So I finally got around to making a healthy knock-off of this awesome sweet potato "hash" breakfast dish from my favorite brunch spot in Charlotte.  I really needed to come up with a DIY version, because while I can't get enough of the place, Russ would rather spend his Saturday morning studying for the bar exam (have I mentioned how much we hated that?) than be caught having brunch there.  I think he secretly knows the place has good food, but no Mississippi boy could ever admit liking a place that features things like organic tofu and vegan soup on their menu.

But before that description makes all of you start agreeing with him, you must know that this particular menu item is a TDF (to die for) plate full of goodness that makes up for all the other funkiness on the menu.  In fact, this is what I order every time I go (which has been a grand total of 4 times, thanks in large part to the aforementioned disdain Russ harbors for the place).

Anyway, I was there again this past weekend with a friend who moved to town a few months ago, and I was reminded that I need to get on this.  So I did.  And here it is.  (Can you see the sweet potatoes peeking out from the bottom of the skillet?)

Sausage and Sweet Potato Skillet (serves 2 - big portions)
1 large sweet potato (about a pound), peeled and grated
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 package of Gimme Lean ground sausage
1 egg plus 5 egg whites*
1/4 cup fat free shredded cheddar
2 green onions, chopped (2 stalks, not 2 bunches!)
salt and pepper, to taste
hot sauce (optional)

Saute onion over medium-high heat in large skillet, with some fat free cooking spray.  Once onions are translucent, add the chopped garlic, and saute for another minute or so.  Then add the grated sweet potatoes...this is basically like making sweet potato hash browns.  Stir occasionally, letting sweet potatoes cook down a bit and get a little crispy.  This will take a good 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, brown the Gimme Lean.  While the sausage is browning, beat the egg and egg whites, add a little salt and pepper, and a few dashes of hot sauce.

Pour the beaten eggs over the browned sausage, and scramble 'em up.  Once the eggs and sausage are scrambled, gently add them on top of the sweet potatoes in the first skillet.  Top with shredded cheese, then cover the skillet and let the cheese melt for a few minutes.  Once the cheese has melted, sprinkle the green onions on top and serve.

*You can use whatever combo of eggs and egg whites you like...or use some Egg Beaters.  We're big fans of egg whites around here, but using an extra yolk or two wouldn't hurt, and might add a bit more flavor.

To make the skillet experience seem a little more authentic, I served this with some Pillsbury Golden Layers biscuits, which have 110 calories each.  All things in moderation.

Now, I'm always honest about these things, so I'll admit that the full fat version is a bit tastier (isn't that usually the case?), but we both loved this and I'll definitely be making it again.  You could throw in some chopped tomatoes, maybe try a little fat free feta, or dress it up however you like.  But the combo of the sweet potatoes and the sausage makes it a winner. 

Nutrition info (per serving - and this makes 2 big servings))

Cal.: 380

Fat: 2.5

Carbs: 55

Fiber: 6

Protein: 33

 
Random side note: if you look in the very upper left corner of the picture, you might see what appears to be a blue and white pot holder.  In case you were curious (you were, right?), this is no ordinary pot holder.  This was hand-crafted by none other than yours truly at the tender age of about 5, back when my brother and I used to run a lemonade stand every summer in my grandparents' front yard in Bay Head.  But of course it was no ordinary lemonade stand.  We also sold Jello Jigglers (don't all lemonade stands offer Jigglers?) and handmade pot holders.  My grandfather used to pay us upwards of 5 bucks for one of those masterpieces.  I can't remember if my brother ever got involved in the pot holder weaving, but I'm sure he wouldn't want his reputation ruined by even the suggestion of it, so I'll go ahead and take all the credit.  I think all he really did was collect the money and come up with some explanation for why he was entitled to more than half...in fact, now that I think about it, I never remember seeing any of that money...not surprising given that he's now an accountant.  But his lovely new wife reads my blog now, so I better leave it at that. :)

Anyway, since vintage is in style these days, and since very few of my family members seem to have an appreciation for style, I've gone around collecting the ones that can be found from my mother and grandmother so they can be proudly displayed on our dining room table (as Russ rolls his eyes at me...).  Maybe I'll send a few to my brother for his upcoming first anniversary...

Finally!  A new post!  I know you've all been dying of anticipation for this day.

