Breakfast Smoothie

Most mornings I like a good homemade egg sandwich. Some mornings I'm just not in the mood. Yesterday I decided to whip up a smoothie to get in my fruit & dairy servings for the day.

I took 1 cup of Almond Milk, a banana & 1 cup of frozen strawberries. Blended it with ice & breakfast was ready!

Smoky Turkey & Saffron Red Rice

I found this recipe on Picky-palate's site. It looked really interesting & flavorful. I even went out & spent the $16 on the saffron. And I'm a little disappointed I did. I thought this dish would be "smoky", have a little kick to it. It turned out very bland. Live & learn right?

2 cups uncooked basmati rice (6 cups cooked)
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 Tbsp garlic, minced
1lb ground turkey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 15oz cans green beans
8oz tomato sauce
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp saffron threads

Cook rice according to package directions.
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent. Stir in garlic. Add ground turkey, salt & pepper, cook until cooked through & crumbled. Stir in green beans, then rice. Add tomato sauce, cumin, paprika, garlic salt & saffron. Mix well.

12 servings.

Super Bowl Sunday Snacks

I'm a Steelers fan so needless to say Super Bowl XLV didn't turn out the way I had hoped. Would have been nice to see the Steelers win twice since my husband got me back into football a few years ago. And boo, football season is over. What will we do on Sundays now?!?!

I took some time in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl to find some easy, healthy but enjoyable appetizers for the game. And I made these two:





Easy Italian Pinwheels Recipe

2oz fat free shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup pepperoni, chopped (I used mini turkey pepperoni)
1/4 tsp oregano
1 egg, seperated
1 can reduced fat crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375.
Combine cheese, pepperoni, oregano & egg yolk. Mix well.
Separate dough into 4 rectangles, pinching seams to seal. Spread each rectangle with 3 Tbsp pepperoni mixture. Roll each up, starting at the shortest side. Pinch to seal. Brush with beaten egg white (I skipped this step). Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Slice each roll into 6 slices.





Potato Skins

5 potatoes, scrubbed clean
3 slices bacon, cooked crisp
1 cup fat free cheddar, shredded

Preheat oven to 400. Place potatoes directly on rack & bake about an hour. (do not fork holes in the potatoes). Let potatoes cool. Slice in half lengthwise. Scoop potato out of skins. (Reserve potato for another meal like mashed potatoes) Sprinkle potato skins with shredded cheddar & bacon. Bake 10-15 minutes.

I topped our potato skins with some light sour cream. And added green onion to Brads.

These appetizers came out delicious & were so simple to make. The potato skins can be make ahead of time as well. I cooked the potatoes around noon, prepped them & stuck them in the fridge until halftime when I baked them.

Chicken Alfredo

I usually just crack open a jar of alfredo sauce when I'm in the mood for alfredo but when I saw this recipe I figured I'd give it a whirl.

1lb pasta of your liking - I used angel hair because that's what I had in the house.
1lb chicken, cubed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp cornstarch
3 cups fat free milk
1 cup half & half
1 cup parmesan cheese
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed & drained
1/2 tsp italian seasoning

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.

Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper. Cook chicken & garlic in butter over medium heat. Remove chicken, keep warm. Combine corn starch & milk until smooth. Stir into skillet. Add cream. Bring to a boil & cook while stirring until thickened. Stir in cheese, continue to stir until cheese is melted. Add spinach, chicken & italian seasoning. Add pasta to mixture. Cook & stir until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.

makes 12 1 cup servings

Zucchini Casserole

I used to not like zucchini. . but one night at a hibachi place I decided to give it another try. Now I love it. I go through phases with it though. I think I tend to cook it too often and then get sick of it. I've had this recipe written down for quite sometime and I finally got around to trying it. It's in the oven as I type and it smells divine!



Adapted from: Gina's Skinny Recipes

4 cups grated zucchini (I used 2 little zucchinis and a squash)
1 cup Heart Smart Bisquick
1 small onion, grated
3 egg whites
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp parsley

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Pour into pie dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 45 minutes until golden brown.

(before baking)

Serves 12
Calories: 110
Fat: 6
Carbs: 10
Fiber: 1
Protein: 3

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I knew I'd find a great new recipe or two to try in the Healthy Cooking magazine & this is the one I tried first. Em was home for a "snow day" so it gave us a chance to bake together.


1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed firm
2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp water
1 egg white
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray.

In a bowl combine oil, sugars, water, egg white & vanilla. In separate bowl combine flours, cinnamon, baking soda & salt. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Stir in oats & raisins.

The magazine said to "drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto baking sheets" and said it would make 15 cookies. When I used the 1/4 cup, I only got 10 cookies. So I moved some batter around and made 16 cookies. So eyeball it. ha ha ha.

Bake cookies 10-12 minutes.


1 cookie:
144 calories
6g fat
22g carbs
2g fiber
3g protein

Mail call!!

I LOVE getting magazines in the mail!! I currently subscribe to US Weekly, Allyou and my girlfriend E got me a subscription to Weight Watchers magazine cuz she ♥ me! I got this magazine in the mail yesterday:

I'm not really sure where it came from but I was happy to see "Comfort good makeovers", decadent desserts" and "must-have snacks" on the cover! I look forward to creating some wonderful dish out of this magazine & sharing it here on my blog.