Portabella Lasagna I love lasagna despite all the work and I’m not talking about taking a frozen one out of a box and baking it in the oven for 45 minutes! And for the record, this is not just another lasagna recipe with mushrooms inside. I’ve actually taken the classic lasagna dish and evolved it into two vegetable versions where I completely omitted the lasagna noodles and used spaghetti squash in one version and more recently, zucchini. But recently, I wanted to go a different direction and use lasagna as an inspiration and create something lighter and less time consuming! Danny’s Portabella Lasagna While I love lasagna, it’s really a heavy meal. And now that I’m back to working out on a regular basis, I wanted to create something that was lighter but still full of that lasagna goodness! And no sauce is complete without fresh herbs, so if you have them, use them – it makes the flavor that much more amazing! What I really love about this dish is that it’s so versatile. I hope you give this a try.
Zesty Lime Shrimp and Avocado Salad Zesty lime juice and cilantro are the key ingredients to creating this light and refreshing salad, no heavy mayonnaise to weigh it down. Made with the freshest ingredients; jumbo shrimp, avocados, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and chopped jalapeño tossed with some freshly squeezed lime juice and a touch of olive oil. This will be a huge hit at your Cinco de Mayo fiesta or summer bash! Serve this as is for an appetizer, or over lettuce o tostadas for a lunch or light meal. Shrimp is low in fat and calories, but tends to be naturally high in sodium so if you are on a restricted sodium diet, you may want to limit your shrimp intake. Zesty Lime Shrimp and Avocado SaladGina's Weight Watcher Recipes Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 7/8 cup • Old Points: 4 pt • Points+: 5 ptCalories: 210.4 • Fat: 9.2 g • Protein: 25.1 g • Carb: 7.8 g • Fiber: 3.6 g • Sugar: 0.6Sodium without salt: 260.8 mg In a large bowl combine chopped shrimp, avocado, tomato, jalapeño. Makes 3 1/2 cups.
Broccoli Cheese Soup: Panera Bread Copycat Recipe On Wednesday my sister and I volunteered to make the soup supper to go with the Advent service at church. Before you go thinking I'm some kind of charitable, goodhearted soul, I must tell you that the only reason that I do it is because I LOVE COOKING. In case you hadn't figured that out yet. Okay, so I was like, "Whadaya think, Nemo? Will two huge pots of soup, a crockpot full of barbequed meatballs, five trillion chicken salad sandwiches, fifty thousand and two loaves of bread, and a couple bazillion desserts cover it?" Well, it would have, except everybody had to try a huge bowl of BOTH kinds of soup AND meatballs. Barbequed meatballs in broccoli soup. I had to leave the room. Anyways, we ran out of soup after about ten minutes of serving. So during church I had a sudden inspiration (um, Pastor, if you're reading this, that was a typo. Anways, I burst out of church and ran up to my friend screaming, "Hey guess what!! Yeah. I mean it would be like getting paid to have fun. Okay.
Hot Caprese Dip You only need three ingredients to make this fabulous snack! And I say snack, because it is totally acceptable to make it for yourself this afternoon when your stomach starts to rumble. You know why? Because I said so. It also obviously makes a great appetizer for parties. And it is super simple to make. Then throw the dish in the oven and let the cheese work it’s magic. It will look like this. It took all of my restraint to not go at the dip with just a spoon. I might have taken a little spoonful of a taste. There really is nothing better than a spoonful of bubbly, golden cheese. Hot Caprese Dip serves 2-4 10 ounces fresh mozzarella, chopped into cubes 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and juiced 3 tablespoons freshly chopped basil (or about 1 tablespoon dried) + more for garnish Preheat oven to 375. Make sure tomatoes have as much juiced squeezed out of them as possible – this will prevent the dip from becoming soupy. Just try to stay away.
