Lifecafe Ultimate Asian Bowl copycat

ULTIMATE ASIAN BOWL

Approx 2-3 servings

·         Kale - 2c chopped

·         Red cabbage - 3c shredded

·         Red onion – thinly sliced to taste

·         Carrot - 1c cooked (or raw) and sliced

·         Snow peas -1c cooked

·         Quinoa – 1c cooked

·         Brown rice – 1c cooked

·         Lentils – 1/2c cooked

·         Grilled chicken breast

·         Curry Vinaigrette (see below)

·         3 tbs white wine vinegar

·         1.5 tbs curry powder

·         2 tbs honey

·         ½ tsp salt

·         ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

·         ¼ c EVOO

In honor of Fat Tuesday

So I wanted to do something yummy for Fat Tuesday, so I made jambalaya. I should call it "Yumbalaya" because it was really, really good. The recipe made a ton, and we have now eaten it all. It is totally not low carb, but that would be kind of hard to do. So anyway, here ya go...

Jambalaya

• olive oil
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 8 ounces Conecuh Cajun Smoked Sausage, sliced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning (I probably used 3 tbs)
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1lb frozen cut okra
• black pepper to taste
• 1 3/4 cups uncooked white rice
• 26 oz container chicken stock
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
• hot sauce to taste

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Sauté chicken and sausage for approximately 5 minutes.
2. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery. Cook 5 minutes, or until onion is tender and translucent.
3. Add rice, onion powder and seasoning, then stir in chicken stock and add bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
4. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and add shrimp. Continue cooking for approximately 5 minutes or until shrimp is cooked but not overdone and liquid is absorbed.
5. Serve and add hot sauce to taste.

Quick and Easy Broccoli Chicken Divan

So we are leaving for a week's vacation and I am trying to use everything fresh in the fridge that I need to cook. I still had a good bit of fresh broccoli from on on the large Costco bags that I buy, and I had some rotisserie chicken strips that needed to be used as well, and I ran across this recipe. Must say that it took me all of about 10 minutes to prepare and we were eating about 20 minutes after that - not too bad! It was really, really good too, so even after we get back this may have to go into rotation. It's a little more rich that I prefer to cook currently, but with reduced fat ingredients, it really isn't so bad! I am giving my slightly tweaked version of the recipe, but the original can be found here. Served it with a salad, of course, and I'm really looking forward to my leftovers.

Quick and Easy Broccoli Chicken Divan

• 1 pound chopped fresh broccoli (I used a couple of ounces more to finish off what I had)
  
• 1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup - Campbell's Healthy Request
  
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
  
• 3/4 cup 2% shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
  
• Garlic powder
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Mrs Dash, Original blend
  
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
• 3 tablespoons dried seasoned bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Steam broccoli in microwave (I use chicken broth, but if you use water, I suggest seasoning the water a little), for 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain.
3. Place the cooked broccoli in an 8" square casserole dish. Top with the chicken. In a bowl, mix the soup, sour cream and milk, 1/2 of cheese, garlic and pepper and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs, and sprinkle over the cheese.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly brown.

Fall weather, how I love thee (and thy vegetables)

So as anyone from Alabama knows, it is RARE that we get fall. We usually go from 95 degrees to 50, and that 50 doesn't usually happen until just before Thanksgiving. This year is different however, and we have been so lucky to have this nice fall weather the last two weeks. It has made me crave EVERYTHING fall. What screams fall more than butternut squash? This has been on my wish list since the thermometer fell below 85. So, so simple, but oh, so fabulous. We had it with a balsamic pork tenderloin and I'm about to heat my leftovers (can't wait)!!!!

Roasted Butternut Squash

• olive oil to coat
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt
• fresh, ground pepper
• 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (I'd suggest buying the already peeled and cubed or you can microwave your squash for about 8 minutes to make it easier to peel and chop)
  
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425
   
2. Toss squash in olive oil, salt & pepper and garlic
3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spread squash evenly on it.
4. Cook for 20 minutes, and then gently stir squash and return to oven.
5. Check squash again after 20 minutes more (repeat at 5 or 10 minute intervals until done - if needed)
6. Remove squash from oven and sprinkle with parmesan
7. Let rest for a couple of minutes and serve!
   

All I really need is love but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt! — Lucy, “Peanuts”

When I think of chocolate, I think of chocolate cake or brownies - nothing else, not candy, ice cream, truffles, etc. And as far as brownies go, these things are good. Not great for a healthy diet, mind you, but incredibly good and worth the splurge now and then. Luckily, I'm now in the habit of bringing the leftovers (if any) to work, to keep me honest.

These are super easy and I've been asked for the recipe each time I've made them, so I figure that warrants a post. I also have to say that of all the brownie recipes I've made and/or tried, I believe that they are my favorite too and given the ingredient, I usually only have to buy one ingredient. They are chewy, so if you are a "cakey" brownie type person, you may or may not like them. Also, since they are pretty rich, I cut them up to be bite-sized. Here you go! And by all means, if you can - PLEASE eat at least one warm from the oven with some good vanilla bean ice cream. Holy chocolate cow, they are gooooood.

