is that even allowed? Idk, I want you to have one anyway).


Katie over at Good Things Catered. I have to disinfect my keyboard regularly as I drool over your blog on a regular basis.

Duchess281 over at Confections of a Foodie Bride. Love your food porn girl! And thanks for turning me on to making my own vanilla!

and Mrs.OCandME over at My Apples and Oranges. Again with the food porn. I think I must have a fetish.

Thanks girls!