Basa Tacos

My family and I are continuing to enjoy Basa fish. This week we decided to take it south of the border. At first I was planning on making Basa with a little salsa and beans on the side. Phil came up with the great idea of turning this in to tacos--with lettuce for the taco shells. It was perfect. Thanks for another great one, babe.

Basa Fresh Tacos

4 pieces of Basa Fish

1 lime

salt and pepper

1 head Romaine lettuce

1 can black beans

1 pkg frozen corn

Salsa

Sour Cream

1. First lets prep the lime. Zest about 2 TBSP and set aside. Cut the lime in half. Leave one side cut in half and cut the other into wedges.

2. Prep the fish for the broiler or grill. Lay it flat, salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with the 1/2 of the lime zest. Squeeze the juice of the half lime over the fish. Cook through.

3. Use the Romaine leaves as the taco shells. Cut the cooked fish and layer into the lettuce leaf. Top your taco with your choice. We used salsa, a small amount of sour cream and hot sauce for the hubs.

4. Mix the corn and black beans together and cook in microwave until cooked through. Mix in salt and pepper to taste and the remaining lime zest. This would be great on the tacos too.

Such a fresh way to eat tacos. No heavy mexican food regret after this meal. Today for lunch, I took the left over beans and corn, chopped a few leaves of romaine and tossed both with salsa and a little sour cream. Healthy and full of protein and veggies with a hint of lime from the beans/corn mix. It was delicious.

Enjoy!

Fresh Herbs from the Garden

Let me take a minute to say...this girl has never had fresh anything grow at her house. The previous owners of our home grew chives, mint, citronella (which I thought was more mint) and pineapple mint (I really need to investigate what the heck that is). Odd combo, but hey...who am I to judge.

I have to say that there is nothing like eating fresh herbs from your garden. I have been going outside in the morning and cutting chives to mix in with our morning scrambled egg whites--back on a healthy eating kick. Some chives chopped, a little salt and pepper, a pinch of sharp cheddar. Best breakfast or lunch. It is so simple, low cal and really good. Plus, its the idea that these grew at home and I just had to grab them. I love it! The picture below is with sun-dried tomatoes added--gotta love the iphone...pictures anywhere!

The mint is another story...I am not known to use mint when I cook. I often find it very overwhelming. The only thing I know to do with it is Mojitos. While my husband does love when I make pitchers of Mojitos...I have enough mint to sell at a farmers market and make Mojitos every day of the week. It keeps multiplying and spreading and is now thigh high (I am only 5'1"). Have a great mint recipe? Feel free to share in the comments section or stop by and pick some for yourself! :-)

The herbs did get me thinking of all the herbs I use and how much I pay for them. So, Phil and I went to the Farmers Market in our little town and bought cilantro, rosemary and basil. We found some heirloom tomatoes that I was totally psyched about and then Phil added in some jalapeno plants. I guess we now officially have a garden! Maybe we will even put compost on it since the previous owners left a big compost maker too. (kinda scared of "stranger" compost to be honest)

I need to get all the plants in the ground and then watch them grow. I am excited by the idea of going outside and getting more organic herbs and veggies for the meals I make my family. This is shaping up to be a great summer.

Basa Fish--YUM!

I have been intrigued the last few weeks at my fish counter by a fish called Basa. It is super cheap! Which intrigues and yet concerns me. A woman actually came up to me at the counter and started telling me how much she loves it (yep, small town livin') I asked her how she typically prepares it and she says "I dip it in mayonnaise and then breadcrumbs. I fry it in just a tiny bit of oil." SIGH...not quite what I was looking for. I love that she is worried about how much oil she is using when she dips the fish in straight up mayo. To each their own. She was a sweet older lady and I wouldn't have likely bought the Basa without her recommendation.

I brought the fish home and then did a little research. It is a member of the catfish family raised in Vietnam. There looks like this fish went through some controversy during 2000-2001.

I figured I would put this fish to the ultimate test. I was not going to panko it and hide the taste, I was going to grill it and see what happens. A big gamble for fish.

Here is what I did

Lemon Basa Fish
4 pieces of Basa (skinned and deboned into filets by the fish counter)
1 lemon and the zest
handful of chopped fresh cilantro or flat leaf parsley, chopped
A sprinkle of McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning

Wash the fish and pat dry. Lie out in your grill fish basket (only seasoning one side so not to overpower white fish). I grated the zest of the lemon over the fish filets and sprinkled each one with the seasoning and the chopped herbs. Pat down to stick to fish. Add a slice of lemon to each piece and close the fish basket tight. USE A FISH BASKET. This fish is very light and flakey and would totally fall apart on its own on the grill. I cooked the fish for 4 minutes on each side until it felt firm in the middle.

