Avocado Crab Cakes

This is very much an approximation but...

Ingredients:

• 1 small can of crab meat
• 2T vegetable oil
• Cooking spray
• About 1/3 C Plain breadcrumbs
• About 1/4 C mayo (I used Hellman's light)
• Half an avocado
• 1/4th C chopped yellow onion
• Seasonings: I used a little each of: salt, pepper, paprika, cajun seasoning, old bay, lemon juice, dill, and a bit of onion soup mix

Directions:

• Mix it all up (except for the oil and cooking spray)
• Make into small patties, then fry in the 2T vegetable oil, flipping after about 3 minutes OR place on aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray and bake in a conventional or toaster oven for about 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway through
• That's kinda it; pretty easy!

I also happened to pair this with mashed blue potatoes.  Worked out well :)

Fettuccine with Zucchini and Cashew Pesto Sauce

I'm gonna keep this simple because otherwise I'll never actually post.

Basically, I've been on a huge veggie puree kick.  Most recently, I decided that I must be able to make some sort of sauce out of zucchini.  Not WITH zucchini, but OF zucchini...like as a base.

And so I did.  It is entirely vegan (not that I personally care as I am not vegan myself, but could be helpful to note) with the exception of the sprinkle of parmesan cheese I chose to put on top.

No cream. No cheese.  No butter...but still REALLY good, even good for you!

Ingredients:

• Handful of diced onion
• 1 small zucchini, diced (but sticks would work fine)
• Handful of Kale
• Small handful of basil
• Handful of cashews (I used unsalted)
• A few splashes of olive oil
• Package of vegetable fettuccine
• T pureed garlic
• Salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

• Make the pasta, reserving about 3/4C of the pasta water (I cooked my pasta with some garlic to add flavor)
• Sauce:
• Saute up the zucchini and onions with garlic, a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper, for a good 10 minutes or so (zucchini should be very soft)
• Once done, add kale, basil, cashews, and sauted zucchini/onion to a food processor (mine is a super awesome, really easy to use and clean mini) and puree that jazz  
• Mix the pasta, reserved pasta water, and pureed sauce and eat!

Brussels and Kale Salad

I've always been a bit afraid of brussel sprouts...well at least ever since observing Calvin's disdain in one of the many Calvin and Hobbes comic books I own.  He's a pretty reliable source. Despite this, more and more my friends have been poking and prodding me to try them.  I had to admit, raw at least, they do look pretty cute...like little heads of lettuce.

Then it struck me.  I like lettuce...in salads...SALAD!

And thus the idea for this salad was born.  It's real simple...basically just sub in some raw brussel sprouts and kale for lettuce and keep all the rest of the fixings as you like.

Here's what I did.

Ingredients:

• Handful or so of raw brussel sprouts, cut in half (although you can break em up more if you like)
• Couple handfuls of kale
• Croutons (I chose the casesar variety)
• Handful of dried cranberries
• Handful of glazed walnuts
• Splash of creamy caesar dressing (I like Newman's Own)

How to:

• Just toss it all together.  Like I said, pretty simple.

And there you have yourself a pretty dang healthy salad that is also good.  Using regular lettuce you miss out on a lot of nutrients, and the same is true of cooking kale and brussels so...try this and win.

Veggie Lasagna Alfredo

Basically, follow my last lasagna recipe, but use whole wheat lasagna, add basil and spinach (put through food processor along with some zucchini and squash) to the ricotta, and substitute the tomato sauce for my butter bean alfredo sauce, adding in some halved cherry tomatoes.

Pretty damn good.  Check it out!

Butter Bean Fettuccine Alfredo

If you have a food processor or blender, then this is really easy (and a much healthier version of what might be one of your favorites).

