Pass the broccoli please

Obviously broccoli is a healthy food choice.  (I'm not talking about when you have it swimming in cheese.)  I just didn't realize how many health benefits it actually has.  I've heard it called a super-food but didn't really know what that meant so today I did some research.  Apparently broccoli helps increase your ability to burn fat by increasing your metabolism.  It's a non-starchy vegetable so it's a free food for me.  For those of you that don't know, I'm on Jenny Craig and a free food is something that I can eat an unlimited amount of because it's low in calories and generally healthy all around.  I've always liked steamed broccoli but recently I found an even better way to cook broccoli.

Roasted Broccoli Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds broccoli chopped into florets
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Half red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped (or more if you are me and love the taste of garlic)
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
-Spread the broccoli on a roasting pan.
-Sprinkle olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper on broccoli.
-Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes on 500 degrees.  Turn broccoli half way through.

I have to say that this broccoli is fantastic.  The name of the recipe is actually "burnt broccoli," but I figured no one would want to try the recipe with a name like that.
Broccoli has many health benefits including:
 -Reducing the risk of peptic ulcers
 -Preventing stomach cancer
 -Contains twice the vitamin C of an orange
 -Antioxidant

Ever noticed that you can't find broccoli on the canned food aisle?  Basically it's because broccoli cannot withstand the canning process.  It would come out of the can wilted and discolored.  Not very appetizing to consumers seeing as the florets are the most popular part of broccoli and would come out of the can as a mushy mess.

How do you feel about chocolate?  How do you feel about chocolate covered broccoli?  I'm not sure what I think about this but it's not something that I can try right now because of Jenny Craig.  I'm posting the recipe anyway because it's just too weird not to.

Chocolate Broccoli:
Ingredients:
-Large head of broccoli
-1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
-1/3 cup peanut butter
-1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:
-Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.
-Chop broccoli into pieces.
-Melt peanut butter and chocolate chips in a microwave save bowl on 50% power for 30 second intervals.  Stir between each interval until melted.
-Dip each pice of broccoli into the chocolate mixture.
-Sprinkle with sea salt and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Spinach Dip

Posting that Pimento Cheese Dip recipe made me really crave the Harper's Dipping trio.  Since the closest Harpers to me is about 2500 miles away, I will make my own dipping trio here at home!

Healthier Spinach Dip:
Ingredients:
-1 can artichoke hearts, finely chopped
-1 package frozen spinach, thawed
-3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-3/4 cup light mayonnaise
-1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions:
-Combine all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through.  Serve with chips, bread, or vegetables.

Pimento Cheese Dip

One of the things that I miss most about Charlotte, besides family and friends, is Harper's restaurant.  They have a fabulous appetizer called "the dipping trio," that consists of a wood-fired smoked salsa, spinach dip, and pimento cheese dip.  For some reason, Harper's decided to publish their Pimento cheese dip recipe a few years ago in a Charlotte magazine.  Enjoy the fabulous dip!

Ingredients:
8 oz extra sharp chedar cheese grated

1 4oz jar diced pimentos (drain and smashed)

1/4 cup mayonaise

1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/8 teaspoon celery salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch garlic salt


Combine all ingredients and stir well.  Heat dip for 30 second intervals until heated through, stirring in-between each heating.

Dilled Carrots and Green Beans

I found this recipe in Healthy Cooking Magazine.  It's great as a side or you can cool it off in the fridge and eat it as a snack throughout the day.  If you don't like the taste of dill, I'd advise you to use a different type of seasoning.  Enjoy!

Dilled Carrots and Green Beans:

Ingredients 3/4 cup of water 1 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp dill weed 4 medium carrots, julienned 1/2 lb fresh green beans 1/4 cup reduced fat italian salad dressing In a small saucepan, bring the water, sugar, salt and dill to a boil.  Add carrots and beans.  Cook, uncovered for 5-8 minutes or until vegetables are crisp- tender. Drizzle with dressing to coat.

Chicken Marinade

This is a fantastic marinade recipe that I got from my sister-in-law.  I enjoy  it on chicken or on salads.  It's quite tasty.

Jenny's Yummy Chicken Marinade:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbls parsley
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix together and marinate chicken for at least 1 hour prior to cooking. 


Please watch out for giant chickens handing out expired coupons.  The situation can result in a  never ending brawl.

Tangy Shrimp and Scallops

I love scallops and am always looking for good seafood recipes.  Enjoy!  This recipe makes me want to sing "Under the Sea," from the little Mermaid so hopefully that will explain the random photo.

Tangy Shrimp and Scallops:

• 28 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 28 sea scallops
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 7 tablespoons lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika

1. Place shrimp and scallops in a large resealable plastic bag. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and paprika. Microwave at 50% power for 1-1/2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir to blend; set aside 1/3 cup for basting. Pour remaining marinade over shrimp and scallops. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 1 hour, turning occasionally.
2. Drain and discard marinade. Alternately thread shrimp and scallops on metal or soaked wooden skewers.
3. Grill, uncovered, over medium-hot heat for 6 minutes, turning once. Brush with reserved marinade. Grill 8-10 minutes longer or until shrimp turn pink and scallops are opaque.

