Today’s Menu: Shrimp w/ Pasta Roni – Angel Hair Pasta with Herbs

For Breakfast I made a cup of Bigelow Decaf Green Tea.Rain and 73 degrees out today, and we need some rain. I’m still dealing with some bad headaches,. My sinuses are killing me! It’s the weather. First its cool then back into the 70’s, back and forth. It needs to stay cool or warm for my sinuses to settle down. So I rested most of the day so let it it rain! For Dinner tonight a favorite of mine,Shrimp w/ Pasta Roni.

For the Shrimp part of the dish I used Meijer Brand Jumbo Shrimp. This is my frozen Shrimp of choice, best I’ve found. I had them in the freezer so I let them thaw overnight in the fridge. I love Shrimp and all Seafood. For the Shrimp; I started by rinsing the Shrimp off in cold…

The Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker that is a lifesaver when you are pressed for time! This dish is thicker than a soup, but if you prefer soup, simply add more stock. This recipe may also be made in a crockpot, or on your stovetop, which cooking times adjusted accordingly. Each serving is only 2 points!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced

1.5 pounds boneless chicken breast, trimmed

2 cups chicken stock

2 cans (14.5 oz) fire roasted tomatoes

1 can (15 1/2 oz) black beans

1 package frozen corn

1 Tbsp taco seasoning

1 tsp salt

2 tsp chili powder

fresh cilantro, optional

Directions:

1. Place frozen corn into a nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt, and the chili powder. (I also sprinked with a bit of Trader Joe’s Chili Lime Seasoning.) Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the corn begins to…

This recipe can be used on salads, in tacos, with cauliflower rice or in my Shrimp Flatbread with Ranch Drizzle. Best of all, these shrimp are super simple, zero points and full of flavor!

Ingredients:

8-10 Jumbo shrimp

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Garlic powder

Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. In a nonstick pan sprayed with cooking spray, sprinkle shrimp with garlic powder and salt to taste. Saute with garlic over medium heat.

2. When pink on the bottom, flip to other side, and add cilantro.

3. Continue cooking until all shrimp are cooked through.

That’s it! I chilled these, and used them the next day for lunch in my Cilantro Shrimp Flatbread with Ranch Drizzle. Also great on salads, with cauliflower rice (or regular rice) or fajitas. Only zero points!

Please note: I am not a fitness or health professional. I will be listing recipes and meal…

Timballo di Polpette

At this time of year, I look forward to pulling all of my recipe books out and being inspired to cook gorgeous, hearty and tasty food. These books are usually Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diary editions – not only is he a brilliant cook, he writes absolutely beautifully.

Now, the Handsome One isn’t a huge fan of pork for some reason, although he loves a sausage *insert crude joke here*, so I am on a mission to make him fall back in love with a chop again, and I think I’ve done it with this pork and apple recipe.

It’s an incredibly easy recipe that you can amend to include the flavours you would like. The most important thing here is using free range, quality meat. Animal welfare is of great importance to me, so I cannot stress the importance of eating the highest welfare of meat. For example, an outdoor…

Every other Friday my best friend Dawn comes over with her son and I make a new dish. Having a meal with friends makes it so much more fun. This recipe called for adding cognac and then lighting it on fire. That was a blast and now I want to find more dishes that I get to light on fire. This is the one and only Julia Child’s recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Ingredients;
3 to 4 oz chunk of lean bacon
2 TB butter
2 – 3 lb chicken, cut up.
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup cognac
3 cups full-bodied red wine
1 to 2 cups chicken or beef stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 TB tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/4 tsp thyme
12 to 24 brown-braised onions
1/2 lb sauteed mushrooms
sal and pepper
3 TB flour
2 TB softened butter

This tasty mushroom recipe is from the first diet plan that ever worked for me. It doesn’t taste like diet food because yummy melted cheese! Found in Suzanne Somers’ Get Skinny on Fabulous Food cookbook, they are cheesy and tasty with no rice or bread. They are easy to make and can be served as an appetizer if you are entertaining.

Ingredients:

1 pound mushrooms

4 TBS butter

4 shallots, finely chopped

1 TBS chopped thyme, parsley or tarragon (she uses fresh lemon thyme in the book but I have trouble finding that)

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 TBS olive oil

1/2 cup dry white wine

Directions:

Carefully pull stems off the mushrooms, finely chop stems. Select the 12 largest caps and set aside for filling. Finely chop the remaining mushrooms. Melt the butter in a large skillet, add shallots and saute until golden brown. Add…

I realize summer is over. However, I am still going to share this recipe I found over the summer because I want it in my archives for easy access. Also, you might like it as well. Super easy to make and great for leftovers. I found it on one of my favorite recipe websites. http://www.simplyrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

1 15-oz can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 15-oz  red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 red onion, chopped fine (3/4 cup), soaked in water to take away the sting, discard water before adding

2 celery stalks, chopped fine (1 cup)

1 cup loosely packed, fresh. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 TBS olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Mix all the beans, celery, onion, parsley and…

It’s comfort food weather. My daughter and I have had this recipe a couple times when we were feeling like a “no meat” kind of night. I found this recipe on the website http://www.cookieandkate.com. Its delicious and you can add shredded cheese and sour cream or eat it with crackers, whatever you prefer.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 red onion
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 carrots
• 2 ribs celery
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 TBS chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp smoke paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 can diced tomatoes, with their juices (20 ozs)
• 2 cans black beans (15 ozs each) rinsed and drained
• 1 can pinto beans (15 oz) rinsed and drained
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar or lime juice (your choice)
• chopped cilantro

Directions:

In a large pot heat the…

As summer comes to an end, despite the multiple resurgences here in Virginia, we are finally beginning to feel the temperatures drop! It’s perfect chili weather.

