Sunday, April 15, 2012

Mini Turkey Meatloaves

The South Beach Diet Super Quick cookbook page 141

1 1/4 pounds extra lean turkey breast
2 slices multigrain bread chopped to very fine crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes drained and minced pls 1 teaspoon oil from the jar
4 scallions minced
1 large egg
2 tablespoons tomatoe paste
1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Heat the oven to 425'F line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment.

In a largebowl combine the turkey, bread crumbs, parmesan, sundried tomatoes, scallions egg and 1 tablespoon if the tomato paste. Blend well and form into 4 small loafs 4 inches long and 2 inches wide

In a small bowl blend the sun dried tomate oil with the remaining 1 tablespoon tomato paste the vinegar and 2 teaspoon water

Place the meatloaves on the baking sheet and brush the tops with the tomato paste mixture. Bake for 18 minutes or until cooked through but still juicy. Serve warm

Southwestern Skillet Turkey

The South Beach Diet Super Quick cookbook page 138

4 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pound turkey breast cutlets cut crosswise into 1/2 inche wide strips
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (1/2 pound) jicama peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
1 medium sweet onion cut into very thin half rings
salt
2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a large nonstuck skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the turkey and sprinkel with cumin and cayenne. Cook sturring until the spices are fragrant. 30 seconds Stir in the jicama onion and salt to taste. Cover and cook 3 minutes to slightly wilt the onion. Stir in the cherry tomatoes cover fro 2 minutes longer.

Uncover stir and cook for another 2 minutes to concentrate teh liquid in the bottom of the pan. Stur in the cilantro and serve hot.

Baked Tilapia with Toasted Almonds

The South Beach Diet super Quick Cookbook page 129

1/4 cup sliced almonds
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 (6 ounce) skinless tilapa fillets

Heat the oven to 450'F In a small ungreased skillet toast the almonds over medium heat until lightly browned about 5 minutes

Meanwhile in a small bowl stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice, marjoram and salt. Spread the mixture evenly on the fish. Place the fish on a a rimmed baking sheet and scatter the almonds over the tops

Bake for about 10 minutes until the topping is golden brown the almonds are crisp and the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork serve hot

Speedy Fajita Salad

The South Beach Diet Super Quick Cookbook page 100

3/4 pound sliced lower sodium lean deli roast beef
1 tablespoon prepared taco seasoning
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large red bell pepper thinly sliced
1/2 large yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup diced red onion
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

In a medium bowl, combine the beef and taco seasoning. toss to coat.

In a large nonstick skillet heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over meduim low heat. Add the bell peppers and cook stirring often until softened about 4 minutes add the beed and cook sturring occasionally just to heat through about 2 minutes

Meanwhile place the lettuce tomato and onion in a large serving bowl. In a cup whisk together the lime juice and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil pour over lettuce mixture and toss to coat.

Dividethe lettuce mixtureamong 4 plates and top with the beed and peppers and sprinkle evenly with the cheese and cinantro and serve warm.

Variation for phase 2 serve the beef mixture with warmed whole wheat tortilla and lettuce mixture

"Tortilla" Soup

The South Beach Diet Super Quick Cookbook page 73

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium red onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of Cayenne pepper
3 1/2 cups lower sodium chicken broth
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced Tomatoes with juice
3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 tablespoon fresh lime juice
salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a medium saucepan heat the oil over medium low heat. Add the onion, garliccumin, and cayenne. Cook stirring often until the onion is softened. about 4 minutes

Add the broth and tomatoes and thier juice. Bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes

Add the chicken and return to a simmer. Cook until the chicken is cooked through about 4 minutes

Remove the pan from the heat and stur in the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle the cliantro.

Stuffed Green Peppers with Brown Rice, Italian Sausage, and Parmesan

Stuffed Green Peppers with Brown Rice, Italian Sausage, and Parmesan

Start by cooking one cup of long-grain brown rice. I used my beloved Zojirushi Rice Cooker with Uncle Ben's Brown Rice, but you can also just follow package directions and cook the rice on the stove.


I don't remember where I learned this trick of barely slicing off the bottom of the bell pepper to make a flat spot for the pepper to stand on, but I always do this now when I'm hollowing out the peppers.


