Erin Eats

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2012-01-04T10:58:00.003-07:00

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Growing Tomatoes

2009-06-28T19:02:00.003-06:00

I planted three tomato plants about 5-6 weeks ago and they've been growing like weeds, but I'm afraid that: a) I didn't plant them deep enough b)I over-watered (it rained like crazy for a couple of weeks) and c) I didn't plant in big enough pots (I don't have a yard). Because of these things, I'm seeing some fruit, but not a lot, mostly in big clusters (this is normal, I'm sure) and the bottoms look like this:

We did have a crazy snail infestation, but that's been taken care of and I've planted marigolds to help with any bugs...

Any suggestions would be lovely!

Fresh Cherry and Apple Crisp

2009-06-28T12:08:00.004-06:00

For a few weeks now I've been on a diet, of sorts, having Isagenix Isalean Shakes twice a day and having a low calorie lunch or dinner, depending on the circumstances. This is working (though I'm realizing I'm a bit more ornery than usual), but I find myself really missing the activity of cooking, especially with so many fresh herbs out in my faux garden.

In any case, we were given a bucketful of fresh cherries, so we're incorporating them into our shakes, but Saturday is my day to make whatever I want without feeling any dieter's guilt - Saturday is my favorite day...

Fresh Cherry and Apple Crisp

Toss:
4 apples, peeled and sliced
2 c. cherries, pitted
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 c. sugar
zest of 1 orange
Arrange in a baking dish.

Combine:
1/2 stick butter, softened*
2 c. instant oats
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 whole nutmeg, finely grated
Sprinkle over the fruit mixture and bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

*You should probably use a whole stick of butter to get the proper crumble texture, but I only used half.

Eating Montréal - Fairmount Queen Elizabeth Hotel

2009-06-25T21:33:00.000-06:00

Our time in Montréal was interesting, but there's no doubt that the artful execution and quality of the food is unlike anything I've ever experienced. One particularly amazing dish was the cream of mushroom soup in the hotel restaurant Le Montrealais Bistro-bar which is also is where the room service comes from. When we go on vacation, we don't spend a lot of money, but we always splurge on local cuisine, particularly room service if the hotel is a little extravagant.

Steak sandwich from the restaurant inside the Fairmount Queen Elizabeth (room service). This sandwich was simply steak and bread and it was the single best thing I had to eat while in Montréal.

Scallops with sun dried tomaotes and portabello mushrooms - room service

Large Pizza - room service

Small Pizza - room service

I didn't get to taste this napoleon, but I was assured that it was incredible.

Pastry in the underground mall underneath the Fairmount Queen Elizabeth hotel. We walked down every day to take a look at the insane French pastry. I was in foodie heaven...

Marinated Chicken with Tzatziki Sauce and Pita

2009-05-14T18:58:00.000-06:00

I love, LOVE souvlaki with cucumber sauce - they have a great version of this at the Crown Burger in Salt Lake City.

I like to make my own version, but I usually just cook the full chicken breast instead of cubing it up and skewering it. Tonight's was the best we've had in a long time!

Marinated Chicken with Tzatziki Sauce and Pita

For the marinade and chicken:

Combine juice of 1 lemon and one lime with 2 TB. olive oil, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 1/4 c. chopped fresh oregano and 1 TB. fresh lemon thyme leaves. Pour over chicken in a zip bag and marinate for 8 hours (I do this before work so the chicken is nice and flavorful by the time I get home). Remove chicken from bag and pat dry, sprinkle with salt then sear both sides over medium high heat until golden. Place in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until just cooked through.

Tzatziki Sauce

1 32-oz. container low fat plain yogurt
1 English cucumber or two regular cucumbers, peeled, grated and squeezed in a towel to remove water
2 cloves garlic, pressed through press then sprinkled with 1/2 tsp. coarse salt and ground to a paste with the back of a spoon (this step is critical - it removes the bitterness from the garlic)
1/4 c. chopped fresh mint or 2 tsp. dried mint (the dried brings a much stronger flavor)
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon
2 TB. good olive oil

Combine and chill! This will last in the refrigerator for 5 days, or so.

Stuffed Pork Chops with Steamed Cabbage Wedges

2009-05-13T19:50:00.000-06:00

Just another Sunday dinner for two:

For the pork chops:
2 1-1/2" pork chops, marinated in soy sauce and 2 cloves crushed garlic for 20 minutes, then patted dry. Make a pocket in the porkchop, making sure to leave only a 1" opening for stuffing.

For the stuffing:
3 slices bread, cubed
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 TB olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Toss and bake at 400 degrees until golden brown. Let cool, then pour over 3/4 c. boiling chicken broth and cover until the broth is absorbed. Let cool then stir in 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Stuff pork chops and quickly brown each side, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cut 1 head cabbage into wedges and steam until tender. Serve with garlicy lemon butter: 2 cloves crushed garlic, sauteed in 1 TB. olive oil. Add 1/2 stick butter, juice and zest of 1/2 lemon, and 1/4 tsp. salt and pepper.

Eating Montréal - Dragon's Beard Candy

2009-05-12T22:49:00.000-06:00

At the first of August, I had a buisness trip that took me to Montréal, and though I was in meetings and classes for the majority of the 5-day trip, I did get the opportunity to take a food tour that lead us through the various food districts in the city, including the Greek, Jewish, Chinese, and Italian districts.

A particularly intriguing part of the tour was in teh Chinese district where, in a small booth on the side of the street, a pair of people created this ingenious candy that has a strange texture that turns out tasting a bit like nougat. It's hard to explain, but if you ever have the opportunity you have to try it!

Vegetarian Lasagna Rolls

2009-05-11T19:49:00.000-06:00

I've been obsessed with cooking lately. A lot of the dishes I'm experimenting with are hit and miss and I'm easily frustrated with a bad result. I am also in the mindset that I want to use up everything I have in the freezer and pantry before making a trip to the store, so I've been coming up with random pairings. This isn't odd or random, but it is without meat, which is a little hard for my carnivorous husband to accept. I think this is probably the first time that he's truly wanted leftovers for dinner instead of something new and fresh...

Vegetarian Lasagna Rolls

12 lasagna noodles, boiled for 9 minutes, drained, set aside.

1 12-oz. can whole tomatoes
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. fresh thyme

Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan and let simmer until the sauce has thickened and the tomatoes have broken down. This will leave you with about 1 cup of sauce. This is an element of the filling, not the tomato sauce for covering.

15 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine and set aside.

1 TB. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
salt and pepper
10 oz. baby portabello mushrooms, cut into medium sized pieces
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

In a medium frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium and add the onions, salt and pepper. When the onions become translucent, toss in the garlic, mushrooms and thyme. Turn the heat to medium-high; the mushrooms will release a lot of liquid, so let the liquid boil away and then allow them to brown. I like a lot of color on my mushrooms, so I let them brown, then stir, then brown then stir - the process takes about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

12 oz. diced carrots
3 large celery stalks, diced
2 TB. olive oil
salt and pepper

In the same pan (over medium heat) add 2 TB. olive oil, carrots and salt and pepper. In order to expedite the cooking on the carrots, I add 1/2 cup of water and let the carrots boil until the water evaporates - you may need to do this 3-4 times. Add the celery about half-way through. When the carrots and celery are tender and all water has evaporated, the oil left in the pan should be enough to brown the vegetables. Stir in the mushroom mixture and the tomatoes.

Line the filling about 3/4 of the length of each lasagna noodle. Spoon the ricotta mixture over and roll! You should use up all of the filling and half of the ricotta.

1 standard bottle spaghetti sauce
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Spoon a light layer of sauce on the bottom of your pan. Add the lasagna rolls and top each roll with the remaining ricotta. Pour the spaghetti sauce over and top with the cheese. Bake at 400 degrees until hot and bubbly.

Mother's Day Chicken Salad and Tartlets

2009-05-10T18:29:00.000-06:00

This has been a lovely Mother's Day! I spent the morning making dessert and chicken salad for our Mother's Day dinner, then spent the afternoon with my mom and my grandma and grandpa and my siblings.

So, for me chicken salad is always a little tricky. I find the chicken is always dry and the flavors are either to mayonnaisey or too salty, overly spiced, oddly flavored (pickle relish, anyone?) or just plain bland. All-in-all, I'm not a big fan. For Mother's Day, we knew we would be eating outside on my grandma's lovely patio, so we decided we'd have picnic-type food and I have been determined to come up with a chicken salad that I love.

Erin's Chicken Salad

5 medium chicken breasts, about 3.5 lbs., poached, cooled and cut into 1/2" cubes

Combine the following ingredients and toss with cooled chicken:
1 c. mayonnaise
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 c. chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. minced celery
1/2 c. minced green onions
1 1/4 c. sliced grapes
1/2 c. sliced almonds

To poach the chicken: add 4 whole peeled cloves garlic, 1 TB. black peppercorns, 3 dried bay leaves and 1 TB. salt to a boil. Add the chicken breasts, return to a boil, cover and remove from the heat. Let sit, covered for about 20 minutes, then remove from water and set aside to partly cool. This makes for a very tender, juicy chicken that cuts easily into cubes without shredding.

Note to self - leftover chicken salad on a bed of romaine with lemon vinaigrette - this will be delightful!

These pictures aren't great, but that's OK, I'm not really a photographer :D

-------------------------

On to dessert... A while back, I made some tarts that ended up being pretty damned tasty. I was at our local farm stand trying to decide what to make for dessert when I saw these gorgeous strawberries on sale (4 pounds for five dollars) and I decided on cheesecake. When I got home I came to the realization: Hey, dummy! You're lactose intolerant, so quit it with the cheesecake! This is what I ended up with:

Strawberry Cream Cheese Tartlets

The basics from the tart recipe are the same, but this time I added a layer of sweetened cream cheese and used the following ingredients for the coulis:

3 lbs. fresh strawberries
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. orange liquor
zest of 1 lemon
juice and zest of 1 orange
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 of a fresh nutmeg, grated
1 tsp. vanilla extract and juice of 1 lemon added at the end, then add
2 TB. cornstarch, dissolved in 3 TB. water - boil until thickened

Tart shell coated with white chocolate and filled with 1/4 tsp. sweetened cream cheese.

These tarts were definitely the hit of the day..

My mom

My favorite picture of the day - Grandma and Grandpa licking their plates!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

2009-05-02T15:24:00.000-06:00

I love chicken pot pie, but baking the dish from scratch after a long day of work isn't really realistic for me. This week, I came home and threw this together from ingredients I already had. I wasn't sure where I was going with it until I realized I had some leftover puff pastry.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
meat from 1 whole roasted chicken
1 large onion, diced
4 large celery stalks, diced
3 c. shredded carrots
3 TB butter
3 TB olive oil
1 TB fresh thyme leaves
2 c. milk
6 chicken boullion cubes, dissolved in 4 c. hot water
4-6 TB Flour
2 bay leaves
2 c. frozen peas
1 sheet puff pastry, cut into sixths and baked until golden (400 degrees, 20 mins)

Saute the vegetables (with the bay leaves, thyme, salt, and the pepper) in the butter and oil until tender. Sprinkle in the flour and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the milk, stirring quickly, then the dissolved boullion water. When this comes to a boil and has thickened, stir in the chicken and the frozen peas. It couldn't hurt to throw in a little more fresh thyme at the end.

Lazy Turnovers

2009-05-02T14:57:00.000-06:00

Let me just start out by saying that I never have (and probably never will) attempted to make my own puff pastry. I'm far too lazy for that.

I was at lunch and overheard someone talking about the best pastry they ever had: chocolate hazelnut and cream cheese. The idea stuck.

Puff pastry (from a box), Nutella, cream cheese.

Puff pastry (from a box), Nutella, peanut butter, bananas.

These were definitely different, and the cream cheese version was the favorite. Not bad for 5 minutes prep and 15 minutes bake time.

Paula Deen's Fried Egg and Avocado Sandwich

2009-04-21T13:03:00.000-06:00

Monday, I had to have a delightful (read the sarcasm) medical procedure, which required no eating for 48-hours before. Luckily, my last meal was an awesome family dinner in celebration of my grandfather's birthday. My contribution was stuffed pork chops, which turned out great! I didn't get to eat the red velvet cake (my favorite) or the Au gratin potatoes, and was starting to feel sorry for myself, but I overcame.

So, I fasted for two days, all the while watching Food Network (I'm a glutton), and though EVERYTHING looked delicious, one recipe stuck out in my mind. Well, two, actually, but this Fried Egg and Avocado Sandwich was killing me. A fried egg, tomato, bacon, avocado, on toasty bread with oniony cream cheese? Count me in. During my procedure I had been anesthetized, and apparently I'm not as susceptible to the sedation, so I was given an extra kick of sedative. I woke up an hour earlier than most people do, so I'm told, and the first thing I said was - I WANT THAT SANDWICH! In my haze, I listed off the ingredients and my lovely husband ran to the store and picked everything up.

I fried the eggs, my husband threw the bacon in the oven and after about 10 minutes we ate the single most delicious sandwiches that I've ever tasted. And then I went to sleep at 5:00 in the afternoon and didn't wake again until 8:00 this morning. I started to think, "OK, that sandwich was only that good because you were so damned hungry." Naturally, I tried the sandwich again the second I woke up and it really is every bit as good as I've already said it is. I added a little more avocado and fried the egg to over-easy - mmm perfection.

Family Macaroni Shrimp Salad

2009-04-21T12:46:00.000-06:00

My mom made this a lot when I was growing up, mainly for family parties and holidays. This is my version, made to go along with Easter dinner.

