Currently Browsing: appetizer
Nov 20, 2009
Posted by Jennifer on Nov 20, 2009 in appetizer, dieting, lunch, News, Snacks, weigh in friday | 8 comments
So, since I had no plan yesterday, I ran to Whole Foods at lunch and I was going to get a salad, but when I was walking the aisles, I saw the Amy’s frozen lunches. I saw the tortilla bowl and looked at the nutritional information. Not bad! 380 calories, 18 grams of fat and 9 grams of fiber. I also picked up a bag of Guiltless Gourmet Tortilla Chips. I’ve never tried them before, but what I liked was that you got 18 chips per serving at 120 calories per serving.
And then I would put some of the black beans on the chip…
I didn’t like it at all!
Just kidding, if I could have licked the bowl I would have!!
And it’s weigh in Friday again! The weeks are flying by.
I was EXACTLY the same!! I always think that’s weird when you work out differently, eat different things, yet stay the same… but hey, I am glad its not up!
Today is going to be a challenge at work. We have our annual Turkey Day Potluck. With 50 people bringing food, grilling out burgers and brats, its going to be hard. But, a bunch of people play tag football afterwards, and I am going to play and burn some calories!
I am bringing turkey meatballs.
This is the recipe. One of my coworkers brought this last year and they were amazing!
GRAPE JELLY MEATBALLS
2 12 oz jars Heinz chili sauce
1 32 oz jar grape jelly
1 bag meatballs (about 80 in a bag)
Put chili sauce and jelly in a large pot, heat until jelly is melted and sauce is smooth, stirring often. Add frozen meatballs; heat until meatballs are thawed and then simmer for 3 hours.
I know it sounds disgusting, but trust me, they taste AMAZING. These will be simmering at my desk all morning in my crock pot before the party so I am going to have to be strong and not eat a ton before it even starts!
Have a wonderful Friday everyone!!
Also, check out these great ideas from Fitness Magazine for the Holidays!
Fitness Magazine’s 10 Holiday Super Foods
Also, Fitness Magazine, 9 healthy appetizers to make/bring to a party.
Aug 30, 2009
Posted by Jennifer on Aug 30, 2009 in appetizer, breakfast, News, party food! | 11 comments
I keep stealing ideas from my sister these days, but she’s made her breakfast pizza a few times with her easy pizza dough, so I decided to see if I could re-create her delicious recipe!
The result? A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!
The dough is a no-rise dough
1 cup warm water
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 packet yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp yeast)
In a glass mixing cup, add the warm water and yeast and stir.
In a mixing bowl add the flour and salt. Add the warm water with yeast. With my dough hook I just mixed it together for about 2 minutes, or until it looked like this:
For the whole dough, its 18 points, so I divided it by six dough balls.
3 oz. of the dough is 3 points!
So, I rolled out the dough, (I can never make it a circle!) and added a little bbq sauce, red onion, 1 oz. cheese and 2 slices of turkey bacon. Then you crack an egg in the middle.
Then bake at 375 for about 10-12 minutes (on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray) or until the egg looks cooked through.
This huge pizza is only 370 calories!!! The dough was crispy, the onions carmelized, the egg was perfectly cooked.
The best part about this recipe, is you can use whatever kinds of veggies and cheese you want. Everyone can make their own favorite breakfast pizza!
What a super way to start the day!
Jun 20, 2009
Posted by Jennifer on Jun 20, 2009 in appetizer, bread, News, party food!, Side dish | 14 comments
The other day while reading blogs, I came across www.ceramiccanvas.com blog. He had made home made crackers that he had read about from a book called Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf.
I said to myself, I’ve made home made bread, home made english muffins, I think I will try these crackers! And it was so easy to make!
Here’s what you will need:
1 cup flour
1 tsp. kosher salt (I used sea salt)
1 tsp. sugar
2.5 TB unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk, plus 1 TB. for later
1 large egg
Mix of dill, sesame and poppy seed (I didn’t have any dill, so I omitted that)
I’ve actually had sesame and poppy seed for the longest time, I store them in my freezer, so I can use them whenever I want and it keeps them fresh.
I combined the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. I added the butter and using my hands, just kind of broke up the butter into the flour. Add the 1 cup of milk. His suggestion was to knead by hand for 5 minutes. I used the dough hook on my kitchen aid and mixed it for 5 minutes.
Cover it with wax paper and leave it for an hour.
After the hour, take the dough ball out and divide it into 4 equal parts. Take one piece and put it on a flat surface dusted with flour. The other 3 pieces, place back in the bowl and cover until ready.
