Recipes Master 13

 I've been reposting some of my prior recipes so I can improve the photo's, and in this case I am reducing the fat while I am at it!  See my previous  ugly photo and fattening recipe!    This is a rendition of Ina Gartens Salmon Cake recipe.  Like a lot of her recipes she is heavy on the butta.     I tweaked it a bit to make it healthy and really, no difference in flavor at all...none, zip, nada.    I saved a butt-load (pun intended) of fat!  My arteries are thanking me today!  I also left off the Tarragon Vinigerette   in my previous posting,but you can sure add it if you would like!  How I did it :     I sauteed the veggies in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and omitted the butter. Reduced the mayo by 1/4 cup and decreased the eggs from 2 to 1. I also increased the Dijon to make the patties hold together. I sauted in olive oil instead of the sugge...

With our little family of 3 (well 4 if you count our dear daughters boyfriend who we love to feed!).  This is a perfect size Holiday meal, in fact, I plan on making it on non-holidays it was so tasty and easy! Some helpful hints: Buying the turkey breast :  You can get turkey breasts, bone in or boneless and both will work fine for the recipe.  Just depends on how handy you are with your fillet knife.  If at all possible, try to get a fresh one that hasn't been shot up with sodium filler.   Make sure your knife is sharp and don't worry, you can't screw this up!  If you have several pieces, just press them together before you pound it. Once it's all wrapped up, no one will never know! The filling :  I used stuffing because that's what I had...but roasted red peppers and Fontina would be yummy, so would spinach  and ricotta.  Turkey Roll Corden' Blue?  Why not, sounds delicious to me! Ingredients 1 boned turkey breast half (about 1 3/...

 You can use this basic recipe to make homemade Panini's that are as good as any fancy sandwich shop or restaurant.  I used fresh Mozzarella, Pesto and Roasted Red Peppers for a Caprese style Panini.    I substituted  Roasted Red Peppers instead of traditional tomato because I think it adds a lot more flavor and tomato's can make  your sammie mushy.  If you use tomatoes, be sure to deseed or chop in pieces before grilling. This is more of a technique than a recipe.  You don't need a fancy Panini press to make these.  All you need is a non-stick grill pan, a heavy pan to weight it down. (like cast iron or even a dutch oven will work) and a piece of foil.  Bread - oh so important when making the perfect Panini.  I have tried several, but my favorite is sourdough.  It is crunchy, but soft enough to eat. The grill marks show up nicely too.  Some of the Artesional breads like are so tough tha...

The top 4 favorite soups of the last year!            

This will soon become your favorite weeknight winter meal.  It is so hearty you will forget that it's lean ground turkey!  The meat and potato lovers in your house are soooo gonna love you! I can see the meat statue they will be erecting in your honor.  Post pics!  I love meat statues!  Who doesn't? I adapted this from a Cooking Light recipe from 2001. (big surprise, love their stuff).  They use canned French Onion Soup in lieu of fresh sliced onion and beef broth. It doesn't have nearly the depth of flavor a fresh onion will bring you....and the sodium, holy cow I get puffy just thinking of it! I encourage (and I use that term lightly), to serve this dish with mashed potatoes. It makes this dish.  My husband makes the best mashed potatoes ever! I am not sure what he does or how he does it, and I am never going to ask . It's his little corner of the kitchen...you ...

    I know, another soup recipe!  But I got a hankerin' for some soup. It's fall and we had a longer than normal summer and I'm ready for winter food!   I've been making this soup for years, it's adapted from an old Cooking Light recipe.  ( FYI: old Cooking Light recipes are the bomb...new ones?... not so much).   The secret ingredient...are you ready?  It's Light Velveeta cheese...oh you shut up you cheese snob, you know you love Velveeta! Who doesn't?...and it's LIGHT cheese, yup, it's healthy. Who knew?  :)    (secret: if you can't find Velveeta Light Cheese or the $7.00 per block price tag is a bit high.  You can either: a.) use the full blown fatty stuff or, b.)  substitute 12 slices of American light cheese.  (ie: 2% American cheese slices). My husband says he can tell when I cheat and use the slices...so be warned.  He has a cheezy palate so he might be right. (who c...

I know, this looks like every other soup I love to make...but this one is different.  It' has a secret....a yummy, gooey secret.  Shhhh, come closer, let me whisper in your ear...it's called YUM!  A scoop of yummy, gooey goodness lies underneath the quiet tomatoey exterior and it is heaven my friends. I can hardly wait wait for my fellow soupateer Jamie to try it.  She is hooked on my Gnocchi "crack soup" but I this might just become her new addiction!  Let me know Jamie! So what exactly is this secret yum you ask?  It is a scoop of ricotta cheese that has been mixed with parmesean,  a bit of oregano, salt and pepper. (make your own  ricotta if you have an extra 10 minutes).  You add a dollop to the bowl, ladle the soup over and top with mozzarella!  What kind of pasta?  For this photo I used broken up lasagna noodles and it worked pretty good but you might find it easier to use a rotini type pasta...up to you, you still get ...

