Garlic Shrimp in Coconut Milk, Tomatoes and Cilantro

A quick shrimp stew cooked in a tomato coconut broth with a hint of lime and cilantro. Simple enough to make for a weekday dinner yet sophisticated enough to serve to company. Serve with a little brown basmati rice to soak up the broth.

I've been busy working on my cookbook, so I thought it would be a good idea to highlight this recipe from the archives. This is one of my favorite shrimp dishes, and perfect if you're observing Lent.

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Crock Pot Sesame Honey Chicken

Sweet, savory and a little spicy, this simple Asian inspired chicken dish has a balance of flavor combinations – serve this over your favorite rice and dinner is ready!

I'm not a fan of sweet foods as a main dish, unless it's balanced with savory and spicy flavors. In this dish the honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sriracha compliment each other and balance out the sweetness.

I've tried a few versions floating around the web, but they were much too sweet for my taste. After a few attempts, I finally found the perfect balance of sweet-savory without adding too much sugar. Rice wine is naturally sweet, and adds a bit of acid which rounds out the flavors. I served this with more sriracha sauce on the side for extra heat and served it over brown rice.

I usually set some chicken aside for my toddler when I shred it, before adding it back to the sauce, since her palate is pickier than the rest of ours, and it works out fine. I never cook a separate meal for her, she eats what we eat, just modified at times if I cook something spicy.

For lunch the next day, I made some lettuce wraps with some leftover forbidden rice I had and thoroughly enjoyed eating them with my hands.

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Tomato Mozzarella Egg White Omelet

A quick and easy breakfast made with tomatoes, egg whites, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Lots of flavor, low in carbs and takes just minutes to make. A perfect breakfast for Meatless Mondays!

Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine involved lots of family fun, Scooby Doo live in Manhattan, a shopping spree at the mall with my teen, a play date at Bounce-U and celebrating my brother's birthday. Oh yeah, and a trip to Target!

I seriously love Target! Spring is definitely in the air at Target, and I just wanted to redo my entire home with all the fabulous Spring color designs that are out. Instead, I just went with new flatwear, dishes and napkins from the Threshold coral collection in hope that Spring will arrive a little sooner this year, because I am soo over the cold.

Back to my breakfast, this is an excellent low carb breakfast idea, my husband said it reminded him of a breakfast pizza. Next time I make this, I'll top it with fresh basil and call it a margarita omelet. Enjoy!

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Skinny Chicken Cordon Bleu

What could be better then chicken stuffed with ham and melted cheese?!

Chicken Cordon Bleu is elegant enough to serve for for company yet simple enough to please any palate, especially picky family members. I usually serve myself two pieces and make a big salad and dinner's done!

Some of you may notice this recipe from the archives, I gave them a mini-makeover and made them simpler and lighter, so throw away your old print-outs and print this out instead.

Previously my instructions called for cutting the chicken breasts yourself. So many of you had a hard time doing this, so I re-worked it with pre-sliced chicken cutlets instead. If you're a pro at slicing your own chicken, then go ahead and do it yourself  – you will cut the cost in half.

I also eliminated the toothpicks, which saves time and quite honestly works fine without. A little cheese may ooze out, but that's ok! If you want to use the toothpicks, up to you but it's so much quicker without.

Traditionally when ordered in a restaurant, this dish is fried. Baking them works just fine and no one will noticed you used reduced fat Swiss. Enjoy!

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Rosemary Grilled Vegetables with Lemon-Honey Tahini Sauce

It's raining here in The Valley of the Sun. It's been raining and cold ALL DAY LONG. In fact we have had a  crazy  unusual rainy 'season' all last month. We desert rats don't know how to cope with that here in Phoenix, it's almost as if people are staring up at the sky in disbelief {from inside their stucco homes and under the protection of their clay tiled roofs}  and just waiting for it to fall on their freshly manicured heads.









Where the heck is that umbrella anyway?.............


Craziness I tell you. The kids are like caged animals. A day without being able to ride their bikes to the park is a day where mommy needs a glass of wine by 5 p.m. in a bad way.  How the heck do people live in places where this is the norm?

