Meet Rocko!

Meet Bear!

Ha...you may have noticed a name change:) We reserve the right!! :) He looks too much like a little bear cub, especially when he walks, that we just HAD to call him Bear! Bruno's new friend:) Bear is a chocolate lab. He's a little over 7 weeks old, and we just got him on Sunday!

They clearly get along just fine....(they are sleeping in this photo, not fighting!)

Hungry Girl's Freakishly Good French Onion Soup

This is a waaay slimmed down version of the restaurant soup, which I discovered on average has over 500 calories in a bowl!



This is from the Hungry Girl cookbook--but just a simple recipe that makes sense and tastes really good. I made four servings to keep in the fridge for lunches.

French Onion Soup

1 cup fat free beef broth

1/4 onion, thinly sliced

1/2 slice light bread

1 slice reduced fat provolone cheese (I used a sprinkle of mozzarella instead)



Toast bread and set aside.

Instead of her instructions here, I wanted my onions to cook longer. I put them all in a large pan coated with nonstick spray to cook down. When they needed a little liquid, I added some beef broth a few times. Once they were nice and cooked, I added the broth and simmered it.

Transfer the soup (amount you want) to a microwave safe bowl, top with toasted bread, then cheese. Microwave for 30 seconds or until cheese melts.



Per serving: 113 calories, 4.5 grams of fat

Salsa

Every year for 8th grade open house, my lovely coworker and I try to make some food to draw people in to tell them about our program. This year, we served baked chips with homemade salsa. I love love love this stuff!!

Salsa

1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 can of rotel (however hot you want!)
1/2 jalapeno
3 cloves garlic
handful of cilantro
juice of half of a lime

Toss it all in your food processor, blend it around, and serve! I like it chilled or not, doesn't matter to me!

Crockpot Swiss Chicken

Comfort food at its best....I put this recipe from easycrockpotrecipes.com (although a google search showed it has a lot of "sources"!!) in the crockpot on a Sunday afternoon while I tried to make a few freezer meals and my weekly batch of oatmeal, gearing up for another busy week of combining school and soccer. Getting used to this coaching schedule, although slowly!

Crockpot Swiss Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 slices Swiss cheese (I used 4)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (used 98% fat free)
2 cups stuffing mix (used cornbread variety)
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted (use chicken broth in place of this to cut waaay back on fat and calories!!! Although, if I were going to bake it instead of putting it in the crockpot, I would suggest sticking with the butter if you want a crispy top at all, but you could cut back on the amount.)

Lightly grease slow cooker insert. Place chicken breasts on bottom, top with Swiss cheese, then mushroom soup, then stuffing mix, then drizzle with butter. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Serves 6.

Strawberry Mint Mousse

The judges (culinary professionals) really loved this stuff--passed it all around the tables and called it "so refreshing". They said anyone could make a chocolate dessert, but strawberry is hard to master! Hope you enjoy, too!

Strawberry Mint Mousse

Serves 2

½ pint strawberries, hulled and quartered

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons sour cream

5 tablespoons heavy cream

4 mint leaves, chiffonade

2 whole mint leaves, for garnish

4 oz. dark chocolate (60% cacao)

4 oz. milk chocolate coating

In a medium bowl, sprinkle the strawberries with the sugar and mash lightly with a fork until the strawberries have exuded some juice and sugar begins to dissolve. Let macerate for fifteen minutes.

Strain the juice from the strawberries into a bowl. Whisk the sour cream into the juice. In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold in the sour cream mixture. Gently fold in the strawberries.

Refrigerate until chilled, at least 20 minutes. Spoon the mousse into bowls and garnish with the mint.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Drizzle into martini glass.

Spoon strawberry mousse into martini glass. Garnish with a chocolate deco, mint, and a strawberry if desired.

Adapted from Stephanie Lyness

Food & Wine

Asadero Cheese Sauce

This is so simple but so tasty. Great on top of that rice or I'm sure also good on many other things, including beans.

Asadero Cheese Sauce

2 servings

¼ cup whole milk

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

2 slices Asadero cheese

Slowly heat whole milk and cream over low heat. Add in cheese slices and let melt, whisking to combine. Serve hot.

Steak with Chimichurri and chili pilaf

sooooo yummy! I will post the Asadero cheese sauce next--it's the white stuff in the middle. We were supposed to garnish with brunoise red peppers for a pop of color, but oh well! Their steak was cooked perfectly!!

Chili Pilaf with Steak and Chimichurri

Serves 2

1 tbsp butter

2 tablespoons orzo pasta

1 cup chicken stock

½ cup rice

2 tablespoons pimientos, drained well and finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoons chili powder

¾ tsp sweet smoked paprika

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

½ large shallot, minced

½ large clove garlic, grated or minced

½ cup packed flat leaf parsley

Grated peel of ½ lemon

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 6-oz strip steaks, at room temperature

½ red pepper, julienne

½ yellow pepper, julienne

¼ red pepper, brunoise

Preheat a grill pan or large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the orzo and cook, stirring, until toasted and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in the chicken stock, rice, pimientos, chili powder, and paprika and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 16 minutes. Remove from the heat, let stand for 10 minutes without uncovering, then uncover and fluff with a fork.

While the pilaf is working, combine the vinegars, shallot, garlic, parsley, thyme, marjoram, and lemon peel. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the olive oil; season with salt and pepper.

To prepare the peppers, heat a small amount of oil over medium heat and sauté without adding much color.

Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Cook on the grill pan, turning once, for 8 minutes for rare. Let the meat rest for a few minutes, then slice thinly on the bias.

Place a bed of rice and a drizzle of chimichurri on the plate. Alternate steak and pepper slices, drizzle chimichurri and cheese sauce over the top, and garnish with brunoise red pepper.

Adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine

Santa Fe Salad

I am finally posting our ProStart recipes. The competition was yesterday and my students did a wonderful job. It was so fun to have the largest cheering section in the whole place--thanks to everyone who came!! This is their starter--one of my very favorite salads. Top it with shrimp, chicken, or beef for a complete meal.

Santa Fe Salad

Serves 2

Salad:

1 ½ cups chopped romaine lettuce

½ tomato, medium diced

½ cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

¼ ripe avocado, diced

½ green pepper, julienne

¼ small sweet onion, brunoise

½ carrot, diagonal cut

½ cup fresh parsley leaves, minced

¼ cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 corn tortilla, cut into strips and fried in 2 cups minus 2 tbsp oil (OR just crush up tortilla chips)

Dressing:

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, minced

½ garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon minced jalapeno pepper (adjust according to taste preferences)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Toss all salad ingredients in large bowl.

In separate bowl, combine lime juice, honey, and mustard. Whisk in oil slowly to form an emulsion. Stir in remaining ingredients. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Pour dressing over mixture and toss again. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with shredded cheese and tortilla strips and serve.

Vegetable "Skinny Soup"

Cut up a bunch of vegetables and cook them in some chicken broth!! Drizzle with a little Sriracha (rooster sauce in my vocabulary:) and you've got a great main dish for lunch! I have been eating it with a piece of fruit and a string cheese every day.

I used: carrot, zucchini, broccoli, onion, red pepper, kale, and celery. Brought chicken broth to a boil, then added in everything but the kale. Add in the kale in the last few minutes of cooking time.