This is a recipe I have perfected over the years, and one I
was using long before I became vegan. I’ve brought it to many a pot luck, and I
usually get more than one request for the recipe.

This is quick to throw together, since almost every ingredient
comes from a can!

I usually make a pot of white basmati rice to serve with the chili. My kids, who are not vegan, will top their chili with cheese and sour cream. Sliced avocado or guacamole are equally good garnishes!

I won’t bore you with multiple paragraphs before I divulge the recipe, so here goes:

Vegan Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I cheat and use the…

This week’s “Meatless Monday” Recipe of the Week is a Herbed Spinach Quiche Portabella Caps. Made using Portabella Mushroom Caps, Eggs, Egg Whites, Whole Wheat Grated Bread Crumbs, Nonfat Milk, Mrs. Dash Low-Sodium Garlic and Herb Blend, Frozen Spinach, and Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese.190 calories per serving. The recipe comes from the CooksRecipes website which has a huge selection of recipes to please all tastes. Be sure to check the CooksRecipes site out soon. Enjoy and Make 2019 a Healthy One! https://www.cooksrecipes.com/index.html

Herbed Spinach Quiche Portabella Caps
Recipe Ingredients:
4 portabella mushrooms, 3-inches in diameter
Cooking spray
3 large eggs
6 large egg whites
1/2 cup whole wheat grated bread crumbs (panko)
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1 teaspoon low-sodium garlic and herb blend (such as Mrs. Dash)
1 cup cooked chopped frozen spinach, drained with excess liquid squeezed out
1/2 cup reduced-fat Parmesan cheese – divided use

Cooking Directions:
1…

Quiche Lorraine is undoubtedly my favourite quiche (closely followed by Västerbotten cheese quiche with crayfish) and until now my trusted recipe has served me well. The pastry is easy to make and it never gives a soggy bottom and the filling is delicious. But do you know what would make it EVEN better? Puff pastry! Golden, flaky buttery puff… Yes, please! Said and done.

I made this (in Sweden quite unorthodox) quiche for my friends in the summer and children and adults alike really liked it – and had seconds. Always a good sign!

Quiche Lorraine with puff pastry, serves 4

1 roll butter puff pastry

Filling:

1/2 onion, finely chopped

300 g smoked and cured streaky bacon (fried in pieces, then drained on kitchen towel)

butter and oil for frying

150 ml grated cheese (I used Monterey Jack)

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

1 bunch chives, chopped

300 ml…

I thawed out some pork chops in the fridge for dinner tonight. Originally, I was planning to do something with pesto that I need to use up, but that didn’t sound appealing to everyone – so, I put my thinking cap on and tried to come up with something different.

It’s been a bit of a trying day – you know – the kind of day that you want some good old comfort food. For me, that usually means something creamy, starchy and that reminds me of meals I loved as a kid (casseroles or one pot meals!). But, I had to use the pork chops, since I’d already thawed them out – enter Pork Chop Skillet!

For creamy, I decided to use some cream of chicken soup and heavy cream. For starchy, I decided to use some jasmine rice. Add in the pork chops, some veggies and spices and…

As I didn’t make a homemade crust, I guess this is a cheater chicken pot pie – or, I like Weekday Chicken Pot Pie better, since using a prepared pie crust makes it super easy!

While I didn’t make a homemade pie crust, I did use fresh veggies – carrots, celery, onion and potatoes to be exact. All chopped similar size. I also cooked 2 large chicken breasts, in my instant pot, and shredded them. To make this recipe even easier – you could use frozen veggies and rotisserie chicken!

In a pan, with some butter, I softened the onions – then added the remaining vegetables and seasonings, to cook a bit on the stove.

After cooking for 5-10 minutes, I added in some flour (which will help to thicken the filling as it cooks). I stirred the mixture well, allowing the flour to get well distributed in the pan…

It’s fall y’all! Doesn’t fall make everyone want apple pies? It certainly makes me want an apple pie. And, all week long, I’ve been waiting to make this pie! Finally – the work week was over and it was time – yay!!

I started with refrigerated, store bought, pie crusts. Certainly, you could make homemade pie crust – and, more power to you!! But, I just went the easy route!

For the filling, I used 8 apples (I added one after the picture!), the juice of 1 lemon, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour.

I sliced the apples thin and tossed them with the lemon juice. Then, I added in the sugars, cinnamon and flour and mixed through, ensuring that all of the apples were coated. In hindsight, it might be easier to mix the dry ingredients separately and then add – live and learn!

I then piled the…

A week or so ago, I found the Pumpkin Spice Alouette Spreadable Cheese in my local Aldi. Since then, I’ve been trying to think of how I might use this cheese in recipe – did I want to try for something savory (the cheese is sweet on it’s own) or do a dessert of sweet dish.

This morning, I decided – sweet – and I wanted to pair it with apples. Yes, yes, I know – I’ve been on a huge apple kick lately – my oldest child reminded me of this – but, it is apple season, after all! I have no shame about it, at all!

I started by slicing 4 -5 small apples (I combined a couple honey crisp with whatever ‘baking apples’ that Walmart had on sale, in a bag, last week), thinly.

In a large bowl, I combined the apples with cinnamon, white sugar, brown…