Mango Salsa....

OMG - I know what you are thinking. I have fallen off the face of the earth, and the truth is, I have. Its called, being a single mother, working full time with a 15 month old. Sigh with me... aaahhhh!

Anywho, went down to East Texas the other week and Aunt Debbie (even though she isn't my aunt, she is utterly adorable and she will be referred as Aunt Debbie from now on!) gave me this recipe for an AMAZING mango salsa. And when I say amazing, I am talking mouth water, savory, amazing (oh and did I mention WAY easy to make) AMAZING!

So here goes... courtesty of Aunt Debbie!

Mango Salsa!

1 Mango - cubed (PS here is a great YouTube on how to cut a Mango)

1 Avcacado

1 Small purlpe onion

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

I bunch of cilantro

Cut in the apropriate cubes, toss and serve.

Aunt Debbie served it over an amazing grilled Chilean Seabass over a bed of wild rice, however (working on a budget) I served it over plain white rice and with Grilled chicken. Either way it comes out divine!

A great summer dish and healthy!

Enjoy!

Low Carb, Low Fat Crab Cakes!

Last night was my mom's birthday, and my dad made her these low fat crab cakes. They were phenominal!!! I would suggest you try them, even if you aren't on a diet!

1 pound blue crabmeat
1 tablespoon small diced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon small diced green bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Maryland-style crab seasoning (recommended: Old Bay can also use Creole Seasoning)

1/2 cup bread crumbs (from sliced bread - whole wheat works best)
2 tablespoons canola oil

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients, except oil until blended. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

With a tablespoon, carefully spoon poker-chip size mini-cakes into the pan. (The batter will be loose, but once the egg in the mix starts to cook they will hold together fine.)

Cook on 1 side until firm, about 2 minutes, and then flip and cook for about 1 more minute.

Cook in batches as necessary. Serve hot with mustard sauce.

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Mustard Sauce:

1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Roasted Tomatoes and Mushrooms

My dad saw this recipe on the food network. We modified it a bit but you the regular recipe is below. We only used one type of mushroom and we used dried Thyme. It turned out absolutely amazing. I would recommend it to anyone!

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and then thinly sliced
2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
1/2 pound button mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
4 springs fresh thyme
1/2 cup white wine
Flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven 425 degrees F

Place a large skillet on the cook top with the extra-virgin olive oil and the sliced garlic, spread out the garlic so it is in an even layer in the oil. Place the skillet over medium heat and slowly brown the garlic stirring every now and then until golden all over, 4 to 5 minutes.

Once you have the garlic going, place the tomatoes on a cookie sheet and drizzle with some extra-virgin olive oil and season with some salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 8 to 10 minutes or until the tomatoes start to burst.

Once the garlic is brown remove it from the skillet and reserve. Turn the heat up under the skillet to high, once you see the oil ripple add the mushrooms and spread them out in an even layer. Let them cook for about 4 minutes without moving. Go ahead and give them a stir, add the dried thyme and season with some freshly ground black pepper, continue to cook for another 5 minutes stirring every now and then.

Add the white wine and cook until it has almost completely evaporated, add some salt and stir to combine.

Transfer the mushrooms to a serving platter, add the roasted tomatoes and the parsley and stir to combine. Sprinkle with the garlic chips and serve hot, warm, room temperature.

Spinach Dip!

Yummm! Since being pregnant I have become a salt wench! All I want are salty foods! So, since I eat more potato chips than I care to admit, I thought I would share with you my mom's famous and awesomely easy Spinach Dip!

Spinach Dip!

1. package frozen spinach (de-thawed and drained well)

2. 1 package onion soup mix

3. 1 16 oz tub, fat free sour cream

In order to drain spinach, the easiest way is to take the de-thawed spinach, wrap in a cheese cloth or towel and twist over the sink. A green liquid will poor out and you will be left with very dry spinach.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and keep cool. Enjoy!!



It doesn't look all that appetizing but it is darn good!

3 Bean Salad

3 Bean Salad:
1/2 pound fresh green beans, washed and cut into 1/3
2 rounded teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar, eyeball the amount
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball the amount
1 (15-ounce) cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl, combine mustard, sugar and vinegar. Whisk in oil. Add kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans and parsley to the bowl and toss to coat bean salad evenly with dressing. Season salad with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

Since I am currently diabetic I have deleted the sugar and it taseted juts fine. It was a little tart, but overall very good!

A great snack....

Well, if you like Garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas). Just for the record it is totally vegan and/or vegiterian.

Since I have random blood sugar, it decides to spike or drop at any moment, I always need to have snacks (packed with protein) so I don't collapse :)

This one I found in a cook book and I love it!

1 lemon (depending on juice and how much lemon flavor you love!)

4 sprigs fresh dill or rosemary

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 can chickpeas

Mix lemon juice, dill (chopped or torn) and olive oil in small bowl. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Poor chickpeas in bowl and mix thoroughly. If you like more a bland flavor, add more olive oil. If you like the tartness of the juice, add more lemon. I

This serves as a great side dish with shrimp, or by itself as a protein filled snack!

You can also make double the batch and stick it in the fridge for a couple of hours. I would recommend you not leave it maranating for more than 3 hours, as the acidity of the lemon will turn the chickpeas hard.

Enjoy!