Broccoli Slaw Salad

I love having salads for lunch. But I don’t always like making salads for lunch. Unless everything is already cut up or pre-made for me, I would more likely grab something like a piece of bread and turkey in a rush, rather than sit down and eat something really good for me. I made this salad one day using a little shortcut of bagged shredded Broccoli Slaw that you can find in your grocery store produce section. To it I added, some grape tomatoes, chickpeas, crumbled blue cheese and balsamic vinegar. It doesn’t take long and it will definitely satisfy your taste buds. And bonus… its good for you, like a good salad should be. Note: If you aren’t a fan of blue cheese, try it with gorgonzola, it’ a little milder and equally delicious. I used Ile de France’s St. Agur blue cheese recently for this salad and wow, my taste buds were singing! Good stuff! Broccoli Slaw Salad Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen Recipe makes enough for 1 or 2 people (depending if it’s the main dish or a side) 1/2 bag of pre-shredded broccoli slaw 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half 1/2 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained 2 oz crumbled blue cheese or gorgonzola cheese (I used Ile de France St. Agur blue cheese) 2-3 TB balsamic vinegar 1 tsp olive oil salt and pepper to taste Combine veggies, beans, and cheese in a bowl, gently toss with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Top with crumbled cheese.

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Broccoli Slaw Salad

East Meets West Burger

You may have heard of the ” It’s What’s For Dinner Wednesday ” project around blog world this past week. It’s a weekly event in September put on by Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner where a lean beef recipe is posted each Wednesday for bloggers (or anyone!) to cook and review. The best part of it is once you review the recipe on their recipe page here , you will be entered into a drawing to win a gift bag filled with The Healthy Beef Cookbook, a set of Crate & Barrel Grilling Tools, Sur La Table Mini-Steak Thermometers, a reusable shopping bag and other items to help you shop for and cook healthy beef meals! Check out their Facebook Page daily for lots of great beef recipe information and to also find out what the weekly recipe is! This week’s recipe is a fresh new take on your average burger. We loved the slaw topping and sesame-soy mayonnaise that made this burger different. I loved the slaw so much that I turned it into a “salad” to eat alongside my burger for a healthier meal. My husband ate his the way it should be eaten, but on an Arnold Sandwich Thin instead of a regular hamburger bun. The only changes I made to the recipe was to include some chopped green onion into the beef mixture and to

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East Meets West Burger

Garlicy Crab Cakes

I’ve been finding it really hard to find time to blog lately…between a long vacation, birthdays, school and now a new member of our family, my time has been well accounted for and unfortunately blogging has not made the list. It’s all good though…it’s been a fun and full couple of weeks. And speaking of a new member of our family…I would like to introduce you to Dexter. He is the sweetest little guy. I adopted him from my sister Lina , who has been his foster mom for about a month now. He needed a home and once we met him it just felt right. He’s a Black Lab/Hound mix and is 14 weeks old…and he fits right into to this already crazy household! Ok…on to the eats. I made this last weekend for lunch and it was such a treat! We don’t eat crab cakes too often, for the obvious reason that crab meat isn’t cheap, but when we do we relish every bite. My husband goes nuts over crab cakes. When I make crab cakes I normally follow the Old Bay recipe found on the side of the can…but this time I got a little creative. I added lots of pressed garlic and used Dijon instead of regular mustard. They turned out great and I am happy to say I would make them this way again! I served them over a delicious salad full of good stuff…fresh spinach, romaine, red pepper, red onion all tossed in a homemade dijon vinaigrette. Garlicy Crab Cakes Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen 1/2 cup panko 2 TB mayo 2 tsp Old Bay 2 tsp fresh chives, snipped (or 1 tsp dried) 1/2 tsp Dijon 1 egg 4 cloves pressed garlic (or finely minced) 1 lb lump crab meat In a large bowl, combine panko, mayo, Old Bay, chives, dijon, egg, garlic and crab meat. Mix gently and form into patties. Broil or fry until golden brown on each side.

