Grilled Eggplant with Feta & Tomatoes

Preparation

Finished

                                                 


Serves 4
Prep time/10 minutes
Cooking Time/ 10 minutes


Ingredients

1 large globe eggplant trimmed and cut into slices
4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons Cilantro
1 Teaspoon  Old Bay Seasoning
1 Teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup Feta cheese

Directions

Prepare the grill by brushing with olive oil and setting on med-high temperature
Brush both sides of the eggplant with olive oil
Add cilantro,Old Bay seasoning, and black pepper
Place on grill and cook each side for 4 minutes
The eggplant should be well marked and grayish in color
Remove eggplant to the unheated side of grill
Place the cherry tomatoes on a vegetable grill pan and place on grill for 3 minutes
Remove the eggplant from grill and place in a pretty dish and add tomatoes
Sprinkle the Feta cheese on the eggplant and tomatoes and enjoy!

Steak On The Grill

Luxury Meal, Grilled Steak w/ Grilled Mushrooms ,Salad, Baked Potato, And Grilled Onions

 Lifestyle changes does not mean you have to completely
give up foods you love. With a little modification foods from your luxury list can sill be enjoyed without having to worry about weight gain.
















 Foods to modify for healthier alternatives to lifestyle changes

Butter : Smart Balance: Heart Right.  www.womenshealthmag.com

Salad Dressing: Kraft Balsamic Vinaigrette.  www.caloriecount.about.com

Sour Cream: Kraft's Fat Free Sour Cream.  www.myfitnesspal.com

Personal Pan Pizzas

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Servings 4                                                                                                                                                                   

Ingredients

4 wellness tortilla wraps
2 cups pizza sauce
pizza spice
black pepper
1 cup sliced and diced turkey

4 banana peppers sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 cup spinach
1 cup onion
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup pineapple
1 cup  mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven or Wolfgang Puck Pizza oven to 425
Lay out your wraps and spread pizza sauce evenly on all four
Add 1 /2 teaspoon of pizza spice and pepper to bread mixture
Top each pizza with the rest of toppings until all four pizzas are to your liking
Place on a pizza stone or aluminum foil for pizza grill.
Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes
Serve hot or cold.

M husband and I make 3 or 4 so we have leftovers for lunch the next day. waste not....want not.....

Fabulous Dinners!

 If you ever find yourself  visiting Winston Salem, North Carolina, be sure to go downtown and eat at the Phoenix Grille. Your taste buds will not be disappointed. In Pigeon Forge, if it is a steak you want, the Grill Master at The Alamo will not disappoint you! The Selu Garden Cafe, at Harrah's in Cherokee, North Carolina has the best fried green tomato burger anywhere!

Phoenix Grille

Grilled Chicken & Shrimp w/Chutney Sauce

The Alamo

 









     

Fried Green Tomato Burger

Selu Garden Cafe

Let's Go To The Great Smoky Mountains!

Traveling should be fun ! As my husband and I celebrate our 1 year anniversary, we are traveling to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and hiking through parts of the Great Smoky Mountains. I decided to share my trip to show you how to still eat good but also how to modify your food choices to reflect your new lifestyle changes. 







 A good way to eat healthy and stay on a budget is to pack your snacks for the road, stay at hotels with free breakfasts, have your lunches picnic style, and save your fabulous meals as your dinner choices. We had so much food left-over that we asked for takeout boxes for next days picnic!

Healthy prepared snacks for the road!

A good freezer bag and picnic bag is a must!

 

Lunch at Wrights Creek!

Healthy and filling!

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

It doesn't seem to matter what age your children are, be it age 3 to age 30, when they are sick mother's come running. Nothing spells "I love you" more than homemade chicken noodle soup.
This recipe has been adapted from:  www.southernfood.com.







Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients 


4 large boneless chicken breast cut in cubes

31/2 cups water

3/1/2 cups 99% fat-free & no MSG chicken broth

2 teaspoons pepper

1 carrot chopped

3 stalks celery chopped

1/2 cup parsley,  chopped

1 teaspoon basil

4 fresh thyme sprigs

4 ounces of dried wide egg noodles


Directions


Place all the ingredients, except the noodles in the Crock Pot. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours

Add the noodles

Adjust the temperature to high

 Cook 45 extra minutes


Add my Hot Turkey Melt from my blog, a cup of applesauce, and some cranberry juice. This

combination is a sure fire way to help a loved one recover from what ails them.
 