Macaroni Shrimp Salad

1 lb. salad macaroni (ditalini), boiled with 3 TB. Salt, drained
1 bunch green onions, quartered and sliced very thin (my mom hates the texture of onions)
1 6 oz. can black pearl olives, sliced
5-6 large eggs, boiled for ten minutes, chopped
1 medium cucumber, seeds removed, small chop
2 cans mini shrimp, drained

Toss all ingredients, then fold in:

Dressing

Combine:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 TB. milk
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Berries with Lemon Cream

2009-04-04T19:35:00.000-06:00

Continuing on with my lemon obsession, this is something I made last Friday for dinner with friends:

The topping is a mixture of 1 cup of cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons of honey, 4 oz. cream cheese, 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste and one tablespoon lemon extract.

The berries are: 2 packages frozen mixed berries, cooked over medium heat with 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/4 c. coconut rum and 2 tablespoons orange liquer until a bit of liquid leeches out, but not all the way warmed through. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then add 1 pint sliced fresh strawberries and 1 cup fresh blueberries.

I made a dieters version of this a week prior, using a small amount of cream, nonfat milk, honey, plain gelatin, lemon and vanilla flavorings. I used splenda in the berries and omitted the alcohol... the full fat version was obviously much better.

Fingerling Potato Salad

2009-04-04T19:26:00.000-06:00

While I'm not very motivated to blog, I do find myself thinking, "I should blog this!" every so often. This dish is something I threw together in a hunger frenzy and it is now in my top 3 potato salads...

I didn't do any measuring here, but the gist of this is: combine the juice of 1 large lemon, 1/3 olive oil, salt and pepper. Boil mixed fingerling potatoes, drain, slice in half and while still hot, toss in the dressing. Add halved grape tomatoes and crumble in some feta cheese. It's not exactly pretty, but it IS delicious!

Green Beans Almondine for Holly

2008-08-19T15:57:00.000-06:00

During the holidays, I make a green bean dish for the family potluck. I've been making this dish for five or six years, I figure, and for the past.. 2.. years? my sister-in-law, Holly, has been asking me for the recipe. I've never written down a recipe for these green beans, so here's my best attempt (finally) - I haven't made these since Thanksgiving, but as best I can remember, it goes like this:

Green Beans Almondine for Holly

4 bags frozen green beans (cut not french cut)
2 cups chopped ham
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, grated or pressed
2 pkgs. slivered almonds
zest of two lemons
juice of 1 lemon
4 TB. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a small skillet over medium low heat and add the slivered almonds. Toss in the dry pan until the almonds become fragrant and turn slightly golden, set aside.

In a large skillet, brown ham over medium heat until slightly dry, remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, heat oil and add onions and about 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Saute until translucent, then add lemon zest and garlic; continue to saute for another 2 minutes.

In the meantime, fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil. Add about 1/8 c. salt and all 4 bags green beans. Boil for about 4 minutes, then drain well and combine with the ham, onions and lemon juice. Let cook together in pan over medium low heat for 5-10 minutes. Taste to test for salt and pepper - add more as needed.

I like to sprinkle over a little extra lemon zest and garnish with lemon wedges.

***

I'll update with photos in the next holiday season.

Lemon Saffron Risotto with String Beans

2008-08-19T14:30:00.000-06:00

My absolute favorite meal at any restaurant is the Seafood Risotto at Corbin's (more for the risotto than for the seafood). This has prompted me to attempt to make a similar tasting risotto at home. Today is my 8th wedding anniversary (yay!) so I took a day off work and finally had the time to attempt my favorite dish. I looked up a few risotto recipes and couldn't decide on one - what I came up with is a hybrid of the recipes I read, along with some of my own ideas (lemon instead of wine, extra lemon).

Lemon Saffron Risotto

2 TB. olive oil
2 TB. butter
1 med. onion, chopped
1 sm. garlic clove, grated
1 c. arborio rice
3-4 c. Chicken Stock (low sodium)
1/4 tsp. saffron
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

juice of 1 1/2 lemons

1/4 tsp. salt

Add the chicken stock, salt and saffron to a sauce pan and bring up to a slight simmer. In a separate sauce pan, melt the butter into the olive oil and add the onion and garlic; lightly saute until the onion is translucent and tender. Stir in the arborio rice and cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly, making sure not to brown the onions or rice. Add juice from 1 lemon and stir until absorbed. Pour in 2/3 cup chicken stock and stir constantly until absorbed. Continue adding broth, 2/3 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each batch of broth is absorbed. When the rice is tender (20-30 minutes), add the juice of 1/2 lemon and the Parmigiano - stir until melted. I also added another 1/2 cup of stock to add to the creamy texture.

String Beans (Hericot Vert)

1 lb. string beans
2 tsp. olive oil
zest of one lemon
1/4 tsp. salt

Steam green beans for 2-3 minutes. Add oil, salt and lemon zest to a frying pan and heat so the oil from the zest leeches into the oil. Toss the green beans in the lemon oil and let sit over medium heat for about 3 minutes, tossing occasionally.

***

This did come really close to the recipe I was shooting for, minus the excess of lemon juice (I even squirted a little lemon over the beans when it was all said and done), but it was perfect for my palate. This is going to be my new go-to carb when I'm having a hankering for starch!

Reintroduction to Food Blogging

2008-08-17T13:44:00.000-06:00

After a year and a half of being entirely focused on work (new job, and all), I've realized just how much I miss food blogging. It really hit me when I was on a work conference trip to Montreal; the food was incredible and all I could think was how nice it would be to post some pictures to share.

And so it begins.... (again).

Basic Pesto

2006-07-17T17:13:00.000-06:00

A while back I read somewhere that the best pestos are stone-ground. Now, I've only had pestos made with a food processor, so I decided to take the advice and give it a go. Turns out, it does make a bit of a difference - the flavors infuse into each other more, and the basil flavor is stronger because you've mashed the hell out of it and the juices have released.

A special thanks to my sister, who gave me this mortar and pestle for Christmas a few years back, and now it's become one of the most used items in my kitchen.

Basic Pesto

2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In the mortar and pestle, grind the garlic with the salt until it becomes a foamy paste; add the pinenuts and grind until they become a paste. Add the basil and grind until the basil is fine, then mix in the oil, pepper and, finally, the cheese. Refrigerate for up to a week.

I served mine over pasta with warm tomatoes - it was lovely. No calorie count on this one, I don't even want to know.

Sliced Orange Salad

2006-07-16T16:41:00.000-06:00

Summer has been hot, but fun. We even had a garage sale at my mom's house, last weekend, which turned out to be CRAZY. So many people. Anyway, I'm back, if you can believe it, and I'm cooking/making a lot of things I haven't tried before, so yay for getting out of my cooking rut.

Sliced Orange Salad

Peel and slice a few oranges into rings, then toss with finely chopped parsley and green onions, and drizzle over a little red wine vinegar.. and season to taste with salt and pepper. Different, low on calories and yummy. Maybe I'll add some nuts, next time, I dunno.

I hope everyone is having a lovely summer, or whatever the season is where you live. My basil is alive and kicking, so I think it's pesto time...

Two Summer Salads: Chick Peas, Radishes, Cucumber

2006-06-06T19:43:00.000-06:00

Oh, lovely heat. My basil died because I forgot to water it for 1 day, but that's ok, I'm not the biggest basil fan, anyway :)

I'm starting to think that I can't cook without using fresh thyme, it's a sickness, really - most things don't seem complete without it.

I've been eating a lot of garbanzo beans, lately. I'm generally not all that much in love with beans, aside from green beans, but, for some reason, I love my garbanzos. They're great with a little dressing of ranch and chopped jalapenos, but here's a salad that's got more than 3 ingredients:

Chick Pea Salad

1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas)(385)
2 roma tomatoes, diced (36)
1/2 cup black olives, halved, about 90 g. (150)
1/4 c. chopped vidalia onion, about 45g. (19)
1 TB. mayonnaise (100)
1 tsp. lemon juice (3)
zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (3)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 TB. fresh chopped basil (1)

Combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice and zest, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Pour over the rest of the ingredients and toss to coat.

Makes 4 servings, 174.25 calories per serving.

Cucumber Radish Salad

10-12 med. radishes, about 220g., sliced (36)
1/3 lg. vidalia onion, about 75g., chopped (32)
1 med. English cucumber, about 325g., sliced (50)
1 TB. fresh lemon juice (3)
1 TB. olive oil (120)
1 TB. balsamic vinegar (10)
leaves from 3 sprigs fresh thyme, about 2 tsp. (2)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine and let sit in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

Serves 4, 63.25 calories per serving.

This salad was really, really good, but I don't recommend making it a day ahead - the vegetables lose a bit of their crunch, and the radishes bleed into the rest of the ingredients, as you can see by the picture. This is best served within several hours of making.

Creamy Corn Casserole

2006-05-30T08:04:00.000-06:00

This recipe comes from my husband's family cookbook. I'm not sure where it originated, but it's been in his family for years and years. I think there is probably a way to make this without wasting calories on cream cheese, because the cream cheese flavor doesn't really come through, as it is completely overpowered by the chilies - maybe a simple white sauce would suffice? It's one to work on...

Corn Casserole

3 (15 1/4 oz. cans) white corn, drained (630)
8 oz. cream cheese (1/3 reduced fat) (560)
1/4 c. milk (I use fat-free Lactaid) (23)
1 4-oz. can diced green chilies (20)
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar (1/3 reduced fat) (285)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the milk and cream cheese together, adding salt to taste, if desired, then add the chilies and the corn; stir to combine. Pour the mixture into an 8x8" casserole dish and sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the temperature up to 400 degrees and bake for another ten minutes, or until bubbly and the cheese is browned.

Makes 9 servings, 169 calories per serving.

We added this as our side to our lean grilled burgers, and it worked out nicely. I'm not the biggest fan of this recipe, but everyone else who tastes it loves it.

Basic Lasagna with Turkey and Mushrooms

2006-05-29T19:56:00.000-06:00

Getting back to food blogging...

I've made several lasagnas over the years, always trying something different, but the best reviews I get are when I add too much salt to the sauce, and not quite enough to the other elements. There's something about the salty sauce that makes up for the salt missing in the other areas, and it's great.

Basic Lasagna with Turkey and Mushrooms

1 26-oz. jar tomato sauce (540)
1 c. canned tomatoes (53)
1/2 c. tomato paste (120)
15 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions (1260)
1 large (about 325 g.) vidalia onion, chopped (136)
1 8-oz. package fresh mushrooms, rinsed and roughly chopped (57)
1 TB. + 1 tsp. fresh thyme, divided
4 cloves garlic, chopped (16)
1 TB. olive oil (120)
1 1/4 lbs lean ground turkey (1100)
1 30-oz. container part-skim ricotta (1120)
1 c. (50g.) (1/3 reduced fat) sharp cheddar (160)
1 c. parmesan (400)
1 1/2 c. (1/3 reduced fat) mozzarella (480)
1 jumbo egg + 1 egg white (116)
3 roma tomatoes, sliced into 15 slices (45)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Add the tomato sauce and canned tomatoes to a sauce pan over medium-low heat, stir occasionally while preparing the other elements. Salt to taste.

Saute the onion and red pepper flakes in the oil over medium-low heat until translucent; add the mushrooms, garlic, 1 tablespoon thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat up to just above medium and continue cooking until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated. Add the ground turkey and mix thoroughly, cook through; add the tomato paste, mix thoroughly and cook for another minute, or so. Remove from heat.

Whisk together the cheddar, ricotta, eggs and the last teaspoon of thyme, and plenty of black pepper.

To assemble: Spread 1 cup of the sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" pan, then lay 5 noodles out over the sauce, top with half the meat mixture, then spread half the ricotta mixture over the meat, then sprinkle on 1/2 cup grated parmesan. Spread 1 more cup of sauce over the parmesan, then lay on another 5 noodles, followed by the meat, ricotta and then sauce. Top with the last 5 noodles, then the last cup of sauce, then sprinkle the mozzarella and the other half-cup of parmesan. Add 3 rows of 5 tomato slices, so each serving has a slice in the middle.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

Makes 15 servings, 382 calories per serving.

This lasagna cuts very well, but if you like really saucy lasagnas, then you should serve this with a little extra sauce on the side. Serve with a small salad to make a great, lower calorie meal :)

Kalyn's Egg Muffins

2006-05-04T07:50:00.000-06:00

Like Michele and Cindy, I was inspired to make Kalyn's Egg Muffins. I made a few alterations based on what I had on hand, but these are wonderful, and, like Kalyn says, these microwave/freeze very well. I typed up my steps just so that I could remember what I did for next time - I'm sure I'll be making these weekly for my husband and me.

Egg Muffins

-adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen

13 Jumbo eggs (1170)
20-30 drops Tabasco
1 TB. olive oil (120)
1 pkg. (275g.) mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (59)
2 big handfulls arugula, about 55g. (17)
1/2 med. onion, chopped, about 95g. (40)
1 bunch green onions, chopped (35)
1 TB. fresh chopped thyme (3)
16 slices ham (640)
1 1/2 cups reduced fat cheese (480)
salt and pepper

Whisk up the eggs with the tabasco and a little salt, set aside.

Saute the onions in the oil and then added the mushrooms with salt and pepper; when the mushrooms are cooked through, add the arugula and toss for a minute, or until the arugula is wilted. Remove mixture to a fine mesh sieve and press to get the excess moisture out*. To the same pan, add the ham and cook until browned and all of the moisture in the pan has cooked out/evaporated.

