No "crab" rangoons

Ingredients:


I love crab rangoons. I could absolutely eat them once or twice a week but my jeans wouldn't fit! I created this version to help feed my craving! I'm not a fan of imitation crab meat, so I left out that ingredient. If you like it, add it in!

- 8 oz of fat free or 1/3 the fat cream cheese
- 2 wedges of laughing cow cheese (I used the French Onion kind)
- 1/2 of a medium white onion diced
- 2 Tablespoons of sugar
- Pinch of garlic powder and onion powder
- 1/2 bunch of scallions sliced thin
- 1 tsp of low sodium soy sauce 
- 1 package of nasoya wonton wrappers per batch (you can find them in the tofu section of the grocery store)


 Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients except the wontons in a bowl and let it sit out until soft (about an hour). Mix well. Preheat oven to 375.

Lay out a wonton wrapper and fill it with 1/2 tbsp of the mix. 

Wet the edges and seal them together to make a triangle.Make sure you have a tight seal so that the filling doesn't pour out while cooking.

Fold over the edges.

Continue for the rest of the wrappers. Spray a cookie sheet with pam and lay down the wontons. Spray the tops with pam so they can get crispy.

 

Place in the oven for about 12 minutes or until crispy. Be sure to flip them 1/2 way through so they can evenly get crispy. Enjoy!

Sweet BBQ Turkey Meatballs

Looking for an absolutely easy recipe to bring to your next summer cookout? This is the one! The crock pot does all  the work while you can sit back, enjoy the sunshine and drink a cold beer :)


Ingredients:

(1) 32. oz bag of frozen turkey meatballs
(1) 18 oz jar of grape jelly
(1) 18 oz container of honey BBQ sauce (I used sweet baby rays)
Green onion if desired for garnish

Directions:

Place the crock pot on low heat. Add the meatballs, grape jelly and bbq sauce. Mix well. Cover. Let them cook for at least 3 hours.

If you are cooking them ahead of time, after 3 hours, turn the dial to "keep warm." When you are ready to serve, garnish with chopped green onion!

Roasted Veggie Croissants

I made these the other night for a family party and they were delicious! 

Ingredients:

1 onion

1 package of mushrooms

1 zucchini

1 summer squash

1 red pepper

1/2 bunch of asparagus

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1 tablespoon of EVOO

1 teaspoon of sea salt

1/2 lb of white American cheese sliced from the deli

2 packages of crescent rolls

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400. Ready to chop? Chop all of the vegetables into small small pieces. And I mean SMALL pieces. Make sure you have a radio near by or a friend to help! Once they are all chopped up, mix them together with the EVOO and sea salt in a mixing bowl.

Next, lay out the mixture in a baking dish and place in the oven. 

Once the vegetables are starting to get crispy, take them out of the oven and stir them. Place them back in the oven until they are cooked through and roasted. Remove the dish from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes. Lower the oven heat to 375. Lay out the crescent rolls and cut each triangle in half. Cut the cheese in quarters and place the cheese squares in the middle of the crescent triangle. Spoon 1 spoonful of the vegetable mixture in the center and wrap the dough around so that one of the ends is covered in dough. Repeat for all of the rolls. Place on an un greased cookie sheet and place them in the oven for 9-12 minutes or until crispy brown. Take them out of the oven once they are done cooking and allow them to sit for a few minutes. Serve!

Parmesan Garlic Seared Scallops

I love the taste of scallops. While fried scallops are awesome, the deep fried-ness takes away from the flavor of the scallops. Parmesan and garlic taste awesome with anything so I decided to try it with my pan seared scallops and it was a delicious combination!

Ingredients:

-1 lb of fresh off the boat sea scallops (If you're going to use frozen, don't bother because they will get watery and dried out)
- 2 tablespoons of butter
-1 tablespoon of minced garlic
-1 tablespoon of fresh grated Parmesan cheese
-5 twists of a sea salt grinder
- fresh parsley for topping

Directions:

In a large frying pan (a large frying pan should fit all of the scallops if they are large enough, if not cut the recipe in half and make 2 batches), melt 2 tablespoons of butter on medium. While that is melting, place the scallops, garlic and sea salt in a bowl and coat well by mixing. Once the butter is melted in the pan, place the scallops in the pan until they are well seared on one side. Flip when they are seared. Once the other side is seared, flip again so that the hot side is facing up. Top with the fresh grated Parmesan cheese and allow it to lightly melt. Place on a plate and garnish with parsley. Easy huh?

