Tag Archives: Summer

Roasted Vegetable Salad

August 9, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Adding balsamic to grilled or broiled vegetables brings out a whole new dimension of flavor. Vinegar is often used as a flavor enhancer and boy does it do the trick here. This is a great side, lunch, appetizer – – however you slice it, you gotta make it ! 🙂

8 servings
140 calories per serving

1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
8 oz. Portobello mushroom caps
6 eggplant slices
1 c low fat Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Cut peppers lengthwise into quarters and place all veggies on a broiler rack or on a wire rack atop a baking sheet and brush them with 1/2 c of the dressing. Broil 6-8 minutes turning and brushing a few times with the another ¼ c of the dressing. Slice mushrooms and mix all ingredients together and dress with the last ¼ c of dressing.

Dessert, Kid Friendly, Summer

Toffee Ice Cream Pie

August 8, 2010 admin Leave a comment

You’d never know this is fat free ice cream. Adding the toffee bits and topping with Cool Whip and hot fudge make this as delicious as any full calorie dessert.

8 servings
272 calories per serving

3 c fat free vanilla ice cream
2 1.4 oz. Heath bars, finely chopped
1 6 oz. low fat graham crust
½ c hot fudge topping
½ c cool whip, thawed

Combine ice cream and candy and then spoon into a crust then cover and freeze 3 hours. Cut into 8 slices and drizzle with hot fudge and top with cool whip.

Dinner, Fish, Summer

Lemon Shrimp Kabobs

August 5, 2010 admin Leave a comment

You know the drill 🙂 Throw away the skewers and forget kabobs – get a grill basket instead and make kabob cooking easy like it should be ! Cooking this with the lemon wedges as well as mixing in lemon juice makes this super citrusy and shrimp is just meant to be mixed with citrus.

6 servings
115 calories per serving

3 T honey
¼ c lemon juice
1 T finely chopped parsley
1 ½ lb. uncooked shrimp
3 medium zucchini, cut into 1 inch slices
2 medium summer squash, cut into 1 inch slices
1 small red bell pepper cut into 1 inch wedges
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small lemon cut into wedges
Pam

Mix honey, lemon juice and parsley in a dish. Add shrimp, cover and refrigerate ½ hour. Heat grill and spray a grill basket with Pam. Place shrimp and veggies in basket and grill 12 minutes stirring frequently. Brush more marinade on the fish during the cooking process.

Dessert, Kid Friendly, Summer

Pom Pops

August 4, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Chock full of antioxidants, sweet yet tart, and ever so refreshing. These pops are definitely worth the work.

6 servings (8 oz. pops)
133 calories per serving

2 ¾ c pomegranate juice
¼ c lemon juice
½ c Splenda
1 ¾ c apple juice
¾ c pomegranate seeds
2 apples cored and diced small

Mix pom juice with 1/8 c lemon juice. Simmer Splenda, apple juice and 1/8 c lemon juice and dissolve all the Splenda then cool to room temperature. Add half the apple juice mix and the seeds to the pom juice mix. Add the apples to the apple juice mix. Fill the molds half way with the pom juice mix and freeze 1 1/2 hours then add a layer of the apple juice mix and freeze another, insert the sticks and freeze at least 6 hours.

Chicken, Dinner, Kid Friendly, Summer

Herbed Chicken

July 29, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside – this chicken dish is superb. Try serving with Mexican Mac and Cheese and a nice green salad. The leftovers are great for use in salads, for wraps and sandwiches, and for quick soups.

4 servings
180 calories per serving

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (Perdue Perfect Portions work great here !)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t basil flakes
1 t rosemary flakes
1 t parsley flakes
¼ t kosher salt
2 T oil
Pam

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Make some deep slit sin the chicken tops. Combine garlic and other herbs and 2 T of oil and brush onto chicken. Heat an oven safe skillet and spray with Pam and cook chicken slit side down with the pan covered for 5 minutes to get a nice sear on it. Turn and then place skillet into oven and cook 12-15 minutes.

Alternately grill chicken on a hot grill if you prefer 🙂

Dessert, Summer

Cappuccino Pops

July 27, 2010 admin Leave a comment

These take a little work to get out of the molds, so let sit a bit before trying to unmold or you may end up with just the stick in your hands 🙂 Or try using the Dixie cup method which you can more easily peel off the dessert. The ice cream separates into 2 different layers so you end up with a great looking 3 layer pop that tastes just divine.

