"Pasta" Primavera

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 green peppers, diced (publix sells these already cut up, and frozen)
1/2 onions, diced (publix sells these already cut up, and frozen)
1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. dried basil leaves, crushed
1 tsp. each garlic powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 bag frozen vegetable combination
2 packages of tofu shirataki spaghetti

Directions

1. In large skillet heat olive oil until hot, on medium. Stir in green peppers and onions and cook until transulent. (about 3 minutes)

2. Add soup, water, cheese, lemon juice, basil, garlic powder and pepper. Stir in vegetable, bring to a boil for about a minute. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Meanwhile, drain and rinse shirataki noodles. Dry WELL!!

4. Toss noodles into skillet. Cover and let simmer for another 3 minutes. Serve.

Enjoy!!!

Turkey-Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

I am not a big fan of asparagus, but have to admit anything wrapped in bacon has to be good.lol What makes this recipe fabulous is the fact that you are saving yourself from eating a load of calories and fat by subbing the regular bacon with turkey bacon. This is a quick and simple recipe. Hope you enjoy it!!

Ingredients


9 Fresh asparagus, washed
9 Turkey Bacon Strips
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Coarse Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 500F degrees
2. Cut end tip of asparagus (about and inch), and discard
3. Wrap a strip of turkey bacon around asparagus and place on roasting pan
4. Drizzle olive oil over asparagus just enough to coat. Sprinkle salt & pepper to taste.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes
5. Serve immediately!

Hope you enjoy!!!

Better then Checkers Seasoned Fries

There is no denying that I have a "thing" for french fries. But new times call for new fries, so instead of having those heart clogging, cholesterol rising, no good for me french fries I now have a completely new best friend. Seasoned Sweet Potato fries. They are soooo good. Thanks to my friend Jenny W's recipe, I got to try a completely new and healthy way of viewing these yummy treats. Thanks Jen!! I don't have these every day, but it defiantly settles my craving for fries whenever I get them. So here you go and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Ingredients:

1/2 bag prepackaged sweet potato fries (you can take the time to cut them up fresh, but I've tried both ways and it's exactly the same results. So I save myself alot of time just by buying the packaged type)

1/2 package low sodium taco seasoning

3 tablespoons olive oil

coarse salt as desired.

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 F.

2. Mix all ingredients in bowl

3. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray or drizzle olive oil.

4. Spread seasoned fries in a single layer and place in oven

5. Bake for 45- 50 minutes.

* I'm still trying to get them toasty, without burning them. SP maintain a lot of moisture and unless you actually fry them in oil then won't get that crunchiness. But I would sacrifice crunchy for healthy any day. If you have any suggestions to get crispy baked SP fries, please let me know. Hope you enjoy these!!

Chicken Fried Cauli-“Rice"

I absolutely love chinese food, and of course my favorite is fried rice. Now that's a two word combination that will go straight to your heart and hips. lol Anyways, I kept trying to think of a way I could still enjoy this, but without all the guilt of the excess carbs and grease. I can't remember where I first learned about cauli-rice, but it's absolutely genious. It can be used in any recipe that calls for rice, but without all the excess carbs. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have. It's always a favorite in our house. I just love giving it to people who have no idea that it's really cauliflower and not rice. If it wasn't because I told them, they would have never guessed it really wasn't rice. Once again, hope you enjoy this recipe!!

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower (grates to about 7 cups)
4 - 6 green onions (separate the white and green sections, save greens for garnish)
2 cups bean sprouts
1 package chicken, cut up into bite-size pieces (any other meat of choice can be substituted for this recipe)
I package stir fry vegetables (microwavable kind works best for me)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
5 tablespoons light soy sauce, or to taste
4 eggs, beaten (or 1 cup Egg Beaters)
Pam
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and pepper, if desired



Directions:
Note: Before beginning make sure you have all ingredients at hand. This is whole process will happen very fast.

1. Using a food processor, process fresh cauliflower until it is the size of rice.

2. Microwave the cauliflower in a covered dish for 4 to 5 minutes. Do not add water. Cauliflower will become mushy or gummy if too wet. After cauliflower is done, microwave vegetables for suggested time.

3. Spray a wok or large skillet with non-stick spray and heat.

4. Sauté minced garlic with finely diced white part of onions for approximately 1 minute. Add bean sprouts and stir-fry for 2 additional minutes

5. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to pan, and swirl. At chicken and cook until brown. Add a few drops of soy sauce and stir.

