Recipes

Faux-Fried Mozzarella Sticks

I just found this recipe while going through my emails and thought it was a perfect addition to a holiday weekend.  A quick, easy snack that isn’t loaded with fat and calories. Who doesn’t love mozzarella sticks? I always say you can fry anything and it will taste good. But this recipe bakes the sticks and it still seems like it is fried. I think it’s because the panko bread crumbs make everything much crisper and tastier! Love panko bread crumbs in our house! (Yes, we should marry them!) To go to the original link click on Chef Meg’s “Fried” Cheese Sticks.

I always have the part-skim mozzarella sticks in the house. They are a great quick snack and it won’t kill your appetite or diet. I will make up a batch soon and add my own picture to the page. But for now I thank Chef Meg at SparkPeople for the photo I have added here. Also if you have Italian flavored panko bread crumbs you can use them instead of the plain and herb seasoning. Saves a step.

INGREDIENTS:

4 light string cheese sticks

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup panko bread crumbs(Japanese bread crumbs)

½ cup egg substitute (or 2 egg whites)

1½ tablespoons Chef Meg’s Italian Herb Seasoning Blend

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375º F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the flour onto a small plate.

2. Cut the cheese sticks in half. Roll each cheese stick in the flour.

3. Place breadcrumbs and Italian herb blend in a small container with a lid or zipper-top bag; set aside. Pour egg substitute into a shallow dish. Using one hand, roll the floured cheese sticks in the egg mixture. One at a time, using your other (dry) hand, transfer the cheese sticks to the bread crumb mixture and shake to coat. Using the dry hand, remove from the crumb mixture and place on the baking pan. Continue until all cheese sticks are breaded. Spritz each cheese stick with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted.

If desired, dunk these cheese sticks in low-sodium tomato sauce (calories not included).

Makes 4 two-stick servings.

Red Quinoa w/Broccoli & Feta Cheese

Well I’m now in my third week of the new job. Still exhausted from standing for 8 hours a day, in shoes! The blogs won’t be done every day as before but I am working on it.

I had some red quinoa in the pantry and since we haven’t had it in a while I came up with a quick side dish. I had just bought some fresh broccoli so I incorporated it into the mix. This was a pretty simple recipe and it came out great. We have enough for leftovers! I served it with roasted chicken breasts and it was delicious. We prefer to eat it hot/warm but it can also be eaten cold. It’s your choice.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup red quinoa, rinsed

2 cups water or chicken broth

2 cups chopped broccoli florets

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 tablespoons roasted garlic butter (see recipe)

½ cup fat-free crumbled feta cheese

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small saucepan add the rinsed quinoa and water/broth. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered for about 20-25 minutes. Or until all the liquid is absorbed.

2. Meanwhile  in a medium saucepan add the olive oil and garlic and sauté until golden brown. Add the chopped broccoli and sauté for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and chop finely on a cutting board.

3. Add broccoli and roasted garlic butter to cooked quinoa and mix well, till butter is melted in. Add the feta cheese and mix well. Serve!

Mexican Shrimp

This recipe I originally got from my former Weight Watchers leader many years ago. She was always giving us such wonderful easy recipes. Once I get back to Weight Watchers (when I save up some up some money from the new job) I will be sure to get more! I think the original recipe she gave us was good for one person so I am doubling the ingredients to make it enough for two people. I have made it before and it is delicious. Of course I do not have a photo but once I make it again I will add it to the post. So without any further rambling I will get to the recipe. I find I tend to ramble more these days now that I’m back to working and much more tired than before. Not sure if it’s a good thing or not. See, I’m doing it again.


INGREDIENTS:

½ cup brown rice, cooked

2 cups tomato sauce

2 cups diced tomato

4 tablespoons salsa (your choice)

1 chili powder (add more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

4 tablespoons chopped green olives

1 cup corn (canned is fine)

8 ounces shrimp, cleaned

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the tomato sauce, chopped tomato, salsa, chili powder, olives, and corn in a large saucepan.

2. Add the shrimp and cook until pink.

3. Add the rice and heat through.

Serve hot!

Roasted Garlic Mayo & Butter

So I am in week two of being back to work. I’m still trying to get organized so today’s blog will be brief. I’ve been on a garlic roasting binge lately and I am using it in everything. I have now made roasted garlic butter and roasted garlic mayonnaise.Both delicious and not so strong because the roasting mellow the flavor. Yes they both look similar but they are very different and very tasty!

Roasted Garlic Butter

INGREDIENTS:

1 head of roasted garlic

1 cup softened butter/butter substitute

DIRECTIONS:

Put ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth.