I am so mad I didn't take pictures of this recipe!! It looked beautiful and delicious and it was! Bailey was the first one to say he loved it. Phil took the leftover piece for lunch today. It was a success. Very mild tasting and it took on the herbs and seasoning very well. The lemon just brightened the flavors.

I served it with my Caprese style salad that I have made in a previous post. This time I used roma tomato and mozzarella chopped to similar sizes. I added ribbons of fresh basil and a slight drizzle of White Balsamic Vinagrette (found with the cold salad dressings at the market).

Such a healthy dinner. Yet the fish had such great taste the meal was filling and perfect for a spring night. I will definitely make this fish again!

Yoplait Greek Yogurt--healthy snack ideas

I am currently in love with Yoplait Greek Yogurt. (NO, I have not been contacted by Yoplait for this. I was curious about this yogurt, paid for the yogurt with my own money)

Back to the yogurt....Let's run through some impressive stats on the plain variety: 100 calories, 0 grams fat, 9 grams sugar, 14 grams of protein!!! That is not a typo. This yogurt contains more than 2x the amount of protein in regular yogurt and has 35% of your daily calcium.

This yogurt comes in two flavors: plain and honey/vanilla. The honey vanilla had a tinge of that artificial vanilla flavor. My favorite was the plain. After experimenting with add ins I came up with a delicious, healthy and all natural way to eat it. This yogurt has a thick and very creamy texture. It is more of an adult yogurt than some of them with tons of sugary fruit mixed in. REMEMBER: plain yogurt makes a great substitue for sour cream in any dish. You will never know the difference and you will add a lot of protein to your favorite mexican dish or even baked potatoes.

Honey Date Yogurt
1 60z cup Yoplait Greek Plain Yogurt
1 handful of my fruit/nut mix (see below)
1 TBPS of clover honey

First mix up the yogurt to mix. Then stir in the fruit/nut mix. Stir in half of the honey to mix the sweetness throughout and then drizzle the remaining honey on the top.

About the Fruit and nut mix. My husband an I were grocery shopping. We are always lured in by the scent of new marketing (hence the reason I tried the yogurt) and we saw all the new nutrition packs of nuts and fruits manufactured by a predominate nut company. You've seen them. In Northwest Indiana these little containers cost $6.59 each! We really wanted to try them so my hubs had the great idea to make our own.

Fruit/Nut Mix
16 oz bag of walnuts ($6.99)
18 0z container of Dole 100% natural raisins ($3.19)
8 oz container of Dole 100% natural dates ($2.29)

Mix together and store in an airtight container. Makes a great quick snack to curb hunger as well as yummy yogurt topping. Make sure you spring for the 100% natural fruits. The other kinds I looked at all had added sugar and tons of chemical preservatives.
Fruit/Nut Mix

We are big fans of Hummus. Even Bailey loves it. I use a recipe that I found years ago in a Weight Watchers cook book as the starting point for mine. Today I substituted the normal plain yogurt I use with the Yoplait Greek Plain and the result was a very smooth and creamy hummus.

Greek Yogurt Hummus
1 15 oz can of Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1TBSP olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1TBSP water
Salt and pepper
Cumin (not essential)

Mix all ingredients together in food processor or blender until smooth. Serve with steamed artichoke leaves, celery, carrots, tomato slices, or pita.

Steamed artichoke leaves??? I was skepical. I have only eaten the hearts until this point. Hubs bought a few at the produce market because he remembered eating the leaves as a kid. Here is the recipe that I followed. They are awesome. Dip the end into the hummus and scrape away the flesh. YUM!

Hope you enjoy all these great recipes. They each took less than 5 minutes to do and are healthy snacks to enjoy all summer long!

Re-purposing! I love this solution for draining canned foods

I was at Target today, my home away from home, and needed to grab some quick lunch. Instead of the Pizza Hut that I wanted, I grabbed one of those Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers. Well...it was ok. Nothing spectacular. Too much sodium and not enough taste.

The holy grail of the lunch was the container it came in. For those of you not familiar with this product, it is a plastic container roughly the s

ame grade as a Glad container. The lid is full of holes so you can drain the water for the pasta.

In my mind, I was thinking, I bet I can reuse this for something but not sure what. I washed it and kept it. THEN I started making dinner. I was using canned black beans for the nachos. I normally just microwave them in their sauce and then drain them. The nasty black sauce they come in is then scorching hot. VOILA! The Fresh Mixers container!!! I grabbed it, put the black beans and their sauce in there and microwaved for 2 minutes. I then drained off that nasty black sauce while it was hot--without burning my hands. I had perfectly drained black beans and a container to dish them out in.

