Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef
Adapted from Taste & Tell
Makes 4 Servings

Marinade:
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
3 splenda packets
1/4 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Other:
20 oz. sirloin, diced
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp minced garlic, jarred
2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely diced
3 green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths
4 servings Jasmine rice, cooked per package instructions

Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Stir in beef. Marinate for 15 minutes. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Stir fry beef until the outside is brown, but the inside is still pink. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same skillet, add remaining oil. Add garlic and ginger; stir constantly for 30 seconds. Add beef back in and cook until cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add green onion and stir to combine. Serve immediately with rice.

Nutritional information: 400 calories, 44 carbs, 8 fat grams and 35 protein grams.

Review: AWESOME. Me and Austin agreed though, it didn't EXACTLY taste like Mongolian Beef, however, it was a great Asian beef dish that was easy to cook, reheated well, and will be made again. I could also see making this beef and serving it over lettuce with a homemade ginger dressing - the beef had a great flavor and was, again, so easy to make!

Asian Basil Pesto

Asian Basil Pesto
Recipe found on Food.com
Makes 4 Servings

2 cups fresh Thai basil leaves
2 tbsp dry-roasted peanuts
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp dark sesame oil
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
½ tsp crushed red pepper
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
¼ tsp salt
8 oz. spaghetti
16 oz. chicken, diced and salted

Cook spaghetti per package instructions. Drain, reserving ¼ cup pasta water. In the meantime, place all ingredients in a food processor, process until smooth. Add pasta water and process again. Heat large pan over medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add chicken, cook until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Add pesto and pasta. Stir 3-4 minutes until thoroughly mixed and heated through.

Nutritional Information: 417 calories, 43 carbs, 10 fat grams and 38 protein grams.

Review: Wonderful, nutty and flavorful pesto! I loved all of the Thai basil and what great flavor it gave (without the calories and high sodium from other sauces/mixes). It was super easy to put together with a small blender and ingredients we already had on hand - easy peasy! I highly recommend this. And note, it reheated well, but I did have to add a dash of water before microwaving, and a dash of salt to enhance the flavors that we re lost during reheating.

Thai Basil from  Austin's garden!

Southwest Salad and Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Southwest Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Makes 40+ side servings

Adapted from For the Love of Cooking

Dressing:
2 cups of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup canola oil
½ cup fresh lime juice (juice from 2 limes squeezed to death)
¼ cup red wine vinegar
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
2 tsp jarred minced garlic
2 tsp oregano

Add to blender. Blend. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (pulse one more time before adding to salads)

Salad:

4 bags romaine lettuce, divided
2 cans corn, drained, divided
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
2 cups Kraft 2% Mexican cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (depending on size), divided
1 cup of red onion, diced and divided in half
Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette (recipe above), divided in half

Take out two large bowls. Add 2 bags of lettuce to each bowl. Drain corn and black beans. Add a can of corn and a can of black beans to each. Add 1 cup of cheese to each. Add ¾ cup diced tomatoes to each. Add 1/2 cup of diced red onion to each. Pulse salad dressing to ensure it’s mixed. If you plan to serve both at the same time: Drizzle each with half of the salad dressing. If you plan to serve one first and the other when it runs out: Drizzle half with salad dressing. Put the other salad and ½ dressing in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.

Nutritional Information (for each huge bowl of salad including dressing):2,023 calories, 158 carbs, 136 fat grams and 65 protein grams.

Review: We LOVED it and it seemed to go over really well! I made it the night before, left it in the mini processor and put it in the fridge. Right before I served the salad (both at the same time), I dropped it on top of the mini processor, pulsed it again, then poured half over each salad.

Just so you know, for less salad dressing, simply divide the recipe above by 4. This is what I did (I multiplied Pam's recipe by 4!) - Pam's Recipe:

1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
1/4 cup canola oil
1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano

Healthy Cobb Salad (or wrap!)

Healthy Cobb Salad
Recipe adapted from The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook
Makes 4 Servings

1 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
¼ cup nonfat Greek Yogurt (like Fage)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp water
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
4 slices turkey bacon, diced
1 pound chicken, diced or thinly sliced; cooked in salt and pepper
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced

Romaine or spinach leaves

Blend cheese, yogurt, vinegar, water and pepper until smooth; reserve. Cook turkey bacon until crisp; reserve. Arrange lettuce in 4 bowls. Scatter bacon on top of lettuce followed by chicken, tomatoes, eggs and avocado. Drizzle with dressing.

Nutritional Information: 336 calories, 14 carbs, 16 fat grams and 39 protein grams.

