SHRIMP AND GRITS

Tonight's supper was a big hearty bowl of shrimp and grits minus the guilt. This recipe was given to me by a co-worker. She found it in a Southern Living Magazine. According to the recipe it only has 235 calories per serving and 6.1g of fat (that is for 1/2 cup of grits and 1/3 cup sauce). It was very good, had a little heat, but not much and once you started eating the heat went away..so if you like them spicy I would add more hot sauce or some cayenne. And of course I added my little touch to the original recipe, so the calories and fat may be a little more but not a lot. The basmati rice in the picture is for mama, she doesn't eat grits....I'm sure she is not a true southerner. 

Ingredients

Grits:

1/2 tsp salt

2 c water

2 c skim milk

1 1/4 c quick-cooking grits

1/2 c fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

In a medium sauce pan bring salt, water and milk to a boil. Gradually whisk in grits. Cover and cook on medium low, stirring occasionally. Cook for about 8 minutes or until grits and done and thickened (you want them very thick so they will not be runny when the sauce is added). Whisk in Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Keep warm. 

Shrimp and Sauce:

1 T olive oil

1 8oz Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced

1 lb medium size raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (41/50 count)

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/8 tsp salt

non-stick cooking spray

1 T Olive Oil

1 T all-purpose flour

1 1/4 c low sodium fat free chicken broth

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp hot sauce

1/2 c green onions, chopped

2 c firmly packed fresh baby spinach

Mushrooms:

In a nonstick skillet heat 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil over medium high heat. Cook sliced mushrooms until tender and browned. (HINT: do not season mushrooms until they are cooked completely, they will turn watery in the pan if you salt them in the beginning.) Once mushrooms are browned you can season to taste. Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside. 

Shrimp:

Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Spray your non-stick pan with cooking spray and add shrimp. Cook shrimp over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side or just until shrimp turns pink, be careful not to over cook. Remove from pan and set aside. 

Sauce:

Reduce heat to medium. Add 1 T Olive oil, heat for about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whisk in broth and add garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, hot sauce and green onions. Cook about 3-5 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken. Add spinach, mushrooms and shrimp to sauce and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until spinach is slightly wilted. Serve immediately over grits. Can garnish with lemon zest, green onions and some fresh Parmesan cheese if you like. 

SWEET ROASTED CARROTS

I actually had a request that I post this recipe. So here is what was for supper tonight....Turkey breast, Sweet Roasted Carrots and steamed broccoli.

Ingredients

1-2 lb baby carrots

1-2 T EVOO

Kosher salt

pepper

all purpose seasoning (I use Miss Sassy's Rub which is made and sold locally or you can buy online)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place carrots on sheet in a single layer. Pour EVOO over carrots and season to taste with salt, pepper and all purpose seasoning to taste. With your hands toss carrots around in the EVOO and spices to coat well. Bake for 40-50 minutes until tender, start to brown just a little and carrots have shriveled like in the picture. 

Note: When I mention all purpose seasoning, I don't mean season all or season salt - it has too much saltiness to me, but can certainly be used. I used to use Stax Seasoning from a local restaurant, but they stopped selling in stores. I then started experimenting with Toni's Greek seasoning, Mrs Dash all purpose, Emeril's Bam and several others until I found Miss Sassy's which works on meats and veggies (Has a little heat and little sweet). Just find a seasoning in your local grocery that states it is good for poultry, beef, pork and/or fish and it will probably be good in almost anything.

Special note: After you toss the carrots and your hands are covered in kosher salt and EVOO....rub the oil and salt into your hands before you wash them. The salt will exfoliate your hands and the oil will moisturize. 

ON THE GO BREAKFAST

On The Go Breakfast is my version of a grab and go breakfast that came about when i was trying to figure out how to make a Frittata more portable. And every time I make it I change it up a little. I just make little muffin egg cups, we grab a couple, reheat them and can go out the door with them or sit and eat before we go. But either way they are ready in about 30 seconds.

Ingredients

Lean Meat - your choice - Turkey sausage, turkey bacon, Canadian bacon, ham, turkey, etc.

Vegetables - your choice - peppers, potatoes, mushrooms, onions, spinach, asparagus, etc. 

Cheese - your choice - cheddar, Colby jack, feta, Parmesan, goat cheese, etc. 

10-12 eggs

1/2 c milk 

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare your meats and veggies. In my case I used Canadian bacon, onions. mushroom and shredded potatoes.

1/2 medium onion, diced; 8-10 mushrooms, diced; 12 slices Canadian Bacon, cut into small pieces; about 1 1/2 cups shredded potatoes.

Shred and soak the potatoes in water to remove some of the starch. While the potatoes soak cook the bacon, onions and mushrooms (or your choice of veggies and meats) in just a little EVOO until done. Set them aside to cool in a bowl lined with paper towels to drain any fat. Drain the potatoes, rinse them and squeezed out any excess water by putting them in a clean towel and squeezing it until most of the water was gone. Cook them in a little EVOO and a tbsp of light butter (Brummel and Brown), be sure to season your potatoes with salt and pepper. Cook them until almost done. Let them cool so you can handle them. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with non stick spray and then layer the potatoes, meat and veggie mixture and some cheese in each cup. 

