Beef and Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff

I'm starting to like anything that ends with "Stroganoff". It means you can mix up some broth and a little reduced-fat sour cream and you get a nice, light cream sauce that you enjoy without feeling guilty!

This one, also from Jillian Michaels, was really good. I know a meal is a hit when my husband says "I'd have that again". We both agreed that this would be just as good meatless - all those portobellos certainly hold up enough on their own!

Ingredients

2 tsp. plus 1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 lb. beek flank steak, trimmed
4 large portobello mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 large onion, sliced
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
14 oz. (1 can) reduced-sodium beef broth
2 Tbsp. liqueur, cognac or brandy (I didn't add this)
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar (didn't add this either)
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
4 Tbsp. fresh chives

Directions
1. Heat 2 tsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add steak and cook until browned on both sides, 3-4 minutes per side. The meat will be rare but will continue to cook as it rests. (I had a pretty thick piece, so I needed about 6-7 minutes on each side). Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut lenghtwise into 2 long pieces, then crosswise across the grain into 1/4" thick slices.

2. Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in the pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion, thyme, salt and pepper adn cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 8-12 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables; stir to coat.

3. Stir in broth, cognac and vinegar (if using) and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking, stirring often, until the mxture is thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in sour cream, chives, the sliced steak and any accumulated juices. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until heated through.

I served over brown rice.

Nutrition
4 servings
Each serving has 404 calories, 19g fat, 14g carbs, 37g protein

Mexican Pizza

Another one from the Jillian Michaels website (as I suspect a lot of my future posts will be!). It was really good, has lots of possibilities for variation, and well, I could probably eat this every day if I wanted to!

The recipe is for 1 (and yeah, Adam had 3), and made as-is has 364 calories and 12 grams of fat.

Ingredients

1 whole-wheat, low-carb tortilla, 6 1/2 "
3 oz. chicken breast
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 Tbsp. diced green chiles
1 cup spinach
2 Tbsp. low-sodium mozzarella cheese, shredded (I used a low-fat Mexican blend)
1/4 cup avocado, sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.* Spray skillet with non-stick spray and heat over medium. Add bell pepper, green chiles and spinach to the pan, and cook until spinach is wilted.

2. Spread salsa on tortilla and top with chicken and spinach mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese melts. Top with avocado.

* I pre-baked the tortilla a little bit (about 6-7 minutes)before adding the toppings and baking again, to make sure it would be crispy.

Shrimp Lettuce Wraps and Red Chili Linguine

A nice little plate of food for under 500 calories, eh? About 457, to be exact.

The Shrimp Lettuce Wraps are my own last-minute creation, super easy and so many different ways to change it up.

Here's the basics:

* Medium shrimp, raw (6-7 pieces will equal about a 3 oz. serving)
* 1 can stir-fry vegetables (I went with the canned variety for convenience and texture), plus some extra chopped water chestnuts for crunch and sliced mushrooms for substance

Cook the shrimp in a little olive oil. When almost cooked through, add in the vegetables, some soy sauce, chili sauce, and whatever else you like. Heat through, then place in lettuce cups to serve.


The Red Chili Linguine is a ridiculously quick recipe from the Jillian Michaels website...I used half the amount of pasta and only 1 Tbsp olive oil but the full amount of garlic:

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
4 cups linguine pasta, cooked and drained
1/4 cups chopped parsley
1 lime, juiced

Directions

Heat olive oil in skillet. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add red pepper and saute 30 seconds. Add linguine, stir well and cook until hot and well-coated. Add parsely and lime juice. Toss well and serve.

Spaghetti Bruschetta

I stole this idea from Picky Palate, and when I first found the recipe I totally thought it was genius...you can't eat spaghetti without garlic bread, so why not put the spaghetti on the garlic bread!

This is another "No Recipe Needed" creation too...just make up some spaghetti (I cut up the pasta into small pieces before cooking so it would be easier to eat on the bread), put it on garlic bread, top with mozzarella cheese and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly. You'll need a knife and fork for it, but its delish!

No Recipe Needed - Breakfast Tacos

1. Cook up some hashbrowns (tator tots work great, just smash them up in the pan)

2. Mix in cooked pork sausage

3. Scramble in a few eggs and shredded cheese

4. Season with fresh cilantro and whatever spices you like

5. Place on warm corn tortillas and top with more cheese, sour cream and salsa

Of course you could also wrap it up for a breakfast burrito or even put it on tortilla chips for some morning delight nachos (Adam's favorite).

This is what Adam's first plate looked like last night, he tops them with everything:

Craisins Salad and dressing

Salad
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 (8oz) package shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (8oz) package shredded Parmesan cheese
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 (8oz) package craisins

Break red and green lettuce into pieces. Shred iceberg lettuce. Toss together with remaining ingredients just before serving. Pass the dressing with the salad, not recommended to toss with dressing.

Salad Dressing
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 onion chopped
1 1/2 teas salt
2 teas mustard
1 cup salad oil.

Mix everything BUT the oil in a blender. Add oil and then blend again.

BLT Strudel

Oh, Paula Deen. You had me at Puff Pastry. You can never go wrong with puff pastry right?

