Spicy Vegetable Side Dish... not too spicy!

I was on a high from yesterdays successful dinner & so today, I thought I'd try only a side dish to go with the store-ready Parmesan Chicken Skewers from Hannafords. The skewers BTW were very tasty. I may have to find that recipe for myself!

B liked these veggies, even with the bit of a kick of heat at the end of a bite. I tasted the sweet, but felt the heat, a mild heat, on my tongue. My youngest sister liked them too. C is at work, but she isn't one to like spicy foods, so my guess is she won't even try the leftovers.

Spicy Vegetable Side Dish  serves 4  

 18g carbs per serving

What you need:

• 1 medium butternut squash, about 2 lbs
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat butter, melted
• 2T brown sugar
• 1T chili powder (yes, a whole TABLESPOONFUL!)
• 1T minced cilantro (I used 1T from a tube of cilantro paste I bought near the herbs)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (YUP! I said cinnamon!)
• 1 medium green bell pepper, 1" chunks 
• 1 medium yellow pepper, 1" chunks (I only had an orange pepper on hand & it worked fine)
• 1 medium red onion, cut into wedges (I used 1/2 an onion because of its strong flavor)
• 1T olive oil
• 2 cups grape tomatoes (I used only 1 cup knowing I don't really like warm tomatoes)

What you do:

• Cut the squash in half, discard the seeds
• Place cut side down in microwave safe dish (I had to trim ends to make halves fit in the dish)
• Add 1/2" water & cook, uncovered, in microwave 11-15 min or until tender (not mushy)
• Remove from pan, carefully & set aside to cool a little
• In a small bowl, combine butter, sugar, chili powder, cilantro, salt, pepper & cinnamon
• When squash is cool to touch, peel & cut into 1/2 chunks, set aside
• In a large skillet, saute the peppers & onion in the olive oil until desired tenderness
• Add in tomatoes & squash
• Gently toss to combine
• Heat through
• Transfer veggie mixture to a large bowl & pour the butter/spice mixture over the veggies
• Toss to coat
• Serve with your favorite piece of meat. We had chicken skewers!

Pork & Potatoes Skillet Dinner

I'm trying, AGAIN, to watch my carb intake & eat healthier. Some days are better than others. For instance, today, I treated myself to 1 chocolate dipped macaroon. One cookie was 19 carb grams which equalled 1-1/2 carb choices, perfect carb count for a snack. 

Unfortunately, it was soooo good & the rest of the macaroons were just sitting there, calling out for me! FOUR more went into my mouth before my brain made me STOP! I skipped lunch hoping to bring my sugar down which also was a stupid thing to do! So for dinner, I chose a new recipe from a cookbook made for lighter & diabetic-friendly meals.

B LOVED it! I barely got the question out "Do you like it?" when he said, "YES! It's a do-over recipe!" He did have 1 request though. More of it! This recipe makes 4 servings, but they are servings meant for those who need a low carb count. He was still hungry, even with the side of spinach.

Pork & Potatoes Skillet Dinner  serves 4 (for big eaters, serves 2)  

Carb count is: 21g per serving 

What you need:

• 2T real butter, divided
• 1 pork tenderloin, about 1 lbs, cut into 1/4" slices
• 1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms (I don't like mushrooms & omitted this ingredient)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 small, red potatoes, quartered (I used baby reds, purples & fingerlings & cut into 1" chunks)
• 1 can (14-1/2 oz) chicken broth, divided
• 2T Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
• 2T all purpose white flour
• 4 green onions, sliced

What you do:

• Melt 1T butter in a 12" skillet w/lid over MED heat.
• Cook pork slices 2-4 minutes on each side
• Remove from pan & cover w/foil to keep warm
• In same pan, melt remaining butter over MED-HI heat (optional: saute mushrooms almost tender)
• Add in the garlic & cook 1 more minute
• Stir in potatoes, 1-1/2 cup broth, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat & cover with lid
• Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are soft
• In a small bowl, combine flour & remaining broth until smooth
• Stir this mixture into the potato mixture.
• Bring to a boil & stir until sauce thickens
• Stir in the green onions
• Return pork to the pan & stir together until heated through
• Serve with a nice veggie side dish. I used sauteed spinach!

My youngest sister has moved in, "temporarily" & tried some of this dish. She also LOVED it!

Asparagus Shepherds Pie

MMMMMMM!

My family LOVES Shepherds Pie!

I've made several varieties over the years... tomato based, mixed veggies, etc. I've always gone back to the basic ground beef w/gravy, corn or peas with a homemade potato topping sprinkled w/paprika.

