Sweet and Spicey Grilled Sweet Potatoes

SWEET AND SPICEY GRILLED SWEET POTATOES
Source: Me!

Ingredients:

• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" square pieces
• 1 bag of baby spinach
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into pieces. Slice onion. Put potatoes, onion and spinach in a bowl. Toss.
2. Mix the olive oil and all the spices. Pour over the sweet potato mixture. Toss to coat.
3. Use a store-bought foil packet or make one out of tin foil. Spray with non-stick spray. Fill with mixture and make into a fairly thin, rectangular packet.
4. Grill for 20-30 mins. Flip it a couple of times.

Comments:

I had made sweet potato fries in the oven using the spice mixture before, but the rest was my own creation. I wasn't sure how the spinach would be with the rest, but it was DELICIOUS. My parents were skeptical, but they gobbled it up.

Stuffed Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken

STUFFED PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED CHICKEN
Source: Me!

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• fresh basil, juiliened
• goat cheese
• sundried tomatoes, sliced
• salt & pepper
• prosciutto

Directions:

1. Defrost chicken. Preheat over to 375 F. Pound chicken breasts until they are quite thin. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
2. Julienne the basil. I am a tool and didn't know how to do this before. You just roll up the basil and slice it! So easy! Chop up the sundried tomato.
3. Stuff each chicken breast with about a tbsp of goat cheese, 1 tbsp of chopped subdried tomatoes and some basil.
4. Roll up and wrap in prosciutto. The prosciutto is sticky enough that you don't need toothpicks.
5. Cover a baking sheet in foil and spray. Bake for around 20-25 mins. The chicken is thin so it cooks quickly.

Comments:

These were SO, SO good. I wish I had a photo, because the presentation was even gorgeous. I would make these for guests, with red potatoes and green beans. The prosciutto keeps all the moisture in the chicken breasts and the flavours are amazing. We had them with spinach and garlic stuffed portobellos, topped with a little goat cheese.

Sole in Ginger Sauce and Cilantro Slaw

SOLE IN GINGER SAUCE
Source: South Beach Diet Book

Ingredients:

• Sole (we used 6 thin filets)
• 2/3 c. sherry
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 2 tsp fresh garlic
• 2 tsp fresh ginger
• 1/3 c. green onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Whisk sherry, soy, garlic, ginger, onion and pepper in a bowl. Spray a glass baking dish and pour sauce over fish. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until fish flakes with a fork.

Comments:

This was a nice way to prepare sole. The original recipe called for orange roughy, but to be quite honest, I don't know what the hell that is. The recipe you could use sole, cod or flounder instead, so basically any white fish will do. This didn't have overwhelming flavour, but it was tastey! I served it with snap peas in the skillet with garlic and soy and some cilantro slaw (see below).

CILANTRO COLESLAW
Source: A combination of the South Beach Diet Book and Me :)

Ingredients:

• Cilantro mayo
• 1 bag of coleslaw mix
• 2 stalks of green onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. of fresh cilantro, loosely packed

Cilantro mayo:

• 3/4 c. reduced fat mayo (I used Hellman's with olive oil light)
• 3/4 c. cup of loosely packed cilantro leaves
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp fresh garlic

Combine ingredients in a food processor and blend until quite smooth.

Directions:

Make the cilantro mayo. Mix the mayo with the other salad ingredients.

Comments:

You definitely have to be a cilantro lover to enjoy this salad, which thankfully, I am! It was very fresh tasting a nice compliment to the fish.

Marinated Chicken and Grilled Veggies

MARINATED CHICKEN
Source: Kalyn's Kitchen Blog

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 c. white wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp low-fat mayo (not miracle whip)
• 1 tbsp Worchestire Sauce
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Instructions:

Mix the marinade ingredients together. Marinate chicken all day. Grill, continuously brushing marinade over chicken.

GRILLED VEGGIES
Source: Me

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1" cube pieces
• 1 8 ounce package of mushrooms, cut in half
• 1 red pepper, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 green pepper, cut into 1" pieces
• 1/2 red onion, cut into 1" pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh group pepper
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp onion salt
• 1 tsp fresh garlic
• 1 tbsp vegetable spice

Instructions:

Mix olive oil and spices together. Toss vegetables in the mixture until they are all coated. Grill in a grill basket while the chicken is cooking.

