Low Fat, Full of Flavor

Ok, so I am struggling with a gallbladder issue. I don't know yet at this point exactly what is going on. This has really changed how I have to eat. Nix the fried, fatty foods, no cheese, no full fat dairy, no red meat, no pork, no food!!  No, I don't think of it that way. I am looking at this as this is how I should really be eating anyway. I have had to be creative. I know, takes some thought and planning, ugh. For me, not so hard, for others like my hubby, maybe so. 

I had to lay off if Garlic for a few days. The horrors!!  Not too bad, really. I learned to use my other TS products, my Oil and Vinegar Assortment. Yummy balsamic vinegars of Modena and avocado oil to be exact. 

I made a yummy whole wheat pasta with veggies, avocado oil, a little mango balsamic vinegar of Modena and just a smudge if grated Parmesan cheese. Sooo good. 

Today, I did a "stir fry" in just a couple of teaspoons of olive oil with sweet potato, zucchini I and crumbled extra firm tofu and 2 teaspoons of Malt Vinegar Frencj Fry Seasoning. High protein and fiber, super low fat and talk about flavor!  Sooo good. What an awesome lunch. I refuse to be down and eating with no flavor!  

 

Simple Fruit Salsa

I threw a Tupperware party at my house the other day and wanted to make something with the Simply Salsa. My Tupperware lady was already going to make regular salsa with one of her awesome gadgets. Hello my name is Valerie and I am a kitchen gadget addict. I digress. So if you have been following the blog for awhile you know that I LOVE to throw together things on the fly and then try to remember the recipe later if it actually works well. This is one of those times. This was just soooo good. Below is the super simple recipe. You can use almost any fruit you have. 

Ingredients for what I did:

1 bag of smoothie fruit, partially thawed

2 apples, peeled or unpeeled

1 banana

Mango Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

Simply Salsa Mix

Sea Salt

In a blender or food processor blend the frozen fruit leaving it somewhat chunky. Pour into a mixing bowl. Core and quarter your apples. Blend them with the banana leaving it somewhat chunky. Add to the mixing bowl. 

Add 2 Tbsp of the Mango Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and 3 Tbsp of the Simply Salsa Mix plus a couple of grinds or a dash of sea salt. Mix well and chill for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla or pita chips.  Let me know what you think!

Quick lunch - Rustic Pasta Primavera

Ok so Yum! I just have to tell you how much I love a quick and easy meal. One of my faves is pasta. Today I threw together a Rustic Pasta Primavera. It was the ultimate in use what you have. 

I boiled some whole grain spaghetti that I had in the cabinet, drained it and then made a sauce of butter, olive oil and about a tablespoon or so of Rustic Herb Seasoning. I sautéed the Rustic Herb for a minute or two to release the favors. Then I added a splash (or two) of some white wine I had in the fridge. Once it had reduced down a little I added the pasta back into the sauce, mixed well and then added some chopped tomato for the freshness. You could add any fresh veggie that you have and like. I turned off the heat and tossed the tomatoes into the pasta. The point is not to cook them, just warm them up a little. Garnish with some Parmesan Cheese and Voila!  Lunch is served. 

Cooking Tip!

Did you know that the cap of the Tatefully Simple Seasoning shakers doubles as a two tablespoon measure?  That's right!!  Check out this handy chart for some other great measurement conversions. 

Rustic Mama Mia Stromboli

It's Saturday night and my teenage daughter has a friend over for the night. Kids love to help in the kitchen!  Even teenage ones. These two are actually stellar cooks so I was glad to have their help with this. It was so fun showing them something new to make and have them share in my recipe creation. =). You can use any topping you like on your pizza. These are the ones we like. 

Let's get cooking!

Ingredients:

2 cans refrigerated pizza crust

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened 

2 Tbsp Rustic Herb Seasoning

1 pkg sliced pepperoni

2 cans sliced mushrooms

1 c prepared Mama Mia Marinara Sauce

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

2 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. 

In a bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and the Rustic Herb Seasoning. Set aside. 

On a greased cookie sheet spread out your pizza dough long ways.  

Turn the pan so that the long side is in front of you. Spread 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture on half of the dough. 

Add your toppings. 

Spread 1/2 a cup of the Mama Mia Marinara Sauce on top of the toppings. 

Doesn't this look amazing??!!  Ok, now time for the mozzarella cheese. 

Fold the dough over and roll the edges from the bottom crust to the top to seal. 

Repeat with your second pizza crust and the other half of the ingredients. 

Cut slits in the top to vent and bake for 15 minutes. Take the Stromboli out of the oven and brush with melted butter. Gorgeous!!!

Return to the oven for 7 more minutes. Pull out f the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. 

Slice and serve. 

Tip:  make it a meal with a fresh salad with Spinach & Herb Dressing and a cool refreshing Mango Margarita Blender Drink. 

Serves 4-5. 

French Toast Casserole

I hosted an Open House at my home recently and had some cubed Multi-grain Beer Bread left over.  My family doesn't like it as much as the original, so I wanted to repurpose it. I don't like to waste good beer bread!!  We also had some left over dinner rolls so I thought what the heck, I will throw those in too. 

So, usually with French Toast Casserole you soak it overnight. That is awesome if you are able to plan ahead, but I am an on the fly kinda gal, so I needed something I could make this morning. I thought what the heck. 

I ended up with 7 cups of cubed bread so that is what this recipe is based on. I basically used 1 egg per cup of bread cubes. Heaven forbid if you have any left over so if you want to make this, you might have to hide some. :). Instead of the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg, try a cup of Vanilla Bean Chai Drink Mix. I used regular brown sugar in this since I didn't have any stevia brown sugar. I always say, use what you have!

Here is the resulting recipe. 

Ingredients:

6-7 cups of cubed Multi-grain Beer Bread

6-7 eggs, one egg per cup of bread cubes

3 1/2 c of milk

1 c of sugar or stevia crystals (my choice)

1 tsp of vanilla

1/4 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg

1 tsp of salt or salt substitute (my choice)

1 c of brown sugar (my choice) or stevia brown sugar

2 Tbsp Vanilla Bean Chai Drink Mix

1/2 c Powdered Sugar

Preheat your oven to 425. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, add the milk, vanilla, spices sugar and salt. Mix until combined. (This would be amazing with pecans too but my hubby isn't a fan of them so I didn't put them in)

Spray a 13x9 baking dish with non stick cooking spray. Add the cubed bread and arrange in an even layer.

Pour the egg mixture over the top of the bread. Press the bread until all the bread is soaked with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the casserole is set (not jiggly).

While the casserole is baking mix together the Vanilla Bean Chai Drink Mix and the powdered sugar. 

When the casserole comes out of the oven, sprinkle the sugar mixture over the casserole while it is still hot. You can do this individually as I had to do since my people don't like powdered sugar on french toast. Crazy right?!?

Serve immediately with or without maple syrup. 

Bayou Bourbon Pork Tenderloin Medallions

I am loving this new grill!!  Tonight is Bayou Bourbon Pork Tenderloin Medallions. We bought the pork tenderloin on sale and yum, yum, yum!  I thought I loved Bayou Bourbon before but holy cow!!

I cut the tenderloins, there were 2 in the package, into 2" medallions. I sprinkles them with Seasoned Salt, of course, and then put them on my hot grill. I let them hang out for 10 minutes and then turned them over. I glazed them while they were hanging out on the other side for another 8 minutes or so, turned them over and then glazed them on the other side. 

We served them with a baked potato and veggie!  Talk about a healthy meal!  Cheap too!!!