German Sausage and Potato Soup (CrockPot)

This recipe is loosely based off a recipe I found online. In the spirit of due credit, I will hunt it down and link it.

Ingrediants:
6 cups low fat, no-added salt Chicken Broth
4 turkey dinner sausage (italian or hot, whichever you prefer)
1 large bag of frozen hash brown potato
1 can sauerkraut
1 small bag frozen Seasoning Mix Veggies (has onions, and red and green pepper)
2 Tbsp ground mustard powder

Process:

1. Brown the turkey sausage according to the package direction, then slice into 1/2 inch or smaller slices.
2. Combine Broth, frozen potatoes, frozen veggies and sauerkraut in a large crock pot.
3. Add the cooked and sliced sausage, and sprinkle the mustard on top and mix everything together.
4. Heat in the crockpot of high for 4-6 hours.

Notes:

• Overall it was very good! I ate it for lunch at work and it was perfectly filling with a small ciabatta roll on the side for dipping.
• A little nervous what the veggies will do to my gut if I eat this on sequential days.
  
• I think I might brown the potatoes before adding them next time. I think it would add just a touch more texture and color.
• There was a bit more sauerkraut than I would have liked. Next time I will use the small can.
• Since I love the sausage I might use a full tray of 5 links of sausage next time.
• The sodium count is probably through the roof, though if I use the smaller can next time it would be better.
• One could definitely use any kind of sausage they like, the smokier the better. I assume the traditional recipe calls for bratwurst or something of the like.

Please let me know if you try this and have any feedback!! Enjoy!

Healthy Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is one of DBF's favorite meals from the box. You know those pre-made cordon bleu's in the freezer section? Sure they are yummy, and quick and easy to make, but have you looked at the nutritional value? So I did some research and took bits and pieces from other recipes and came up with this.

Healthy Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingrediants:
3 slices Healthy Deli (99% fat free, reduced sodium) honey ham
3 thin cut, skinless chicken breast
3 slices provolone cheese
EVOO spray
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary to taste

Process:

1. Lay the chicken pieces flat.
2. Layer one slice of ham on top of each piece of chicken.
3. Layer one slice of provolone on top of the ham.
4. Roll the chicken carefully, starting from the smaller end.
5. When it's rolled as tight as possible, secure with a toothpick.
6. Spray a baking dish with EVOO and place chicken in it.
7. Spray the chicken liberally with EVOO.
8. Sprinkle on the seasonings to taste.
9. Bake in 425 degree over for approximately 15 minutes.

Notes:

• You could also use regular chicken breast, pounded thin. I just prefer to skip the pounding and buy the thin slices chicken. There's problably less calories this way as well.
• I didn't have any toothpicks in the house so I rolled them as tight as I could get them, then placed them in the pan seam side down. Thet stayed together pretty well.
• Do not overcook! Another reason to use the thin sliced chicken is that the chicken will cook faster, making it easier to avoid overcooking.
• I found using the thin slices chicken also made the perfect portion size! Not too big, not too small.
  

White Pizza with Spinach

This is a great healthy alternative to the local pizza shop.

White Pizza with Spinach

Ingrediants:
1 bag raw wheat pizza dough from the grocery store
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 cup thawed, chopped spinach
1/2 bag part-skin mozzarella
1 cup shredded Parmesan
1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
1 small jar of minced garlic
EVOO

Process:

1. Take dough out, remove it from bag and place on a plate on the counter for 20-30 min to allow it to rise.
2. Grease a large baking sheet with EVOO.
3. Work risen dough to a large flat rectangle on the baking sheet, working it as thin as possible without holes.
4. Lightly oil the dough with EVOO.
5. Scoop 1/2 Tsp of minced garlic out of jar and spread on top.
6. Pour the liquid from the jar all over the dough, to the amount of a couple Tsp.
   
7. Place in a 425 degree oven for 7-10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven.
9. Spread mozzarella then permesan cheese evenly on top of dough.
10. Place tomato sparsely on top.
11. Fill the gaps with small scoops of spinach.
12. Place about 10 small scoops evenly on top of everything.
13. Put back in the over on a rack near the middle for about 10 minutes.
14. Remove from over when all cheese is melted and edges are lightly browned.
15. Remove from baking pan and plate immediately after removing from over to keep bottom from continuing to cook.
16. Slice, Serve and enjoy!!

