A great summer drink and one of my personal favorites is Bombay Sapphire Gin and Grapefruit juice with club soda. Being unable to consume alcohol and still looking for a light and refreshing drink, I have resorted to a great mock tail. I fill up a glass with mostly sprite zero and add an ounce of grapefruit juice…making it an 11 calorie drink. I also use Orange Juice, making it an 14 calorie drink. Its nice to be able to enjoy a fancy mocktail with friends or while relaxing on the patio.

Prep Time: 10 min Cook time: 22 min

Ingredients

• 2 cans (6 oz each) or 1 can (14.75 oz) salmon, drained
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup light mayo (I used miracle whip)
• 1 tbs fresh dill finely chopped, or 1 tsp dried dill
• 2 tbs fat free greek yogurt
• 1 tsp country style dijon (I used stone ground)
• 4 whole wheat rolls ( I used Arnold 100 cal rounds)

Instructions

1. Preheat  oven to 350, coat small baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Combine salmon, onion, egg, bread crumbs, mayo, and dill in medium bowl. Make 4 patties, approximately 4″ in diameter.
3. Place patties on baking sheet and bake about 22 min ( I broiled mine for a few min at the end to make the top crispy)
4. Mix yogurt and mustanrd in a small bowl. Divide yogurt mixture evenly and spread onto roll bottoms. Top with lettuce, tomato, patties and roll tops.

Makes 4 servings; 320 calories; 25 g protien; 29 g carb; 4 g fiber; 12g fat; 2 g sat fat; 720 mg sodium

Make it a 405 calorie meal with baked potato chips and 1/2 cup carrots.

Brushcetta is one of those menu items that if I see it, I order it. Mom sent this recipe to me under the guise of Broiled Eggplant with Provolone and Tomato Vinaigrette, but Eggplant Bruschette it was. It was so delicious! I made it for dinner last night and again for lunch today. I don’t know where she got it, so Momma, credit it if you can.

Ingredients

• Tomato Vinaigrette (see recipe below)
• 1 small unpeeled eggplant, cut into eight 3/4-inch slices (about 1 lb.)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh basil, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 oz. provolone cheese, cut into strips

Tomato Vinaigrette

• 2 large tomatoes, chopped (about 2 cups) ( I used a can of diced)
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Make Tomato Vinaigrette and set aside.
2. Turn oven on to broil.
3. Spray a 12-inch nonstick skillet with an ovenproof handle with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.
4. Spray both sides of eggplant and place in skillet.
5. Sprinkle 3/4 teaspoon of basil and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt over eggplant slices. Cook eggplant for 5 minutes until tender and remove from heat.
6. Arrange provolone cheese over eggplant
7. Place skillet in oven with cheese surface about 3 inches from the heat and broil for about 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
8. Serve eggplant topped with Tomato Vinaigrette.

Having recently started counting calories using Lose it (and losing 6 lbs!) I pulled out an old weight watchers cookbook and found a delicious black bean chili recipe. It has a 2 min prep time (it only took me one min to open all the cans and measure the seasoning-I must be good) and a 13 min cook time. It calls for two cans of diced tomatoes with chiles and since I had two cans of diced tomatoes, I just picked up a can of chiles.

• 1 lb ground sirloin
• 1 tbs 40% less sodium taco seasoning
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 150z can black beans, undrained
• 1 10oz can tomatoes and diced chiles, drained
• 1 10 oz can tomatoes and diced chiles, undrained
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 tbs reduced rat sour cream
• Chopped green onions or cilantro is optional

1. Cook beef until browned, drain and return to the pan. Stir in taco seasoning and next 6 ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 7 min. Top with 1tb sour cream.

Yields 6 1 cup servings

Cal 298, 10.2 g fat, 22.6 g protien, 30.3 carbs, 8.6 g fiber, 6 Weight Watchers points.

A Few Short Cuts turned me on to a great two in one meal idea. Today, before Jason finished his breakfast, I had these meatballs in the oven. Tonight we had meatball subs with whole wheat pretzel sticks (so good) and bunches of grapes. The remainder of the meatballs will be used for spaghetti later this week. The meatballs were SO simple and delicious! I have bought the bags of meatballs before but won’t again.