Toss the ham, cheese, green onions and mushroom mixture together and fill your muffin pans 3/4 of the way. Pour the egg mixture over the mixture, filling to the top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

*Kalyn said that the muffins tend to let go of a little liquid when they're being microwaved, so I went ahead and cooked the ham until it was brown and the liquid had completely evaporated, and strained the mushroom mixture.

Makes 16 Egg Muffins, 160 calories per muffin.

Original Recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen:

EGG "MUFFINS"
(makes 12)
10-12 eggs
2 T fat free half and half
1 1/2- 2 cups diced meat: canadian bacon, ham, cooked turkey sausage or cooked veggie sausage
1 1/2- 2 cups grated low fat cheese (I like sharp cheddar or feta)
Optional, but highly recommended, 3 green onions diced small.

Preheat oven to 375. Use regular or silicone muffin pan, 12 muffin size. If using silicone pan, spray with nonstick spray. If using regular muffin pan, put two paper liners into each slot, then spray liner with nonstick spray.

In the bottom of the muffin cups layer diced meat, cheese and green onions. You want the muffin cups to be 3/4 full, with just enough room to pour a little egg around the other ingredients. Beat eggs well with the half and half (you could use milk). Pour egg into each muffin cup until it is full to the brim, nearly overflowing. Bake 25-30 minutes until muffins have risen above the rim of the muffin cups and are slightly browned and set.

These freezer well. For best results, thaw in refrigerator before microwaving. I like to wrap them in a paper towel when reheating in microwave to soak up some of the liquid that is sometimes released.

I'm going in to have my wisdom teeth removed today at 8 am, yippee! I'm glad I have a few of these muffins waiting for me when I get home.

Grandma Marilyn's Mormon Muffins

2006-05-03T17:20:00.000-06:00

I don't know exactly why these are called Mormon Muffins (a friend suggested that it's because there's one boy muffin and a dozen girl muffins), but, since I live in Utah, I can take a guess. My grandma has been making these muffins for years, and I've always loved them. They taste great, not overly sweet, and are perfect for breakfast with a banana or a pear.

I halved the original recipe and added ground flax seed, replaced the majority of the sugar with splenda, replaced some of the flour with whole wheat flour, and used applesauce instead of shortening.

Mormon Muffins

1 c. boiling water
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (600)
1 c. whole wheat flour (400)
1/2 c. applesauce (50)
1/2 c. splenda (48)
1/4 c. sugar (192.5)
2 extra large eggs (170)
2 c. buttermilk (200)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. Grape-Nuts (bran buds) (800)
1 c. Grape-Nuts flakes (bran flakes) (147)
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (500)
1/2 c. ground golden flax seed (240)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Add the baking soda to 1 cup of boiling water; set aside to cool. Whisk together the applesauce, salt, sugar and splenda, then whisk in the eggs, 1 at a time, followed by the buttermilk, then flour; mix well. Fold in the bran cereals and walnuts.

Very lightly spray silicone muffin pans with cooking spray, then fill each mold to the top with the batter mixture. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the mixture no longer looks moist. Allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then pop out and let cool completely before storing. These freeze really well.

Makes 15 muffins, about 224 calories per muffin.

Original recipe:
Mormon Muffin Mix

2 C. boiling water
1 tbsp. + 2 tsps. Baking soda
1 c. crisco shortening
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 quart buttermilk
5 c. flour
1 tsp. Salt
4 c. 100% Bran Buds
2 c. 40% Bran Flakes
1 c. chopped walnuts
Dried fruit, if your desire

Add soda to hot water and let cool. Whip shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs slowly. Mix well. Add the buttermilk and flour; mix well; slowly stir in the soda water. Fold the two bran cereals into the mixture very slowly with the chopped walnuts. Spoon into greased muffin tins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove to cool completely.

**If you're using regular pans, the cooking time will probably be less - these silicone pans seem to hold the moisture in, a bit.

Grandma Marilyn's Stuffed Cabbage

2006-05-02T17:41:00.000-06:00

Monday's dinner: stuffed cabbage. This is something I've loved since childhood, I can't believe I haven't made it before now. I'm glad that my husband is someone who likes sour stuff like I do, cos I basically live on lemon juice and vinegar - nothing seems complete without it. I'm not sure on the amounts in the original recipe, but I just talked to my grandma, and she said that the original meat is ground lamb - yum. Today, I used ground turkey, and I actually counted the calories...

Grandma Marilyn's Stuffed Cabbage

This is an edited version of the ingredient list, to be sure:
16 cabbage leaves (the large outer leaves) (50)
1.25 lbs. ground turkey, 15% fat (1100)
1 med. onion, chopped (46)
4 lg. cloves garlic, sliced (12)
1 TB. olive oil (120)
1 c. minute rice (400)
1 32-oz. jar sauerkraut, 3/4 liquid drained (150)
1 quart canned tomatoes, 3/4 liquid drained (200)
juice of 1 lemon (12)

The original recipe reads:

Cut core out of a not-too-solid head of cabbage. Steam until the leaves pull off easily.

Brown ground meat (beef or lamb) and onion; season with garlic powder or garlic, salt and pepper, and ½ tsp. cinnamon. Add rice.

Cool cabbage and separate leaves; place hamburger mixture in each leaf, leaving enough room to fold and roll the cabbage around the mixture.

Layer cabbage rolls in pan, alternating layers with canned tomatoes and sauerkraut. Sprinkle with ¼ c. lemon juice. Cook slowly, until rice is done.

Note:
Amount of hamburger mixture is determined by how much you are going to fix. 1 lb. of hamburger goes a long way.

My version makes 8 servings, 262 calories per serving.

Grandma Iona's Banana Mallow Pie

2006-05-01T18:28:00.000-06:00

Another recipe from my grandma's cut-outs. This is really decadent and a little bit of a stretch, crust-wise, but it is delicious and really fun to eat. The toasted coconut gives a real crunch, and I'm all about marshmallows, so this is great for me :D

Banana Mallow Pie

2 c. shredded coconut
1/3 c. margarine, melted
1 3.4oz. pkg vanilla pudding
1/2 c. cream, whipped
1 1/2 c. miniature marshmallows (or 15 lg.)
2 bananas, sliced

Combine coconut and margarine in a skillet. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until coconut is toasted and golden brown. Press into a 9" pie plate to form crust; chill.

Prepare pudding mix as directed, but using 1 3/4 cups milk. Cover with wax paper and chill. When the pudding is fully chilled, fold in whipped cream and cut the marshmallows into the mixture using scissors that have been dipped in cold water.

When the crust is chilled, place the sliced bananas all over the coconut, forming a
single layer. Pour the pudding mixture over the bananas and chill for several hours before serving.

Grandma Iona's German Potato Salad

2006-05-01T17:49:00.000-06:00

I've been lucky enough to have both of my grandmas around until just recently, when my grandma on my father's side passed away... so now that I'm writing up her recipes, I'll be posting more foods that aren't really diet conscious, so bear with me.

This recipe was never written down, but my mom has made it for as long as I can remember, so here's her version of Grandma's recipe:

German Potato Salad

10-12 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 c. chopped dill pickles Thanks to my sis for pointing out my accidental omission of the pickles)
3-4 TB. minced onion
6-8 hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped
1 1/2 - 2 c. Miracle Whip salad dressing

Add the potatoes to a large pot and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until tender enough to mash, but do not mash; turn off the burner. Drain the potatoes well and return to the pan; place the pan back on the burner, but do not turn the burner on; let sit for 5 minutes (this ensures the potatoes are dry enough to absorb the dressing). Add the onions, pickles and Miracle Whip to the potatoes and stir until combined, then stir in the eggs. Serve warm.

*In the picture I posted, I used red-skinned potatoes and left the skins on, cos I love them. I also didn't boil the potatoes down as much, and I added a little more onion.

Classic Pork Loin Roast with Root Vegetables and Gravy

2006-04-30T23:52:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, a good friend of mine made a fabulous corned beef roast (not that he's updated about it), using, of all things, a pressure cooker. Now, I'm like a lot of other people (said friend included) and am terrified of pressure cookers, which is mainly because of my lack of knowledge. I guess I should quit being a sissy and just buy one - yeah, that's gonna happen.

I didn't take the time to tally the calories on this, but this total meal is not over my 500 calories if you eat about 2 cups of vegetables and don't over-indulge on the gravy.. good luck.

Classic Pork Loin Roast with Root Vegetables and Gravy

1 2-lb pork roast
2 TB. olive oil
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
salt and pepper

Season the pork roast with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Lay the thyme on the meat, top and bottom, and truss so that the meat keeps it's shape. Brown the meat on all sides in the olive oil, then place the pan in a 350 degree oven for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Cut up some potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots and onions, place in a large stock pot with about 2 cups of vegetable broth and several sprigs of thyme; salt and pepper liberally. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cover. Cook until the vegetables are almost tender. About a half hour before the roast is done, add the vegetables (make sure to reserve the liquid for the gravy) to the pan with the roast and let roast until the meat is finished.

*I don't know exact amounts of what I used, but it was, roughly:
2 med. sweet potatoes
4 lg. red-skinned potatoes
1 huge onion
2 med. parsnips
1 2-lb. bag mini carrots

Remove the meat from the pan, let rest for 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables and reserve any liquid. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the pan drippings, and add about 3 tablespoons flour to make a roux. Pour in the reserved liquid and add as much chicken/pork/vegetable broth as you need to get your gravy to the proper consistency.

Serves 6.

I'll post a couple of my grandma's recipes tomorrow - both are indulgent and definitely not written for calorie counters.

Egg Noodles with Arugula, Peppers, Peas and Herbs

2006-04-28T20:33:00.000-06:00

I have a big love for simple dishes, any kind of pasta with vegetables works for me. Tonight, after a loooooong week, I decided to throw another simple pasta dish together. I love using loads of fresh herbs, so I threw in thyme, parsley and chives from my grandma's backyard - the chives were overpowered by the flavor of the peppers, but other than that, this was a deliciously simple dish.

Egg Noodles with Arugula, Peppers, Peas and Herbs
1/2 med. onion, chopped, about 145g. (61)
3 lg. cloves garlic, sliced (9)
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin (12)
1 TB. olive oil (120)
1/2 recipe Marinated Bell Peppers (this batch was roasted and the skin removed)(120)
1 c. frozen or fresh peas peas, about 110 g.(85)
6 oz. egg noodles, prepared and set aside in a large bowl (630)
1 tsp. fresh chopped thyme (1)
1 handful parsley, about 10g.(4)
2 TB. butter (200)
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/4 lemon (3)
salt and pepper to taste
1 handful chives, roughly chopped, about 9g. (3)

Saute the onion, cumin, thyme and garlic in the olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste. When the onions are translucent, add the marinated peppers and peas; heat through, then toss in the arugula. Remove the vegetables and toss them with the pasta; throw the butter into the same pan to melt. Remove from head and stir in the parsley, then pour over the noodles and toss with the lemon juice, lemon zest, chives, salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings, 312 calories per serving.

This weekend, I intend on getting my herb garden started. There's also the Japan Festival in SLC, so I think we'll try to go for that, too. Man, I love Spring.

Well hello there!

2006-04-24T22:34:00.000-06:00

Yeahhhh, so, I've been totally missing in action over the past few weeks. Life has been chaotic, and, with the loss of my grandmother on the 13th, food blogging has been the least of my worries. Her death came as a surprise, really, we thought we would have so much more time with her, but I guess we always do. She was a lovely woman who loved to cook.

The day after my grandma's funeral, I was given a book/binder that belonged to my grandma. It is filled with magazine and newspaper recipe cut-outs, as well as many, many handwritten recipes. I feel very fortunate to have roughly 75 years of recipes, some written in her own grandmother's hand, and many coming from our German heritage. We've decided to put together a cookbook, with all of the recipes typed up, as well as pictures and scans of the handwritten copies. The plan is to have them hard-bound and send them out to all of my grandma's children and grandchildren for Christmas. The hardest part is that we don't have a lot of her recipes written down - she really didn't use a recipe for her most common and most loved dishes, so now I'm in experiment mode. Luckily, over the past years, my parents were been able to get a few of the most cherished recipes out of my grandma, even though she was not big on sharing recipes, lol.

If you're wondering, yes, I'm still eating low-calorie. It has been harder because we have not been home, much, but it is very important to me, and I'm learning to make better choices when eating out - I'm down about 30 pounds, so far, which feels great. I made a big grocery store produce haul today, so the updates should be frequent and I should be getting right back on track.

I did make Kalyn's Brown and Wild Rice
with Pine Nuts and Thyme the other day, and it was lovely. You wouldn't think that macadamia nut oil would make such a difference, but it really does!

Alrighty, I'm off to nurse the finger I sliced while making Grandma's German Potato Salad. I hope you are all well, I will have to get caught up on everyone over the next few days/weeks.

Erin Cheats: Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Strawberry Peach Coulis

2006-04-06T00:15:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Matt!

Today was my little brother's birthday, he turned 23 (sigh, 23 seems so long ago...). I haven't had a lot of time, lately, to go shopping for his regular(ish) gift, which is generally a shirt or jacket, or something, so I decided to do the next best thing - make him his favorite dessert. Matt has always been a cheesecake lover, and my intent was to make him a classic cheesecake with a classic strawberries-in-sauce topping, but I flubbed the topping and had to come up with something else. Luckily, I had saved some cake rounds and cake boxes from a few years back, when I made everyone cheesecakes instead of buying presents for Christmas... ahhh... the good old (money tight) days.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Cheesecake Filling:
2 8-oz blocks cream cheese (1600)
3 XL eggs (255)
1/2 c sugar (387)
1/4 c splenda (24)
zest of 1 large, or two small lemons
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 vanilla beans, seeded

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup blended into powder, the rest coarsly crushed, about 120g (533.5)
4 TB butter, melted (400)
*You can add 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, but I don't.

