Recipe Redo: Carne Bistec

Originally posted in April of 2012, I thought this recipe could do with a little picture update!

Well, time seems have gotten away from me. Sorry about that, but I'm back. Trying to balance school and work has proven to be a difficult task. But I have finally gotten into graduate school, so I'm not nearly as worried about everything as I was.

This recipe comes courtesy of Skinnytaste, by far one of my favorite websites and my blog inspiration. It is delicious, just make sure you are on the heavier side with the spices. I served it with brown rice, but Gina suggests serving it with a sunny side egg on top. With a side salad, it is a complete and delicious meal!

Mint and Watermelon Soda Floats

I was looking at clothes online the other day and one of the websites mentioned getting ahead on fall styles. While fall is my favorite season, I don't want to get rid of summer just yet. With the surgery on my legs in May, I was not able to enjoy summer like usual. I also had surgery in June of last year, so last summer was out, too. Now that I am able to walk around, it is time to make the most out of these last few weeks.

This drink will help you do just that. It's full of summer flavors - the cool mint, the refreshing watermelon, and the ice cream, just for good measure. I think you should try to make this drink as much as possible between now and Labor Day. 

Vegetable Fried Rice

Happy Monday!

During the week, I generally like to eat healthy and then splurge on the weekends. One of my favorite splurges is Chinese food, but I have not had it in a long time. I guess about a year and a half ago, my favorite Chinese restaurant closed down. Since then, I haven't really wanted to get it any other place.

If you look at the back of the restaurant, the sign is still there. As I drove by this weekend, I realized that I wanted to recreate one of my favorite dishes.

This isn't Ocean East's vegetable fried rice, but it will do. I'm sure there are more authentic ways of cooking this dish, but when I wanted it, this satisfied the craving.

Coconut Shrimp

I must admit, shrimp and I have never really gotten along. Fish is pretty much the only seafood that I like to eat. However, I went out to eat a couple weeks ago at a restaurant and coconut shrimp was ordered as an appetizer. I tried a bit of it and I was surprised that I actually like it. Since I do tend to have limited taste interests and in the interest of expanding my culinary horizons, I decided to try to recreate the shrimp at home. Since I also had no clue what I was doing, I got this recipe from Skinnytaste.

While shrimp definitely is not my favorite food, I think I am learning to tolerate it a little more. Next on my "to try" list are scallops.

Sausage, Kale and Lentil Soup

This soup is really simple to make and packed with delicious flavor. I found the recipe on Martha Stewart and of course modified it to make it light. I found it to be really filling because of all the fiber from the kale and lentils and the protein from the sausage. One bowl was all I needed to be satisfied for the rest of the night. It is low in points, which makes it even more delicious!

This is the first time I have ever cooked kale myself. I've eaten it many times, but something about the stems and the huge leaves seemed daunting to me. I was really happy to find out that there was nothing daunting about working with kale. I plan on trying out other foods that I've been avoiding for similar reasons soon.

Spiced Turkey Burgers

I'm so sorry for neglecting this blog. I'm taking my last two nursing school prerequisites and I also work full time. Now that I am learning to manage my time a little bit better, I hope to be bogging regularly again! To make it up to you, I have an absolutely delicious recipe. I mentioned before that I went out of state to visit some nursing schools and while away I stayed with my aunt for a few days. One night, she made these turkey burgers and I knew that they needed to be shared ASAP. So here they are!

I cooked these on my George Foreman grill, but they would also be great broiled if you don't have one or it's too cold to use an outdoor grill. The spices are not exact, so feel free to adjust them to your taste.

I ate these without a bun because we didn't have any around. The would be fine with one and worked very well over a salad as well.

Carrot Muffins with Cinnamon Glaze

I love carrot cake and carrot muffins. I saw these muffins on Allrecipes and knew I had to try them out. I made a few adjustments and they were perfect. Dense like muffins should be and the glaze gives it a delicious sweetness. I brought them for a family dinner and they were a big hit! They were such a big hit that I only got that one picture of them. Oops!

Even though the glaze needs to be given time to thicken, it is still pretty runny, so it is not really evident in the photos.

Flourless Brownies

You will never guess what makes these brownies flourless. I was a little skeptical when I first read the recipe. How could those be any kind of acceptable substitute? But since I am a sucker for anything chocolate and I am really, really trying to cut down on white flour this year, I decided to go ahead and give these a try. I am so glad I did. They were very moist and chocolate-y, perfect for brownies. This is another recipe that I got from my Whole Foods Recipe app and here is a link to it online. I made a few adjustments, especially since I am not a fan of nuts in my brownies.

OK, ready for the secret ingredient?

Yup, black beans. Who would have thought these would work? Just make sure you process the beans to be very smooth in a food processor and you're good to go!

Coconut Hot Cocoa

I love coconut and I love chocolate. So when I saw this recipe from Weight Watchers I knew I would love it. The coconut milk makes the hot chocolate really smooth and creamy and delicious. It is the perfect ending to a cold day.