Shrimp Ceviche Recipe Go to Recipe Photography Credit: Elise Bauer With the warm days of summer upon us, a great way to cool off is with ceviche. Ceviche is typically made with red snapper that is “cooked” by the acidity of lime and lemon juice (see this ceviche recipe.) This version of ceviche is prepared with shrimp, which is first lightly cooked, and then marinated in the citrus juice. Why pre-cook the shrimp? Personally I don’t find this as much of an issue with raw fish (think sushi, sashimi), but for some reason shellfish like shrimp and scallops can go bad much more easily. Shrimp Ceviche Recipe Print If you find the ceviche a little too acidic, drain out some of the juices after the marinating, add a little more avocado (or some olive oil) and/or a little more salt. Ingredients MethodHide Photos 1 In a large pot, bring to a boil 4 quarts of water, salted with 2 Tbsp salt. 2 Drain the shrimp. 3 Mix in the chopped red onion and serrano chile. 4 Right before serving, add the cilantro, cucumber, and avocado.
THE BEST Chocolate Cake Ever! This is really the best, most moist, most rich, most chocolatiest cake I’ve ever made. I know there are other chocolate cakes out there that claim to be the best. Folks, let me tell you, I’ve tried them. Are you ready? Here’s your ingredients for the cake. You know what the best part about this cake is? All you do is dump everything except the chocolate chips into a very large bowl– A 4 qt bowl or larger is perfect, but be warned, one of those 8 cup mixing bowls is too small. Then stir in 2 cups of chocolate chips– pictured here are regular sized chocolate chips. Now, pour your batter into your cake pan of choice. I like to bake my cakes in two, 9-inch pie pans. Oh man… It’s so hard to not just rip into right now while it’s warm and fresh out of the oven… But wait! While it’s cooling, we’ll make The Best Buttercream Frosting Ever. Here are your ingredients for the frosting. In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening until fluffy. This rather large piece of cake did not last very long.
The Ultimate Strawberry Lemonade One of the first times I ever realized that – HEY! I can cook for myself! – was when I first learned to make lemonade. I magically found the refrigerated lemon juice at our house and followed the directions to make my own lemonade. I stirred and stirred and stirred again until that sugar was finally dissolved. Speaking of which, what gives sugar?! Sorry for the detour. Anyway, there was a summer there where I made my own lemonade every single day, making sure to rub it in my sister’s face that I knew how to and she didn’t. The key to this being the ultimate lemonade is that you blend it up with the lemon rind in there. And any time of day for that matter. (makes 2 pint-glass servings with ice) 3/4 cup sugar2 large lemons, microwaved for 30 seconds2 cups water1 cup of frozen strawberries, microwaved for 1 minute (you could use fresh, but I think the frozen works better here) In a blender squeeze the lemons and add the rest of the lemon, rind and all.
Minestrone Soup Minestrone Soup is a classic Italian broth-based soup filled with all manner of vegetables, plus a healthy dose of fiber-rich beans and some pasta. As with many ethnic recipes, it's hard to find one, universally accepted minestrone recipe, yet it appears on almost every Italian menu. In general minestrone happens to be naturally low in fat, though many like to add swirls of olive oil parmesan to it. Now the beauty of homemade soup is that you can control the ingredients, and not just the fat content (see Six Low Fat, Low Calorie Soups). Nutritional Tips A couple of extra suggestions: Make this minestrone soup gluten free by using gluten free broth (e.g., Pacific Foods or Kitchen Basics brands), and gluten-free pasta such as Tinkyada brand or Trader Joe's rice pasta. Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Ingredients: Preparation: Heat oil in large pot on medium heat. Add oregano, tomatoes, broth and water. Makes 8 servings.
