Salmon Cakes - Lightened Up!

 I've been reposting some of my prior recipes so I can improve the photo's, and in this case I am reducing the fat while I am at it! 

See my previous ugly photo and fattening recipe!   

This is a rendition of Ina Gartens Salmon Cake recipe.  Like a lot of her recipes she is heavy on the butta.     I tweaked it a bit to make it healthy and really, no difference in flavor at all...none, zip, nada.    I saved a butt-load (pun intended) of fat!  My arteries are thanking me today!  I also left off the Tarragon Vinigerette  in my previous posting,but you can sure add it if you would like! 

How I did it:     I sauteed the veggies in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and omitted the butter. Reduced the mayo by 1/4 cup and decreased the eggs from 2 to 1. I also increased the Dijon to make the patties hold together. I sauted in olive oil instead of the suggested butter and olive oil combo and they came out brown and crispy just like they should!

 

 

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Turkey Breast Wrapped in Prosciutto

With our little family of 3 (well 4 if you count our dear daughters boyfriend who we love to feed!).  This is a perfect size Holiday meal, in fact, I plan on making it on non-holidays it was so tasty and easy!

Some helpful hints:

Buying the turkey breast:  You can get turkey breasts, bone in or boneless and both will work fine for the recipe.  Just depends on how handy you are with your fillet knife. 
If at all possible, try to get a fresh one that hasn't been shot up with sodium filler.   Make sure your knife is sharp and don't worry, you can't screw this up!  If you have several pieces, just press them together before you pound it. Once it's all wrapped up, no one will never know!

The filling:  I used stuffing because that's what I had...but roasted red peppers and Fontina would be yummy, so would spinach  and ricotta.  Turkey Roll Corden' Blue?  Why not, sounds delicious to me!

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Panini 101 - Make the perfect Panini! No Special Equipment needed!

 You can use this basic recipe to make homemade Panini's that are as good as any fancy sandwich shop or restaurant.  I used fresh Mozzarella, Pesto and Roasted Red Peppers for a Caprese style Panini.  

 I substituted  Roasted Red Peppers instead of traditional tomato because I think it adds a lot more flavor and tomato's can make  your sammie mushy.  If you use tomatoes, be sure to deseed or chop in pieces before grilling.

This is more of a technique than a recipe.  You don't need a fancy Panini press to make these.  All you need is a non-stick grill pan, a heavy pan to weight it down. (like cast iron or even a dutch oven will work) and a piece of foil. 

Bread - oh so important when making the perfect Panini.  I have tried several, but my favorite is sourdough.  It is crunchy, but soft enough to eat. The grill marks show up nicely too.  Some of the Artesional breads like are so tough that you can't get through the bread to get to the ooey gooey center!  Sandwich frustration!

A few variations

Southwestern:  sliced chicken, grilled onions and peppers, pepper jack cheese

Ham and Swiss: ummm, well, Ham and Swiss

Burgers: Grilled Burger, Caramelized Onion, Bacon and Gouda

Egg and Prociutto: Fried egg, Prociutto and Pesto

The combinations are endless...just put your favorite sammie ingredients between two slices of buttered bread, grill, press and you are a sandwich hero!

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Top Fab 4 Fall Soups!

The top 4 favorite soups of the last year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Super Easy Salisbury Steak - Made with Ground Turkey!

This will soon become your favorite weeknight winter meal.  It is so hearty you will forget that it's lean ground turkey! 

The meat and potato lovers in your house are soooo gonna love you! I can see the meat statue they will be erecting in your honor.  Post pics!  I love meat statues!  Who doesn't?

I adapted this from a Cooking Light recipe from 2001. (big surprise, love their stuff).  They use canned French Onion Soup in lieu of fresh sliced onion and beef broth. It doesn't have nearly the depth of flavor a fresh onion will bring you....and the sodium, holy cow I get puffy just thinking of it!

I encourage (and I use that term lightly), to serve this dish with mashed potatoes. It makes this dish.

 My husband makes the best mashed potatoes ever! I am not sure what he does or how he does it, and I am never going to ask . It's his little corner of the kitchen...you go tater man...I'm happy just being your tater tot...awwwww.

