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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Breakfast Casserole

While navigating around two other cooks in the kitchen and after a small fire-in-the-oven incident, I managed to produce this casserole for Christmas morning breakfast.

REVIEW: This dish wasn't spectacular, but it was easy to put together, and I like that you can prepare it the night before then stick it in the oven in the morning. It needed a little more kick to it, maybe more pepper or spices, and definitely more cheese on top and mixed in! To make this dish healthier, I would use turkey bacon, egg beaters, and reduced fat cheese. But it's Christmas, so calories don't count today. :)

RECIPE:
1 lb bacon
2 small onions, chopped
1 lb frozen shredded hash browns
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
8 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
2 tsp dried parsley
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Cook bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until it's mostly crispy. Drain grease from skillet and set bacon aside. Put onions, garlic, and mushrooms in same skillet and cook until tender. In a large bowl, beat eggs with milk and parsley. Coat a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray. Layer hash browns in bottom of pan and sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Tear bacon into bite size pieces and layer on top of hash browns, then add onion, garlic, and mushrooms evenly distributed across the pan. Pour eggs over casserole, and top with shredded cheese. (Optional: Cover and refrigerate overnight) Bake in oven for 1 hour, or if baking immediately, bake for 45 mins. Serves 6.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Spinach and Potato Frittata

I must admit that the pic was taken from allrecipes.com where I got the recipe because I was too busy eating to take one of my own! While I was home for Christmas, my friend and I decided to host a brunch for our high school girlfriends. We served coffee cake, hash browns, fruit salad, mimosas, and this tasty and easy veggie frittata.

REVIEW: It was a little tricky gettng everything mixed in and done at the same time without overdoing any one thing. The potatoes went in first, followed by garlic, green onions, spinach, and tomatoes in that order. The eggs took longer to firm up than I anticipated, probably because we used a deep skillet, and i had to turn up the heat took cook it through which caused it to burn a tiny bit on the bottom. Next time I would use a flat skillet with high sides for easier and faster cooking. Besides that, it was so easy! I might try using mostly egg whites with a couple of yolks next time to make it healthier. Everyone liked it!

RECIPE:
olive oil
4 small red potatoes, sliced 1/4" thin
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 cup fresh spinach
1/4 cup sliced green onions
3 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat olive oil in skillet on medium-high heat, saute sliced potatoes until they are semi-soft (not mushy). Add garlic, green onion, spinach, and tomatoes, cook for 5 mins. Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper together in a bowl, then pour over veggies in skillet making sure it covers all the veggies. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Reduce heat to med-low and cover until eggs are firm and cheese is melted. Serves 6. (per serving: 284 cals, 13g fat, 12g protein, 29g carbs)

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Mango Salsa Chicken


This is my friend Kim's recipe. I've made it several times before and I love it...it's easy, healthy, and it always turns out delicious!
REVIEW: Mango is just an awesome fruit, and it's fun to use something that I don't eat all the time. I don't know what exactly causes the chicken to be so tender, if it's the pounding or simmering it it in the sauce. I hate dry, chewy chicken but this was perfect. Using medium salsa gave it a little kick, you can try hot salsa if you can handle more than me, which is likely. :)Simmering the salsa with the mango and veggies takes some of the hotness out of it. I would recommend for dinner parties too b/c you can leave it simmering for a while on the stove smelling delicious while you serve a salad or appetizer.
RECIPE:
1lb chicken breasts
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1 mango, diced
1 orange
red or yellow bell pepper (I used 1/2 of each for color), diced
1cup medium salsa
garlic salt
cumin
salt
pepper
olive oil
Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness. Rub in garlic salt, pepper, and cumin. Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook chicken on medium-high heat to brown on each side. Squeeze half of orange on chicken while cooking. Remove chicken breasts, throw in diced peppers, tomatos, and mango. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and other half of orange juice. Saute for 5 minutes, then put chicken back in. Add salsa to skillet and cover chicken in the mixture. Lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. (per serving: 423 cals, 11g fat, 50g protein, 32 carbs)

Monday, December 3, 2007

Pesto Chicken Florentine



I was craving pasta, but it turns out that it is really hard to find a low-calorie pasta dish! I found this one that wasn't too bad, but I adjusted it to make it even more healthy, by adding more veggies and using whole-wheat pasta.
REVIEW: I usually steer clear of alfredo since it's really bad for you and sooo rich and heavy, but I only used the minimum needed to coat the pasta, so it had just enough creaminess. The added carrots, tomatoes, and broccoli definitely made the dish more interesting. It would be great without the chicken too. And I made the full batch so I have lots of lunch leftovers!
RECIPE:
olive oil
3 cloves garlic
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced
3 cups fresh spinach leaves
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup baby carrots, sliced
1 stalk broccoli, chopped
4 oz alfredo sauce
1 pkg dry pesto mix, prepared
8 oz whole-wheat penne pasta
grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and vegetables except for tomatoes, saute until softened to your likeness and spinach is cooked. Remove all from skillet and set aside. Cook chicken in skillet until done, then add veggies back in, cover and put on low heat. In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Add pesto and alfredo to pasta until coated, then add in vegetables and mix all together. Serve with grated cheese sprinkled on top. Makes 4 servings. (original recipe stats per serving, but I think I did better: 571 cals, 19g fat, 42g protein, 57g carbs)