Italian Scampi

Dinner for tonight is quick and easy. I love the lemony taste. I got thumps-up for tonight's dinner. Instead of using white wine, I used vegetable broth instead and to aim the acidity fo the white wine, I added 3 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice.

Italian Scampi
Verdict: 2.95 out of 5

Prep time: 10 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 butter (I used I cannot believe its not butter instead)
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp
1/4 cup white wine (I used vegetable broth instead and added another 1/4 cup)
3 tablespoon of lemon juice
Hot cooked angel hair pasta

Directions:
Melt butter in a medium skillet. Add garlic; cook over low heat for 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium and add shrimp to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes minutes more. Stir in vegetable broth and lemon juice for 2 minutes more or until shrimp is pink. Serve over pasta.
Makes: 4 serving

Nutrition per serving (if you use the white wine): 350 calories, 28 g protein, 14 g toatl fat (8 g sat., 0 g trans), 24 g carb, 2 g fiber, 0 g sugar, 230 mg chol, 260 sodium,

Grilled Hoisin Chicken

This is fun to eat as hors d'oeuvres too but tonight I decided to make it as our light dinner. As for hors d'oeuvres, you can top with torn fresh mint, fresh basil, chopped salted peanuts, fresh sliced crosswise jalapeno in a small heads of Boston Lettuce (or larger leaves from 1 head of Boston leaves, washed and dried).

Anyway, I make it with Jasmine garlic rice for tonight's dinner. It was not good. Something new everyday and I am liking it. Not only me that do like it but my family too.

Grilled Hoisin Chicken
Verdict: 2.75 out of 5

Ingredients:
1/3 cup of hoisin sauce
4 tsp. of rice vinegar
1 Tbs. soy sauce
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, (I trimmed the fat)
Kosher salt
cooked Jashmine garlic rice
tomato for side


Directions:

1.Heat a grill to medium high. In a small bowl, whisk the hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. In a larger bowl, season the chicken with 1 tsp. of salt and 2 Tbs. of the hoisin mixture.
2. Grill the chicken thighs, covered, or until well browned, abut 5minutes or so each side.
3. Chopped the chicken and transfer to a mixing bowl and add remaining hoisn mixture and toass and coat thoroughly.
4.0Arrange in the platter and top more of the hoisin mixture.

Lemon Chicken

Ok. The lemon chicken and the pictures in the recipe look yummy and sound wonderful. It turned out just ok for the whole family. Don’t get me wrong, it taste fine. But it is not something for the family to wow and give a high credit for this recipe and going to make it again. The idea of trying something different for the family is indeed sounds great. At least, we got a chance to try something new every night.


Lemon Chicken

Verdict: 2.25 out of 5
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 7 to 8 hours (LOW); 4 to 5 hours (HIGH)

Ingredients:


2 cans (10 ¾ ounces each) 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
½ cup water
¼ cup of lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
8 large carrots, thickly sliced
6 boneless chicken breast halves
8 cups hot cooked whole grain egg noodles


Directions:

1. Mix the soup, water, lemon juice, mustard, garlic and carrots in the Crock-Pot slow cooker. Add chicken and turn to coat
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or until done.
3. Serve over noodles and sprinkle with parsley.

Yield: 8 Servings

Jambalaya

First of I wasn’t even sure if this recipe will turn out yummy and good. At the end, yes it was. I was pleased with the result and overall taste. I got thumps up from my husband and my baby. Yes, my daughter loves it. She actually eats it. When you hear a jambalaya recipe, first thing comes up in your mind is spicy. Yes indeed, it is suppose to be spicy but I used way less the hot sauce than what is says how much in the ingredients. I could not eat much spicy food now and not even 6 weeks since my surgery. My body is not accustom to some foods now. I mean, less spicy foods, less fat meat, more on lean meat, vegetables and fruits.


The dinner? It was delicious. I will definitely going to make it again in my kitchen. It might be sounds like fattening but it is not by changing some of the ingredients. I used fat-free chicken broth instead of the regular, skinless chicken breast instead of just chicken with skin on and I cut the use of the French's French Fried Onion in more than half of what the ingredient says.


Jambalaya
Verdict: 3.5 out of 5

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 6 to 7 hours (LOW); 3 ½ to 4 hours (HIGH)

 
 
Ingredients:


2 ½ to 3 pounds chicken pieces, skinned if desired (I used all skinless chicken breast)
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces) less fat chicken broth
1 green bell pepper, chopped (I just used half of the green pepper, don’t want to overwhelm with peppers)
2 cups French’s French Fried Onions (I just used 1 cup)
¼ cup Franks Red hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce (I used 2 tablespoon only, I don’t want it to be too spicy hot)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons Old Bay seafood seasoning
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano leaves
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup uncooked regular rice (I used ½ cup of Jasmine rice only)



Directions:

1. Combine the chicken, tomatoes, chicken broth, green pepper, ½ cup French’s French Fried Onions, Franks Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce, garlic, seafood seasoning, oregano, salt and pepper in CROCK-POT slow cooker. Cover and cook for LOW for 4 to 5 hours or HIGH for 2 to 2 ½ hours.