Ingredients

1lb ground turkey - I use 97/3 fat ratio

1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs

1 egg 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large sliced onion (note sliced, not chopped)

2 cups beef broth

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup red wine

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper

Directions

Combine ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg and a little salt and pepper.

Divide meat mixture into 6 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.

Add patties; cook 3 minutes on each side until browned. (they will not be cooked through, you will finish them in the sauce).

 Remove patties from pan; cover with foil to keep warm.

Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan.

Add sliced onion and saute until lightly brown and onions are soft, making sure you scrape up all the bits of yum from the turkey patties.

Add remaining ingredients (broth, tomato paste, red wine and Worcestershire to onion mixture, bring to a simmer.

Add patties back to the pan and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered,  until sauce has been reduced by half and patties are completely cooked.

Serve with your husbands favorite mashed potatoes...yummm!

   



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Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

 

 

I know, another soup recipe!  But I got a hankerin' for some soup. It's fall and we had a longer than normal summer and I'm ready for winter food!   I've been making this soup for years, it's adapted from an old Cooking Light recipe.  ( FYI: old Cooking Light recipes are the bomb...new ones?... not so much).

 

The secret ingredient...are you ready?  It's Light Velveeta cheese...oh you shut up you cheese snob, you know you love Velveeta! Who doesn't?...and it's LIGHT cheese, yup, it's healthy. Who knew?  :)  

 (secret: if you can't find Velveeta Light Cheese or the $7.00 per block price tag is a bit high.  You can either: a.) use the full blown fatty stuff or, b.)  substitute 12 slices of American light cheese.  (ie: 2% American cheese slices).

My husband says he can tell when I cheat and use the slices...so be warned.  He has a cheezy palate so he might be right. (who can resist a cheezy joke?)

 

Trader Joe's carries a wonderful, precooked wild rice.  It's what I recommend for this recipe.  But in a pinch you can use a blend like Uncle Ben's Wild Rice, but don't add the seasoning packet.  

 

Oh, and this would be another perfect recipe to use grocery store Rotisserie Chicken. Love that!

 

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking wild rice (or a rice blend in a pinch, see note above)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Thyme (fresh or dried)
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled baking potato
3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
10 ounce light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)
2 cups chopped chicken (Rotisserie chicken from your grocer works great!)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

 Directions

Cook rice according to package directions,
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with olive oil.
Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes. Add Thyme.
Add broth and potato; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until potato is tender.
Combine milk and flour, stirring well with a whisk.
Add the milk mixture to potato mixture; cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
Stir in rice, chicken, pepper, and salt.
Garnish with parsley, if desired.

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Lasagna Soup!

I know, this looks like every other soup I love to make...but this one is different.  It' has a secret....a yummy, gooey secret.  Shhhh, come closer, let me whisper in your ear...it's called YUM!  A scoop of yummy, gooey goodness lies underneath the quiet tomatoey exterior and it is heaven my friends.

I can hardly wait wait for my fellow soupateer Jamie to try it.  She is hooked on my Gnocchi "crack soup" but I this might just become her new addiction!  Let me know Jamie!

So what exactly is this secret yum you ask?  It is a scoop of ricotta cheese that has been mixed with parmesean,  a bit of oregano, salt and pepper. (make your own ricotta if you have an extra 10 minutes).  You add a dollop to the bowl, ladle the soup over and top with mozzarella! 

What kind of pasta?  For this photo I used broken up lasagna noodles and it worked pretty good but you might find it easier to use a rotini type pasta...up to you, you still get the same results.

I recommend boiling the pasta separately then adding to the each soup bowl. Normally, I'd say...whatever... just dump it all in the pot, but this soup is pretty thick and it's hard to get the pasta too not get mushy. 

Here is to fall and soup...I love you both!  (oh and the yum...I do love the yum !)

