Tag Archives: garlic

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, Kid Friendly, Sides

Oven Fries

July 20, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Steaming these first gives them a nice texture and with the added garlic cloves to eat with the potatoes, this is a heavenly side dish. The egg wash makes them brown up nicely, so don’t skip this step.

4 servings
155 calories per serving

2 large russet potatoes sliced into strips
1 egg white, lightly beaten
¼ t paprika
10 garlic cloves, whole
Salt and pepper to taste
Pam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with Pam. Steam the potatoes and garlic 10 minutes to soften some. Then place all on the baking sheet and brush the egg whites and sprinkle with paprika. Bake 20 minutes then season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Lunch, MUFAs, Salads, Tex Mex, Vegetables

Southwest Spinach Salad

July 19, 2010 admin Leave a comment

What a symphony of flavors ! Your mouth doesn’t know what to be the happiest about – is it the pine nut accent? Or the spicy pepperjack cheese? Or the creamy avocados? Or the smoky chipotle dressing? This is one of THE BEST salads I’ve ever made.

4 servings
300 calories per serving

8 c fresh baby spinach
1/2 c corn with sweet peppers
1/3 c halved black pitted olives
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 oz. diced pepper jack cheese
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered
1 ripe avocado cut into 16 slices
3 T lime juice
2 T oil
1 t chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1/8 t salt
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T toasted pine nuts
A few extra squirts of lime juice if you like your salad nice and ‘wet’

Combine spinach, corn, olives, cilantro and cheese. Place 2 c worth on each plate. Arrange tomato, egg and avocado slices atop the spinach. Combine lime juice, oil, chopped chipotle, salt and garlic. Whisk well and pour over salads. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

Chicken, Dinner, Mexican

Chimichurri Chicken and Green Beans

July 19, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Chimichurri sauce just makes everything better ! It’s a great mix of parsley, vinegar, garlic and lemon and is much like the Italian gremolata. Serve with some coucous for a great complete meal !

4 servings
280 calories per serving

3 T oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1.25 lb.)
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
12 oz. fresh green beans
1 T water
¾ c parsley
1 T cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, halved
¼ t red pepper flakes
Zest of 1 lemon

Brush chicken with 1 T oil and sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. Heat grill and cook chicken 12-15 minutes or until done. While the chicken is cooking place beans and water in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap and microwave 3 minutes. In a food processor combine 2 T oil, the rest of the salt and pepper, parsley, vinegar, garlic and red pepper and process until almost smooth. Place chicken on bed of beans, with sauce and lemon zest on top. Squeeze extra lemon juice over top and user lemon slices as garnish.

Dinner, Mediterranean, Sides

Couscous and Broccoli

July 16, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Couscous is just a teeny wheat pasta – much like pastina. Simple to do, ready in 10 minutes, and a great side dish. Substitute other frozen veggies for a whole different tasting dish !

4 servings
171 calories per serving

1 c couscous
1 can 99% fat free chicken broth
1 box frozen chopped broccoli
½ t salt
½ t pepper
½ t garlic powder

Boil broth and frozen broccoli until broccoli is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in couscous and remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes then add spices, fluff with a fork and serve.

Fish, Lunch

Shrimp and Rice Salad

July 13, 2010 admin Leave a comment

What a great lunch this makes ! Add a cup of fruit or veggies on the side and you have a great balanced meal that will keep you feeling full all afternoon.

4 servings
301 calories per serving

1 cup white rice
2 T oil
1 garlic clove, minced
½ pound medium shrimp, peeled and cleaned
1 c packed parsley leaves
3 T lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice according to package instructions. Heat skillet and oil and cook shrimp 4 minutes or until done. Add in the garlic during the last 45 seconds of cooking. Add shrimp to rice along with parsley, lemon, salt and pepper. Chill well before serving.

Dinner, Salads, Sides

Roasted Garlic Potato Salad

July 5, 2010 admin Leave a comment

Just one more, just one more ! That’s what you’ll be saying after you have a few bites of this warm potato salad. The flavors were outstanding and it’s a nice dish next to fish or chicken.

