Shrimp and Asparagus salad

Here's another one from the WW in 20 minutes book ... I should point out, hubby is not a fan of asparagus. I am not either, but then again, I'm not a fan of many veggies, but I keep trying. I actually have some asparagus in the freezer that I may try this with soon.

1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch lengths
2 tbs lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 lb peeled/deveined shrimp (cooked)
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 ed onion, thin sliced
2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
2 hard cooked eggs, sliced

Fill large skillet with 1 inch of water and bring to boil. Add asparagus and cook, covered, til crisp tender 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool running water.
Whisk together lemon juice, oil, salt & pepper in small bowl, set aside.
Transfer asparagus to bowl. Add shrimp, onions, parsley, tomatoes. Drizzle with dressing & toss to coat evenly. Top with eggs.

Serves 4

Denver Omlet

Another recipe courtesy of WW in 20 minutes. Did I ever mention how I love to come across a quick new, to me, recipe that I have all the ingredients in house for?!

1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 lb sliced lean ham, chopped
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 cup ff egg substitute

Spray medium nonstick skillet with nonstick spray over medium heat. Add bell pepper, onion, ham and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until veggies are softer, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour in the egg substitute and cook til almost set about 3 minutes, lifting the edges of egg with a heatproof rubber spatula to allow uncooked egg to run underneath.
Fold in half and cook til set, about 2 minutes. Cut in half, place each half on a plate and serve. 

Serves 2.

Presto Pesto Sirloin

This is NOT a tried and true recipe, not yet.  But its part of the Busy Nights Healthy Family Meals cookbook section and I've definately put it on my list for trying.

Non stick spray
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano crushed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb sirloin steak (boneless), rimmed of all fat

1 c fresh basil
1/2 c chicken broth
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium garlic clove
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbs and 1 tsp pine nuts (roasted in pan or oven)

Preheat broiler, spray broiler pan & tray with nonstick stuff. 
In shallow dish, stir in lemon juice, oregano, garlic powder & pepper. Add steak and turn over a few times to coat. Let sit 5 or so minutes.
In food processor, process all the pesto ingredients til smooth (not the pine nuts). Pour into small saucepan and bring to simmer over medium high heat. Simmer 2 minutes or so til thickenend, stir occasionally. Remove from heat.

Broil the steak til desire doneness. Serve topped with the pesto & pine nuts.  Round out with brocolli if desired.

Blackened Grouper Sandwiches

For those who live in Florida, you know that most "local" restaurants will offer this at some point on the menu and man, it is sooooo very good.  I had purchased some filets from Winn Dixie when they were buy one get free a while ago & I've got burger buns that need to be used so here we go!

4 grouper filets
blackening season (I use Badia brand, cheaper, bigger bottle, just as good as that Jean P stuff)
Lemon (for the juice)
Burger buns
Coleslaw (I just use the raw cabbage from a bag and toss with the thousand island dressing)
Thousand Island dressing
Pickle spears

Lay out the filets in a glass dish. Run your fingers over to be sure there are no bones (I have fish bone phobia, sorry). Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the fish.  Sprinkle evenly with the blackened seasoning. A little makes it a flavor, alot gives it a kick, use your discretion.

Spray a grill pan with a heavy amount of no stick spray once pan is heated to medium high. Place filet on pan & cook til cooked.

Place cooked filet on bun, top with a little coleslaw, thousand island dressing and a pickle spear on the side.

Mushroom Soup with Noodles

So I got this book from the library last week, "Weight Watchers in 20 Minutes".

Mind you, we are NOT doing weight watchers in this house.

But I am all for eating healthier AND in less than 20 minutes. So I checked it out.

This is origianlly called double mushroom broth & soba noodles. Soba noodles is considered a speciality and I'm completely against buying something for ONE recipe. And TOFU? Uhh. No. I dont' think  so. So I made changes ...

8 ounces angel hair pasta
4 cups chix broth
4 quarter size slices peeled fresh ginger, sliced thinly
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 lb cooked chicken (or heck, just use a can of the stuff already made)
2 cans of mushrooms (fresh if you have, but I don't!)
1/4 cup chopped chives.

Cook pasta according to directions, drain & set aside. Meanwhile, combine broth, ginger, soy, seasme oil in medium size pan, bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered 5 minutes. stir in chicken and mushrooms. Cover, cook for about 5 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and stir in chives.

Put 3/4 of the noodles in 4 bowls and divide the soup evenly among the 4. Serve

Just another Herb Viniagrette

Yup. That's pretty much it. But you know what ... any vinagrette is better than no vinagrette.  And honestly, I keep forgetting how much I love the simple flavors when they are made fresh, at home, right before dinner...so much for the bottled salad dressing that I can get dirt cheap. This is dirt cheap too and so much fresher tasting.

In a jar with tight fitting lid (doesnt' need to be large, my tostidos salsa jar was way too big) add:

juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard (anything but the bright yellow kind)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped/minced
a few twist of fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbs italian seasoning (dried herbs) or use thyme, basil, etc.

Put on the lid tightly and shake to mix well. Dress the salad and mix well. Our simple salad with dinner last night?  2 romaine hearts, chopped, half of a iceburg head, chopped, 2 plum tomatoes, chopped 1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced and topped with fresh parmesean cheese.  This was actually better than the pasta we had with it, in my opinion. I love fresh salads!