Waist, Not! Dessert

I conjured up this little light fluffy dessert the other day while playing in the kitchen.  I had a whole container of beautiful raspberries, I love raspberries, and I also had a container of blackberries.  I mashed together a handful of each in a bowl, then folded in some fat free whipped topping.  Divided it into two bowls, one for the hubby and one for yours truly, then topped it with more whipped topping and fresh berries.  Delicious, light and fresh, and your waistline will thank you!

Quick And Easy Shrimp Stir Fry

What an awful day shoveling snow!  My driveway is about an 1/8 of a mile long, and then the parking area of the driveway is 3 cars wide!  Uggggh! I hate the snow, it needs to move along and leave us alone.  I am beginning to think I live in Alaska, enough already.  After helping to shovel the thick, white, fluffy, heavy, about 1 inch of ice underneath snow, my hubby was running the big snowblower, the boys were cleaning off the cars and shoveling too, I had to cook dinner.  I needed something fast for for hungry mouths.  Freezer and pantry time!  What's in there to cook?  After browsing around - Shrimp Stir Fry.  This is how I made it.

I found this frozen bag of Stir Fry Veggies that I got at Costco.  Stir Fried them up in a little Sesame Oil.

 Found some frozen shrimp, ran them under warm water to semi-thaw them.  Sprayed another fry pan with cooking spray and while the veggies were cooking, I got my seasoned with pepper shrimp started.  Then I got the water boiling for the Basmati rice, oooh that rice is good!

 Combined my cooked shrimp with the veggies and poured about 1/2 cup of this great tasting sauce over all and simmered it.

 Sprinkled on some sesame seeds and plated up my rice.  It's as white as the snow outside!

My dinner, all done in about 1/2 hour, and enjoyed by all the hungry mouths I had to feed.  It was delicious.

It's Touchdown Time, Get Ready To Eat!

Super Bowl Sunday is always party time in this house with three men living here. My boys always have a get together with friends and lots of food.  This year, I did not go over the top with food as in previous years, I am keeping it simple, as long as their bellies are full they'll be happy.  Here is a sampling of my TOUCHDOWN menu!

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches with Hot Roasted Peppers, Provolone and American Cheeses, Macaroni Salad and a variety of Pizzas.

 Hot Wings with Blue Cheese, Celery Sticks and Hot Sauce.

 Little Pigs in a Blanket with Ketchup and Mustard.  I also served a Buffalo Chicken Dip with Baguette Slices, Chili Cheese Dip with Corn Chips, Chips and Homemade Onion Dip, Taco Dip and Tortilla Chips.

 And not to forget dessert - Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brownie Bites and Homemade Peanut Butter Tandy Takes.

Faked Out Hamburgers

Ahhh.... The Portobello  Mushroom, gotta love them.  They are tasty, meaty and you can prepare them so many ways.  Now that I have a vegetarian in the house, I try to find new ways for things he can eat.  I found these huge portobello mushroom caps, on a trip to Wegman's, that I could make burgers out of.  I am also eating lighter, so I picked out two of them.  The hubby had a regular beef burger, he won't eat these, he is a meat and potato kind of guy.  I sprayed my grill pan (my new best friend), heated it on medium high heat, cleaned the gills and the stem from the mushrooms, seasoned with a little salt, pepper and garlic powder and placed them top side down in the pan.  Grill for about 2 - 3 minutes, until nice grill marks appear, flip it over and do the same on the other side.  Looks like a regular old beef burger doesn't it?  These babies are juicy, tender and taste great on a deli flat, with fat free cheese, lettuce, tomato and sliced red onion.  You can make it your own burger by adding whatever you like. I served mine with a huge bowl of salad with balsamic and olive oil dressing for dinner.  I didn't sacrifice any flavor with my faked out hamburgers, just fat and calories!

Veggin' Out!

Fresh vegetables are healthier for you, when you can get them.  I love vegetables, and I think the only one I will not eat is okra.  Everything else, I am all in.  I make them a lot of different ways, but my favorite is to roast them in the oven.  I made this whole baking sheet of vegetables for dinner the other night with the thought of leftovers, to use with pasta or just to eat as a snack.  They are tender, tasty and good for me.  I tossed together fresh green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, yellow zucchini, green zucchini, fennel and red onion. Then it was time for the flavor - fresh parsley, fresh thyme, fennel fronds, sage, salt and pepper.  I drizzled on 3 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil and roasted them at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. My vegetables were crispy (vegetables should not be mushy when you bite in to them), tender, full of flavor and I did not use a lot of oil.

Wash and clean all of the vegetable you are going to use.  Spread them out on a baking sheet.  Toss with the herbs, salt and pepper.

Drizzle on the olive oil and toss again.  Roast in the oven at 350 degrees and serve.  Use any of your leftovers for pasta or to snack on.

Browsing The Market

I admit I am a foodie.  I love food, anything that has to do with food, cooking shows, cook books, collecting recipes, cooking and baking for my family, I am over the top.  I clip recipes just to clip them, not necessarily to make them.  It's a crazy obsession of mine.  Another crazy thing I do, I love to go to the market, see what's new, read labels, get good deals and sales.  I can spend hours in the store just looking, and maybe only buy a few items.  I went to Wegman's over the weekend, it's such a wonderful store, my favorite place, and was looking for interesting vegetables, things I have never tried before.  I found chopped escarole,  I didn't know what I was going to do with it, maybe put it in soup or a salad.  Escarole is a hearty green, that is part of the endive family, and is loaded with folic acid, fiber and vitamins A and K.  It can be tossed in a salad, lightly cooked or tossed into a soup.  I used the escarole to make a simple salad.  I used two plum tomatoes, an English cucumber, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.  A simple salad that was tasty, packed with nutrients and was good for me.  

Also while browsing the food market, I found these tasty little buggers and I had a great coupon!  French fries, who doesn't love them?  Well, now you can have them without all that fat attached to them, that would eventually be attached to you!  Check them out in the frozen potato section.

Waste Not Want Not - Two Way Meal

Grilled filet's are a favorite of ours.  We only make them maybe twice a year, so I always try to come up with good leftover ideas, if there are any leftovers.  You do not want to waste this cut of beef.  I grilled four of them last night, I did the cook top version of them.  I sprayed my grill pan, seasoned the filet's with salt and pepper and let them sizzle in the pan.  In a large frying pan, that I also sprayed with cooking spray, I cooked one large onion cut in very thick slices, and some baby portobello mushroom caps.  I let the onion caramelize, then I threw in the mushrooms.  In the meantime, I had asparagus roasting in the oven with garlic and a little olive oil.  Dinner was served and it was fabulous!  But I still had leftovers, portion control is good for me because I would have eaten a whole filet myself.  What should I do with the rest of the meat? So I got out my Light Flatout Wraps and decided to make my hubby a cheesteak wrap, to take to work for lunch the next day, he can heat it in the microwave there.  I sliced down the tender beef filet, added some American cheese and the grilled onions.  I will be having the same for lunch, only mine will have fat free cheese on it!  One cut of beef, two ways, nothing is wasted and dinner and lunch tasted like restaurant gourmet, without the price.