Tag Archives: pepper

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.

Dinner, FiberGourmet, Kid Friendly, Mexican, Pasta, Sides

Mexican Mac and Cheese

July 30, 2010 admin 1 Comment

This is one of the better mac and cheese recipes I have done. Make sure you stir the mix enough to get all the cheese melted. And try not putting in the half and half until a good amount of the cheese is already melted so you don’t get unmelted lumps. This really hit the spot and you can certainly change it up by adding bits of different vegetables, maybe even some hot peppers 😉

4 servings
245 calories per serving

2 c FiberGourmet rotini pasta (without FiberGourmet, the recipe comes in at 285 calories per serving)
¼ c sliced black olives
½ c fat free half and half
½ t salt
1 small red bell pepper chopped
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies, drained
4 slices fat free Kraft American cheese slices

Cook pasta according to package instructions and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Cook over low heat 5 minutes or until cheese is all melted.

Dinner, Italian, Pasta, Sides

Tortellini and Veggies

July 24, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Tortellini are so versatile. And this is a great recipe to show off their cheesy goodness 🙂 The sauce is light and packed with healthy veggies.

4 servings
182 calories per serving

1 9 oz. package of refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 T oil
2 medium shallots, minced
1 medium bell pepper in 1 inch pieces
2 c chopped plum tomatoes (about 6 tomatoes)
1 medium zucchini cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into half moons
½ t garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
½ t basil flakes
½ t oregano flakes

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Heat oil in pan and cook bell pepper and shallots in oil 4-5 minutes then add tomatoes, zucchini and seasonings and cover and cook 5 minutes. Finally add in tortellini and cook 3 minutes or until hot.

Top off the dish with some fresh herbs of your choice (basil and parsley do quite well).

Chicken, Dinner, Summer

Lemon Pepper Chicken

July 14, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Lemon Pepper is a great spice for poultry – and when I do a grill basket version of this chicken recipe, I really pour it on !

4 servings
243 calories per serving

12 oz. chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
4 c mix of sliced onion, yellow bell peppers, and halved mushrooms
2 T oil
1 T lemon pepper seasoning
1 t finely shredded lemon zest
Lemon wedges
Pam

Heat grill. Toss shrimp and 1 T oil. Mix veggies and 1 T oil and seasoning.

Spray grill basket with Pam and heat. Add chicken and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add veggies and cook 6 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in juice of one lemon. Serve topped with lemon zest.

Dinner, Fish, Lunch

Tilapia with Lemon Pepper

July 1, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Tilapia is a great white fish that is farmed raised making it widely available in restaurants and grocery stores throughout the US. It cooks quickly, and has a nice texture when quickly pan fried. Even doubling this recipe to 6 oz. leaves you another 200 calories for a filling side dish such as Foiled O’Brien; potatoes and peppers steamed in a foil packet.

1 serving
100 calories per serving

3 oz tilapia
Pam
Salt to taste
Lemon pepper to taste (I pile it on!)

Heat a small skillet on medium low and spray with Pam. Place the fish in the pan and sprinkle with salt and lemon pepper. Cook 3 minutes. Gently flip the fish and sprinkle with more salt and lemon pepper. Cook another 3-5 minutes or until fish is done. It is done when the flesh is flaky and opaque rather than translucent.

Chicken, Dinner, Pasta, Vegetables

Chicken and Veggies with Orzo

June 24, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This meal as just the right amount of each ingredient and everything tasted great. To save yourself time, use the pre-cut carrots and zucchini available at your grocer !

4 servings
380 calories per serving

1 c uncooked orzo
½ c chicken broth
1 T lemon juice
2 t cornstarch
2 T oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (3/4 lb.) cut in half lengthwise and then cut in thin strips
2 cloves garlic minced
½ t salt
1 c julienne cut carrots
1 yellow bell pepper cut into thin strips
2 c julienne cut zucchini

Cook orzo according to package instructions. Combine broth, juice and cornstarch and mix well. Heat 1 T oil and cook chicken, garlic and salt 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink then remove from skillet and keep warm. Heat 1 T oil and cook carrots and bell pepper 3 minutes then add zucchini and cook another 3 minutes. Stir the broth mix until smooth and then add to the skillet and cook 2 minutes or until thickened then add orzo and chicken and heat through.

