Healthy Jalapeno Coleslaw

I am trying a new slow-cooker pulled pork this week, so I knew I wanted to try my hand at making a coleslaw for the first time. I wanted to make something much lighter than your usual mayo-based slaw, and this one I came across at Food.com fit the bill! It tasted so good when I got it ready last night... and the word is it tastes better the next day! I will give you that final verdict after dinner tonight, but I had to share this with you all now!!

Healthy Jalapeno Slaw

You will need:

-6 cups pre-shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix

-2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

-6 green onions, chopped

-2 jalapenos, finely chopped (you can decide whether to keep the seeds or not; I took most of them out)

-1/4 cup cider vinegar

-3 tablespoons honey

-1 teaspoon salt

It's so easy, too! Chop all your veggies. 

Combine all ingredients. Cover and chill for at least 2 1/2 hours (overnight is even better!) 

D was ready to dive into this last night, so he definitely approved! I can't wait to have it for dinner tonight! Yum!!

Linking up with:

Berry Sopapilla Cheesecake

I am sure Sopapilla Cheesecake is a recipe that some of you are familiar with. It's a tasty, easy go-to dessert that we have been bringing to potlucks for several years now!

I lighten mine up a little by cutting waaaaay down on the sugar and butter. The other night at my in-laws, they made one other slight change that just sent this dessert over the top!! Frozen berries. :)

Berry Sopapilla Cheesecake

You will need:

-1 (8 oz) package of neufchatel cheese, softened

(neufchatel has 33% less fat than cream cheese, and it melts better)

-3/4 cup white sugar (I ended up using even less than this)

-any type of frozen berries, I used cherries and blueberries

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-2 (8 oz) packages of reduced fat crescent rolls, refrigerated

-1/4 cup melted butter

-1 tsp ground cinnamon

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 inch baking dish

*Beat the neufchatel, vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup of the sugar until smooth

*Unroll the first can of crescent dough into a 9x13 rectangle (don't separate the individual triangles)

*Press the sheet of dough into the bottom of the baking dish. *Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the dough, then place the berries throughout the cream cheese.

*Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and cover the berries and cream cheese with this layer of dough

*Brush the dough with the melted butter

*Stir together the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and the cinnamon, then sprinkle evenly over the cheesecake (I used just enough sugar to lightly coat the top)

*Bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown.

Let it sit for about 10 minutes, and then drizzle honey over the whole thing. Cut into squares to serve!

Yummy! This is divine straight out of the oven, but also equally tasty cold out of the fridge the next day! 

Easy-Peasy Lasagna for Two

Most of you know about my goal for 2011 to cook with fresh, natural ingredients and to stop throwing food away because it doesn't get eaten or used. Usually, this means when making meals, I portion out single servings and freeze them for use at a later date. 

Sometimes, though, it's nice to make just enough for D and I to have dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. Especially on an occasion like this week... we are just returning from vacation (which means catch-up on chores, including July menu-planning) and D is having to run all over town for work, making it difficult for him to take his lunch often. 

That made this lasagna perfect for us tonight! I didn't need much of any one ingredient, I was able to lighten it up pretty nicely (one of my favorite things to do!), and it was extremely easy! 

Most people that don't make lasagna often complain that it's a labor intensive, multi-pan/pot meal so they rarely bother. This one went from saute pan to the oven in a lasagna pan with little work! Serve it with a green salad and you're good to go!

Easy-Peasy Lasagna for Two

You will need:

-half a pound of spicy italian sausage

*I usually use 1/2 pound of ground sausage, but the store didn't have any. Instead, I used 2 links of hot Italian sausage and just removed the casings.

*You can lighten this up even further by using lean beef or ground turkey. My honey just really likes the heat and flavor from the sausage, and I have to agree! You can use fennel seeds to add a "sausage flavor" to any of these ground meats!

-about 6 lasagna noodles, UNCOOKED (I used whole wheat)

-about a quarter of an onion, diced

-about 6 mushrooms, sliced

-a 10 oz bag of fresh spinach

-half a jar of Classico's Spicy Tomato Basil sauce (one of the tastiest and lowest calorie spaghetti sauces I have found!)

-about 6 oz of fat free cottage cheese

-grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

-part-skim grated mozzarella

-1 clove of diced garlic

-salt and pepper

*Preheat oven to 350. In a deep skillet, brown the Italian sausage (breaking up the links into small chunks). After a few minutes, add the onion, mushrooms, and garlic. While this mixture starts to cook down, roughly chop the entire bag of spinach. Add this on top of the sausage and vegetable mixture. It will look bulky and full, but place the lid on your pan and allow the spinach to wilt for a couple of minutes. Once the spinach wilts a bit, stir it all together.