The other night I came across a new recipe, Asparagus Shepherds Pie & I knew I HAD to try it out!

It was very tasty! So, here is the recipe, for my future comfort food cravings!

Asparagus Shepherds Pie  serves 8    

(note: 1 serving = 264 calories & 29g of carbs) 

What you need:

• 6 medium Russet potatoes, peeled, 2"chunks & rinsed
• 1 lbs ground beef (you could use ground turkey)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of asparagus soup, undiluted (I used cream of broccoli)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 lbs fresh asparagus spears, trimmed & cut into 1" pcs (oops! I forgot to do the chopping part!)
• 1/2 cup milk (I used skim)
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed (makes it easier to mix into the potatoes)
• 1 tsp rubbed sage (I used 1 tsp ground sage & thought it was good)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Paprika, for color

What you do:

• In a saucepan, cover potatoes w/cold water. Bring to a boil & cook until fork tender
• In a skillet, brown the ground beef, onion & garlic over Med heat & drain
• Stir in soup & pepper, then pour mixture into a greased 2 qt baking dish
• Cook asparagus in a small amount of water until crisp-tender (4-5 minutes) & drain
• Place drained asparagus over the beef mixture
• Drain cooked potatoes, mash with milk, butter, sage & salt
• Spread over the top of the asparagus
• Sprinkle w/cheese & paprika
• Bake, uncovered at 350 for 20 minutes

Notations:

Be sure to chop the spears into 1" pcs. I forgot & while tasty, it was very stringy.

To cut carbs, I may use cauliflower mock mashed potatoes.

I used cream of broccoli because I couldn't find cream of asparagus in the store. Tasted good anyway!

C didn't like the melted cheese on the top, could omit that ingredient.

K- SAH- DEE- AHS for snack or breakfast

I love the cheese quesadillas that are usually served as appetizers in restaurants. A little salsa, sour cream or guacamole & I'm in heaven! I'm bound & determined to be able to make a decent quesadilla & here are 2 recipes I found that sounded wonderful!

The first one is from the GOYA website.

Quesadillas  serves 4

What you need:

• 1 cup of pico de gallo salsa (drained, grocery store pre-made should work or get the jarred one)
• 1 can (15.5 oz) black beans (drained & rinsed)
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2T finely chopped cilantro ( I may not use this step as I don't like cilantro)
• 4- 10" flour tortillas/burritos
• 1 tsp olive oil

What you do:

• Place well drained Pico de Gallo into a medium bowl (discard any liquid)
• Add in the black beans, cheese & cilantro, mix until combined
• Put about 1/2 cup mixture evenly over HALF of each tortilla, then fold in half
• Heat a skillet over Med-Hi heat
• Brush skillet with oil
• Place filled tortillas on the skillet
• Cook, carefully flipping tortilla when one side is golden brown & crispy... about 5 minutes
• Cut into wedges & serve with your choices of toppings

Toppings could be:

• Salsa
• sour cream
• guacamole
• lettuce
• onion
• etc

Breakfast Quesadilla  serves 3

 25g of carbs per serving

Can be frozen!

What you need:

• 1 large egg
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1/2 cup corn, rinsed & drained
• 1/4 red onion, tiny diced pieces
• 2T chopped cilantro (I don't use)
• 3/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheese (cheddar, monterey jack)
• 1/2-1T taco seasonings
• 3 low carb 8" tortillas

What you do:

• Whisk the egg & egg whites together
• Scramble them in a skillet coated with cooking spray... Set aside until next step
• In a bowl, combine beans, corn, eggs, onion, cilantro, cheese & taco seasoning
• Place 1/3 of the mixture on each tortilla & fold in half
• Cook in a skillet w/cooking spray until golden brown on both sides or
• Place on parchment paper & freeze for 1 hour, then wrap individually until ready to use.

To reheat:

• microwave, uncovered until warm

or

• thaw overnight in fridge, in a skillet w/cooking spray, cook until golden & cheese is melted

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes, again But SUCCESSFUL!

Two things have changed since I last tried mock mashed potatoes. One... Green Giant now makes Cauliflower Crumbles where every piece is the perfect size & the entire bag can be microwaved. I did mine for 7 minutes even tho the bag directions say that 4 minutes would be enough.
The second thing that changed is what I mixed the cooked cauliflower in! Previous tries were in a blender. This time... A food processor! What a difference! Perfect smoothness though a bit more watery, thinner than real mashed potatoes.
So, I put the 16 oz bag of cooked cauliflower crumbles along with 1/2 cup skim milk, 2T real butter, salt & pepper, to taste into the food processor and blended into desired smoothness. Love it!