We have been eating a whole lot of ground turkey lately (organic of course), in lieu of ground beef.   I still think beef makes a better burger but this recipe should kick your turkey buns up a notch! Chopped up pepperoni slices, some pesto mayo, provolone and yumbo!  If you dont' have pesto on hand, mix a little garlic and dried basil with your mayo for a very close rendition.  I like to cook my turkey burgers in a cast iron or nonstick pan instead of the grill, they are much juicer.  But if you choose to use the BBQ, for heavens sake don't press the burger patty down with your spatula ...jeeze that just makes me nuts when I see people doing that!  All the juices go right to the bottom of the BBQ and you are left with a turkey burger carcass. Another trick for a juicier turkey burger is to avoid cutting into the burger with a knife when checking for doneness, this releases all the juices.....press down on the patty with ...

Crisp, refreshing and easy!   This recipe calls for store bought Ranch Dressing...yes, I said it, 'Redneck Ranch'. Personally, I am not a huge fan of Ranch,  (because I am so cultured an' stuff),  but in this recipe it works. I bought the higher end brand in the cold food section, I paid more, so I am sure it is better.  If you don't like Ranch (or just don't want to admit you do), mix mayo and lemon juice...makes a sprite little dressing. (did I just say sprite when describing food?  OMG, I think I am evolving!) Ingredients 2 cups dried rigatoni pasta (which will  yield 4 cups after cooked) 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce 1 cup cubed sharp cheddar cheese 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup cooked, chopped bacon (I buy the already cooked type and crisp it up in the microwave, my favorite is Trader Joe's Apple Smoked Bacon). 3/4 cup Ranch Dressing - adjust for your taste Pepper to taste Directions Cook Rigatoni according t...

What I love about this salad: Rotisserie chicken from supermarket Easy Low calorie/healthy Thai peanuty goodness Inexpensive Ingredients you probably have on hand No cook Great lunch leftovers But mostly...really, really tasty!  The crunch of the cuc's and the peanuty sauce with the crispy Wontons really pack a punch! Ingredients 6 cups of your favorite salad (I used a mixture of Romain and Kale but bagged, shredded Iceburg works well too). 2 cups shredded chicken 1 sliced cucumber 1/2 cup sliced green onion 1/2 thinly sliced red pepper  8-10 Wonton wrappers 1/4 cup vegetable oil Dressing 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter 1/2 cup hot water 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon sesame oil Juice of one lime 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes or hot sauce (more if  you like it spicy) 1 finely chopped garlic clove Directions Combine all dressing ingredients with a whisk and refridgerate for 15 minutes. Cut Wonton wrappers diagnolly. Heat 1/4 vegetable oil on medium high heat until ...

Crunchy Oven Fried Shrimp with Spicy Peachy sauce!  I can't get enough of them!  I will make the peach sauce over and over again, I can already taste it with salmon and turkey burgers and pork chops and chicken and fish and...well you get the point. It's yummy! The sauce is so simple, it is made out of peach preserves, ground ginger, honey and hot sauce...nuke it a minute and instant dip!  You can even use sugar free preserves and get amazing results. I tried the shrimp a couple different ways - soaked in buttermilk, dipped in egg, and just Panko and then dipped in regular bread crumbs and then again with a bread-Panko combo, and that was the best. These little wonder shrimp have been tested and re-tested.  (Thank you Mr. Kirk for your very valuable opinion...he has a very tough job, being my official taste tester.) The shrimp are also very low in calorie, so make tons and double your batch of the peachy sau...

Simple, simple, simple!  Just a few ingredients plus an hour to marinade and "Bob's Your Uncle"!  I used  organic chicken thighs with fresh ginger and garlic...but you could easily substitute chicken breasts (try to stay organic if  you can) and ground, garlic and ginger...you get near the same results! Ingredients 2 pounds chicken thighs (bone in or out, doesnt matter) 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 1/2 cup orange juice 1/2 cup soy sauce Directions Toss everything in a ziploc type bag.  Seal the bag and mush it around so everything is coated. Refrigerate for an hour or overnight. Heat up your favorite grill and cook until done!

The first time I ever had a Quesadilla Burger was in Palm Desert,  after 18 holes of golf with our very dear friend's, Raela and Bob...both prolific golfers and lovers of good food...and guess where they took us to have this fine burger?  Applebees! 'So, if these guys are such 'food lovers', Kathi,  why did they take you to freakin' Applebees?' you ask.   Well, I'll tell ya why!...Applebees is the only place to get this burger...at least the only place I know of, and Raela knows good food ...so when the food whisperer speaks...I listen!  And you know what? Applebees burger is good, good and creamy with processed gooey cheese and buttery grilled tortilla's...and I want it...I want it bad.  But my old ticker is saying, stop with the greasy food already.  So here we go again,  same old song running in my head: burger? health?...burger?...health?... sometimes the burger wins an...