8 servings
173 calories per serving

2 lb. small new potatoes, quartered (about 20)
2 T oil
1 bulb garlic
1 t oil
½ c sliced green onions
2 T white balsamic vinegar
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
2 T oil
¼ c sliced olives
¼ c sun dried tomatoes, drained and cut into thin strips

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put potatoes in a baking dish and drizzle with 2 T oil and toss then roast 10 minutes and stir. Cut the top off the bulb of garlic (DO VIDEO) and remove any loose paper skin and then cut side up in a baking cup and drizzle with 1 t oil. Cover with foil and place in oven and continue roasting 10 minutes. Stir potatoes and add onions and continue baking another 15 minutes or until potatoes and garlic are tender. Let stand until garlic is cool enough to handle. Squeeze out garlic cloves and mash with vinegar, salt and pepper then whisk in 1 T oil. Mix in the olives and tomatoes with the potatoes and then add the dressing and toss to coat.

Sides, Summer

Refrigerator Pickles

June 30, 2010 admin 5 Comments

Make your own fresh pickles quickly and easily. These are great to bring along to BBQ’s and a great thing to keep on hand at home – they make great sides to lunches and a great snack for midnight eaters 🙂

There are so many variations you can do just by swapping out different types of peppers, different herbs, etc.

Only 30 calories for a whole cucumber’s worth

Kirby cucumbers cut lengthwise into quarters – depending on size, I can fit 4-5 cucumbers into a jar
3 T kosher salt
2 T sugar
1 1/4 c white vinegar
2 T peppercorns
5 large garlic cloves
16 dill springs
optional – green hot chilies, halved lengthwise

Jars – either mason jars you purchase in the canning section of Walmart. etc. Or just save up some jars from mayo, pickles, etc. and reuse them !

Pack veggies into 2 clean 1 quart glass jars. Mix salt, sugar, vinegar, peppercorns and garlic in another jar. Cover and shake until sugar is dissolved. Add 2 c water and pour over the vegetables. Tuck the chilies and dill in and add enough water to make sure the veggies are completely covered. Close jars and refrigerate over night or for as long as 3 weeks.

Chicken, Dinner

Curry Chicken

June 29, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This steamy Indian inspired dish has just the right amount of curry. Pair it up with a vegetable side dish such as Ginger Steamed Carrots.

3 servings
190 calories per serving

3/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken cut into cubes
2 t oil
1/2 c onion, chopped
1/4 c celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T wheat flour
1 c chicken broth
1/2 c canned diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1-2 t curry powder
¼ – 1/2 t cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 c chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Add salt and pepper to chicken cubes. Put 1 t oil in skillet and cook chicken 4-6 minutes or until browned. Lower the heat and cook 4 more minutes then remove from pan. Heat pan to medium and add oil, onion, celery and garlic. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in flour and add broth and cook 5 minutes or until thickened up. Stir in tomatoes, Worcestershire, curry and cayenne. Add chicken back to skillet along with salt and pepper and simmer 3 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with cilantro.

Dinner, Fish

Lemon and Herb Cod

June 27, 2010 admin 1 Comment

This is a great quick recipe that produces a really moist and flavorful fish fillet. And you even get enough cod broiled to use it in a great chowder recipe that I’ll post in the next day or two 🙂 If you are not going to make the chowder, just reduce the cod to 1 ½ pounds and proceed accordingly.

4 servings (plus leftovers for chowder)
255 calories per serving

1 garlic clove, peeled
2 slices whole wheat bread torn into pieces
2 T parsley leaves
1/2 t lemon zest
2 t oil
2 T plain fat free yogurt
2 t lemon juice
1 3 lb. cod fillet cut into 8 pieces
16 oz. package frozen stir fry vegetables
Pam

Mince garlic in food processor. Add bread and parsley and pulse until crumbs form. Add lemon zest, 1 t oil and 1/8 t salt and pulse to mix. Place in a bowl. Combine yogurt, lemon juice and 1/8 t salt. Preheat broiler and spray the rack of a broiler pan with Pam. Place fish on rack and broil 4 minutes. Turn and broil another 4 minutes or until fish is done.

Take 4 pieces and refrigerate up to 2 days for the New England Chowder recipe. Spread yogurt mix on the other 4 pieces and then sprinkle with the bread crumb mix and press so that the crumbs stick. Spray with Pam and broil 1 minute to brown crumbs. Remove to a plate and keep warm. Heat 1 t oil and add vegetables and stir fry 4-5 minutes. Serve with the fish.