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Garlicy Crab Cakes

Lemony Orzo Salad – Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club

Our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club chose to make something light for lunch for the month of September. If you are like me, a turkey sandwich just doesn’t always cut it in the lunch department. It’s nice to change things up a bit, for the sake of health as well as variety. Here’s what is on the lunch menu this month… Lemony Hummus with Spicy Whole-Wheat Pita Chips – Val of More than Burnt Toast Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich – Helene of La Cuisine d’Helene Lemony Orzo Salad – Aggie Vegetarian Minestrone – Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch Chocolate Fudge Snack Cake – Jamie of Mom’s Cooking Club Doesn’t that all sound so good? Check out each member’s blog for links to the recipes and their own photos! (this recipe calls for feta…I didn’t have any on hand so I substituted grated Parmesan cheese…) I really enjoyed the Lemony Orzo Salad . I am a huge fan of orzo, it’s a rice shaped pasta and can be enjoyed in many types of dishes such as a pasta salad. I loved the simplicity of this dish…lots of chopped up vegetables paired with a whole grain (I used whole wheat orzo). You can easily add something like chickpeas or grilled chicken for protein to make it a balanced meal in itself. The lemon in the dressing brightened it all up! And since the recipe makes a nice size batch it will last you for a couple of lunches (or make a great dish for dinner!). For a printable copy of this recipe click here . And don’t forget to visit the other members of the Virtual Supper Club for more great lunch ideas! Enjoy!

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Lemony Orzo Salad – Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club

Grilled Rosemary Swordfish with Capers

(Grilled Rosemary Swordfish with Capers served with Grilled Red Pepper and Squash Salad) Aaah….I’ve been missing my blog lately. I haven’t been cooking much these past couple of weeks. I think it’s because it’s August and disgustingly humid hot, and because the kids and I have been keeping busy finishing up the summer before school started. School started this week for us and I officially have two preschoolers now. My two little butterflies love going to school, you won’t find them crying at morning drop off…but quite possibly when it’s time to go home instead. Yesterday, during my new found 3 hours of (child-free) freedom, I checked out a local fish market called Lighthouse Seafood in Lake Mary that I’ve been wanting to check out for a long time. Apparently they have been around for 6 years…I had no idea! I’m sad that I didn’t visit them sooner. They have some great stuff in their little shop, most of it caught by their own boats right off our coasts. You would think that wouldn’t be so uncommon here in FL, but I have not found many local fish markets in the area that actually catch their own fish. I had a nice chat with the owner Glenda and it turns out she is from the same area in S. Florida that my hubby grew up in, and he actually knows her niece from high school…small world! I love visiting mom and pop shops, I literally walked in and said I wanted to pick up something for dinner and next thing you know we are talking recipes and I left with a beautiful piece of fish. What I really loved about Lighthouse Seafood – other than the actual seafood – is that they have a wall full of their own recipes to share with their customers! Little things like that really stick with me…you can tell these people really love what they do and take care of their customers too. I’m sending my hubby there for his next blogging assignment soon! Speaking of…it made me smile that so many of you enjoyed his first blog post last week ! It was really fun for him (and for me) and I am thrilled that he got into the “cooking thing” and might actually do it again! Ok, now onto the recipe…I found this recipe on the “recipe wall” at the fish market, when I told Glenda the owner that I wanted to grill some fish for dinner she walked me right over to this recipe…it sounded absolutely delicious! And it was!! Grilled Rosemary Swordfish with Capers Recipe from Lighthouse Seafood in Lake…

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Grilled Rosemary Swordfish with Capers

Spaghetti with Chicken and Vegetables in Lemon Sauce

Those of you who follow me on Facebook know that I was excited about participating in a conference call with Bob Greene (yes…Oprah’s Bob Greene!) last week. I was recently contacted by Barilla about their “That’s Whole Grain?” Taste Challenge and they asked if I would be a part of an informational conference call with a handful of other bloggers. The conference call would be a Q & A session with Bob Greene about nutrition and fitness and of course how to incorporate healthy whole grains into your diet. Most of you already know that Barilla products such as their Whole Grain pasta line has Bob Greene’s Best Life seal of approval which consumers look for to find “healthy” product choices. After Barilla contacted me and explained the “challenge” to me I looked in my pantry and found several boxes of their whole grain pasta. The “challenge” is to go out and buy a box of Barilla Whole Grain pasta and try it. If you don’t like it, they will send you a voucher for a regular box of their other pasta. Not such a bad deal is it? I personally have been using this line of pasta for quite some time already. I don’t really remember when I made the switch to whole grain, but once I did, I never thought twice about it. I come from an Italian family so it’s not like I don’t eat white pasta…but I do make it a habit to go whole grain for more “everyday” eating if you know what I mean. It’s what I cook for my husband and kids and they honestly don’t know the difference. I made this pasta the other night and it’s one of those all in one meals that can be thrown together with whatever veggies you have on hand. I started with this recipe that my sister in law sent me after I told her I had a ton of fresh sage in my herb garden. I used Barilla Whole Grain Spaghetti and took the recipe just a bit further and added some fresh veggies to it…red pepper, squash and zucchini…dinner was complete. I love adding lemon to a pasta dish like this, it’s perfect for a night where you don’t want to eat too heavy and aren’t in a saucy type of mood. Leave a comment and let me know if you plan on participating in the Barilla “That’s Whole Grain?” Taste Challenge or if you are already a fan of whole grain pastas. If you have a favorite healthy pasta recipe go ahead and share it with the rest of us by leaving a link to it! Enjoy!