Beat the eggs and milk together and pour it into each muffin cup. You do fill these pretty full so place a baking sheet under the muffin pan in case any spills over when cooking. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over each cup and with a fork or even a toothpick mix the eggs and filling together a little. I don't combine the fillings with the eggs because you usually end up with one full of potatoes, another with almost nothing and another with meat and no potatoes. If you put the fillings in first and then mix in the eggs in each cup you can control the fillings more. Bake in 375 oven until set and begins to brown.

Allow to cool completely and then store in refrigerator in a gallon sized zip lock bag or a large container with a lid. In the morning pull out 2-3 egg muffins and heat in microwave for 30-40 seconds and breakfast is served. 

BLACK EYED PEA SOUP

A few months ago I was at a local restaurant and one of their special was a Black Eyed Pea Soup. It was so good. That is why i decided to try my hand at making my own version of the same soup.

This is my only picture I made. It of course shows what we had for supper tonight - the soup, grilled boneless pork chops and mashed potatoes. I was not sure the soup would be good, when it turned out delish I knew I would have to share it. 

Ingredients

1 lb dry black eyed peas, sort and rinse

1 small onion, diced

1 small red bell pepper, diced

1 can diced tomatoes with chilies and onions (Rotel tomatoes)

2 cans broth, your choice, I used beef

2 T cumin

1 tsp all purpose seasoning (I use Miss Sassy's)

salt and pepper to taste

1 T EVOO

Heat a skillet with EVOO over medium heat. Once hot add diced onions and peppers, cook until just tender but not done. Put rinsed and sorted peas in a large (at least 8 qt) stock pot with a lid. Add the onions and pepper, tomatoes and 2 cans of broth (you can use any broth beef, chicken, vegetable). Fill the pot the rest of the way with water to almost 3/4 full. Bring to a rolling boil and then reduce heat to medium low and simmer until peas are tender. Once peas are tender reduce heat to low and add seasonings. Simmer on low until ready to eat, but at least 20 minutes.  

PERFECT OMELETS

It's Saturday morning! That means no precooked on the go breakfast. I had time to cook myself a delicious omelet. Unfortunately I was out of some of the things I wanted to put in my omelet, so I made do with what I had.

The secrets to a perfect omelet....

1. A really good nonstick pan with rounded edges. You don't want a pan with a flat bottom and straight sides. And I prefer a 10 inch pan; most pans designated for omelets are 8 inches. I have also seen omelet pans as big as 14 inches. I can't quite wrap my head around a 14 inch omelet, but maybe if you are cooking for the Jolly Green Giant, the Brawny man or Mr. Clean you might want a 14 inch skillet. Omelet pans also come in stainless steel, for the home cook and if you are watching what you eat I suggest good quality nonstick. You will need to use more fat/butter/oil in a stainless.

2. Your eggs should be at room temperature. Nobody ever tells you this on TV. I think the eggs beat smoother, you don't end up with clumps of whites that just refuse to incorporate with the rest of the egg. I also think it helps the cooking of the omelet. I mean think about it you have a very cold beaten egg that you are putting into a very hot skillet...you just cooled the skillet some. I also think the eggs get tougher, almost as if they seize up or something. And if you forget to lay them out a half hour to an hour before you are cooking them or you don't have time to lay them out...put them in a bowl of very warm water while you prep everything. Check the water after a few minutes, it will have turned cold, just pour it out and add some more warm water. this should do it, by the time you finish prepping/cooking your fillings your eggs should be warm.

3. Beat the eggs well. You want them to be a little frothy when you beat them. You know they are beaten well if you lift some of the egg up with your fork or whisk and you don't see clumps of unbeaten white plop back into the eggs. Also the more you beat them, they fluffier the omelet will be. I don't like mine too fluffy so I just beat them until a light froth appears.

3. Patience is a virtue - at least when it comes to omelet cooking. You don't want to cook it over a high heat and make it too brown and rubbery. You need to cook them over a medium low heat which will take time.


The Omelet

Ingredients
2-4 eggs, beaten until frothy
1 tsp of water or skim milk per egg used
salt and pepper
cheese, your choice
fillings, your choice, chopped if needed

First you want to prepare your fillings. This morning I used turkey bacon, onion and mushrooms. I will discuss filling ideas a little later. I chopped all my fillings items and cooked them in my skillet until done.

