Feta and Red Pepper Stuffed Chicken

I created this recipe because I love feta and peppers and I thought, wouldn't that be a delicious filling for a stuffed chicken? Well, I was correct... making stuffed chicken does not have to be difficult... in fact, I've made this very easy! Let me know what you think!

Ingredients for stuffing and chicken:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- handful of fresh basil
- 1 cup feta cheese
- salt
- pepper
- oregano
- olive oil

Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 cans of diced tomatoes
- 10 garlic cloves, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- salt
- pepper
- sugar
- crushed red pepper
- oregano

To make the filling:
In a medium pan, saute on medium high heat, the onions, garlic and red peppers about 10 minutes or until they are tender. Season with salt and pepper and stir every 2 minutes.

To make the sauce:
In a blender or food processor, pulse the crushed tomatoes for 5 pulses. In a medium sauce pan, saute on medium high heat the onions and garlic for about 6 minutes so that is' almost tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes to the mixture and reduce to medium heat. Stir together. Add oregano and crushed red pepper to taste. Add another 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar. Cover and let this simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Stir every 3-4 minutes.

To prepare the chicken:
Slice the chicken breasts down the middle, butterfly style. With a meat pounder, or something heavy, pound the chicken until it's flat. Season the inside with salt, pepper, oregano and crushed red pepper.

Remove the pepper and onion mixture from the stove and mix with 1 cup of feta cheese. Chop up or rip apart a handful of fresh basil and mix in with the feta and pepper mixture.

Now that the chicken is flat, spoon about 2 spoonfuls of the feta mixture into a long strip of the chicken so that it's easy to roll up. Roll tightly.

Heat a large skillet with olive oil. Once the pan is heated, gently place the chicken, folded side down into the pan and season the top with salt and pepper. Cook about 5 min on each side and continue rolling until all sides are cooked. About 12-15 minutes for the whole thing.

Remove and serve immediately, topping with the sauce and any additional fresh basil.

This will become your new favorite dinner!

Annie's Asian Sesame Pasta Salad

So I decided to do another competition for Annie's Naturals and this is the recipe I came up with. It's pretty delicious and very easy to make. Try it out and let me know what you think!







Check out the VIDEO on YOUTUBE!

Ingredients:
- 1 Bottom Annie's Asian Sesame Dressing
- 1 pound Tri- Colored Rotini
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 16 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 large carrots, shredded
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- crushed red pepper
- fresh basil, diced

To Make:
Boil a pot of salted water and cook the pasta according to the package, about 8 minutes or until al-dente.

In the meantime, drizzle olive oil into a large pan and cook the onions, red peppers, garlic and celery for about 10 minutes on medium high heat, stirring frequently until tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Mix in the cooked vegetables and carrots.

Slowly add in the bottom of Annie's Asian Sesame Dressing and mix together, adding more salt and pepper to taste. Also, add in the crushed red pepper to taste.

Lastly, shred the fresh basil and add that on top.

Serve at room temperate or cold. Delicious either way!

Feta, Red Pepper and Basil Crostini

So I created this today and by far, it's the best thing I've made all week! Not only that but it's super simple and you can make it in just about 12 minutes! If you love feta, you will LOVE this appetizer!







Ingredients:
- Whole Wheat baguette
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- Feta Cheese
- fresh garlic, minced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- FRESH BASIL
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper

To Make:

Saute the onions, peppers and garlic in olive oil for 10 minutes on medium high heat or until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Stir every 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and place into mixing bowl. Mix in 3/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese. Chop a handful of fresh basil and add into mixture. Mix ingredients together.

Toast several baguettes.

Top baguettes with feta mixture and serve immediately.

SOOO DELICIOUS!!! The best part, they don't fall apart when you eat them!

Salmon with Peas and Garlic-Tomato Sauce

I really enjoy cooking with salmon because I think it's a very versatile fish. I have been able to create TONS of completely different meals with salmon, it's great! This meal, is not only delicious but the colors are really great. This is awesome for the holidays :-) Try it out and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

- 2 6oz. pieces of salmon
- 2 large cans of plain diced tomatoes
- 12 large garlic gloves, diced and chunky
- 1 onion
- 1 small bag frozen or fresh peas
- olive oil
- crushed red pepper
- salt
- pepper
- oregano
- handful of fresh basil
- sugar

To Make:

Start by drizzling olive oil into a sauce pan and sauteing the onions and garlic on medium high heat for about 6-7 minutes or until almost tender.

In the meantime, using a food processor, empty the cans of diced tomatoes into the food processor along with the fresh basil and pulse about 5 times, 2 seconds per pulse.

Once the onions and garlic are ready, add the sauce into the pot and mix together. Season with 1 teaspoon of the following, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, oregano. Add a pinch of sugar. Mix ingredients together and cover. Cook on medium high heat for about 12 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. Reduce to medium low heat and continue to stir every 4 minutes.

