Monthly Archives: June 2012

Sweet Raspberry Dip

I’ve been going a little crazy lately in the produce department of my grocery store because as the weather gets warmer, the fruits seem to be getting brighter and more colorful and they all call my name. I swear I don’t know which direction to go to first and end up spinning around in circles as I decide on peaches vs. nectarines, grapes vs. cherries, blueberries vs. blackberries, or apricots vs. plums. The problem with not being able to decide is that I end up buying a little of everything and I’m left with more fruit than I know what to do with. Generally, I whip up a big batch of mixed fruit salad but sometimes when friends come over I want to make something a little less ordinary.

Sweet Raspberry Dip is a creamy, light fruit dip perfect for dipping summer stone fruit or other seasonal gems. Fresh raspberries are mashed with sugar and blended with plain Greek yogurt to make a dip similar in taste to raspberry yogurt except fresher and brighter. Serve with slices of mango, peaches, apricots, or plums or use strawberries or cherries to dunk. Use thawed frozen raspberries in the fall or winter and serve with autumn fruit like apples or pears. If you’re craving something sweet but are trying to stay healthy, this is one fruity appetizer or dessert where you won’t feel guilty if you eat too much.

Speaking of SWEET, today is my sweet, sweet sister Katie’s birthday!  She’s 12 years younger than me and one of my best friends.  I wish I could’ve made some cookies or cake for her but she is in Texas so that means it would have all ended up in MY belly and on MY thighs!  Maybe next week when I see her in Chicago, we’ll make something sweet that we can share with you! 🙂

The ingredients:

In a small bowl, mash the raspberries with the sugar.

Stir in the yogurt.

Serve with your favorite fruit.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Like It

Source:

Rotini and Cheese with Broccoli and Ham

Yes, I made a dish with ham. Before you fall over, true to form, I used turkey ham. I was at my local Whole Foods one day, spotted it and ended up bringing it home with me for some unknown reason. I make dishes using ground turkey, turkey bacon and turkey sausage but turkey ham? I don’t crave ham or really miss eating it but I ate it often as a kid. My mom would make ham and usually serve it with peas and either macaroni and cheese or some kind of cheesy noodle. I admit that when I was younger, ham was one of my favorite dinners. In fact, at Thanksgiving, we had both turkey and ham and I never ate the turkey. My how things have changed.

Rotini and Cheese with Broccoli and Ham seemed like a perfect way to use up the turkey ham. The ham is mixed with pasta, chopped broccoli and a creamy cheese sauce made tangy by the addition of dijon mustard. Use any cheese you might have lingering in your refrigerator if you don’t want to use Velveeta. With simple seasonings of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, this is a flavorful, jazzed up version mac-and-cheese that packs up well for workday lunches.

The ingredients:

Cook pasta according to package directions and add the broccoli when 5 minutes are left. Drain.

While the pasta cooks, spoon flour into a medium saucepan and gradually add the milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat 8 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and stir in cheese, dijon mustard, salt, garlic powder and pepper.

Combine pasta mixture, cheese sauce, and ham and serve.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

  • Whole-wheat rotini
  • Reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Asian Chicken Salad

Unfortunately, I’m not a big salad person. I know some people who can eat a salad for lunch everyday but I’m just not one of those people as much as I wish I was. Every once in a great while, I’ll go through a salad phase, but that comes and goes with the solar eclipse. I just don’t enjoy chomping on lettuce. I love baby spinach but only when cooked or topping a sandwich. But recently I realized that I do like cabbage. Maybe because there is more heft to it. This is a realization for me because I never ate cabbage as a kid. Not even the little cups of creamy coleslaw that seemed to sit beside every sandwich at every restaurant.

But since this blog is making me expand my horizons a little, I boldly lifted two different kinds of cabbage into my grocery cart this weekend in order to make Asian Chicken Salad. Napa cabbage and red cabbage are mixed with chopped chicken and cilantro and tossed with a spicy, gingery, Asian dressing. The dressing calls for Chinese mustard (I got mine from a leftover Chinese food packet!) but if you don’t have any, I think dijon or even yellow mustard would work. The dressing gets heat from the chile paste and a slight sweetness from honey. Topping it all of are toasted almonds and Chinese noodles (I used chow mein noodles) which add a buttery crunch and sweet, juicy mandarin oranges. This is a great salad which will travel well for a picnic or, if you plan on eating it over a few days, toss the dressing when you are ready to eat to keep the cabbage from getting soggy. Don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients in this recipe (which is one of Cooking Light Magazine‘s Superfast recipes) because if you use precooked chicken, it can be made in less than 20 minutes. This is one salad I won’t mind eating everyday.

The ingredients:

In a large nonstick skillet, sauté almonds in melted butter over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add in Chinese noodles and sauté for 3 minutes or until toasted. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey, Chinese mustard, ginger, and chile paste (sambal oelek) with a whisk.

Add in cabbages, chicken, and cilantro and toss gently to coat.

Top salad with oranges and noodle/almond mixture.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

  • Green cabbage
  • Chow mein noodles

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

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