Cut off a fairly generous amount of the stem end of the pepper, because you'll be chopping that up to add to the stuffing mixture. Then remove seeds and stand the peppers up in a baking dish you've sprayed with non-stick spray or olive oil. (A dish that's close in size to the peppers will work best.)


Remove the stems, then chop up the pepper tops along with one large onion. I made this fairly small dice because I wanted it well-distributed in the rice.


Heat olive oil, then saute the peppers and onions for 3-4 minutes, until they are starting to soften but aren't browned.


Remove the peppers and onions, add a bit more olive oil, then squeeze the sausage out of the casings and saute until browned, breaking apart with the turner as you cook.


Add the onions and peppers back to the sausage, add dried spices and saute 2-3 minutes to blend the flavors.


Then mix in the cooked brown rice and Parmesan cheese and cook 1-2 minutes to warm the mixture.


Stuff the filling mixture into the peppers, pushing down with a spoon so the peppers are tightly stuffed. (A few years ago I stopped pre-cooking the peppers before stuffing, and now I prefer peppers that are stuffed raw.) If you have peppers that are smaller than I did, you might have a bit of filling left. You can bake it in a small ramekin along with the peppers. Cook the stuffed peppers at 375 F/190C for about 30 minutes.


After 30 minutes, remove from oven and put a generous pinch of grated mozzarella on top of each pepper. (The filling might have shrunk down a little, making it easy to add the cheese.)

Put peppers back in the oven and bake 10-15 minutes more, or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Stuffed Green Peppers with Brown Rice, Italian Sausage, and Parmesan
(Makes 4 large stuffed green peppers, recipe created by Kalyn when her market had a great sale on peppers!)

1 C long-grain brown rice (I used Uncle Ben's Brown Rice, but any long-grain rice will work.)
4 large green bell peppers, bottom trimmed, cap end cut off and diced, and seeds removed
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
2 links (about 8 ounces) turkey Sweet Italian Sausage (or other sausage of your choice. Use diced mushrooms instead of sausage for vegetarian version.)
1/2 tsp. ground fennel
1/2 tsp. dried Greek or Turkish oregano
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese


Cook rice according to package directions, or using a rice cooker. (Rice can be cooked ahead and used in this recipe later.)

Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Trim bottom of bell peppers so they have a flat surface to stand on. Cut off a fairly generous amount of the stem end of peppers, then remove seeds. Place hollowed-out peppers in a baking dish that you've sprayed with non-stick spray or olive oil. (A dish that's close in size to the peppers will work best.)

Remove stem part from the pepper caps and trim off any white membrane, then dice pepper caps and the onion into fairly small dice. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a large skillet, then saute diced pepper and onion for 3-4 minutes, until they are starting to soften but aren't browned. Remove pepper-onion mixture to a bowl, add 1 tsp. more olive oil, then squeeze sausage out of the casing and cook until it's lightly browned, breaking apart with the back of the turner.

Put the onion-pepper mixture back into the pan with the sausage, add the dried spices, and saute 2-3 minutes to blend the flavors. Then add cooked rice and Parmesan cheese, season the mixture with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, and cook just long enough to warm, about 1-2 minutes.

Stuff the filling mixture into the hollowed-out peppers, using a spoon to press the mixture down so it's tightly packed into the pepper shell. (A few years ago I stopped pre-cooking the peppers before stuffing, and now I prefer peppers that are stuffed raw.) If you have any extra filling, you can put it in a small ramekin and bake along with the peppers. Bake peppers for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and put a generous pinch of grated mozzarella on top of each pepper. Put peppers back into the oven and bake about 10-15 minutes more, until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve hot.

You can freeze leftover peppers for a month or two, although the frozen peppers will be a little softer in texture (but still very tasty.) I cut them in half top-to-bottom before freezing and freeze two halves in a small baking dish with a snap-on lid.

Quick Sriracha Beef Lettuce Wraps

Quick Sriracha Beef Lettuce Wraps
(Makes 3-4 servings or 6-8 lettuce wraps; recipe adapted from Nigella Fresh.)

Ingredients:
2 tsp. neutral-flavored oil like grapeseed or peanut oil
1 lb. lean ground beef (use ground beef with less than 10% fat for South Beach Diet)
1 T fish sauce (I like Three Crabs Fish sauce by far the best)
1-2 T Sriracha Sauce (depending on how much heat you want)
1 T water
zest from one large lime
juice from one large lime (about 1 1/2 T juice)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion (or double that amount if you're not using the cilantro)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 heads iceberg lettuce

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan, then saute the beef until it's cooked through and starting to brown, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks.