Ingredients
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
16 oz chicken sausage
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced red pepper
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons dried basil
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesean
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 cups (uncooked) rotini pasta or broken up lasagna noodles (which is what I used)
pinch of salt and pepper

Directions
Brown and crumble chicken sausage in large dutch oven .  Remove from pan and set aside.  Boil water for pasta.
Heat olive oil to the same pan you cooked the sausage in and add onion, red peppers and saute until onions are soft.  Add garlic and parsley, saute for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the crushed and diced tomatoes, along with basil - cook 5 minutes.  Add broth and cooked sausage. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes before serving. 
Add pasta to water and cook until al dente.  Drain and rinse. (rinsing will keep the pasta from sticking together until you are ready to serve)
Meanwhile back at the yum station.  Mix together the ricotta, Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

Add a dollop of yum to the bottom of a soup bowl, add  your pasta and ladle the soup over it.  Top with mozzarella and serve!  Yummmmmm!

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Turkey- Pepperoni Burgers with Pesto Mayo

We have been eating a whole lot of ground turkey lately (organic of course), in lieu of ground beef.   I still think beef makes a better burger but this recipe should kick your turkey buns up a notch!

Chopped up pepperoni slices, some pesto mayo, provolone and yumbo! 

If you dont' have pesto on hand, mix a little garlic and dried basil with your mayo for a very close rendition. 

I like to cook my turkey burgers in a cast iron or nonstick pan instead of the grill, they are much juicer.  But if you choose to use the BBQ, for heavens sake don't press the burger patty down with your spatula ...jeeze that just makes me nuts when I see people doing that!  All the juices go right to the bottom of the BBQ and you are left with a turkey burger carcass.

Another trick for a juicier turkey burger is to avoid cutting into the burger with a knife when checking for doneness, this releases all the juices.....press down on the patty with your finger, if it is firm in the center,  it is done.  (Should feel like pressing on the ball of your hand...if you have really fat hands then I would pass on this technique and buy a good thermometer).

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BLT Pasta Salad

Crisp, refreshing and easy!  

This recipe calls for store bought Ranch Dressing...yes, I said it, 'Redneck Ranch'. Personally, I am not a huge fan of Ranch,  (because I am so cultured an' stuff),  but in this recipe it works. I bought the higher end brand in the cold food section, I paid more, so I am sure it is better.

 If you don't like Ranch (or just don't want to admit you do), mix mayo and lemon juice...makes a sprite little dressing. (did I just say sprite when describing food?  OMG, I think I am evolving!)

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Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing and Crispy Wontons

What I love about this salad:

• Rotisserie chicken from supermarket
• Easy
• Low calorie/healthy
• Thai peanuty goodness
• Inexpensive
• Ingredients you probably have on hand
• No cook
• Great lunch leftovers
• But mostly...really, really tasty!  The crunch of the cuc's and the peanuty sauce with the crispy Wontons really pack a punch!

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Crunchy Oven Baked Shrimp with Peachy Dipping Sauce

Crunchy Oven Fried Shrimp with Spicy Peachy sauce!  I can't get enough of them!  I will make the peach sauce over and over again, I can already taste it with salmon and turkey burgers and pork chops and chicken and fish and...well you get the point. It's yummy!

The sauce is so simple, it is made out of peach preserves, ground ginger, honey and hot sauce...nuke it a minute and instant dip!  You can even use sugar free preserves and get amazing results.

I tried the shrimp a couple different ways - soaked in buttermilk, dipped in egg, and just Panko and then dipped in regular bread crumbs and then again with a bread-Panko combo, and that was the best. These little wonder shrimp have been tested and re-tested.  (Thank you Mr. Kirk for your very valuable opinion...he has a very tough job, being my official taste tester.)
The shrimp are also very low in calorie, so make tons and double your batch of the peachy sauce to go with everything you are cooking this week!

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Grilled Ginger-Soy Chicken

Simple, simple, simple!  Just a few ingredients plus an hour to marinade and "Bob's Your Uncle"! 
I used  organic chicken thighs with fresh ginger and garlic...but you could easily substitute chicken breasts (try to stay organic if  you can) and ground, garlic and ginger...you get near the same results!


Ingredients

2 pounds chicken thighs (bone in or out, doesnt matter)
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup soy sauce

Directions

Toss everything in a ziploc type bag.  Seal the bag and mush it around so everything is coated.

Refrigerate for an hour or overnight.

Heat up your favorite grill and cook until done!