I feel like chicken tonight, like chicken tonight!

I like to steer clear of red meat for health reasons but sometimes eating chicken can get boring.  Chicken is easy to cook but you have to really work some magic with the spices to prevent it from being bland.  I LOVE the following recipe and my mom just tried it out and she enjoyed it as well.  It combines three of my favorite ingredients, garlic, balsamic vinegar and mushrooms! Enjoy!

Balsamic Chicken Breasts:

Ingredients:

Two boneless skinless chicken breasts

6 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms ( I love mushrooms so I throw in a lot more than six oz.)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves minced garlic

2 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup and 2 Tablespoons chicken broth 

1/2 bay leaf

1/8 dried thyme

1 1/2 teaspoons butter

-Season chicken with salt and pepper.  

-Saute chicken in oil until browned on one side.  Approximately three minutes.  Add garlic, turn chicken; scatter mushrooms on top of chicken.  

-Continue frying, shaking the skillet and stirring mushrooms.  

-Cook for about three minutes, then add vinegar, broth, bay leaf, and thyme.  

-Cover and simmer ten minutes over medium-low.

-Transfer chicken to a serving platter, cover.

-Continue simmering sauce uncovered over medium-high for seven minutes.

-Swirl in butter. 

-Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Let them eat cake!

I promise this is my last baby shower post. I have never been a big cake eater.  Unless it was Ree's chocolate cake.  Yum.  I could go for some of that right now!  Anyway, we threw a baby shower for a small group of ladies that don't eat that many sweets.  I figured it would be a waste of money to make a massive sheet cake.  A lot of times at weddings and birthday parties I just want to try a bite or two of the cake and feel guilty throwing the rest of it away.  I have discovered the perfect solution to this problem, cake pops!

They are basically bite sized pieces of cake on a stick and dipped in chocolate.  They look fancy and got lots of compliments at the shower.  Enjoy the recipe!

Cake Pop Recipe:
-Prepare one 9x13 inch cake.  You can use any kind that you want, homemade or boxed.  I made a yellow cake from scratch.  Allow the cake to cool.  Then crumble the cake into pieces in a large bowl.
-Add about half a can of prepared frosting or you can make your own from scratch.  I made home made cream cheese icing.  Add the frosting to the crumbled cake and mix thoroughly.
-Refrigerate this mixture for 2 hours or stick it in the freezer for one hour if you are in a hurry.
-Take the mixture out of the freezer and roll into one inch balls.  Place balls on cookie sheet covered in wax paper.  Stick candy stick in the top of the cake pop so that the stick is sticking straight up.  When have you finished doing this with all of the cake mixture, place the cake pops back in the freezer.  (I left mine in for about an hour...the longer you leave them in, the easier it will be to coat them in chocolate.)
-As far as the outside coating goes, I used dark chocolate melting chips I purchased at Michael's.  I melted them in a double boiler and started dipping the cake pops in it.  Place the chocolate dipped cake pop in a Styrofoam block to cool.
-You can decorate the outside with sprinkles or a different colored icing if you wish.

Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.

I hadn't made home made mints before this past week.  They are easy to make and taste like they took hours to make.  These are cream cheese mints that taste great straight out of the freezer.

Ingredients:
-4 ounces cream cheese
-1 lb powdered sugar
-1/2 tsp peppermint extract
-Desired food coloring (I used green)
-Milk

-Mix together all ingredients.
-Add just enough milk to make the dough a hard fondant.
-Chill mixture in the refrigerator.
-Once mixture is chilled, roll into small balls that will fit in your candy mold.  I used a plastic mold from Michael's.
-Roll balls in granulated sugar and press down into mold and then pop candies out.
-Store the candies in the fridge or freezer.

Yummy Cookies

These cookies are delicious! I made them for the baby shower last weekend and wanted to share the recipe.
Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies:
Ingredients:

3 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside.  Cream the sugar and butter.  Add the egg and extracts and mix.  Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.
-Roll onto a floured surface and cut into shapes.  Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes.  Let cookies sit on cookie sheet for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

I even made cookies shaped and decorated like onsies for party favors.  My friend packaged them up and we gave them out at the shower.  They turned out super cute!

As far as icing the cookies go, you could use royal icing if you want but I personally don't care for the flavor of it.  I found a great recipe that's easy to make and drys hard and shiny.

