Strawberry Cinnamon Smoothie

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Happy Labor's Day!  I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday. Here's a quick and easy recipe I wanted to share with you today.  


You may not know that I love a good farmer's market and now I'm fortunate that we have one that sets up every Wednesday in our work complex.  It's heaven to be able to go to the farmer's market during the week!  There is one particular stand that sells the best organic fruit and vegetables.  I was in heaven looking at all the food, and walked away with much more items that I should have.

One treat was their strawberries!  Plump, juicy, deep red strawberries that promised to be sweet and luscious!  I couldn't wait to get these home and make a smoothie with them.  Smoothies fall in the "fast and fresh" category and are simple, quick and absolutely delishhh!

So a strawberry smoothie is very tasty but also quite ordinary.  So let's amp this baby up a bit and make a Strawberry Cinnamon Smoothie!  Have you every had cinnamon and strawberry?  Well, you are about to venture on a wonderful sweet and earthy journey with your taste buds.  This combination hits you with the sweet flavor of the berries and then on the way down you get that kick of heat and spice from the cinnamon.  HEAVEN!

What a great combination for a smoothie plus the health benefits that you get from both strawberries and cinnamon.  It's a win win in our house!  Let it be one in yours too by trying this right away.  There are still plenty of strawberries around so get them while they are still ripe and try this drink today!

Enjoy!





Strawberry Cinnamon Smoothie

serves 2

1 6 oz lite vanilla yogurt
1/2 pint of strawberries, hulled
1/2 frozen banana
1/4 cup lowfat milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup ice

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until all incorporated and ice has crushed.

Pour into two glasses and serve immediately.

Blackberry Jalapeno Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables

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Let's amp up your game for this grilling season!

BIG, BOLD flavors is what it's all about.  So I turned to the master of flavors that are "off the hook!" Guy Fieri and searched for the perfect recipe to present to you today.

BLACKBERRY JALAPENO GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN 

THIS is the recipe of the SUMMER!!!  If you make only one new grilled dish this summer make this one.  Otherwise you will be missing out on a dish that totally knock your socks off.  This spicy sweet Blackberry Jalapeno glaze covers a juicy grilled pork tenderloin that elevates this dish to outstanding!

I modified his recipe just a bit.  He brines his pork tenderloin first.  Since I think that a pork tenderloin is tender and juicy as it is I skipped that part.  Plus it made this quicker to prepare and it came out fantastic without the brine.  

The sauce really is the kicker to this dish.  Something this bold needs to have a great side dish that compliments it without overpowering it.  Roasted vegetables are the perfect side dish for that.  I chose multi-colored carrots of yellow and orange, along with fresh green beans, and cauliflower.  (MGG loves his cauliflower!)  Roasting is easy to do so this side dish basically takes care of itself while you grill the pork.

This dish is outrageously good!  Try it at your next opportunity and double it if you want to invite friends over.  Great for Father's Day or any celebration, or just a weekend cookout.  You will be the envy of the crowd, and the new master griller in town!

Enjoy!

Blackberry Jalapeno Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables


Pork:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, silver skin removed

Blackberry Jalapeno Glaze:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 to 2 roasted jalapenos, seeded, minced

1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup seedless blackberry preserves
1 1/4 cup wine, preferably Merlot
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Vegetables:

1 head cauliflower
1 small bunch of multi-colored carrots
1/2 lb fresh green beans

Make the Blackberry Jalapeno Glaze:
Add the butter to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the jalapenos and garlic and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the blackberry preserves and 1 cup wine and combine well. Simmer until reduced by half. Add the cornstarch to the remaining 1/4 cup red wine in a small bowl and mix well. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes more. Keep the glaze warm until serving.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Prepare the vegetables by cutting the stalk off of the cauliflower and cut into florets. Place on a sheet pan along with the carrots. Make sure not to overlap. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and flip the vegetables and add the green beans. Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes until caramelized.

Meanwhile preheat a grill or grill pan to medium heat.

Add the pork tenderloin to the grill and cook for 6 minutes on each side, browning evenly and the internal temperature registers 135 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. At this point, evenly spread 1/4 cup of the glaze over the pork. Cook for an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the pork from heat to a cutting board and keep it warm tented with aluminum foil. Temperature should be around 155 to 160 degrees.

Slice the pork, arrange the slices on a serving platter and serve with remaining warm glaze and roasted vegetables.

adapted from Guy Fieri's Blackberry Jalapeno Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Spaghetti with Summer Fresh Garlic Tomato Sauce

For quick weeknight dinners that are low calories and taste fabulous turn to in-season ingredients.

Today we are talking tomatoes!  I love, love, love a good summer tomato.  The flavor is unbeatable don't you think? They are at their height of their natural season, in summer, usually June through September.  To pick the ones with the most flavor, visit farm stands, farmers' markets and natural-food stores for vine-ripened tomatoes, that are organic (if possible).  But how do you keep these beauties?  You'll want to store ripe tomatoes at room temperature for up to 3 days.  That means you will want to use them pretty quickly for the best flavor.