2. Stir in the rice. Cook on LOW for 2 hours or on HIGH for 1 hour or until rice is cooked and all liquid is absorbed.

3. Turn CROCK-POT slow cooker to HIGH. Add shrimp. Cover and cook 30 minutes or until shrimp are no longer pink. Arrange jambalaya on serving platter. Sprinkle with some remaining French Fried Onions.

Yield: 6 servings

Mediterranean Fish Fillets

Overall, it was just fine. What I mean, I could have pick a better Halibut. I was a bit disappointed of my choice of pick. Ok, not me to blame. It should be in the store selling a not so fresh fish. I was even so excited of the result of the fish dinner tonight but disappointed that the fish texture is not what we expected. I even paid the fish $25.00 (two slices only) and weigh just more than a pound. Next time, I will make sure that if is not frozen and thaw out fish. I bought the fish at Nugget Market. To think that everything they sell is high quality. Oh well. I will know better next time. However, glad it turns out good the fish. It is not like ohhh and wow and thumps up fish coming from my husband and baby though.


Mediterranean Fish Fillets
Side dish: Baked carrots and red potatoes

Verdict: 2.75 out of 5

Prep time: 10 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes

 
 
Ingredients:


1 ½ to 2 lb. Halibut steaks
½ cup Buitoni Classic Bruschetta
¼ cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. snipped fresh basil or oregano (I used the fresh basil on this)

You can baked the carrots and red potatoes first. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the baking pan with nonstick spray. Add olives oil, dry parsley and salt and pepper mixed in the carrots and red potatoes. Baked for 40 minutes. Take out the baked carrots and red potatoes.
Turn up the oven to 400 degrees F for the fish.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and spray a 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Rinse fish and pat dry; place in prepared dish. Stir together bruschetta, olives and lemon juice; spoon equal amounts over halibut. Bake for about 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Top with basil.


Yield: 4 servings

Nutrition per serving: 370 calories, 62 g protein, 9 g total fat (0.50 g sat., 0 g trans), 4 g carb, 1 g sugar, 95 mg chol, 380 mg soduim

Chicken Pita Pockets with Tzaziki

Ok. Here is our tonight’s dinner. My daughter actually eats it. She said it is like a taco but very different. If you are trying to cut back on calorie intake or low-fat diet foods, this is one way of doing it.

To tell you the truth, I am not into white meat (skinless chicken breast) but this pita sandwich I actually do like it. The chicken tender gives a distinct taste with the tzaziki. The minced garlic gives the strong taste on the chicken. It has a very light raw taste of garlic which compliments the yoghurt and the cucumber.

Not only for dinner but good for lunch as well.

Chicken Pita Pockets with Tzaziki
Verdict: 2.95 out of 5
Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup Plain Mountain High Yoghurt

1 tsp. minced garlic
½ cup peeled, seeded, finely diced cucumber
1 lb. chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
2 pita pockets, cut in half


Directions:

To make the Tzaziki, combine yoghurt, garlic, and cucumber in a medium ceramic bowl. Cover and chill 3 hours.

Season chicken with salt and pepper and with the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for 4-6 minutes or until no longer pink in the center.

Line each pita pockets half with lettuce. Spoon in warm chicken, then Tzaziki. Top with onion and tomato slices.

Yield: 4 servings

Homemade Meatloaf

A comfort food for the whole family. It always turn out thumps-up for the whole family. Ok, I know. It is not something new to the family. I made the meatloaf 3 times yet and so it is not like it is over and over for us. I have to do in between the recipe that we had for a while. Just an idea.

Homemade Meatlof

My own recipe: by Aiz

Verdict: 3 out of 5

Tuna and Pasta Salad

Sunday and I haven't decided yet what to have for dinner. It is way harder than I thought to what to cook next. I mean, if you are not a meal planner, yes, hard to think and come up something healthy for family and not from fast foods.

Two weeks in a row that we have been eating at home. That's a big yey for the family and way healthier for us too. Not to mention that save us some $$ in our pocket just by eating at home. The three of us, everytime we go out, it always cost us like $60.00 with tip. Yet, I only spent $150.00+ for the grocery for the whole week. That's a lot of saving. OF course, I am not confining myself just to be in the kitchen. I have to look for recipes that are easy to make and LOW FAT Recipes like this one below.

And no, not from someone's recipe. I put all together the ingredients myself.

Tuna and Pasta Salad
Recipe by: Aiz

Verdict: 3.50 out of 5

Ingredients:


8 ounces of orrecitte noodes, cooked accoding to package
4 tablespoon of Light Mayo
1/2 can of olives
1 cucumber, sliced, seeded and diced
8 pcs. of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 can of tuna in water albacore
1/8 cup diced red onions


Directions:


1. Drain the water of the tuna. Put in a bowl. Mix all the ingredients together except the noodles.
2. After tossing well the ingredients, add the noodles. Make sure it is coated well.
3. Arange it in the platter with lettuce and serve. (You can omit the lettuce if you want to)

Chicken Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs

Chicken Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs over Rice

Verdict: 3 out of 5

Chicken Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs

This is what for lunch on one fine Saturday.

