Skinny Caeser Dressing

Personally, I love Blue Cheese Dressing...Marie's Blue Cheese Dressing to be exact. However,  there comes a time when you have to make a change for the sake of your waistline and arteries....and up until now, I really couldn't find anything that was a decent substitute. But this stuff is good...really good!  2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil in the whole recipe makes it artery friendly.

I adopted this from skinnytaste.com.  A blog I have mentioned several times.  I love her low cal stuff and I don't really like low cal stuff, so that's quite a compliment.
 I modified this recipe a bit, to increase the yield and I used anchovies paste opposed to a jar of anchovies.  Anchovy paste will last a good long time, a jar of anchovies...not so much.

The first thing my blogging muse, Rob said to me when I told him I made this is:  'ewwww Anchovies, I hate Anchovies!' (just want you to know, he said it like a girl).  Now I love Rob, but he doesn't  'do fish',  so I don't think he properly represents the  Anchovy.  Let me just say, if you do not use Anchovies in this recipe, I do not see the point in calling iti Caeser.   Caesar dressing IS all about the Anchovies. It is what made you fall in love with the dressing in the first place!  If  you choose to ignore me and make it anyway,  it will still be good, but it will not be Caesar, it will be Creamy Dijon with Lemon.  Do whatever, I'm  just sayin'...


Ingredients

1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 large garlic clove
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon anchovies paste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Plain Greek Yogurt

Directions:
In a food processor or blender, add the cheese, lemon juice, garlic clove, mustard and  anchovies paste. Blend for about 20 seconds. Add the oil and yogurt and blend for another 30 seconds or so.

Makes about a cup.
 
 .

Tweet

Chicken Enchilada's in Creamy Avocado Sauce

Another home run recipe from my pal Rob...he is a bloggers best friend!  Rob knows that the best recipes come from home cooks and he finds a lot of his favorites on Pinterest and, if they are a winner, he sends them on to me to post...like I said, a bloggers best friend! Rob found this recipe on  Closet Cooking. It is my new favorite blog.  He has some really easy, yummy stuff. 

I used store bought Rotisserie Chicken for these Enchilada's.    I'm mildly obsessed with Rotisserie chicken. (can you be 'mildly obsessed' or is that like being a 'little bit pregnant'?)  I've even dedicated a Pinterest Board to it, ( not to being a 'little pregnant' but to Rotisserie chicken...jeesh, where am I going with this???)

I modified this recipe slightly.   The original called for fresh Jalapeno.   I knew it would be too much heat for my family.  Turns out Rob excluded the Jalapeno as well and achieved the same great results.  But, if you want more heat, seed and chop a Jalapeno,  toss it in the food processor with the rest of the sauce ingredients.  Either way, give this recipe a try!

Tweet

Black Bottom Cupcakes

This is a tried and true recipe.  It has been around since at least 1982. And how do I know that?  I know that because my parents had a small restaurant and I used to bake these cupcakes every morning.  Yup,  just me and the crickets that found there way under our refrigerator from the pet store next to our restaurant...oh yeah, those were the days. Who wouldn't wanna eat at a restaurant with crickets and cupcakes?  We did serve Starbucks though, one of the first restaurants to carry it south of Seattle,  and I'm sure the first to serve it with crickets.

My little sister Kelli and I cooked and ran the restaurant. We were famous...famous for arguing all day and stealing beer all night.  I'm happy to say, we sold the restaurant after few years, we started buying are own beer and my sister and I are pretty good pals.

The good thing about running my folks restaurant is that it culminated  my love of cooking...the second thing is it taught me to never, ever, ever consider opening up a restaurant of my own!  It is back breaking work and unless you have a trust fund with an endless supply of cash,  I suggest you get a real job and feed your foodie needs with a food blog!  
Back to the recipe.   Super easy and no frosting required!

Tweet

Skillet Pasta with Italian Sausage

Another Skillet Dish recipe!  The working girl (and guy) has gotta love these.  One pan, a few common ingredients and dinner is on the table.

I adapted this dish from Country Cooks magazine.   A subscription I sometimes love.  Not all their recipes works for me, which is a bit bizarre since the entire premise of the show and magazine is that each recipe be honed to perfection...tried and retried, using every method possible until they reach recipe perfection! So why don't they work for me?  and why do I keep up my subscription and why do I continue to cook from it? 
I guess I keep hoping that one day, that nice man in the round glasses and bow tie will put out something that cooks up just the way he says!  I'll certainly let ya know if that ever happens...but in the meantime, I've performed my own 'test kitchen' on this recipe and it's pretty close to perfect!

You could certainly change this up a hundred different ways by using different pasta, meat and sauce but keep the liquid measurements the same or you might get some underdone pasta.

Tweet

Super Buns! - The Easiest Homemade Rolls Ever!

When I first saw this recipe I was convinced it wouldn't work.  But what kind of bun lovin' woman would I be if I didn't try it!  They were not only great, they were bunalicious!  Who wouldn't want perfect buns?  Remember my recipe for Sweet Sexy Dinner Rolls?  Well these taste just like 'em only they are half the work...winning!

 I don't remember where I first saw the recipe, probably Pinterest...but I finally settled on this one from Jamie Cooks It Up, a very well done blog.

The wonderfulness of these are that they are basically no rise.  You put them in the oven at 170 degrees for 30 min, then turn the heat to 350 and they are done in 30 minutes.  It's a miracle...really, it really is.

Tweet

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!

Tweet

Amazing 3 Ingredient Chocolate Mousse!

I went to Phoenix last weekend to spend some quality time with the most influential woman in my life...my Mom!   She is the reason I cook, write and laugh. She is without a doubt the happiest person I know!  How cool is that?