Preheat your oven to 325° F.

For the crust:
Spray the inside of a 9" silicone (or springform) pan. Pour in your graham cracker powder and turn the pan on it's side, rotating to cover the walls of the pan with the graham crackers. In a medium bowl, pour out the excess graham cracker powder into the cracker crumbs, and pour in the butter, making sure to mix until the crumbs are well-coated. Sprinkle the crackers evenly over the surface of the prepared pan and press them down (I use the flat bottom of a wine glass) to form a compact crust. The crust will be fairly thin, so if you have to use a few extra crumbs to fill in any gaps, go ahead. Place your crust in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

*If you're someone who loves crust, I'd add another 1/2 cup of crumbs to the mix.

For the filling:
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer until it's smooth. Pour in the eggs, one at a time, and beat again until the mixture is smooth. Add the sugar and, once again, mix until completely smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and give the mixture one last whirl to combine everything.

Bake in a water bath for about 1 hour (if you're using a springform pan, make sure to use a large, heavy-duty piece of aluminum foil to ensure that the water doesn't get inside your cheesecake), or until the top is slightly golden. Turn off the stove and open the oven door to let the heat out. Let the cheesecake rest for 4-5 hours in the oven, then chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours before serving.

Serves 8, about 400 calories per serving.

This cheesecake is not... tall. It's only about an inch tall, so if you want your cheesecake to have more height, use an 8" pan instead of a 9", or double the recipe.

Strawberry Peach Coulis
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced (114)
1 quart peaches in syrup, not drained (776)
2 TB Splenda (12)
1/2 c. sugar (386)
2 TB honey (128)
1/4 c. vanilla vodka (or 1 TB vanilla extract)
1 vanilla bean, seeded
1/2 lemon, juice and zest (10)
4 TB cornstarch mixed with 4 TB water (122)

In a medium saucepan, combine the strawberries (reserve 1 strawberry for the top of the cheesecake), vanilla vodka and lemon juice and zest; bring to a boil and simmer until the strawberries turn light-pink and get mushy (this was my big flub, I cooked them too long, so I had to fix it, I also added juice from half a GIANORMOUS lemon, so it was far too sour). Add the peaches (making sure to reserve 8 slices for the top of the cheesecake) and syrup, splenda, sugar, honey and vanilla seeds, simmer for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and sieve the fruit over a medium bowl.

Add the fruit pulp to a blender and blend until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to the sieve and stir until most of the liquid is gone, discard the small amount of pulp and ground seeds that are left over. Add the reserved juice and the pureed mixture back to the pan and stir in the cornstarch slurry. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick and free of lumps. If you get lumps, return to the (clean) sieve, making sure to strain the mixture and throw out the lumps.

*I made this pretty thick to ensure that it wouldn't run during the drive to deliver the cheesecake, it would taste the same with half the cornstarch.

Pour the mixture in a large bowl and cool over an ice bath.

Makes about 16 1/4-cup servings, 98 calories per serving.

Yeah, so, with the topping, 1 slice is 498 calories, ouch. I took a pic of a slice with my husband's craptastic camera, I didn't get a decent pic because I was being rushed, heh, so here's the best of the bad pics: A SLICE. Good thing Matty's birthday isn't more than once a year. I guess the most important thing is that my brother loved it and had some leftover for tomorrow.

Penne with Ham, Squash and Green Beans

2006-04-04T08:56:00.000-06:00

I cook for fairly picky eaters. My husband hates things like olives, asparagus, artichoke, whole grains, rice, peppers, celery, eggplant and especially squash. My mom and sister, the other people I cook for, also dislike squash, along with various other strange things (like onions and rice, how do you not like onions or rice??).

As far back as I can remember, my gramma has grown yellow squash and zucchini in her garden. She and I are the only ones that love squash, so, even as a younger kid, I was slicing up the squash and cooking them (usually boiled with butter) all for myself. I really have tried to get others to like the stuff, but I'm currently 0-4, so I've given up. I'll keep the squash for myself and I will enjoy every last bite.

Penne with Ham, Squash and Green Beans

1 medium onion, about 180g, chopped (75.5)
2 med. cloves garlic, chopped (5)
3 small zucchini, about 400g., 1/4 inch slices (64.5)
1 med. yellow squash, about 200g (33)
3/4 c. (150g) frozen carrot slices (an experimental buy, fresh is preferred) (61)
2 handfulls fresh french green beans, about 236g (73)
6 ham slices, cut into squares (240)
5 oz. pasta, about l40g., prepared (525)
1 TB plus 2 1/2 tsp. olive oil (220)
1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped (1)
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper

In a nonstick pan, saute the onion, in 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of olive oil, making sure to season with salt and pepper. After about 5 minutes, add the garlic and thyme and cook for about 1 minute - just to take the edge off the garlic; stir in the lemon zest and add the onion mixture to the cooked, drained pasta, combining well.

In the same pan, brown the ham and then add to the pasta. Still using the same pan, saute all of the vegetables (I sauteed them individually, each veg in 1/2 tsp. oil) until tender, and add them to the pasta. With the carrots and green beans, I place them in a zip baggie and microwave the carrots for about 7 minutes, and the green beans for about 4 minutes, then saute. Make sure to salt and pepper each layer as you go. Combine all ingredients, taste for salt, and serve warm or at room temperature.

1298 total calories, 5 2-cup servings, 259.6 calories per serving.

I've been tagged by Kalyn, so I'll work on that and post it a bit later.

White Chocolate and Blackberry Tartletes

2006-04-02T20:23:00.000-06:00

Tonight, after having had a simple dinner of Hot and Sour soup, we were jonesing for something sweet, so I threw this together. I was going to add pine nuts and a kiwi fruit coulis, but I decided to just keep it simple.

White Chocolate & Blackberry Tartletes

1 package phyllo cups, 15 cups (600)
7/8 pieces of a 4oz. bar of white chocolate (the first piece mysteriously disappeared...) (503)
2 pkgs. fresh blackberries (about 1 1/3 c.) (108.5)
1 TB Splenda
2 TB water
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp. vodka (slurry) (25)
2 TB Vanilla Extract

Heat the chocolate over a double boiler just until melted; drizzle a spoonful of the melted chocolate in each phyllo cup, and pour out the excess, leaving enough to coat the entire surface of the inside of the cup; chill in freezer until the chocolate sets up.

*This step is important because it ensures that the phyllo doesn't get soggy from the berries.

Set aside the 15 prettiest blackberries, these will be used fresh in the dessert. In a small saucepan, combine the rest of the blackberries, the splenda, the water and the vanilla; bring to a simmer and continue to simmer until the blackberries break down and liquify. Pour the cooked berries through a sieve into a small bowl and use a spatula to press the liquid through the sieve, pressing until all that is left is the seeds, which you can discard, and return the reserved blackberry juice to the pan. Stir the cornstarch and water mixture into the blackberry juice. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened (about 30 seconds). Remove from heat.

Remove the phyllo cups from the freezer and place about a half-teaspoon of the thickened blackberry juice into each cup, or halfway up the side of the cup. Place a fresh blackberry in the center of each cup. If you have leftover white chocolate, you can drizzle a little over each berry. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

These are great because they can be made well in advance and won't get soggy.

Makes 15 tartlets, 82 calories each.

Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

2006-04-02T20:12:00.000-06:00

One of our favorite foods is Chinese Hot and Sour Soup. I've tried making it a few times, but have never been able to get the right combination of flavors. Tonight, I decided to try this recipe, which had great reviews. The soup turned out pretty good, though there was still something important missing, and it wasn't the tofu that I replaced the chicken with. I tried to perk up the flavor with extra soy sauce and a splash of white vinegar (I like it more sour than hot), but it still didn't do the trick.

Does anyone have a killer, authentic Hot and Sour Soup recipe? I'd give my first born for something I could easily make at home.

Simple Salad Lunch

2006-04-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

After having had a lovely dinner at Kalyn's, I decided I'm in love with the mini-peppers she tossed in the arugula salad and I went to Costco to find the ones she'd used, but I couldn't find them, so I settled on regular-sized bell peppers, and then posted about marinating them a few days ago. I've been eating them with just about everything, but yesterday's simple salad was the best, yet. I just chopped the peppers and tossed them (along with a bit of the marinade) with some fresh baby arugula, inspired by Kalyn's Arugula Salad, of course. I buttered up a toasted english muffin and voilà! Lunch was ready in about 4 minutes. I have a feeling this salad will be something I crave often, and when pepper season comes, I'll be picking peppers and marinating them all summer long.

1 c. arugula
1/4 recipe Marinated Bell Peppers
2 TB Marinated Bell Peppers marinade

Toss!

Serve with 1 toasted english muffin slathered in 1 tablespoon yummy, salty butter.

300 calories, total.

*It's not that I'm uninspired to create new dishes, lately, it's just that it's been a rough few weeks for my family, so doing simple, somewhat classic recipes is a lot easier on my brain and on my time.

Happy April Fools Day, heh.

Roasted Celery Root, Parsnip, Carrot and Fennel

2006-03-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

This vegetable roast marked a couple of firsts for me - my first taste of fresh fennel and of celery root. I love carrots and parsnips, but I had ambitiously purchased a lovely organic fennel bulb and celery root that I was dying to try, yet had no idea how to prepare. I searched online for recipes, most of which were soup recipes, or gratin recipes that called for heavy cream. I really just wanted to taste the purity of each vegetable, so I went ahead and tried them raw (yay celery root, boo fennel - a lil strong for me) and decided to roast them, hoping it would turn out. Obviously, this would be must tastier with 3 times as much oil and a good bit of Parmigiano Reggiano, but my reality being what it is, this was good, tasty, and low cal.

Roasted Celery Root, Parsnip, Carrot and Fennel

1 sm. Celery Root (80)
1 med. Parsnip (59)
3 med. Carrots (106)
1 med. Fennel bulb (84)
1 TB + 1 tsp. olive oil (160)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and cut root vegetables into 1/2-inch pieces. Remove the top portion (making sure to reserve enough fronds to garnish) and the tough outer layer of the fennel bulb; cut into 1/4-inch wedges.

Toss the root vegetables on a cookie sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet and toss the fennel in with the root vegetables and 1 tsp. olive oil. Continue baking for 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are golden and tender. Toss with chopped fennel fronds and serve while warm.

Makes 4 servings, 122.25 calories per serving.

Fast Italian Chicken Pasta

2006-03-31T22:02:00.000-07:00

This is just one of those somewhat uninspired meals.. for the night when you don't feel like cooking, but don't want to resort to a drive-thru or box meal, either. Don't get me wrong, it tastes good, but it's on a line with things that are common enough for a regular cook not to need a recipe.

Italian Chicken Pasta

5 oz. egg noodles, prepared (525)

Ground Chicken
1/2 med. onion, chopped (30)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (1.5)
1 clove garlic, julienned (4)
1 tsp. olive oil (40)
1 lb. lean ground chicken (600)
1 TB. fresh parsley, chopped (3)
1 tsp. paprika (6)
salt and pepper

In a nonstick pan, saute the onion and red pepper flakes in the olive oil just until translucent; add the garlic and continue sauteing for 1 minute. Crumble the ground chicken into the pan and sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of parsley, 1 teaspoon paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Brown the meat until just cooked through; remove from pan and continue on to sauce.

Sauce
2 TB. tomato paste (30)
1 c. chicken stock (15)
1 tsp. dry basil (2)
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (2)
1 TB. fresh parsley, chopped (3)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (4)
salt and pepper

In the same pan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Stir in the ground chicken mixture and let simmer for a minute or two. Add the pasta and combine.

Makes 4 servings, about 316.5 calories per serving.

Pasta with Peppers and Asparagus in Balsamic Butter Sauce

2006-03-30T01:59:00.000-07:00

I'm the queen of over-reducing pan sauces, but I've finally made one that I'm proud of, though I can't claim much credit, as Balsamic vinegar is just another one of those magical ingredients that perks up just about anything it touches - sweet or savory.

Earlier tonight, my mom and sister came over, and I decided to cook dinner. I made Tilapia with Tomatillo Salsa, vine tomatoes with salt and parsley, and french green beans in the style of Elise's Perfect Asparagus (minus the parmesan), it was lovely and light, and I didn't even bother to count the calories because it didn't come near my 500 calorie limit, which is probably why I was ravenous at 11 pm. The asparagus got a little over-powered by the vinegar and the peppers, but it was still absolutely heavenly.

Pasta with Peppers and Asparagus in Balsamic Butter Sauce

110 grams (4 oz) salad macaroni, prepared (420)
1/4 recipe Marinated Bell Peppers, chopped (60)
14 stalks asparagus, about 170g. (34)
1/2 med. onion, about 50g. (21)
20-25 small cocktail onions, about 50g. (20)
1 large clove garlic, julienned (10)
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. olive oil (40)
1 TB. butter (100)
3 TB. balsamic vinegar (30)
salt and pepper

Chop asparagus into 1/2-inch rounds, making sure to set the tips aside; place rounds in zip-top bag and microwave for 1 minute. Saute the onions (both types) in 1 tsp. olive oil for about 4 minutes; add the peppers and continue sauteing for another 3 minutes; add the garlic and asparagus tips and salt and pepper to taste; saute for 1 minute. Remove vegetables from pan and add 3 TB. balsamic vinegar; simmer for 45 seconds (don't reduce the vinegar too much, it gets too sweet) then add the butter, lemon zest, parsley, and salt and pepper; remove from heat and swirl until butter is melted. Toss the vegetables and pasta with the sauce and serve.