-Next add the half jar of Classico sauce and stir in. Bring to a simmer and let cook for several minutes. 

*NOTE: The spinach will release quite a bit of moisture, causing this mixture to be watery. We are avoiding the need to pre-boil the lasagna noodles, so this is a good thing. Do not drain the mixture and be sure you don't use a slotted spoon when assembling the lasagna... we NEED the juice!!  :) If we don't have enough, the noodles will not cook in the oven!

-Now you're ready to assemble! I used an 8x8 lasagna pan. Start by putting a ladle-full of the sauce mixture on the bottom of your pan.

-Next, I took 2 noodles and broke one end on each to make them fit into the lasagna pan. The 2 leftover ends fit together perfectly to create the 3rd row of noodles. Next, layer more sauce. 

-With a spoon, dot the cottage cheese throughout the layer of sauce. Top that with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and then a layer of shredded mozzarella. 

-Next, add another layer of whole wheat noodles and repeat the same procedure as above until your sauce mixture runs out. Top the entire lasagna with a final layer of mozzarella.

-Cover the pan in foil and bake in a 350 oven for about 25-30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15-20, or until the cheese starts to brown.

Not only is this an easy recipe, it's also SO versatile! Sometimes I omit the sausage, add zucchini and basil, and it's a veggie lasagna instead! Ricotta cheese can also be a replacement for the cottage cheese, but I don't find the lighter version as readily available as fat-free cottage cheese. 

Devilish Chicken

It makes me feel so incredibly smart when I know the answer (technically, question) to Final Jeopardy and all the other contestants get it wrong. :) Mini-win, yeah! 

(yes, I may have been watching Jeopardy while typing this)

Anyway.

When I first saw this recipe, I thought maybe it was called "Devilish" chicken was because of the red ingredients... red bell pepper, paprika, etc. But as I cooked, the mustard and paprika mixed together, making my whole kitchen smell so much like Deviled Eggs! Once again, Rachel Ray is quite the clever one!! D and I loved this dish!

Devilish Chicken

You will need:

-little bit of olive oil

-2 tsp paprika

-1 tsp dry mustard or 1 Tbsp spicy mustard
(I used 1 Tbsp Gulden's Spicy Mustard (it ROCKS!)

-salt and pepper

-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

-1 medium onion, thinly sliced

-4 garlic cloves, minced

-1 red bell pepper - cored, seeded, quartered lengthwise, and sliced into thin strips

-1 Tbsp tomato paste

-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

-1 cup chicken broth (I use 99% fat-free; low-sodium)

In a large skillet, heat some olive oil over medium-high heat. Mix the paprika, mustard, and some salt and pepper together (If you use the spicy mustard, it becomes like a paste... this is what makes it smell like deviled eggs) and season both sides of the chicken breasts. 

Brown the chicken in the skillet on one side for a few minutes, then flip it and sear the other side. 

For now, remove the chicken and put a foil tent over it so it stays warm. To the same pan where you removed the chicken, add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes. Cook the vegetables, stirring them frequently, for about 5 minutes. 

Add the chicken stock and bring it to a simmer. 

Add the chicken back into the pan and cook another 10-14 minutes (depending), flipping the chicken occasionally. Remove the chicken from the skillet to a platter.

You can finish the sauce by turning the heat off and adding a little bit of butter, stirring to melt it in. you can also add parsley if you want, but I didn't have any. Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

**I completely cheated on my "fresh and natural ingredients" and served this with a can of french-style green beans. Eek, right? Whatever, when I was in college, my bestie and I would eat them by the  can with just a little salt and pepper. Yum. :)

Spiced Apple Porkchops, Roasted Broccoli

First of all, I don't think vegetables will EVER be the same! 

We roasted our broccoli for this meal and it was nutty and crunchy, yet tender and sooo scrumptious! We ate up every bit and would have had more if there was even a morsel to spare. You must try this if you haven't already! And if you have, shame on you for never sharing your secrets!! ;)

Spiced Apple Porkchops with Roasted Broccoli

(Courtesy of, who else?.. Rachel Ray)

You will need:

-1 large head of broccoli

-3 garlic cloves, minced

-salt and pepper

-little bit of olive oil

-4 boneless pork loin chops

-1-2 Tbsp butter (Rachel Ray says 2 Tbsp, but I used less and light butter instead)

-1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

-2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves (stripped from 4-5 sprigs), chopped

-1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

-1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

-1 tsp ground cinnamon

-1 cup chicken stock (I use 99% fat-free, low-sodium)

-Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Trim the end off the broccoli stems and use a peeler to remove the outer layer on the stems. The inside of the stalk is really tender once you remove the thick, fibrous, outer layer! Cut the broccoli lengthwise into spears and place them on a baking sheet. Toss them with the minced garlic, salt and pepper, and a drizzling of olive oil. Roast them in the oven for 15 minutes, until the florets are brown and crispy!