Remove you filling items from the skillet and set aside. You may want to clean the skillet out with a dry paper towel, to give the omelet a good clean surface to start on. I list 2-4 eggs for a reason - this is up to you. For a 10 inch skillet I think 3 eggs is perfect, not too thin or too thick. If you want a thick omelet use 4, for an 8 inch skillet 2 would be perfect to me, 3 would be thick. Heat the skillet over medium low heat and spray it well with nonstick cooking spray, you might also add just a little low fat butter spread like Brummel and Brown (1/4 - 1/2 tsp) for flavor. Slowly pour in your beaten eggs. As they start to cook pull the cooked edges up and tilt the pan to allow a little uncooked egg to go under it. Do this around the skillet until the egg starts to firm up and doesn't wont to move under the cooked egg any longer. (Hint: if you are worried about getting your egg completely cooked, then you might want to put it under the broiler on low for just a few minutes but watch it closely. This is easier than trying to flip the omelet over to cook both sides). Now is when you put your filling in it. I put mine kind of off center but not all the way to the edge and on the side of the omelet that is farthest away from the handle (you will see why later0.

I do this because I like to kind of trifold my omelet (think trifold wallet) , much like you see in most restaurants. Top with cheese.  Now using a spatula go around the edges and under as much as possible to make sure your omelet is not sticking. Now is the time to turn off your heat and just use the heat left in the egg and the pan. I then fold the smaller egg side of my omelet over the filling ingredients. Then fold the larger side over and let it sit for a moment with a lid on it. This will help set any remaining uncooked egg and melt the cheese. Now just turn it out onto a plate and enjoy.

Filling ideas:

I use lean meats such as turkey sausage, turkey bacon, Canadian bacon, or even lean lunch meats like turkey and ham. 

For veggies, the sky is the limit, use what you like...onions, peppers, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, asparagus, broccoli, avocado the list could go on and on. Just be sure to cut your filling items small or thin...you will be less likely to tear your omelet as you fold it over. 

Cheese - again use what you like - cheddar, mozzarella, feta, goat cheese, Colby jack, Havarti -  if I had some feta and spinach this morning, both would have been in my omelet. Just use your cheese in moderation. That is actually hard for me to say because I LOVE cheese.

Here is a great video that shows how to fold (trifold) and omelet and shows how to lift and tilt to move the uncooked egg under the cooked. 

http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2009/06/simple-italian-omelette-its-what-i-had.html

Enjoy your breakfast!

FROZEN YOGURT SHAKES

Looks like I am sharing 2 recipes tonight. I have been craving a milk shake lately so I decided to make my own. It's not something I would eat every night or every other night. This is a treat to have once in a while...moderation is key.

You can take this same recipe and make almost any flavor shake you might be craving. Tonight we had peanut butter. Next time I might go for peach....I was good this summer and did not once go to Chick-fil-a for a peach milk shake. But I am still craving one.

Here is how I made the shakes tonight.

Using my GE Rocket

Ingredients
3 scoops Ice cream or Froyo (frozen yogurt)
1/2 - 3/4 c Soy milk or skim milk (depends how thick you want it)
1 T (heaping) peanut butter - wish I had some healthier peanut butter, but we had several big jars of Peter Pan when we started dieting...we need to get rid of them and then worry about some good natural peanut butter - preferably the no stir kind.
I used yogurt tonight, if you use ice cream check the label - get something lower in fat and calories - the slow churn ice creams often have less than ones sold as low fat or light. My vanilla froyo above only has 90 calories for a 1/2 c serving - yes that is a small serving, but you don't need a lot for a shake.

I don't really measure since I use the cups that go with my blender, so the measurements are a guess-timate. And I do make the shakes a little thin/runny I would prefer them thick, but that means using more higher fat items. I filled my cup about halfway to the fill line with Silk, then put in about 3 scoops froyo and 1 heaping Tbs of peanut butter and blended until smooth. Putting the milk in first will help it blend, if you put the froyo in first it tends to stick to the bottom, which becomes the top when inverted to blend.
I wanted just plan old peanut butter milk shake so i used the vanilla froyo, my parents wanted the chocolate froyo.
Next time I try this, I think I might get peach froyo and add some frozen peaches to it.

Blogging and enjoying my treat.

CRISPY PARM CHICKEN

Tonight I made up this recipe on the fly while I was preparing it.

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups panko bread crumbs (whole wheat if you can find them)
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 T light butter spread, melted (we use Brummel and Brown)
2 T EVOO
2 T Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a over safe baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine Panko (I used Italian style Panko for this recipe tonight, but you can use plain as well, I would just add some spices - parsley and garlic powder maybe), Parmesan, melted butter (cooled so it does not melt the cheese) and EVOO together in a bowl and set aside.
Place chicken in sprayed dish and brush the Dijon mustard over each breast (you just want a thin coating) and then season each breast with salt and pepper. Top each breast with the bread crumb mixture. Cook for approx 25 minutes or until chicken is done.
Cooking time may vary depending on size and thickness of your breasts. You may also need to turn on the broiled the last few minutes to brown the breading a little. We have a convection oven so I just turn on our speed bake and everything brown wonderfully.

Here is another use for my fave blender.

We always use fresh Parm cheese. I used my GE Rocket to grate the cheese, it does it very fine so it is perfect for a bread crumb mixture. 

I also made sauteed zucchini and roasted potatoes to go with tonight's meal. 

This was my plate...I also try to practice portion control. 

This was my Dad's plate...a little less control!