On a truly positive note, I am giddy with anticipation at all of the wild flowers we will have around here in a month or so. We may not have green leafy trees, we may not have the changing of the seasons and snow covered hills for Christmas but by God we have the most  beautiful  wild flowers here in the desert that will blanket the once dry and desolate Arizona landscape with colors unlike anywhere else on Earth.

Giddy.


Another wonderful thing about it being cold and wet outside is being able to enjoy hot soups and roasted vegetables for dinner. Once the temperature hits 90F my oven goes into hibernation until October.






I was looking for a recipe similar to the lemon, fire grilled veggies that Pita Jungle serves.
I saw this recipe on Liz's site, The Lemon Bowl and knew I had to have it immediately. Her version seemed more like a side dish to me or a light snack so I added more veggies which I tend to do and some chickpeas which pair well with tahini and for more protein. The first time I made it the tahini sauce was a bit bland and thick for us so I added a drizzle of honey and thinned it out with more water, ended up being about 1:1 parts tahini and water to get it thin enough to 'drizzle'.

 Organic Tahini
is made of roasted, dried sesame seeds and has a very mild but distinctive flavor.  It is commonly used in Mediterranean cuisine and most famously, in hummus. For such a tiny little seed they pack a huge punch nutritionally speaking. They are packed with good for you nutrients and dietary fiber. Sesame seeds may help prevent colon cancer, supports respitory health,  reduces inflammation such as in PMS, migraines and osteoporosis and helps prevent many other chronic health conditions. 
In fact,  just 1/4 cup of sesame seeds provide 73% of your dv in copper which is known for reducing the pain and inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. 

source: Whole Foods

PREP: 15 MIN      BAKE: 25 MIN     SERVES: 6

You Will Need:

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets

• 1 sweet potato, cut into 1inch cubes

• 2 large carrots, sliced into 1 inch pieces

• 2 cups broccoli florets

• 1 small purple or yellow onion sliced into wedges

• 2 cups cooked or 1 can of chick peas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed

• 1 head of garlic (yup a whole head)

• 2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

• 3 tablespoons Organic Tahini
  

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/2 cup hot water

• 2 tablespoons Organic, local honey

• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• freshly ground black pepper

• Freshly chopped parsley for garnish

1. Pre-heat oven to 400.

1. Remove loose skin from garlic. Cut the top 1/4 inch off to expose the cloves a bit. Drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. 

1. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower, broccoli, onion, carrots and sweet potato with olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper then spread out in an even layer on a 9 x 13 Inch, Stoneware Baking Pan
   , I use a stone baking pan which I adore. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until browned.

1. In the bowl of a small food processor, mix together tahini, lemon juice/zest, a few of the roasted garlic cloves and salt. Slowly add in the hot water until desired consistency is reached then drizzle in honey.

1. When vegetables are done roasting, serve on a platter and drizzle with tahini honey-lemon sauce parsley. Serve warm.

recipe adapted from The Lemon Bowl

Throw your veggies, chick peas and herbs into a large bowl, drizzle with lemon juice and zest, a good quality olive oil and toss to coat. Spread evenly onto a 9 x 13 Inch, Stoneware Baking Pan
and bake. That's it!

Slow Cooked Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa

Pork roast, marinated overnight with fresh citrus juice, garlic, and jerk seasoning, then slow cooked all day while you're away. Topped with a bright, fresh Caribbean salsa of fresh mangos, avocado and cilantro. If I told you how good this dish was, would you believe me?

The kind of good that your husband tells you how much he loves you while eating it... yeah that good! This dish is officially going into my regular rotation. 

One of my friends turned me on to Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning, turns out it's the #1 Best Seller in Gourmet rubs on Amazon! It's actually made in Jamaica, so it's the real deal and only cost about $4. It comes in mild and hot, so being the wimp that I am, I went with mild. I served this over brown rice with some cucumbers on the side for a complete meal.

Since a lot of you ask, I have the Hamilton Beach Set It and Forget It Slow Cooker, I've had nothing but great results since purchasing it if you're in the market for a slow cooker. I've had really bad results with other slow cookers, so they are not all created equal!