Roasted Garlic Mayo

INGREDIENTS:

1 head of roasted garlic

1 cup light mayonnaise (or regular)

DIRECTIONS:

Put ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth.

Cobb Salad Dip

Well seems like my attempts at getting the blog done earlier with the new job isn’t working out. Today anyway. I thought I did it and then realized that was the day before! My brain is still adjusting to all of this.

I think pretty much everyone likes a good Cobb Salad. But with Super Bowl coming up I wanted something different to add this year. Salad is too healthy for Super Bowl snacking so this is the next best thing. Cobb Salad as a dip! Minus the lettuce of course. You can serve it with celery stick if you want but it will go best with  crackers or pita chips! Yum…. I will be making this myself for the first time this weekend so I will swap out the picture for my own when I do.


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup light sour cream

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 2 ounces)

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 medium avocado, finely chopped about 1 1/3 cups, cut just before serving

¼ cup thinly sliced scallions

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

4 pieces bacon, well-browned and crumbled

DIRECTIONS:

Step 1: This can be done up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated in a covered container. Stir briefly and finish with step 2.

Place sour cream, blue cheese, lemon juice, salt and Worcestershire in a medium nonreactive bowl and stir until well combined.

Step 2: Fold in avocado, scallions, and parsley, transfer to a shallow serving dish and top with bacon. Serve with celery sticks or assorted crackers, chips, etc.

Bloody Mary Breakfast Bake

Well being back at work after 18 months is beyond exhausting. The main thing is I am now in an office job! Haven’t had an office job for 7 years! I LOVED my last job, I worked from home on my schedule. It was wonderful. But alas, our economy had other ideas. Either way I am now in my first week back and I’m so tired every night I barely have time to read emails. I am going to do my best to get the blog done without fail though. I’m sure once I get back in a routine I will be fine. But till then please bear with me! Thanks.

Ok, this recipe I found in a Rachael Ray magazine but it’s also a recipe from CorningWare. I have not made this yet but it looks pretty easy and I plan to do this next time I have brunch or company stay over on the weekend. I love a good Bloody Mary so this sounded intriguing. No there is no vodka in it but that doesn’t mean you can’t make an actual Bloody Mary to go with it!  It’s an easy recipe so give it a try. I will swap out the photo once I make it myself! The recipe says to use a 1.5 quart square casserole but you can use a longer one also.

Photo is for illustrative purposes only

INGREDIENTS:

8 slices soft light white sandwich bread, crusts removed

3 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

9 large eggs (or egg substitute 2¼ cups)

2 cups low-milk or fat-free half-and-half

½ teaspoon celery salt

1 jar salsa (16 ounces), your choice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Grease a 1.5 quart square casserole dish. Arrange 2½ slices of bread in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle 1/3 cup shredded cheese on top and cover with another 2½ slices of bread.

2. Layer on another 1/3 cup shredded cheese and top with the final 3 pieces of bread.

3. In a medium bowl, beat eggs, milk and celery salt. Pour over the bread layer; let stand.

4. Bake in a 375º oven for 40-45 minutes, then cover with salsa, sprinkle with remaining pepper jack cheese and bake for 5 minutes more.

5. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 12

Crabmeat Bisque

Normally when see “bisque” on a menu I automatically think of all the fat and calories in it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s usually delicious but I can’t take all those calories. This recipe is a lighter version and it’s very easy to make. A great soup for a cold wintry night after a long day of work. Serve it with a nice crusty loaf of bread and it can be a meal in itself. I use fat-free products in this but feel free to use the regular versions. For a variation you can substitute shrimp or lobster meat for the crabmeat also.

(Again I don’t have a picture of the soup when I made it but I will post one as soon as I make it again)

For illustrative purposes only!!

INGREDIENTS:

1 can (10¾ ounces) condensed fat-free cream of chicken soup

1 can (6 ounces) crabmeat, rinsed and drained

1 soup can of skim milk, light cream, or fat-free half-and-half

1 tablespoon dry sherry

chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, stir together the soup, crabmeat and milk. Heat through.

2. Add the sherry and heat until hot, but do NOT boil. Garnish with chopped parsley.

**VARIATIONS: Substitute 1 can (4½ ounces) deveined shrimp, rinsed and drained, for the crabmeat. Or 6 ounces cooked lobster meat for the crabmeat.

Makes about 3½ cups or 2 moderate servings.

Shrimp Salsa

Okay, I need to make another resolution. ALWAYS TAKE PICTURES OF THE FOOD AT MY PARTIES!!! This recipe I have made before but of course it was PB (Pre-Blog). Of course I never took pictures of the food because for the most part, why would I? Well now I will. Even if it’s with my cell phone. But until I make this again I do not have an actual picture of it. Use your imagination.

