I am really enjoying using Rapini as a regular vegetable. I included the spinach because it adds a different texture when cooked, as well as a contrasting taste with the steaks. My dear mother bought me some pre-cut steak strips and They fry up in 5 minutes. They add a bit of iron and protein to the diet, as well as helps give you that “full” feeling.

Hot Steak Salad

2cups spinach

1/2bunch Rapini

1cup Steak strips

2cloves chopped garlic

2TBSP Balsamic Vinegar

Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil

In a hot pan, add oil garlic and steak strips, S&P. Cook on high until outsides of meat are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add in Rapini (ends trimmed) and spinach, and cook until everything is wilted and hot. Add salt, pepper and Balsamic vinegar, heat for 1 minute and serve.

It truly does take only 10minutes from start to finish, and I feel like Popeye with all the Iron

liss

THE Pesto Recipe

2cups basil leaves

1/2cup Parmasan Cheese

1/2cup Almonds

4TBSP Sun dried tomatoes (add more or less to taste)

3cloves Garlic

1/2cup Good Olive Oil (or more depending on desired thickness)

1/2TSP Salt

1TBSPPepper

OPTIONAL: for heat,add 1/2TSP- 1TSP red pepper flakes.

1 Bag Meat or cheese tortellini (Or make your own, Im not that ambitious after a long day though)

Cook Tortellini according to instructions, and blend all other ingredients together in a blender. If you dont have a blender (understandable of course), add almonds, basil, sun dried tomato and garlic together and chop together in a large pile. Make sure to finely chop these together. Then in a bowl, mix that with the oil, and Parmesan. Heat a small amount of oil in a large pan, add tortellini t brown slightly and add desired amount of pesto to pan. Mix well and heat thoroughly. Serve hot, or as a cold pasta salad!

Enjoy my loves!

Liss

These spiney little veggies are easier to prepare than I had previously thought.

There are just a few simple steps in preparing Artichokes.

But first, a small history of the artichoke from dear old www.wikipedia.com:

The Globe Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus)^[2] is a perennial thistle originating in southern Europe around the Mediterranean. It grows to 1.5–2 m tall, with arching, deeply lobed, silvery glaucous-green leaves 50–82 cm long. The flowers develop in a large head from an edible bud about 8–15 cm diameter with numerous triangular scales; the individual florets are purple. The edible portion of the buds consists primarily of the fleshy lower portions of the involucral bracts and the base, known as the “heart”; the mass of immature florets in the center of the bud is called the “choke”. These are inedible in older larger flowers.

Varieties

• Green color, big size: Camus de Bretagne, Castel (France), Green globe (USA).
• Green color, medium size: Blanca de Tudela (Spain), Argentina, Española (Chile), Blanc d’Oran (Algeria), Sakiz, Bayrampsha (Turkey).
• Purple color, big size: Romanesco, C3 (Italy).
• Purple color, medium size: Violet de Provence (France), Brindisino, Catanese (Italy), Violet d’Algerie (Algeria), Baladi (Egypt).
• Spined: Spinoso sardo (Italy), Criolla (Peru).

Medical Uses

The majority of the cynarin found in artichoke is located in the pulp of the leaves, though dried leaves and/or stems of artichoke also contain Cynarawhich are used to increase bile production. Cynarin, an active constituent in Cynara, causes an increase in bile flow.^[10] This diuretic vegetable is of much nutritional value because of its exhibiting aid to digestion, strengthening of the liver function, gall bladder function, and lowering of HDL/LDL ratio. This reduces cholesterol levels, which diminishes the risk for arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease.

Aqueous extracts from artichoke leaves have also shown to reduce cholesterol by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase and having a hypolipidemic influence, lowering blood cholesterol

Good. Now, How do we cook this bad boy!?

Artichokes, and a delicious dressing!

Begin by trimming the pointed ends off of all of the leaves, and trimming the stem to 1/2 inch. Set into a pot with 3inches water and bring to a boil. Simmer on med high for about 30 minutes.

Now. Here is a big step that you must remember that I did not, and consequentially ended up with over cooked artichokes (they were still delicious and easy to eat but overcooked nonetheless.)

REMEMBER TO REMOVE THE OUTER LEAVES BEFORE COOKING! I did not do this, and kept poking the woody outer leaves, and ended up with the inner part being soggy and a tad over cooked so Trim Trim Trim!

Steam your trimmed artichokes for about 30 minutes, or until the leaves are easily plucked off.

How to Eat Artichokes

Eating an artichoke is fairly simple. Pluck off the leaves and use your bottom teeth to scrape the soft inside of the vegetable starting at the top of the leaf and pulling down.

