You usually don’t think of cucumbers in a hot dish, but they make a perfect sautéed side, much like you would sauté zucchini.
4 servings
82 caloriess per serving
1 medium cucumber
1 T butter
1/4 t salt
Chopped parsley
Peel cucumber, cut in half, remove seeds and slice, sprinkle with salt. Melt butter in a skillet and sauté cucs 3 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
This is all the good stuff out of the salad and leaves the lettuce behind. Crisp, refreshing and a great summer salad.
8 servings
109 calories per serving
2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 green pepper chopped coarsely
1 red or 1 yellow pepper chopped coarsely
1 zucchini, cut lengthwise in half, and chopped coarsely
½ of a small cucumber, peeled, seeded and julienned
1/2 c fat free Italian dressing
2 T chopped basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 low fat mozzarella sticks, sliced into small rounds
Chimichurri sauce is a great condiment – super low cal, but bursting with flavor. Served atop this already super savory steak, you can’t go wrong.
6 servings
322 calories per serving
Meat and rub:
3 boneless beef chuck flat iron steaks, ¾ inch thick – use sirloin steaks
1 t Kosher salt
½ t garlic powder
½ t ground cumin
½ t chili powder
½ t pepper
¼ t cayenne pepper
Sauce:
1 c cilantro leaves
1 c flat leaf parsley
¼ c white vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ t Kosher salt
½ t red pepper flakes
¼ c olive oil
Place meat on a baking pan. Mix together the meat rub spices and sprinkle on both sides of the meat then rub it in and cover with plastic and chill 1 hour.
Mix the chimichurri ingredients other than the oil in a blender or food processor then slowly add oil as mixture is blending. Heat grill and cook meat 5-6 minutes each side or until desired doneness. Serve with sauce.
Make this as spicy as you like by adding more Cajun seasoning. We like it hot, hot, hot ! This one takes over every tastebud in your mouth !
4 servings
243 calories per serving
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and cleaned
4 c mix of sliced onion, yellow bell peppers, green bell peppers
2 T oil
1 T Cajun seasoning
1 t garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Lime 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 shrimp and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add veggies and cook 6 minutes or until shrimp is done. Stir in juice of one lime. Serve topped with parsley.
The horseradish really does come through in this dressing. I can see this doing equally as well on a chilled seafood salad, but I used it on greens and it really made for a zesty, spicy salad.
6 servings
129 calories per serving
2 T tomato paste
1 small lemon, juiced
2 T prepared horseradish
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c olive oil
½ t salt
¼ t celery seed
¼ t sugar
1 t or more black pepper
Tabasco sauce, to taste
By mixing the cream and the vinegar, you are almost making your own ‘sour’ cream. This is a very rich tasting dressing for the cucs and it is a nice side dish to serve with chicken or fish dishes.
2 servings
70 calories per serving
2 medium cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
2 t salt
2 T heavy cream
2 t vinegar
¼ t salt
1/8 t pepper
Mix cucs with salt and let stand 1 hour in a colander. Drain and pat dry. Mix cream, vinegar, salt and pepper and add cucs. Chilll 3-4 hours.
Bella Sun Luci produces more than just Sun Dried Tomato products. Just like their line of sun dried tomato items, their marinades that I tried had fantastic flavor. This company knows their food and they do it right !
The marinades are only 10 calories per tablespoon – so you just can’t go wrong ! And the amount of flavor you get is phenomenal. The Carne Asada and Basque Norte marinades are great on chicken and beef alike. The Carne Asada was perfect on a thin, thin sirloin that I grilled. When done, I sliced it up and had it inside flour tortillas with some salsa and caramelized onions – OH SO GOOD !!
Be sure to look for these products are your favorite grocer. They are definitely superior products from a company that cares about quality and value.
The folks at Avocados From Mexico have just launched a new recipes section on their site “Recipes From Avocado Lovers” to give foodies who love avocados, the opportunity to upload their favorite avocado recipes, download ringtones, wallpapers and other fun items to show their avocado love and discover other fan favorite avocado recipes.
Avocados are such a favorite of mine. As well as providing MUFAs in your diet they add soooo much flavor to any dish. Here is one of my favorite recipes – it highlights all the creamy goodness of avocados.
Avocado Tacos
6 servings
290 calories per serving
12 6 inch tortillas
3 avocados, mashed
1/4 t garlic salt
¾ c chopped cilantro
Pepper to taste
A few drops of Tabasco sauce
12 tomato slices
Lime juice
Mix avocados, garlic, pepper, Tabasco and cilantro. Spread the mixture in each tortilla and add 2 tomato slices. Squirt with lime, fold and eat.
Grilled Portobello mushrooms make any sandwich a winner in my book. The turkey and cheddar are just the supporting cast here – the mushrooms are really the stars 🙂
1 serving
365 calories per serving
1 T low fat mayo mixed with ¼ t minced horseradish
1 small club roll
1 slice cheddar cheese
6 slices lean and thin deli turkey breast (Oscar Mayer has great lean deli meats pre-packaged and ready to go)
1/2 c sliced grilled portobello mushrooms
Spread mayo mix on buns. Fill up the sandwich and enjoy !
3/4 lb. pork loin cut into thin strips
2 T red wine or beef broth
1 T soy sauce
1 T cornstarch
3/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 T dark sesame oil
2 c broccoli florets
1 orange bell pepper, cut into strips
1 1/2 t grated peeled fresh ginger
1/4 c orange juice
1/4 c hoisin sauce (available in the Asian section at your food market)
2 T honey
2 c hot cooked brown rice
Mix pork, wine, soy, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Set aside. Heat the oil in a skillet on high heat. Add broccoli and pepper and stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the pork and stir until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the finer and cook 1 minute longer. Add the juice, hoisin sauce and honey and cook until pork is done and sauce is thickened some, about 3 minutes. Serve with the hot cooked rice on the side.