Roll out the dough as flat as you can and transfer to a cookie sheet covered with foil.
Using a pizza cutter, I just cut the dough into strips, then again to make squares.
In a small dish, beat 1 egg and the remaining 1 TB. of milk. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the dough with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the poppy and sesame seeds and bake at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes.
I was so excited about how good they turned out. Very light and crispy! Once they are fully cooled, you can store them in an airtight container. Serve with your favorite dip or tompenade!
Jun 19, 2009
Posted by Jennifer on Jun 19, 2009 in appetizer, Dinner Idea, general ideas, lunch, News, party food!, potluck | 9 comments
Did any of you ever watch a show that used to be on Food TV called “Cooking Thin” with Kathleen Daeleman’s? I used to love watching that show, because she met with a person who was struggling with good food choices and helped them make great meals that were totally healthy. I don’t know whatever happened to that show, but I was thinking about Kathleen and decided to google her.
She has a site dedicated to her healthy eating called www.kathleendaelmans.com. I liked her for a couple of reasons. She had lost 80 pounds after struggling with weight loss + she made great food that would help you stay on track because it wasn’t “diety” kind of food. She helped people make lifestyle changes they could keep forever. That’s my kind of cooking!
So, when I was looking at her recipes on her site, this one sounded like something my whole family would love!
Thai Beef Salad
Ingredients
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon (more or less) grated jalapeno pepper
5 scallions, white and some green parts, very thinly sliced
8 cups very thinly sliced napa cabbage (about 1/2 large head)
2 2 cups grated carrots (from a 10-ounce bag)
1 cup loosely packed, coarsely chopped fresh mint
1 cup loosely packed, coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 pound flank steak
Coarse salt and cracked black pepper
Preheat oven broiler to high. In a bowl large enough to hold the salad, whisk together lime juice, orange juice, fish sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and jalapeno. Add scallions.
Toss together cabbage, carrots, mint and cilantro in same bowl.
Season meat with salt and pepper, put on broiler pan, and space under the broiler. Broil, turning once, until done to your liking, 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare, 8 minutes for medium, 9 to 10 minutes for well done. (Alternatively, you can grill in a grill pan by lightly oiling the steak, using about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil per side. Season with salt and pepper and cook on high as above.)
Remove meat to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing very thin across grain. Add to bowl with cabbage. Toss to coat evenly with dressing and serve.
Photo courtesy of Kathleen Daeleman’s site
Jun 11, 2009
Posted by Jennifer on Jun 11, 2009 in appetizer, Food Finds, lunch, News, Side dish, vegetables | 11 comments
When I was shopping at Trader Joe’s over the weekend, I happened to come across these beautiful purple asparagus! I’ve never seen it before, or tried it, but considering my whole family loves asparagus, I put it in my cart.
If you notice the stalks are much fatter than regular asparagus, but at the store, it was noted that purple asparagus is a little sweeter and more tender than regular asparagus.
Since I wasn’t quite sure how to make it, I ended up just making it like the way I normally do. I bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes, drizzled with olive oil and cracked salt and pepper. Had I looked up earlier, I would have found out that in order to maintain the purple color, you have to add some type of acid, lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, etc…
Even so, it turned out great. I liked it better than regular asparagus, because the flavor was a little mellower than regular asparagus.
Luckily, I didn’t make it all, and I found out great information from Asparagus.com.au. They described purple asparagus as follows:
Purple Asparagus
Purple asparagus spears are between 10% and 15% wider at the base than green asparagus spears. To select the freshest spears, consumers should look for firm, crisp stalks and compact brightly coloured heads with no trace of softness. When purple asparagus spears are sliced, the cream coloured flesh provides an especially effective presentation for salads and stir-fries.
Prolonged cooking causes purple asparagus to turn a deep green colour. To retain the vibrant purple colour, it is best to cook purple asparagus just until tender crisp. Or serve it fresh in salads and salsas. Interestingly, adding ‘acidic’ dressings using lime or lemon juice, or white wine or apple cider vinegar helps intensify the beautiful crimson hue.
I’m sure there are a lot of farmers markets selling these right now too!
My friend Lois gives me recipes out of the paper when she sees something I might like. This is from the Chicago Tribune “Good Eating” section for Mustard French dressing which would be great drizzled over the purple asparagus!
Mustard French Dressing
2 TB. red or white wine vinegar
1/4-1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 TB. dijon mustard
Mix vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Let stand for a few minutes. Slowly stir or whisk in the oil. You can store this in a jar, just shake before serving.
Have you ever tried purple asparagus, if so, how do you prepare it??