A yummy idea for a dip I found was a Balsamic Mayo. Heres my recipe:

1TBSP Balsamic Vinegar

2TBSP Light Mayo

Pinch Pepper and Salt

-Mix all ingredients together until completely combined.

I hope you enjoyed my little artichoke adventure! So next time you see these dangerous little veggies, grab one and give it a try!

liss

Alright, my new years resolution is to stop being a lazy lump and get to the gym again. But, with my lovely resolution comes another great challenge: the food challenge. I will admit I am a  food-oholic. I love to cook and I love to eat. So this puts me in an odd position when trying to “diet”. Why should I give up good tasting foods just because Im dieting?

Exactly.

Heres a list of Snack foods that are healthy and delicious.

Some of these are adapted or from a site I found on stumbleupon.com, This is the link to their page  24 Tasty and Nutritious Snacks. I strongly suggest you take a look at this site in general for Health and Wellness tips and ideas. Its proven to be quite helpful.

Yummy And Healthy Snacking Ideas.

Almonds – drop those cashews! Almonds are in! a healthy portion is 10 – 12 almonds. These are very filling!)

Apple slices with Peanut butter and Cinnamon – Its true that an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Blueberries – good for memory and brain health. I eat these before exam time!

Grape tomatoes with a Oil and Balsamic dip (1TBSP of each, pinch salt&pepper) – Very tastey, and the acidity is good!

A cup of Mixed cereal- Sometimes I eat those wholegrain cereals as a snack. My favorite are the Musseli ones, Because it feels more like a healthy trail mix (f.y.i, trail mix is usually heavily salted, and full of fat. Not as healthy as you think!)

Cucumber slices with Vinegar salt and pepper – Kinda taste like crispy cool S&V chips, Much healthier for you though!

Popcorn – I love salty snacks, so popcorn works for me. Its crunchy, and the light popcorn can be sprinkled with low-cal popcorn flavoring to kick it up a notch.

Low fat Turkey Meat, and A Small bunch of Grapes: Yum!

1/2cup Dried Blueberries and Cranberries – These things are 10x better than raisins, and because they are not as high in sugar content as a fruit, the dried product are less sugary as well.

Rice Cakes – So these things are always considered dry, however the caramel ones are delicious, and only 60 calories, and my favorite are the buttered popcorn ones which are even less. If you dont like how dry they are try dipping into peanut butter.

A Melba toast with Tzatziki spread, Cherry tomato and Kalamata Olive – Tastey little things! Add a leaf or two of spinach! It makes it taste very fresh.

A peach, and a small piece of dark chocolate: dark chocolate’s antioxidants are very good for you, and who can resist a ripe sweet peach!

A Yogurt Honey and Cherry Ice bar: Mix together 1cup pitted cherries with 1cup vanilla yogurt and 2TBSP honey, freeze in ice pop makers ( dollarstore) Yum!

HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE TO YOUR FAV SNACKS!

You want: A chocolate bar

Alternative: a 100 Cal Darl chocolate bar, or two 1oz squares. The antioxidants are higher in concentration because they are not being diluted with milk and cream as in milk chocolate.

You want: Ice Cream

Alternative: A Single cup of your favorite ice cream, Frozen for 4 Hrs. Sure its not as sugary, but the probiotic cultures rock for your bowel movements (dont be shy ladies and gents, we all have issues from time to time), and yogurt is a calcuim boost! Something I never get…

You want: Chips

Alternative: Try pretzels. They keep with the crispy and crunchy theme, and are generally low calorie if you keep to the nutrition label’s recommended portion

You want: Something Chewey

Alternative: Try dried fruit. Sounds like something your Grandma would make you eat? Well, maybe shes right! Try dried berries, banana chips and others such as apricots and dates.

One of the best things you can do for your body after a mass inhalation of christmas-crap is to drink water. My friends and I love water with lemon, its our staple drink, because it is cool, refreshing and forces us to drink more water. Water flushes excess fat from your body, and keeps your hydrated which is crucial when trying to exercise and lose weight. Some assume you will gain “water weight” by drinking excess amount of water, but water weight is brought on by excess salt intake. A key indicator for your hydration level is your (yup, you guessed it) URINE. Urine that is more of a pale to clear yellow signifies that your body is hydrated, while bright yellow can depend on your diet and liquid consumption (asparagus, coffee, pop).

