Sunday, July 17, 2011
Rachel Ray's Green Beans 'n' Shrooms
I tried Rachel Ray's Green Beans 'n' Shrooms recipe the other night and liked it. The beans till had some firmness to them and the mushrooms were a great addition. It was super simple and quick to make. I made it ahead and served it cold, it was equally as yummy as when warm. The only thing I modified was olive oil for the butter, added garlic when I combined the mushrooms and beans and omitted the almonds. (I was out but will try them next time. I love toasted almonds.)
This recipe is defiantly worth adding to the regular line up.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Baked Kale
I am sure by now you have heard at least one celebrity saying that they cook up baked Kale and snack on it as a way to have something crispy & salty while being low cal and healthy. If you haven't tried this trick I recommend it, if not for the health benefits at least for the taste.
Not only is Kale insanely healthy for you (it is actually one of the healthiest foods that you can eat) this actually tastes great too. I don't know what it is about this simple snack, but I can eat literally the whole tray of it in a sitting. I think it is the combination of the salt and the flakiness of the Kale. Kale is known to lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of 5 different cancers and help the body to detoxify, just to name a few of its benefits. For more information and a nutritional break down go to this site.
To cook it simply wash the Kale, cut and discard the center hard stems then cut the leaves into 1"-2" pieces. Remember it shrinks when it cooks and will break apart so they don't need to be too small. Sprinkle with just enough Olive Oil to lightly coat the Kale then top with sea salt. Bake at 475, stirring frequently until the pieces crisp up and turn brownish. You may prefer them super done so they crumble or less done so they are slightly chewy. Near the end it goes from almost done to burnt rather quickly, so keep an eye on it.
Enjoy your yummy and healthy snack!
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| Kale The Super Food |
Not only is Kale insanely healthy for you (it is actually one of the healthiest foods that you can eat) this actually tastes great too. I don't know what it is about this simple snack, but I can eat literally the whole tray of it in a sitting. I think it is the combination of the salt and the flakiness of the Kale. Kale is known to lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of 5 different cancers and help the body to detoxify, just to name a few of its benefits. For more information and a nutritional break down go to this site.
To cook it simply wash the Kale, cut and discard the center hard stems then cut the leaves into 1"-2" pieces. Remember it shrinks when it cooks and will break apart so they don't need to be too small. Sprinkle with just enough Olive Oil to lightly coat the Kale then top with sea salt. Bake at 475, stirring frequently until the pieces crisp up and turn brownish. You may prefer them super done so they crumble or less done so they are slightly chewy. Near the end it goes from almost done to burnt rather quickly, so keep an eye on it.
Enjoy your yummy and healthy snack!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
'Buffalo' Chicken Breast Strips
Last night I prepared chicken that I had planned to put on the BBQ. Little did I know our BBQ was still apart, in the mid-cleaning phase. So I took the chicken and pan seared it, then coated it in additional sauce. The result was delicious. . . like really, really delicious.
I used a sauce called Piri-Piri. It is of Portuguese origin and is crazy good. We purchase ours from a local Portuguese restaurant that has had so many requests for this sauce that they have started to bottle it and sell it. If you don't have any you could use a spicy BBQ sauce or there are recipes for it online. My below recipe calls for 1/8 of a cup of two ingredients, I recommend using 1/4 measuring cup and filling it half way with one and then the other. You'll save dishes and it is easier to measure.
'Buffalo' Chicken Breasts
* Either BBQ chicken or pan sear on high heat until cooked. Keep adding tiny amounts of water to prevent the chicken from blackening on pan
'Buffalo' Toss
You are going to love these! Enjoy!
I used a sauce called Piri-Piri. It is of Portuguese origin and is crazy good. We purchase ours from a local Portuguese restaurant that has had so many requests for this sauce that they have started to bottle it and sell it. If you don't have any you could use a spicy BBQ sauce or there are recipes for it online. My below recipe calls for 1/8 of a cup of two ingredients, I recommend using 1/4 measuring cup and filling it half way with one and then the other. You'll save dishes and it is easier to measure.
'Buffalo' Chicken Breasts
- 3 Chicken breasts, but into 1" strips
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/4 cup Piri-Piri sauce
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp spicy pepper medley (or any other spices similar, Montreal Seasoning, Steak Rub)
* Either BBQ chicken or pan sear on high heat until cooked. Keep adding tiny amounts of water to prevent the chicken from blackening on pan
'Buffalo' Toss
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/4 cup Piri-Piri sauce
You are going to love these! Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Super Simple Salmon
Whether or not you are a big salmon lover it is always a good idea to have a safe full-proof recipe on standby. You never know when you may have guests that do not eat red meat or chicken, but do eat fish. In the fish world salmon is a fairly safe bet. Not overly fishy, not too flaky, delicate or tough, it generally is a crowd pleaser (at least for people who like fish).