Chicken Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs over rice
Verdict: 3 out of 5

Chicken and White Bean Soup

Here is another recipe that I tried for my family tonight. The result turns out good. I am happy that my baby likes it too. I will definitely going to make it again for cooler weather. I serve the soup with warm toasty garlic bread.

Chicken and White Bean Soup


Verdict: 3.25 out of 5
Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 smoked bacon slices, chopped
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
½ cup chopped onion
1 minced garlic clove
1 cup chopped plum tomato
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
2/3 cup uncooked orzo (rice shaped pasta)
1 (15 ounce) can organic white beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt


Directions:

1. Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat 7 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan; set bacon aside.

2. Add chicken to drippings in pan; sauté 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender. Add tomato, oregano, and pepper; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Return bacon and chicken to pan. Stir in 2 cups water and broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Add orzo, and cook for 9 minutes or until al dente. Add beans; cook 2 minutes or until heated. Remove from heat; stir in parsley, vinegar, and salt.

Yield 4 servings.

Calories 335; Fat 9.9 g (sat 2.8 g, mono 2.5 g, poly 1.5 g); Protein 26 g; Carb 35.4 g; Fiber 5.1 g; Chol 61 mg; Iron 3.2 mg; Sodium 530 mg; Calc 64 mg


-Recipes by Deb Wise, Cooking Light April 2011

Stir-fried noodles

Ok, second attempt of making my family something different tonight for dinner. They both get excited for me cooking variety dish from now on.

So, here is our dinner for tonight:

Stir-fried noodles with beef and spinach

Verdict: 2.75 out of 5

Source: Cooking Light, April 2011

It turned out it is not on top of our list. Of course, it turned out good but it is not going to be back in my kitchen. We enjoyed the flavor and savored the taste. It has that spicy after taste in your mouth. It opens up your sinuses. The beef was not bad. It was good though. Don’t get me wrong, I love spicy foods but with my food restrictions, I have to avoid as much as I can some spicy foods. Of course, I will able to east some spicy foods after a while.





Pancakes in the morning



When it is school day, I have to get up around 6:45sh to take care of my baby before going to school. While she is putting her clothes on, I decided to make a fresh pancake this time and not the frozen pancakes to just heat up in the microwave and serve. At the end, the whole family had pancakes this morning. It was satisfying and taste good!

First dinner attempt

Two weeks after my gallbladder removal surgery, I attempt to cook dinner for my family tonight after a while of not able to do so from being sick. I feel bad for my family of eating the same menu over and over again and just mostly take out and/or restaurants. I decided to get back in track and will try to cook something different for my family.

Not only that I will enjoy cooking but also be able to eat healthy. It is perfect for my low fat diet food restrictions from now on. Of course, I still need to take it easy because it is only two weeks yet since my major surgery. But I am so glad that I was able to cook dinner tonight.

The dinner was an easy preparation. It did not take a lot of doing stuff around the kitchen. No heavy lifting and it only take at least 30 minutes to prepare the dinner.


Here is my first dinner attempt tonight.

Menu:

Side dish: Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes

Main course: Broiled Salmon with Spiced Cucumber Mayonnaise

Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes

My husband was surprised that he actually liked the asparagus. He is not a big fan of asparagus if you know what I mean. The balsamic vinegar gave the tangy overall taste along with the tomatoes. The asparagus was tender crisp to our liking and glad it turns out good.


My husband thanks me after the very good dinner. He thanks me for the 4 star restaurant quality dinners tonight. I was glad to hear such compliments from my husband.


Verdict: 4 out of 5

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Source: Cooking Light Magazine, April 2011

Ingredients:

1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed

1 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon minced fresh garlic

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon crumbled goat cheese

¼ teaspoon black pepper



Directions:

1. Cook asparagus in boiling water 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar; cook 3 minutes. Stir in salt.

3. Arrange asparagus on a platter; top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper.
Yield: 2 servings

Broiled Salmon with Spiced Cucumber Mayonnaise

The cucumber gave a distinct crunchy taste on the salmon. It gives a nice flavor to it. Overall, the family likes it. It turned out very good. I was please that even my daughter, 7 years old, likes the salmon with the cucumber mixture.

Verdict: 4 out of 5

 Cooking time: 20 minutes with chill time extra

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 (8 oz.) salmon fillets

3 tablespoon mayonnaise

¼ cup peeled, seeded and diced cucumber

1 sliced diced yellow onion

1 small minced fresh garlic

2 dash of crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

1.      In small bowl, combine mustard and lemon juice. Evenly spread salmon with half of mustard mixture; cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Set aside remaining mustard mixture.

2.      Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients with reserved mustard mixture; toss to blend. Cover and set aside to allow flavors to blend.

3.      Preheat broiler. Coat broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange salmon on broiler pan. Broil about 5 inches from heat 7 minutes; turn and broil 7 minutes longer or until fish flakes with a fork.

4.      Serve salmon with prepares sauce. Yield: 2 servings

This is it

To blog or not to blog. After a while of thinking, I decided to blog and will try my best to cook variety dish for my family and I will try to share what would be the outcome.

Please try to come back again some time. Hope to share my first dinner menu next week.

Cheers!