What a perfect solution! Here's a picture so you can see what the container looks like.

Fresh Baby Food? Not from a jar? YEP

Have you seen the amount of sodium Gerber puts in their Gerber Graduates products? I don't know about you, but I don't think that any kid friendly food should contain the equivalent of the amount of sodium in two medium size McDonald's fries! Go ahead...click the link, read it. I will be here when you get back.

Even though the beginning stages of baby food do not contain that kind of salt, why not just give the baby good healthy food that you buy in the produce section of the grocery store instead of a jar in a dark aisle. We need our children to grow up in that section of the store and not the convenience food section like my 30 something generation did.

How did I get started? Well, I talked to my pediatrician who totally supported the decision. This doctor also supports my choice for cloth diapering--even thought I am the only patient he has ever had that uses them. I just read a stat that up to 43% of new parents are choosing cloth to save money in the tight economy....but hey, I'll save that for another blog post some day.

After discussing making my own baby food with the doctor, I started searching for material online. I found a very quick and easy resource at babycenter.com. The list is organized by age of baby and what they should be eating. I check it every few months to add new things to his diet and make sure that we are on track.

I started out with a very inexpensive food mill that I bought in the baby food aisle. It is nothing fancy. You can spend as much or as little as you like but really all you need is to get the food mashed. One thing I have learned--we normally eat our veggies steamed but still crisp. In order to properly mash in a food mill they need to be soft. Put in your fruits or veggies that you want baby to eat and smash. Instant baby food with no additives. The leftovers can be frozen in individual storage containers and just defrost before serving to baby.

Not only is Logan eating a wonderful and healthy variety of fruits and vegetables, I am raising a baby that knows what real food tastes like and my hope is that he will eat this way forever. I am imagining a kid eating things like avocado, asparagus, broccoli and spinach without complaining.

My pediatrician was shocked to find out that Logan would even eat asparagus. He told me that many people in many countries grow up without Gerber and Logan will grow up to eat the strong varied diet that these other people do. That made me feel like I was doing something right!

Logan is eight months old now. He doesn't have any teeth but he has decided he has no interest in anyone feeding him. I chop his food in small bite-sized pieces and he feeds himself. In each of my recipe blogs in the future, I will devote a paragraph to what Logan ate out of the meal. Sometimes I do specially prepare his food before adding sauces, certain spices, added fats, etc. I will be sure to note this as much as possible.

The cost savings alone has been worth this adventure for us. These are all foods that I normally purchase at the grocer so I am not spending any additional money. Each two pack of Gerber costs .97 in my area. Those little containers add up fast.

NOTES: I am not telling you how to feed your baby, just what has worked for mine. I am not providing medical advice in any way. Please check with your doctor and research making baby food to get all the details and decide if it is right for you. I introduced foods two at a time to check for allergies and I never give him nuts, shell fish, cows milk or any other item that babies under age 1 should be exposed to.

WOW! How life has changed!

Excuse the explicative: HOLY SHIT! We just left the city and moved to the suburbs! Not just the suburbs, a really cute small town about 45 minutes from the city. Back Home in Indiana and all that. The best part...we have a half acre yard. What a shock it is to go from a 1000sq. foot condo on the 10th floor with a balcony to a 2000+ sq foot home with a huge yard that has lots of trees and woodland creatures. It has been almost two months now so we are getting used to it. I have a large well appointed kitchen with tons of cupboard space but I am still all about my philosophy of keeping things simple, easy and delicious.

On top of baby Logan growing every day--he is eight months old now, my wonderful Bailey is in a soccer league that practices/plays four times a week AND I have started working from home 20 hours a week. Add in laundry for four and cleaning up after everybody and you quickly realize that now more than ever, easy meals are a must! Wooh, I am tired just thinking about my day.

My boys: Logan and Bailey. Big brother worship has set in!

I have so many pictures and recipes stored up. I am going to bombard the blog with as many as I can in the next few weeks to try to get everyone caught up with what I have been cooking.





Thanks for keeping up with me and the family! Love Torry

Grilling Season: Grilled Chicken Dinner

I could seriously use the grill every single day for cooking! It makes things so easy. Tonight I took a lot of help from a bottle marinade. I like to experiment with them and then if I like them I take the main ingredients and try to make my own out of it. Tonight's was Kikkoman Honey and Mustard 20 minute marinade . They recommended for fish or pork so I used it on chicken thighs. ;-) The marinade was really easy to use--but beware:

it caused a huge flare up on the grill! Overall, I will say the marinade was good but soooo not what I expected. It didn't taste like honey or mustard. It tasted like soy. I guess coming from Kikkoman I should have expected that.So what was on the menu? Grilled Chicken thighs, Bailey's fav Chicken broth flavored rice and a protein filled salad.
The chicken was easy enough. I marinaded it for about 45 minutes in a big freezer bag and then put it on the grill. This was bone in, skinless. I had a hard time controlling the heat and the flare ups so I ended up turning on my two end burners full blast and leaving the two middles off to cook indirectly. It took an hour this way but saved the fireman from coming to save my cedar trees from being up in smoke!

