Roasted Asparagus and Apples

Roasted Asparagus and Apples

1 bunch of trimmed asparagus
1 red delicious apple, sliced
1/8 cup red onion, thinly sliced and coarsely chopped
1 tbs honey ( use local if possible)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tbs garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 heaping tbs of extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup of reduced fat feta

Preheat oven 400°
Combine all ingredients in a bowl except the oil and feta.
Lay ingredients in a sheet pan
Rub down with olive oil
Position asparagus with each other so that they are all positioned the same way.
Position onions and apples on top the asparagus
Sprinkle feta on top
Bake for 15-20 min for desired crispiness
* be careful! Don't let it burn--if you over cook the honey will burn easily

Chicken and Dumplings made skinny

Skinny Chicken and Dumplings

1 large onion
3 stalks of celery finely chopped
3 carrots finely chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 bay leaf
2 boxes of chicken stock
1 whole cut up chicken (with bones and skin)
1 can of reduced fat biscuits
1/2 cup fat free half and half
1 tbs flour
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs butter (I can't believe it's not butter)
Cajun seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of whistochere sauce
TINY pinch of cinnamon

Cover chicken with cajun seasoning and rub it in.
Brown chicken on both sides in oil
Take out and put aside
Melt butter
Add flour to make a blonde roux
Stir constantly for 2 min
Add onion, celery, carrots. Cook until tender (5 min)
Add garlic cook for 2 min
**at any point if it gets too dry that it is starting to burn add a little chicken stock
Add chicken stock and 1 cup of water
Bring to a boil
Add half and half stir frequently
Add bay leaf, whistochere, cinnamon, and season to taste
**be really light on your seasoning because the chicken is already seasoned, and you'll kill it if you add to much
Add chicken.
Cover the pot and put it on low heat.
Cook for 1 hour
Take out chicken remove all the meat and put back in
Discard all the skin and bones
Put heat on med
Tear little chunks of biscuit up and drop them in the pot
Cook for 10 min stirring occasionally
Take out bay leafs before serving

**if you want it to be thicker add a cup of watered down flour

Sautéed green beans with a Parmesan crisp

Sautéed Green Beans with a Parmesan crisp

This isn't my recipe, I got it from Giada from food network. I just changed it up a little

1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons butter (I can't believe it's not butter)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil or 1 & 1/2 tbs dry basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan Crisps, recipe follows

Directions
Cook the green beans in a large pot of boiling water until just crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Drain well; set aside.
Melt the butter and oil in a heavy, large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper (if using dried basil use put it in now) Add the beans and cook until the juices evaporate and the beans are almost tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Stir in the wine (and basil. )Simmer 2 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl, and serve.
Parmesan Crisps:
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Pour a heaping tablespoon of Parmesan onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet and lightly pat down. A silicone baking sheet is highly recommended. Repeat with the remaining cheese, spacing the spoonfuls about a 1/2-inch apart.
Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool.
Yield: 8 to 10 crisps

Roasted cajun sweet potato fries

Roasted cajun sweet potato fries

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into spears
Cajun seasoning to taste
1 tbs extra Virgin olive oil
1 tsp sugar


Preheat oven to bake at 400°F.
Rinse sweet potato under cold water.
Pat dry, then cut into small spears.
On a cookie sheet (with raised edges) ,
Combine potatoes oil and cover with cajun seasoning. Mix all together then lay the potatoes all flat (none on top of each other)
Cover with sugar.
Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes.
Take out and place on paper towels. Salt to taste immediately

Pancetta and Roasted Shrimp over Spaghetti Squash

Pancetta and Roasted Shrimp over Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter (I can't believe it's not butter light)
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 package of pancetta
1/2 cup of chicken stock (or shrimp stock)
1 medium spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds), halved lengthwise
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (or just 1/2 a lemon)
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Poke squash 5 times with fork. Cook in microwave for 12 min. Turning every 3 min.
Allow to cool then cut in. Half and remove seeds, then pull out spaghetti squash with a fork.

Cut pancetta in small pieces.
Cook in 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Cook until crisp.
Take out and put aside on a plate lined with paper towels
In a sauce pan melt butter.
Cook onions until tender.
Add garlic and cook for 1-2 min.
Add lemon juice and stock.
Season with salt and pepper
Cook on low for 10 min. (Want it to thicken up)
Pat shrimp very dry
On a lined and rimed baking sheet , toss shrimp with 1 teaspoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add shrimp and pancetta
Season with salt and pepper
At the last minute add parsley
Turn off heat
Add spaghetti squash and mix thoroughly

Crawfish Philo Cups

Crawfish philo cups

Ingredients

1 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 stick butter (I can't believe it's not butter
3 Tablespoons fresh parsley
1 or 2 lb frozen crawfish tails (I stretched 1 lb with this but if you want it to be really meaty get 2 lbs)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 tbs cajun seasoning
16 oz. fat free cream cheese
4 boxes of philo cups

(Makes 60 cups-- to cut down just cut the entire recipe in half)

Directions

Melt butter
Saute onion and bell pepper
Cook until tender
Add green onions and garlic and cook for 1-2 min
Add cream of mushroom and cook it on low for 10 min
Season with 1 tsp of cajun seasoning
Stir constantly
Add crawfish
Cook for 10 min. Add a little more cajun seasoning
Stir frequently on medium low heat
Cut cream cheese into cubes
Add cream cheese a few at a cubes at a time until melted through. Repeat the process with the rest of the cream cheese
Season to taste. Add the parsley at the last minute

Heat philo cups according to directions on the box. Fill each one with about a table spoon of crawfish filling.


****if you have left over crawfish filling, serve it as a dip!

Panko crusted squash with eel sauce (made skinny)

Panko crusted squash

2 yellow squash (coined)
1 TBS Tony's (cajun seasoning)
1 cup flour
2 eggs
2 splashes of milk
1 cup Panko (Italian style)
Extra virgin olive oil ( as needed)
S&P

Preheat oven 450°
In a big zip lock, put flour and Tony's together and mix well
Put squash in the bag. Shake it to where each one is coated well.

In a large bowl, mix eggs and 2 splashes of milk
On a plate put panko, spread out to where it's flat)
For each of the squash, shake off the excess flour and put it in the eggs, then shake off that excess and put it in the panko. Coat on both sides.
Place on a pan (that has been sprayed with Pam)
( you want to use a pan with a lip in case the oil drips)
After all the squash are on the pan sprinkle with S&P
Drizzle each one with extra virgin olive oil
Cook in the oven for 10 min (or until golden)
Then flip
Cook for 10 min (or until golden)
Take out and place it on paper towels
Salt immediately while its hot!

Yummmmmm

Eel sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce (reduced sodium)
1/4 cup Splenda blend white sugar
1/2 cup mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
***I substituted mirin by: 1/2 cup white wine and 3 tbs of sugar, whisk well, and let it dissolve in the fridge for about 5 min)

Directions

Heat soy sauce, sugar, and mirin into a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir frequently until liquid is reduced to about 3/4 cup.

(If it starts bubbling up like crazy and it looks like a foam--you burnt it)