Lisa Tries.. Christian's Strawberry Banana Muffins (well, not exactly)

Recipe: Christian's Strawberry Banana Muffins
Cookbook: George Stella's Real Food, Real Easy

What you need:
3/4 cup almond flour (I made my own)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
4 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar substitute
2 tbsp transfree margarine
1.5 tspn banana extract
1 tspn baking powder
3/4 cup chopped strawberries (I used blackberries, rinses, and patted dry)

What to do:
Preheat oven to 375.  Mix all ingredients except the berris in a bowl with a wooden spoon (I used my mixer on low) until blended well.  Add berries by folding in with a spoon.  Fill each muffin cups with batter and bake for about 25 mins.  Remove and let sit for a about five mins, serve.

I liked them!  Sweet and the muffin part was really nice.  The muffin part stuck to the muffin cup things so maybe next time I will not use them.  I will try with strawberries or blueberries too. 

Calories 216, protein 8.5, carbs 16. To make gluten free just double the almond flour.

Ok, I cooked and I baked and I washed dozen of bowls and pans and utensils.  I think that should do it 'til the weekend. :) Oooh, not, I planned on making a chicken recipe from this book again later and need to cook before the chicken goes bad.

I love you my pistachio colored KitchenAid.

(cringing, waiting for Lee's reply ;) )

Lisa Tries... To Make Something Up

Spinach, Feta, Ricotta Chicken
By: Lisa B.

What you need:
Boneless skinless chicken breasts (I like thin cut)
Package of crumbled feta cheese
Two handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves (toss in pan with a bit of water to wilt)
About a cup of ricotta
half of a lime
salt, pepper, italan spice blend, garlic

What to do:
Season chicken and cook in pan with a bit of olive oil til almost cooked.  In a bowl mix the ricotta, feta, lime
and then add spinach.  Transfer chicken onto baking sheet and top with feta mixture and baked for a few mins.

So I made this up because I didn't want to waste the ricotta.  It was pretty good but needed something else... more lime? Actually, probably a lemon would've been better but I didn't have any.  I would make a variation of this again.

Lisa Tries... Egg White, Spinach, and Ricotta Frittata

Recipe: Egg White, Spinach, and Ricotta Frittata

Cookbook: Real Food, Real Easy by George Stella

I don't like eggs but decided to give them a try to see if my palate has changed since I was a little kid.  It has not.  This wasn't bad but I just didn't care for the texture.

What you need:

2cups fresh spinach leaves

8 large eggs whites

2 tspns minced garlic

1/4tspn salt

1/8 tspn black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp parm cheese, grated

(My egg white separator -- thanks to my friend, Lisa!)

What to do:

Saute spinach in a skillet with a bit of water for a few mins until leaves wilt.  Remove and pat excess water.  Then mix eggs whites, ricotta cheese, garlic, salt, pepper in a large bowl and whisk til frothy.  Pour mixture into skilled and cook til sides pull up.   Top with cheese and then put oven safe skillet in oven on broil for a few mins.  I topped with tomatoes and cilantro for more flavor too. 

Lisa Tries... Fall Vegetable Curry

Recipe: Fall Vegetable Curry

Cooking Light October 2010

Last weekend I was walking around the grocery store trying figure out what I wanted to make for dinner and for lunch the next day.  I was in the deli and meat/poultry sections frowning.  Everything looked gross.  Processed meat in a big huge chunk wrapped in plastic.  Ground sirloin with blood in the package.  Blah.  I went to reach for a package of boneless skinless chicken breast but then withdrew when I saw chicken feet packaged next to the poultry.  Ugh.  I've never particularly liked eating meat/poultry with skin and bones.  All burgers and steaks had to be well done.  I liked to pretend that I wasn't really eating body parts of an animal.  I've been weird about that since I was little.  So walking around the grocery store disgusted with everything I left with a few frozen goods and not much else.  I decided that I needed to look into meatless recipes as alternatives and incorporate them into my weekly food intake.  This recipe showed up in my email the nexy day from myrecipes.com and it looked like a good recipe to start with my journey of meatless recipe options.

What You Need
1.5 tspns olive oil
1c diced peeled sweet potato
1c small califlower florets
1/4c thinly sliced yellow onion
2tsp madras curry powder (I only had regular curry powder and I used a lot more)
1/2c organic vegetable broth
1/4tsp salt
15oz can of chick peas, rinsed and drained
14.5oz can of no-salt added diced tomatoes, undrained (I used fire roasted tomatoes based on review comments)
2tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/2c plain reduced fat Greek yogurt (I used non-fat Greek yogurt)

I added toasted cashews because the picture showed cashews even though the recipe did not.  I put a couple of handfuls of unsalted organic cashews on a baking sheet and toasted at 350 for 10 mins. 

What To Do

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add sweet potatoes and saute for 3mins.  Add cauliflower, onion, and curry powder and cook for a minute, stirring.  Then add broth, and the next 3 ingredients up til the tomatoes, bring to boil and then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins or until tender. 

I made brown rice and put a few spoonfuls on a dish and then topped with the vegetable curry.  I then topped with cilantro and a spoonful of yogurt.  I forgot to add the cashews during picture taking but added them after.