Even though we had this for dinner, its definitely better suited as a brunch item. Adam liked it, and I though it was good, but I'd like to make it again with a few changes...I decided that although I love bacon on its own, I'm not a fan of it mixed in with other stuff, so I might swap that out for some good sausage. Kind of changes the BLT name, but oh well.

The recipe as-is makes 2 strudels, but I cut it in half and only made one.

BLT Strudel
from Paula Deen

Ingredients

12 large eggs, divided
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 lb. bacon, chopped
1 (6 oz) package fresh baby spinach
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I used an Italian blend and some Parm since I had it on hand)
1 cup seeded and chopped tomato
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (17.3 oz) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together 11 eggs and mayonnaise until smooth. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Reserve 1 tbsp. bacon drippings in skillet; heat over medium heat. Add spinach and garlic; cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionaly, or until spinach is wilted. Add egg mixture, and cook until eggs are set, but not dry, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese, tomato, salt, and reserved bacon. Spoon mixture into a medium bowl; cover and chill for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 sheet of puff pastry into a 12x10 rectangle, trimming edges as necessary. Spoon half of egg mixture down center of pastry, leaving a 3" margin on sides and a 1" margin on top and bottom. Cut pastry on side margins into 1" strips. Crisscross strips over filling. Carefully transfer strudel to one side of prepared baking sheet. Repeat procedure with remaining pastry and egg mixture.

5. In a small bowl, whisk remaining egg until smooth. Brush egg evenly over strudels. Bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Cut into slices and serve.

Alotta Muffuletta

Fact: I'm not a sandwich person. They aren't something I typically enjoy. And therefore, before I tried this super-fun-to-say delight made by a super authentic Louisianan at a super fun Mardi Gras celebration, I was fully prepared to hate it.

But I didn't hate it. I LOVED it. I brought one home and Adam loved it too. So much so that we decided to try to make some ourselves. The result is what is pictured above - not the prettiest looking thing, but just as delicious as the first one I had.

The meat and cheese combo is delicious, but the olive salad is what makes this so good. Its briny and oily and just delish. We cheated and used a store bought kind rather than attempting to make that from scratch, and I didn't feel bad about that at all. Yum, yum, yum.

Now, our concotion isn't totally authentic, so I'll post a general recipe and include my changes.

Muffuletta

1 10" round loaf Italian bread with sesame seeds (I couldn't find anything resembling this, so we used a rectangular-shaped Ciabatta loaf and it worked great)
1 Recipe Olive Salad (Found this at the deli counter at the grocery store - good enough for me!)
1/4 lb Genoa Salami
1/4 lb Capicola Ham
1/4 lb Mortadella (all these meats should be available at your local deli counter...I didn't even know what Mortadella was, but fyi, its an Italian cured sausage that kind of looks like bologna)
1/4 lb sliced Mozzarella
1/4 lb sliced Provolone

To create: Cut bread in half length-wise. Remove some of the insides to make room for all the goodness. Spread olive salad on both sides of the bread. Layer meats and cheeses on one half of the bread, top with the other half, and ENJOY.

You can make this a few hours ahead of time, but I wouldn't do much more than that because you don't want the olive salad making the bread soggy.

Portobello Pizzas

Continuing with the low-carb trend we seem to have going on...I made these last night and I'll definitely be making them again. They were fun and easy, hearty enough for my meat-loving husband, and can be altered in so many different ways. The mushrooms are a good serving vessel and provide texture rather than altering the flavor of the toppings. A vegetarian version would be fantastic with some grilled or sauteed eggplant in place of the sausage.

Portobello Pizzas

adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients

4 large portobello mushroom tops, stems removed and gills scraped

Extra-virign olive oil, for drizzling plus 1 tsp.

Salt and black pepper

3/4 lb. Italian sausage

1 clove garlic, minced

4 Roma tomatoes, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

3 Tbsp. half-and-half (fat free works just fine)

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend

Directions

1. Preheat broiler. Drizzle olive oil liberally over the mushroom caps and season with salt and pepper. Broil 5 minutes on each side until tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp. olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add sausage; cook and crumble until browned. Add garlic and tomatoes and cook 3-4 minutes until tomatoes are softened. Reduce heat to low, add half-and-half and stir to combine, then fold in the basil. Remove from heat.

3. Fill the mushroom caps with the sausage mixture. Top with cheese and broil 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Stuffed Baked Tomatoes

My sister shared this recipe, and I decided to make these last night to go with grilled steaks since I wasn't really feeling the baked potatoes that everyone else was having. They were really good and everyone liked them...I think they would make a great and easy (and low-carb!) appetizer.

Stuffed Baked Tomatoes

4 Plum Tomatoes
1/2 cup of Mozzarella Cheese
2 Tbsp. of Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup Fresh Basil, roughly chopped
1 Garlic Clove, Minced
Salt/Pepper to taste

1. Heat oven to 400*. Cut the tomatoes length-wise and scoop out the pulp into a small bowl. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet.

2. Combine the pulp with the remaining ingredients. Fill the tomatoes to the top with the mixture. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese appears to be melted (I broiled on high for the last 2-3 minutes to make the cheese extra bubbly).