Comments:

We each had a chicken breast, with veggies and a spinach salad. It was a TON of food and such a good way to get in a lot of vegetables. I had never cooked an eggplant before and was pleasantly surprised that it just took on the flavour of the other ingredients. Also, I was a bit skeptical of the chicken when I saw the marinade but OMG it was so, so good. The chicken was really moist and by continuously brushing it with the marinade while it was grilling, so flavourful!

Rosemary Garlic Salmon

ROSEMARY GARLIC SALMON
Source: South Beach Diet Book


Ingredients:

Rub:

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Other:

• Salmon fillets
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Grill and tin foil

Directions:

Mix the rub ingredients up in a bowl. Lightly brush salmon with olive oil. Rub the dry ingredients onto both sides of the salmon with your fingers.

Place tin foil over grill. Heat grill. Lightly brush foil with EVOO so the salmon doesn't stick. Grill salmon until done, about 8 minutes on each side.

Comments:

We usually have salmon on the grill cooked in lots of butter and BBQ sauce, which is not exactly diet friendly. Although I was a bit skeptical as to how flavourful this would be, it was DELICIOUS!! The rosemary goes perfectly with salmon and the olive oil makes the outside a little crispy and really locks in the flavour. I served it with grilled asparagus and a spinach salad. This will definitely become a regular addition to our meal rotation!

Stuffed Mushrooms

STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg of crimini mushrooms
• 1/4 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 c. frozen spinach, thawed and chopped
• 1 tsp of precrushed and minced garlic (or 2 cloves)
• 1 wedge of herb and garlic laughing cow light cheese
• 1 tsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Wash mushrooms and carefully remove stems. Finely chop stems.
2. Place mushroom caps, cap up whole down on a plate. Microwave for about 30 seconds. Press the liquid out of the mushrooms with a paper towel. Set aside. (You can do this in the skillet too, but you might need to use more EVOO.)
3. In a skillet, sauté the mushroom stems, spinach, onion and garlic in a little oil until the mushrooms are cooked down and the onion is translucent.
4. Mix the spinach mixture with the laughing cow cheese wedge. Stuff mushrooms. Bake for about 10 mins on 375 or nuke in the microwave if you are bringing them in your lunch.

Comments:

These are really, really good! I was inspired by a recipe in my South Beach Diet book, that didn't include the cheese, but it is a nice addition of protein that gives a good flavour and consistency. They are also super healthy and a very tasty way to get in lots of vegetables!

Rigatoni with Swiss Chard and Sausage

This was the cover recipe on of the November issue of Canadian Living magazine. My sister gets the magazine and we made it together on Sunday night while I was visiting her in Halifax. It was healthy, fresh and just right for a lazy (and cold!) fall evening. We added extra sausage and swiss chard, so it probably could have stood a bit more liquid, but over all, it was very good! Because we nearly doubled the recipe, we made two baking dishes of it, ate one and froze the other. Amanda put it in the freezer after assembly, but pre-baking. We'll see how it is when they go to eat it out of the freezer.

RIGATONI WITH SWISS CHARD AND SAUSAGE
Source: Canadian Living

Ingredients:
4 c. pasta
1/2 c. salted pasta water
4 italian sausages, removed from casings
1 onion, chopped
8 c. swiss chard, chopped
1/2 c. fresh basil, chopped
1 c. diced tomatoes
1 can navy beans, rinsed and drained
3 cloves of fresh garlic or 3 tsp pickled garlic
red pepper flakes
Mozza cheese
Parm cheese (I just used a package of Kraft 4 cheese Italian)

Directions:

1. Turn water on to boil pasta. Cook pasta as preparing the sauce.
2. Cook sausage meat, removed from casing, with the chopped onion. Drain fat. Add garlic, basil, red pepper flakes to taste and canned tomatoes. Simmer for 10 mins. Stir in navy beans.
3. Drain pasta, set aside 1/2 c. drained pasta water. Stir in swiss chard, pasta sauce and pasta water. Pour into baking dish. Top with italian cheese.
4. Bake at 350 F covered in foil for 20 mins. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 mins.