Fruit Salad with Honey-Yogurt and Game Day Choice of Food- Spicy Poblano Burgers

Yes….I love to play with my food….can you blame me?  It’s a food blogger thing…

Today is game day, that’s right Laker Game and what I hear was a really good tennis match this morning with Novak and Nadal, don’t click on this link if you haven’t seen the match yet.    I made a repeat recipe for lunch today and it looks like maybe even a repeat for dinner….lol  One of Cooking Light’s tasty Spicy-Poblano burgers.   I love this damn burger it’s right up there with my favorite burger joint Umami Burger which is opening up in my neighborhood soon, I can’t be more excited about this news.  I’m going to support your business Umami, you will be staying in my neighborhood for a long time because of me…hehe.

I had a craving for a snack and I remembered I came across a yummy fruit salad recipe in Cooking Light, it makes the perfect snack or breakfast meal.  In Southern California the weather is always up and down during the winter months and since it’s been hanging around the upper 70′s to low 80′s lately I’ve been craving summer type meals.   The two changes I made to this recipe was I used Greek Yogurt vs. the Vanilla it calls for and I didn’t have any almonds on hand so I went with Walnuts.  Really tasty and filled my snack craving.

I had a lady ask me the other day how is it that I have two little ones and manage to look the way that I do.  Besides weekly exercise  I try and have healthy snack choices and keep my meals enriched with vegetables, low oil cooking and I try a variety of foods so I don’t get bored of the same  foods.  I don’t eat pure healthy foods as I do have  sweet tooth cravings and I do eat sweets but it’s all about moderation, good healthy food choices and exercise for without all three getting to your goal weight would be impossible.

Ingredients

• 1 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime rind
• 3 cups cubed pineapple (about 1 medium)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped Braeburn apple (about 1 large)
• 1 cup orange sections (about 2 oranges)
• 1 cup chopped peeled kiwi (about 2 large)
• 1/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• 1 medium banana, sliced
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Preparation

1. Combine yogurt, honey, and lime rind in a small bowl.
2. Combine pineapple and next 4 ingredients (through coconut) in a large bowl; toss gently to combine. Just before serving, stir in banana. Top fruit mixture with yogurt sauce; sprinkle with almonds.

Martha Condra, Cooking Light
NOVEMBER 2004

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 196
• Calories from fat: 22%
• Fat: 4.8g
• Saturated fat: 1.8g
• Monounsaturated fat: 1.7g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.8g
• Protein: 4.3g
• Carbohydrate: 37.9g
• Fiber: 4.7g
• Cholesterol: 2mg
• Iron: 0.9mg
• Sodium: 40mg
• Calcium: 111mg

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One of My favorite Recipes- Pan-Seared Cod Over Vegetable Ragout

Like most foodies I like my comfort food during the cold winter months like Stews, Chili’s and Meaty Soups and I bring out the fish and salads during the hot months but it’s been awhile since I’ve had fish and since I saw my favorite fish Cod, nice big thick pieces of it at the store I had to make something with it.  After doing a little research on Cooking Light’s site I found the perfect dish for my Cod.   I can’t get over how tasty the Spinach, Tomatoes, Leeks and Mushrooms tasted under the Cod and I guess I cooked that Cod to perfection because it melted in my mouth like butter. It blended in so perfectly with the vegetables as I scooped it all up together on my fork.    This is yet another Cooking Light recipe with only 287 calories!  I’m adding this dish to my rotation as this is one of my favorites to make- quick, easy and tasty.  This is the perfect dish to make if your dieting and trying to cut carbs out of your diet or like me just wanting to work the vegetables into your diet. Which by the way the Prosciutto adds really nice flavor to the Spinach, so don’t improvise or skip it. If you’re looking for a nice winter dish to make using Cod- I also made yesterday a repeat recipe Fish Stew  that I love- check it out.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup diced prosciutto (about 2 ounces)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 10 ounces)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped leek
• 3 cups diced plum tomato (about 1 pound)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (10-ounce) package fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup torn fresh basil leaves
• 4 (6-ounce) cod or other firm white fish fillets (1 inch thick)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preparation