Bailey's Fav Chicken Broth Rice

This too is super easy but gives wonderful flavor to white rice and you will never have rice stuck together!

Just substitute chicken broth for the water and follow the package directions. I have noticed it sometimes takes about 3-5 additional minutes to soak up the broth so just be patient. You will not need butter or salt when serving.

The Salad

This was a clean out the fridge kind of salad. I still had grated carrot and left over Boston lettuce from the Lettuce Wraps the other night (see previous blog entry) so I chopped up the lettuce, tossed in the carrot. I added in hard boiled egg, a whole sliced avocado, grape tomatoes and cheese. I could have lived without the cheese but hey...Bailey finally will eat salad if it has cheese so we had cheese. :-)

The best part about this meal is the left overs! Since the chicken did not taste anything like honey mustard, I am going to use it tonight and make chicken nachos (see previous blog entry). Great way to use up the chicken and we will throw the rice in with the black beans and use that as a topping too. I'll post some pics but I pretty much always go back to my stand by nachos on this blog. I am thinking about adding some spicy salsa to the cheese sauce to make it more of a queso....

NOTE: Adding salsa to the queso was a success! I added 1/2 cup salsa and 1T red pepper flake. Delicious queso for the nachos!

Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tilapia

What did you have for dinner? Ours, if I do say so myself was delicious! I wanted to showcase some wonderful fresh herbs that I bought this week at our veggie market. I used fresh basil, rosemary and chives in this meal. Everything was delicious and went well together. Hope you enjoy!

Don't use Tilapia a lot? Why?? It is just like chicken. It takes on any flavors that you pair it with in your dish. That is where this meal idea came from. We all love Rosemary lemon chicken so lets try it with fish. Phil said he liked it better with the fish than he does with roasted chicken!

We had Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tilapia with Garlic Smashed Potatoes and a Tomato "caprese style" salad.



Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tilapia

1 lb. of Tilapia (this was 5 pieces)
2 cups of panko bread crumbs
2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
Zest of a whole lemon
Kosher salt (to your taste preference)
Fresh cracked pepper (to your taste preference
2 whole eggs, beaten

Mix the panko, rosemary, lemon, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Keep the eggs in another dish. Dredge the fish in the egg and then in the panko. I didn't want this coating to be super thick so I did not dredge in flour first. Use a little elbow grease to push the crumb mixture onto the fish until it sticks.

Put a small layer of extra virgin olive oil in pan and let heat. Cook fish on both sides for about 3-4 minutes.


Garlic Smashed Potatoes (I make these all the time)

10-12 red potatoes quartered with skin on
8 oz sour cream (can definitely use light or fat free)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large handful of chives, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until for tender (about 10-12 minutes) DO NOT overcook. Drain and return to hot pan to get rest of water off. Use a hand masher (you want lumpy and chunky potatoes) to start to mash. Mix in sour cream, garlic and chives and continue mashing. Add s&p to taste.


Caprese Style Tomato salad (Idea stolen from my brother Neil)

1 lb of heirloom tomatoes, different colors all cut to a similar size
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 large handful of basil, chopped
4 oz. mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
s&p to taste

In a small bowl add balsamic vinegar and s&p. Wisk in a small amount of olive oil until it looks like salad dressing and you like the taste. Add dressing to tomatoes, basil and shallots and stir to coat. Refrigerate for minimum of 1 hour. Add mozzarella to each bowl as you serve. DO NOT mix mozzarella in this salad if using balsamic vinegar. The mozzarella will turn a gross shade of brown!

So many recipes!

I have so many recipes that I need to share! I took the summer off of the blog because I had a hard time with the pregnancy. Now I have a wonderful two month old son and tons of recipes to share. When I would make something new and delicious this summer I would photograph it for the blog. I am going to try to get these new ideas up here within the next few weeks.

You won't know they are... Turkey Meatballs with Penne

So, inevitably my menu already had a small change. When I saw the vast quantities of meatballs and pasta, I 86'd the wedge salad and we will have it another day.

I am dedicating this recipe to my brother in law--he eats turkey burgers every day and for the love if I see him eating another dry turkey burger in my current pregnant condition--I might just scream. This recipe keeps the turkey nice and moist and has so many great Italian flavors I really don't think most people would realize they are eating turkey.