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Healthy Cookies

A healthy cookie made with just three ingredients! Mashed ripe bananas, oatmeal and walnuts. OMG, these really ARE healthy!

Cookie's for breakfast, cookies for lunch, cookies, cookies coooookies.

I'm really so excited about these cookies, can't you tell? Thank you, thank you to the person who emailed me this recipe. It was actually a recipe for a two ingredient cookie, but walnuts and bananas really do it for me, think banana bread.. in a cookie.

The cookies are best right out of the oven, they are chewy and soft – just how I like my cookies.

I'm anxiously awaiting my next batch of bananas to get super ripe so I can make them again. This time, I'm going to add almonds and see how they turn out. Next time, maybe raisins? chocolate chips? Cinnamon, pumpkin spice, vanilla... can't wait!

Egg free, dairy free, gluten free (use gf oats), vegetarian, vegan, kid friendly... what else can I say??

Be sure your bananas are super ripe. I've only tested them with quick oats, so I'm not sure how they work with rolled oats. My gut tells me stick with the quick oats.

If you're on Weight Watchers; each cookie is 1 points plus. Quick breakfast to go; 5 cookies and a piece of fruit = 5 point plus! Leave the nuts out, they are still 1 point each. Replace the nuts with mini chocolate chips... still 1 point. Make these today!

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Valentine's Day Cake Balls

Happy Valentine's Day! My daughter is having a Valentine's Day party in school today, so I just wanted to share these cake pops adapted from my skinny cake pop recipe I did a few months back to bring to her class.

I love how you can come up with hundreds of different ideas with this Nordic Ware Cake Pop Pan I purchased at Target. I highly recommend buying 2 pans if you plan on making these to speed this up.

I simply took my recipe and used colored candy melts in place of the white, with heart sprinkles. So cute!

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Honey-Teriyaki Salmon

Asian honey glazed salmon – an easy dish you can make any night of the week. Simply fill a resealable bag with the marinade ingredients, then add the salmon until you're ready to cook.

Then when you're ready to start dinner, make your sides and your fish will be done in less than 15 minutes.

This recipe is from Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen's new cookbook:Steamy Kitchen's Healthy Asian Favorites. The pages in her book are filled with beautiful photos and 100 fast, simple recipes anyone can make on a busy weeknight.

And this week, I'm giving away her new cookbook on Skinny Bits to one lucky winner! To enter for a chance to win, click here.

We all loved this simple dish in my home, it tasted like something I would order in an upscale Asian restaurant, yet it was so easy to make. I served this with forbidden rice and sauteed sugar snap peas on the side, but this would also be wonderful with edamame fried rice.

Today is also the beginning of Lent, so for those of you looking to try a new fish dish to make, this is a great place to start. Adding salmon to your plate is one of the healthiest decisions you can make. Studies link its high concentration of omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients with a lower risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and more.

By choosing fresh wild salmon (your best bet is wild Alaskan or Pacific) over farmed, you will likely be getting better quality, less-contaminated fish. However, the health benefits of eating farmed salmon far outweigh the health risks associated with not eating salmon at all; so if wild salmon is out of your budget, go for the farmed variety.

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Chicken and Andouille Sausage

A chicken and sausage stew made with skinless chicken legs and spicy andouille sausage simmered with flavors from the deep south – without the extra fat.

Today is Fat Tuesday, but any day is really a great day to enjoy this comfort dish. Traditional gumbos are made with a whole lot of fat and take hours to make. My lighter version you won't miss the fat because there's still tons of flavor. The stew itself is not very spicy, but the sausage is so you get a little heat each time you take a bite. If you're not a fan of spice, a smoked turkey sausage or turkey kielbasa would taste great too.

To lighten this dish, I use lean skinless chicken on the bone (the bone adds great flavor) and lean chicken/turkey andouille sausage. It's simmered with onions, bell pepper and celery, also known as the "holy trinity" in Cajun cuisine, and topped with scallions. This is the type of dish you may want to serve with a fork AND spoon, I served mine with 1/4 cup of cooked rice on the side, completely optional. Quinoa or farro would also work nicely.