Notes:

• I found this wheat dough to be much easier to work with. Much less sticky, and produce fewer holes.
• I found many recipes call for making a garlic sauce that uses milk or cream. I wanted to skip this for the sake of calories, and simplicity. I was going to just spread the minced garlic but when I saw all the liquid in the jar I figured it would be a great way to have the perfect amount of garlix flavor. It was strong but not jarring... PERFECT!
• Some recipes put the tomato under the cheese, but I was afraid this would let the liquid from the tomato absord into the dough making it soggy. Not ideal..... it turned out just as I had hoped this way!

Buffalo Chicken Calzone

Tonight I made a buffalo chicken calzone for BF and a pizza for myself which I will blog in a separate post so that it more easily searched/printed.

To speed up the preparation process I prepared the chicken the night before. I marinated 2 thin cut chicken breast in buffalo sauce for an hour then broiled for 7 minutes on each side. I stored this in the fridge overnight.

Buffalo Calzone

Ingrediants:
1 bag raw pizza dough from grocery store
2 thin cut chicken breast, prepared as described above.
4 TB pizza sauce
1/2 bag shredded mozzarella
Small handful of shredded Parmesan cheese
EVOO

Process:

1. Take dough out of fridge and place on a plate on the counter for 20-30 min to let it rise.
2. Once dough is risen, grease a large baking sheet with EVOO
3. Work dough as thin as possible without holes, and spread out on pan in a rectangle.
4. Spoon pizza sauce on top, spread out leaving an inch on all sides.
5. Pile mozzarella evenly on top.
6. Dice up cooked chicked and place on top in a long skinny pile in center.
7. Wrap dough around to seal the long sides against each other.
8. Fold ends up and over, sealing.
9. Carefully flip entire calzone over so the seam is on the bottom (this helps it hold together better).
10. Spray the whole thing with EVOO spray and sprinkle parmesan on top.
11. Put in 425 degree over for approximately 10-20 minutes.
12. Keep an eye on it so that it browns on the outside but does not burn.
13. Remove from over, plate and slice into inch wide slices.
14. Serve and enjoy!

Notes:

• I use Red Hot's Buffalo sauce.
• I find the white pizza dough really hard to work with. It is super sticky and using flour dries it out to much. That is why I prefer to work with it with EVOO.
• Cook it as long as possible without burning. If you remove it too soon the dough will be raw on the inside. It helps to cook it on a rack low in the over so it can cook longer without browning as quickly.
• I cooked it on Convection back for 12 minutes. I find convection back keeps the bottom from burning.

Leaner Steak and Cheese

Steak and cheese is an old favorite of mine, and an important member of the comfort-food group. I rarely eat red meat at all, but this is one that I break the rules for. I leaned out the traditional steak and cheese by using a wheat submarine roll and provolone instead of cheddar.

Sorry for no pictures but I lost my camera battery charger. I just got a new one and it's charging as I blog, so I should be able to take pictures of tonight's dinner for tomorrow's post.

Leaner Steak and Cheese:

Ingredients:
3/4 Lb Deli Roast Beef, shaved
3 slices provolone cheese
3 Wheat Submarine Rolls
2 cans of cooked mushrooms
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
Montreal Steak Seasoning mix, to taste
EVOO, sprinkle

Process:

1. Coat the bottom of a large, deep skillet with EVOO.
2. Heat skillet and oil on medium-high heat.
3. Put both cans of mushrooms in pan and start to heat.
4. When mushrooms begin to sweat a bit add the roast beef.
5. Sprinkle Montreal steak seasoning and Worcestershire sauce on top to taste.
6. Cook until there is no pink left on the meat, stirring frequently.
   
7. While meat is cooking, place 1 slice of cheese evenly inside the sub rolls.
8. Place rolls under boiler on low, opened up so the cheese will melt and the bread gets a bit toasty on the edges.
9. When bread is ready remove from over and plate.
10. Spoon meat and mushroom mixture into rolls on top of cheese.
11. Serve and enjoy!!

Notes:

• I was also going to add roasted red pepper, but I ran out.
• I put approximately 1 TB of Worcestershire, and probably 1 TSP of seasoning.
• Be careful not to over cook the meat. Because it is shaved thin, it drive out easily.
• You can add some water to the meat to keep it from drying out if you want to cook it longer.
• I like to also add fresh tomato slices and shredded lettuce to the bun before adding the meat. I like the contrast of the cool veggies with the warm meat.
  

Skillet Corn and Pork

I am a huge fan of quick weekday dinner meals that utilize a minimal number of ingrediants, and ever fewer pots/pans and utensils, yet still include a dynamic and comforting taste. Tonight's dinner hit just that note!