The thing about turkey--beware! Not all ground turkey is created equal. If you grab any old ground turkey it is often just as fatty if not more so than ground beef due to the "parts" used. They put in dark meat, skin and even some parts not normally fit for consumption. Be sure to buy a nice "ground turkey breast".



Turkey Meatballs
1 lb. ground turkey breast
2 eggs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 slices of whole wheat bread--I saved the the heels for this application
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 TBSP dried basil
1 TBSP dried parsley
1 TBSP onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 cloves of minced garlic
generous amount of salt and pepper

Slice the bread into small cubes like the size of a small crouton.


Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl until well mixed and bread has become well incorporated. Measure balls with a 1/4 cup measuring cup and roll into balls. I always measure so they are equal size and cook through evenly. I got 10 balls out of this pound of meat.


Drizzle twice around the pan with some olive oil. There is hardly any fat in the turkey so it needs some help plus the olive oil will add some great flavor. Just make sure to drizzle and not pour--these are healthy after all and should not end up greasy.

Brown the meatballs for several minutes on all sides until each side is golden brown. You are not worried about cooking through at this point. As you see from the picture below...there is no excess fat in the pan when finished browning. This is nice to see :-)


While browning the balls, select a jar of marinara--brand of your choice and start to simmer on low. Don't spend a lot on something expensive because the meatballs are going in and will give the sauce their flavor.

When the meatballs are browned evenly on all sides--add them to the sauce and toss to coat in sauce. Cover with lid and cook on medium low. Cook for at least 20 minutes--the longer they cook the more flavor transfers to the sauce. Feel free to let these go as long as you want. Just watch the pot and turn down the heat if the sauce starts bubbling too much.

What I normally do is cover the meatballs and then start the water for the pasta. I let the balls cook as long as it takes me to cook the pasta. I served this over the Barilla Plus Penne. I like the flavor more than whole wheat pasta but it still has a ton of protein and fiber in the pasta!

Bake Shop Gourmet Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ironically for a healthy blog the entry that receives the most traffic and is starting to get my blog some attention is the Turtle Brownie blog. Everything in moderation right? I was making a batch of my favorite chocolate chip cookies and I decided to add it to the blog.

A little background, I have major issues with baking chocolate chip cookies. I get flat, greasy, overcooked or undercooked blobs the majority of the time. I had overcome my demons until we moved. I have a gas oven that has a mind of its own. Nothing seems to bake right and my cookies have gotten worse. I tried every recipe from Toll House to Neiman Marcus. Then I remembered a recipe that I had quickly copied down from a tv show about 6 or 7 years ago. It was a PBS show called America's Test Kitchen--the one where they fix your problems with traditional recipes. I have made these cookies twice since recalling this recipe and they have turned out perfect. They look and taste just like a bakery cookie. I definitely cannot take any credit for this recipe, but thought I would share it for those of you that share my issues.

A few notes before you get started. 1) Make sure you have at least two cookie sheets available--the cookies actually cool all the way on the sheet. 2) These cookies bake low and slow so you need to have some time available to bake. 3) The recipe makes a huge gourmet sized cookie. I have played with the recipe and will share how to make smaller cookies at the end of the recipe. 4) This dough looks different from other cookie doughs because of the melted butter. I have shown pics several times to try to see the difference.
Let me know if you make these. I am sure you will love them as much as we do. Thank you PBS for great cooking shows!



Gourmet Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups plus 2 TBSP All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks of real butter, melted for 1 minute in microwave and then cooled until warm
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg plus 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 12 oz. package of semi sweet chocolate chips

Start by melting the butter. While cooling to warm temperature, whisk all of the dry ingredients together with a fork. Set aside.
Mix butter and sugars until blended with the PADDLE attachment on the Kitchenaid mixer--not the beater!

Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients all at once and blend just until combined--do not overmix!


Hand stir in chocolate chips with a mixing spoon.

Gourmet size: Use a 1/4 cup measuring scoop to measure each cookie and roll into a ball.
Break cookie ball in half and piece together at the base. The top of the ball should be the jagged torn portion. See picture below.

Put on cookie sheet 2 1/2 inches apart. Typically 6 cookies to a sheet tray.
Bake at 325 degrees. Start at very top oven rack. Half way through baking time rotate the tray from front to back and move to the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 15-18 minutes (my oven takes 19-20 minutes) until cookies are light golden brown but the center still looks soft and puffy. COOL completely on the baking sheet before moving to a platter.