Ingredients:

• 1/3 box of fettuccine (I used garden delights variety to get more veggies in)
• 1/2 C nonfat half and half
• Splash of skim milk as needed
• 1-2 T pureed garlic 
• Sea salt/pepper to taste
• 2-3 T parmesan cheese (more or less as you prefer)
• 1-2 T margarine 
• 1/4 small white onion, chopped
• 1/2 can butter beans (can also use white beans, either way)

Directions:

• In a pot, boil the fettucinne for about 7-8 minutes, then drain and set aside
• Puree the butter beans in a food processor with a splash of milk
• In a sauce pan, saute the onions and garlic on low heat for about 1-2 minutes with the margarine 
• Add in half and half, salt/pepper, and parmesan cheese, and bring to a low boil, stirring every few minutes
• Add in the butter beans, stir, and continue the low boil until desired consistency is met
• Combine all ingredients and serve

Lite Pot Pie Spins

Looking for lite and/or creative spins on traditional pot pie?  See below

Ingredients: 

• About 6 fingerling potatoes, diced
• About 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• Handful of chopped scallion
• About 8 baby carrots, chopped
• About 1/2 can sweet corn
• 2 chicken (or vegetable) bullion cubes
• 1-2 T reduced fat margarine (of some variety, I think I used smart balance)
• 1/3 C or so of fat free half and half
• Splash or two of skim milk
• 1-2 T dry chicken gravy mix (truly optional)
• 1/4 package of wonton wrappers (yes, wonton wrappers! only 15 cal each...although if you're too "chicken" to test it out, there are reduced fat pilsbury biscuits as another option)
• 2-3 T whole wheat flour (also optional)
• Salt/pepper to taste

General Directions:

• Preheat oven to about 350
• In a pot, saute the onions with some nonfat cooking spray (not sure how even the butter flavor variety has absolutely no calories, but it does the substitute trick) and salt/pepper to taste
• Add in the carrots and potatoes with some margarine
• Add in the nonfat half and half as well as skim milk, and bring to a boil; cook for about 5 minutes
• Add in the scallions (and whole wheat flour and 1-2 T dry chicken gravy mix) as well as the sweet corn, and cook for another 5 minutes or until desired consistency is reached
• Add salt/pepper, etc. to taste

Pick Your Own Adventure Directions:

If you want mini pot pies...

• Spray a mini muffin tray with nonfat cooking spray (I forgot to do this; you're welcome for the reminder)
• Fill each compartment of a mini-muffin tray with one wonton wrapper, then spoon pot pie mixture into each
• Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes

If you want pot pie lasagna...

• Put a layer of the pot pie mixture into a shallow baking pan
• Put down a layer of wonton wrappers on top
• Repeat until you top with wonton wrappers, then spray that layer with some nonfat cooking spray
• Bake in oven for about 15 minutes

*Note: If you really want to put the chicken in, go for it.  But honestly?  I didn't miss it a bit!

Lite Cheese Lasagna

Lasagna's pretty good, but it's often made in ways that aren't that good for you.  Want a lite alternative?  Try this:

Ricotta:

• Half container of low fat ricotta cheese
• Half container of nonfat ricotta cheese
• 2-3 T of nonfat half and half
• 1/4 C egg beaters
• Sprinkles of garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, pepper, and rosemary leaves

Sauce:

• 1 can whole peeled plum tomatoes (crush up by hand, include the juice)
• 1/2 can tomato paste
• Handful of fresh basil leaves
• About 1/4th an onion, diced
• 1-2 T pureed garlic 

Noodles:

• About 1/4th a box of lasagna noodles

Veggies:

• Sliced zucchini
• Sliced yellow squash
• Diced onion
• Diced carrots
• Nonfat cooking spray
• Salt/pepper/garlic to taste

How To:

• In a bowl, combine the two types of ricotta, nonfat half and half, spices, and egg beaters; mix well
• Separately, in a sauce pan, begin to saute the onions and garlic with some nonfat cooking spray, salt, and pepper for about 1 minute
• Add the tomato paste, and continue to cook on low heat for about 3 minutes
• Add the plum tomatoes and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, then add in basil and continue to cook for about 5 more minutes 
• Separately, boil the lasagna noodles for about 8 minutes (you want them al dente, slightly undercooked, since they'll cook more when you bake the whole thing in the oven), then drain and set aside
• Pre-heat the oven to about 350
• Separately, in a frying pan, begin to saute onions on low heat with nonfat cooking spray for about 1 minute.  Add in the carrots next and saute for about 7 minutes, then add the zucchini and squash along with salt/pepper/garlic to taste.  When finished, add to the tomato sauce
• In a baking pan (since I did a small batch, I used a bread/loaf pan), put a layer of your sauce
• Add a layer of the noodles
• Add a layer of sauce/veggies
• Add a layer of ricotta mixture
• Repeat until you're about 1-2 inches away from the top of the pan, then add a layer of sauce and top with some light, part skim mozzarella cheese
• Bake for about 20-30 minutes until bubbly and the cheese is melted
• If you'd like, sprinkle with some parmesan cheese and add some fresh basil to the top