I found the chicken a little tricky to calculate on the bone; I was getting discrepancies when I calculated it raw, vs cooked on the bone, vs cooked off the bone so I decided to weigh the meat off the bone cooked, I feel this is the most accurate. The chicken I purchased was from a small bird, so if you have really large chicken, the nutritional info will change. If you prefer white meat, be sure to use skinless breasts on the bone so your meat doesn't dry out and you still get the great flavors from the bones.

Low carb, gluten free, and really good!


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Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Topping

Lightened-up red velvet pancakes made with a blend of white whole wheat flour and all purpose, then topped with a light cream cheese topping.  I adore red velvet, so I can't think of a more fitting time to make red velvet pancakes, then for Valentine's Day!

I don't eat pancakes every day, instead I save them for special occasions, like holidays, birthdays and blizzards! This weekend Nemo hit the North East, which kept most of us indoors or digging our way out. We got around 8 to 10 inches which wasn't too bad, my daughter was really excited to finally use her snow suit and sled.

While my daughter and husband played outside in the snow, I decided to test out these pancakes. My puppy wanted no part of the snow, so he found a cozy blanket and just laid around all morning.

I spent quite a bit of time testing these pancakes out to get them just right. Finally after my third attempt I got them perfect! Fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness. This was modified from my whole wheat pancake recipe, I simply added some cocoa powder and food coloring and since this is topped with a cream cheese topping rather than maple, I felt the batter needed to be sweetened a bit, so I added a touch more sugar.

My husband, was my taste tester and tasted each and every round until we got a winner.

If you're watching your sugar intake, you can certainly substitute the sugar for Stevia or Splenda, or whatever sweetener you prefer to use.

You can prepare the batter the day before and keep it refrigerated for up to 2 to 3 days. The cream cheese topping will also last about 3 days refrigerated.

I used my heart shaped pancake molds which only makes one at a time, so if you plan on doing this and making a lot, I recommend buying more than one mold. It also tends to stick so spraying the mold first helps prevent this.

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Skinny Chocolate Parfaits

A rich, creamy chocolate treat made from semi-sweet chocolate, fat-free milk, vanilla and cornstarch. Layered with a little whipped topped, it's a perfect ending to a special dinner.

I don't have dessert every night, but once in a while, on special occasions, I like to enjoy a sweet treat. Valentine's Day is certainly one of those nights. What's great about this dessert is that you actually make the pudding the day before, so it's easy to assemble just before you are ready to eat.

I love these little glass dessert cups, they are actually from the salvation army but a champagne glass would also work great too.

My light whipped topping of choice is Truwhip – I love that it contains all natural ingredients, no HFCS, hydrogenated oils, transfats or GMOs. They also have a light version, but I can't always find it. There's a store finder on their website if you want to find a store near you that sells it. I also heard Trader Joe's sells their own brand with the same ingredients.



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Baked Parmesan Eggplant Dippers with Marinara

Did I have you at marinara or at Parmesan? I could sprinkle Parmesan on a bowl of warm, freshly made marinara and eat it with a spoon. Not weird at all.  I do have a glass of red wine, preferably a good Malbec from Argentina or Chile (is there any other kind) as an accompaniment if it makes you feel any better.  A perfectly well rounded meal after a long day of saving lives (both at the hospital and on my days off at home with the kids) if I might say so myself.


I'm not trying to delude from the fact that eggplant is one of my favorite foods in the world, because it is. But give me some cheese and a nice sauce (say that in your best New Jersey accent if you please) and I'm perfectly smitten. Who has time for a real dinner on a Tuesday night anyway?







In my ongoing experiment  quest to get the sweet darlings to eat their vegetables I noticed that anything in the form of a french fry is easier to shove down their throats   coax them lovingly to eat than the same vegetable is when say steamed, boiled, baked or sautéed.  Desperate times my friends. I'm not proud.



So if your in the mood for some good Italian snackin' then this is your lucky day. I'm telling you, easy as pie. Ooooooooo, pyyyyyeeeeee.  Focus Gwen, focus.



So we will bake our cute little french fried eggplants instead of frying them because we are being good and health conscience and want to fit back into our 'skinny' jeans that we've been trying to fit back into since child  numero tres  was born 6 or so odd years ago.   Figuratively speaking.