Review: I really liked it. Lots of different flavors. I will say I preferred it with romaine lettuce, and when I ate it the second time, I was STARVING so I put it in a taco-size Mission tortilla. I just spread the sauce on first, then topped with the ingredients and a bit of romaine - it was wonderful this way and, for me, more satisfying. The salad was filling as is, but just not satisfying for me - I guess it was just too healthy rather than being healthified! :) I would definitely make this again, but would probably plan on having it in a flat out wrap or tortilla.

Notes: when dividing, each salad gets 78 grams chicken, 38 grams eggs, 38 grams avocado, 7 grams bacon and 26 grams dressing.

Greek Pasta Salad

Greek Pasta Salad
Makes 4 Servings

Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
¾ tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp oregano, dried
¼ tsp basil, dried
1 tsp minced garlic, jarred
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ packet splenda
1 oz. fat-free feta cheese
1 oz. fresh tomatoes, diced

Other:
1 oz. fat-free feta cheese
8 oz. pasta, small shape
3 oz. fresh tomatoes, diced
2-3 cups spinach

Optional:
1 cucumber, deseeded and diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
30 Hormel Turkey Pepperonis, quartered

Cook pasta per package instructions. Drain and set aside. Combine all ‘dressing’ items in a blender or food processor. Mix pasta with ‘other’ ingredients – feta cheese and tomatoes. Add ‘optional’ ingredients if desired. Toss with now-blended dressing. Serve on a bed of spinach.

Nutritional information (without pepperonis): 293 calories, 46 carbs, 8 fat grams and 11 protein grams.

Nutritional information (with pepperonis): 324 calories, 46 carbs, 10 fat grams and 11 protein grams.

Review: I think this one tasted best right after we made it. When we reheated it, it was a little bit dry. Probably because I didn’t use more oil. I added tomatoes in to the dressing part, and think it will improve the dryness. Or, I would suggest adding a 1/4 cup of nonfat Greek yogurt (like Fage). Regardless, this was a great, flavorful recipe – I love the dressing and it’s a super colorful and tasty dish. I think it’s going to make a great spring and summer staple around our casa. The pepperonis can be a fun add on, but of course no biggie to keep it meatless, which is what we're moving toward doing 1-2 days per week at our place!!

Pasta Salad in Vinaigrette

Pasta Salad in Vinaigrette (on right)

For the Love of Cooking recipe

6 oz. rotini (or pasta of choice), cooked per instructions
Handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 large cucumber, seeded & diced
1/4 sweet yellow onion, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
Feta cheese
Vinaigrette (recipe below)
Fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta per instructions, drain and cool. Once the pasta has cooled, add the cherry tomato halves, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, feta cheese and basil then mix thoroughly. Slowly add the vinaigrette, salt and pepper. Taste and add more dressing as needed.

Vinaigrette:
½ cup canola oil
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp spenda
Salt and pepper

Combine ingredients with a whisk. Let it sit overnight so flavors marinate together.

Greek Appetizer Skewers

Greek Appetizer Skewers

Recipe Girl recipe

1 block feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch squares
30 pear or small cherry tomatoes
1/2 cucumber, sliced & then slice slices in half (need 30)
1/4 red onion, cut into small strips (about 1 inch x 1/2-inch)
toothpicks

Thread red onion onto toothpick with purple showing on top, then tomato, then cucumber. Use feta cube as a base for the appetizer- skewer the feta on the bottom; place on your platter.

Optional: Just before serving, whisk together about 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, salt & pepper to taste. Drizzle over skewers (try not to get too much dressing on the tops of the toothpicks, where people will pick them up to eat them).

Tips: Don’t attach feta until the end as it may break. And don’t use colored toothpicks – it dyes the cheese!

Yield: 20 to 30 appetizers.

Pasta Salad in Vinaigrette - Side Dish

Pasta Salad in Vinaigrette

Makes 5 Servings

Recipe by For the Love of Cooking

6 oz. cooked rotini
Cherry tomatoes
Small cucumber, seeded & diced
¼ cup Yellow Onion
¼ cup Orange Bell Pepper
1 oz. Fat-free Feta Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Vinaigrette: ¼ cup canola oil, 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar, ½ tbsp red wine vinegar, 2 cloves minced garlic, ½ packet of splenda and salt/pepper

Mix together all ingredients and mix together vinaigrette. One hour before serving add vinaigrette. Put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve alongside chicken, shrimp or both (like me!).

Nutritional Information: 245 calories, 30 carbs, 12 fat grams and 6 protein grams.

Review: I love this dish of Pam's! I've served it at two parties and it's always gone over well! I have a larger dish of it on the blog as well that I make when I have more people (and it's not as calorie calculated!).