Every morning she gets up and in her beautiful sing-song voice says, "Good Morning Sweetie Pie!".  I want to make it the ring tone on my cell, it just lifts my spirits!

You know that scene in the beginning of Wizard of Oz where the film is still in black and white ? Dorothy's house lands in Oz....she opens the door and there it is, a world of color.  That is my Mom every day. Everyday is magical. Magical, happy, and in full Technicolor!

She is an amazing cook in her own right, but she is also an accomplished actress...yup, my mom is a star! She was well known in the theatre world in Seattle, until she got tired of the rain and took her talent south.  She has been in countless movies, TV series, TV commercials and voice-overs. But her real love is live theatre.  When I watch her on stage, I forget she is my Mom...now that's super star quality!  She has won many accolades and awards, to list them all would be, well, bragging, oh wait, thats what I'm doing!

The one thing I really wanted to do during my visit (besides lay in the sun and swim in her pool), is cook with my Mom. We made made several recipes: Chocolate Mousse, Black Bottom Cupcakes and Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll ups (stay tuned for those recipes). 

We made them all in the same afternoon...she has much more energy than I do, I was done at Alfredo.  My feet hurt, my back hurt and my camera was tired, but my Mom just keeps humming and setting up camera shots.  I kept up, but was dead tired by the time we were done and quickly went to bed, exhausted.    She stayed up and watched a movie with her dear husband until 1:00am...really kids, shouldn't you be in bed?  It was a wonderful long weekend and I can't wait to do it again! 

Back to the recipe at hand, Amazing 3 Ingredient Chocolate Mousse!   If you make this once, you will make it 100 times.  It will quickly go into your most loved recipe file.  It is easy, decadent, and chocolate.  What else can I give you?   My work is done here....

NOTE:  Needs to chill at least 8 hours so it firms up in the fridge.  I was flying home the next day and we only had time to chill 3 hours.  You  can see the slices are a bit...well, let's call it 'rustic'.  It was yummy just the same.

I give this recipe and my Mom 5 stars!  

Tweet

Skillet Italian Chicken with Orzo

I've noticed a re surge of the one pan dinner lately. Love the idea! Great for weeknight and a bit healther than the Hamburger Helper  I remember as a child...but boy, did I love the Cheeseburger version!

I love the idea of everything in one pan and bam, your dinner is done!  What I don't like is when the recipe asks you to cook the pasta, rice, chicken or other ingredients in a separate pan and then add them to the skillet.  Wouldnt' that make it a 2 Skillet dinner?

So off I went to my usual resources looking for the perfect recipe.  It had to include several criteria:
1.) Must be able to cook entire recipe in one pan.
2.) Must include chicken (cause that's what I had in my fridge).
3.) Must be able to use ingredients that are easy to obtain and usually on hand.  

I dug into my plethora of recipe sights, blogs and even my old Time Life Magazine cookbooks but came up empty handed.  What to do? I know!  I'll pour some wine and ponder...something wonderful always happens when I ponder and drink red wine.  It's my go too problem solver!

At last, I found an old issue of  Cooks Country magazine and there, it was.  Not only did it fit all my criteria, it was Italian!  If you follow this blog, you know I'm a sucker for all Italian food.

Future skillet recipes: Skillet Lasagna and Healthy Skillet Cheeseburger Mac, stay tuned!

Tweet

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!

Tweet

Eula's Sunday Casserole

This was one of my first posts....I thought I would republish.  It's a perfect use of leftover turkey and my original photo was just terrible!  This recipe is totally worth a face lift!

I'll bet most people have a 'go to' casserole in their family recipe box...they almost all include a can of cream of ka-ka (cream style soup), and this one is not much different, but every time I make this, I get asked for the recipe! It feeds a crowd and has a fresh flavor that not all creamy casseroles have.
Eula was my mother-in-law, probably one of the nicest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing...she had a true heart of gold. She was a wonderful cook, and I'm not so sure she would be thrilled to know that her name is attached to one of the simplest dishes she made, but we started calling it Eula's Casserole years ago and it's too late to change now!
This feeds about 6 people and is delicious with a side of french bread.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked turkey or chicken, cubed
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 cups grated swiss cheese
4 cups cooked rotini noodles
2 cups broccoli florets
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 9 x 13 casserole dish with non stick spray. (or for easy clean up line the dish with foil).
In large bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream and chicken soup. Add chicken (or turkey), noodles, 2 cups of the cheese, broccoli and lemon juice, mix well. Pour into prepared casserole dish, cover with foil. Bake for about 45 minutes or until bubbly in the center. Remove foil, top with remaining 1/2 cup of swiss cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

Tweet

Caprese Pops!

Now how cute are these?  Easy, no cook, impressive little appetizers.

I put them in a pot of plastic grass...I thought it sounded cute...jury is still out on that one.  If you don't have a pot of plastic grass hanging around..you could stick the skewers in just about anything... get me started!

Ingredients and Directions

Cherry tomatoes
Mini Mozzarella (Ciliengine)
Olive oil
Basil or Pesto
Skewers

Slice tomatoes in half.  Remove seeds and pulp.   If you have a handy little tool like this great!  If not, a melon baller will work just fine.

Toss fresh mozzarella balls in olive oil, pesto (or basil), salt and pepper.

Skewer tomato's, add mozza balls...walla!  You got Caprese Pops!

Tweet

Top Fab 4 Fall Soups!

The top 4 favorite soups of the last year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tweet

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!

   



Tweet

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.

Tweet

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!

Tweet