Low-Calorie

Garlic Roasted Garbanzo Beans

First of all I would like to thank CC Recipe for this incredibly delicious snack! She had three different types of roasted garbanzos and I attempted the garlic ones today. OMG! I could sit there and eat the entire batch on my own, no problem! Like she said they reminded me of corn nuts (yes they still sell those) and I had a really bad experience with corn nuts before I moved to Florida. Lost half of a molar! While at the Pindar Harvest Fest on Long Island! (My cousin Linda will vouch that I was less than calm about the incident!) So no more corn nuts. I do think I could have roasted these another 5 minutes but they still came out incredible. I changed the recipe slightly by adding more garlic powder, because I am obsessed love garlic! I also added some garlic salt when I took them out of the oven. I am also salt obsessed. I admit it, I am a Salt Monster. Anyway, they are so good. I am making a double batch next time and they are so good for you too. Oh one other thing I changed was I used soy flour instead of regular flour (my husband is carb obsessed). More fiber this way too so it’s all good. I have a few more recipes from CC Recipe that I am going to try. Awesome stuff!

INGREDIENTS:

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans

salt and pepper

¼ cup soy flour (or regular)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.

2. Drain the garbanzo beans and gently pat dry. Let sit on paper towels for 20 minutes or until they are mostly dry. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

3. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and garlic powder. Add garbanzo beans and toss lightly to coat. Shake off any excess flour.

4. Lay garbanzo beans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and bake 25-35 minutes. Check on them and shake the baking sheet every 10 minutes or so. I stirred them up each time. When they are done they will be golden brown and crunchy. (Not break your teeth crunchy though! ) Just keep an eye on them the last 10 minutes or so that they don’t burn.

Enjoy!

Onion-Horseradish Dip

I am always looking for new and different dips. You get tired of the same old onion dip, same old guacamole, same old veggie dip and so on. I have a stack of magazines that I need to go through for recipes and tips etc. for the blog. One weekend I was going through the Better Homes and Gardens and came across some recipes that all used an immersion blender. You know, the little boat motor thing. This recipe can actually be made in a food processor as well but I followed the directions and used my immersion blender. After splattering myself as I always do, the dip was finished. It was delicious! I would also say it was better the next day. First day the flavors were a bit strong. So if you can wait a few hours or even overnight, it will be worth the wait. I also tweaked it as I always do. It calls for ¼ of a medium red onion. But as you will see in the pictures, I didn’t quite have it so I added a chopped shallot as well. (The pic shows 2 shallots, but I only added one) The garlic clove I used is pretty big, it probably equals 2 normal cloves but we like garlic! I also used heavy whipping cream, calories weren’t that much different from the light so I went for the extra flavor. You can serve with veggies which we did the second night but I had just found these incredible chips at BJ’s Wholesale Club. OMG! They are incredibly light and crisp, salty and just plain delicious! (110 calories in 33 chips!) This recipe also makes a great topping for a nice steak, chops or even chicken!

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. wedge blue cheese (cheaper than buying crumbled)

4 oz. light sour cream (you can use regular if you want)

¼ cup whipping cream

¼ of a medium red onion, roughly chopped (or a large slice like I have above)

1 medium shallot, roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

½ – 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish (I used 1 teaspoon- we love horseradish)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium bowl crumble about ¾ of the blue cheese. Add the sour cream, whipping cream, red onion, shallot, garlic, and horseradish. Use an immersion blender* to blend cheese mixture until almost smooth.

2. Transfer to small bowl. Crumble remaining blue cheese and sprinkle over the top. Serve with veggies or chips!

* If you don’t have an immersion blender put ingredients in food processor and blend till smooth.