Here is what you need for the meatballs:

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 clove garlic minced
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion (optional)

Here is what Amanda did with them. Thanks Amanda!

I enjoy most comfort foods and Chicken Pot Pie is definitely one of them. I have never made one because I can think of tons of things I would rather be doing than making individual pot pies from scratch. Kraft had a great solution! I must say that I could have done without all that cheese. As you can see Jason has a mouthful and has no complaints, and Brian said he wouldn’t change a thing. I could scrap it from the recipe entirely, but if it weren’t for the cheese, Kraft wouldn’t have been able to introduce me to their almost homemade technique. I will probably reduce by half next time and see how much I can marginally take out of the dish without any frowns.

Here is what you need:

• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 Package Frozen Veggies
• 8 oz Cheese
• 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 Package Crescent Rolls

Here is how you make it.

I had leftover cubed chicken from Pampered Chef’s Chicken and Broccoli Ring (which was fantastic) and was in the mood for BBQ chicken pizza.  I picked up some dough and some shredded mozzarella to add to the remaining fresh mozzarella I had and a can of diced pineapple, added it all on top of a layer of bbq sauce (go easy on the toppings/sauce in the middle). It was a hit with the whole family, if Jason hadn’t eaten so much chicken and drank all the juice, he probably would have had more than once slice.

I pulled out my Pampered Chef Cookbook 29 Minutes to Dinner Volume II to try and find something new to do with chicken and found the above pictured casserole. It wasn’t until  I assembled it that I realized we were having chicken nacho’s for dinner, but it was sooooooooo good.  I cut a few corners and cooking with my covered baker makes life so much easier. When my Pampered Chef Consultant called to finalize details of my party, suggesting we roast a chicken in the microwave, I didnt hesitate to trust her. It came out delicious, it even browned on top. If you don’t have the baker, you should buy one! or you can just layer diced cooked chicken and bake until the cheese is melted and juices are absorbed. If you haven’t hosted a show, its so much fun and you get free Pampered Chef products.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 tbs southwest season mix ( I used double this in taco seasoning)
• 1 ¾ cups salsa verde ( I used peach mango salsa)
• 1 cup chicken broth ( I used beef cause that’s what I had)
• ¾ cup cilantro
• 12 cups resturant style chips (  resturant style is thicker and absorbds the broth/salsa mixture well. I didn’t measure just layered it in)
• 2 cups Chihuahua cheese ( I used publix colby jack)
• Sour Cream (optional garnish)

Directions

1. Cut chicken into 1-in. (2.5-cm) pieces with Utility Knife. Combine chicken and seasoning mix in Deep Covered Baker; mix well. Spread chicken evenly over bottom of baker. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 4 minutes; stir to separate chicken. Microwave, covered, an additional 4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Drain using small Colander.

1. Combine salsa and broth in (4-cup/1-L) Easy Read Measuring Cup. Chop cilantro using Santoku Knife. Arrange half of the tortilla chips over bottom of same baker, breaking chips; top with half each of the chicken, salsa mixture and cheeses. Sprinkle with ½ cup (125 mL) of the cilantro. Repeat layers one time ending with cheeses.

1. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 5-7 minutes or until cheeses are melted and most of the liquid is absorbed. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup (50 mL) cilantro. Serve with sour cream, if desired.

Cook’s Tips:

• Queso fresco, also called queso blanco, is a salty, crumbly cheese that is common in Mexican dishes. Farmer’s cheese can be substituted for the queso fresco.

• Mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese can be substituted for the Chihuahua cheese.

• Authentic Mexican restaurant-style tortilla chips are thicker than other types of chips and keep their texture in this casserole.

• Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be substituted for chicken breasts, if desired.

• Taco seasoning mix can be substituted for the Southwestern Seasoning Mix, if desired

Thursday after dinner, Brian Jason and I drove down to Miami for my Dad’s birthday. We arrived just minutes after midnight and Jason didn’t settle back to sleep until 2am.  It was totally worth it to have all day on Friday to be able to play.  We carved a pumpkin and made pumpkin puree and soup, while Jason slept Brian and I took Dad to the Palmetto Golf Course and hit a couple buckets of balls at the driving range, then in the evening we had some friends over for some good food and more beer than we could possibly drink.