Cheesy yet satisfying kind of like the Twilight series.

PREP TIME     20      COOK TIME    30 MINUTES       SERVES  4

You Will Need:

2 medium sized eggplant

1 cup Panko bread crumbs  

1 teaspoon dried oregano 

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons corn starch

3 eggs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

olive oil or spray for baking pan

Your favorite (preferably Organic or home made) Marinara for dipping

Preheat oven to 400F 

Gather 3 small bowls. In one place flour and corn starch. In the second the eggs, lightly whisked with a fork. In the third the bread crumbs, cheese, oregano, 1/2 of the salt and pepper.

Peel eggplant leaving a few narrow strips of the skin in tact. Cut the top and bottom of each. Cut a thin strip of the eggplant lengthwise so you can easily lay it on its side to cut into strips.

Lay the eggplant on a cutting board on it's cut side and cut lengthwise into even, long strips about 1 inch wide. Stack the slices 2 at a time on top of each other and cut again, lengthwise into even pieces 1 inch thick. Now, cut into strips about 3 inches thick.
Place cut eggplant into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining salt. 

Place eggplant pieces 1 or 2 at a time into flour mixture. Next into eggs, then into breadcrumbs. Place evenly onto a lightly greased baking pan. Leaving a bit of space between each piece. 

Bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and your mouth is watering. 

Serve with really warm marinara.  My favorite brands are Pomi,  Muir Glen and Trader Joe's. 

Angel Hair Pasta with Scallops and Tomatoes

Sauteed bay scallops with tomatoes and a touch of white wine and lemon juice served over angel hair pasta.

If you're looking for a special dinner to make for your loved one this Valentine's Day, this is a perfect dish. For starters, it takes less than 15 minutes to make, so you'll have less time cooking, and more time together. Secondly, scallops date back to ancient Greece as an aphrodisiac. As legend has it, the goddess Aphrodite was carried to earth on the shell of a scallop.

Personally, I love scallops for their sweet, delicate flavor. Bay scallops are the smaller variety and are usually less expensive than sea scallops. They are wonderful tossed with pasta and take less than a minute to cook.

Because bay scallops retain so much water, it's really important that you dry them well before cooking, and you really want to cook them in a hot pan so you get a quick sear. I cook them in 2 or 3 batches depending on the size of my pan. Don't skip this step because you don't want to overcrowd the pan, otherwise the scallops will become rubbery and won't sear.

If you're family doesn't like whole wheat pasta, a great trick I like to do is use both whole wheat and semolina. You don't really notice the taste of the whole wheat and your getting the added benefits of using a whole grain.

For all you spaghetti squash lovers out there, I'm sure this would be wonderful over roasted spaghetti squash as a gluten-free, lower-carb alternative.

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Butternut Squash Risotto

A rich and creamy Italian rice dish made with butternut squash puree, white wine, Parmigiano-Reggiano and topped with a little fresh arugula.

Happy Monday! Today I'm in chilly Minneapolis attending an event for Target. They put together a fun agenda for members of the Target Inner Circle which I'll be sharing this week, you can follow my Instagram to see what I'm up to today.

This weekend I remade one of my older recipes with meatless Monday in mind, and updated the photos because this is such a great dish, but the photos didn't do it justice.

Making risotto is a labor of love, because you have to be patient, stirring the rice and adding more broth a little at a time, but in the end you get a delicious restaurant quality dish that you can proudly say you made yourself, without all the added butter you would get if you ate this dish out. It's also really filling, one serving will fill you up. If you wish serve it with a salad on the side and call it a meal.

This also makes a great side dish to fish or chicken, I would make the serving size 1/2 cup as a side dish.

I started with some homemade squash puree which I simply made by boiling the butternut squash in broth or water, then pureeing in the blender. You can use the rest for some Spaghetti with Creamy Butternut Leek Pasta later in the week.

I like to keep a good cheese such as Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano on hand and grate it myself when I need it. A good cheese has an intense flavor you just can't get from the grated parmesan cheese sold on the shelves of the supermarket. 

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