Lunch, Sandwiches, Vegetables

Portobello Burger

June 20, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This is a great, hearty sandwich that fills you up and contains no high calorie meat. Sometimes when you get these in a restaurant, they have the same calorie content as having a burger (sometimes they are done in tons of oil or butter). But this version keeps the oil to a minimum and adds a nice amount of cheesy goodness to the sandwich.

1 serving
299 calories per serving

1 large portobello mushroom cap, stem removed
1 t oil
Salt and pepper
Sprinkle of cayenne pepper
¼ c shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
1 100 calorie Arnold Select Sandwich Thins bun
1 t buttery spread
Garlic powder to taste
1 large onion slice
1 large tomato slice
Lettuce leaves
Pam

Coat mushroom with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cayenne. Spray skillet and heat to medium high. Place mushroom in the pan rounded side up. Cook 5 minutes. Flip. Sprinkle with garlic powder, top with cheese and cook another 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile, toast bun and spread butter on it. Place mushroom on bun and top with tomato, onion and lettuce.

Dinner, Italian, Sides, Vegetables

Roasted Peppers and Garlic

June 18, 2010 admin Leave a comment

When you roast peppers, you make them ultimately sweet and bring out tons of natural flavor. When paired up with some simple oil, garlic, and seasoning, you get quite a treat !

If you only have one color pepper, don’t let that hold you back from roasting them up. In the line up of most sweet to least sweet, you have the red, orange, yellow and green bell pepper. All have a very distinct flavor and all are delicious ! I add a bunch more garlic to these than the recipe calls for – just because 🙂

4 servings
97 calories per serving

1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
2 T oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ t oregano flakes
Coarse salt
Ground pepper
Handful of basil leaves

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Halve the peppers and remove the seeds. Place cut side up on a cookie sheet and drizzle with oil. Add garlic slices to pepper halves along with oregano, salt and pepper. Roast 35 minutes or so (or until skin starts to blister) and then remove from oven and sprinkle with a handful of fresh torn basil leaves.

Dinner, Kid Friendly, Sides

Pepper Muffins

June 14, 2010 admin Leave a comment

These make a great side to just about any dish. They are simple to put together, they cook up on no time and they disappear fast ! If you want to zest them up more, try adding some sauteed onions or garlic along with the peppers.

12 servings
118 calories per serving

¼ c chopped green bell pepper
¼ c chopped red bell pepper
¼ c chopped yellow bell pepper
2 T butter
2 c flour
2 T sugar
2 ½ t baking powder
½ t salt
½ t basil flakes
¼ t cayenne pepper
¼ t garlic powder
¼ c egg beaters
1 c skim milk
Pam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Saute pepper in butter until tender and set aside. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, basil, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt. Mix egg and milk and stir into the dry ingredients until moist then fold in peppers. Spray muffin cups with Pam and fill 2/3 full then cook 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin cups.

Food Buzz Daily Special

Salt and Pepper Mills

June 14, 2010 admin Leave a comment

As part of FoodBuzz Daily Specials, I’ll be making a some special posts over the next couple of weeks that relate to a specific topic. Today’s special is about Salt and Pepper Mills.

Salt and Pepper mills come in all shapes and sizes….they are made out of all sorts of materials, some are manual while some are electric, and prices really vary.

For years I used only ground black pepper and Morton’s salt out of the box – I never ventured beyond that. But a few years ago I got interested in using sea salt and I got a mill just for that. Then I decided to use different peppercorns and got some mills for those. And my collection has grown quite a bit.

For some recipes, there is nothing like the taste of sea salt. For some, nothing as great as Kosher salt – there truly is a difference.

And the same goes for peppers – different peppercorns definitely yield different flavors and it’s great to have a few on hand. I even have a mill to freshly grind red pepper flakes.

Grab one next time you’re out – I bet you get addicted like me 🙂