Smaller size: Use a 2 TBSP scoop (I have a Pampered Chef one that works great) and measure each cookie. Roll into a ball, break cookie ball in half and piece together at the base. The top of the ball should be the jagged torn portion. Same picture as above.
Put on cookie sheet 2 1/2 inches apart. Typically 8 cookies to a sheet tray.
Bake at 325 degrees. Start at very top oven rack. Half way through baking time rotate the tray from front to back and move to the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 13-15 minutes (my oven takes 17 minutes) until cookies are light golden brown but the center still looks soft and puffy. COOL completely on the baking sheet before moving to a platter.

Tangy Asian Glazed Salmon and Mixed Greens

I was going to call this Ginger Glazed but it ended up so flavorful I changed it to "Asian Glazed". I make all of my marinades in gallon size storage bags so that it is easy to mix, marinade and clean up. This recipe would be great with rice and black beans too. We are trying to balance our protein and carbs so I chose the mixed green salad to get some fresh veggies in. Let's talk about the salad. You know when you get those delicious lightly coated greens as a side at your favorite brunch place? That is the taste I was going for with this simple dressing. Fresh taste that doesn't overpower the simple greens. I used balsamic vinegar since there was balsamic in the marinade. This dressing would also be great with red wine vinegar. I will tell you...this meal is going to be a summer go to for me. Bailey loved the fish and even asked for seconds!!

One tip on the fresh ginger: use it! I learned a great trick from a favorite cooking show host. Peel the ginger when you get it home and store it in a freezer bag in the freezer. When you need it cut of a piece and grate. The ginger will last for months in the freezer and is actually so much easier to grate and use when frozen!

I will be reusing several of the ingredients in this dish throughout the week as a cost saver. I am not talking staple items like soy sauce or oil--I mean the fresh ingredients that you need to use during the week or they go bad. I am using: ginger in the thai chicken, green onions in the peanut noodles, and spring greens for another salad.

Salmon Ingredients:
4 (4oz) Alaska Salmon Fillets
1/2 cup canola oil
4 T soy sauce
4 T balsamic vinegar
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 T brown sugar
1 T honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, grated
1 tsp red pepper flakes


Salt and pepper both sides of the fish.



In a gallon size storage bag--mix together all other ingredients. Close bag and shake to combine. Open bag and put fish in. Reseal and mix to coat fish.



Put in fridge for minimum 2 hours to 4 hours. Remove fish from marinade and either grill or broil until done. About 4-5 minutes on each side. I broiled it and the skin was crispy and the marinade was great.



Simple Balsamic Mixed Greens
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T honey
Small amount of salt and pepper to taste
1 bag washed mixed baby greens

Whisk together the vinegar, oil, honey and salt and pepper. Pour a small amount at a time over the greens until coated but not soaked. Serve immediately. Would be great with some sliced strawberries and almonds mixed in to make it a more substantial salad.

My Weekly Menu

Wow...how time flies. I haven't blogged forever! Sorry about that. I am trying a new strategy. I am going to post my weekly menu on Sunday and then post the recipe as I make each dish during the week. Still working on making restaurant "makeovers" No Beef and No Pork in our diet. I am so happy that it is summer--lots of fish on the menu this week. We do not have a grill so I am going to be broiling several of these dishes but they could definitely be grilled to perfection as well. You will notice some similar flavors here--I try to plan menus that use the same ingredients multiple days so that I get more bang for my buck and do not waste any fresh produce.

Here is the menu:
Ginger Glazed Salmon with a balsamic mixed greens salad
Turkey Meatballs with whole wheat pasta also with balsamic mixed greens
Almond Crusted Tilapia (recipe courtesy of my friend Jeremy) and Lemon Garlic Broccoli
Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Baked Chicken with a wedge salad
Tofu Teriaki Kabobs with Brown rice and peas
Fish Tacos with spanish style brown rice
Thai Chicken Skewers with peanut veggie noodles

Just for fun I am going to also make my gourmet chocolate chip cookies this week. So not healthy but the most delicious cookie I have ever tasted.

Cheddar Garlic Twice Baked Potatoes

Let's be honest and just call this "comfort food week". :-) I really don't eat or make potatoes a lot much to mrboilermakers dislike. I just really don't think of adding a starch to the meal often, I am normally focused on protein and veggie.

For this recipe I started out old school. I have in my possession a very old copy of the "red and white bible"--you know the one. The Betty Crocker Red and White checked cookbook. This one was my mothers that I remember her head always being in when I was little. After she passed away, I made sure that it came home with me. Much to my dismay, this recipe that I remember from childhood sounded nasty. It had hardly any seasoning and you were supposed to put american cheese slices on top? EWWW. It also was going to take almost 2 hours to cook!!! Not in this kitchen.

I basically had to scratch my old school plan and make my own. I did use the general idea to get started (that counts for something). I microwaved the potatoes to cook them through (saving 30 minutes) and I added lots of sharp cheddar and garlic to give these potatoes some flavor!