Bread Dip

This recipe is super duper easy and super duper delicious! It's always a hit when I bring it to a party!

Ingredients:

(1) 16oz container of sour cream
1 package of Good Seasons garlic and herb salad dressing packet
1 bread bowl
2 fresh loaves of bread of your choice (I used 1 french bread and and 1 loaf of wheat bread)

Directions:

Mix together the sour cream and salad dressing mix. Let sit for 3 hours. Hollow out the bread bowl as shown in the picture. Fill with the dip. Cut up the breads into bite sized pieces. Serve. Yummy. Easy. Enjoy.

Crabby Bites

My mom used to make this recipe for family gatherings and it was always a great crowd pleaser! It is not an original recipe so I am giving credit where needed! 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter soft

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons of mayonnaise

1 (5oz) jar of Kraft Old English cheese spread

1 (6oz) can of flaked crab meat

1 (6 count) package of English muffins.

Directions:

Pre heat your oven to 400. Mix together the first 5 ingredients. Slice the English muffins in half then quarter them like in the picture. Top the English muffins with the mixture. Place them on a cookie sheet and let them bake at 400 for about 15 minutes or until browned like the above picture. Serve away!

Crock-pot Kielbasa

Kielbasa is so delicious and so dang easy to make! It's perfect for football parties because it doesn't require much work and in the crock pot, it stays hot all day long! Not to mention, it makes your house smell wonderful! Here is my recipe for fool proof Crock-pot Kielbasa!

Ingredients:

2 links of uncooked kielbasa

1 medium white onion

1 jar of grape jelly (32oz)

1 jar of chili sauce(12oz)

Directions:

In your crock-pot, combine the jar of grape jelly and the jar of chili sauce.

Cut up the Kielbasa into slices (about 1/4 inch in thickness) and place on top of the grape jelly and chili sauce mixture. Mix well.

Slice up the onion and place on top. Mix around and place the crock-pot on high for about 3-4 hours or until the Kielbasa is cooked through and looks seared on the edges.

You can keep the crock-pot on the "keep warm" or "low" option until you are ready to serve!

Steak and Cheese Egg Rolls

Ingredients:

1 lb Shaved steak
1 white onion
1 package of mushrooms
1/4 lb white american cheese from the deli
Spring roll wrappers
Non-stick spray

Directions:

Slice the onions and mushrooms to desired size. Place in a medium sized frying pan and spray with non-stick spray. Cook on medium.

When they are just about finished cooking, add the shaved steak to the frying pan. Continue cooking until the onions, mushrooms and steak is cooked to your desired liking.

Pre-heat your deep fryer to 365 degrees and make sure it is full with the recommended about of oil. Next, lay out 1 spring roll wrapper. Line with the cheese and fill with the meat and vegetable mixture and fold into a spring roll. Click this link for a useful video on how to roll a egg roll wrapper.  Be sure to lightly wet the edges of the wrapper to create a seal.

Create an assembly line to make this process easier. 

Place into the fryer. Make sure that the egg rolls are not touching in the fryer. Rotate half way with tongs once the egg roll starts to get bubbly looking. Continue to cook until it is golden brown.

Place on a paper towel and allow to dry for about 1-2 minutes.

Serve whole or cut in half!

Coconut Shrimp over Mango Salsa with Zesty Orange Dressing

So tonight I was in the mood for coconut shrimp since I just bought my new deep fryer.I know frying things isn't the healthiest but mixed with healthy ingredients, it's not so bad!  Here is a little twist on the idea inspired by Bobby Dean.

Mango Salsa:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of diced mango

1/4 cup of chopped green onion

1/4 cup chopped purple onion 

1/2 of a limes juices

1/2 of a lemons juices

Directions:

Chop up all of the ingredients as specified. Mix together with the juices of the lemon and lime. Let this sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 

Zesty Orange Dipping Sauce:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of orange marmalade

2 teaspoons of rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

Add the marmalade, rice vinegar and red pepper flakes in a small sized pot. Cook on low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you want to serve this chilled, allow it to sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.

