Monthly Archives: May 2013

Baby Potatoes with Tomato-Corn Sauté

Memorial Day weekend is finally here and even though it’s rainy here in the Northeast, I’ll happily take the extra day off to chill out, relax and widdle away the stresses of working life.  While I don’t have any real plans for the weekend, hopefully some of you are getting out there and enjoying yourselves, either at the beach, the park, the lake or wherever it is that you love to go most.  We’re entering the season of grilling and cookouts so for the unofficial start of summer I’m giving you Baby Potatoes with Tomato-Corn Sauté.

Baby potatoes are mixed with olive oil, corn, grape tomatoes and garlic to give you a simple sort-of potato salad that travels well and can be eaten hot or cold.  No mayonnaise means no worrying about taking this dish to an outdoor event and with summer corn and bright tomatoes, what a better dish to kick off the summer.  Topped with fresh cilantro and salty parmesan cheese, these potatoes get the slightest kick from red pepper flake and will be a great addition to any get-together you might be attending this weekend.  Get out, enjoy the weather and have yourselves a fantastic weekend!

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The ingredients:

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Place potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until tender; drain.

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Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add corn, garlic, salt and red pepper flake to pan; sauté 2 minutes.

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Add potatoes and tomatoes to pan; cook 1 minute.

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Top with cilantro and cheese.

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Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:

  • Crushed garlic

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Cooking Light magazine

Barbecue Turkey Meatballs

I’m sickened by the recent tornadoes lately.  A tornado hit the town in Texas my sweet sister lives in over the weekend and I don’t think I’ve gripped my phone any tighter than I did in those moments when she was texting me.  And now I’m tortured by the coverage of the Moore, Oklahoma tornado.  I grew up in Central Illinois where tornado drills in school were as common as fire drills and a tornado warning still instills paralyizing fear within me.  I even remember a storm hitting our town when I was around 7 or 8 and the tornado alarm went off, resulting in us lining up in the elementary school hallway, crouching down on the floor with arms wrapped around our heads as the older kids crouched over us.  I remember looking down the long hallway out the door and seeing the outside sky such a disturbing color of black that I was certain the school would collapse on top of us.  Even now as an adult and no longer living in a tornado zone, I’m still scared to death of tornadoes and my heart breaks for the people of Oklahoma.

On a much, much lighter note, I made these Barbecue Turkey Meatballs this past weekend.  Luckily, they made enough that I have been heating them up and eating them for a quick dinner each night while I watch TV.  I eat them plain, but obviously they would be perfect with some pasta.  Slightly sweet, slightly smoky and totally tasty, these are perfect for when you need a quick bite.

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The ingredients:

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Place brown sugar, vinegar, spices and tomatoes in a blender; blend until smooth.

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Combine turkey, breadcrumbs, and chili powder in a large bowl; using wet hands, shape into 16 meatballs.

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Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray. Add meatballs; cook 2 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Add tomato mixture to pan; bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 6 minutes or until the meatballs are done.

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Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Like It

Source:  Cooking Light magazine

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

It really is a shame that when I have browning bananas, my first instinct is to make cupcakes with them instead of a healthy smoothie.  This, my friends, is why I struggle with my weight.  But then again, it’s not really about the final product so much as the process.  Making cupcakes and frosting is just more satisfying than blending a bunch of fruit together.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  I’ve tried making banana cupcakes in the past but each time they ended up tasting more like banana muffins.  Then I came across these Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.  These cupcakes are light and cakey like a cupcake and not at all dense like a muffin.  Finally!

Because I didn’t expect these cupcakes to turn out as well as they did, I didn’t document anything but the final product.  I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.  And I’m not going to sugar coat it – the only thing reduced-fat about these bad boys is the reduced-fat cream cheese I used in the frosting.  The rest is butter, sugar and white flour.  I’m not even going to kid you that these are good for you.  But look at it this way, since they are cupcakes, they are already portion controlled.  Just try to only eat one!

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Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:

  • 1/3-less fat cream cheese

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Baking Bites blog

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