Carribean Rice n' Shrimp

This recipe comes from the cookbook "Taste of Home, Ultimate 5-ingredient Recipes," which I received as a Christmas gift. I made this last night and it was delish!

1 pkg. (8oz.) Caribbean rice mix (I used Zatarans)
6 C. water
1/2 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used a 14oz. bag of frozen cooked, but you can use uncooked also)
1 med. tomato, chopped

Prepare rice mix according to the package directions, omitting the chicken. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add asparagus; cover and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in shrimp, cook for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp turns pink. Drain. Add asparagus, shrimp, and tomato to rice; toss gently. Makes 4 servings.

Note: I sauteed a couple of red and yellow bell peppers to bulk up the recipe. It was very yummy, and my whole family loved it. It is super easy to make, also, and I love all the colors in this dish!

Pumpkin Time

If your anything like me your all about the pumpkin right now. Yum ! Here are a few great recipes. Happy Fall !

PUMPKIN BREAD

Ingredients

* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 3 cups white sugar
* 1 cup canola oil
* 4 eggs, beaten
* 2 cups solid pack pumpkin puree
* 2/3 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two loaf pans.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and cloves.
3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugar, oil and eggs. Stir in pumpkin. Slowly blend the flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. While blending the mixture add water incrementally. Pour the batter into two prepared loaf pans.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 90 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pans.

PUMPKIN ROLL

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3 large eggs
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
* 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
* 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle towel with powdered sugar.

2. COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

3. BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

4. BEAT cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Because I'm nice I won't add the nutrition information :) Your welcome !

PUMPKIN PANCAKES

Maple-Pecan Syrup
1 cup maple-flavored syrup
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Pancakes
2 1/3 cups Original Bisquick® mix
1/3 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs

1. In 1-quart saucepan, heat syrup and butter until butter is melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in pecans.

2. Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375°F. Grease griddle with vegetable oil if necessary. In medium bowl, stir all pancake ingredients until well blended. For each pancake, pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle.

3. Cook until edges are dry. Turn; cook other sides until golden brown. Serve with syrup.

If you like strawberries...

Oh my goodness, I just had to share this picture I found of a gorgous cake! If you are talented and can make a cake like this, then props to you!

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

Hi Everyone!
I thought I would share this great recipe I found here.

* 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
* 1 3/4 cups sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 tablespoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
* STREUSEL TOPPING:
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/3 cup cold butter or margarine


Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Fold in blueberries. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan.
2. For topping, combine sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw before adding to batter.

This was so great! My husband loved it and it helped me use up some of the blueberries I have right now. Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Salad

Yes, I have been a little quiet lately. It seems I have started a compltely new workout routine and eating plan, so it has been taking up a lot of my time. In addition, we have been busy with lots of summer plans. I did want to hop on the computer tonight to share a new recipe. I have been searching for easy, healthy summer recipes for my family because my husband works outside and doesn't want hot food for dinner. So this is what I found. It came from this book:

which I swiped from my mother-in-law many years ago. (Shh, don't tell!)
So here is the recipe, with my small changes included:

*Chicken Noodle Salad*
8oz Fettuccine (I used Ronzoni Smart Taste Enriched White Angel Hair instead)
1 1/2 C. 99% Fat Free Chicken Broth
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 ground ginger
1 can or 2 C. cubed cooked chicken breast (I like the cans from Costco!)
2 carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 C. frozen peas
1/3 C. low-fat sour cream
2 Tbsp. low fat (light) mayonnaise
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp.fresh lemon juice
1/3 C. snipped fresh dill
1/2 tsp. salt
2 ribs celery, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the noodles until just tender. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, bring the broth, pepper, and ginger to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer, add the chicken, cover, and cook for about 10 min. Add the carrots for the last 2 minutes of cooking time. Add the peas to the skillet and remove from heat. Reserving the cooking liquid, drain the chicken and vegetables.
3. In a large bowl, combine the 1/2 C. of reserved liquid, the sour cream, mayo, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill, and salt. Add the pasta, chicken, carrots, peas, and celery, tossing to combine. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 4 servings. Prep:20min. Total time: 30min.
For those of you that would like nutritional information...
Fat 8 grams
Calories-415
Protiein-32grams

If you are on Weight Watchers, this is 7 points.


Enjoy!
Oh, and P.S.- my husband loved it!

Delicious!

If you have not tried this.....

you simply must! It is delicious...it takes like freshly squeezed juice! I got the pulp-free kind and it was soooo yummy! They have it at pretty much any grocery store-I usually buy Crystal Light or juice from concentrate, but I had a hankering for orange juice and this completely satisfied it!

Yumm Bowls

I haven't been inspired in the kitchen as much as I usually am, but I did want to post one delicious dinner I made this week. This is called Yumm Bowls, which are a dish served at Cafe Yumm, which has locations in several cites in Oregon. They are a super healthy restaurant, and lucky for me, you can buy the "special sauce" all bottled up and ready to go. I've tried making the sauce from scratch before, but it was just not the real things. So, here is the recipe for the bowls. They are full of fiber, protein, and are so good for you!

Yumm Bowls



Ingredients: (Layer any way you want to)
*Brown Rice-cooked
*Cheddar Tillamook Cheese-shredded
*Beans (You choose which ones you like, but I like dark red kidney, black, and garbanzo. Make sure to put the beans in a strainer and rinse to get all the slimy stuff off.)
*Tomatoes-fresh, diced
*Avocados-sliced
*Olives-sliced
*Cilantro-chopped
*Lettuce-chopped
*Sour Cream
*Yumm Sauce-I say to start with a little, then add more as needed. It is pretty powerful!



Mix it all up and enjoy! The actual restaurant offers lots of variations, but I like them just like this!