6. Add cooked vegetables and stir fry briefly.

7. Add grated cauliflower and fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly.

6) Add soy and ginger. Stir to mix well and brown a bit.

7) Push mixture to one side of pan. Spray with more oil as needed, and scramble eggs in empty side of pan until done but still moist.

8) Stir eggs into “rice” remove from heat, top with greens from the green onions, and serve immediately.

* Just found this great link with a video on how to exactly cook the cauliflower:

Apple Cinammon Topped Protein Pancakes

My husband took his LSAT yesterday. Woohoo!! To celebrate I wanted to surprise him with a great breakfast to congratulate him. This is a great recipe for breakfast or desert, and it is really easy to make. It kind of reminds me of apple pie, but without all the fat or sugar.

Thanks to Jupiter6, from OH, for this great recipe.

I hope you all enjoy it.

Ingredients

Pancakes:
1/2 cup egg beaters
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese (I used 4% instead for a creamier texture)
4 tbsp wheat flour
several shakes of cinnamon
4 packs splenda (I used Truvia instead)

Cream Cheese Spread:
4 oz fat free cream cheese
2 heaping spoons of greek yogurt
splash of SF Caramel Syrup
shake of cinnamon
4 packets Splenda

Apple topping:
1/3 cup Comstock No Sugar Added Apple Pie Filling
generous shake of cinnamon
dollop of sugar free whipped cream



Instructions

1. Warm up apples in microwave

2. Make cream cheese spread-- mix ingredients in blender


3. Make pancakes-- mix ingredients in blender.

4. Preheat pan on medium. Add a small amount of butter or cooking spray. Let butter melt and begins to foam. Pour batter into pan and cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Wait until edges are cooked and little bubbles pop, then turn and cook for an additional minute.-- makes 8 small 3 inch pancakes.

Final Product:

Enjoy!!!

Chicken Picadillo/ Taco Meat

This is a quick and simple recipe. It's very versatile and can be used for any recipe that calls for a ground beef mixture. Best of all, it's healthy!! I found this recipe walking through Publix. It was through one of the demonstrations that Apron's was having. So I hope you get to enjoy this as much as I have.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb ground chicken
1/3 cup sliced green olives (drained)
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/3 cup pre-diced onions
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon taco seasoning if making taco meat, or 1 packet Sazon Goya complete if making picadillo
salt and pepper, if desired



Instructions:

1. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes.
2. Place oil in pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken; cook 5–7 minutes, stirring to crumble meat, or until meat is brown and no pink remains. Meanwhile, chop olives coarsely.

3. Stir in remaining ingredients; cook 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until flavors are blended and mixture is thoroughly heated.

Final Product:

Enjoy!!!

Lipton No-Fuss Pork Chops with Quinoa

This recipe is soo easy to make. It is great for one of those nights when you have to whip something up quick. The inspiration came from my fellow poster, cowboyonfire from OH. This is his recipe; I just made a few adjustments.

Lipton No-Fuss Pork Chops

Ingredients

3 Lean boneless pork chop (about 1/2 inch thick)
1 Tablespoon mayonnaise (use the reduced fat kind)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (the kind in a can, and reduced fat)
2 Tablespoons of finely chopped onion
1/2 packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Salt, pepper as desired
Pam Spray (I use the organic olive oil kind)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven at 350º degrees F.
2. Rinse pork chops, then pat dry with paper towel.
3. Cover baking dish with aluminum for easy clean up, then spray some Pam on the dish to prevent meat from sticking.
4. Place the pork chops on the greased baking dish. Season liberally on both sides with the salt, pepper, and Lipton pack. Top each lightly with mayonnaise, then parmesan. Sprinkle the onions over the pork chops, and Spray a little Pam on the pork chops.
5.Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or until the meat is done.(It's best if you have a meat thermometer and cook till at 160 degrees) DO NOT OVERCOOK or else it will be dry. If you would like a crispier top, place under broiler for a couple of minutes but do then reduce your original cooking time by 4 minutes.

Quinoa Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Quinoa (rinsed)
2 Cups of water
1/2 Tablespoon of salt
1 Packet of "Sazon Goya"
1/2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients into pot and mix thoroughly.
2. Let mixture come to a rapid boil.
3. Cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Fluff and serve immediately.