Black Beans

This is delicious and very easy. I like to serve them as a side dish with any mexican style main dish. These are very healthy as well.

2 T Chopped Onion
2 teaspoon Chopped Garlic
1 T Oil
1/2 t Cumin
1 can Black Beans, drained
8 T Tomato Sauce
3 T Cilantro


Cook chopped onion and garlic and cumin in oil until soft. Add other
ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.

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Baked Potato Casserole

This is my version of a recipe I got from my grandma. It had a few too many calories for my liking (not that this is too much better!!) Baked Potato Cassrole 6 -8 Yukon Gold potatoes cut in chunks, cooked until tender Water (this is replacing the milk you would use in regular mashed potatoes) + 2 tsp chicken bullion 4 oz low-fat Cream Cheese, softened 1/2 c Sour cream (can also substitute fat-free greek yogurt) 1 bunch Green Onions, Chopped 5-6 slices of bacon, cooked (I used turkey bacon) 2 c Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated 1/2 t pepper 3 tbs Butter, melted Cook bacon and cut fine. Set aside. Cook potatoes on stove until tender. Mash (you can leave some chunks if desired). Add water, chicken bullion, cream cheese, sour cream, and 3 tbs butter. Stir in green onions, bacon, and 1 cup cheese. Place in baking dish. May dot with additional butter if desired (I skipped this part), and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake in 9X13 pan 45 min at 350'. May also warm in crockpot for 2-3 hours.

A Side Dish! It's POTATOES!!

I realized that I mostly post main dishes or desserts....but we can't just have a main dish without something to serve it with, right? And if our "main dish" is something simple or semi-boring (like hamburgers, or grilled chicken) it is nice to excite your dinner by adding a yummy side-dish. So, here are a few of our favorites:

Roasted Parmesan Potatoes
4 medium potatoes, peeled (can use red potatoes, or any kind you like)
1 tbs vegetable oil
3 tbs grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Slice potatoes in half, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Place potatoes in medium bowl and toss with oil (or in a zip lock bag). Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Add herb/cheese mix to potatoes and toss to coat potatoes evenly. Arrange potatoes on prepared baking sheet. Bake, turning once, until potatoes are lightly browned and easily pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes.

Microwave Cheesy Potatoes
4 cups potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbs butter
3 tbs cornstarch
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups grated cheese (Cheddar, Colby or Monterrey jack)
1/2 cup sour cream, optional

Mix milk and cornstarch until smooth. Add remaining ingredients except cheese. Put in 2 qt glass microwave dish. Cook 15-20 minutes on high in microwave, stirring every 5-7 minutes. Add cheese, and sour cream if desired, and let stand 3-5 minutes to allow cheese to melt.

Scalloped Potatoes
6 potatoes, peeled and cut into disks
1/2 onion, diced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
shredded cheese, to taste

Place potatoes and onion in pot of water with a pinch of salt. Boil until barely tender, but not done. Mix potatoes with soup and desired amount of cheese. Microwave until bubbly.

Proscuitto Wrapped Asparagus

I got this recipe from a friend, and it's AMAZING. Seriously, I HATE asparagus, but this is delicious! Try it....it won't disappoint.


Ingredients--1/2 lb. sliced prosciutto (or pancetta)
1/2 (8 oz.) package Onion and Chive Cream Cheese (I used less-fat), softened
12 spears/1 bundle fresh asparagus, trimmed

Directions--
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Heat a pot of water to boiling. Blanch the asparagus: Throw the asparagus in the water for 30-60 seconds. Drain and "shock" with cold water. Before you wrap the asparagus, throw it in a pot of boiling water and blanch it for about 30 seconds... it gives it nice color, and makes it so when you bake the asparagus with the prosciutto/pancetta, they get done about the same time.
3. Spread prosciutto slices with thin layer of cream cheese. Wrap slices around 2-4 asparagus spears depending on the thickness of the spears. Arrange wrapped spears in a single layer on a medium baking sheet (coat pan with some olive oil, and brush the bundles with some olive oil). Season the asparagus with salt (not the prosciutto because it is already salty).
4. Bake 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven, until asparagus is tender. You can also set the oven to broil for the last minute or so. Serve immediately.

You can get Pancetta or Prosciutto in many grocery store deli's. It's cheapest to have your deli cut you 5-6 pieces so you don't have to buy a huge package and have a ton of left-overs.

Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls

Next time I think I will add more garlic butter and cheese than I did so they will be even MORE gooey!

