OMG there is nothing like a great sandwich, especially one with melted cheese and lots of flavor on crispy bread, yum!!! This is a great sandwich for a football party, you could get them all assembled ahead of time and just finish when you are ready to serve. Great use of any leftover roasted pork you might have! Get your Cuban on! Continue reading Cuban Sandwiches
I think we’ve all been there where we want to cook and eat as healthy as possible but we want food to taste good. If the food doesn’t taste good, it’s impossible (at least for me!) to stick to a healthy diet. After years of cooking and years of finding tricks to lightening up recipes, I have a few tricks that work really well but you (and your family!) won’t be able to tell that a recipe is “healthy”.
Below are some of my favorite tips. If you have a favorite recipe that you need help to lighten up, just send me a note on the contact form and I will see if I can assist! Continue reading Tips for Cutting Calories but not Cutting Taste
Here is another, low cal, delicious chicken dish for your files. A few tricks that I used here: First, by slicing each breast in half and pounding thin, you eat half the amount of chicken but it still feels like a full portion. Reducing the sauce adds a lot of flavor and the little bit of low-fat sour cream gives it a really creamy consistency without using heavy cream. Second, a light dusting of flour keeps the chicken moist and gives it a little crust. If you are avoiding flour, just skip this step or you could try an alternative like almond flour.
I served this on roasted Brussel sprouts and cauliflower. Add the veggies to the plate, put the chicken on top and drizzle with the sauce. Hard to believe it’s good for you! Continue reading Chicken with Mustard Sauce
After the Holidays I am trying to drop a few pounds and eat lighter (sound fimiliar?). This is a recipe I found that was pretty light already but I made a few additional tweaks to make it even lighter while keeping all the flavor. The only way I can eat lighter is to make sure the dishes have a lot of flavor. I don’t want to eat bland food, life is too short to eat bland food!
The original recipe had you put 2 slices of proscuitto and 2 slices of cheese on each roulade. I put only 1 of each, kept the flavor but saved those calories. The original used 3 Tbsp of butter to give a richness to the sauce. I elimated the butter, added shallots and scallions for flavor and reduced the sauce longer. These tweaks saved more fat and calories but the end result was really good. Two thumbs up from Bill so I know it passed the taste test! I served it with sauteed broccolini to make it a complete meal. Continue reading Chicken Roulades with Mushroom Sauce
I am a tomato fanatic. I stalk the farms in the summer just waiting for the first round of local fresh tomatoes and once they arrive, I eat them every day, sometimes at every meal. There is nothing so wonderful as a warm tomato with a little salt on it……..heaven. Once September ends and the only tomatoes I can get are at the grocery store, it’s a little depressing. Even if they are ripe and red they don’t taste anywhere near like the summer tomatoes.
This salad has you roast the tomatoes slowly and the roasting process makes those ho hum store bought winter tomatoes taste….wait for it………Good! They may not rank with the summer ones, but they are close. This is a great starter or side dish for a comforting winter meal. Continue reading Winter Caprese Salad
Yesterday I was feeling the effects of 5 days in a row of eating rich food that I don’t normally eat and really wanted to make something healthy and comforting for dinner. We had friends coming over too and it was just going to be casual, so something make ahead was needed to. I turned to this delicous Chicken Stew with Tomatoes and White beans. It is comforting and served with a salad makes a light meal. You could make it even lighter by skipping the bacon, but the bacon has only 30 calories a slice cooked, so I think it is worth it. 🙂 Continue reading Chicken Stew with Tomatoes & White Beans
I love Chile Rellenos but I must say the deep fried meat stuffed ones you get at most Mexican restaurants is just too much. Too rich and heavy. I created this one with cheese instead of meat and I bake it with panko instead of frying it. The sauce is a little spicy and smooth and the end result is a great appetizer or light dinner if you added a salad on the side. The sauce freezes great, so feel free to make a double batch, put it in a labeled zip lock bag and freeze for another time. The sauce would be great on grilled chicken or fish too 🙂 Continue reading Chile Rellenos
I love the combination of the rich steak with the sweet lettuce and the salty blue cheese. This is a great quick weeknight dinner or a great way to use up leftover steak. Flank steak is really lean so it’s healthy too 🙂 Bonus! Continue reading Steak Salad
Have I told you how much I adore soups and stews? Well, I do. There is something so warm and welcoming about a hearty bowl of homemade soup. Homemade soup is healthy and inexpensive to make. Whenever I make a batch, I always double it and freeze the leftovers in individual containers to have on hand for a healthy delicious lunch. If you are going to double this recipe, make sure you make it in 2 different pots. I really found making this that if you double in a large pot, the flavors are never as intense as when you make a single batch in one pot.
If you like spice, add more chiles! I will usually add 3 or so and then an hour into the cooking add a little more if it’s not too spicy. Continue reading Posole (Mexican Pork Stew)