These are just a few things that you use as alternatives to those delicious truffles and buttery biscuits. Although they are not as fatty as our holiday faves, their flavors are fresh and natural and can get you back in the healthy-zone!

liss

We used pan fry steaks for this recipe, they are inexpensive ( i paid 3.50 for 4 huge steaks), and are the butchers choice of meat. Its very lean, and cook very quickly. Watch for the potatoes, they will take atleast 45 minutes on 400 F

Steaks with White wine and Cherry tomatoes, and Roasted Veg

2lrg Potatos, cut into small-ish chunks ( the smaller they are, the faster they cook. however, don’t make them too tiny. about the size of normal hash browns)

1 green pepper, cut into large chunks

4 cloves garlic, chopped (seperate them into 2-clove piles, one is for the potatoes and one is for the sauce)

3TBSP oregano

1TBSP pepper

1TSP salt

4 Pan fry steaks

1cup white wine

1/2cup cherry tomatoes

In a large bowl, combine 1/2cup olive oil with the chopped peppers, potatoes, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic. Mix well to coat evenly with spices and oil, then spread out evenly on a baking sheet and cook for 45 minutes on 400F or until they are crispy outside, and soft in the middle. Broil for last 15 minutes. In a large pan, fry steaks in a small amount of oil. Remove when cooked through, then de-glaze pan with wine. De glazing is basically getting all the yummy fried brown beef bits off the bottom of the pan to make the sauce delicious! Add the cherry tomatoes, then let simmer until the wine has evaporated by 1/4. Add the steaks back into the pan, and continue simmering until the sauce has reduced by half. Serve the sauce on top of the steaks, and the crispy spiced potatoes on the side.

4 More days till christmas!!!

WHOSE EXCITED?!?!

yum yum, might as well eat well all the way leading up to Christmas too right

liss

You can throw this together and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours before your party, though I keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days, because the flavors brighten up after sitting.

Holiday Bruschetta

6 plumb tomatoes, chopped into small pieces  (I suggest using these tomatoes, because they keep the bruschetta from becoming soggy, unlike other tomato varieties such as beefsteak or hot house)

3cloves chopped garlic

1/2 red onion, chopped small

1/4cup olive oil (extra virgin, because we are eating this oil raw)

1/4cup basil leaves, chopped (about 10 whole leaves)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Baugette, sliced in 1/2 inch thick diagonal slices

In a bowl, combine chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, olive oil, S&P and mix thoroughly. Preheat oven to 400 F, slice the baguette and lay slices on a baking sheet. Drizzle both sides of each slice, and bake for about 10 minutes, or until they are crispy and golden brown ( like little toast crackers almost). Top baguette slices with a TBSP of bruschetta mix when ready to serve.

9 more days till Christmas!

Happy 16th Day!

liss

Liss’s Veggie Parm Appetizers

*double the recipe for more company!*

1 LG Yellow Zucchini

1 Relatively Thin Eggplant

1 Can Crushed tomatos

3 cloves garlic

1TBSP Pepper, Oregano

1TSP Crushed Fennel Seeds, and Salt

1/4cup Olive Oil

about 20 leaves of Basil

1cup Grated Havarti Cheese

Italian flavored Bread Crumbs

5TBSP flour

2 eggs, beaten

In 3 separate bowls, add the flour to the first, the beaten egg to the second, and the breadcrumbs to the third. In a pot, Add crushed tomatoes, chopped garlic, oregano, pepper, salt, fennel and oil, and cook until hot. Slice the veggies about a 1/2 inch thick, then dredge in flour until fully covered. Now, roll the vegetables in the egg until fully covered, and then in the breadcrumbs. This dredging pattern will make sure that the breadcrumbs stick to their veggie friends. In a frying pan, add a layer of oil about 1/2 a cm, and begin to fry the first side, until the breadcrumbs are crispy. Transfer the fried vegetables to a baking sheet, and bake for another 10-15 minutes to keep hot and crispy. Remove after 15 minutes (or when golden brown), add a TBSP of sauce, a Basil Leaf, and Cheese to top them off. Put in the oven on Broil for another 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese has browned.

This recipe looks like a lot of work, but they truly take no more than a half an hour to make. They would also make a yummy appetizer on Melba Toast crackers for easy snacking.

10 more days till Santa comes! Whose ready for Christmas dinner!

liss

This recipe is for a tender Tomato Basil and Mozzarella stuffed Chicken Breast, and Caramelized onion, caper and thyme rice.

Fresh Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Italian-inspired rice

Chicken:

1 Tomato, sliced

3cloves garlic, chopped

4 Basil Leaves

1 Lemon

Salt, Pepper, Dried Oregano

2 Chicken Breasts

2 small slices of Mozzarella or whatever is in your house

Rice:

1/2 cup Brown or White rice (brown is preferred, hold up to the Onions better)

1.5cups water (to boil rice with)

1lrg sweet onion, chopped small

1small bottle capers, rinsed off to get rid of excess salt.