Coconut Shrimp:

Ingredients:

1 lb of shrimp cocktail

1/2 cup of all purpose flour

a teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

2/3 cup of water

2 cups of shredded sweetened coconut

1/2 cup of plain breadcrumbs

Directions:

Heat up your deep fryer to 325 degrees. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and water. Let this sit for 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the shredded coconut and bread crumbs and mix together. Butterfly your shrimp and form an assembly line of shrimp, batter, the coconut and break crumb mix, then your deep fryer. Take 1 piece of shrimp and dip it in the batter, coat in the coconut and breadcrumb mix and then slowly drop it into the deep fryer. These should cook for about 2 minutes in the deep fryer or until they are golden brown. Lay out a paper towel on a plate and place the cooked shrimp on there for about 2 minutes after cooking to allow them to dry out a little bit.

Serving:

I placed arugula on top of the plate, topped with the Mango Salsa , put the Zesty Orange Dressing in a ramekin and topped with the Coconut Shrimp. it was definitely a big hit!

Crab Meat Stuffed Mushrooms

These are such a hit whenever I make them! Sadly, there are never any leftovers! I think I'm going to start making a double batch and hide some aside for myself! Definitely a comfort food so I used real butter! It happens! This recipe calls for the same stuffing I use to make my Baked Stuffed Shrimp. You could put this stuffing on anything and make it taste delicious! 

Ingredients:

-30 mushrooms

- 1 stick of butter

- 1/4 cup of white onion

- 2 sticks of celery

- 1 can of crab meat

- 2 sleeves of reduced fat ritz crackers (should equal about 64 crackers)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350. Chop up the onion and celery into little pieces and put in mixing bowl. Add butter to the bowl. Microwave until the butter is melted. While the butter is melting in the microwave, take a large baking sheet and spray with non-stick spray. Core out the mushrooms (take off the stems) and place on the pan with the round side facing down and the hole where the stem used to be facing up. Once the butter in the mixing bowl is melted, stir well. Add the crab meat to the mixing bowl. In a large ziplock bag, add all of the ritz crackers and seal tightly. Mash the ritz crackers until they look like small breadcrumbs. Pour the Ritz into the mixing bowl and mix together all of the ingredients until it is a thick stuffing-like texture. Begin making 1 tablespoon sized balls and form with your hands. Place firmly on the mushroom and continue until every mushroom has a stuffing ball on top. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the stuffing is crispy looking and the mushrooms are cooked through.

Nutrition Information for 1 Stuffed Mushroom (this recipe should make 30 stuffed mushrooms)

Calories - 62

Carbs - 5

Fat - 4

Protein - 1

Sodium - 98

Fiber - 0

Baked Stuffed Shrimp

Yummm, baked stuffed shrimp! One of my favorites! I hate when you go out to a restaurant and you pay about $20 for 5 pieces of shrimp, a little salad and rice! I made the same dinner for 6 people for about $30! This is one of my meals that I love to make at home because its cheaper, healthier and it tastes better! Now let's be honest, I do use real butter in this recipe so I'm not claiming it's healthy but definitely healthier than the amount of butter they use in restaurants! 

Ingredients:

-30 large shrimp cocktail already cooked

- 1 stick of butter

- 1/4 cup of white onion

- 2 sticks of celery

- 1 can of crab meat

- 2 sleeves of reduced fat ritz crackers (should equal about 64 crackers)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350. Chop up the onion and celery into little pieces and put in mixing bowl. Add butter to the bowl. Microwave until the butter is melted. While the butter is melting in the microwave, take a large baking sheet and spray with non-stick spray. Butterfly the shrimp and place on the pan. Once the butter in the mixing bowl is melted, stir well. Add the crab meat to the mixing bowl. In a large ziplock bag, add all of the ritz crackers and seal tightly. Mash the ritz crackers until they look like small breadcrumbs. Pour the Ritz into the mixing bowl and mix together all of the ingredients until it is a thick stuffing-like texture. 

Begin making 1 tablespoon sized balls and form with your hands. Place firmly on the piece of shrimp and continue until every shrimp has a stuffing ball on top. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the stuffing is crispy looking.