Verdict

This is a beautiful-looking dish that plays on the taste buds.  Sweetness of the potatoes, tartness of the yogurt, curry goodness flavor, crunchiness of the cauliflower, the fire roasted tomatoes were spicy and then the nuttiness of the cashews.  It's a very tasty mix.  The cauliflower was a little tricky for me to cut up.  Is there a proper way?  Anyway, this is very easy to make and very filling.  Would definitely make this again.

Lisa Tries... Herb-Crusted Chicken w/Feta Sauce & Basil Orzo

Recipe: Herb-Crusted Chicken w/Feta Sauce
From: Cooking Light 5 Ingredients 15 Minute Recipes 2010

What you need:
2/3c whole-wheat panko (I used plain because I couldn't find ww.  I also didn't measure it out.)
2tbsp italian seasoning (didn't measure out)
4 6oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used less and thin cut)
1/2tsp salt (I didn't measure out)
1/4tsp black pepper (I didn't measure out)
4tsp olive oil (I didn't measure out)
6tbsp feta sauce (I didn't measure out.  I spooned some on top of each slice.)

What do to:
Heat pan with olive oil (I also added some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter).  Combine panko and italian seasoning and then coat chicken.  Cook chicken on both sides for five minutes each or until browned.  While chicken is cooking boil water and cook orzo for about 10mins.  Drain orzo and add salt and basil. 

To make feta sauce you need 1 lemon, 1 tsbp chopped fresh mint, 4tsp evoo, dash of black pepper, 1 3.5oz package of reduced fat feta cheese (I used full fat and crumbled).  To make sauce grate the lemon until you get anout 1/2tsp in a bowl and squeeze lemon juice until you get about 2tbsp.  Then add mint, evoo, pepper and cheese.  Mix. 

When chicken is done, top each piece with the feta sauce.

Verdict:  THIS IS FANTASTIC!!!  The lemony, minty, and crunchiness of the chicken were so good.  It's light and fresh and just packed with flavor.  The orzo was rather bland.  It was my first time making orzo so I am not sure what I'll do different next time to make it tastier.  Otherwise, the chicken is SO GOOD!

Lisa Tries... Rotini w/Chicken, Asparagus & Tomatoes

Recipe: Rotinin w/Chicken, Asparagus, & Tomatoes
By: Cooking Light 5 Ingredient 15 Minutes Recipes 2010

What you need:

8oz uncooked rotini pasta (I used whole wheat and about 16oz)

Cooking Spray (I used olive oil)

1lb boneless, skinless chicken cut into 1/4 inch slices (I used .79lbs)

Salt & pepper

1c one inch sliced asparagus

2c cherry tomatoes (I used another kind of tomato)

Minced garlic (they say two cloved, but I always use a lot of garlic and do not measure)

2tbsp fresh basil

2tbsp balsamic vinegar

1tbsp evoo

1/4c crumbled goat cheese (I used feta cheese and not as much.  I sprinkled a bit on top of the pasta and chicken on the plate)

What to do:

Cook pasta according to package minus salt and fat.  The rotinin cooked for about 15mins.  While pasta cooks, heat large pan and coat with olive oil and garlic.  I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper prior to putting in pan.  Once in pan, I let cook on both sides for a few mins and then added the asparagus and extra garlic.  Let cook for about 5mins (timing is all subjective to me...).  Then add tomatoes and cook for a minute or so (I cooked a bit longer).  Remove from heat (I did not).  Stir in pasta (drained), basil, vinegar, and oil (I did not add extra oil).  Top with cheese.  Serves 4 (probably). 

Calories 419, Fat 9.5, Protein 33.9, Carb 48.5, Fiber 3.4 (their nutritional values).

Verdict: 
All colorful and healthy ingredients makes me feel like I am eating rather healthy.  It's super easy to make and not a lot of prep/cook time which I appreciate.  It's very juicy because of the tomatoes.  At first I used feta cheese because I misread.  It was really good with feta though.  Once I realized I made a mistake I put a few spoonfuls more on my plate to test with goat cheese.  I love goat cheese so this was heavenly.  It can be kind of bland in some spots until you get a bite with the goat cheese and vingear so maybe upping the vinegar a bit would help.  I am looking forward to having this for lunch tomorrow... cold.  Let the juices sit over night and then top with goat cheese before eating.  Should be yummy!



Update:  Had leftovers cold for lunch the next day and I didn't really care for it.  I think the idea behind the recipe is good but I will try to find alternative ways to make it more flavorful.

Review: Pampered Chef Mix 'n Chop

Decided to use my brand new Pampered Chef Mix n' Chop utensil for breaking up ground beef.  When I first began to use it, it seemed like all the MnC was doing was gathering together the ground beef.  But then...

(Yes, LRA, I burned some! I know!)

As I began to work it... twisting and chopping the ground beef... it really did seem to break it up much better than what I usually use which is a wood spoon utensil.

End result? Nicely chopped up and soon to be evenly browned ground beef (with some overdone bits, yikes!  That's what I get for sitting on the computer while cooking!) ready for taco seasoning.  Could I do without it?  Absolutely.  Will see what else I can mix n' chop down the road...