Makes two servings, about 368 calories per serving.

Marinated Bell Peppers

2006-03-30T01:57:00.000-07:00

Marinated Bell Peppers

1 each: red, yellow and orange bell pepper (20 cal ea)
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar - only 1/4 cup will be consumed (40)
1 Tbsp. olive oil (120)
3 large cloves garlic, minced (20)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Combine marinade ingredients. Slice peppers 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick and toss in marinade. Put in food storage bags and marinate in the fridge, turning every time you open the fridge, within reason. Will last up to a week. You can grill, saute, stir fry, or just add them to salads, they're really tasty.

Makes 6 servings, each about 40 calories.

Utah Food Bloggers Dinner: Mascerated Berries with Vanilla Mascarpone

2006-03-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

What a fun night! I joined Vanessa from She Craves and Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen for a Utah Food Bloggers dinner, hosted by Kalyn, who made a lovely dinner, whilst Vanessa brought wine and flowers, and I brought dessert. We had a lot to talk about (everything under the sun, really) and I couldn't have been in better company. Kalyn is lovely (and skinny!), and very warm and welcoming. Vanessa is gorgeous and has a wicked sense of humor. Actually, all the words I just used to describe these two women apply to both of them.

Kalyn's dinner was just so damned good. She prepared:

Curried Chicken on the Grill, with cilantro chutney
A perfect chicken recipe, it was awesome with the cilantro chutney.

Perfect Asparagus
The name doesn't lie.

Brown and Wild Rice with Pine Nuts
So good!

Arugula and Sweet Mini-Pepper Salad
I hadn't had these mini-peppers, but I'm a convert and will pick some up this week.

She has the recipes linked in her post about the dinner here.

I didn't know what I should bring - I have no clue when it comes to wine or cheese or, well, stuff to bring - so we decided on my bringing a dessert. I chose to bring Mascerated Berries, but wanted to dress them up a little, so I added lemon juice to the recipe, and used sugar instead of splenda. To top off the berries, I made a Vanilla Mascarpone, which is really very simple:

Image courtesy Kalyn.

Mascerated Berries with Vanilla Mascarpone

Mascerated Berries
1 package fresh blueberries, washed
1 package fresh raspberries
1 package fresh strawberries, washed and sliced
2 tsp. sugar
1 vanilla bean
2 Tbsp. Vanilla Vodka
1/2 lemon
Seed the vanilla bean and add to a small bowl; pour the vanilla vodka over the seeds and stir to break them up and mobilize them. In a medium bowl, combine strawberries, sugar, vanilla vodka, and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Refrigerate, and add the rest of the berries before serving. If serving right away, gently add the blueberries and raspberries, making sure not to break them up.

Vanilla Mascarpone
1 container Mascarpone cheese
2 vanilla beans, seeded
1 1/2 tsp. honey

In a small bowl, combine the three ingredients. Keep refrigerated.

All-in-all, I couldn't have been more impressed with the dinner or with these two fabulous women. There's nothing like being with strong, intelligent, funny people (women, especially) to make you feel like the world may not be in as much trouble as you'd imagined.

WHB25: Vanilla - Beans and Extract

2006-03-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

So, here's my first post dedicated to Weekend Herb Blogging. I've been meaning to participate for a while, now, and I'm finally getting around to it.

This may or may not sound weird, but I am passionate about vanilla. It's just one of those ingredients that rounds out every recipe it goes into and can kick any dessert into high-gear. I've never been bold enough to try it on fish, or other savory dishes, but I'm working my way toward it.

Making vanilla extract is very simple, and worth it. Get yourself a bottle of vodka, split several (5 or 6) vanilla beans down the center (I scrape out the seeds and use them in other dishes) and slip the beans into the bottle. Let your bottle sit for a few months, shaking every so often, and you've got real vanilla extract. Early on in the process, it makes a great vanilla vodka, but after a week, or so, it's too strong for drinking. I top mine off with more vodka when I notice that I'm making a dent in the bottle, so I've always got a full bottle, and it just gets better and better with time.

Pour a little over fresh berries with a sprinkling of sugar, it's lovely.

Tilapia with Corn and Greens

2006-03-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

Last night, I only had about 20 minutes to prepare dinner and eat before we had to be somewhere. I hadn't had anything planned, aside from having thawed tilipa fillets in the fridge, so this was one of those throw-together meals. There are a couple of things I would change, but, for the most part, this was yummy, and only took 10 minutes from start to finish.

Tilapia with Corn and Greens
2 5-oz tilapia fillets (137.5 ea)
3 TB. dried cranberries (97.5)
1 1/3 c. frozen corn (defrosted, if you have time, I didn't) (200)
2 tsp. olive oil (80)
3 cups assorted greens (70 calories, about)
1/4 c. fresh dill (1)
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar (6)
salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season tilapia fillets with salt and pepper, then brown in the oil just until fish is done (3-4 minutes per side). Remove fish from pan to rest; and add the corn and cranberries and warm through. Toss in the greens and dill; drizzle the balsamic over the mixture. Cook for about 1 minute, or until the greens are just wilted. Serve fish with half the greens and a lemon wedge.

Makes 2 servings, 364.75 calories per serving.

There are a couple of things I would change the next time I make this:
1. I wouldn't use bitter greens - they just get more bitter. Spinach would work great.
2. I would try replacing the cranberries (also bitter) with chopped apricots or apples.

Recipe on the fly: Banana Blueberry Bread

2006-03-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make a banana bread that didn't have much fat and had a lot of fiber, so I took my gramma's basic banana bread recipe and then kind of just threw everything in the pantry into it. For a bread that's full of oats and fiber, this was surprisingly moist:

Banana Blueberry Bread

1 c. all purpose flour (400)
1/2 + 1/8 c. whole wheat flour (250)
3/4 c. Grape Nuts cereal (300)
1/2 c. quick cooking rolled oats (150)
1/4 cup ground golden flax seed (160)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder (1.25)
1/3 tsp. salt
1/4 c. chopped walnuts (196.25)
1 cup fresh blueberries (frozen would work, too) (83)

3/4 c. unsweetened applesauce (75)
1 c. splenda (96)
1 XL egg + 2 egg whites (125)
3 bananas, two mashed, the other mashed, but left chunky, about 1.5 cups (300)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (12)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine dry ingredients, toss blueberries and walnuts so they get coated in flour. In a separate bowl, Combine splenda and applesauce, whisk in the eggs and vanilla, then stir in the banana.

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir, just until combined and
moistened. Pour (more like dump) the batter into a 9x5 inch silicone loaf pan.

Bake for 65 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan and cooling on a wire rack.

Makes (12) servings, 179 calories and 4 grams of fiber per slice.

*This was pretty sweet, it could use a 1/4 cup less splenda, honey would be a good option, too, but it's got calories that splenda doesn't. We loved this, I was glad it didn't have an overwhelming healthful flavor.

*Next time, I'll probably throw in an extra 1/4 cup of flax seed and another egg white.

Erin Mimics: Chilled Yogurt and Cucumber Soup

2006-03-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

A little while back, Kate at Accidental Hedonist posted this Chilled Yogurt and Cucumber Soup recipe. I was intrigued, mainly because I love yogurt, and since I've been on this new eating plan, I have been eating more yogurt than I ever have before. I was skeptical, but decided to try it anyway, and I'm glad I did, it's fantastic and easy.

*My husband didn't like the soup, he said it was, "Just a little too.. different.." for him, so I guess it's not for everyone.

Chilled Yogurt and Cucumber Soup

-- Recipe copied from Kate @ Accidental Hedonist

1/2 cup golden raisins (260)
2 cups unflavored yogurt (300)
1/2 cup half & half (140)
1 cup ice water
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced (17)
4 scallions, chopped (10)
Salt and (white) pepper, to taste (I used black pepper)
6 ice cubes, about 4oz
fresh dill, chopped (I didn't have dill)

In a small bowl, place the raisins and cover with cold water. Allow to set for 5 minutes.

Place the yogurt in a large mixing bowl. Add the half & half and ice water and stir in slowly but thoroughly.

Drain the raisins. Add them to the yogurt along with the walnuts, cucumbers and scallions. Flavor with the salt and pepper.

Stir in the ice cubes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.

Serve in the bowl and sprinkle the freshly chopped dill on top.

Makes about 5.5 cups, 154.5 calories per cup.

I served this with 4 Ham and Cucumber Rolls, for a total of 409.5 calories.

Ham and Cucumber rolls

2006-03-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

These are great for an appetizer or snack, or to go along with a cold soup like gazpacho. Don't worry about spreading the cream cheese all over, just work in a line in the center, otherwise you'll tear the ham.

Ham and Cucumber Rolls

Thin-sliced ham, about 20 g. per slice - (26.25)
cream cheese - (35)
cucumber, cut into matchsticks, about 20g. per roll - (2.5)
salt and pepper to taste

Spread each slice of ham with 2 tsp. cream cheese. Line 4 cucumber sticks in the middle, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roll.

63.75 calories per roll.

* This recipe is for full-fat cream cheese. We actually used nonfat cream cheese (an accidental buy, I don't compromise with my cream cheese, heh) in this recipe, which was a huge mistake.. ick! I really don't recommend it, it tastes horrible.

Lower Calorie Avocado Dip

2006-03-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

A lot of us, when dieting or when changing our lifestyle habits, cut out too much fat, and end up eating a really high ratio of carbohydrates and proteins to fats. I'm totally guilty of this, so here's a good, easy way I get in some healthy fats without going overboard.

Lower Calorie Avocado Dip
2 Haas Avocados, about 272 grams when removed from skin (435.2 calories)
juice of 1 lemon, about 1/4 cup (12 calories)
2 TB rough chopped parsley (1 calorie)
1 clove garlic (4 calories)
20 drops tabasco (0 calories)

Remove avocado flesh from skin, cut into chunks with fork, mashing about half of the avocado. Add the rest of the ingredients, making sure not to over-mash the avocado, unless you like your avocado smooth.

Makes 4 servings, 113 calories per serving.

I serve this with 1 serving of baked corn chips, for a total of 253 calories.

Don't get me wrong, I love my guacamole, with loads of tomatoes and onion and sour cream and cheese, but I was trying to come up with something that was full of healthy fats and not heavy enough in calories to be counted as a meal.

Seafood Stew with Saffron, Fennel Seed, and Lemon

2006-03-16T00:15:00.000-07:00

I bought a new stock pot from amazon.com, and it arrived on Tuesday, so I had to use it on Wednesday, right? It's a great pot, I'm way, way happy with it, and it only cost me $29.99, when the pot was originally $110. Thanks to Simply Recipes for the link.

Here's my first seafood stew recipe, though I'm not very experienced with cooking seafood, this turned out great. The ingredient list is a little awkward, but I wanted to list the items in order of use.

Seafood Stew with Saffron, Fennel Seed, and Lemon

Ingredients:
2 tsp. olive oil (80 calories)
144g. onion (1 small), chopped fine (60.5 calories)
216g. carrots (4 small, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds) (72 calories)
120g. celery (2 large ribs, sliced into 1/4 inch slices) (17 calories)
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fennel seed (ground to dust, using 1/4 tsp salt as an abrasive)
7g. garlic (about 2 cloves), chopped fine (10.5 calories)
zest of 1 lemon (about 2 tsp) (2 calories)
1/2 tsp. saffron (1 calorie)
juice of 1 lemon (about 3 Tbsp.)(12 calories)
2 cups chicken broth (30 calories)
1 quart cups canned tomatoes (210 calories)
1 185g. salmon fillet, cubed (320 calories)
1 60g. tilapia fillet, cubed (53 calories)
400g. shrimp, peeled and de-veined (423.5 calories)
1/4 c. rough chopped parsley (5.5 calories)

Recipe:
2 tsp. olive oil
144g. onion (1 small), chopped fine
216g. carrots (4 small, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds)
120g. celery (2 large ribs, sliced into 1/4 inch slices)
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fennel seed (ground to dust, using 1/4 tsp salt as an abrasive)

Sauté for 10-15 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add:

7g. garlic (about 2 cloves), chopped fine
zest of 1 lemon (about 2 tsp)
1/2 tsp. saffron

Sauté for a minute, making sure not to burn the garlic. Add:

juice of 1 lemon (about 3 Tbsp.)
2 cups chicken broth
1 quart cups canned tomatoes

Keep on a low simmer until carrots are as tender as you like them. Add:

1 185g. salmon fillet, cubed
1 60g. tilapia fillet, cubed
400g. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 c. rough chopped parsley

Cover and let simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the seafood is just cooked.

Serve with a lemon wedge and a piece of crusty bread.

Makes about (6) 1.5 cup serving = 204 calories per serving (370 calories with a 60g. piece of french bread).

Lexi's Swedish Meatballs

2006-03-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

I posted Swedish Meatballs (from a seasoning packet, the shame!) a while back, and Lexi commented about how she was Swedish, and she could show me a real recipe for meatballs that didn't include seasoning packets. She posted her recipe, and I've finally gotten around to making them. I had to adjust several things to make them fit within my 500 calorie meal guideline, but they turned out WAY better than the others made with the seasoning packet (obviously). I screwed up and put the soy sauce in the sauce rather than in the meat... so yeah, but it was still delicious. The mixture of pork and beef made for a really moist meatball. Hell, I don't even know why I've been making meatballs, lately, I never have liked them, but this is one recipe that I really love.