While beef cooks, mix together the fish sauce, Sriracha Sauce, and water in a small bowl. Zest the skin of the lime and squeeze the juice. (You may need two limes to get enough juice, but only use the zest from one lime.) Thinly slice the green onions and chop the cilantro. (Most iceberg lettuce doesn't need washing, but if yours does break the heads apart gently and wash and dry the lettuce.)


When the beef is done, add the Sriracha Sauce mixture and let it sizzle until the water has evaporated, stirring a few times to get the flavor mixed through the meat. Turn off the heat and stir in the lime zest, lime juice, sliced green onions, and chopped cilantro.


Serve meat mixture with iceberg lettuce leaves to fill with meat and wrap around it, to be eaten with your hands.


This was definitely still good when the meat mixture was kept in the fridge and reheated for a very short time in the microwave, but I liked it best freshly made.

Spicey Taco salad

This reciepy was a combination of a couple because I didn't have what I needed on hand for two different things. It was so good I just kept doing it that way.

Olive oil
1 med onion diced
4-6 garlic cloves depending on how much you like
hot sauce (I used Sriracha sauce)
1 pound of ground chicken/or turkey
1 taco seasoning packet (and the amount of water it tells you to add)
2 cans of low salt pinto beans (Drain and rinsed)
1 can of low salt black beans (Drain and rinsed)
Salsa
Letuce
Cheese (I use mexican cheese blend from costco)

In a frying pan heat up olive oil (I just make sure it covers the whole bottom) and cook the onion and garlic until tender and just before they are soft squirt in some hot sauce. (I started out a wimp and now put in WAY more and it is so good)
once cooked take off heat and set a side.

White the onions are cooking start cooking the meat in a larger frying pan. Drain off any fat. Add the taco seasoning and water that is called for, add the onions, and all the beans. Cook until the beans are tottaly cooked and everything is blended together.

I think chop up lettuce (I like iceburg best with this salad) then put bean/meat mixture on top. Then salsa of your choice (if on SBD make sure it is less than grams of sugar per serving) and top with cheese. Enjoy.

Provolone Chicken Melt

Provolon Chicken Melts
The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook pg 181
Prep Time 5 minutes Cook time 15 minutes

4 (6 Ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 teaspoons extra olive oil, divided
4 slices mutigrain bread (unless you are phase one and just do without it)
1 large garlic clove cut in half
1 whole roasted bell pepper cut into 4 pieces
4 slices of reduced fat provolone cheese

Heat Oven to broil
Lightly pound each chicken breast to an even thickness and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstuck skillet over medium heat, saute chicken until cooked through about 5 minutes per sides. Trasfer to a plate.

Lay bread slices on a baking sheet, drizzle with remaining oil. and rub with the cut sides of the garlic clove discard garlic. Place under the broiler until toasted about 1 minute.

Top each bread slice with 1 pepper, 1 chicken breast and one slice of cheese. Broil until the cheese has melted about 2 minutes serve hot.

FOR PHASE ONE
I omited the bread all together. I just layered chicken then red pepper then cheese. IT was sooo good even with out the bread.

Healthy Chicken Parm

Turkey (OR Chicken) Parmesan
Pg 172 The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook (Phase ONE)
Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 15 minutes

2 cups low-sugar pasta sauce
1/2 cup pine nuts, coarely chopped
1 ounce freshly grated parmesan cheese (1/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning
1 pound Chicken cutlets, about and 1/3 inch thick
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces shredded part skim mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup)
salt and pepper

Heat Oven to broil. Bring sauce to a low simmer in a small saucepan over meduim low heat. Remove from heat and cover to warm.
Stir together pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasonings in a wide shallow dish. Season Chicken on both sides with salt and pepper then dredge both sides in the nut mixture, pressing to adhere.
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Add chicken and cook until coating is golden brown and juices run clear. about 4 minutes per side. If nuts brown too quickly turn down heat.
Place Chicken in a baking pan top evenly with mozzarella and broil until Cheese melts about 30 seconds
Spoon 1/2 cup of warm sauce on each plate and top with a piece of chicken.