1. Heat 1/2 teaspoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat. Add the prosciutto; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in garlic; remove from pan. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and leek; sauté 8 minutes. Stir in tomato, salt, and pepper. Gradually add the spinach to pan, and stir until spinach is wilted (about 3 minutes). Stir in the prosciutto mixture and basil. Remove from pan; cover and keep warm.
3. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Dredge fillets in flour. Add fillets to pan; sauté 3 minutes on each side. Cover and cook 2 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Divide spinach mixture among 4 plates; top with fillets.

Victoria Riccardi, Cooking Light
MAY 2000

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 287
• Calories from fat: 20%
• Fat: 6.4g
• Saturated fat: 1.2g
• Monounsaturated fat: 3g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 1.4g
• Protein: 39.1g
• Carbohydrate: 20g
• Fiber: 5.9g
• Cholesterol: 82mg
• Iron: 5.3mg
• Sodium: 525mg
• Calcium: 146mg

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3Twenty Wine Lounge in Los Angeles

So after the Lakers took a terrible loss to the Clippers my depressed mood needed a pick me up and we made our way down to 3Twenty Wine Lounge in Los Angeles.  We called in advance to let them know we were heading over after the Laker game and we arrived just before they closed their kitchen at 11pm.  They made sure we put our order in and they gave us a complimentary wine tasting with our meal which I thought was really nice of them.   This is a really nice place to come and do a little wine tasting with a group of friends or with your loved one.  I like places with dim lighting, it sets the mood for a nice romantic date or a nice atmosphere when you’re having wine with friends.  They serve Tapas style food here, so you order several dishes to share.  Great place, service, food, wine and there is out door seating as well.  I will be back again soon. (Don’t forget to click on the pictures for a better view)

2 Wine Tasting Machines both with different wines- all set up for you to do your own tastings of the variety of wines they have on display. You can also keep track of how much your spending during your tasting as it all goes on a card you hold on to and you go as many times as you like to the machines and it gets tacked on to your meal at the end. Pretty cool!

They gave us a Complimentary Wine Tasting of this really good wine-

The meat was nice and tender and melted on my tongue….I don’t like meat any other way, I highly recommend this dish.

Tender and cooked to perfection – The Scallops with Asparagus in a nice Olive Oil Pesto Sauce.

This next dish had interesting flavors- it was lamb meat with feta cheese and  mint over thinly cut fries with a salty finish.

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Rosemary Chicken Panini With Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomatoes and how about some Fashion Chalet with your lunch

Hungry for lunch? Don’t know what to eat?  Yeah, lunch time really screws me up too, I never know what to eat as I like to keep my lunch meals really small because I invest my time on experimenting with creative dinners.  Well, I found a great sandwich recipe from Cooking Light and as I’m always looking for ways to sneak Spinach in my meals this was a great addition along with sun dried tomatoes and it works out perfectly without the meat as well as a nice veggie version.  If you’re interested in checking out other sandwich recipes I’ve tried before and loved than check out my Spicy Chicken Sandwich,  Mozarella Chicken Sandwich , Black Pepper Pulled Molasses Sandwich or my Prosciutto, Fontina and Fig Panini Sandwich Recipes, all of them are amazing and are repeat recipes.

Aside from being a huge fan of other fabulous food bloggers I’m also a fan of little miss fashion blogger “Fashion Chalet.”  She puts together really cute outfits and takes pictures of all her beautiful shoes, clothes and purses and makes the rest of us girls drool over her belongings.  Now,  I’m not someone that likes to shop, I use to love  putting the cutest trendy outfits together it was fun and creative but I now just buy what I need.  I’m a tom boy if you will and can live in my yoga pants and jeans but I still and will always have the biggest shoe fetish ever!  I’m always looking at people’s shoes,  it is an addiction of mine.  Thanks to Fashion Chalet my addiction will never go away….haha.  Fashion Chalet has some really awesome giveaways on her blog too and you must check out what she is giving away this week!!!  Yes, I want to win that Balenciaga purse because I know I would never ever spend $1500 dollars on a purse….never!  I rarely ever add purses to my collection just because if I don’t need it than why buy it but hey if I can win this really awesome purse I’d probably be carrying it around with me for many years before my next purchase…lol