Skillet Corn and Pork

Ingredients:
1 can Southwest Style Corn Nibblets
1/2 can Black Beans
2 Tbsp Margarine
EVOO
2 Pork Chops of medium thickness
Montreal Steak Seasonings (to taste)
Salt (to taste)

Process:

1. Melt the margarine in a large skillet add can of corn and half can of black beans.
   
2. Heat on medium-high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon frequently.
   
3. Add salt to taste, and keep stirring until browned.
   
4. Remove from heat and put in serving bowl.
   
5. Coat bottom of skillet with EVOO and turn heat down to medium.
   
6. Once oil is warmed place pork chops in the skillet and sprinkle Montreal Seasoning on top.
   
7. Flip chops and sprinkle on other side.
   
8. Let cook for 5-10 minutes and flip to cook 5-10 minutes on the other.
   
9. If middle is still not cooked through, place under low broiler for a couple minutes each side.

Notes:

• I am sure this would be awesome to cook in a caste iron skillet, unfortunately I do not own one. I used a tall sided non-stick skillet.
• I gave a somewhat wide interval of time for cooking to pork, but this is because cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the cut. Typically with pork, I will cook it until the fat has seeped out the sides and congeled. It also helps to judge based on density when pushed with a fork, but I find this method much more difficult and inaccurate.
• Total cook time for everything was about 15-20 minutes.
  

Boneless Buffalo Bites

One of my favorite treats at a restaurant is Boneless Buffalo wings. Here is my attempt to kill a craving in a way that is a little less bad for me since they are baked, not fried.

Boneless Buffalo Bites

Ingredients:
2 Large chicken breasts (remove skin and de-bone)
1 Cup Buttermilk
1 box (2 packets) of Original flavor Shake n' Bake
1/2 Cup Franks buffalo sauce
3 tbsp honey

Process:

1. Cut chicken breast into bite sized chunks.
2. Put buttermilk into Ziploc bag, add chicken. Place in fridge for 30-60 min.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
4. After marinating, remove from fridge and dredge in Shake n' Bake.
5. Place chicken pieces on a baking sheet coated lightly with Olive Oil cooking spray.
6. Bake for 10 minutes on each side.
7. In a bowl, mix buffalo sauce and honey.
8. Remove chicken from over and dredge in sauce.
9. Serve with Zesty, chunky lite blue cheese and fat free ranch dressings.

NOTES:

• I used the bag that came with the Shake n' Bake to marinate the chicken in, since I did not have any large Ziploc bags left.
• Shake n' Bake breadcrumbs are a little too coarse for my liking. Next time I will use regular breadcrumbs.
• Buffalo sauce was a little too spicy for our liking. Will research options to make sauce more mild.
  

Crab Cakes with Avocado Sauce

No introduction necessary......

Crab cake ingredients:
1 lb chunk real crab

3 Tbsp Fat Free Mayo

1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 bread crumbs
1 Tbsp butter
2 Garlic cloves smashed
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/4 Tsp salt

Avocado Sauce Ingrediants:
1/2 Avocado (halved, pitted and removed from skin)
1 Tbsp fat Free Mayo
1 Tbsp Lime Juice
1/4 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp sugar
1/4 Cup Reduced Fat Sour Cream

Process: Crab cakes
(Since I prefer my crab cakes with a finer texture I put the chunk crab into a food processor and pulsed a couple time to chop it. But if you prefer it chunky you can skip this step.)
1. In a large bowl mix the crab, mayo, mustard, a sprinkle or salt, and 3-4 Tbsp of bread crumbs, until evenly combined.
2. Cover and place in fridge.
3. Preheat over to 400.
4. Melt the butter in a small skillet and add smashed garlic.
5. Stir for about 2 min. until garlic is browned.
6. Add thyme and salt and stir for another minute until fragrant.
7. Add remaining bread crumbs to pain and stir to coat evenly with butter.
8. Cook until bread crumbs are lightly browned.
9. Pour breadcrumbs out onto flat plate.
10. Retrieve crab mixture from fridge, separate into 4 even patties and place on wax paper.
11. One at a time place crab patties on top of bread crumb mixture and flip to coat both sides.
12. Place breaded patties on baking sheet sprayed with olive oil.
13. Put into preheated over for about 12 min., or until browned.

Process: Sauce
1. Place cut, pitted and skinned avocado into food processor, and pulse to chop.
2. Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth.
(I found it helpful to add a little more liquid to get the texture I prefer.)