Here is a wonderful view of the different types of tomatoes available right now.

courtesy of Williams-Sonoma.com

I'm using fresh grape tomatoes that I got from a local farmer's market in today's pasta dish.  Using the best ingredients when you have only a few in the dish makes all the difference in the taste.  You want quality oils and vinegar and fresh herbs.  This will make each flavor pop!

Coming soon I'll be sharing a side dish salad made with Heirloom tomatoes.  Big, beautiful, pretty tomatoes.  I love them as well!  What is your favorite tomato?



Spaghetti with Summer Fresh Garlic Tomato Sauce

Serves 2

4 ounces uncooked spaghetti
2 cups grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
pinch sea salt

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

Cut each tomato crosswise into 8 to 10 thin slices. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and pepper; increase heat to medium-high. Cook 2 minutes or until tomatoes slightly soften, stirring occasionally. Stir in pasta, reserved 1/4 cup cooking liquid, basil, and salt. 

adapted from Cookinglight.com

Nectarine-Blueberry Parfaits

 

It's summer time and the feeling is easy...

Sitting outside on these mild summer nights we've been having is just Heaven! Taking time out to relax with family after a meal helps to wind down the day and slow down the pace. 

We just love long summer evenings. To top of a scrumptious dinner I like to serve a light dessert with some kind of fresh summer fruit. Perfect for summer, and lighter and healthier than our standard ice cream cone! MGG is a fanatic for having a little something sweet, which is usually ice cream. Can't blame him, I'm right there with him too! 

These parfaits are the perfect solution to a light dessert. The creamy yogurt, crunchy granola, and flavors of nectarine and blueberries go so well together. It's a definite winner in my book! These would be wonderful for breakfast, or served at brunch. Kids love them too. You can also vary the fruit used. Peaches would be excellent and are so juicy right now.

What combinations would you choose?

Enjoy!

Nectarine-Blueberry Parfaits

serves: 2

2 6 oz cartons lite vanilla yogurt
1 cup granola
1 ripe nectarine, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Place 1/2 carton of yogurt into each of two dessert glasses or bowls; top with half of the granola Top with half of the nectarines, half of the blueberries. Repeat layers with the remaining yogurt, granola, nectarines, and blueberries.

Chicken Saltimbocca

 

I've been trying to eat healthier.  More veggies, less carbs.  Which I've been good at for the most part.  But also I've started paying attention to overall calories.

With the help of a great app called MyFitnessPal, counting all of this is much easier.  Cause honestly, who wants to count anyway.  Since the app does it all for you it really opens your eyes to your daily intake, and helps you make better choices.

Some days I'm good and some days I'm not so good.

Today was a good day! 

I started searching through my library of cookbooks and hit a goldmine I had forgotten I had.  A wonderful special publication called "Eatinglight, 400 calories or less".  Perfecto!  So I opened that puppy up and started to search for the perfect dinner to make. 

This is what I came up with.  Chicken Saltimbocca, served along some mixed greens dressed with a wine and lemon warm sauce.  A delishhh Italian dish, that was varied to make it lighter.  295 calories per serving good!  And only 10 grams of fat and 3 grams of carbs!  Can you say WOOHOO!

So off to the kitchen MGG and I went and whipped up this dish super quick.  It was done in about 30 minutes. We added a couple of sliced cucumbers and tomatoes to our greens for good measure.  Can't have too many veggies!  So what did we think?  Easy, quick, delicious , and best of all tasty!  

Try this version.  I know you will enjoy every bite.

Chicken Saltimbocca

Adapted from Good Housekeeping, Eatinglight 400 calories or less

Serves 4

4 slices thinly sliced prosciutto

2 oz Blue Cheese, crumbled

4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 t olive oil

½ c dry white wine

1 T fresh lemon juice

1 bag of mixed baby greens

On large work surface or cutting board lay prosciutto slices in a row.  Evenly divide Blue Cheese and place in center of prosciutto slices.  Place 1 chicken breast across the mound of Blue Cheese.   Wrap the chicken breast with the prosciutto.  Make sure to press firmly to enclose the cheese, ensuring the cheese does not leak out during cooking. 

In a large skillet over medium high heat add oil and heat.   Add the chicken, cheese side down, and cook 6 to 7 minutes.  Turn the chicken over an cook an additional 6 to 7 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.  Transfer to a plate covering with foil to keep warm. 

To the skillet, add the wine and lemon juice off the flame.  Place back on the burner and boil over medium high heat 2 minutes until reduced by half.  Stir to loosen any browned bits in the bottom of the skillet. 

Place greens in large bowl and toss with wine mixture.  Arrange the greens on 4 dinner plates and top with chicken.  Serve and enjoy!


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