click here and check her blog out now!   and make this sandwich to enjoy while your reading her blog.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 4 (4-ounce) chicken cutlets
• 1/4 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomato
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
• 3/8 teaspoon salt, divided
• Cooking spray
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 (1-ounce) slices country-style Italian bread
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese

Preparation

1. 1. Combine 2 teaspoons olive oil, rosemary, and chicken in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes.
2. 2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 4 teaspoons oil to pan. Add sun-dried tomato, red pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute or until garlic begins to brown. Add spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach barely wilts. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt; set aside.
3. 3. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat; coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Cook chicken 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep pan on medium-high heat.
4. 4. Top each of 4 bread slices with 1 tablespoon cheese, 1 chicken cutlet, one quarter of spinach mixture, 1 additional tablespoon cheese, and remaining 4 bread slices.
5. 5. Recoat grill pan with cooking spray. Arrange 2 sandwiches in pan. Place a cast-iron or heavy skillet on top of sandwiches; press gently to flatten. Cook 4 minutes on each side (leave skillet on sandwiches while they cook). Repeat procedure with remaining 2 sandwiches. Cut each sandwich in half; serve immediately.

David Bonom, Cooking Light
JANUARY 2012

Recipe Time

Hands On: 40 Minutes
Total: 1 Hour, 10 Minutes

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 414
• Fat: 14.8g
• Saturated fat: 3.9g
• Monounsaturated fat: 6.3g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.1g
• Protein: 35.5g
• Carbohydrate: 33.6g
• Fiber: 3.1g
• Cholesterol: 77mg
• Iron: 4mg
• Sodium: 687mg
• Calcium: 114mg

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Incredibly Tasty Chicken and Shrimp Paella

Since I’ve been back from Spain I’ve had this craving for Paella and I found such an incredible recipe that I’m adding it to the rotation.  This is not a dish that you can find in any Mexican Restaurant, as this is a Spaniards staple.  Luckily, Cooking Light came through yet again for me and I found this fantastic Chicken and Shrimp Paella dish with less calories and fat than what you would find in a restaurant, all the reason to be at home cooking it yourself right?  I loved all the flavors in this dish, the combination of rosemary, Safron and smoked paprika along with veggies that I never eat like Asparagus and peas.  Though I’m not a fan of peas I barely even noticed them in this dish and they’re so high in iron too.  My 4 year old daughter had two pieces of chicken from this dish!  Kid friendly!  I’ll be honest this was a good 3 hour cook and prep time.

Quick note: I cooked it slightly longer than indicated in the recipe in order to get the rice to a nice soft texture so definitely taste your rice before thinking it’s done.  I used my Iphone 4S for the pictures.

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds), skinned
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 (4-ounce) link hot turkey Italian sausage
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked Arborio or Valencia rice
• 1/2 cup diced plum tomato
• 1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 pound large shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 1 cup (1-inch) diagonally cut asparagus
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Sprinkle chicken with rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove chicken from pan; cover and keep warm.
3. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring to crumble. Add onion and bell pepper; cook 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Add rice, tomato, paprika, saffron, and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Return chicken to pan. Add broth and 1/4 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Wrap handle of pan with foil; cover pan. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Stir in shrimp, asparagus, and peas. Cover and bake an additional 5 minutes or until shrimp are done.

Note:Saffron, the exotic spice with a distinct, earthy flavor, gives this Spanish dish its characteristic yellow hue. It’s a bit soupy when first prepared but quickly absorbs the liquid.

Marie Simmons, Cooking Light
MARCH 2004

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