Baked Blueberry French Toast

This recipe comes from the Mayo Clinic as part of their weight management program.  In the middle of making this, I discovered that I should have started making it last night!  The recipe recommends allowing the bread to soak at least 8 hours, but I let it soak 20 minutes and it turned out just fine. Perfect brunch to get our Saturday started!  I did cut the recipe in half for just 2 of us.

Night before breakfast:
8-10 slices of french baguette or sourdough bread
4 egg whites
1 cup soy milk (I used almond milk)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp brown sugar

1. Spray a 9 inch square baking pan or lasagna pan with cooking spray, lay out bread in a single layer
2. Whisk together remaining ingredients until frothy and well combined.
3. Pour egg mixture over bread, cover and refrigerate until bread has soaked up the liquid.

Morning of breakfast:
3/4 C fresh blueberries, whole or chopped
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp canola oil (if you're not worried about calories, use melted butter)
1/4 C chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Sprinkle blueberries over bread.
3. Combine brown sugar, nuts and oil, sprinkle over bread and berries.
4. Bake until golden brown and blueberry juice begins to bubble, about 20 minutes.

You can sprinkle a little powdered sugar for appearances although I'm sure that makes it a lot less diet friendly!

Creamy Taragon Chicken Salad

I'm addicted to this chicken salad. So was my neighbor in McKinney, TX when she was pregnant. I was making a lot of this salad and packing it in containers for her. When I told her we were moving, she said, oh I'm going to miss you, now can I have your chicken salad recipe?

You can poach and shred your own chicken or you can buy a roasted whole chicken from the grocery store deli and tear it apart. I recommend this because it's way easier and if I can avoid touching raw chicken, I'm a happy girl! You can also make it healthier and use low-fat everything, but I just can't give up my mayonnaise yet so I use regular mayo.

1 whole roasted chicken, shredded with as much meat as you can scavenge
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2/3 cup low-fat sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 cup finely diced celery
1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes, halved or quartered, depends on how big you want your chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Or use a toaster oven.
2. Spread walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until golden brown. Watch them carefully because its very easy to go from golden brown to burnt black when roasting nuts!
3. Stir to combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
4.  Let chill for 30 minutes before serving. I mean hey, you can totally eat it right away but there's something yummier about cold chicken salad on soft sourdough bread!

Turkey Sausage and Cheese Tortellini "Soup"

The recipe calls it soup, but I think it's a heartier dish than that, but it's still light enough for a summer dinner.  It's also souper easy, ahahhahaha! If you can't find ground Italian turkey sausage, just buy the links, cut the skin open and scoop out the meat inside.

1 lbs ground turkey Italian sausage, hot or mild, your choice
1 (16 oz) package of cheese tortellini
1 (14 oz) fat free beef broth
1 (15 oz) can Italian stewed tomatoes
Parmesan cheese

1. Boil tortellini according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, brown sausage in a medium to large sauce pan.
3. Add beef broth and allow sausage to simmer a few minutes to let the flavors mingle.
4. Add tomatoes with juice, break up big chunks of tomato with a spoon.
5. Simmer sauce while the tortellini finish cooking
6. Add tortellini to sauce and serve with a sprinkle of good Parmesan cheese


*Adapted from Cookinglight.com 

Coconut Rice

I had this at a Thai restaurant and loved it so much, I asked the waitress how they made it. She disappeared for a few moments and came back with the "secret" recipe.  It's an awesome alternative to boring white rice! I scaled this recipe for two people but you can easily adapt it to feed 4-6 people, just use the serving directions on the back of the bag of rice and replace half the liquid with coconut milk.

***Make sure you rinse the rice off or you'll end up with paste! Put rice in a bowl, fill with water and let soak for a few moment, empty water and repeat until the water is no longer cloudy***

Butter, enough to coat the bottom of a small sauce pan
2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 Cup white Basmati rice, rinsed
1 Cup coconut milk
1 Cup water
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

1. Saute ginger in butter until fragrant.
2. Add rice and stir to coat with butter/ginger mix
3. Add water and coconut milk, bring to boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
4. Stir in salt
5. Serve with a sprinkle of cilantro

***Crock-Pot Alert*** Tuscan Pot Roast

We just moved to California where everyone said "oh, you don't even NEED air-conditioning." But then a heatwave rolled in and the house was waaaaay to hot to turn the oven or stove on and we were out of gas for the grill...Crock Pot time!

This was delicious with egg noodles but you could serve the pot roast over rice also.  This recipe makes a ton of food so plan for left-overs...

1/3 cup olive oil
1 2lb bottom round pot roast (I used a small brisket trimmed of fat since I couldn't fine bottom round)
2 large onions, cut into quarters
2 celery stalks, sliced thin
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup dried mushrooms (porchini, cremini or portobello)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes

1. Heat oil in a large skillet (preferably not non-stick) over medium-high heat. Brown roast so that all sides have a nice golden color. Transfer meat to slow-cooker.
2.  To the oil, add onions, carrots, celery and garlic, cook until veggies are tender stirring frequently for about 10 minutes.
3.  Add tomato paste and stir to coat vegetables. Transfer to slow-cooker.
4.  Pour the wine into the pan and scrape up any brown bits left in the pan. Let simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Add the heated wine to the crock-pot.
6. Sprinkle dried mushrooms, oregano, salt and pepper over veggies and meat.  Add tomatoes with 1 cup  of their juices.
7. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Lemon Shrimp with White Beans and Couscous

It seems like I haven't cooked a good meal in weeks, but yesterday I unpacked my pots and pans and most of my dishes.  The first thing I did was run to the nearest fish monger for some shrimp.  We've lived so far from the ocean for several years now so we didn't always get the freshest seafood. In fact the words, "what the F---is that smell?" was a frequent phrase whenever I did feel brave enough to buy the sad looking crustaceans at the grocery store. Not this time. In fact I shoved my face in the bag to try and get a whiff. You know it's fresh when it doesn't smell!

This dish is easy and very, very delicious.  I would be pleased to serve this to guests. Although for guests I'd use the full amount of butter, for us I used half. If you don't like couscous, you could use rice or even pasta.

1 Box plain couscous
dash of salt & pepper to taste
3 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
1 lbs raw medium shrimp, peeled & de-veined
1 can cannellini or white beans, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1. Prepare couscous per instructions on box.
2. heat 1 tblsp butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add garlic and scallions, cook until garlic becomes golden
3. Add shrimp and cook until pink on all sides.
4. Stir in beans, parsley, lemon juice, remaining butter, salt and pepper. Cook until heated through.

Serve with couscous and a salad.