Veggie pizza!

This was one tasty pizza! Who needs meat when you’ve got the following atop your crusty whole wheat pizza dough? (whole wheat pizza dough pre-made from trader joe’s):

½ c trader joes pizza sauce (or whatever you have)
1 c. part skim mozzarella cheese
½ packed cup spinach
½ cup of sliced mushrooms
1 cup of sliced grape tomatoes
2 sliced garlic cloves
5 torn basil leaves
¼ cup of crumbled feta
Sliced red onion, to taste
Oregano, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Roll out dough, sprinkle pizza stone with cornmeal, spread out dough, top with fixins, bake at 350 until cheese is melted and crust is brown.

*makes 8 slices. approx: 197 calories per slice. 29 grams of carb. 6 grams of fat. 8 grams of protein.*

Side salad was quite tasty, as well:
cup of packed Spinach
Tomatoes
Walnuts
Feta
Whatever dressing you have

Carne Asada

We just had this for Sammy's birthday dinner. You may remember eating it at Jenny's first birthday party and many other family events. Anyway, at Mimi's request, I am sharing it with you.

1 flank steak (1-2 lbs, NOT tenderized)
1 lime, juiced
2-4 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 c oil (vegetable or olive)


2-4 Tablespoons oil
1 small red onion, chopped
fresh cilantro, chopped. about 1/4 cup, use more or less to your taste
1/4 pound each monterey jack and cheddar cheese, shredded


place lime juice, pressed garlic and oil in a one gallon zipper bag. close and mix well. add flank steak. let marinate at room temperature while you preheat the grill for 15 minutes.

cook flank steak over high heat until medium/medium rare, about 5-7 minutes per side (if you like you meat more well done, don't worry. you will cook this more later).

place meat on a plate and cover well with foil. let rest until cool enough to handle (I like to place it in the fridge overnight). cut flank steak into small bite size square-ish pieces, about 1/4 - 1/2 inch.

heat a large skillet over medium high, add oil (it's more traditional and more flavorful to use bacon grease or lard). cook cut meat and onions, stirring occasionally, until onions are melt-y and the meat is heated through. stir in cilantro. add cheeses and stir until melted.


a few notes: if you let the carne asada sit a while on low to medium low heat, the meat's natural juices and the cheese will mix together and make a kind of sauce. Sometimes, I like a cleaner flavor and I omit the cheese.




I love this served with homemade guacamole:

Reserve about 2 teaspoons of the lime juice and 2 tablespoons each of the red onion and cilantro from the carne asada recipe. chop the reserved onions fine (very small). use just the cilantro leaves and chop small.

additional ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
1/2 fresh jalapeno, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
salt

mash one avocado with the onion, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic and pepper until smooth. cut the remaining avocado the large chunks and place in bowl. sprinkle with lime juice and salt to taste. mix lighlty to preserve texture of avocados.

BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

I cannot tell a lie... I got this from Ruth. (Thanks Ruth!) I just store recipes from online here, so I put it here! But, it really came from Ruth!

If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute 3/4 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk.

Ingredients

Streusel Topping
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Pinch table salt
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (3 1/2 ounces)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and warm

Muffins
2 cups fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces), picked over
1 1/8 cups sugar (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (see note)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions
1. FOR THE TOPPING: Stir together sugar, brown sugar, salt, and flour in small bowl until combined. Drizzle with warm butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout. Set aside.

2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)

4. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over muffins.

5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breast

MmmmMmmmm GOOD! I found this weight watchers recipe last week and decided to try it out for our Sunday dinner. Let me tell you, this recipe will be a frequent visitor at our house! We LOVED it. Hope you do, too. If not, call us and we'll eat your leftovers! I served this along with what i could find in the fridge.....zucchini and brown rice.

POINTS® Value: 5

Servings: 4

Preparation Time: 15 min

Cooking Time: 20 min

Level of Difficulty: Moderate

You can stuff chicken breasts with whatever's fresh in your pantry or fridge: herbs, veggies, flavorful cheeses, capers and spices.