My bastardized version of Lexi's Meatballs
.65 lb (303 g.) 4% ground beef (402 calories)
.5 lb (237 g.) ground pork (450 calories)
1/4 cup ground oats (3/8 cup oats, before grinding) (112.5 calories)
2 TB skim milk (11.5 calories)
1/2 extra large egg white (10 calories)
3/4 large onion, 139g (58.5 calories)
3 cloves garlic (20g = 29 calories)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp. olive oil (1 tsp for frying meatballs in nonstick pan, 1 tsp for sauteeing onions) (80 calories)

4 servings, 288.5 calories per serving.

Lexi's directions:

"Start with putting the grain in a large bowl. Mix in the starch and then soak it in the cream. Let it sit and swell for atleast 10 minutes. While the grain swells, chop the onions and garlic and fry it gently to just soften it up, don't let it get any colour. Mix all ingredients in the grain once it's done swelling, try not to mix too long and the best tools.. are your hands...
Once mixed choose cooking style. Either you fry eveyrhting in a pan or in the oven. the oven is easier for larger bashes but the pan gives them a better colour. If you choose the oven (like I did for this huuuuuge batch) put it on 275 degrees celcius (527 F). Roll consistant size of the balls. If you choose small ones make sure they are all small so they have the same cooking time. If you can't do that by hand, use a measurement like for instant a tablespoon."

Sauce
1 Tbsp butter (100 calories) (I only used 1 Tbsp because I had fat left in the pan)
3 Tbsp flour (65.5 calories)
2 cups stock (30 calories)
2 Tbsp (half and half) (35 calories)
1 Tbsp. soy (oops) (10 calories)

4 servings, 60 calories per serving.

Lexi's directions:

"The stock is from after you're done frying the meatballs, add water in the pan and let it simmer for a while and then keep it for the sauce. If you don't think it tastes enough add a square of meatbouillon (I try not to because of hte artificial flavourings). Melt the butter in a pot, mix in the flour and take the pot of the heat, add a bit of hte stock and mix until the butterflour mix is mixed in completely to the fluids. Add the rest of the stock and then put the pot back to the heat. Whisk until it starts to boil, and then let it simmer an thicken for atleast 3 minutes. If you want to add some soysauce for colouring and sealth taste yourself through it. Add the cream in the end."

Served with 1/2 cup cooked white rice (100 calories) and 1/2 cup frozen peas (35 calories).

Total meal: 483.5 calories per person.

Lexi served hers with mashed potatoes, but I was out of time and, to be honest, I don't particularly like mashed potatoes (it's a texture thing) so I went with quick and easy rice. I initially started with the same ratio of milk (cream) to meat, but it was turning out too soupy, so I poured out the majority of it.

Janet's Mustard Chicken by way of Kalyn

2006-03-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

Janet's Mustard Chicken, by way of Kalyn.

Kalyn posted about this recipe a few days ago, and I began to drool, which usually means I should make the recipe. I meant to make it on Saturday, but I didn't have half the ingredients I needed, so I made it for dinner tonight.

I made one very small modification to get the sauce down to where it would be within my 500 calorie meal goal, and I mean very small - I cut out half of the mayo and replaced it with nonfat yogurt. The original recipe is for 8 chicken breasts with sauce, but I was only serving two, so I halved the sauce because I didn't know if quartering it would work.

Chicken:
2 medium skinless, boneless chicken breasts, 6.5 oz each (6 oz; 280 calories when cooked)
1 tsp. olive oil (40 calories)
salt and pepper

300 calories per chicken breast. (I realize this is a double-portion of meat per person, but we were in a meat mood!)

Sauce:
2 Tbsp. mayo (200 calories)
6 Tbsp. nonfat sour cream (45 calories)
6 Tbsp. lowfat plain yogurt (56 calories)
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard (15 calories)
1/2 tsp. dry mustard ( calories)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger (1.5 calories)
3/4 c. chicken stock (11.25 calories)
2 tbsp. chopped parsley, 75% in sauce, the rest to garnish (2 calories)

2 servings, 165.5 calories per serving.

So, 1 chicken breast with 1/2 the sauce and 3/4 cup frozen peas with a little salt is 518 calories.

This chicken recipe is fantastic. My husband kept saying, "Mmmmmmm, any sauce left?" and I also went back for extra sauce. I guess this could have been lower calorie if we'd eaten the amount of sauce the origial recipe called for, which was about half of what we ended up eating, but it was JUST SO DAMNED GOOD - we ate every last drop. Definitely a keeper.

Gyoza (Pot Stickers)

2006-03-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

At some point, my father-in-law lived in Taiwan. We joke that my husband was "made" in Taiwan, which is so un-pc, but back to the point. This recipe is a very slightly altered version of my father-in-law's, we add more ginger to the meat mixture and more vinegar to the dipping sauce. This has to be our favorite meal, there's just something about the ginger and vinegar sauce that work so well together.

Yes, I took a lot of pictures, and yes, I posted a lot of pictures, but I deleted a lot, too, so this is compromise.

Gyoza

1.5 pounds ground pork
2 heads napa cabbage, outer leaves removed and set aside for steaming
1 LARGE piece fresh ginger, grated fine, about 2 Tbsps.
1 bunch scallions, sliced thin
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 extra-large egg white
(2) 60 ct. packages round wonton wrappers

Chop cabbage fine, sprinkle with coarse salt, let sit for 20 minutes then squeeze out as much water as you can.

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Place 1 1/2 teapoons in the center of each pot sticker wrapper and use your finger to put water around the edge.

Fold wrapper in half, making sure to sqeeze out the air and seal/crimp the edges.

Set bamboo steamers (with lid on) on top of a large pot of boiling water, let sit for 5-10 minutes. Place a couple of cabbage leaves on each steamer and place your gyoza on top. Replace steamer baskets and lid, let steam for 8 minutes. Serve with Gyoza Sauce and Ham Fried Rice.

Makes 117 Gyoza, each is 30 calories. Serve 8-10 with Gyoza Sauce.

*We don't fry them in the pan to get a fried bottom, but you can if you want.
**If you want to freeze them, go ahead and steam them for the 8 minutes, and then let them cool. They freeze great!

Gyoza Sauce

1 c. soy sauce
1 c. white vinegar
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 HUGE clove garlic, pressed
1 scallion, sliced thin

Combine all ingredients. Take your gyoza for a swim.

Makes (8) 1/4 cup servings, 57.25 calories per serving.

I don't know why, but we drink Squirt soda with the gyoza. My husband says it's because it's similiar to a drink in Taiwan that they serve with them, but who knows? All I know is it works with the dumplings.

**edit - Riana from Garlic Breath has a great skin recipe here. I haven't attempted it, but I just might.

Ham Fried Rice

2006-03-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

Now, I know that this is very, very basic, but since I had it with my dinner last night, I thought I'd post it. I didn't take a picture because, well because everyone knows what it looks like..

Ham Fried Rice

2 cups cooked white rice - (800 calories)
2 extra large eggs, scrambled - (170 calories)
1 cup peas - (70 calories)
8 oz cubed ham, browned - (321.5 calories)
1 tsp. sesame oil - (43.5 calories)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce - (30 calories)

Combine all ingredients in a frying pan on medium heat and cook for about 2 minutes.

Makes about about 9.5 servings, 153.75 calories per 3/4 cup serving.

Low Calorie Creamy Curry Chicken

2006-03-08T22:06:00.000-07:00

A looooooooong time ago, my sister found a recipe for Curry Chicken in a magazine. We tried it and l.o.v.e.d. it, so much so that we're still making it today, but from memory. My sister uses butter to roast and saute the vegetables, and full-fat sour cream along with butter for the sauce, but this is the way I make it, now that I'm being calorie cautious. Tonight's version was a bit of a collaberation - we added far more curry powder and far more oyster sauce than we needed to, which then made it necessary to add way more sour cream, and also some plain yogurt, which we don't normally add, so it threw off the flavor quite a bit.

If you want to try this, I would go ahead and omit the yogurt, use half the sour cream, half the oyster sauce and half the curry powder. You can also omit the chicken for a fantastic vegetarian dish.

Low(er) Calorie Creamy Curry Chicken
3 medium Chicken breasts, 3/4 inch cubes - 710 calories
Celery, sliced (364g.) - 51.5 calories
8 large Carrots (646g.), 1/4 inch slices - 262.5 calories
1 large onion (342g.), sliced in 1/8 inch slices - 143.25 calories
6 big cloves of Garlic, pressed through press - 25 calories
Bamboo Shoots (8 oz can, drained) - 20 calories
Water Chestnuts (8 oz can, drained) - 50 calories
Mushrooms (13.25 oz can, drained) - 90 calories
Potatoes, cubed, skin on (919g.) - 642.5 calories
Sour Cream (2.25 containers)- 684 calories
Lowfat Yogurt, Plain (150g.) - 99.25 calories
Oyster (flavored) Sauce - 170 calories
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce - 30 calories
Curry Powder (22g. jar, 3.5 Tbsp) - 70 calories
7 Tbsp. Olive Oil - 840 calories

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. On a large cookie sheet, toss carrots and potatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Roast for 45-60 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

In a large pot, brown chicken in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then remove. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan and sauté celery, onions, garlic, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and mushroms until the celery and onions are translucent, then remove from the pan. To the same pan, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the curry powder. Cook the curry powder in the oil for a minute, just to get rid of the grainy texture. Add the sour cream, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.

Combine toss the baked vegetables with the sauteed vegetables and chicken, then pour over the sauce and combine.

--------------------------------------------------
3888 calories total.

16 1-cup servings, 243 calories per serving. And no, I didn't keep it all, I sent half home with my sister, heh.

I eat two cups, but that's my whole meal, it would also be great over a 1/2 cup serving of rice, for a total of 443 calories. Yum!

Another Calorie-Count Toolbar Update..

2006-03-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, initially, I posted about the calorie-count toolbar, and how much I used and liked it. And theeeen I posted about how it had a ton of spyware.

This morning, I received a comment from Erik, the creator of the toolbar. Here's the back and forth:

At 8:48 PM, Erik said...
Hi Erin - it's Erik here, creator of Calorie-Count.com and the toolbar!

Many apologies for the problems you encountered with our toolbar, however I would like to assure you the toolbar is indeed spyware and adware free...the Internet Explorer version often gets falsely identified by anti-spyware applications as spyware, as we have to interact with our servers to keep your "eat meter" updated (which looks supsicious).

I'd appreciate getting more information on your difficulties and I encourage you to contact me at erik@calorie-count.com We take our user's privacy and security very seriously!

Kind Regards,

Erik Fantasia

Hey there Erik,

As someone who is extremely cautious about what I install on my computer (my husband builds them for a living, and he's not one of those bunk computer builders, he's the smart, educated kind, lol), I went ahead and installed the calorie-count toolbar, which I loved, until a few days in, when my computer started freezing up and being generally non-responsive. My husband did everything imaginable to figure out what the problem was, and he said that it was the toolbar and spyware that was installed with it. He was unable to fully un-install the toolbar, or what the spyware programs were reading as spyware, from my computer. When we ran a virus scan, it got to the calorie-count toolbar thing and completely froze up. We had to reformat the computer just so it would stop freezing up. We reinstalled everything that was on the computer before, and it's running just as it was before I installed the toolbar.

I would really love to reinstall the toolbar, because I was using it regularly, but I've been warned it's a bad idea, so I haven't. I really do use your site every single day, and it's helped me to easily keep track of my calories, as well as learning about new things that are great for my calorie-conscience lifestyle.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to send them my way.

Regards,
Erin

Hi Erin,

Once again my apologies for the problems you encountered...if you
happen
to know which antivirus and anti-spyware programs you were using this
would be of help.

We also have a version of the toolbar for the popular free Firefox web
browser (http://www.firefox.com) - this version has been tested by the
Mozilla community and in fact is available for download from their
addons site:
https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&id=1649

It's the one I use myself.

We are actually thinking of dropping the IE toolbar altogether as we
purchased the base code from a 3rd party and have been experiencing a
lot of trouble with it.

As a sign of thanks I've sent you a little Amazon gift certificate.
Once again my apologies for the trouble you encountered and many thanks
for your help making our site and services better for the future.

By the way, I love your blog - your food creations look fantastic! We
are currently working on a recipe database and analysis tool for
Calorie-Count.com which will provide full nutritional details for any
recipe entered which you might be interested in!

Best,

-Erik

Erik,

Thanks for taking the time out to help me with the toolbar issue, it means a lot. My husband has offered to have me put the toolbar installation file on his desktop for when he gets home, so he can have a real good look, though I think I'll actually just install Mozilla and use the toolbar there. THAT'S how much I like this toolbar, lol, I'll use a new browser just so I can have it. Also, thank you for the gift certificate, I buy 4-6 books a month through Amazon, so that was a very nice surprise.

For reference, the spyware and adware programs are Spybot, and Lavasoft Ad-Aware, and the virus scanner was this one: http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ , which my husband swears by.

Thank you for the kind words about my journal, it's been a great experience and has made me quite a few foodie friends, as well. Also, thank you for the gift certificate, I buy 4-6 books a month, sometimes, through Amazon, so that was a very nice surprise.

Warm Regards,
Erin

So, I guess if you have Mozilla and want the toolbar, then you're good to go, but if you are a stone-ager (like me) and use good old IE, then you're SOL. I was serious, though, I've already installed the Mozilla browser, but I've not been a fan of tabbed browsing, so we'll have to see how that goes..