Serve with your favorite sides! I served mine with rice pilaf and Not Your Average Wedge Salad ... and of course a nice big glass of wine!

Nutrition Information for 1 Piece of Shrimp (This recipe should make 30 pieces of shrimp)

Calories - 70

Carbs - 5

Fat - 4

Protein - 3

Sodium - 126

Fiber - 0

Not Your Average Wedge Salad

I just love a nice wedge salad! It so refreshing and satisfying!

Ingredients:

1/4 of an iceberg lettuce
1/4 cup of diced tomatoes
1/8 cup of diced purple onion
1 slice of turkey bacon
2 tablespoons of fat free or light blue cheese dressing

Directions:

Cook the turkey bacon as directed on the package. Wash the ice berg lettuce and cut into quarters. Place 1 quarter on a plate. Chop up the tomato and onion. When the turkey bacon is finished cooking, crumble into pieces. Drizzle the blue cheese dressing on the ice berg wedge. Sprinkle and top with the bacon, tomato and onion. Serve with your choice of wine ;)

Nutrition Information - (This recipe makes 1 serving)

Calories - 127

Carbs - 12

Fat - 5

Protein - 10

Sodium - 143

Fiber - 1

Asian Chicken Wings

Who doesn't love chicken wings? Check out this twist on Chinese Chicken!

Ingredients:

-1 tablespoon of soy sauce (low sodium)
-1 tablespoon of brown sugar
-1/4 cup orange marmalade
-1/4 cup of Asian sesame salad dressing
-2 Lbs of chicken wings

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450. Mix together the soy sauce, brown sugar, orange marmalade and Asian sesame dressing. Once the oven is preheated, line a baking sheet with tin-foil. Place the chicken wings on the sheet so that they are not touching. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, flip over the chicken wings and brush with the mixture. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Serve with your favorite dressing or eat plain!


Nutrition Information (for 1 chicken wing - this recipe should make about 13 chicken wings total)

Calories - 122
Fat - 7
Carbs - 6
Protein - 9
Sodium - 100
Fiber - 0

Low Calorie Mexican Quesadillas!

Mexican is by far, one of my favorite comfort foods. Cheese and salt – yes please! My friend and I have ladies night every Tuesday night. We  go for a walk, catch up, watch chick shows,  drink wine and cook dinner. We take turns cooking and tonight is my night. We are both on a path of living a healthier lifestyle so we always cook healthy meals. Last Tuesday, she cooked one of my favorites – Hungry Girl Mexican Chicken! This week we still have a craving for Mexican, so I figured who doesn’t love quesadillas? They’re filling and easy to make! The best part about quesadillas is that there are endless options, so feel free to be creative and have fun!

Ingredients:

•           4oz of chicken
•          1/3 cup of shredded taco blend cheese
•          2 white corn tortillas (I bought the smaller ones for lower calories)
•          ¼ cup of black beans
•           2 tablespoons of mild salsa
•           ¼ of a Vidalia onion
•          PAM or non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

Cook up the chicken according to instructions on package and cut it up into bite size pieces (I use a George Foreman Grill because it’s quick and easy.) Slice the onion to desired size and fry up in a medium frying pan with non-stick spray. Open the can of black beans and rinse them well. Now here comes the cool part. I have a Quesadilla maker which can be found at target for about $20. It makes it quick and easy with minimal clean up. If you do not have a quesadilla maker, use a large frying pan. Spray one of the tortillas with non-stick spray and place face down on your frying pan or quesadilla maker. Sprinkle your cheese, cut up chicken, beans, salsa and onion. Cover with the remaining tortilla and spray the top with non-stick spray. If you have the quesadilla maker, secure it shut at this point and let it cook until the edges are crispy and light brown. If you are using a frying pan, flip like a pancake once the bottom is light brown and the cheese is melty. Let the other side brown and get crispy and it’s finished. Cut it up like a pizza and serve! I like to garnish mine with light sour cream and guacamole – sometimes even salsa!