I had decided that I wanted to do a pumpkin dish over the weekend and was going to make a pumpkin puree instead of buying a can of pumpkin.  I had my Mom pick up two pumpkins, one for Jason and one to roast.  Jason was frustrated not being able to do the actual carving (although he tried) and decided that my halved pumpkins would store his popcorn better than the dish we had picked out for him. He was amazed though, once Dad gave the pumpkin a face.

I removed the stem and the seeds from a pumpkin, and sliced it in half, then quarters and eventually eighths so that it would fit under the rest of the food that was cooking. They baked at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes before they became tender.

After I removed the pumpkin from the skin, I smoothed it out with a blender.  It was actually so tasty that I sprinkled some nutmeg and cinnamon on some of the puree and ate it with a spoon! It would be perfect as baby food.

I found this recipe from Martha Stewart’s website, after I decided I wanted to make a soup with my puree. My Dad and Brian were going to get some ice for beer at the publix up the street, so I asked for some shitake mushrooms.  My husband, like many guys I’m sure, doesn’t like to ask for help when he cant find something from the store. This often leads to him coming home and telling me that the store doesn’t carry something I frequently buy…like sloppy joe sauce. So when he called to tell me that Publix didnt have shitake or gourmet blend mushrooms, I asked him to ask for help.  The produce man sent him to the Asia market…he’s a good man going to Asia to get his wife’s mushrooms.

So instead of roasting all of the vegetables together like Martha suggests,  I sauteed the mushrooms( I tripled the amount of mushrooms), onion and garlic and blended it with a cup of the vegetable broth in the blender, then added the puree and seasoned it with salt to taste. I found online that a pound of pumpkin equaled about a cup of puree. So Martha’s recipe calls for 2 3/4 cups of puree. the soup was delicious and I will definitely be roasting another pumpkin when I get home and will store some in the freezer, it was a very filling tasty treat.

My father is quite the chef, recently he has become quite the baker.  I’ll have to get the recipe and some photos for his delectable red velvet cake…but for now the rum cake. Dad made a special stop on his way up last time to get Captain Morgan’s Tortuga Rum, which is being discontinued and can only be found in remote locations that I am unaware of, he found his in Naples. The cake was amazing, it had just the right amount of rum taste and wasn’t too sweet. This is cake was worth every calorie…we did however substitute sugar for the Splenda Sugar blend to try and help out with those unwanted calories. I must make note: All purpose flour does not include cake making.  Cake flour is something different and that is in fact what you need to make cakes. Until I can actually manage to find all day child care so I can have a triple martini lunch, this rum cake lunch will do the trick.  Thanks Dad!

Here is the recipe that we used found on Recipe Zaar.

BASIC CAKE MIX

• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into bits
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

FOR THE CAKE

• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) package vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup whaler vanille rum (Hawaiian-style rum)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

RUM SOAKING GLAZE

• 1/2 cup butter (do not substitute)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup whaler vanille rum (Hawaiian-style rum)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Basic Cake Mix: In a large mixing bowl, combine basic cake mix ingredients.
3. On low speed combine ingredients until the mix is the consistency of fine gravel, and all particles are about the same size.
4. Spray a large Bundt pan (12 cup) with nonstick cooking spray.
5. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on the bottom.
6. Place Basic Cake Mix, pudding mix, milk, eggs, rum, oil, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and combine on medium speed with electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes, scrape down the bowl halfway through. Batter should be very smooth.
7. Pour into Bundt pan and bake for about 55 minutes- until fully golden and tester comes out clean and cake springs back.
8. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack while making the soaking glaze.
9. Rum Soaking Glaze: Combine butter, water and sugar in a small saucepan.
10. Bring to a boil carefully as mixture boils over very easily. Reduce to a simmer and cook until sugar is dissolved and syrup is well combined and a little thicker. Remove from the heat and add the rum, mix to combine.
11. While cake is still cooling, pour some of the hot syrup on top of the cake, allowing it time to soak in (this may take a few minutes as there will be a lot of syrup) continue to add syrup until all of the syrup is added.
12. Allow cake to cool completely in pan before turning out onto serving platter.
13. Can be eaten when fully cool, but even better the next day!