Friday, August 19, 2011

Creamy Cucumber Salad


Creamy Cucumber Salad
From BiggestLoserClub.com
A lighter version for summer's bounty

Typically, this classic salad is made by dressing the cucumbers with full-fat sour cream or heavy cream. We lighten the salad by using reduced-fat sour cream and mixing it with yogurt.

Ingredients
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/3 cup fat-free plain yogurt
1½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
1½ teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 large cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 medium Vidalia or other sweet onion, thinly sliced
In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, yogurt, vinegar, sugar, salt (if using) and pepper.

In a medium bowl, combine the cucumbers and onions. Add the dressing and toss to coat well.

Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to blend all the flavors.

Yield: 8 Servings

NUTRITIONAL VALUES
Calories: 44
Fat: 1 g
Carbohydrates: 7 g
Protein: 1 g

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Quinoa and Goat Cheese stuffed Bell Peppers (Remake)


Quinoa and Goat Cheese stuffed Bell Peppers
A recreation by Stephanie of Haley's Recipe


Prep Time: 20 Min Cook Time: 40 Min

Ingredients
1 cup Chicken Broth
1/2 cup uncooked Quinoa
2-3 green bell peppers, hollowed and seeded
1/4 lb of Ground Turkey
1 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 of a small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 zucchini, finely chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 teaspoons dried basil
1 Pkt Italian Dressing seasoning (I used Simply Organic)
1 tsp minced garlic (1-2 cloves of garlic)
1 teaspoons salt
1 pinches ground black pepper
1 tomato, seeded and diced
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
Directions

This recipe will yield enough for three stuffed peppers, but I made two stuffed peppers and kept some of the filling in a separate ramekin for my daughter who is not a fan of green bell peppers.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Prepare Quinoa as directed on packaging. Remove from heat, and set aside. (I made mine in my rice cooker...takes about 35 minutes. Also, I use chicken broth instead of water when cooking the quinoa...it gives it a lot more flavor).


Place the peppers cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and skin starts to brown. (mine were done at about 22 minutes)

While the peppers are roasting:

Cook Ground Turkey and onions with 1/2 of the Italian Seasoning Pkt. Set aside when cooked through.

In another skillet, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, carrots, yellow peppers, zucchini, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in oil for 5 to 7 minutes (until carrots are tender). Stir in the diced tomato, and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon in the ground turkey, stir until heated through.



Remove from heat, mix in the quinoa and the goat cheese, and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves. (I poured all of the ingredients into a glass bowl (ground turkey, veggies, quinoa, and goat cheese before stirring).


I had left over of the mixture, so I just put it in a ramekin to heat it through and I ate it for lunch the next day!




Return to the oven for 5-7 minutes. Serve immediately.

**Next time I would probably dice up celery and add it as well! To be honest and veggies would probably be great in this recipe...maybe I'll try asparagus too!

Hope you enjoy!