Makes 10 servings (2 TBSP): Each serving has about 85 calories, 8 grams of fat, 23 mg cholesterol, 170 mg sodium, 1 gram carbs, 3 grams protein

Italian Chicken Chili Alfredo

Boy that’s a mouthful! I was trying to come up with a simple title but couldn’t. Originally when I made this I was going for a regular chili with chicken instead of ground beef. As I went along I kept changing my mind. I had also  just bought a jar of Classico Light Creamy Alfredo Sauce and thought it would make a tasty addition. The sauce is a new product for the Classico line of sauces. It only has 60 calories and 5 grams of fat in ¼ cup. Compared to over 110 calories and 10 grams of fat for the same amount. It was really good and I didn’t feel bad about eating it!

I also added two kinds of beans to this recipe, white canellini beans and black beans. Another item I always have on hand in my freezer are those pre-cooked chicken sausages. They are really very good and lower in calories and fat. I usually have the Italian style which is what I used in this recipe. The chicken breast I used was the Perdue portion sized boneless breasts. They come in those individually wrapped packages. They were on sale and I had a coupon! I used the white wine and garlic seasoned ones but you can use any kind you want.

This was a great protein, fiber-filled meal. My husband really liked it and I can make it again so it’s a winner! Great for the fall or when you want an easy dinner. Leftovers are even better! If you want you can even add rice or pasta to the dish to stretch it even more. It’s up to you!

INGREDIENTS:

2 small onions (or 1 large), chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped (use less if you don’t like a lot of garlic)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound or so), cut into bite size pieces

2 Italian Style Chicken Sausages (precooked kind)

1 can (15-16 oz.) white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15-16 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 small-medium tomato, chopped small

½ cup mushrooms, chopped

1 jar (15 oz.) Classico Light Creamy Alfredo Sauce

2 tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Parmesan Cheese for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pan heat olive oil on medium heat and sauté the chicken pieces. Remove from pan and set aside when browned and mostly cooked, about 5 minutes.

2. In the same pan add the onion and garlic and sauté, on medium heat, till soft, about 5 minutes. Careful not to burn the garlic.

3. Add the mushrooms, sausage, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for another 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

4. Add the tomatoes and stir in. Add the beans and continue to stir and cook for another 3 minutes or so until beans are heated through.

5. Add the alfredo sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add fresh parsley and serve.

Makes 6 servings

Greek Green Beans

Ok as promised here is the recipe for the green beans I made with the orange roughy yesterday. I used frozen green beans. I actually use frozen veggies quite a bit. This way I always have something in the freezer to go to when I’m out of fresh stuff. I usually have those ‘steamer’ bags of veggies but this time I had bought one of the larger bags, 16 ounces. For two of us that is too much to make at once so for this recipe I used half the bag or 2 cups. This is also a quick and easy side dish for any entrée. It is also a low-calorie side dish. While the beans were being nuked I sautéed the onions and garlic and it worked out great. So without any further ado here is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups frozen green beans (any kind you like)

2 tablespoons water

1 small onion, chopped small

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup crumbled reduced fat feta cheese

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons butter substitute (you can use real butter if you want)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place green beans in a small microwave container with lid. Add the water. Cook on HIGH for 6 minutes.

2. Meantime in a small pan sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Cook until soft and just starting to brown a little. About 6 minutes. Add the basil, oregano and pepper flakes. Stir well.

3. The beans should be done now. Drain the excess water from container. Add the butter/butter substitute and onion mixture. Mix well.

4. Microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes.

5. Stir in feta cheese and serve.

Makes 2 servings (1 cup each)

Garlic Parmesan Orange Roughy

When I started writing this blog about 6 months ago I really just wanted to put the recipes down that I have accumulated over the years. I had been posting my dinner photos on Facebook and people kept asking for recipes so here I am! I’ve discovered so many cool blogs about food, drink, life etc. recently and love it. I’m making some new “blog friends” from all over the country. It’s great. I just joined The Petite Chef also. And from that site I found last nights main dish for dinner. I had some orange roughy and I didn’t want to make the same old thing so I searched and came up with today’s dish. It was posted by Food Corner and it was a huge hit! Garlic Parmesan Orange Roughy was delicious. I did change a couple of things slightly though. I added some fresh chopped Italian parsley to my topping and used a butter substitute rather than real butter. The only problem I had was I melted the butter too much. It was supposed to be softened, not melted. So it ran a bit. Oh well, it came out great anyway. John loved it which was a good thing. I can make it again! I also only had 2 fillets (14oz total) and I didn’t change the quantities and it still came out great. I served it with a new green bean recipe that I came up with which I will post tomorrow. No leftovers! So thank you to Food Corner for your delicious recipe! It was also very easy and quick. Always a good thing after a long day. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