This recipe is my go to recipe and I always get compliments on it. It is super simple and quick, even my son requests salmon and quinoa for dinner. I recommend buying the whole side of a salmon and freezing what you don't need or buying the fillets. If you buy the salmon steaks (the ones that look similar to U's) you end up spending half your meal picking out little bones.
Super Salmon
* Lightly oil baking dish placing skin side down, if there is no skin place the side where it was down
* Sprinkle with lemon pepper until salmon is totally covered but in a very thin layer
* Top with a light sprinkle of the dill
* Cook for 12-15 minutes, or until flakes apart when poked with fork
* I like to broil mine for about 3 minutes , just enough to get all that seasoning to slightly sear onto the salmon
Enjoy!
This recipe is my go to recipe and I always get compliments on it. It is super simple and quick, even my son requests salmon and quinoa for dinner. I recommend buying the whole side of a salmon and freezing what you don't need or buying the fillets. If you buy the salmon steaks (the ones that look similar to U's) you end up spending half your meal picking out little bones.
Super Salmon
- Salmon, desired amount
- Olive oil
- Lemon Pepper (made by Club House)
- Dill, dried
- Pepper
- Salt (optional) the first ingredient in the Lemon Pepper is salt, in order to avoid drying the fish out by over salting it I prefer to cook it without additional salt and add it once served if I feel it is warranted.
* Lightly oil baking dish placing skin side down, if there is no skin place the side where it was down
* Sprinkle with lemon pepper until salmon is totally covered but in a very thin layer
* Top with a light sprinkle of the dill
* Cook for 12-15 minutes, or until flakes apart when poked with fork
* I like to broil mine for about 3 minutes , just enough to get all that seasoning to slightly sear onto the salmon
Enjoy!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Blue Menu Yogurt Smoothie Review
The other day in the grocery store with my son I came across the "New!" PC Blue Menu Yogurt Smoothie. They only had mango flavour in stock but according to the website there is vanilla, strawberry and mixed berry flavours available as well. I decided this would be the perfect 'treat' for my son.
I remember my mom buying us Yop as children, if we were good in the grocery store. We fell for this 'treat' every time. Our own individual drink and it was pretty sweet too. . . we loved it. My mother wasn't big on processed stuff. Until we were old enough to really voice our opinion she bought plain yogurt and added homemade jam to it. So this really was a treat!
This drink was on sale for $1.49 usually it is around $2. It has 190 calories, only 1.5g of fat (only 1 being saturated), and 38g of carbs. It has 4 grams of fibre, which is 16% of your daily recommended value. That is defiantly a plus for this drink. I am allergic to dairy, but did taste a tiny amount. It was good, sweet but not too sweet. It had a smooth texture and the mango tasted like real mangoes, as opposed to some chemical tasting yogurts that I have tried. My son inhaled it!
Would I buy it again? As a 'treat' yes, but as a regular addition to my grocery list, no. Smoothies are so easy to make and I like to know the quality of fruit going into my smoothies. If my son was to drink 1 a day that would be $14, while not bad I could make a lot of smoothies for that.
I remember my mom buying us Yop as children, if we were good in the grocery store. We fell for this 'treat' every time. Our own individual drink and it was pretty sweet too. . . we loved it. My mother wasn't big on processed stuff. Until we were old enough to really voice our opinion she bought plain yogurt and added homemade jam to it. So this really was a treat!
This drink was on sale for $1.49 usually it is around $2. It has 190 calories, only 1.5g of fat (only 1 being saturated), and 38g of carbs. It has 4 grams of fibre, which is 16% of your daily recommended value. That is defiantly a plus for this drink. I am allergic to dairy, but did taste a tiny amount. It was good, sweet but not too sweet. It had a smooth texture and the mango tasted like real mangoes, as opposed to some chemical tasting yogurts that I have tried. My son inhaled it!
Would I buy it again? As a 'treat' yes, but as a regular addition to my grocery list, no. Smoothies are so easy to make and I like to know the quality of fruit going into my smoothies. If my son was to drink 1 a day that would be $14, while not bad I could make a lot of smoothies for that.
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