NOTES:

• Next time I would use milk to make the sauce. The sour cream taste was a little too strong for me and took over the taste of the cakes.
• Though baking probably saved alot of fat in the process, I think I still prefer the nice crust you get from pan frying them.
• I found this to have too much garlic.
• I would skip the mustard as I really didn't taste it.
• I would use more bread crumbs in the crab mix, for texture and "stickiness".

BTW...

BTW, the bruschetta is still good as leftovers 2 days later. Mmmmm....

Also, today is DBF's birthday and I plan on making a good dinner for him. What that will be, I am still not sure, I am waiting for him to tell me what he would like. A few options... roasted chicken, fillet Mignon, lobster.... hmmmm... still thinking.

I am craving sauteed shrimp though, too bad he doesn't like seafood. Maybe I will make some up for lunch this week. I am also craving lasagna, but I wanted to try something new with it. Maybe lasagna rolls, so that portion sized are easy.

Italian Grilled Cheese

I am apparently on an Italian/Mediterranean kick! Or it's just what I have in the house...

Italian Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:
2 Slices Lite Sourdough Bread
Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil (ELTOO)
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
1 Roma Tomato

Process:
1. Heat a small skillet on med/high heat.
2. Spray one side of each slice of bread with ELTOO
3. Place one slice in pan, oil side down.
4. Cover the bread with thin slices of fresh mozzarella.
5. Cover pan and let the cheese melt.
6. When cheese has started to melt place slices of roma tomato on top of the cheese.
7. Cover and let cook until bread is browned.
8. Place a couple more slices of cheese on top of the tomato.
9. Layer last slice on bread on top of the pile (oil side up).
10. Carefully flip the sandwich.
11. Use a plate or spatula to smoosh the whole thing together tightly. (I find this helps the cheese melt more evenly, and helps the sandwich stick together when done.)
12. Cover the pan and cook for a minutes, until bread is brown.
13. Remove from pan, cut diagonally, SERVE and ENJOY!

Snack by the pool

Continuing with the Mediterranean theme for the day I made up some pita triangles and Baba Ghannouj for a mid afternoon snack, enjoyed while sitting poolside.

I purchased the Baba Ghannouj ready-made from my local grocer. It is Cedar's Roasted Baba Ghannouj.

To make the pita triangles:
1. Slice 2 flats of pita bread into triangles. (I found this easily done using a pizza cutter.)
2. Coat or spray with olive oil on both sides.
3. Lay in a single layer on a baking pan.
4. Cook at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.
5. Flip and cook for another 4 minutes.
6. Don't worry if they still seem oily, just take them out and dump them off the pan onto a paper towel for a few minutes.
7. Serve in a bowl (like chips), with the Baba Ghannouj.

YUMMY!

Gives me the idea of making pita chips. I just need to decide on the best flavors to try, here are a few ideas.
1. Simply Sea Salt
2. Garlic Salt
3. Parmesan
4. BBQ
5. Lemonpepper

Any other ideas out there??

Weekend Bruschetta

I woke up craving something fresh, light and flavorful for lunch. I immediately thought of bruschetta. Here is my interpretation for Weekend Bruschetta. I skipped the traditional garlic because my local grocery didn't have fresh garlic in stock, and that saves me from having garlic breath the rest of the day. Truthfully, for lunch, I didn't miss the garlic; but for dinner or hors d'

oeuvres I would certainly include it by rubbing it on the oiled bread before toasting.

Ingredients:
4 Roma Tomatoes
1 Tbsp Fresh Basil, chopped
1 Tbsp Fresh Oregano, chopped
1 Ball Fresh Mozzarella, chopped into pieces
2-3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinaigrette
Salt
Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil (ELTOO)
6 slices Lite Sourdough Bread

Process:
1. Wash and chop the fresh herbs and put into bowl.
2. Cut and remove the seeds from the tomatoes, then dice and add to bowl.
3. Dice the mozzarella and add to bowl. (I bought a large loaf that is pre-sliced, and used half.)
4. Sprinkle salt over everything (to taste)
5. Sprinkle 2-3 tbsp of Balsamic Vinaigrette over everything.
6. Toss evenly with spoon, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
7. Lay slices of bread on a baking sheet and coat generously with ELTOO.
8. Place under broiler, with over door cracked, for approx. 5 min until edges are brown. Keep a close eye on it so as to not over brown.
9. Remove from oven, and move to a platter.
10. Top each slice with a generous amount of the tomato and mozzarella mixture.
11. SERVE and ENJOY!

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