4 (4 ounce) fillets orange roughy (or other mild white fish)

 

Uncooked Orange Roughy

 

½ lemon

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup butter, softened

¼ cup prepared Dijon mustard mayonnaise blend (I made up my own/equal parts mayo/mustard)

1 large clove garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

paprika

 

Topping ingredients

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven’s broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat.

2. Place the orange roughy on the broiler pan and squeeze the lemon over the top of the fish. Broil the fillets in the preheated oven for about 6-8 minutes. (I put the fillets on aluminum foil on top of the broiler tray. I hate cleaning up!)

3. While the fish is cooking, combine the butter, parmesan cheese, dijonnaise, garlic, parsley and salt in a small bowl.

4. Remove fish from oven and spread the cheese mixture over the tops of the fillets. (I had to pour mine as I had melted the butter. Still worked.) Sprinkle the top with paprika.

5. Broil another 3 minutes or so until the topping is lightly browned and the fish flakes easily with a fork. (Mine did not brown too much because I had melted the butter.)

6. Serve! You can serve it with any vegetable or even pasta as a side. Enjoy!

Microwave Shrimp Scampi

No matter how many Italian restaurants you go to,  if you order Shrimp Scampi you will rarely get the same thing twice. I think every restaurant has their own version of this simple and delicious meal. Some bread the shrimp, some have a creamy sauce, some grill the shrimp, some have lots of garlic, others don’t. The list can go on and on. Years ago I came across a recipe for the microwave that is so simple and fast that I use it quite a bit. I also adapted it of course to my cooking style. I used to serve it over linguini. Those days are over! Now I use the Tofu Shirataki Noodles for the most part. You can also use any small pasta like orzo or even rice. Linguini or spaghetti shaped pasta, wheat or regular is always a good choice though. It’s up to you. My recipe also calls for a little more garlic than most people like, so if you are one of those who aren’t crazy about lots of garlic, just put less in. This recipe is a great “go to” recipe if you need something fast, and happen to have shrimp in the freezer. I always have shrimp on hand. I stock up. (Yes, for when our friend Andre is visiting!) No really, I actually buy my shrimp at Walmart. No joke. We have a Super Walmart where I do most of my grocery shopping. They sell a 14 ounce bag of frozen cooked and cleaned or raw, large shrimp for $5! Sometimes they have the extra-large, same 14 ounces, for $6. Everytime I go I try and get another bag. This way I always have shrimp on hand. It’s great for any unexpected guests who pop in too. Shrimp cocktail is always a winner! A quick way to defrost that bag of frozen shrimp? Just put the shrimp in a large bowl (yes take it out of the bag first) and cover with cool water. Not hot or warm water. Cool water. Check after about 10-15 minutes, if shrimp is still a little frozen, dump the water and add fresh. It shouldn’t take more than another 5 minutes. Easy! Oh and I don’t know if you are like me when it comes to “shrimp tails” but I think it is such a pain in my butt to have to stop and remove the tail while eating! Every single restaurant leaves them on. Sure they look nice but really. Do we need to make a mess trying to get that tail off and not ending up with it in our lap? I think we can forgo the tail! So in this recipe, remove the tails before cooking along with the rest of the shell! Whew, thanks for letting me vent! And now for the recipe!

Photo is for illustrative purposes only!


INGREDIENTS:

½ cup butter (or butter substitute)

2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound raw large shrimp, cleaned and DE-TAILED (you will thank me!)

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup white wine (any kind you have is fine)

Paprika (optional)

Parmesan cheese


DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt the butter in a 2 quart microwave safe bowl or casserole dish. Stir in the parsley, lemon juice, garlic, wine and salt.

2. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper or other type of cover.

3. Microwave on HIGH until shrimp is pink/opaque and tender, about 3-6 minutes, stirring twice.

4. Serve over linguine, spaghetti, orzo, rice, quinoa, or whatever you want! Sprinkle some paprika on top if desired. Serve with parmesan cheese for the top and maybe some nice crostini or Italian bread to soak up the garlic butter!

Serves 2




Baked Shrimp Quiche (Formerly Known as Baked Shrimp Balls!)

Yes, the shrimp balls did not come out so good. I followed the directions and though they looked and smelled good they tasted pretty bad. So the next night I took all 25 or so of them, crumbled them up in a large bowl. This didn’t take much as they were falling apart to begin with! They already had onions, garlic, and the rest of the ingredients so I was halfway there! I just added 1 cup of egg beaters, 1 cup fat-free half-and-half, about 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed out) and some shredded low-fat cheese. (About 2 cups). Threw it all in a large round casserole dish and baked it for about 45 minutes at 350º. And presto! A delicious dinner saved! So much better all around. And since I don’t use a crust you save more calories!

Tabouli with Quinoa

Usually I am not a big fan of mint. No mojitos for me.  And definitely none of that flourescent green mint jelly when I have lamb! That is wrong to my taste buds on so many levels. Luckily my husband is not a fan either. So many recipes have mint in them and most of the time, to me anyway, it’s too much. So when I tried Tabouli years ago I was surprised to find that there was mint in it! Imagine that! I liked it in spite of that! And now with my new favorite food, quinoa, I can have that delicious tabouli salad with a more healthy twist! It’s a refreshing and filling salad for lunch or a side dish or just for snacking in the afternoon. I will also add crumbled feta cheese to mine for a little extra zip. You can use goat cheese if you want too, anything you like really. Just don’t go crazy and kill all the good with too much cheese. Moderation! This recipe is also one time where you should have the fresh parsley rather than dried.

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water

¼ cup fresh parsley, without stems

2/3 cup green onions (scallions), cut into ¼” pieces

1½ cups peeled cucumbers, cut into ¼” pieces

1½ cups chopped tomatoes, cut into ¼” pieces

1 garlic clove, minced (no garlic powder on this)

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon dried mint (optional)

½ cup crumbled light or fat-free feta cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put quinoa in a fine strainer and rinse under running water until water runs clear. Drain well. Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Cover pan, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until water is absorbed. Quinoa will be fluffy. Chill in the refrigerator or rinse cooked quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer under COLD running water. Drain well.

2. Toss remaining ingredients with quinoa and serve!

Makes 5 cups (1 cup per serving)

Apple & Celery Slaw w/Blue Cheese Dressing

I am always looking for variations on the usual cole slaw recipes. This recipe is a light and refreshing one that is not your “usual” slaw. Using lighter versions of the ingredients lowers the calories and makes a great addition to the summer barbecue! The recipe calls for granny smith apples but feel free to change them to your favorite. Fuji apples are a great apple for this recipe as well. Not as tart as granny smith apples but just as tasty!

INGREDIENTS:

4 ounces regular or light blue cheese, crumbled

½ cup light or regular mayonnaise

½ cup light buttermilk

½ teaspoon sugar or sugar substitute (Splenda or even Agave nectar is good)

4 granny smith or fuji apples

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, using a fork, combine the blue cheese, mayonnaise and ¼ cup of the buttermilk until thick and lumpy. Stir in the remaining ¼ cup buttermilk and the sugar/sweetener. Refrigerate.

2. Quarter, core and coarsely grate the apples. In a medium bowl, combine the apples with the dressing. Stir in the celery; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 6

Tex Mex Calzone

Ok everyone, I am cheating again today. I got so far behind with doing other stuff today that the blog just got buried. I’m supposed to be making dinner right now and that will be late as well. Don’t even know for sure what it will be! Anyway, this is a recipe video on a Tex Mex Calzone. It’s ‘redone’ which means it’s made a little on the healthier side. Hope you enjoy it!

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