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Spaghetti with Chicken and Vegetables in Lemon Sauce

Stuffed Turkey Burgers

I’m not excited about the pictures I took of these burgers. These little guys were just not very photogenic. I guess that happens sometimes. But, good pictures or not, these burgers were awesome. Stuffed Turkey Burgers were this week’s pick for Craving Ellie in My Belly . Thank you to Peggy at Pantry Revisited for choosing this recipe, my husband raved about them! I love the method used in this recipe, you make two smaller patties first, put the “stuffing” in the center of one of them, then top it with the other patty and seal the edges. It’s honestly so easy and you can really turn these babies into any kind of burger you want! Ellie’s recipe calls for stuffing with roasted red peppers. Being the unorganized cook that I proudly am, I had used up all of my roasted red peppers for other meals early in the week, leaving none for this recipe. Oh well…time to improvise. I had some sun dried tomatoes and fresh spinach in the fridge so that’s what I went with, along with the shredded mozzarella. As I was reaching for the salt and pepper, I picked up Greek seasoning instead. And a new recipe was born. To keep things really healthy, I served the burgers on Arnold’s Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins , my new favorite sandwich bread. Since all the toppings were stuffed inside, all I needed was a little ketchup and I was happy! So sure…I might have over grilled the burgers a bit, I get paranoid with ground turkey…but I promise you…they were

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Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Firecracker Shrimp Stirfry…and a peek inside Julia’s Kitchen

I spotted a shrimp recipe on Pioneer Woman’s amazing site recently and couldn’t wait to make it. I love shrimp, and love anything spicy even more so this was exactly something I knew I had to make. Last night, I was ready to fire up the grill to cook up the shrimp when something like a monsoon came over us. Lightning, rain, thunder, wind…all of it, and very typical of summer in Florida…so needless to say, I wasn’t overly excited about standing in the porch watching delicate shrimp cook up on the grill. It was time

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Firecracker Shrimp Stirfry…and a peek inside Julia’s Kitchen

Summer Chicken Parmesan

If you asked me where my keys, cell phone or sunglasses are…I may not be able to tell you. But if you asked me what we had for dinner at a friend’s house 8 years ago…then I just may be able to tell ya. Seriously…some meals are unforgettable right? Well, approximately 8 years ago, before my husband and I were married, we met up with a couple of his high school friends who were house sitting not far from where we lived at the time in Orlando. They invited us over for dinner, and I remember having a really nice evening with them. I also remember what they cooked…grilled chicken, topped with chunky tomato sauce and pasta. Something about this meal stuck with me…maybe it was the good company, or maybe it was just how good and fresh it tasted. I specifically remember our friend squeezing the canned whole tomatoes with his hands to make the sauce…you would think this would not be new to me…but apparently it’s taken me 8 years to actually make sauce this way on my own. Something about using whole tomatoes in your homemade tomato sauce…once those tomatoes get broken up, the smell of freshness is so overwhelmingly delicious. You’ve got to try it yourself. We enjoyed this meal with some Summer Vegetable Gratin and of course some good Chianti… Summer Chicken Parmesan Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen 3-4 chicken breasts olive oil salt and pepper to taste 2 large cans whole peeled tomatoes 2-3 garlic cloves, minced bunch fresh basil leaves shredded mozzarella cheese freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 pound whole wheat pasta Cook pasta according to directions on box. Season both sides chicken with olive oil, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Place over hot grill over medium heat. Cook for approximately 4-6 minutes on each side, depending on thickness. You can tell chicken is cooked through when juices run clear when pricked with fork or knife. Or cut through thick portion of chicken to check. After you take chicken…

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Summer Chicken Parmesan

Peach & Blueberry Crumbles and Oven Baked Onion Rings

Well today you are in for a treat. Two awesome recipes from two great ladies, Ina Garten and Ellie Krieger. A little of this… and a little of that… If you are a reader of this blog, then I’m sure you know by now that I’m a big fan of both ladies and am often cooking up their recipes. Which is why I’m a member of two cooking groups – Barefoot Bloggers and Craving Ellie in my Belly . These groups are dedicated to making their recipes and sharing them with each other. This month was a little extra special for me because it was finally my turn to choose one of July’s Barefoot Blogger recipes! It didn’t take me too long to pick Peach & Blueberry Crumbles, I was in the mood for a summery dessert, and since I’m not a very talented “baker”, a fruit crumble was exactly what I had in mind. Right now in Florida, peaches and …

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Peach & Blueberry Crumbles and Oven Baked Onion Rings

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