Move Over, Chobani

Want to make your own low cal versions of your favorite yogurts and/or want good tasting/good for you greek yogurt for cheap?

Yea, I did too.  It's real easy, and goes like this:

• Get a tub of fat free store brand plain greek yogurt
• Put about 5 T into a bowl
• Add a LITTLE sugar/honey/sweet and low; whatever your preferred sweetener is 
• Add a little vanilla extract if you want
• Add some fruit (I put some strawberries and bananas into you food processor for like 10 seconds)
• Mix it all up
• Call it a day.

*Note: I also crumbled a bit of graham cracker and mixed that in.  For one of my batches, I put it in the freezer.  If you stir "vigorously" about every 45 minutes about 3 times, you have yourself some killer fro-yo!

Veggie Couscous with cashews and queso fresco

Very simple, very good. Check it.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 C water
• 1 C couscous (I used a sundried tomato/spinach tri-colored blend)
• 1/2 C chopped baby carrots
• 1/4 C salted cashews
• 1/2 C chopped tomatoes
• 1 T butter or margarine
• 1-2 T olive oil
• Salt, pepper, and garlic to taste
• 2 cubes chicken or veggie bouillon

Directions:

• Bring about 1 3/4 C water to a boil with the olive oil, butter, 2 chicken or veggie bouillon cubes, carrots, cashews, and tomatoes
• Boil contents for about 8 minutes or until carrots are just about done
• Add in couscous and stir quickly
• Remove from heat and cover, letting stand for 5 minutes
• Uncover, add salt/pepper/garlic to taste, and add in queso fresco; stir

Voila!

Fried Shrimp with Citrusy Sauce

I'm not going to go into detail about the fried shrimp part since by "made" them I mean I took them out of the freezer, onto a baking sheet, and into a toaster oven.

Since I had no cocktail sauce and didn't want to just hit up the ketchup, I decided to get a little creative with some mayo and a few other items.

Sauce Ingredients: (in no specific proportions)
About 3 T mayo (I prefer Hellman's)
A dash of lemon/pepper spice
A few dashes of some "Mrs. Dash Carribean Citrus"
A small dash of old bay
A small dash of garlic
1 tsp remoulade sauce

Mix it all up and pair with some seafood, such as fried shrimp. Why didn't I think of this before??

Crab Rangoon

No, I have not been slacking; I have just not had internet at home for the past...3-4 weeks or so.

How do I survive, you ask?

I make some food. Like this.




Ingredients:

• 2 cans crab meat (minced, lump, whatevs)
• 1 8 oz container of cream cheese (I prefer Philadelphia and whipped or else one with scallions)
• 1 package wonton wrappers (can usually be found in the fridge/freezer section of most grocery stores believe it or not)
• 1/2 a small white onion, chopped
• Dashes of things like salt, pepper, garlic, old bay, sesame seeds...things like that
• About 2 tsps or more of soy sauce (to taste)
• A splash or so of sesame oil if you have it, but not completely necessary

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine all aforementioned ingredients (except for the wonton wrappers)
• Lay out the wonton wrappers and put a small dallop of the dip inside each
• line the perimeter of each wonton wrapper with a dab of water
• Seal each pouch (there are many ways of doing this, but on easy way is to match diagonal corners and pinch together...basically you don't want any holes through to the dip exposed if possible
• Drop the little uncooked rangoons into a deep fryer for about 30 seconds to 1 min each

Ta da...crab rangoon. They pair well with things like duck sauce and/or garlic black bean sauce.

Many thanks to my sous chef, Sarah!