Tag Archives: garlic powder

Veggies Au Gratin

Welcome back and welcome to 2011! A new year to begin new resolutions and start fresh. I already started my exercise resolution today. I didn’t go to the gym but I did walk for an hour which was about 3 miles. Don’t want my body to freak out all at once. Must ease into it…

Well today’s recipe is something I threw together last week. I was looking for something different as a side dish. I think we were having a pork tenderloin or something. I actually don’t remember. Anyway, I came up with this recipe and there was enough leftover to “reinvent” it again for another night. I think it was even better the second time around! The flavors melded together much better. It is actually lower in fat and calories if you can believe it! I used fat-free half-and-half, Light Laughing Cow cheese and low-fat mozzarella. Also the flour I used to thicken it was soy flour but you can also use whole wheat or regular. The butter I used was a butter substitute also. Saving calories all over the place!!! When I “reinvented” it the second time I added cooked orzo and some leftover green beans I found in the fridge. Added a little more half-and-half and just heated it all up! Voila! Two nights! (and actually there was still a little leftover for a 3rd night for us to have a little more!)

When I made this I didn’t measure so I am guessing on the measurements here. If you need to adjust it for yourself, please do! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) package frozen broccoli and cauliflower

1 cup fat-free half-and-half

½ stick (4 tbsp) butter substitute

1½ cup soy flour

2 wedges Light Laughing Cow cheese (any flavor you like)

1 cup grated parmesan/pecorino cheese

½ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

garlic powder

DAY 2 INGREDIENTS:

½ cup uncooked orzo (cook according to package directions)

any leftover veggies in fridge

fat-free half-and-half as needed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the frozen broccoli/cauliflower in microwave on High for about 7 minutes. Drain and put into a small casserole dish. Sprinkle with garlic powder, mix and set aside.

2. Meanwhile in a medium sauce pot add butter and half-and-half and stir until butter is melted. Add the flour and continue cooking on medium-heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and there are no lumps in the flour, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Add the Laughing Cow cheese and stir until melted completely. If it’s chopped into small pieces it will melt faster. Add the grated cheese and mozzarella cheese and stir until melted.

4. Add cheese mixture to the vegetables in the casserole dish and mix well until all vegetables are covered.

5. Place in preheated 350º oven and bake until cheese is bubbly and browned. This should be about 30 minutes or so. Check after 30 minutes to be sure.

DAY 2:

1. Cook the orzo according to package, drain and add to leftover Au Gratin mix. Add a little more half-and-half and cheese as needed to make it a little more creamy. Heat in medium saucepan stirring occasionally. Make sure it doesn’t stick to pan.

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!

Baked Eggplant Italiano

This is my  version of a healthier eggplant parmigiana dish. Yes it can be done! I did not use any breadcrumbs and I didn’t fry the eggplant. That is where most of the fat and calories come from. Don’t get me wrong, I love the old-fashioned breaded and fried version of this dish but I just can’t have the extra fat and calories anymore. Plus it takes forever to fry it all! Next in line with the fat is the cheese used. I used a shredded, reduced fat 4 cheese Italian mix. It has reduced fat mozzarella, smoked provolone, Asiago and Romano cheese. It’s made with 2% milk so it has 33% less fat and 10% fewer calories than the full fat version. I broiled the slices of eggplant on a cookie sheet under the broiler and only sprayed them with olive oil cooking spray. The dish came out great. It is very filling even without all the extra bread crumbs! I really enjoy eggplant and this time I remembered to make it pretty soon after I bought it. I have a tendency to buy it and forget it’s in the refrigerator for days. Then when I go to use it, it’s all brown and spotty inside. Yuck! So this time I bought it and cooked it the next day! Remember when buying an eggplant the top crown should be green and not brown. Brown is bad, means it’s been there a while and not fresh. By the way, the leftovers are just as good as the first time too! (I started to cut the eggplant before I remembered to take a picture)

INGREDIENTS:

1 large eggplant

olive oil cooking spray

marinara or your choice of pasta sauce

Parmesan cheese, grated

garlic powder

2 cups reduced fat shredded Italian cheese of choice (Sargento’s 4 Italian Cheese is great)


DIRECTIONS:

1. Peel eggplant. Slice it lengthwise or if you prefer, round. For this recipe I sliced it lengthwise.

2. Set your oven to broil and place the rack about 4 inches under the broiler. Spray 1-2 cookie sheets with the cooking spray.

3. Place eggplant in a single layer onto cookie sheets. Spray tops of eggplant with cooking spray and sprinkle with garlic powder. Broil eggplant 4-5 minutes on each side. When you flip the eggplant spray again with cooking spray. Keep an eye on the slices as they can easily burn. They should be lightly browned on the edges and soft. Do this until all eggplant is broiled. After eggplant is done, move the rack to the middle and set your oven to 350º.