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Turkey Quesadilla Burgers

The first time I ever had a Quesadilla Burger was in Palm Desert,  after 18 holes of golf with our very dear friend's, Raela and Bob...both prolific golfers and lovers of good food...and guess where they took us to have this fine burger?  Applebees!
'So, if these guys are such 'food lovers', Kathi,  why did they take you to freakin' Applebees?' you ask.   Well, I'll tell ya why!...Applebees is the only place to get this burger...at least the only place I know of, and Raela knows good food ...so when the food whisperer speaks...I listen! 

And you know what? Applebees burger is good, good and creamy with processed gooey cheese and buttery grilled tortilla's...and I want it...I want it bad.  But my old ticker is saying, stop with the greasy food already.  So here we go again,  same old song running in my head: burger? health?...burger?...health?... sometimes the burger wins and sometimes my health wins, but with this recipe, I get both!

You can cook these on the stove top, as I did ...(because, well...Seattle weather sucks)  Or you can use the grill.  It would be yummy with fresh corn kernals tucked in the tortilla or sprinkled on top, maybe some Queso cheese and spanish rice on the side.

Holy Quesadilla!   I can already tell, I gotta make these again...and soon!

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Turkey Taco Pie!

Okay now, don't be talkin' smack about my simple old Taco Pie...I know, it's a little South Park but it is really yummy!

 This recipe took first place in the  Pillsbury Bake Off  in 1970 and I've been eating it ever since.  My mom made it, my sisters make it (well at least one of them, the other one doesn't eat, an apparent gene mutant),  and I make it at least once a month. Sometimes I'll top with canned chilies or thawed corn. I have even turned it into cheeseburger pie with hamburger, bbq sauce and lotsa cheese (of course).

You will note that I don't crimp the edges of the pie...I pull it up and partially over  the filling...I don't know why...I just think it looks cool...you can crimp or pull, whatever you feel like doing with your dough is fine with me...

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Chicken Sausage & Vegetable Soup with Cheese Crisps

Anywhere but here (Seattle), most folks are bustin' out the grills and lemonade this time of year, but not in the Pacific Northwest, we are still craving soup and red wine...well I am anyway, well I always am, actually. 

After my 'cancer fighting soup' disaster...lowest blog view numbers ever.  (Apparently people don't make recipes that start with the word 'cancer' and I need to work on my marketing skills.)  Consider this a 'make up' recipe.   I promise you will have this recipe for a long time, because you are going to live forever, and ever, and ever...how am I doing?  Marketing 101?.

This is like a minestrone only with sausage instead of the traditional lean pork and bacon. You can clean out your pantry and a fridge making this soup. Throw in whatcha got and you will still have a great soup....but start with the sausage, it really makes the soup.

NOTE: When I make soups with pasta, I always cook the pasta separate and ladle the soup over it.   You will find the pasta so much better tasting and won't get mushy when you have leftovers the next day. 

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Perfect Crispy Oven Fried Chicken!

Ho hum, another recipe for oven fried chicken...but not so fast my foodie freinds! 
My oven fried chicken recipe can beat up your oven fried chicken recipe!
What makes mine so perfect you ask?  Buttermilk. Not the kind you find next to the weird milk products in the dairy case, but the kind you make at home, out of milk and vinegar...that's it. 
 Milk + Vinegar = Buttermilk...it's genius I tell you!  You can use it in all recipes that call for Buttermilk, perfect for baking!
Other secrets to perfect oven fried chicken: Panko crumbs, smoked paprika and chicken thighs...leave the breasts in the freezer! ( killing me to not say something really stupid right now....).

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Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Oooey gooey, spicy, creamy, tasty yumminess!    This is one tasty chicken recipe.  You can adjust the heat by adjusting the amount of jalapeno.  I used two large ones but I'm a hottie, what can I say?

Most of the heat of a pepper is in the seeds and veins,  once removed you get a nice mellow heat, coupled with the creamy cheese it's a winner, winner, chicken dinner!

I use low fat cream cheese, only because I prefer the texture.  If I liked full fat, I'd use it, it just seems a little thick to me but you can do either.

The recipes that I have seen for this say to ' make a pocket' in the thickest part of the breast...but I didn't think it held enough goo, so I sliced it open all the way down and about 2/3 through the breast....much better! I crammed in as much cheese mixture as I could and pressed down to form a seal.  The egg and bread crumbs formed a nice crust, and I didn't have to use toothpicks to hold it all together.