Ingredients
2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, without oil, minced
2 oz soft-type goat cheese
1 tsp thyme, chopped
1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces

1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup(s) wine, dry, white---Substitute with white grape juice, apple cider, apple juice, vegetable stock, or water. (I used chicken broth)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup fat-free chicken broth
1 tbsp canned tomato paste
1 tbsp parsley, chopped

Instructions
In a small bowl, stir together sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese and thyme.
Using a sharp paring knife, cut a horizontal slit through the thickest part of each chicken breast, creating a pocket. Be careful not to cut all the way through.
Stuff each chicken breast with 1/4 of the cheese mixture.

Season with salt and pepper and dust with flour.
Spray a large nonstick skillet with olive oil cooking spray and warm over high heat.

Add chicken and brown well.

Remove and set aside.
Add white wine (or substitute) to pan and boil until almost all evaporated.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons chicken broth until smooth.

Whisk cornstarch mixture, remaining chicken broth and tomato paste into white wine (or substitute).

Return chicken breasts to pan.

Bring to a simmer, cover and cook over low heat until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Baste occasionally with sauce.

ENJOY!

MELTING CAKE

I ate this dessert almost every night on our 2 cruises. It's to die for & was by far everyone's favorite!

WARM CHOCOLATE MELTING CAKE

8 oz. dark chocolate (I use 1 1/3 C. milk choc. chips)

8 oz. butter (2 sticks)

5 eggs (room temperature)

1/2 C. sugar

2/3 C. flour

Melt chocolate & butter over low heat. In mixing bowl, mix eggs and sugar, then add flour. Slowly whisk into the melted chocolate mixture. Pour into greased ramekins. (i tried 4 oz. & 7 oz. -- 7 oz. is just too big!) Bake at 400 F for 12-14 minutes. Yield: 36 oz. unbaked batter; 8 servings if you use a 4 oz. ramekin.

Adjust times according to the size ramekin you use, and the texture you prefer. In a 4 oz. ramekin for 13 min., the texture on the inside of the cake was a little heavier than pudding, kind of like a loose fudge. Regular oven, 7 oz. size, at 400F, smooth, heavy sauce-like texture resulted after 14 min.

Serve with vanilla ice cream on the side. It's pretty rich, so that added bit of vanilla helps!

Breakfast Cassaroleo!

The Best Breakfast {or anytime} Cassarole
From Kathy Merrill
This is so dang good and EASY - you'll want to make it for
dinner too! Enjoy...Love, Mimi

10 Eggs Whipped
1 lb Shredded Jack Cheese
1 lb Cottage Cheese
2 sm cans Diced Green Chilies
1/2 cup Soft Butter
1/2 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper

Pour into sprayed 9X13 pan.
Bake 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes

Baked Potato Soup

4 Large Potatoes
2/3 C. Butter
2/3 C. flour
1 ½ Quart Milk
4 Green Onions, chopped
1 C. Sour Cream
2 C. crumbled bacon
5 oz. Grated Cheddar Cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bake the potatoes at 350°F until fork tender.

Melt butter in a suitably sized saucepan & gradually blend in the flour until thoroughly combined. Slowly add the milk to the butter/flour mixture, frequently whisking. Add the salt and freshly ground black pepper; then simmer over low heat, stirring constantly. Cut the potatoes in half, scoop out the center and set aside. Chop half of the potato peels and discard the rest. When the milk mixture is hot, whisk in the potato. Add the chopped green onions and potato peel. Whisk thoroughly, then add the sour cream and crumbled bacon and heat thoroughly. Add the grated cheddar gradually until all has melted & serve.

*Top with additional sour cream, cheese, bacon, and gr. onions as desired.

**I personally would probably omit the potato peel portion myself. Too much of a weird texture for me. But, that's just me!**