On a side note: do you ever get nervous spelling potato? I always feel I am one step away from a Dan Quayle moment. Must be the Indiana girl in me. :-)



Garlic Cheddar Twice Baked Potatoes

3-4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 80z. container of sour cream
1 16 oz. package of shredded sharp cheddar--or your favorite cheese
2 cloves of garlic, minced
kosher salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Poke the potatoes with a fork and cook according to your microwave directions. I cooked three and it took 14 minutes on high power. Let sit for 5 minutes afterward--they will continue cooking as they cool. There is NO reason to bake the potatoes in the oven for this recipe. They will be baked later and get all the same flavor.

Cut potatoes in half and scoop out the insides with a spoon.




Make sure to leave some flesh on the sides to hold the shape of the potato and create a boat type shape as pictured below.



In an electric mixer combine: insides of potatoes, sour cream, 1 cup of the sharp cheddar, minced garlic and a healthy dose of salt and pepper.



Mix on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes--until all lumps are gone and mix is fully combined. Remember these are white potatoes--you will need a good amount of S&P to provide good flavor. Taste for seasoning.



Line a baking pan with the potato shells. Scoop the filling into each shell. They will be heaping and that is good. I do not use a pastry bag and tip for this step. This is rustic home cooking and I feel like the piping tip makes these look like you took them out of the freezer section and turns this simple dish into a messy process. (To each his own though and feel free to pipe away if you so desire) Liberally sprinkle the potatoes with the remainder of the cheddar.



Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and potatoes have some golden brown color.



The garlic gives these potatoes such a delicious flavor and adds so much. The sharp cheddar really adds a bite and the sour cream just finishes it off. I love these things.

Alternative: If you are a meat eater--make these "loaded" like a potato skin by sprinkling with crip bacon crumbles and chives. You could even add a small dollop of sour cream. ENJOY!

The BEST Chocolate Turtle Brownies

I KNOW, I KNOW...this blog is about healthy eating with less fat. In my defense, I am pregnant and I haven't made these brownies the entire time (that is over 23 weeks people) and I gave in to the craving.
I am also divulging one of my best kept secret recipes. This is by far my most requested recipe by family and friends. It is my "go to" recipe when I have to bring a dessert to anything. Homemade brownies seem so special and only you and I will know how easy they really are! The best part...only ONE bowl to clean up. You heard me correctly...homemade brownies while only dirtying one bowl!

If you are not a fan of turtle brownies: This is a great base for any favorite brownie. They are great plain sprinkled with powdered sugar, frosted, you name it. Get creative!



Chocolate Turtle Brownies

1 12 oz. package of Ghiardelli semi-sweet chips (bittersweet are great too), divided in half
1 stick of real butter, cut into small pieces
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla extract (I usually am very generous with this and go for a full TBSP)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 small jar of Caramel ice cream topping

Preheat oven to 350 and spray 9x13 baking pan

Melt 1 cup of the chocolate and butter in a heavy sauce pan over low heat. Stir until melted.


Remove from heat and stir in the eggs. Add: flour, sugar, baking soda and vanilla extract. Stir all ingredients until fully blended.

Spread batter in pan and sprinkle with walnuts and remaining chips.


Bake 20 minutes--tooth pick will be a little sticky

Drizzle with caramel sauce and let cool in pan. I typically drizzle with a little more sauce when serving.





To make this better than any brownie dessert you have had at a restaurant--serve warm topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. You will thank me for this recipe!

"Black" and Blue Salad

One of my favorite restaurant salads is the Black and Blue salad. It is the worst one for you by far! Beef, high fat creamy dressing all the cheese plus blue cheese. I knew I had to make a better for you version and I have succeeded. You will not miss the meat when you bite into these warm and hearty portabellos!

"Black" and Blue Salad

Ingredients
Portabello mushroom, sliced in strips (one bello per person)
Romaine hearts, chopped (4-5 full leaves per person)
tomato, diced (1/2 tomato per person)
avocado, diced (1/2 per person)
Blue cheese
Grill seasoning
Cooking spray
Your favorite low fat or fat free vinaigrette (I am using my fav: Whole Foods Brand Organic Blueberry vinaigrette)

Spray the bellos with cooking spray and grill seasoning and saute until reduced and a nice dark brown color. The grill seasoning is key. It gives the hearty bellos more of the steak flavor. I promise--you will not miss the beef!

While cooking load up plates with greens, avocado, tomato, and a sprinkle of blue cheese.


Top with the hot bellos and your favorite dressing. Serve immediately. You want the bellos to be hot and steamy!