I got this off of the Ourbestbites blog. She has really nice pictures that make your mouth water:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/08/cheesy-garlic-bread-swirls.html

Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls

Recipe by Our Best Bites

French Bread Dough:

1 Tbsp. yeast

1 1/2 c. warm water

1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

4-5 1/2 c. flour

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 egg yolk

Garlic Butter:

1/2 c. (1 stick) of real butter, no substitutions

1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning (recipe further down the page if you want it)

Shredded mozzarella cheese

If you want the garlic bread seasoning recipe (I halved it and had some left over)

1/2 c. powdered Parmesan cheese

2 tsp. Kosher salt

2 Tbsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. basil

2 tsp. marjoram

2 tsp. parsley

Combine yeast, water, and sugar in large mixing bowl and allow to stand 10 minutes or until bubbly. Add salt, vegetable oil, and egg yolk (set white aside for later) and combine. Add 3 c. flour and mix well until combined. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that barely sticks to your finger. Knead, either by hand or in mixer (my personal and very lazy choice) for another 2-3 minutes. Cover and allow to rise 1 hour.

While dough is rising, combine butter and garlic bread seasoning. Set aside.

Now...here's a little trick I've been using a lot lately. I really, really hate cleaning up flour on my work surface after I've been working with dough, but I obviously have to use SOMETHING to keep it from sticking. If you spray a little non-stick cooking spray on your work surface and your rolling pin, your dough won't stick and clean-up is super easy!

Anyway, roll your rough into a rectangle that's about 18-20 inches by 6 inches. Smear garlic butter over the entire surface of the dough and then sprinkle with cheese.

Roll up jelly-roll style and then use dental floss to cut into 12 equal slices. Of course, I kind of forgot to take pictures of this whole process, but if what I'm saying makes no sense, check out the orange roll recipe to see what I'm talking about. Place each slice in a muffin tin. Cover with a clean cloth. Preheat oven to 350 and allow rolls to rise while the oven is heating.

When the oven is ready, bake for 18-22 minutes.

You're going to need to keep a CLOSE eye on these puppies during the last 10 minutes or so--once you notice the cheese getting brown, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the rolls (you don't need to press it down or anything, just lay it on top). This will keep the cheese from burning, although it will get pretty brown on top. It's okay, though, because the insides are still all ooey-gooey.

Pull these out of the oven and eat 'em up ASAP! If you want to try and counteract the butter/cheese/white flour combo, pair these up with Italian Turkey Soup or dip 'em in some luscious, veggie-filled pasta sauce.

Healthy Potato Salad

It's SUMMERTIME! Did you notice?! That means it is time to BBQ! Hooray! In honor of BBQ season, what are some of your favorite things to take to a BBQ?

I know one staple at BBQ's is Potato Salad. It's not my favorite thing, I'll be honest, but lots of people LOVE it! My cute next door neighbor invented a healthier version of potato salad...and it's delicious, so I thought I'd Share it with you!

Healthy Potato Salad
1 mini bag yellow or red Klondike Potatoes
1 Container 0% Fat Greek Fage Yogurt
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1 1/2 TBS Dijon Mustart
1 Cup diced celery hearts
1/2 cup green onion
2 1/2 Tbsp. Frontier Bac'Uns (veggie bites)

Boil potatoes 8-10 minutes. Cool and slice into small thin circles, leaving the skin on. In a large bowl, mix all other ingredients and then add potatoes. Let chill in fridge one hour.

Lime Rice

I throw all this in my rice cooker and let it do all the work. I do like to open it up after it starts to steam and stir it up really quick. This makes quite a bit. I usually only make a third of it.

2 Tbls butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 teaspoon chicken bullion
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped (i've used dried cilantro before too)
2 tsp. cumin
2 small cans diced green chilies
1 Tbls lime juice (i add a little extra)
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 cups rice
water (follow instructions on rice package to know how much water to add)

Thanksgiving Turkey dressing

This is my favorite stuffing in the whole entire world, but then again, I am no stuffing connoisseur. I thought I would share this recipe if anyone is looking for a good, simple recipe so you don't have to eat stuffing out of a box.

1 lb ground sausage (I like the spicy one)
1 onion, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
10-15 cups bread pieces (2 slices=1 cup)
1 tsp salt

Brown sausage and drain, add onion and celery. Cook just until they are softened. Mix all ingredients together and put in a 9x 13 pan. Pour a little hot water over to moisten. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Before serving, pour some of the hot turkey gravy on top right before you serve it. Enjoy!