CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Creation


Getting dressed and leaving my place to grocery shop was the last thing I wanted to do on this lazy Saturday morning. Being that my fridge was completely empty besides one lonely tomato I had to get creative when making lunch. I am a big believer of having certain staples always available in the freezer, two of these being cooked shrimp and chopped spinach. I made this in about 30 minutes and I'm rather proud of how it turned out.

RECIPE:
10 oz whole wheat penne rigate pasta
2 cups frozen shrimp, thawed in a bowl of cold water
1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 cup sundried tomatos, jarred in oil and coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 vegetable bullion cube
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup water
dash salt and pepper
parmesan cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, mince garlic and chop tomato. Heat skillet at med-high heat and coat with cooking spray. sautee garlic and red pepper flakes for a few minutes, then add 1 cup of water and 1/2 bullion cube, spinach, tomato, salt and pepper. Mix well and simmer on low until pasta finishes cooking. Mix shrimp, pasta and skillet mixture together, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese and serve.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus


Simple and delicious side dish you can make any night of the week in 15 mins. I had some leftover prosciutto from making my friend's awesome goat cheese bombs for a girls night, so I was looking for ways to use the rest of it. I've never used prosciutto before but I've had it in restaurants. After wandering around the grocery store searching for this mystery meat, I finally realized that they sell it at the deli like ham - duh! The asparagus comes out perfectly cooked and prosciutto is crispy like bacon. Yum!

RECIPE:

-Heat oven to 450F
-Wrap one-inch wide slices of prosciutto around the asparagus spears, leaving the heads exposed
-Spray baking sheet with cooking spray
-Place wrappd spears on baking sheet, sprinkle with pepper (no salt needed, the prosciutto is salty enough) and coat with olive oil or more cooking spray
-Bake 10 minutes, flip spears over after 5

Each prosciutto slice is about 50 cals and 2g fat, and asparagus is pretty much calorie-free!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Gazpacho Soup



Ahhh Gazpacho - the perfect summer soup! Gazpacho is widely popular in Spain and Portugal, and is served chilled as a refreshing meal. I do like tomato-based soups, as seen from previous posts, and when I saw this recipe in my Fitness magazine for only 215 cals per serving, I had to try it.

REVIEW: I made this soup pretty much per the recipe exactly, which is rare (the more cooking I do the more I like to tweak recipes!) and it turned out really well. Okay I did make one change, I ran out of tomato juice at 6 cups (even though i thought i had way too much by buying the enormous can) and added water to make it the right consistency. This soup works well to make at the beginning of the week, as it can be chilled in the fridge for several days and nothing will go mushy or stale, actually the flavors will blend together deliciously over a few days. I had it chilled in the fridge for an entire night and day before eating, and I noticed that the flavor changed, I ended up adding more salt and hot sauce to spice it up. I also defrosted some cooked salad shrimp to up the protein (although it's not reflected in the nutrition stats).

RECIPE:
1/2 cup EVOO
4 tablespoons lemon juice
8 cups organic tomato juice
4 large ripe tomatos, cubed
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
4 stalks celery, diced
1 large yellow or green bell pepper, diced
1 medium cucumber, diced
1 cup corn (frozen or canned or fresh)
small bunch cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste
sliced avocado (optional topping)

In a large (and I mean BIG) serving bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Pour in tomato juice and stir to mix. Add vegetables and cilantro. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and hot sauce before serving. Garnish with sliced avocado and serve. (per serving: 215 cals, 14g fat, 4g protein, 22g carbs, 3g fiber)

Monday, June 9, 2008

Grilled Tilapia, Avocado-Orange Salad, Lime Vinaigrette



My condo HOA has finally used our money for something besides the lame "exercise" pool and repaving the parking lot...they bought us two huge fancy grills for us to use! I've never owned a grill besides the tiny propane one I take camping, but I love the flavor of grilled foods, so I'm eager to learn this skill. I made my first attempt last night with tilapia!

REVIEW: This was super easy, which worked for me since I wanted to start simple. The only problem I had was the tilapia sticking to the aluminum foil, which my helpful co-worker said can be solved by buying one of these. I thought the lime vinaigrette had good flavor, but it called for a whole cup of EVOO...isn't vinaigrette supposed to be light? I didn't use that much and used more lime juice but it still seemed heavy to me. The salad was a good side for the fish, and I added couscous to round out the meal.

RECIPE:

fish:
3-4 tilapia fillets
olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
avocado-orange salad:
1 14oz can mandarin oranges, drained
4 cups baby spinach
2 ripe avocados, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup crumbled feta or blue cheese

lime vinaigrette:
1 tsp lime zest
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp orange juice
1 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Combine lime vinaigrette ingredients into leak-proof container and shake well, then refrigerate. Season the tilapia filets with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil. Heat grill to medium-high heat and cook filets 4-5 minutes on each side. Really watch it (i.e. don't go play a round of flip cup after you throw them on) so you don't over cook this delicate fish! Combine the salad ingredients and toss with lime vinaigrette. Serve each filet with a generous side of salad and drizzle with more vinaigrette.