Beef Stir-Fry

A rainy day calls for some down home cooking. I have teamed up my Dad's Country Cornbread with some delicious Beef Stir-Fry. You can find my Dad's Country Cornbread recipe on my blog.


Beef Stir-Fry

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound beef sirloin, cut into 3 inch strips 

1 teaspoon  steak seasoning for marinating

1 red and 1 green pepper cut into strips

1/2 cup reduced sodium Worcestershire Sauce 

1/2 cup water

Directions

 Place beef in a large glass pan and add steak seasoning, marinate for 15 minutes

Heat olive oil on low heat in a large skillet ; add steak and brown, 4 or 5 minutes

Add peppers, worcestershire sauce, and water

Cover and simmer  until peppers are tender

Serve with rice and cornbread

Baked Sweet Potatoes 4 Minutes or Less!

 Did you know that it is recommended that you include some fat in your meal when eating a root vegetable ? Why? Research has shown that this fat increases our intake of beta-carotene. This has been shown to help decrease cardiovascular disease as well as oral cavity, and lung cancers.  Http://www.nutrition-and-you.com

Potato Express Bag

My husband and I were very happy when we found this bake potato bag for the microwave. It really works and is less than ten dollars. We love baked potatoes but they take so long in the oven and they were cooked somewhat tough in the microwave until we found this bag. We like white potatoes but have substituted sweet for most of our meals as sweet potatoes carry more punch in nutritional values. If we are grilling out we place the microwaved potato in foil and keep it warm on the top warming rack on the grill.



Grilled Chicken For Two

Ingredients

2 chicken breast

1/2 cup fat-free Italian dressing

 2 tablespoons rosemary, parsley, and basil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

Place thawed chicken breast in a glass pan

Soak with a Italian dressing in refrigerator for 2-3 hours

Before grilling add herbs and lemon juice to the chicken

Place on a preheated grill that is hot, set at medium-high heat

Allow the chicken to cook until they are charred on each side around 4 minutes

 or until the meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees.

Note: My husband cooked Turkey bacon and wrapped around his chicken . He placed it back on the grill for an extra two minutes. 


Grilled Vidalia Onions


Grilled  Vidalia onions are simply the best. This is a sweeter onion so you are not left with the aftertaste, just the good taste. We just peel the onion and brush some olive oil on it. You can use skewers or just slice round and grill to 5-10 minutes. I like to see the grill marks on mine.

Steamed Broccoli

Use package directions.

Grilled Pork and Pineapple Tenderloin

Preparation

Finished

Grilled Pork and Pineapple Tenderloin 

Ingredients


1 (1 pound) pork tenderloin

1 teaspoon Kansas city steak seasoning

1 can (8 ounces) unsweetened pineapple slices

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon  lemon juice

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons of  cilantro


Directions


Place pork loin glass dish and add steak seasoning

Marinate overnight in the refrigerator

Preheat grill to high

Drain pineapple, brush with olive oil and lemon juice

Add oregano, black pepper, and cilantro

Cook on grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side and set aside while pork grills

Place tenderloin on hottest part of grill

Turn as it browns on all sides around 12 minutes total

Reduce heat and allow the tenderloin to cook until a meat thermometer reads 145 

Let this helpful website be your guide when cooking pork:
 Http://www.porkbeinspired.com

Remove from heat and add grilled pineapple

Heart Healthy Oatmeal

Heart Healthy Oatmeal

This article at www.medmd.com, explains to us the importance of not skipping breakfast. It is important for weight loss and just as important for keeping it off. My husband and I have started to eat a lighter breakfast and save our larger meal for dinner.

Oatmeal is our breakfast of choice. We top it off with fresh fruit and I like to mix mine with fat-free yogurt. When you do this you do not need to add butter or sugar. Add a glass of cranberry juice, as it is rich in antioxidants, and a cup only adds 45 calories to your breakfast. Add a cup of your favorite brew and you are good to go until lunch. Your heart will thank you for it.

Hot Turkey Melt

Simple foods for a simple lunch! It only takes ten minutes to make this tasty and nutritious lunch.















Hot Turkey Melt


Ingredients


1 Spinach and Herbs Tortilla Wrap

1 tablespoon mushrooms drained

2 teaspoons mozzarella cheese

1 or 2 slices fat free Smoked Turkey Breast

 1 teaspoon mustard

 Baby Spinach  if  desired


Directions


Place tortilla wrap on microwave safe dish

Spread mustard on wrap

Add mushrooms, cheese, turkey breast, and spinach

Heat in microwave 1 minute

Add black beans and applesauce with cinnamon as your sides


Skinny Mocha


Ingredients

1 cup French vanilla coffee

2 shots sugar free raspberry syrup

1 scoop of fat free whipping cream

1 teaspoon sugar free chocolate syrup

Your favorite cup or mug!