While the broccoli is roasting, heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chops on both sides with salt and pepper, then sear them in the pan for a couple of minutes on each side until they are golden brown. Remove the chops from the skillet and reserve.

To the skillet, add the butter, onion, thyme, sliced apple, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions and apples are tender. 

Add the chicken stock and bring it to a simmer. Finally, add the chops back in and simmer until the chops are cooked through (about another 8 minutes). Add the lemon juice and stir.

**I was concerned that it might be a little too sweet with the cinnamon and apples, but the tart from the Granny Smith went great with the onions and the sweetness of the red bell pepper! Yum!!

**We loved the roasted vegetables so much that we roasted the zucchini, tomatoes, and mushrooms needed for dinner the next night. Sooooo delicious!

OH! And here's just a small peek at some of the stuff I got for my classroom! :)

Veggie Pasta Toss and Amazing News!

Any So You Think You Can Dance? fans out there? I am loving that we are finally in a new season! Anyway, D and I are keeping score this season with who can predict eliminations... after last night we are tied at 1. :) I knew they'd keep Ryan (even though we both think Missy was h.o.t) and D figured Ricky would get to stay after that solo! We shall see how the season progresses! 

Moving on. :) I still have lots to share from Father's Day weekend and a few more recipes to catch up on...this week has been quite the whirlwind!

But I am sharing this recipe today because there is also a little bit of AWESOME news to go with it! 

I will officially be teaching 

8th grade English in the Fall!!

After 3 1/2 years of searching, God has blessed me - not only with a job - but the job I WANTED! I was prepared to teach any subject, any grade... anything necessary to get me in the classroom. Instead, He gave me a job teaching something I am most passionate about. My 8th grade English teacher is the one who instilled in me the desire to teach Language Arts, and now I am going to be teaching at the very same middle school where she inspired me years ago! This is literally my dream job. I just found out about it yesterday and it still kinda feels like a dream. :D Thank you, Jesus!! 

D had work and softball obligations last night, so I went over to my bestie's house to celebrate with some lovely girlfriends! I had planned on cooking, so I cooked this dish for the girls and I thought it was yummy! It's also a 30-minute meal, which is always a plus!

I didn't get any pics of the cooking process this time, sorry!

Rachel Ray says this is a 4-serving meal... 

but we easily made six servings of it! 

Her recommended portion sizes are kinda huge!!

Veggie Pasta Toss

(Courtesy of Rachel Ray)

You will need:

-Salt and Pepper

-1 pound short cut pasta (I used penne rigate)

-1 10 oz box of frozen spinach, defrosted and wrung out to remove liquid

-little bit of extra virgin olive oil

-1 medium zucchini (cut in half then little half moons)

-12 cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced

-1 medium onion, thinly sliced

-3 garlic cloves, chopped

-1 TBSP unsalted butter

-2 TBSP all-purpose flour

-1 cup chicken stock

-1 cup skim milk

-1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

-1 1/2 cups fat free ricotta

-1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

-1 cup fresh basil, about 20 leaves, chopped

Start your pasta water first and have pasta cooking while you do the veggies. HEADS UP: You will need to reserve about a ladle full of the pasta water before you drain the pasta.

Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. Add the mushrooms and zucchini and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then, add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper and cook about 5 minutes more (until the onions are tender). Finally, add the defrosted spinach, separating it into small bits...toss to heat them through. Transfer the veggies to a dish and return the skillet to the stovetop. Add the butter and a little more olive oil. When the butter melts, add the flour, stir and cook for a minute or so, then whisk in the chicken stock and the milk. Bring the sauce to a bubble and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until reduced and thickened. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Slide the veggies back into the sauce.

Place the fat free ricotta in a large shallow bowl and combine it with the ladle of boiling pasta water. Add a couple handfuls of the grated Parmesan cheese. 

Drain the pasta and toss it with the cheeses. Add the vegetables and chopped basil (reserve a little basil to top it with), toss to combine. Adjust seasonings, enjoy! :)

Lasagna Rolls

D and I love italian; it's one type of food we make quite often! I have shared photos of this meal and how TASTY I thought it was in a previous post, but we had it for dinner last night so I figured I would share the recipe this time!!