We made it through the bar exam and are now preparing for another round of weddings and all the festivities that go along with them.  The biggest of them all will be my little brother's in May.  So excited.

Anyway, it's nice to be cooking again, and I hope to get back into trying out new recipes more often as well.

This Mexican Lasagna recipe is slightly modeled after a seven layer dip (and who doesn't love seven layer dip?!), and I wanted to call it "Seven Layer Lasagna."  But Russ said people would think it was an Italian version of seven layer dip, not a Mexican version of lasagna.  Or something like that.  So there you have it.

Mexican Lasagna (makes 6 big servings)
1.25 pound package of extra lean ground turkey
1 packet of low sodium taco seasoning mix
4 low calorie tortillas (my grocery store sells some decent sized ones that have 80 calories each)
1 cup of fat free shredded mozzarella (about half a bag of the Kraft fat free stuff)
1 cup of fat free shredded cheddar
1 16 oz. jar of all natural chunky salsa (you don't want this to be too runny)
1 can of low sodium black beans
1/4 cup of sliced jalapeno peppers*
1 avocado
1 cup of fat free sour cream
1 large tomato, chopped
2 tsp. of ground cumin
juice of 1/2 lime
a few dashes of salt, pepper, and hot sauce
Cilantro, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400.

Brown ground turkey on stovetop with taco seasoning mix (follow seasoning mix directions). 

Meanwhile, in food processor, combine avocado, sour cream, chopped tomato, cumin, lime juice, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Process until just smooth, but not too thin.

In a separate pan on the stovetop, heat up each of the tortillas for a couple minutes per side until crispy.

Heat beans in a bowl in the microwave for a couple minutes

Once ground turkey is ready (again, follow the directions on the taco seasoning mix), begin assembling the lasagna in a 9x13 pan, in the following layers:

- Salsa (entire jar)
- Half of the ground turkey
- 2 tortillas (side by side to cover the meat)
- Beans (entire can)
- Half of the cheese (use half mozzarella and half cheddar)
- Avocado/sour cream mixture from food processor (entire mixture)
- Jalapeno slices (all of them)

Then repeat the following layers:
- 2 other tortillas (again, side by side)
- Remaining half of meat
- Remaining half of cheese (half mozzarella, half cheddar)

Bake for 10 minutes, but keep an eye on the cheese to make sure it doesn't burn.  Garnish with chopped cilantro.

*If you're not a fan of heat, you could leave out the jalapenos.

Nutrition info (per serving - remember, this is for 6 servings, which will be on the bigger side):

Cal.: 376

Fat: 7.5

Carbs: 32

Fiber: 25.5

Protein: 43

Seasons greetings!  It's been a while since my last post, but I wanted to quickly share this easy, low-cal way to jazz up a pork tenderloin. 

Things at work have been a bit crazy for the past couple months, so our dinners have basically been your standard meat, veggies, bread, and maybe potatoes (if we're lucky).  Every night.  But as long as it's healthy, balanced, and has some kind of taste, I'm happy with it.  Anyway, I've been grilling pork tenderloin on the George Foreman every week or so, and decided to see if I could dress it up a bit last week.  There are tons of recipes out there for fancy stuffed pork tenderloin, but I've been in one of those phases where I walk in the door from work and want to spend no more than 10 minutes prepping dinner.  So I found some fat free feta cheese in the fridge, and in about 3 minutes was able to butterfly it open, spread the cheese inside, close it back up, and throw it on the grill.

Here's a pic of a couple slices of the finished product (served with sauteed spinach and spaghetti squash):

The feta added a nice, subtle flavor...nothing super-fancy, but a small step above the standard pork tenderloin with little effort, and no more than an extra 50 calories per serving.  Next time I might throw in some chopped spinach for a little color.

Our basic meat/veggies dinners will likely continue for the next 2 months, as we dive into the lovely task of studying for the February bar exam (b/c taking the California exam a few years ago just wasn't enough fun for us!).  I'm looking forward to March, when I can get back into creating new healthy recipes and sharing them on here.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2009!

I'm sure many of you already know about this easy-to-prepare, vitamin-loaded winter veggie, but I just tried making it for the first time last night and am now hooked.  My mother has been trying to get me to cook with squash for years (as I also mentioned in my previous post)...she raves about how good it is for you, how easy it is to cook and serve, etc., etc....and much to my dismay, she has again been proven much wiser than me on the subject of vegetables.