6 servings
61 calories per serving

2 c chocolate fat free ice cream, softened
1 T instant coffee
1 c cool whip, thawed
6 dixie cups and 6 sticks (or 6 ice pop molds)

Combine ice cream and 2 t coffee. Mix cool whip and 1 t coffee. Spoon ice cream mix into cups and then top with the cool whip mix. Cover cups with foil and push in the sticks. Freeze 4 hours or more. Peel cups from pops to serve.

Dinner, Fish, Summer

Grilled Scallops with Balsamic

July 26, 2010 admin 2 Comments

The combination of herbs along with the balsamic glaze was just fantastic. Scallops are such a sweet shellfish and this is a great recipe to showcase their great flavor.

4 servings
244 calories per serving

1 lb. sea scallops
¼ c oil
2 T fresh mint
2 T flat leaf parsley
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T parmesan cheese
1 t shredded lemon zest
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 c baby arugula
Pam

Rinse scallops and pat dry. Mix oil, mint, parsley, 2 T vinegar, cheese, lemon peel and garlic. Place scallops in a Ziploc bag and pour in the oil mix and marinate the scallops 2-4 hours in the refrigerator. Preheat broiler. Drain scallops. Spray a baking sheet with Pam and broil scallops 4 minutes each side or until done. In a saucepan bring 2 T vinegar to a boil and simmer 4-5 minutes. Serve scallops over arugula and drizzled with the reduced vinegar.

Alternately grill the scallops in a grill basket until done.

Beef, Dinner, Summer

Sirloin Kabobs

July 23, 2010 admin 2 Comments

You know the drill – if you’re using the grill, throw out the skewers and use a grill basket instead – it saves time, aggravation and the food turns out even better ! The meat in this dish is sooooo tender from marinating for hours in the tomato and vinegar based sauce.

4 servings
268 calories per serving

2/3 c chili sauce
½ c beef broth
½ c balsamic vinegar
2 T canola oil
5 t Worcestershire sauce
4 t dried minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
½ t ground mustard
¼ t salt
1 lb. boneless sirloin cut into cubes
16 baby bella mushroom caps, halved
2 medium red onions cut into wedges
2 medium red bell peppers cut into chunks
1 medium yellow bell pepper cut into chunks

Mix the first 9 ingredients and pour half of the mix into a zip loc bag. Add the beef cubes and mix around. Pour the rest of the mix into another bag and add the veggies and mix around. Refrigerate both bags 1-4 hours. Heat a grill pan or basket on the grill and spray with High Heat Pam. Drain the veggies and meat reserving the extra marinate for later basting. Grill 7-10 minutes or to desired doneness stirring and re-basting occasionally.

If you don’t want to grill this, you can preheat the broiler and place all on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam. Broil 5-6 minutes, turning half way through.

Drinks, Fruit, Summer

Strawberry Tea

July 18, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Cool, fruity and refreshing – this is a nice mix of fruit and tea. And when you add a little rum, then it is just heaven !

8 servings
62 calories per serving

1 c orange juice
¼ c Splenda (skip this if you use pre-sweetened tea)
1/3 c iced tea mix
10 oz. frozen strawberries, thawed
4 c water
2 c crushed ice

Blend orange juice, Splenda, tea and berries until smooth. Pour into a pitcher and add water and ice.

Beef, Dinner, Kid Friendly, Summer

Herbed Flank Steak

July 15, 2010 admin Leave a comment

The red wine really helps tenderize this steak – it was so very delicious. Serve with Sauteed Peppers and Onions for a great meal. Leftovers make a great addition to a cold salad – just slice thinly and toss with greens and dressing.

8 servings
221 calories per serving

2 lb. flank steak
¼ c Dijon mustard
¼ c dry red wine
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 T oil
2 T fresh basil
1 T fresh oregano
1 T fresh thyme
1 t salt
½ t pepper
½ t garlic powder

Score meat with diagonal, shallow cuts and place in a zip loc. Mix the rest of the ingredients and pour into the bag, mix around well, seal and refrigerate 4-24 hours. Heat grill and cook meat 9 minutes each side or until desired doneness. Slice thinly across the grain.