Lasagna Rolls

(courtesy of Gina's Skinny Recipes)

You will need:

Once again, the original recipe is in black...

any modifications I made are in blue italics! :)

-9 lasagna noodles, COOKED 

-10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and completely drained (I chopped fresh spinach and steamed it)

-15 oz ricotta cheese (I couldn't find it this time, but I usually use fat-free ricotta. I had to settle for part-skim this time...I think next time I will try cottage cheese and see if it works out the same)

-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

-1 egg

-salt and pepper

-32 oz tomato sauce (I used a 24 oz jar of Classico Spicy Tomato and Basil... it was PLENTY of sauce)

-9 TBSP shredded part-skim mozzarella

-I also added 1/2-pound of ground Italian sausage, browned (do this 1st and let it cool a little)

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine spinach, sausage, ricotta, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and egg in a bowl. 

Ladle about a cup of sauce into the bottom of a 9x12 baking dish.

Making sure your noodles are completely dry, lay them out on a piece of wax paper. Take about 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture and spread it evenly over the noodle. Repeat for all noodles. (I did all the noodles at once before I started rolling them. That way I could adjust the amount of filling so they were all even...to make sure they'd cook evenly)

Roll each noodle carefully and 

place seam side down in the baking dish. 

Ladle sauce over the noodles and place about 1 TBSP of the mozzarella cheese over each one. Cover tightly in foil and bake until the cheese melts, about 40  minutes. 

Serve 9, since each lasagna is one serving.

These portion-sized lasagnas are perfect with a side salad and great to take for leftovers the next day!

Sweet and Spicy Pineapple Pork

Sweet and Spicy Pineapple Pork

(courtesy of Rachel Ray)

with Baked Sweet Potatoes 

and Cream Cheese-Stuffed Jalapenos

This recipe for porkchops was delicious. We have a similar one we use where each porkchop is in its own foil pack w/ teriyaki, pineapple, onion, pepper, etc and placed on the grill. This was a little different simply because the pan sauce was made separately from the chops! Still soooo yummy... plus that meant I could make the sauce while hubby manned the grill... double-duty in the kitchen means we eat a little bit sooner!

Here is the original Rachel Ray recipe:

As usual, I made a few modifications based on what I already had in my kitchen. Those changes are in blue italics.

You will need:

-3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

-Four 1 1/2-inch-thick boneless center-cut pork chops

-1 large red onion, chopped (I used a large shallot I had leftover)  

-2 garlic cloves, chopped

-1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and shopped

-1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, finely chopped

-One 8-ounce can of pineapple chunks, in juice

-1/2 cup chicken stock or broth

-1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley (I didn't have this, so I used a little chopped green onion. YUM!)

Rachel's recipe tells you to preheat the oven to 375. Heat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons on the EVOO, and sear the salt and peppered chops for a couple minutes on each side, then finish them in the oven for about 8-10 minutes. Let them rest while you make the sauce.

I put salt and pepper on the chops along with a little Montreal seasoning, then gave them to the hubby to put directly on the grill. I only used my skillet for the sauce.

For the sauce, put the skillet on medium-high heat and add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions(shallots, in my case), garlic, bell peppers, jalapenos, salt, and pepper - cook for 3-4 minutes until the veggies start to wilt. Add the chunked pineapple (with its juice) and the chicken stock. Cook the sauce for another 3-4 minutes. Add the parsley (green onions, for me) and stir to combine, then pour the sauce over the chops.

Rachel Ray's recipe suggested serving this with white rice or sweet rolls, but we did neither. 

We wrapped some sweet potatoes in foil (that D first scrubbed clean, covered in olive oil, then added kosher salt to the skin) and threw them on the grill first thing. We finished those off with a small sprinkling of brown sugar and a little bit of cinnamon. They absolutely melted in our mouths... it was like candy!!

After chopping a jalapeno for the sauce, we still had a couple jalapenos left that needed to be used. We also had some half-slices of low-sodium bacon leftover from breakfast on Saturday. I grabbed some neufchatel (melts better than regular cream cheese and has 33% less fat) cheese, stuffed the jalapeno, then wrapped it in a half slice of bacon.

Those went in a cast-iron skillet, then on the grill with the chops and sweet potatoes!

via

We enjoyed our dinner while watching the Mavs play! We had also spent some time at the pool that day, so D fell asleep during the 3rd quarter of the game. I tried and tried and tried to wake him up all during the 4th quarter; I knew he wouldn't want to miss seeing them win the championship! There was NO waking him, unfortunately, but at least I got to watch the Mavs win it all in Game 6!! Go Dallas!!!!