SPAGHETTI AGLIO, OLIO, E PEPERONCINO

I came across this recipe on pinterest and decided to try it. SOOOO glad I did, it was AWESOME. I made a single serving, so I will give you exactly how I made it and the link to the original recipe as well.

2oz uncooked whole wheat thin spaghetti (I'm watching my protions, so I used a scale and actually measured)

1/4-1/2 teaspoon roasted garlic - use as much garlic as you like

1/2 - 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil - make it as oily as you like

2-3 shakes of red pepper flakes - make it as hot as you like

2 teaspoons Parmesan cheese (I only had the Kraft style, so it was a couple of shakes from the shaker, I can't wait to try it with real freshly grated Parmesan cheese) 

salt and pepper to taste (I used neither)

Cook spaghetti to al dente - don't over cook the pasta, that would not be good for this dish

Drain and put back in pan, turn heat on low

Add garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes, stir and cook just until all is heated together.

Turn into a bowl, add cheese, salt and pepper, stir together

NOTE: Parmesan cheese was not part of the original recipe, so to save on calories, you could leave this out. I'm glad I added a little :)

ENJOY!!

Full Recipe Here

Black Bean Burgers

I'm just adding the link to the recipe I like.

Black Bean Burgers

Salsa Chicken

This is a rip off of a Pinterest recipe I found, with a few mods of my own


I made it today and it was darn good.


1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 plump breasts)
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup (I used the healthy no fat cream of chicken)
1 cup salsa (make sure you like the salsa you use, it's going to have this flavor)
1 package taco seasoning (or it could have been this taste, make sure you like this too lol)
1 cup sour cream or greek yogurt (I use greek yogurt everywhere I can in place of sour cream)
1 can black beans (because black beans should go in everything lol)
cilantro to taste
shredded cheddar-jack cheese


Directions: 


Put chicken, soup, and salsa in crock pot. Sprinkle taco seasoning over everything. Cook on low for 8 hours. If shredding the chicken, pull the breasts out and shred; return back to crock pot. Stir in black beans, greek yogurt (sour cream) and cilantro and heat just until everything is combined.


Serve over rice, it will be "soupy" and rice absorbs it nicely. Sprinkle on desired amount of cheese.

I couldn't think of a gluten free idea for this one, it needs to be served on something because of the consistency.

Chicken Avocado Salad

Since 2011 is almost over and there hasn't been a recipe yet, I thought I better get one in there.

This one goes in the "fast, easy, and yummy" category.

Chicken Avocado Salad

1 can canned chicken
1 ripe avocado
1/2 bag shredded lettuce (I cheat and buy already shredded lettuce)
mayo - just a little (you could use greek yogurt, that's good too)
salt and pepper to taste

optionals, all to taste
green onions
celery
cilantro

Drain and flake chicken. Dice avocado into small bite sized pieces, add lettuce, stir to combine.
Add mayo, salt, pepper and cilantro to taste.

You can leave the shredded lettuce out, but I like to add lettuce to recipes like this to make them go further.

Put on bread or crackers or if looking for gluten free, grab a fork and eat it right out of the bowl.

Mint Chocolate - Or Chocolate - Cheesecake

I made this for my work party a couple of weeks ago & it was a HIT!! :) (In fact it was gone before I could have a piece.....)

Ingredients:

3 Packages (8 oz.) of Reduced Fat Cream Cheese

1/2 c. Sugar

1 Container (8 oz.) of Reduced-Fat Whipped Topping (Thawed)

1 1/2 c. Chopped 3 Musketeers or 3 Musketeers Mint

Graham Cracker Pie Crust (You can either make or buy)

Directions:

Beat cream cheese & sugar together until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Fold in whipped topping & 3 musketeers into the cream cheese mixture.

Spoon mixture over Graham Cracker Pie Crust (You can make your own or buy it.) Refrigerate until set (About 4 hours)

Serve & enjoy.

Cinnamon Sensation Cake

Now that the holidays are here you might all enjoy making this cake - I know I do!

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. Butter

1/4 c. Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 c. Pecan Halves (Optional)

1 Tube of Cinnamon Rolls (I use the Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls w/icing)

1 Hershey's Chocolate Bar

1 bag of Snicker's Mini's - or 3 King size Snicker's Bars (chopped)

Directions:

Melt butter & brown sugar together. Spread across bottom of a greased 8-inch round pan. Spread pecans across the bottom of the pan. Unroll cinnamon rolls place Snicker's evenly between the cinnamon roll & roll back up. (You can put as many or as little as you like here - I used the chopped snickers the first time but liked the Mini's better because there was less mess & less clean-up) Place the cinnamon rolls around the pan.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until golden. (About 20 - 25 minutes). Let cool for 5 minutes then tranfer to serving plate. (I flip them upside down so all of the stuff on the bottom ends up on top. :) )

Place Hershey's chocolate bar (broken up) into a microwave safe cup/bowl - along with either the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls - or with 2 tbs. of powdered sugar & 2 tbs. of milk. Heat until chocolate is melted (about 35-40 seconds). Stir until all the ingredients are mixed well then take your spoon & drizzle the chocolate over the top.

Cut like you would a cake/pie & enjoy!!

(Serves about 12)

Rosemary Sweet-potato Steak Fries

For all of those who don't like sweet potatoes give these a try. My husband hates sweet potatoes and he couldn't get enough of these. We ate them with ranch dressing I made myself with light sour cream and the hidden valley ranch dry packet mix.

You will need

2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into steak fry sized pieces
1 1/2 TBSP freshly minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp EVOO
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Preheat oven to 450

Place sweet potatoes in a zip lock bag and add the garlic, rosemary, EVOO, and salt. Seal bag and toss until the potatoes are evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer, not touching, on a large nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the potato pieces and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until tender inside.

Makes 6 servings

Again I got this from the Biggest Loser cookbook, I am loving it by the way :).

Per serving there are 120 cal, 2 g protein, 24 g carbs, 2 g fate (trace saturated) 0 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 169 mg sodium.