This week also marks my venture back into the workforce outside my house. I worked at home for 6 years and going back into an office is going to be a bit shocking to my system. So I am trying to get the week’s blogs done earlier so that if I am too tired I will still have the blog. If anything earth-shattering happens that I need to post I will add it to the next day’s blog. And since I may not be near a computer during the day as I am now, I will approve comments when I get home. Please bear with me. I normally don’t like to have to approve all comments but there has been a ton of spam lately and I don’t want anything slipping by. Thanks! So without further ado here is today’s post.

This salsa is a great side dish for the upcoming Super Bowl weekend. It’s easy, fast and very healthy for you! I know, healthy and Super Bowl usually don’t go together but why not? Who says it can’t? It can be served with tortilla chips so it won’t be a shock to the Super Bowl system. I would also suggest using endive leaves as a “chip” to eat this. Very tasty and still crunchy. It’s a very colorful salsa and will be a huge hit.

Photo is for illustrative purposes only. This is not the exact photo for recipe but it's close.

INGREDIENTS:

½ pound peeled, cooked shrimp, coarsely chopped

1½  cups salsa (your choice)

4 scallions, green and white parts, thinly sliced

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

¼ cup minced cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 garlic clove, minced

½ teaspoon dried oregano

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Refrigerate, covered, until flavors are blended, at least an hour.

Serve with tortilla chips, endive, or whatever you choose.

Liquid Raspberry Truffle

I know today’s post will be short. I’ve been fighting a cold all week and I start my new job on Monday so I’ve been crazed. I am going to try and get next week’s blogs done before I start working just in case I’m too tired after rejoining the working world. So bear with me next week!

This little cocktail is more like a dessert with a kick! It great for after dinner. And it’s such a pretty color too! But when you get past the color you’ll find it very tasty. Just be careful because they are stronger than you think!

INGREDIENTS:

2 ounces raspberry vodka

2 ounces Godiva chocolate liqueur

2 ounces Chambord

2 splashes heavy cream

cocoa powder/chocolate shavings

DIRECTIONS:

In a cocktail shaker with ice, shake the ingredients. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Sprinkle top with cocoa powder or chocolate shavings.

Makes 2 cocktails

**Variation: For a frosty version, combine the ingredients in a blender with 1 cup crushed ice. Or for a creamier drink 1 cup vanilla ice cream and blend until smooth. Pour into a chilled wine glass.

You can dip the rims of the chilled cocktail glasses into a shallow bowl of chocolate liqueur, then rim with unsweetened cocoa powder.

Spiced Carrot Strips

As promised here is the recipe I make with the Honey-Glazed Chicken. Carrots are one of my favorite vegetables and this is another very easy recipe to make. It only takes about 8-10 minutes to cook so it’s fast as well. Great way to get kids to eat veggies too. I remember as a kid having plain frozen sliced carrots. Maybe with a little butter. Boring!!! This recipe is much more exciting. Well as exciting as carrots can get anyway! No strange ingredients either. Give it a try, even if you don’t like carrots. You may change your mind!

INGREDIENTS:

5 large carrots, julienned or cut into thin sticks

2 tablespoons butter/butter substitute, melted

1 tablespoon sugar/sugar substitute

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place carrots in a saucepan and cover with water.

2. Cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain.

3. Combine the butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon and pour over the carrots. Toss to coat.

Serve immediately.

Makes 4-6 servings

1 … 6 7 8 … 33
Blog at WordPress.com.
Dining with Donald

Cruise Ship Recipes at Home

How do I Make That?

Rachael Ray

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Joanne Eats Well With Others

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Garlic Girl

It's Not Just Popcorn!

BuzzFeed - Tasty

It's Not Just Popcorn!

An Edible Mosaic™

It's Not Just Popcorn!

StephenKing.com - Latest News

It's Not Just Popcorn!

The Penny Hoarder

Food52

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Big Bear's Wife

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Ocean of Games- Free Download PC Games

It's Not Just Popcorn!

John Heald's Blog

The Weekend Gourmet

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Skinnytaste

It's Not Just Popcorn!

What's Cooking at the Genua's?

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Marla Meridith - MarlaMeridith.com

www.chef-in-training.com/

The Pioneer Woman

Simply Recipes

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Budget Bytes

rasamalaysia.com

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Homemade In The Kitchen

Small Batch Recipes and Recipes For Two

overdeepblueseas

OVER DEEP BLUE SEAS BLOG @ WordPress.com

Sluggo's Escapades

What's Sluggo up to today?

Not Rachael Ray Blog

My Bizzy Kitchen

RavieNomNoms

A Girl, Her Blog, and Lots of Food Pictures!