It is just that simple to make a restaurant quality dinner salad in minutes that is delicious and so much better for you! Enjoy!

It is Nacho Time!

Just in time for the Sweet 16! We ate these nachos watching the games last weekend. They were really good and the best part is that I didn't feel "bad" after eating them. No greasy bar food for us! My husband enjoyed them with a Goose Island 312 (his fav Chicago beer) and I of course had water. Bailey had seconds so you know they were tasty!

I love the contrast of flavors, colors and textures here and the fact that these nachos were put together in roughly 10 minutes. Who doesn't have 10 minutes to make a healthy dinner or snack?

Game Day Veggie Nachos

Ingredients
Tortilla chips of your choosing, I used Guiltless Gourmet Black Bean
1 can of black beans, drained rinsed and microwaved for about 2 minutes
1 can of whole kernel corn, micro'd from about 2 minutes
1 avocado, chopped
1 head of romaine hearts chopped (or lettuce of choice)
1 lime cut in 8ths for squeezing on top and garnish
handful of cilantro, chopped for garnish

Pico de Gallo
2 tomatos, diced
1/2 small white onion
1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste
handful of cilantro, chopped

Cheese Sauce
1 TBSP butter
1 TBSP flour (I used whole wheat)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar

1. Chop and get all ingredients ready. I serve them in bowls so everyone can make their own
nachos.

2. For the pico--prep each ingredient as stated above and simply mix together in a bowl. This can be done ahead of time to let the flavors meld, but is also good straight away.
You could take help from the store and purchase pico for this.

3. To make the cheese sauce--Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and cayenne (leave out the cayenne if you want this sauce mild). After mixed well add in the milk all at once and keep stirring until thick and bubbly. Cook for one minute after mixed. Add in the cheese and stir until melted thoroughly. Cheese sauce will start to thicken as it cools so make right before serving. If it seems to thick, put back on the stove and slowly add small amounts of milk until desired consistency. You can definitely use a pre-made cheese sauce from the market but this is a healthier alternative.

4. Get ready to layer them up! I did chips, cheese sauce, black beans, corn, lettuce, avocado, pico and then I garnished with some left over cilantro and lime. Squeeze the lime over the top for some great citrus flavor!

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

I have been trying to find a way to make one of my favorite dishes healthier. I knew I needed to remove the breading and the frying for sure. I also wanted to make this a quick dish for dinner during the week so I took some advantages from the store.

Healthy Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients
1 eggplant sliced into rounds and then quartered
1 box of whole wheat rigatoni, cooked and drained
1 cup of shredded organic mozzarella
2 TBSP of olive oil
Sauce
1 jar of store bought marinara
1 clove of garlic
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
4 leaves of basil

1. Place 2 TBSP of olive oil in a skillet. Heat and add in the eggplant. Turn eggplant quickly to lightly coat with olive oil. Eggplant acts like a sponge and soaks up the olive oil and gets mushy if you let it sit so make sure all pieces get coated as soon as they go in the pan.
   Cook until translucent and lightly browned.
2. In a blender mix all of the ingredients for the sauce until garlic and basil are thoroughly mixed in.
   
3. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with vegetable cooking spray. Mix one ladle full of the sauce into the pasta to keep it moist. Place the pasta on the bottom of the pan.
4. Layer with the eggplant and then the sauce.
   
5. Top the dish with the shredded cheese.
   
6. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes--making sure cheese is golden and bubbly.
   

Alternative:
Use cooked lasagna noodles. Cut the eggplant lengthwise to fit the noodles and layer the dish as follows: noodles, eggplant, sauce, noodles, eggplant, sauce, cheese. Same baking time. Enjoy!

Easy Entertaining with Caprese Salad Crostini

Need something fast to put together for company? Try this! It looks gourmet and takes a few minutes to toss together. My husband loves caprese salad and I am not a big fan. It is a texture thing--soft cheese, soft tomato--I need some crunch. Serving it on a crostini gives the texture and transforms it into finger food for your next party. Make sure to make these right before serving since the tomato is sitting right on the bread.

Caprese "Salad" Crostini

Ingredients (makes six crostinis)
1 red vine ripe tomato, sliced
1 fresh mozzarella ball, sliced length wise
6 basil leaves, ribbon sliced
6 small ciabatta slices
olive oil
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper

1. Brush both sides of the ciabatta bread with olive oil and a sprinkle of pepper. Rub the garlic clove over each slice. Grill in frying pan until toasted on each side. (as if you were making grilled cheese)
   
2. Prepare your toppings so that assembly is quick and easy when you are ready.
   
3. Top in this order--crostini, tomato slice, mozzarella slice, salt and pepper to taste preference, basil ribbons and a drizzle of olive oil.