1TBSP Chopped fresh time, or 1.5TBSP Dried Thyme

1TSP Pepper

1/4 cup white wine

Chicken: In a large bowl, juice the lemon, and add 3/4 of the chopped garlic, salt and pepper, and 4TBSP olive oil. Cut a small slit, enough to fit a slice of tomato, basil and a cheese slice into, and soak in the lemon juice for 15 minutes. Remove from the bowl, and insert a slice of tomato (you may need to cut it in half to make it fit), 2 basil leaves in each, and a slice of cheese. Hold together with a toothpick and bake covered in the oven for about a half an hour, or until the juice from the chicken is clear and not pink.

Rice: In a large separate pan, Begin by adding oil and chopped onions. Cook on Med-High until the onions start to ‘melt’ down. Add 1-2TBSP of white wine, and continue cooking until onions are a light brown colour and smell sweet. Add capers, and thyme + S&P to taste and allow to heat up. Set aside. Cook rice. In the large pan, slowly bring it back up to a medium high heat, add another 3TBSP of oil, and white wine to make a thin sauce, and add in rice. Stir well, and serve chicken on bed of rice.

Thanks for the challenge Mike you may need to play around with cooking time, but this should shake things up a bit!

If your adventurous, try adding Sundried tomatoes or spinach to the rice as well. Just let them wilt in while the rice is cooking with the Capers. Also, if the rice seems too sticky, add a few more TBSP of wine, and a few TBSP of chicken broth.

Hope this helps!

liss

This salad contains anchovy paste and garlic. Although anchovy paste may seem like something you would never think to buy, I would like to encourage you to experiment and try this, as the anchovy’s only add a subtle salty flavor to the dressing. As well, if you prefer less garlic, simply use one or two small cloves. I, of course, will over do the garlic every time.

Real Caesar Dressing

*I had a Caesar salad in Disney World, and found their presentation interesting. Simply serve whole washed leaves laid out on the plate, dressing on top, eaten with a fork and knife. I found it felt more sophisticated even though I felt like a herbivore haha*

2Egg Yolks

2TBSP Dijon Mustard

2TBSP Anchovy Paste *use less if you wish to do so, no less than 1 TSP though*

4cloves Chopped Garlic

4TBSP Balsamic vinegar

3TSP Lemon Juice

Dash Woscestshire and Hot sauce

2TSP Pepper

1cup Olive oil

1/2cup Parmasan Cheese

*you may need a TBSP of warm water

Whisk together Yolks, anchovy paste, Balsamic, lemon juice, mustard, hot sauce  and pepper until blended well. Continue to whisk while incorporating the oil slowly. If the dressing gets too thick, continue to add more oil until it is thinned out. Add Parmesan and whisk until fully incorporated.

Toss chopped Romain lettuce with sauce in a grocery bag with no holes to make sure that all pieces are coated completely, or serve as full Romain leaves.

This dressing stays healthy because it lacks the heavy milk and mayo products found in the usual grocery store bottle. It tastes very fresh, and very expensive. No one will know its not

Happy 14th day!

liss

Potato-less Latkes with Crunchy Cool Ranch Chicken

1 Zucchini

1/2 Large Carrot

1 egg

Sesame seeds

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

1 chicken breast, cut up into fingers

20 cool ranch Doritos, crushed up

1/2cup Bread Crumbs

In 3 seperate bowls, add flour to one, one egg yolk to the next, and the breadcrumbs and crushed chips to the last. Dunk the chicken in the flour, covering it completely. Next, cover it in the egg yolk, and finally put it into the bowl with the chip and bread crumbs, and cover it completly. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, grate the carrot and zucchini, and squeeze all the water out of it. Add in the egg white, salt, pepper, garlic and sesame seeds, and mix until completely combined. Seperate into 5 patties in a hot pan, and fry until the one side is crispy and golden brown. Turn over and fry the next side to a crispy and golden brown. Set aside

While the first side of the latkes are cooking, in another pan, fill with 1/2 oil and begin to fry the one side of the chicken. Turn the chicken when the first side is golden brown and crispy, then fry the next side until the chicken is cooked all of the way through. Put the chicken between two pieces of paper towel to squeeze out any extra oil. Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauces!

This was a very good meal for throwing it together in a half an hour! Try it yourself. Substitute the veggies for whatever root veg  is in your veggie drawer, and adjust cooking time accordingly. The chips can also be substitutes for regular Lays, or cheesey Doritos!

Happy cooking!

Liss