Frugal Farfalle and Spinach

Are you hungry and in a hurry? Is your budget stretched thin this month? Then this inexpensive, quick, and tasty dish is right up your alley.




Servings  4

Yield  4 (main-dish) servings

Prep Time  15 minutes


Ingredients

2 cups Farfalle (in the south we call these bow-ties)

2 98% lean hamburger patties

1- 4 ounce can  mushrooms (drained)

2 cups spaghetti sauce

1 cup fresh or frozen spinach (thawed)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Fresh ground black pepper


Instructions

Cook  pasta in a medium-size pot according to package directions

Crumble hamburger into a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown

Add mushrooms, spaghetti sauce, spinach, Italian seasoning, oregano, and black pepper

Drain Farfalle and add to hamburger mixture

Simmer on low for 10 minutes

To make this meal complete simply add fruit or a dessert. This meal cost us 4.12  and we had enough for lunch the next day.

Dad's Country Cornbread

With Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday's fast approaching it is time to start gathering your recipes to prepare some family favorites.While working toward my assocates degree just a few short years ago, I had to do a project in math. I chose to share my dad's yummy cornbread recipe and used his bread bowl, Hull pottery mixing bowl, and most importantly his cast iron skillet to take a trip down memory lane.



Total Time:
40 min

Yield:8
Level:Easy

Dad's Country Cornbread

Ingredients


1-1/2 cups enriched white cornmeal
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of sugar/ or substitute 2 packets of Equal
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups of buttermilk
1 egg
2 tablespoons of bacon drippings, or real butter
1 tablespoon of solid vegetable shortening or substitute 1 tablespoon of canola oil

Directions

Grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet and place in a preheated oven for 8 minutes
In a large bowl sift together dry ingredients
In a separate bowl add buttermilk(or add 2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk
Add egg , butter, and oil.
Stir until there are no dry spots, but the batter should be lumpy
Pour the batter into the prepared pan
Bake on 425 for 20-25 minutes
Spread on Honey-Butter while hot and cover the bread with a pretty towel.

Honey Butter

Ingredients

1/4 lb butter
2 tablespoons of  honey

Directions

Whip your butter and then add honey, whip until smooth.

Lunch on a Shoestring Budget

Creative Food Art Lunch

As we age our bodies are slowing down but life itself sure hasn't.  It is hard to eat a healthy lunch when fast foods are so accessible. When our society is faced with fries versus a piece of fruit, the fries are winning hands down. A tasty but nutritious lunch takes some creatively on our part. Why not make it fun? I am sharing some lunches that my son and his girlfriend are preparing for each other as they complete their college degrees.

Creative Food Art Lunch

Creative Food Art Lunch

 

Creative Food Art Lunch

Tea and Cookies. A new twist on an old favorite.

                                     Tea and Cookies. A new twist on an old favorite.

Did you know that 1 ounce of dark chocolate a few times per week can help protect your cardiovascular system? 

No Bake Preacher Cookies

Prep/10 minutes /Cook/5minutes/ready in 35minutes

Yields: 20 cookies

Ingredients

2/3 cup of Agave

¼ cup Almond milk

 ¼ cup cocoa powder

¼ cup peanut butter

3 tablespoons applesauce

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups rolled oats

Directions

I find these cookies easier to make if you measure out all of your ingredients beforehand.

Mix Agave, milk, and cocoa powder together in a quart size pot

Bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 more minute and remove pot from heat

Stir in peanut butter, applesauce, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add oats until thoroughly mixed and drop by tablespoon onto wax paper.

Cool completely before placing in an airtight jar or freeze in zippered freezer bags

Memories

One of my favorite memories associated with making these cookies is the time my sister Mary and I made these cookies close to the Christmas holidays. We goofed on our very first batch. The cookies would not come off the wax paper. My brother (who was a Chief of Police at that time) still wanted them. He came by in his patrol car and grabbed each sheet of cookies and carried them out of the house at arm’s length. He gently placed them side by side in the trunk. He said most of the neighbors were standing at their front doors, gawking, as he drove by. He had to eat the cookies with a spoon. My sister didn’t live there for very long.