NOTE: Bake and chill over night, slice and serve cold...makes a great appetizer!!

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Chiles Rellenos Casserole

I have finally left Italy and am heading toward Mexico!  I really enjoyed my stay in old Italy, and plan to revisit very soon,  but time to back away from the pasta and red sauce and embrace a new land!

So today we have Chiles Rellenos Casserole. An 'easy on the cook' version of a very tasty Mexican dish.  It will feed 6-7 people or a small mariachi band.

It is a fairly healthy casserole and for that reason, I will include the nutrition information.  If  you are watching your cholesterol, try an Egg Beater type product in place of the eggs to lower the numbers even more.

Servings: 6

Calories: 335

Fat: 9g

Protein: 26.9g

Carb: 37.7g

Fiber: 5.5g
WW Points+: 8

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Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce via risataspotola.com!

Maybe I should change the name of my blog to risataspotola.com?  That's laughingspatula.com in Italian!  Now you know what I did with my morning :)

Is there anything you can't find on the Internet?

This sauce was so rich and flavorful.  With only a few ingredients and your trusty slow cooker you can make a big old batch of some of the most tasty Bolognese I have ever had.  Use an immersion blender to create a very smooth sauce, or leave as is if you prefer a chunkier sauce.  Eat half then freeze half for another time. 

I added nutritional information for this, but it will vary greatly depending on the fat content of your beef.  I used 15%.  I think any less and you will miss out on the real beef flavor that it develops while slow cooking.  I buy my ground beef at a local butcher shop.  Ground chuck, really flavorful compared to mega mart beef.  I know, I know, not everybody has the time to go find a butcher...but if you can, you won't be disappointed...and I do love supporting the small business man/woman/person...it's so hard to be butcher PC anymore!

Servings - about 20

Serving size - 1/2 cup

Calories: 146

Fat: 8.7

Carbs: 6.8

Fiber: .4

Protein: 6.7

WW Points+: 4

Ingredients

4 oz pancetta, chopped (or center cut bacon)
1 tbsp butter (or olive oil)
1 large white onion, minced
2 celery stalks (about 3/4 cup), minced
2 carrots (about 3/4 cup), minced
2 lb 95% lean ground beef
1/2 cup beef broth
2 - 28 oz cans good crushed tomatoes 
salt and fresh pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup half & half cream

Directions

On medium heat, saute  pancetta until lightly brown and all fat has been rendered.

 Add onion, celery and carrots.  Saute for about 5 minutes or until tender.

Add ground beef and saute until cooked.  Drain all but one tablespoon of fat.

Add meat and vegetable mixture to slow cooker.  Add tomatoes and beef broth.  Stir well. Cook on low heat for 4-5 hours.

Add cream and parsley.

Serve over your favorite pasta!  Mangia!

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Lemon Chicken with Artichokes

I think the mark of a true 'home chef', is making a great meal out of stuff you already have in your cupboard.  Not wanting to go to the store...again,  (I swear the checkers at Safeway all know me by name!)    I did a quick inventory of the pantry,  went on-line and typed in chicken, lemon and artichokes.  Let me tell you that there is no shortage of lemon chicken recipes. Another hour or two spent surfing for the perfect recipe...I sure do that a lot lately.

I took the best features of 2 or 3 recipes and came up with this one pot wonder!  It comes together quickly and is perfect for a weeknight meal and very healthy too.  There is no doubt I will be making this again. 

Servings: 4

Calories: 260

Fat: 5.4

Carbs: 22.2

Fiber: 2.7

Protein: 26.3

WW Points+: 6

Ingredients

3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

2 teaspoons lemon zest

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast, thighs or a combination of both

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil

14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained

Directions

Combine the broth, zest, lemon juice, cornstarch, and sugar in a small bowl; set aside.

Sprinkle both sides of each chicken breast with the salt, and pepper. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and almost cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side.
Add the broth mixture and cook until the mixture boils and thickens, about 1 minute. Add the artichokes and cook until chicken is cooked through and artichokes are warm, about 8 minutes.

Serve with Angel Hair pasta or rice.  Asparagus would work very nice with this as well.

       

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