Anyway, this post is for any of you who are looking for a new side dish to add to your fall/winter quick-cooking dinner lineup.  I bought one 2+ pound squash and cooked half last night and the other half tonight.  It turned out to be the perfect amount for Russ and me both nights...you could probably serve 3 people with one half, but this stuff is soooo good (and so low-cal) that I just gobbled up the extra. 

So easy to prepare: cut in half lengthwise (this is probably the hardest part), scrape out the seeds, place in microwave safe dish cut side up, add 1/4 cup of water to dish, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 12 minutes.  Carefully remove plastic wrap, transfer to cutting board (or other dish, so you don't have to mess with the piping hot dish that just came out of the microwave), then shred the squash with a couple forks.

You can eat a heaping 1 cup portion for less than 80 calories, and you'll get 145% of your RDA for vitamin A...plus lots of vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and folate.  I like to eat it as is, and Russ likes it with a bit of hot sauce drizzled on top.

Hope each of you have a healthy and happy holiday weekend.  I'm looking forward to eating Russ's famous pecan pie (an old recipe from his family), putting up Christmas decorations, and spending time with the fam.  This will be my first Thanksgiving with my family since my college days, and will also be the first holiday we all celebrate together with my older brother's new wife and my little brother's fiancee.  Nice to finally have some more girls in the family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm a bit behind in posting recipes, so here's a quick one we just had for dinner.

I've never cooked with butternut squash, but my Mom does it all the time and raves about it.  And it's loaded with vitamins.  One cup has almost 150% of your RDA of vitamin A, in the form of beta carotene (hello, antioxidants!).  It's also a great source of vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and folic acid.  

For any squash-challenged readers, here is what the butternut version looks like:

Anyway, I keep seeing it at the grocery store lately, so I decided that I'd try incorporating it into chili.  Might sound kinda crazy...but I'm constantly looking for basic recipes I can jazz up with extra veggies (a.k.a. extra vitamins).  Spinach is a favorite for adding to recipes.   I also wanted to incorporate garbanzo beans, as I recently read some research about their effects on LDL cholesterol.

So I took an old chili recipe (click here for a low-cal chili recipe I posted last year), eliminated the cans of beans and the bag of cabbage called for in this recipe, and then added:

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
2 bags of spinach (10 oz. per bag)
2 cups of diced carrots
1 can of low sodium sweet corn
1 can of low sodium garbanzo beans

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker, and cook on low for 8 hours. 

The finished product was both colorful and tasty.  And while my meat-and-potatoes-loving husband initially raised his eyebrow at this, he loved it too!  We topped it with some fat free cheese and a little hot sauce, and it was de-lish.  Russ even commented that I could (brace yourselves) eliminate the ground turkey and make a vegetarian version!  All the veggies really take on the flavor of the chili seasoning, so you still think you're eating chili, not some vegetable soup.  This will serve 8+. 

To celebrate the arrival of fall, I thought I'd remind everyone of the fabulous health benefits of one of fall's nutritional superstars: apples.  And lest anyone question whether I have experience in this area, I present a really embarrassing picture of what I was up to about 15-20 years ago:

Yes friends, that's my Dad and me making apple cider...not long after the start of our family apple cider business.  Note my rockin' bangs.  And the awesome red scrunchy holding my ponytail.  To those of you who knew me back then (you and I both know who you are), I'd like to ask why you didn't stage an intervention re: those bangs.  Yes, it was the 80s.  But still.

Anyway, everyone knows an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but do you really know why?  I often like to give myself a refresher on the specific vitamins, nutrients, and other beneficial aspects of the fruits and veggies we eat every day.  I think the eating experience is more enjoyable when you know how you're helping your body. 

Rather than try to present all the info myself, below are a few excerpts of what the folks over at the World's Healthiest Foods have to say about apples.  As you'll see, apples are great for (among other things) keeping your cholesterol in check and preventing heart disease and cancer.  I really encourage you to read this, and read up on the benefits of other fruits and vegetables while you're at it. 

Health Benefits of Apples

According to the latest research, the old saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," is fact, not just folklore. The nutritional stars in apples-fiber, flavonoids, and fructose-translate into apples' ability to keep us healthy.

Cardio-Protective Fiber: