Roasted Fish and Veggies with Quinoa and Pine Nuts

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This easy, colorful meal is roasted in a parchment-paper-lined pan to avoid the need for added oil. You can garnish the finished dish with cilantro and pine nuts, but a combination of basil and almonds or walnuts and parsley would be delicious as well. I have recently found that I LOVE the roasted Edaname (which is roasted soy beans) better than the pine nuts! Check out the health benefits of Quino HEREIngredients:

• 2 carrots, cut into 2-inch sticks 
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into strips 
• 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes 
• 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced 
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped (or used the already minced garlic)
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided 
• 4 (3-ounce) pieces mild white fish fillet such as tilapia or flounder 
•  Zest and juice of 1 lemon 
• 1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions 
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro 
• 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, chopped

Directions: Preheat oven to 400°F and line a 9- x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Place carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, garlic and ⅛ teaspoon salt in the pan and toss. Bake in the top third of the oven until vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. 
Stir vegetables, arrange fish on top and sprinkle with remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt, lemon zest and juice and bake until fish is just cooked through, 15 to 20 more minutes. Transfer fish and vegetables to plates or a platter along with the quinoa and sprinkle with cilantro and pine nuts. 
NutritionPer serving: 330 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 45mg cholesterol, 220mg sodium, 40g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 8g sugar), 26g protein
Adapted from: Whole Foods Market

Low-Calorie Creamy Balsamic Salad Dressing

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This is a  low-calorie dressing with nonfat Greek yogurt as the base. Light on fat, heavy on flavor.Sweet and sour is a good description for the honey/balsamic combination with subtle flavor notes from the soy sauce and Dijon mustard. Yogurt smooths out the flavors. It’s excellent with any kind of lettuce/fruit and/or nut combination. I love it with chicken and sliced oranges, or dried cranberries and almonds or dried blueberries and toasted pecans.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce 
• 1 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard 
• 1 1/2 tablespoon honey 
• 3 tablespoons nonfat Greek yogurt (may substitute regular nonfat yogurt but finished product will be a little different) 
• 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. 

DirectionsMix well. Store in refrigerator. Makes 8 servings/2 tablespoons each (approx 3/4 cup) - Calories: 62 Fat: 4 g Carbs: 6 gNotes


Source: Salad in a Jar

Red (Strawberry), White (Chocolate), and Blue (Blueberry) Nachos

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These wonderful and beautiful snack is not gonna last long at your next BBQ!
Fresh flour tortillas are quick to cook up in a pan and produce unbelievably flaky chips when baked. This exquisitely flavored Italian cream cheese is worth the money. Slather it on cinnamon-sugar, baked flour tortilla chips. Then top with fresh fruit and white chocolate shavings for a snack or dessert that will start a celebration in your mouth. If you can’t find Mascarpone, substitute softened and sweetened cream cheese, or whipped cream cheese. For us calorie watchers we can use yogurt cheese or a low-fat Swiss cheese.


Ingredients:

• 4 flour tortillas, cut into 8 wedges 
• Spray butter 
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 8-ounce container Mascarpone cheese, room temperature 
• 1 pound fresh strawberries 
•  1/2 cup blueberries (or other fresh fruit such as peaches or kiwi) 
•  Whipped cream, sweetened 
•  2 ounces white chocolate, grated with a potato peeler 

Directions:Cut 8-inch flour tortilla into 8 wedges. Squirt each triangle with one pump of butter spray.Mix cinnamon and sugar together and place it in small container with holes (like a jar previously containing spices). 


If unavailable, you can just use your fingers to sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar over the wedges.Bake wedges at 375 degrees for 10-13 minutes or until crisp. They should shatter when done. If they are still chewy, leave in the oven a bit longer.  Tortillas vary in thickness so yours may take more or less time to become crisp. Allow to cool. These can be made ahead of time to this point. 




While waiting for chips to cool, clean and quarter strawberries. Place in a bowl with clean blueberries and sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over all. If you want additional flavor, now is the time to add some amaretto, vanilla or lemon to the fruit. Allow to sit while you bake chips. 


Place a dab of Mascarpone cheese on top of each chip.Arrange quartered strawberries and blueberries on top of cheese as desired, and squirt a generous amount of whipped cream in the middle of the plate.Sprinkle grated white chocolate over all, if desired. When making these up ahead, prepare up to the point of garnishing with whipped cream. Once you add the whipped cream, nachos should be served immediately to avoid soggy chips.


Source: California Strawberries

Shrimp Fried Rice

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Chili sauce and sesame oil add lively flavor to this easy stir-fry dish. It's a perfect solution for nights when there's no time to cook.Ingredients:

• 2 cups water 
• 1 cups long grain white rice 
• 1 cup (8 ounces) Better'n Eggs® 
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil 
• 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper 
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh mushrooms 
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion 
• 1/2 lb. small cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed; thawed if frozen (SEE TIPS)
• 3 tablespoons reduced sodium (lite) soy sauce 
• 1/4 teaspoon Thai-style chili sauce (SEE TIPS)

Directions:  Boil water in 2-quart saucepan. Add rice. Bring water back to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.  Meanwhile, spray 10-inch nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add Better’n Eggs. As egg starts to set use spatula to lift edge of cooked eggs letting uncooked egg flow to bottom of skillet. Cook until eggs are set but still moist. Slide eggs out onto large dinner plate. Cut egg into long strips; cover to keep warm.

Heat sesame oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet. Add red pepper, mushrooms and green onion to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp tender (3 to 5 minutes). Add shrimp and cooked white rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp and rice are heated through. 
Stir together soy sauce and chili sauce. Pour into rice mixture. Add egg strips. Cook, stirring gently, until heated. Time-To-Table: 30 minutes Serves 4

TIPS:

• Use cocktail or 61-70 count shrimp.  
• Chili sauce with garlic can be found in the Oriental food section of your grocery store.
• Leftover cooked white rice can easily be used for fried rice. Just skip making fresh rice in step 1 and add 2 to 3 cups chilled cooked white rice along with the shrimp in step 3.

Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap

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White beans mashed with ripe avocado and blended with sharp Cheddar and onion makes an incredibly rich, flavorful filling for this wrap. The tangy, spicy slaw adds crunch. A pinch (or more) of ground chipotle pepper and an extra dash of cider vinegar can be used in place of the canned chipotles in adobo sauce.  These would be great served with my Black Bean Salad and Homemade Tortilla chips.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon canola oil (optional)
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, (see Note) 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage 
• 1 medium carrot, shredded 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 
• 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed 
• 1 ripe avocado 
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (can use fat free)
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion 
• 4 8- to 10-inch whole-wheat wraps, or tortillas 

Directions: Whisk vinegar, oil, chipotle chile and salt in a medium bowl. Add cabbage, carrot and cilantro; toss to combine.Mash beans and avocado in another medium bowl with a potato masher or fork. Stir in cheese and onion.To assemble the wraps, spread about 1/2 cup of the bean-avocado mixture onto a wrap (or tortilla) and top with about 2/3 cup of the cabbage-carrot slaw. Roll up. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut the wraps in half to serve, if desired. 


TIPS & NOTESIngredient Note: Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeños packed in a flavorful sauce. Look for the small cans with the Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, they'll keep at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. 


NUTRITIONPer serving: 346 calories; 17 g fat ( 4 g sat , 9 g mono ); 15 mg cholesterol; 44 g carbohydrates; 12 g protein; 13 g fiber; 462 mg sodium; 491 mg potassium.


Source: Eating Well

Duct Tape Zebra Frame....

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I've been going through crafting withdrawals!  Busy life has been getting in the way of my obsession, BOO to that!!!  Last night was the first evening that I had a few minutes so I ran into my craft room and grabbed a few items that I had on hand.

I found this dollar store frame.  We don't own a cat, we don't even really like cats at our house, but I knew that the frame would come in handy when I saw it in the store:


Then I grabbed the roll of hot pink and zebra striped duct tape that I have from some other projects, some chip board letters and an old piece of black plastic.  Here is what I came up with for my cute Kadee gal's room:


It looks so much better than that silly fish bone cat frame!  I added some black sparkly chipboard embellishments to two of the corners:



I cut the black plastic to fit the back of the frame and glued on my sparkly "I" and "U", then I covered the heart circle with some more duct tape and Ta-Da!  I was done in less than 20 minutes!


It looks really cute by her mini hutch:

And the best part is that I was able to somewhat satisfy my craft withdrawals!!!

Linking to:
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Altered Album, Easy Gift Idea...

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I altered this photo album for one of my daughter's school projects awhile back. Here is what it looked like when I bought it at the dollar store:
 Cute, but pretty cheesy.  Here is what it looked like after I altered it:



Much better!  It would be a perfect Mother's Day gift filled with pictures of children or grand kids, a friend gift filled with pictures of fun memories or Teacher Appreciation gift with pictures of each student or of activities from that year.  The best part is that you can decorate it to fit the personality of the person that you are making it for :)

Linking to:
its-trash-to-treasure-tuesday
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