4. In a square Pyrex or other oven proof baking dish put a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish. Lay eggplant slices on bottom slightly overlapping till you have one layer. It should take about 3 large slices. Next add sauce to top of eggplant and spread a thin layer over it. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and about ¼ cup of the shredded cheese. Place another layer of eggplant, again overlapping slightly. I placed this layer in the other direction to give it more stability. Again apply sauce and cheeses. Continue until you have no eggplant left. Finish with shredded cheese on top.

5. Place the dish into the 350º oven and bake until sauce is bubbling and the cheese is all melted. About 15-20 minutes should do it. Remove from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes to let the sauce set up. It’s ok if it’s a little runny. Cut and serve!

This dish is great with a nice salad on the side or even a small dish of pasta.

Serves 2-4

Emeril’s Seasonings at Home

Everyone is familiar with Emeril and his TV shows, books, food, restaurants and so on. Years ago he listed some of his spice recipes we could make at home by ourselves. I have made them in the past and they are of course terrific. Today I am going to give everyone the recipes for his Creole and Southwest Spice seasonings. They are very easy to make on your own and there is nothing weird or crazy in them so you will be able to find all the spices in your grocery stores or spice stores. Just remember to store them in airtight containers, especially in climates that can be humid, like Florida! All of the ingredients are ‘dried’ spices/herbs as well.

Emeril’s Creole Seasoning (shown below)

INGREDIENTS:

2½ tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon thyme

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients, mix thoroughly and store in an airtight container.

Makes about 2/3 cup

Emeril’s Southwest Seasoning Spice

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container.

Makes about ½ cup

Crockpot Lemon Chicken

I was swamped today so I cannot take credit for this recipe. I got it from “The Hillbilly Housewife”. Check her site by clicking on her crockpot icon on the side of this page.  It used the ‘crockpot’ as stated and makes a great dinner when you don’t have the time. The recipe is easy and mindless, which is something we need every so often! Plus it’s healthy and full of protein! So enjoy!


INGREDIENTS:

4 chicken breast boneless skinless (about 25 oz)
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp light butter
2 cloves garlic minced
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp no sodium chicken bouillon granules

DIRECTIONS:

Start by cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces. Mine are roughly 1 inch square. The chicken will shrink as it cooks, so keep the chunks a little larger than you would like them to be in the end. As always when you are working with raw chicken, be sure to wipe down all surfaces, cutting boards and knifes well.

Get out a medium-sized bowl and pour the flour and spices in it. Add the chicken pieces and cover them to coat all sides with the flour.

Get out a large pan and add the oil and butter. I’m using the butter for flavor and the oil for the higher cooking temperature. If you are watching your budget, you may omit the butter and use a little more oil instead. Put the pan on medium high until all the butter has melted.

Take the chicken out of the flour mixture, shaking off any extra flour as you go and drop them into the hot grease. I usually cook this in two batches. Cook the chicken for a few minutes until it has a chance to brown nicely on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and put it in your crockpot.

Pour the water and lemon juice in the pan you cooked the chicken in and add the garlic and bullion. Stir them to combine and use your spatula to scrape the bits of chicken and flour mixture off the bottom of the pan. They will help thicken the sauce as it cooks. Pour this mixture over the chicken in the crockpot.

Close the lid and cook everything on low for about 3 hours. Remove the lid and cook on high for 30 to 40 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.

I serve this with brown rice and a green vegetable like broccoli or green beans. In the summer I serve it with a mixed salad.

Southwestern Five-Bean Soup

Even though the temperatures are pretty high right now it’s always a good time for soup. Soup can be lunch with sandwich or salad or a meal on its own. Either way it’s a good, hearty meal with lots of fiber and vitamins! This soup is great on its own but you can also add rice or small pasta to it. I love soup because it is usually very easy to make and I only need to use one pot for the most part! Less to clean up is a good thing! Using canned beans is a fast way to a hearty dinner or lunch. With all of us so busy these days it’s nice to have a shortcut to dinner.

For illustrative purposes only

INGREDIENTS:
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained

1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, drained

1 can (15 oz.) chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained

1 can (15 oz.) red beans, drained

1 can (15 oz.) white beans, drained

1 can (14-15 oz.) chopped tomatoes (I like fire roasted)

1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth

3/4 cup chunky salsa

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon garlic powder


DIRECTIONS:

1. Puree the black beans in a blender or food processor.

2. In a large pot, stir together all the remaining beans, tomatoes, broth, salsa, cumin, red pepper flakes, and garlic.

3. Stir in the pureed black beans. Simmer for 10 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally.

Makes 8 servings

Sour Cream & Onion Tilapia

I made this dish for the first time last night and it was incredibly delicious! Quick, easy and healthy. Usually when I make tilapia I fry it with panko bread crumbs but I had just cleaned the stove and didn’t want the mess of oil all over it again! So I looked around online for tilapia recipes that were baked. I found quite a bit but none of them had everything I wanted so I took a little bit from a few of them and came up with this recipe. There were no leftovers and there was a request to make it again! Always a good thing! It is a light and refreshing twist on a baked fish dish. And did I mention it was really easy and quick? I wish I had leftovers for lunch! Cleanup was also a snap because it was all in one dish. I just served it with some veggies and dinner was served!