In a frying pan or griddle, brush olive oil onto the pan and turn on stove to get the pan hot.

Place salmon fillets in a dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and oregano.

When the pan is hot, gently place the salmon in the pan and saute each side about 4-5 minutes. You can use a thermometer to get the exact temperature of "done-ness"

In a smaller pot, drizzle olive oil and empty the peas into the pot. Drizzle the top with more olive oil and season with a light coating of salt and pepper and crushed red pepper. Stir together and cook on medium high heat for about 10 minutes.

To plate: Ladle a nice helping of sauce on the bottom of the plate. Arrange the salmon over top of the sauce and top with peas and extra sauce if desired.

Beautiful and delicious!

Peas and Carrots - they're not just Theater chatter...

Who loves peas and carrots? I certainly do. If you've ever been in a theater production, you'll know that when the cast is supposed to be "pretending to talk" on stage, they are really just mouthing, "Peas and Carrots." It's the best thing to say because it REALLY looks like your saying something so interesting! But enough about the Theater, I love using peas and carrots in my cooking and here is a delicious and quick meal you can throw together in no time that is nutritious and tasty!

Ingredients:

- 1/2 pound angel hair pasta
- 1 small bag frozen peas and carrots
- 1 small onion, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- olive oil
- fresh basil
- Parmesan cheese
- crushed red pepper
- salt
- pepper

To Make:

Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta according the the package, about 6 minutes or until al-dente.

In the meantime, drizzle olive oil into a large saute pan and saute the diced onion and garlic for about 5 minutes on medium heat until almost cooked. Add in the frozen peas and carrots and drizzle more olive oil over top. Add salt and pepper to taste and crushed red pepper. Stir together and cook also on medium heat about 8 minutes or until the peas and carrots are cooked through. Mix every 2 minutes.

When the pasta is finished, drain immediately and add into the peas and carrots. Drizzle a liberal serving of olive oil over the pasta and mix into the veggies. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese.

Transfer into a large serving bowl.Rip up a handful of fresh basil and drizzle over top. Top with extra Parmesan if desired. Add more salt and pepper to taste and crushed red pepper.

Serve immediately.

Orzo with Spinach

There is something about orzo that is very comforting to me. Orzo is great in many different recipes but this is one of my favorites because of how quick and easy it is. You can literally have this on your table in 15 min or less (it all depends on how fast you can boil water)



Ingredients:

- 1 cup orzo
- 1 cup spinach (fresh or frozen)
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- Parmesan Cheese
- crushed red pepper
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil
- fresh basil, chopped

To Make:

Boil a small pot of salted water and cook the orzo for 8 minutes until al-dente, follow the package instructions.

In the meantime, drizzle olive oil into a large pan and saute the onion and garlic on med. high heat for about 5-6 minutes or until they are tender.

Add in fresh spinach or frozen spinach. Season with salt and pepper.

Note: If using frozen spinach, once adding into the pan, add more olive oil and cover immediately. If using fresh spinach, wash thoroughly and add into dish uncovered.

The frozen spinach will need to cook for about 8-10 minutes on medium-high heat. Fresh spinach should only cook for about 3-4 minutes on the same heat settings.

When the orzo is ready, drain and add immediately into the spinach mixture. Drizzle more olive oil over top and add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Mix together. To give this dish a kick, add 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper. Season everything with more salt and pepper and add more Parmesan cheese to top when serving. For extra flavor, top with FRESH BASIL... nothing beats fresh basil. It's the greatest!

Delicious! Best of all it's QUICK and nutritious!

Filled Cabbage - Hungarian Style

I'm 25 percent Hungarian, so I thought I would pay some homage to my Hungarian side with this dish. I really like filled cabbage so I wanted to create my own version and as usual, it turned out delicious.









Ingredients:

- 1 head green cabbage
- 2 large cans of plain tomato sauce
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 carrot, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- salt
- pepper
- crushed red pepper
- oregano
- paprika
- olive oil

To Make:

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to boil.

In the meantime, drizzle olive oil into a medium saute pan and saute (on med. high heat) 1/2 diced onion, 3 cloves of garlic, diced carrots and diced celery for 8 min or until tender. Season with salt and pepper.

In a smaller pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and cook the rice as according to the package.

In another large pot (for the sauce) drizzle some olive oil and saute the remaining onion and garlic until tender, about 5 min on med. high heat. Add the sauce into the onions and garlic and mix together. Add 1 teaspoon of the following, salt, black pepper, paprika, oregano and 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper. Mix ingredients together, cover and reduce to med. low heat.

Begin carefully removing the layers of cabbage and set aside. Once the water is boiling, add the cabbage and cook in the boiling water for 4 minutes. Remove, run cold water over top of the cabbage and drain. Repeat this until all of the cabbage is cooked.

In a large mixing bowl, add the meat, rice and the cooked vegetables. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, paprika and crushed red pepper, about 1/2 teaspoon of each ingredient. Mix in one egg.

Using a baking dish, spoon sauce into the bottom of the dish and begin assembling the cabbage rolls in the following steps:

1. Gently slice out the hard middle stem of each cabbage leaf.
2. With a large spoon, spoon meat mixture into the top part of the cabbage.
3. Begin rolling cabbage by folding down the sides and rolling into a package
4. Place neatly in baking dish.
5. Repeat until baking dish is filled
6. Top cabbage dish with sauce and place in oven and bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.

Once these are done, let them cool for about 5 minutes before serving. Top with additional sauce if desired.

ENJOY!

Strawberry Topped Cupcakes

Strawberries are a fabulous fruit. They taste great and can work with virtually any desert your preparing but they look beautiful! That's why I like to top my famous low-fat cupcakes with deliciously beautiful strawberries!




Ingredients:

- cupcake mix (any flavor)
- corresponding icing
- 1 cup plain apple sauce
- 3 egg whites
- (Typically) 1- 1/3 cup water
- Fresh strawberries

To Make:

Prepare the cupcake batter as shown on the box, however substitute the oil for one cup of plain apple sauce and the 3 eggs for just the whites.

Bake according the package and let cool for at least 20 minutes before attempting to ice them. Also make sure icing is at room temperature before attempting to ice.

Ice cupcakes with desired icing amount and arrange neatly into a serving dish or cake pan as seen in the picture.

Thoroughly wash strawberries and remove their "greens." Cut out the white part in the center. Slice each strawberry down the middle and arrange in whatever creative fashion you'd like on top of each cupcake. Use remaining strawberries to adorn the serving dish.

Birthday Cupcakes (low-fat too!)

Who doesn't love cupcakes? Off hand, I can't think of anyone. Not only are cupcakes a fun and easy treat to whip up at the drop of a hat, but they are also great to substitute for cake at a birthday. The best part is, these are low fat too!!! I'm giving away the SECRET to fabulous cupcakes that taste moist and delicious AND they are LOOOWWW FATTT!!! (Did I mention they were also B-day cupcakes? Oh yeah... haha I did :-)

Ingredients:

- cupcake mix (any flavor)
- corresponding icing
- 1 cup plain apple sauce
- 3 egg whites
- (Typically) 1- 1/3 cup water
- Tube icing (the kind you can write with that looks like it's in a cheese whiz bottle)

To Make:

Prepare the cupcake batter as shown on the box, however substitute the oil for one cup of plain apple sauce and the 3 eggs for just the whites.

Bake according the package and let cool for at least 20 minutes before attempting to ice them. Also make sure icing is at room temperature before attempting to ice.

Ice cupcakes with desired icing amount and arrange neatly into a serving dish or cake pan as seen in the picture. Taking the tube icing, write any birthday message on the cupcakes also as shown. Word to the wise, practice writing with the icing first before trying it out on the cupcakes.



That's it. It's simple and easy and low fat too! These are great for not only birthdays but any day that you want to make just a little extra special!

Pasta Primavera with Salmon

This dish has brought me great joy because it incorporates several of some of my favorite things: Pasta, Salmon and vegetables! I don't very often see pasta and fish mixed together and served and that's why I thought it was creative. I enjoy making dishes that are typically "unconventional" so this creation was perfect AND delicious!

Ingredients:

- 1 pound Campanelle Pasta
- 3 pounds Salmon
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 whole clove of garlic, minced
- 2 large carrots, shredded
- 2 cups frozen or fresh peas
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Crushed Red pepper
- Dried oregano
- Fresh oregano, minced
- Fresh basil, minced

To Make:

Start by boiling a large pot of salted water. Cook the pasta according to the package, about 8-9 min; always al-dente.

While the water is heating up, dice the vegetables and shred the carrots. In a large saute pan, drizzle the bottom with olive oil and saute the onions, peppers and garlic until tender, about 6-8 min. Season with salt and pepper.

In the meantime, drizzle another large pan with olive oil and place on stove set to med-high heat. Season the salmon with salt, pepper and dried oregano. Place salmon into the pan and reduce to med. heat. The salmon should cook about 4 -6 min. on each side depending on how large a fillet and how many fillets you use. (3 pounds is perfect for this recipe)

Add the carrots and frozen peas into the vegetable mixture and add more olive, salt and pepper. Add in crushed red pepper.

Drain pasta and in an extra large serving dish, drizzle the bottom with olive oil and add pasta along with the vegetables.

Begin breaking up the salmon into large chunks in the same saute pan and immediately add the salmon into the pasta mixture. Add more salt and pepper to taste and add in the minced oregano and basil. Finish off with extra crushed red pepper and olive oil, mix thoroughly and serve immediately!

This dish is a crowd pleaser!