Saturday, September 1, 2007

Lemon Shrimp & Spinach

100g shrimp (peeled & deveined)
200g spinach (or amount allowed)
3T water
juice of 1 lemon (or 1/2 lemon if you like things less lemony)
4-5 cloves minced garlic
salt
black pepper

Preheat non-stick skillet over MED heat.
Add 3T water, garlic, and shrimp.
Cook 5 mins or until shrimp just turns pink. (Add water as necessary)
Squeeze in juice of 1 lemon.
Add spinach.
Toss in salt & pepper.
Cook uncovered until spinach wilts.
Serve.

Cucumber Mint Salad

200g cucumber - sliced or diced
1 T vinegar (vary to taste - as I usually add about 3 T)
1 t black pepper
1 t minced garlic
1 t dried mint (I usually just snip up a bit of fresh mint that I have on hand)

Toss & mix all ingredients.
Cover.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Toss before serving.

Friday, August 31, 2007

Simple Frappuccino

Every day I brew coffee and it seems to go to waste. Hubby leaves, forgets to take extra to work, and I certainly can't drink an entire pot (or even half a pot) to myself.

So today, I took the coffee left in the pot (you could always brew fresh coffee for this - just let it cool to room temperature) and poured it into small plastic containers (each holding about 8-12 oz worth). You could also just pour this into an ice cube tray.
Then set in freezer.
Wait a few hours until mostly frozen (works best if it's still sort of 'mushy') and put into blender. (Or, instead of waiting for coffee to freeze, you could simply add ice & room temperature coffee to blender & speed up this process.)
Add 4-8 drops of Vanilla Crème Liquid Stevia (to taste).
Blend until to your desired consistency & serve.

I bet this would also be good with the English Toffee Liquid Stevia. Or the Dark Chocolate Liquid Stevia. Way too many possibilities.

I really enjoyed this. Very easy to make, it was really frothy and made me feel like I was drinking a true frapp. A wonderful after dinner treat!

Caribbean Chicken Rub

I simply mix this up in a ziplock bag, add 100g of chicken, and then shake shake shake. Let it sit for 20 mins in refrigerator before grilling/baking/broiling.

1 T parsley
1 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t allspice
1/4 t cinnamon

This amount makes enough for 2 servings of chicken (possibly even more depending on how much seasoning you like) so you can shake shake shake both of them up in the ziplock, cook both, and then refrigerate the extra chicken.

BBQ Rub

I shook about 1 T or so of this on my eye of round steak for lunch, rub rub rubbed it down, stuck in refrigerator for 20 mins and then tossed it on the George Foreman. Yum yum yum. This also tastes great on chicken.

2 T paprika
1 T granulated sugar substitute
1 T ground cumin
1 T black pepper
1 T chili powder

Mix & store in air-tight container/ziplock bag. This amount makes enough for several uses.

This is slightly spicy so be sure you're drinking your water. :)

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Radish Soup

radishes (sliced or coarsely chopped - however you prefer)
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 c stock (I use homemade - either veggie or chicken)
1 c water (vary liquid amount depending on amt of soup wanted)
salt
pepper

Combine all ingredients in saucepan.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 mins.
Serve immediately.

Garlic Chicken

  • 100g chicken400g chicken - 4 servings
  • diced onion
  • 3-5 cloves garlic - unpeeled & left whole
  • juice of half lemon
  • black pepper to taste

    1. Preheat oven to 350.
    2. Heat non-stick saucepan over MED.
    3. Add the onion. Stir constantly until tender. 5-10 mins.
    4. Transfer onions to glass baking dish.
    5. Place chicken atop onions.
    6. Squeeze on lemon juice & sprinkle with pepper.
    7. Place garlic around and on the chicken.
    8. Cover tightly either with lid or aluminum foil.
    9. Cook for 30-45 mins or until chicken is no longer pink.


    Note: You don't have to eat the onions as your veggie (it's primarily for flavor). Just eat the chicken and add veggie of your choice.

  • Monday, August 27, 2007

    Cajun Shrimp Kebabs

  • 100g shrimp
  • half lemon
  • fresh chopped parsley (to "chop" parsley, I simply use kitchen shears)

    1. Place shrimp in bowl & add 1T of Cajun Seasoning and toss to coat.
    2. Put shrimp on skewers (if using wood skewers, remember to soak in water for at least 20 mins prior to use). You can also make kebabs with onion or tomato or any other veggie allowed on protocol.
    3. Squeeze on lemon juice.
    4. Grill or broil until cooked through.
    5. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
    6. Serve.

  • Cajun Seasoning

    1 T chili powder
    1 T Hungarian paprika
    1 t garlic powder
    1 t onion powder
    1/2 t dried oregano
    1/2 t dried thyme
    1/2 t cayenne pepper
    1/2 t freshly ground pepper

    Combine & store in airtight container.

    Strawberry Sorbet

    This is an old standby recipe I've enjoyed for many years. When off protocol I'll add banana or fresh pineapple, but it's just as good without. The kids love this one, too!

  • Allotted amount of strawberries
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • sugar substitute (as needed)
  • water (if needed)

    1. Freeze fresh strawberries about 1 hour.
    2. Blend fresh frozen strawberries, lemon juice & sugar substitute in blender until very well blended.
    3. You can serve immediately or place in freezer to allow it to firm up even further.

    TIP: If you don't want to wait, you can always use your fresh strawberries without freezing them and simply add ice & any water needed.

  •