Sugar Cookie Icing:
-1 cup confectioner's sugar
-2 teaspoons milk
-2 teaspoons light corn syrup
-1/4 teaspoon almond extract (you could also use vanilla extract)
-Assorted food coloring

Directions:
-In a small bowl, mix together the confectioner's sugar and milk until smooth.  Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy.  If the icing is too thick, add more corn syrup to thin out the icing.
-Divide into separate bowls and add the desired food coloring.  I used food coloring gels that I bought at the craft store in the baking section.  You could probably use regular food coloring though.
-Dip, brush, and decorate the cookies as you wish.  Be sure to let the layers dry before adding a new layer/new color.

    

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

A friend made these sweet potato fries for me recently and they are fantastic!  The recipe actually comes out of The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries:

Prep Time: 5 Minutes     Cook Time: 30 Minutes

-Sweet potato makes these golden oven fries much healthier than the fried white potatoes we all grew up eating. If you want to add a spicy touch, use Hungarian hot paprika.

Ingredients: 

-2 Medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and dried

-1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon paprika

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Slice each sweet potato lengthwise into 8 pieces.  Toss with oil, salt, and paprika.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until lightly browned on the bottom, about 15 minutes.  Turn slices and bake until bottom is browned and potatoes are tender, about ten minutes more.  Serve hot.

Grill Sergeant

I am feeling quite independent tonight.  I used the grill by myself for the very first time.  No it's not a self lighting grill either. Probably not a very big accomplishment but I'm just excited about it.  I grilled some chicken burgers that were quite delicious.  I wonder if I can qualify to become a Grill Sergeant now?  For those of you who haven't had the wonderful opportunity to watch AFN like we did living over seas, you need to check out the Grill Sergeants on the Pentagon Channel.  The Grill Sergeants are a group of Chefs in the military and they rotate hosting a cooking show that's filmed inside of the San Diego Naval Base.  They have corny catch phrases, great cooking tips, and yummy recipes.  I think they are trying to be a knockoff of Emeril Live because they even have a band with them in the commissary that plays music into the commercial breaks.  My FAVORITE part of the show is watching all the shoppers in the background.  It just cracks me up to see someone walk in front of the camera to get some cheese.  Check it out sometime. It's certainly good for some laughs.

http://www.pentagonchannel.mil/thegrillsergeants/index.shtml

I wanted to celebrate my big girl accomplishment tonight by making one of my favorite sides, broccoli salad.  I forgot to take a picture but it was quite delicious and I will eat the leftovers tomorrow for lunch.  It's a great light side for a cookout or a warm summer night.  Enjoy!

Broccoli Salad Recipe: (I adapted this recipe from an episode of Down home with The Neely's on Foodnetwork.)

   2 broccoli heads or 8 cups

   1/2 red onion, sliced

   2/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

   1/3 cup heart smart mayonnaise (or regular mayo if you prefer)

   1/3 cup sour cream (I always use heart-smart)

   1/3 cup Craisins

   1/2 teaspoon celery salt

   1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

   

Directions:

  Chop the broccoli into florets.  Blanch in lightly salted boiling water until turn a bright green color, about 20 seconds.  Immediately remove them and place them in a bowl full of ice water to prevent them from cooking further.  Drain and reserve.

Combine the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Fold in broccoli until combined.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  (sometimes I throw in a little Italian seasoning too)

Cleaning out the Pantry

Somehow we always seem to end up with three bags of tortilla chips filled with crumbs.  I don't know how it happens but I hate to just throw them away when I could put them to use.  Solution: Chicken Tortilla Soup.  Make the soup and sprinkle the pieces of tortilla chips on top of the soup. Delicious!
Chicken Tortilla Soup:
1 pound uncooked chicken breasts

• 1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups water
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
• 3 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Directions: Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.  Shred chicken with a fork before serving.  Top with tortilla chips, sour cream, avocado slices and cheese. 

Cookie Monster

So I have a confession to make.  I have no self control when it comes to baking at home.  By that I mean that I will devour an entire tray of brownies if they are left in the house.  YIKES!  My mother-in-law is a fantastic cook and baker.  While hubby was deployed last year she sent him all kinds of yummy treats in the mail.  One time I volunteered to mail the cookies that she had baked for him in a package that I had already started to put together. Ok, so here comes confession number two.  It is possible that I might have eaten a few of the cookies that she made for my hubby...Ok, so maybe I ate the entire bag of soft molasses cookies. See, this blog thing really makes me honest.   This was over a year ago but I've decided that it's time to bake hubby some soft molasses cookies to make up for the ones I ate during his last deployment.  So this post is dedicated to my insatiable sweet tooth.  Probably should forewarn you that molasses is pretty stinky :)  In an attempt to pre-burn calories that I knew I would eat, I walked to the grocery store to buy my supplies. Maybe I helped save the earth too.

Betty Crocker's Soft Molasses Cookie Recipe:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup molasses
1 large egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In large bowl, beat sugar, sour cream, butter, shortening, molasses and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon.  Stir in remaining ingredients.
3. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.
4. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center.  Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.  Sprinkle with additional sugar while warm.