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

2006-03-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

I've seen a lot of roasted cauliflower dishes, but this weekend, Kalyn posted about Roasted Broccoli with Garlic, so, since I already had a head of cauliflower in the fridge, I thought I'd switch it out and go for a similiar result.

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

645g. cauliflower (1 medium head, cut into florets) (161.25 calories)
40 g. garlic (7-8 cloves, sliced in half and lightly smashed) (58 calories)
2 Tbsp. olive oil (240 calories)
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley (1 calorie)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat oil and red pepper flakes, add the garlic and gently fry for 1-2 minutes, making sure not to brown the garlic. Place cauliflower on a cookie sheet and pour the garlic and oil, salt, pepper, and 1/2 the parsley over the cauliflower and toss. Bake for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through, or until golden brown and tender.

Makes 6 servings, 76.75 calories per serving.

Swedish Meatballs with Rice: More Comfort Food

2006-03-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

Swedish Meatballs is another one of those comfort foods from my childhood. It's the only food that I can remember my older brother actually cooking and not just microwaving, and it's one I've never cooked for my husband because I've been on a red meat hiatus for about... 8 years? I've never had Swedish Meatballs when they weren't made from this seasoning packet, but I can imagine a "real" recipe would taste incredible.

Swedish Meatballs with Rice

1 x McCormick Swedish Meatball Seasoning & Sauce Mix (270)

1 lb. lean ground beef (4% fat) (600 calories)
2 cups Skim Milk (180 calories)
2 tsps. Oil (80 calories)
1/3 c. water
1 cup rice (prepared makes 4 1/2 c. servings) (400 calories)

Prepare in a nonstick skillet, according to package directions, with modified oil amount. Serve with 1/2 cup. rice (100 calories).

Makes 4 servings, 382.5 calories per serving. If serving with Roasted Garlic Cauliflower, add 76.75 calories per serving.

Strawberries and Blueberries with Vodka and Vanilla

2006-03-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

I make this whenever I can get my hands on good berries. I'm not sure why the berries are so great, right now, but I'm willing to overlook the seasonal thing.

Strawberries and Blueberries with Vodka and Vanilla

2 pints fresh strawberries, halved
1 pkg. fresh blueberries
2 vanilla beans, seeded
3 Tbsps. vanilla vodka (put 6-7 split vanilla beans in vodka and let sit for a few months)
2 Tbsps. Splenda

In a medium bowl, combine berries. Seed your vanilla beans and add to the vanilla vodka, cut the leftover beans in pieces and add to the berries. Toss berries with splenda, then drizzle the vodka over them. Let sit overnight for best flavor, but they're fantastic right away, too.

I'm not sure how many servings this makes, but 115g. (1 slighty over-filled cup) is about 39.75 calories.

French Dip Sandwiches

2006-02-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

This is definitely one of my comfort food meals, mainly because my mom made these french dips for us when we were kids, and we always loved them. I didn't really even have to lighten them up to get them under my calorie goal, except Mom always buttered the rolls, but they toasted up just fine with a small bit of olive oil.

French Dip Sandwiches

8 oz. deli roast beef, sliced thin
2 deli rolls, cut in half lengthwise
4 tsps. mayonnaise
1 tsp. olive oil
1 packet. au jus gravy mix
240 g. carrots, boiled with salt or steamed

In a nonstick pan on medium heat, drizzle the 1/2 tsp. olive oil evenly over the pan. Place the rolls cut-side down in the pan and let them toast until they're a little darker than golden. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, prepare the au jus according to package directions, then remove from heat and add th roast beef to the au jus for 15-30 seconds, just to warm it through. Remove the roast beef and let drain on paper towells. When rolls are browned, spread a teaspoon of mayonnaise on each side and layer half the meat on each roll. Serve with 1/4 cup. au jus and half the carrots.

Makes two servings, 494.25 calories per serving.

FUDGE!

2006-02-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

What is this? Isn't this supposed to be a diet blog? What the hell is a big fat piece of brownie/cake doing sitting on my screen? I'm sure you're saying exactly that, RIGHT? Ok, so I'm dramatic, but THAT is what I said last night, (minus the blog bit, and the screen bit) when my husband came home with two big pieces of this chocolate... brownie? cake? I don't know what it is, but it looks GOOD. He went to a family dinner (and in his family, that's a lot of people) which means there were 10, or so, very typical Utah dishes. Which isn't saying that's a bad thing, you just know what to expect. There's always some form of potato/cheese casserole, and always an over-the-top dessert (usually involving jello). But this, this chocolatey piece of ... chocolate ... is not the typical jello-inspired dessert. Just look at that top, it looks like fudge. FUDGE. I'm a chubber because of my love for things like fudge.

So did I eat them? No. They're sitting wrapped up on the counter, waiting impatiently for the one who is going to devour them. He's working. I'm home alone and my kitchen is being held hostage by fudge.

Lemon Zest and Ginger Shortbread Cookies

2006-02-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

Because I'm on a low-calorie diet, I haven't even considered eating sweets, but today, my sweet tooth got the best of me. I decided on shortbread cookies because they're easy and classic, but my husband is a bit of a ginger fanatic, so, I had lemons and ginger on hand, and I love them both enough to just throw them both in.

Lemon Zest and Ginger Shortbread Cookies

1 C. Flour (125g) (455 calories)
1 stick butter (800 calories)
1/3 cup. powdered sugar (40g) (156 calories)
1/4 tsp. fresh grated ginger
1 tsp. fresh grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 300°F. In a medium bowl, cream butter with the grated ginger, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, and lemon zest. Add the flour and the sugar just until combined.

Lightly pack the mixture into an 8-inch springform pan. Crimp around the edge with floured fork tines, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and quickly, but gently, cut into 12 wedges, then leave in pan to cool completely. Loosen edges of cookies from the pan, and release the pan round. Remove wedges... and enjoy!

Makes 12 cookies, about 118 calories each.

Calorie-Count Toolbar Update: Don't download it!

2006-02-25T02:41:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I made a post explaining how I count calories. In that post I recommended the calorie-count toolbar, even though I generally loathe toolbars. Turns out, this toolbar is so loaded with spyware, we couldn't simply delete it, we had to format my computer to get rid of it entirely. Grr. So I hope nobody installed it, and if you did, I can only apologize and advise you run a spyware detection program to get rid of what you can. Damnit, I used that thing several times a day - no strings attached just simply doesn't exist online, I guess.

Profiteroles à la Marilyn with Low Calorie Chicken Salad

2006-02-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

Since I can remember, my gramma has been making profiteroles, or cream puffs. She usually puts a mixture of whipped cream and vanilla pudding inside, which is obviously delicious. For my wedding, she managed to make around 200 profiteroles and stuffed them with a chicken salad mixture - they were a HUGE hit.

Today, I joined my gramma in making about 150 profiteroles for her church function on Saturday. She'd had a mishap with one of her baking racks, so we had to rig the oven to support two trays, and then we still had to do four batches.

Profiteroles à la Marilyn
1 cup water
1 cup flour (455 calories)
1 stick margarine (640 calories)
4 extra-large eggs (85 calories each)

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a saucepan, bring water and margarine to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir rapidly with a wooden spoon until the ingredients form a ball in the middle of the pan. Remove from heat, add 4 eggs and stir rapidly until the mixture becomes a smooth paste - it takes a minute, be patient! Drop rounded half-teaspoon-fulls (the ones you eat with, not the ones you measure with)onto 2 un-greased cookie sheets, rows of 5, columns of 7. Bake for 30 minutes, or until they are firm to the touch. If they start to get browner than you'd like (they should be golden), turn the oven down to 325° and let the profiteroles dry out a bit. Squeeze the sides gently, if they give, they aren't finished. Remove from baking sheet and, depending on how you're filling them, either poke on the side with a skewer to let steam escape, or cut profiteroles in half.

*She doesn't add salt because the margarine has enough, if you're using unsalted butter instead of margarine, add a pinch of salt to the boiling water.

Makes 70 bite-sized profiteroles, 20.5 calories each -or- 30 double-bite sized profiteroles, 48 calories each -or- 15 large profiteroles, 95.75 calories each.

In true Grandma fashion, Gramma insisted that I take a batch home, so I threw together a simple chicken salad to stuff these for a quick dinner.

Low Calorie Chicken Salad
170 g. (6 oz) poached chicken breast, 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 large breast) (280 calories)
50 g. lowfat plain yogurt (33 calories)
2 tsp. fresh lime juice (2 calories)
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped (1 calorie)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper

Makes two servings, 158 calories per serving.

I stuffed 8 30-count profiteroles, 4 per person for a total calorie count of 350 DELICIOUS calories per person.

Blogher Article thanks to Kalyn

2006-02-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

I want to give a big THANK YOU to Kalyn for this feature in her blogher article. Go read her articles, you'll get a lot out of them!

Leftovers: Quesadilla

2006-02-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

I love cooking with leftovers, though I'm not all that creative with them. Next time I'll omit the avacado and scramble two egg whites with the leftover meat.

1 serving, 353 calories.

Low Calorie Turkey and Cheese Quesadilla Recipe

2 6" white corn tortillas - 110 calories
28 g. reduced fat cheddar cheese - 90 calories
40 g. leftover Turkey Taco meat - 85 calories
1 tsp. Tomatillo Salsa - 2 calories
2 Tbsps. (30g.) non-fat sour cream - 20 calories
15 g. avocado- 36 calories

Reheat your turkey mixture. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 1 tortilla in pan, spread half of the tomatillo salsa over the tortilla, then sprinkle on half of the cheese evenly. Sprinkle on the meat, then the rest of the cheese. Spread remaining tortilla with the other teaspoon of salsa, and place on top of the pan ingredients. When the cheese on the bottom has melted, carefully flip the quesadilla and wait for the cheese on the second half to melt. Remove from pan, top with avocado and sour cream.

Turkey Tacos

2006-02-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

Turkey Tacos, read recipe for full ingredient list.

249.5 calories per taco, I ate two.

It's a bit frustrating when you're trying to eat lean, but also enjoy what you're eating. I'm a piggy and could have eaten three of these, easily. Still, for tacos, the calorie content is much better than if I had used full-calorie products, and since I don't eat red meat very often, the taste of the turkey replacing the beef wasn't even noticable. These were fantastic.

Low Calorie Turkey Tacos Recipe

Taco Meat:
565g. ground turkey 98% fat free - 595 calories
86g. onion - 35 calories
82g. green bell pepper - 24 calories
185g. tomatoes - 33 calories
11g. garlic - 15 calories
33g. tomato paste - 30 calories
1/2 tsp. olive oil - 7 calories
1 tsp. thyme - 1 calorie
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes - 0 calories
1 bay leaf - 0 calories
2 tsps. ground coriander - 10 calories
2 tsps. ground cumin - 15 calories
salt to taste

Preheat skillet with 1/2 tsp. of oil, saute garlic, onion, bell pepper, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes together until onions are translucent. Add the meat, tomato paste, and the rest of the seasonings, cook through. Add tomatoes and let cook for about 4 minutes, just until tomatoes are soft and release a bit of their juice.

Taco meat mixture: 765 calories and 720 grams total weight. This mix makes 18 - 40g. servings, 42.5 calories per serving.

Addons Per taco:
1 - 6" white corn tortilla - 55 calories
40g. taco meat mixture - 42.5 calories
olives - 10g. - 17 calories
avocado - 15g. - 36 calories
non-fat sour cream - 1 tbsp per taco - 10 calories
reduced fat mild cheddar cheese - 7g. - 30 calories
6" white corn tortilla - 55 calories
2 teaspoons Tomatillo Salsa - about 4 calories

With all addons, 1 taco is 249.5 calories.

Counting Calories

2006-02-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

I've been asked how I count calories, or more precisely, how I find the caloric content in foods. Here are some tips:

Make sure to measure everything, except for oil, which I measure in teaspoons or tablespoons. I use this Salter kitchen scale that I bought at SurLaTable for $40 and weigh in grams. That way you can go by package guides for portions, and you can measure out more or less than what it says on the package, and figure out how many calories are in the food by using your handy math skills. This is also good for things that don't come with their own nutrition information, like fruits, veggies, and some meats, which you can look up online. If you're going looking for a kitchen scale, make sure to find one that has a tare feature (meaning you can put a bowl or plate on the scale, hit the tare button, and it will read 0, so you're only measuring the food, not the weight of the bowl) and weighs down to the gram and to one tenth of an ounce, as you want to be as accurate as possible. I keep a notepad right by the scale and write everything down as I go, making sure to note the weight and calories from package information, and to write down the grams of things that I don't have ready caloric content for.

I look up the caloric content online in a few places. calorie-count.com is a good site, but don't use the toolbar, it's loaded with some nasty spyware. There's also AnneCollins.com, which I use on occasion, I'm sure there are others out there.

If you're trying to lose weight or if you just want to know how many calories you're consuming, this is a simple way to figure it out. I hope this wasn't too confusing. If you have a better/easier way of doing this, I'd love to hear it.

edit: This link: http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/calories-goal.php should take you to a page on that calorie-count site that helps you figure your weight goal, when you want to reach that goal, and how many calories you need to stay at each day to reach your goal.

Salmon with Tomatillo Salsa, Artichokes, and Cottage Cheese

2006-02-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

Salmon, or fish in general, is one of those foods that I didn't eat as a child, so I was weary of it. Around age 22, after reading about all of the good fats in salmon (and things like olive oil and avocados), I decided I would make myself like fish. It took a year, or so, before I didn't need my fish smothered in lemon juice, though I still prefer it with citrus.