Perfect, Gooey, One-Bowl Brownies

• 4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 tsp cinnamon (The original recipe doesn’t call for this, but I always add it, it just gives them more depth of flavor)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Microwave chocolate and butter or margarine in large bowl at HIGH for 2 minutes or until butter or margarine is melted.
3. Stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and nuts.
4. Spread in greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake for 35 minutes (do not overbake). (**I suggest lining the pan with foil and then spraying with cooking spray like "Baker's Joy". It makes for super easy cleanup and the brownies just look a lot better because they are so easy to get out because after cooling, you just lift the foil out of the pan and onto a cutting board.)
   

Mexican fiesta! Old faves and new friends!

So it was my turn for supper club and I've been craving my cheesy chicken enchiladas. Not that they are really MY chicken enchiladas, because I got the recipe from Vanessa from bunko around 10 years ago. I do have to say that I've been making them ever since and they are always good and I can't count how many people have asked for the recipe. So anyway, when we do supper club, the host does all the food, so we keep it simple. And what is easier than Mexican? I can get make and assemble the enchiladas ahead of time, so all I have to do is bake while the beans and rice are cooking. The rice recipe is just really basic and I'm guessing on the amounts. The black beans were really good (I love cilantro), and will definitely keep this combination of dishes together. A little guacamole and homemade salsa and voila (or "Ole", or something like that).

Mexican Rice

• 1 c chicken broth
• 1 ½ c of salsa (or rotel) and tomato sauce (basically, I put the tomato sauce in the measuring cup first and then pour in the salsa or rotel until it measures 1 ½ c total)
• 2 tbs cumin or taco seasoning (if you use the taco seasoning you won’t need to add salt, but if you use the cumin, you will probably need to add salt before serving)
• 2 c rice
• 1 small can of corn (drained)

1. Bring chicken chicken broth and tomato mixture to a boil.
2. Add the rice and seasoning and follow the cooking time on the bag of rice (different rice varies)
3. In the last few minutes of cooking, add the corn.

Best Black Beans

• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt to taste
• 2 tbs (approximate) fresh lime juice

1. In a medium saucepan, combine beans, onion, and garlic, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low.
2. Season with cilantro, cayenne, and salt.
3. Simmer for 5 minutes, and serve.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

• 2 ( 10 oz. ) cans diced tomato and green chilies, undrained
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken, I usually put in twice that much
• 1 ( 8 oz. ) package cream cheese, softened
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1 ( 8 oz. ) container sour cream (I tend to use more, probably more like 12 oz)
• 8 ( 12 inch ) flour tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese

1. Stir together 1/4 cup diced tomato and green chilies, chicken, cream cheese, and green onions.
2. Stir together remaining diced tomato and green chilies and sour cream; set aside
3. Arrange chicken mixture evenly down center of tortillas; roll up, and place, seam side down in a lightly greased 13 X 9 inch baking dish.
4. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Pour sour cream mixture over enchiladas and top with cheese.
5. Bake 10 more minutes; let stand 15 minutes.

Stuffed Pork Chops (a new fave)

I buy boneless chicken breasts and center cut pork chops (thick cut) in bulk at Costco. I trim the fat if needed, and bag them all individually, and then put them all in two good gallon size freezer bags. This way, when I am about to leave in the morning, I can pull out however many I need and they are neither stuck together nor freezer burned. So anyway, since these two things are pretty routine dinner items, I'm always looking for good, easy, healthy ways to cook them. If it is something he likes, Richard could eat the same thing every night of the week, I however have to have some variety.

I have been looking for some new pork chop recipes and upon reading about some yummy stuffed pork chop recipes that didn't include stuffing (you know I''m low-carbing it). I ran across some recipes that used smoked gouda and some different cheeses, and then some others that sounded good too, so I decided to try something based on some of the different elements of the ones I likes, and the finished product was way easy and totally fabulous!

Bacon and Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops

• 4 thick, center cut pork chops
• 4 wedges of Laughing Cow Light Garlic and Herb cheese
  
• 4 tbs crumbled bacon pieces (see, yet another use for my handy-dandy bacon pieces)
• 1/2 c beef broth (or 1/2 c water and beef broth granules or beef bullion)
• 1/2 c red wine
• McCormick's Montreal Chicken seasoning
• Nonstick cooking spray
• toothpicks
  

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Cut a slit in the side of each porch chop to make a large pocket
3. Season the pork chop (inside and out) with seasoning
4. Brown pork chops in skillet (sprayed with cooking spray) for 2 minutes on each side
5. Stuff each chop with cheese wedge and 1 tbs of bacon and secure opening with toothpick
6. Place in chops in baking dish (sprayed with cooking spray) and add beef broth and red wine.
7. Bake at 375 or until pork chops for 20 minutes, or until the internal temp of the meat reaches 175.
8. OPTIONAL - add the pan juice back to skillet and thicken with corn starch or flower.

Here's the nutritional breakdown(approximate, based on 4 oz chop, with fat removed)

4 Servings - Amount Per Serving

Calories 272.0

Total Fat 14.6 g

Cholesterol 74.2 mg

Sodium 923.1 mg

Potassium 451.1 mg

Total Carbohydrate 1.5 g

Dietary Fiber 0.0 g

Sugars 1.0 g

Protein 26.7 g