Corn Bowl

So tonight's original dinner was a mess!! I didn't get home until about 8:30 and then had to cook dinner.  I ran to the store to grab a quick pre-made frozen stir-fry dinner......yes I know, they are terrible for you! Well then, it must have been a sign I shouldn't eat it when I put it in the pan and forgot about it and burnt it....ooopps!

So this means that I needed to think of something quick, since at this point I was starving.  I through a bag of steamfresh corn in the microwave to hold me over.....then I took a look in the fridge to find some tomatoes, olives and kielbasa.  I simply sliced all three and sauteed in EVOO until the kielbasa was cooked.  Threw this on top of the corn and that was dinner!

Honestly, it was DELICIOUS!  I will probably make it again as both Scott and I loved it, this shows you never know what you can do when your starving with what you have in the fridge! Enjoy!

Mini Pizza to Order!

Of course my husband and I could agree on a pizza if we had to but we have completely different tastes when it come to a good pizza.  To him, the more meat the better and to me, the less of everything the better.  I came across individual pizza crusts at the store the other day which are just perfect for us. To have with my "New Year, New You" post  I picked up a couple packages, whole wheat for me and regular for him. You can put almost anything on a pizza so it is completely up to your taste.  Here is what I used on ours tonight:

Whole Wheat Crust

Organic Pizza Sauce

Black Olives

Low Fat Mozzarella 

Basil

Regular Crust

Bacon (cooked and chopped)

Pizza Blend Shredded Cheese

Jalapeno Block Cheese

Green Onions

I used the same sauce on both pizza crusts.  I then added cubed mozzarella, black olives and basil to the whole wheat crust.  Mozzarella is a cheese that is high in protein which is why I chose it since I am not easting meat this month.  Now on to Scott's, he wanted me to try two different versions (both of which he loved).  On half we did just the shredded jalapeno cheese with chopped green onion.  On the other side we did a layer of bacon topped with the pizza cheese blend and then topped with more bacon and green onion.  Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on top of both to your liking and pop them in the toaster oven or regular oven.  They will only take about 8 minutes to cook so they are easy to throw together even for a quick lunch! 

The small crust is a perfect serving size which will help you not overeat. Enjoy!

New Year, New You

Things got a little busy these past few months between work and the holiday season.  I am starting off the new year with a health kick, doesn't' everyone??!?!?  The thing is I don't believe in diets, most of them are just a fad and you will go right back to eating normal and gaining every pound you lost right back. You have to look at it more as a lifestyle change and set goals for the year rather than a resolution.  My first goal for the year is to eat more natural foods such as fruits and veggies so for the month of January I decided not to eat meat to focus more on healthy salads and cut out those sandwiches and big lunches!

I love the taste of fruit mixed with veggies and salads do not have to contain lettuce and be covered in fattening dressings.

Take the above for example. I took one large Holland cucumber, 1/2 a can of black olives, 1 gala apple and 1 cup of grapes.  You can cut them to your liking and combine in a bowl.  I then added 2 tablespoons of a red wine vinaigrette.  Lastly add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.  The acid from the lemon juice helps keep yours apples from getting brown so you salad will stay and LOOK fresh for days. Enjoy!

Lingucia with Veggies

Lingucia is a favorite in our house! I mean it is probably a favorite in all households in this area and it should be.  You can grill it, make a sandwich, add cheese, grind it into a sauce, add it to your hamburg for an extra kick, slice it with some veggies over rice (as I did below) and so much more.   I like the following the best as you get everything a meal should have in one quick easy dish, AND it tastes even better left over!

Ingredients:

Lingucia sliced 

1 can Black olives

1 cup red, yellow orange peppers sliced

Olive oil and garlic tomato sauce (I use Bertoli)

2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning

3 cups cooked whole grain brown rice

Start by cooking the lingucia in a large skillet.  Once almost cooked fully ass the sauce, veggies and seasoning.  Cover the pan and simmer for at least 15 minutes.

Check the tenderness of the peppers to determine if it should simmer longer. Serve over the rice and Enjoy!

Fresh Summer Salad

With all this heat lately no one really feels up to cooking but you still need dinner.  I love a great salad, and no not just a bowl of lettuce, a SALAD!!  These days you can find pretty much anything in a salad and many combo's you wouldn't typically think of pairing together.  My favorite is to add some fruit  and nuts to your veggies, especially berries! Below I chose a mix of romaine and red leaf lettuce with tomato's, cucumbers, black olives, pecans and raspberries to top it all off! Add a splash of Raspberry Vinaigrette and you have yourself a nice healthy cooling summer meal! And don't forget, you can always throw a piece of chicken or some leftover chicken you may have to add some protein to your dish.

Grilled Pizza

Who wants to light the oven in the summer time?  Well I know I sure don't if it is not necessary, especially at 450 when you are cooking a pizza!  So tonight we decided to cook our pizza on the grill!  We began by preheating our pizza stone on the grill for about 10 minutes.  We lightly coated the stone with about a TBSP of EVOO before putting in on.  While the stone was heating I prepared out ingredients.  Now me and my husband have completely different tastes when it comes to pizza so we do a half and half.  You can see our choices we used below.

 

Once the ingredients were prepared it was time to roll out the dough.  You can do this with a rolling pin or by hand.  I find it easiest to do it by hand and by the time you are done you can place it right onto the heated stone and cover.  I cook it on each side for about 2 minutes per side.  Now its time for the fun.  Create your pizza with the toppings of your choice, cover and let cook for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

 

I always like to do a layer of cheese right on top of the sauce and a second layer on top of the toppings to hold it all in. As you can see below the cheese on top should be melted but not browned as the heat of the grill can cause the pizza to burn easily so you want to make sure to keep a close eye on it!  Enjoy!