This was the first time I've tried a salsa verde, or anything with tomatillos, I wasn't expecting them to be so sticky underneath their paper casing. What a treat this salsa is! I'm so used to having my salmon with salt and lemon, this was a great retreat from that.

Salmon with Tomatillo Salsa, Artichokes with Lemon, and Non-fat Cottage Cheese

1 serving, 340 calories.

Salmon with Tomatillo Salsa, Artichokes with Lemon, and Non-fat Cottage Cheese Recipe

I looked all over online and found loads of recipes for a salsa verde, so I combined aspects of all the recipes and came up with this:

Tomatillo Salsa
2 medium tomatillos
1/4-1/2 jalapeno (depending on how hot you like it)
1/4 onion
1 fat garlic clove
1 palm-full fresh parsley
1 palm-full fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook the tomatillos, garlic, and onion, in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Remove veggies from water and cool. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until nearly smooth, a little chunk is nice.

Salmon
1 3.5 oz. salmon fillet
juice from 1/2 lime (optional)
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350, salt fillet on both sides, place in baking dish and squeeze the lime over the top. Bake for 8-15 minutes, depending on how you like your fish cooked. Top with Tomatillo salsa.

Artichokes
2 medium artichokes
juice from one lemon
salt

Remove leaves and choke, peel stem, leaving only edible bits of the artichoke. Boil for 10-15 minutes in water with the juice of one lemon and a tablespoon of sea salt. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice, or lemon butter (1 part lemon juice to 4 parts butter). Lemon butter has about 70 calories per tablespoon.

Serve with 1/2 cup. non-fat cottage cheese

Simply Pineapple

2006-02-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

Ohhh pineapple. I have distinct memories of disliking the overly sweet fruit, and up until a year or two ago, I had hardly touched the stuff. And then, at some point, I found myself cutting up a fresh pineapple and being amazed at how lovely it tasted. I've come to the conclusion that I probably never tasted pineapple that hadn't lived in a can of sugary syrup. Pineapple with a hint of tin? Not such good eats.

1 pineapple yeilds 4-6 1 cup (155g) servings. Each serving has 74 calories, 19.6 carbohydrates, 2.2 grams of fiber, 0.8 grams of protein, and 2mg of sodium.

Recipe:
Buy a pineapple and hack away!

"Focaccia" Rolls and Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

2006-02-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

"Focaccia" Rolls and Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

1 cup. Pacific brand Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup, 1 Focaccia Roll = 200 calories

I've been craving the focaccia that I love so much, but I also wanted to slim it down. So I cut the original recipe in half, except for the oil, I used 2 tablespoons in the dough, and then 1/2 teaspoon to grease the pan and another 1/2 to pat on top of the rolls. This made 16 rolls, 90 calories each, but the flavor just isn't the same. They don't have the slightly sweet flavor of the original, and they have a somewhat bitter aftertaste - I'm guessing that comes from a lack of the olive oil. So, that's what I get for not kneading them by hand. My KitchenAid just wasn't a match for this dough.

At least the soup was good.

Recipe:
1 cup. Pacific brand Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup, 1 Focaccia Roll

Balsamic Glazed Chicken and Sweet Potato Pasta

2006-02-16T10:04:00.001-07:00

Dinner for 2/15:

Balsamic Glazed Chicken and Sweet Potato Pasta

Makes 4 servings, 496.25 calories per serving.

Balsamic Glazed Chicken and Sweet Potato Pasta Recipe

Pasta
7 oz. angelhair pasta, prepared.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Onions
1 medium (523g.) sweet potato, 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion (225g), sliced in 1/8 inch moons
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss all ingredients together on a cookie sheet, bake, stirring occasionally until tender and caramelized (45 - 60 minutes).

Chicken
8.5 oz. chicken breast, cubed
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a zipper baggy, allow to marinate for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature and brown the chicken on all sides, about six minutes.

Pan Sauce
1 c. chicken broth

Remove chicken and deglaze the pan with 1 c. chicken broth, reduce by half.

Combine pan sauce, pasta, chicken and sweet potatoes.

Artichoke Lunch

2006-02-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

Lunch for 2/13:

Artichoke with lemon butter, cottage cheese, and ham.

340 calories.

Artichoke with Lemon Butter, Cottage Cheese, and Ham Recipe

I don't always cut the top off the artichoke, but this one was large enough that I had to in order to keep it submerged. Boil for 15-20 minutes in salted water. Squeeze l whole lemon (about 4 tablespoons) into 1 stick of melted butter, serve artichoke with 2 tablespoons of the lemon butter, a slice of browned ham, and 1/2 cup of non-fat cottage cheese.

Yogurt with Grape-Nuts and Strawberries

2006-02-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

Yogurt with Grape-Nuts and strawberries.

1 serving, 225 calories.

Low Calorie Yogurt with Grape-Nuts and Strawberries Recipe

113 grams nonfat yogurt (1/2 cup)
29 grams Post brand Grape-Nuts (1/4 cup)
80 grams strawberries

Throw into a bowl and eat!

Baked BBQ Chicken with Low Calorie Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

2006-02-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

As far as my tomato obsession goes, I can usually hold myself over until late summer, when my grandma gets her first crop of the world's most perfect vine ripened goodness. I can usually open a bottle of last season's tomatoes and be perfectly content with the next-to-best thing. Usually being the key term. For the past few weeks, I've been unable to fight off the craving for fresh tomatoes, thankfully my grocery store has some surprisingly summery tomatoes, even if they are $5.00/pint. I'm finding that, if I eat fresh tomatoes with my meal, I'm far less likely to crave any of the sugary things that I love so much.

Dinner for 2/12:

Baked chicken with barbeque sauce, mixed vegetables, parmesan mashed potatoes, and tomatoes.

Recipe makes 2 servings, 423.5 calories per serving.
Baked BBQ Chicken with Low Calorie Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
350 grams potatoes
5 tb. nonfat sour cream
1/4 cup. lowfat milk
10 g. shredded parmesan
fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until tender (start on the chicken dish, they will be finished around the same time), then drain, mash and mix in remaining ingredients. Makes 2 servings, 205.75 calories per serving.

Chicken with Veggies and Barbeque Sauce
60 grams celery
36 grams green bell pepper
33 grams onion
7 grams jalapeno (roughly half of one)
1/2 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
(2) 3.5 oz. chicken breasts, sprinkled with salt and pepper (should be around 3 oz. when finished cooking)
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. Tony Roma's Original Barbeque sauce

Preheat oven to 350° F. Chop all vegetables, saute in 1/2 tsp. olive oil, move veggies to the outer rim of the pan and place the seasoned chicken breasts into the center of the pan and brown on each side. Move sauteed vegetables onto a piece of foil, place chicken breasts on top, and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar. Fold foil into a packet, making sure to get a good seal, and place in oven for 7-10 minutes. Remove chicken, plate, and add 1 tbsp. barbeque sauce over each breast. Makes 2 servings, 195.25 calories per serving.

Salted Tomatoes
Slice 250 grams grape tomatoes, sprinkle with salt, and serve. Makes 2 servings, 22.5 calories per serving.

Skillet Breakfast

2006-02-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

Breakfast for 2/12:

Skillet breakfast: eggs, potatoes, spinach, ham, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, and garlic

Two servings, 422 calories per serving.

Big Breakfast

2006-02-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

Breakfast 2/11:

Eggs with onion, garlic and green peppers, ham, tomatoes with parsley, and fingerling potatoes with fresh thyme.

352 calories.

I generally have a bowl of oatmeal or yogurt with grapenuts for breakfast, but we wanted to start the day off with a good meal. I use 1 whole egg and 1-2 egg whites per person.

Rosemary and Onion Focaccia

2006-02-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

Makes 20 servings, 120 calories per serving.

I have to admit, I'm completely obsessed with breads and pastas. Now, since starting a low-calorie diet at the beginning of the year, I have avoided refined/bleached flours and sugars, but some days, a girl just has to have her bread. This was made using an Ina Garten recipe that I slightly altered (6 tablespoons of olive oil in total, 2 in dough, 2 to grease pan, 2 on top of the bread). It's the first time I've made a successful bread, and it's probably the tastiest bread I've ever consumed.

Ina Garten's Recipe for Rosemary and Onion Focaccia

3 1/2 Cups strong white plain flour
2 1/2 Cups water, room temperature
2 Tbsp. sea salt
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh yeast or 3/4 Tbsp dried yeast
olive oil

Optional Toppings:
crushed garlic
rosemary
salt
sliced red onions
mint
coriander
cumin
salt

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Sieve the flour into a large bowl, make a well in the middle and add the fresh yeast, salt, 2 3/4 Cups of the water and a good splash of oil. Mix all the ingredients together to form a dough. Transfer to a floured surface and knead for about ten minutes, until the dough is soft and elastic.

Put the kneaded dough into a very large bowl and brush it with olive oil, cover with loose cling film and leave to rise until it has trebled in size, about 1 to 1.5 hours.

After the dough has risen, knock it down and divide it into three. Liberally apply oil to three 9-inch round tins, then stretch each piece into a circle to fit the tin, pour enough olive oil over the dough to cover it, using your finger tips, press dents all over the top.

Now add the topping, pressing it into the dough to help the flavors penetrate. Then sprinkle more oil over the surface if desired, and finish by sprinkling some Maldon sea-salt over it.

Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until golden.

Canned Tomatoes

2006-02-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

Canned tomatoes, 2005 crop:

My grandma usually does all of the canning, but this time I took over her kitchen and did the bushel or two of tomatoes. These were just tomatoes, but she also does them with onions, garlic, and green bell peppers. These make it a whole lot easier to cook low-calorie meals, and it's really nice to know where your food is coming from and what it's been put through before you use it.

Wendy's Mandarin Chicken Salad

2006-02-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

Dinner for 2/10:

Image by Lisa Krantz / Naples Daily News

Wendy's Mandarin Chicken Salad with almonds.

447 calories.

When I don't really feel like cooking, I usually go for this salad. It's got more sugar and sodium in it than I'd like, but it also has a lot of great, healthful things in it. When you're not the one doing the cooking, you have to take what you can get as far as freshness and quality are concerned, so this salad offers a lot and I don't feel so guilty getting "fast food".

Recipe:

Butternut Squash Soup

2006-02-09T22:35:00.000-07:00

Dinner for 2/9:

Butternut Squash Soup with spinach and 7 whole grain pilaf.

Makes (2) 1.25 c. servings, 189 calories per serving.

I used a store-bought soup and dressed it up with fresh thyme, spinach and whole grains. The soup was a bit on the sweet side, and had cinnamon in it, which I don't love, but it was pretty darned tasty in that... oh this is healthy, so I can ignore the fact that it doesn't taste GOOD... sort of way.

Low Calorie Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
1 Box Pacific Brand Butternut Squash Soup (2 c.)
1 c. fresh spinach
1 pinch fresh thyme
1/2 c. Kashi Brand 7 Whole Grain Pilaf, prepared
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Farfalle Soup with Chicken and Turkey Sausage

2006-02-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

Dinner for 2/8:

Farfalle Soup with chicken, turkey sausage, cauliflower, and canned tomatoes.

Makes (10) 1 c. servings
135 calories per serving.

Home bottled tomatoes were the key to this soup - I added a quart at the beginning, and another at the end so it would taste really fresh. I've been making a lot of soups in the past few months and this is my favorite.

Soy Broiled Pork Chops with Apples

2006-02-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

Dinner for 2/7:

Soy Marinated Pork Loin Chop with Apples, Brussel Sprouts and Focaccia.

1 Serving, 343 calories.

This has to be the easiest way to cook a pork chop. Marinate it in soy sauce and sliced garlic (anywhere from ten minutes to two hours) place it on a cooking rack (I use a small bake rack on top of a foil-lined cookie sheet), grind lots of pepper over the top and place under the broiler.

Spinach Chicken Parmesan

2006-02-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

Dinner for 2/6:

Spinach Chicken Parmesan with tomatoes and brussel sprouts.

257 calories.

Because I'm lactose intolerant, I don't generally use cheese when cooking, but there are a few dairy things that don't seem to bother me and parmesan cheese is one of them. This meal was really lean without it, so it needed a little something to balance it out. I'll definitely make this one often.

And so it begins...

2006-02-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

I've never taken my health seriously. I remember feeling "fat" as young as 8, lying in the bathtub and squeezing my belly and being completely disgusted with myself. I wasn't fat, but as my lineage reads, a warped sense of self was inevitable. I started developing breasts around age 10, and everyone seemed to notice and make little jokes that they felt were harmless, but they rooted themselves into my subconscious and sprouted into strong insecurities that have followed me throughout my life. I was never a very healthy child or teen. I always had stomach problems, none of which were addressed in a proper way by a proper person. I was limited by my issues, and I became very anxious and depressed. With insecurity comes a process of distancing yourself from, well... yourself. The hardest person to find is yourself.

As an adult, I have found the reason for my stomach problems: an allergy to lactose. Simple as that. I'm a new person in a new body, it seems.

So, at the age of 26, after a lifetime of self-abuse, self-denial, and a general lack of self-control and self-knowledge, I am starting my journey toward self-awareness. By being good to myself, treating my body with love and respect, and enriching my mind with knowledge and skills, I plan to become the whole person that I was always meant to be.

Now, I've just re-read what I wrote, and it all sounds a bit like I've been watching too much Oprah. Oh well, it is what it is.

No recipe, obviously, blogger insists on putting this link on every post, it's an all or none sort of thing, I guess.