Nutrition Information – (This recipe makes 1 serving – does not include garnish of sour cream and guacamole)

Calories: 470

Carbs: 37

Fat: 14

Protein: 38

Sodium: 495

Fiber: 7

Parmesan Dill French Fries

I've got to admit - they're as good as they sound! Easy too! I was in the mood for something different as a side to my grilled chicken sandwich for tonight, and let's be honest...what is better than french fries? They're a little heavy in the carb range, so I decided to have my chicken sandwich without the bread tonight. 

Ingredients

Red Potatoes (1 serving = 1 potato)

Pinch of sea salt

Dill weed

1/2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

Parmesan Herb seasoning by McCormick (pictured below)

Directions

Heat a medium sized frying pan to medium on the stove top and add half of a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Wash the potato(es) and slice width wise. The thinner you slice, the crispier the fries will get. Make sure you slice them all the same with. Slice them again length wise to get a "french fry shape." Place the potato slices in the hot frying pan. Sprinkle dill weed and sea salt and mix well. With the dill weed, use to your discretion. I love the taste of dill, so I used a lot. Flip the french fries so that they brown on both sides. Cook until the french fries are brown on both sides. Once they are finished, (go ahead, try one first :0P ) sprinkle on a few pinches of the parmesan and herb spice. Serve with which ever dipping sauce your prefer... or just plain!

Nutrition Facts (for 1 serving = 1 potato)

Calories - 120

Carbs - 14

Fat - 7

Protein - 2

Sodium - 466

Fiber - 2

Cheesy Sweet Potato Pancake Crisps

I found a recipe similar to this one online and i had to modify it (to be healthy of course) This recipe works great as an appetizer, breakfast, side, or snack - it's that great!

Ingredients:

- 1 sweet potato

- 1/4 cup of liquid egg whites

- 1/2 cup of shredded romano cheese

- pinch of salt and pepper

- pinch of garlic salt

- a few shakes of mccormick perfect pinch parmesan herb seasoning (you don't have to use this but it tastes so good!)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Take a sweet potato and peel it. Begin to grate the sweet potato using a cheese grater. Once it is all grated (it may take a while since the potato will be hard), mix it with all of the ingredients and mix. It should look something like....

Take a table spoon and shape the mixture into little balls and flatten them out (roll it like you would with cookie dough.) Take a paper towel and squeeze some of the juices out. Place on a PAM sprayed cookie sheet, and repeat for the rest of the mixture. It should make about 12 per batch. It should look like this...

Spray the tops of the pancakes with PAM. Bake for around 20 minutes, being sure to flip them to evenly brown. They're done when they're crispy. I served mine with fat free ranch... yum!  Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts for 1 pancake (this recipe should make 12 servings)

Calories - 28

Carbs - 2

Fat - 1

Protein - 2

Sodium - 88

Fiber - 0

Southwestern Salsa

I think it's time for some salsa to go with that under 100 calorie margarita! This is a really easy recipe since all you need to do is chop and mix.

Ingredients:

- 1 onion
- 4 plum tomatoes
- 1/2 green pepper
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 cup of canned corn (Rinsed)
- 1/2 cup of black beans (Rinsed)
- 1 lime
- Splash of vinegar

Directions:

Chop up the onion, pepper, garlic, and tomatoes to your desired size (if you want chunky salsa, cut them  large) Combine the onion, pepper, garlic, and tomatoes with the rinsed corn and beans. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juices into the mixture. Splash the mixture with vinegar. Take a potato masher and lightly press down on the mixture causing some of the juices to come out. How easy was that?!

Nutrition Facts for 1/4 cup - this recipe should make around 8 servings.

Calories - 23
Carbs - 4
Fat - 0
Protein - 1
Sodium - 42
Fiber - 1

Getting ready for summer barbeque's! Fruit Presentation

So I woke up this morning and realized I had 2 perfectly ripe pineapples, and began to think of summer, pina colada's and family barbeque's. Since I am going for the healthy approach, I decided not to make a pina colada (they're very high in fat because of the coconut, and I have class in 2 hours, so going drunk would not be a good idea) so I instead decided to simply just cut up the pineapple and place it back in the pineapple remains. I figured this way, instead of just plain fruit in a tupperware container, it would look more appetizing. I would also love to add more fruit to it, but I'm working with what I have. I know it's not a recipe, but I thought it looked cute and wanted to share!