Sour Cream & Onion Tilapia

INGREDIENTS:

6-8 tilapia fillets

salt and pepper

½ cup light sour cream

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill (1 tsp dried)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (1 tsp dried)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Parmesan Cheese for topping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350º. Grease or spray a 13×9 inch baking dish or baking dish large enough to hold the tilapia in a single layer.

2. Place tilapia in the baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Combine remaining ingredients (except for parmesan cheese) and spread evenly over the fillets. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese evenly over the fillets.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. When done you can broil for a couple of minutes to brown the cheese on top if you wish.

Serves 3-4

Andrea’s Delicious Chicken Salad

I have made this recipe for many years now. I have adjusted things here and there and have finally settled on what works best for us. In this recipe I prefer to use leftover cooked chicken instead of canned chicken. We love getting those huge Perdue rotisserie chickens at BJ’s Wholesale Club for only $4.99! And these chickens are huge. I believe they are about 3 pounds! Definitely more than the scrawny ones you get at the supermarket for twice the price! And with just two of us we always have leftover chicken. So I pick the bones clean of any meat and chop it up with the rest of the leftovers. If I’m in the mood I can make it right away but I usually wait till the next morning to make the salad. It’s best if it can sit for a few hours for all the flavors to blend.  I got the name “Delicious Chicken Salad” from our friend Beverly who is a former co-worker of John’s. He used to share his lunch and everyone loved the chicken salad. I did make it from time to time with canned chicken breast only because I didn’t always have leftover chicken handy. It is so much better with fresh chicken though. If you only have a little bit of chicken leftover adjust the mayonnaise and other ingredients to fit.

Andrea's Famous Chicken Salad

INGREDIENTS:
Leftover cooked chicken breast/dark meat (About 2 cups or so)
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
1 scallion, green and white parts, finely chopped
¾ cup Hellmann’s light mayonnaise
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish sauce (not plain horseradish)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. Chop up the chicken into small chunks. Add rest of ingredients and mix well. If you need more mayonnaise add a little at a time.
2. Let chill for an hour or more.

Juicy Soy & Garlic Infused Pork Chops

Yes there is such a thing as juicy pork chops. If you cook them the right way that is! My recipe is simple and takes only about 12 minutes to cook. I marinate them in the ingredients listed below a few hours or more before cooking. The longer the better. I make these quite a lot especially since I can get them at such a great price at BJ’s Wholesale Club. Using boneless pork loin chops also makes them juicier as they have a little fat on them.

Soy & Garlic Infused Pork Chops w/Cold Peanut Sesame Noodles

INGREDIENTS:

4 boneless pork loin chops (I usually get the ones that are about 1½-2 inches thick)

garlic powder

soy sauce (I use the light version)

paprika

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place pork chops in a container with a lid so they can be put in fridge to marinate. Poke  the pork chops with fork several times on both sides. This is so the soy sauce is infused better into the chops.

2. Sprinkle the pork chops liberally with the garlic powder and paprika on both sides.

3. Shake the soy sauce onto both sides of the pork chops until they are well coated and you have soy sauce in the bottom of container. Make sure they are all well coated.

4. Put in refrigerator for 2 hours or more. You can turn them once if you like to make sure the soy sauce gets all over.

5. Spray a broiling pan with cooking spray. Place pork chops on broiling pan and broil on high about 4 inches from the heat. Broil for 6 minutes and turn. Broil for another 6 minutes. Check the chops to make sure they are cooked through. You can use a meat thermometer also. I usually just cut them in the middle a little. If they need more cooking just cook for another minute. You don’t want to over cook!

Basic Chili Seasoning

Just as promised, here is a basic chili seasoning mix you can make at home! It’s easy and as with the taco seasoning you probably have these ingredients at home. About ¼ cup of the mix is usually good for chili, but add more if you want. I never buy the pre-packaged mix from the store anymore! Again if you don’t like it too hot put in less of the chili powder. Have fun with it!

Andrea's Black & Red Chili

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup paprika

3 tablespoons seasoning salt

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons ground cayenne pepper (red pepper)

2 tablespoons seasoned pepper

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons  dried oregano


DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl mix all ingredients together. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: About 1 cup of seasoning.

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