Cinnamon Roll Cookies Forget the weights get your bicep curl on in this hand to mouth cookie lift. For a heavier lift, stack a few cookies together. Then have a few more for some extra reps and your arms should be perfectly sculpted. See these cookies not only taste good, but they will make you look good. No lie. Cinnamon Roll Cookies Alright all story telling aside, the cookies have a crisp edge with chewy crumb and a soft crackle from the glaze. A few notes: Keep in mind the dough will be sticky, so I used wax paper to guide the dough into a roll. Cinnamon Roll Cookies Makes approximately 4 dozen two inch cookies | Preparation: Line bake sheet with parchment paper and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Ingredients: Instructions: Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. To make glaze: Sift powdered sugar and add in 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until drizzling consistency is achieved. Assembly: Drizzle tops of cookies with glaze and let stand at room temperature until glaze dries completely. Leave a Comment
How To Make a Bento Box for Kids Aug05 by Guest Contributor Our Guest Contributor is Wendy Copley of Wendolonia. When my oldest son entered preschool and I had to start packing him a lunch, I was terror-struck. Up to that point his daycare had fed him his lunches. Sure, I made his lunches on the weekend, but I usually just heated up leftovers or fixed him a bowl of mac and cheese. A lunch box full of cold foods. A lunch box full of cold foods he would be willing to put in his picky three-year-old mouth. My mind boggled. But rather than panic, I did what I do in all times of crisis: I started searching the internet. What the heck is bento, you ask? That sounds boring, you say. Ahhhh, but there’s where you’re wrong! Some people go all out when they’re packing a bento box. What you’ll need to start packing bento lunches: Don’t worry! A box — The most important piece of equipment you’ll need to pack bento lunches is some sort of box to put your food in. About that cute part Neat and Tidy Cut shapes Roll-ups Pack it in
Superfoods, Skinny Tips, & a Lululemon Giveaway Ready to kickstart your healthy diet and fitness routine? Me too. I'm not big on New Year's resolutions, but I do appreciate that January marks a fresh start. Isn't that beautiful? The key to a great salad the whole family will love is including a variety of colors and textures as well as flavors. Winter Detox Superfoods Salad serves 4 1 small bunch broccoli, raw or quickly blanched 2 tangerines, peeled and segments separated, plus 1 for dressing 1 pomegranate, seeded 1/4 cup shaved or thinly sliced fennel 1 avocado, sliced 1/4 cup walnut pieces extra virgin olive oil Toss first 6 ingredients together in a medium bowl. Skinny Mummy Secrets Here are a few diet and fitness tricks that have worked for me. shirts: Never Give Up from theGSF.org pants and run skirt: Lululemon Remember when I ran that half marathon with TeamGSF in November? I wanted to thank you. How to enter:Please be a follower of yummymummykitchen.com through GFC or Google+ and leave a comment.
What Do 300 Calorie Meals Look Like? Breakfast Meals English Muffin Breakfast – 394 Calories 1 whole wheat English muffin 2 pats low fat butter 1 hard boiled egg 1/2 cup of fruit 8 oz fruit juice 8 oz water Cereal – 300 Calories 1 cup of cereal 8 oz 2% milk 1 banana 1 coffee or tea Oatmeal – 345 Calories 1 cup (cooked) oatmeal with raisins ½ cup of fruit 1 cup coffee or tea 1 small banana Scrambled eggs – 360 Calories 2 scrambled eggs 2 strips of turkey bacon 1 piece whole wheat toast 1 pat of low fat butter 1 coffee or tea 8 oz water Lunches Baked potato – 305 Calories 1 medium baked potato 2 tablespoons sour cream 2 tablespoons salsa 1 cup sliced melon 12 oz water Roasted Veg. 3 cups mixed greens 1 cup sweet potato 1 cup eggplant 1 cup red bell pepper 3 Tbs lite honey mustard Soup – 350 Calories 1 bowl of soup 1 small tossed salad 2 tablespoons reduced fat oil and vinegar dressing 12 oz water 4 saltine crackers Chicken Salad – 350 Calories Dinners Chicken – 345 Calories Grilled Eggplant – 323 Calories Fish – 365 Calories I can’t. Ouch!