 

Pumpkin Cornbread

More pumpkin?? I mentioned in another post that I stocked up on canned pumpkin when I heard that there might be a shortage. So I'm not quite done with the pumpkin yet! Since the weather is almost seasonable (I should not be able to get away with just a sweater in December in New England) I have been wanting a lot of soup and chili. What a better accompaniment than cornbread? Add pumpkin to that and it's almost perfect.

Another suggestion for this cornbread is to serve it with honey or maple syrup drizzled on top. A deliciously sweet end to a dinner. Or as a quick, on the go breakfast.

Mayoless Tuna Salad

If there is one thing you should know about my food tastes is that I hate mayonnaise. Hate might actually be a bit too soft. I deplore it. I really like tuna, but it is my opinion that most people ruin it with gobs of mayo. I decided it was time to figure out a tuna salad recipe that did not use mayonnaise for all the haters out there like me.

Whenever I have had tuna in the past, I just through together a bunch of spices and poured them in and hoped for the best. I saw this recipe on Eating Out Loud and decided it was a perfect starting point to refine my tuna recipe. I mentioned before that I also hate olives so I thought capers (YUM) were the perfect substitution. I also threw in  few spices that I enjoyed on my tuna before.

I served this on a baguette with the insides scopped out. I'm sure it would work well on any type of bread, or if you prefer, on its own.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Yummy pumpkin bread and chocolate chips, the perfect fall treat. When I hear that there may be a canned pumpkin shortage this season, I stocked up, hence all the pumpkin recipes. Now there is canned pumpkin everywhere, but I'm still enjoying all the pumpkin foods. The pumpkin bread recipe comes from Gina at Skinny Taste. I added the chocolate chips because I think the combination goes well together. This recipe is perfect for an afternoon snack or as nice breakfast with a cup of tea.

Making lightened up versions of baked goods is not something I am not too familiar with. I find cooking to be a lot easier because the measurements can be very imprecise and adding something or taking something away doesn't necessarily detract from the dish. Baking is more like a chemistry experiment - everything combines in some way to make the final product and deviating too much can cause problems. Even so, I am excited to begin experimenting with making baked goods lighter.

Cranberry Squares

Tart cranberries with a sweet frosting. What says holidays better than this dessert? I made these for Thanksgiving and they were a big hit. They are fairly simple to make, but look like you put a lot of time and effort into them. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is not too sweet. There is no extra sugar in the frosting and it serves as the perfect accompaniment to the both sweet and tart filling. This recipe makes a lot, so it is great to serve at your next holiday party.

I got this recipe from the same Land 'O Lakes cookbook that I adapted my Snickerdoodle Ice Cream recipe from. I lightened it up a bit of course, but I doubt that any of the taste was sacrificed. Also, I'm sure frozen cranberries would work fine instead of fresh.

Sausage, Peppers and Onions

These sandwiches are absolutely delicious and taste just like the sandwiches you would get in the ballpark. Since you make these at home, you can be sure of where your sausage and other ingredients come from. Baseball season is over, but you can enjoy these sausages year round and without the guilt.

I used sweet Italian chicken sausage from Whole Foods and it came out wonderfully. Feel free to vary the sausage - hot or mild turkey or regular Italian sausage will work fine as well. Next time I make it I will probably use a mixture of mild and hot sausage.

I served the sausage mixture on top of Portuguese rolls, which added 4 Points+. Any type of bread will work, or you can serve over pasta. I'm sure a nice crusty baguette to soak up all the juices would be really tasty.

Slow Cooked Pumpkin Oatmeal

This is a delicious recipe sure to keep you satisfied. It is packed with fiber to keep you full for longer, and of course breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I put this recipe into my slow cooker before bed and woke up to a delicious meal.

By itself, this oatmeal is not very sweet. I sprinkle some brown sugar in top. My dad likes it with maple syrup. If you add maple syrup and whipped cream, then this can also double as a nice warm dessert. You can also add more agave syrup to the slow cooker as well.

I set this for 6 hours overnight. There may be variations in the amount of time this recipe needs to cook, but 6 hours seems a pretty reasonable amount of time.

Pina Colada Smoothie

Missing summer? We all of a sudden had a return of the hot temperatures reminiscent of August rather than September. While I love the fall and its crisp weather and pretty leaves, I was glad summer decided to make one last appearance. I though this recipe would be perfect to say farewell to summer until next year.

The nutrition information for this recipe is based on using 1/2 fat ice cream. I have been having trouble finding fat free ice cream for some reason, but if you have it, I am sure it would be fine in this recipe.

Maple Nut Muffins

I got the idea for this recipe from one of my old Bisquick cookbooks. Since the weather is (slowly) turning colder, I decided it was time to start using the oven again. Something about maple syrup always reminds me of fall, so as the leaves start to change color, I thought this would be a perfect recipe. I modified the recipe significantly to make it lighter and to also change the taste up a little bit. The maple flavor is pretty subtle, but definitely still there. These muffins are best served warm and with a big cup of tea.

To make these muffins even lighter, I am sure you could use Splenda brown sugar. I am not a big fan of cooking with artificial sweeteners, but chances are it will not change the taste very much.