Tarragon Mustard Cream Fish and Veggie Foil Packets

Welcome to my new favorite cooking method.  Foil packets on the grill. Wrap up some veggies and some easy, flavorfully sauced protein in some foil, throw on the grill, and dinner is served within 15 minutes from start to finish. I served it with my favorite frozen bread product, Alexia Garlic Bread, to sop up the sauce. Absolutely perfect for summer. This recipe is from Pam Anderson’s awesome book The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great. Let me just say that I LOVE this cookbook. She really encourages as much mixing and matching so that there really is no set recipe per se, but plenty of guidance and ideas…not to mention so many fantastic lightened recipes that don’t feel lightened one bit. I have multiple recipes from this book on my menu this week – this was tonight’s!

Eggs with Pesto, Tomato, and Avocado

This isn’t exactly a “recipe”, it’s really just cooking some eggs and assembly. This was my favorite breakfast over the summer when I had tomatoes coming out of my ears. These days, when tomatoes are mostly sad and flavorless, I make this whenever I can find some good looking ones. It’s quick, super flavorful, and pretty darn healthy.

Cauliflower Soup with Crème Fraîche

Who knew you could make crème fraîche at home? Seriously, who did and didn’t tell me?? I went to a cooking class at Stonewall Kitchen in York, Maine not too long ago and my brain exploded when I learned about this. I love crème fraîche so so so much (here’s another good application for it), but I rarely buy it because it is kind of expensive. It’s super easy to make, as is this soup, and it’s wicked delicious together. This might make a cauliflower lover out of haters – it has with us!

Grilled Chicken with Brie and Prosciutto

An unexpected heat wave in Boston led me to ditch my plans for oven-roasted chicken to something lighter on the grill. I love summer (and summer foods), but enough is enough already. I CANNOT wait to make soups and roasted foods again and omg CHILI with all the fixins? Yes, please. Summer, I’m all set with you. But, for now, temps in the 80s and 90s are where we’re at and this dish is perfect for a hot summer night.

Spaghetti Squash Chicken Pad Thai

Um, this dish is amazing. I’m so excited about it that I  feel like that’s all I can say…but I’ll try to expound a little. Roasted and shredded spaghetti squash perfectly imitates those mushy pad thai noodles. The sauce is perfection and made from ingredients that are probably in your cabinet. This is such a healthy and hearty dish because of the sheer mass of vegetables. New favorite dinner, hands down.

Broiled Bluefish with Herbed Lemon Mustard Aioli

I found ridiculously fresh bluefish for a ridiculously low price at the store so I decided to pick some up on a whim for lunch. I don’t think I’ve ever cooked bluefish myself before, but I remember eating it with a mayo topping at my family’s house on Cape Cod, so I decided to keep it simple and try my hand at that. I served this with some of the extra lemony aioli topping on the side and it was awesome.

Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Herb Frittata

I suck at making omelets. They inevitably always end up as a “scramble” because I can’t flip an omelet to save my life.  A frittata is basically the answer to that because it requires NO FLIPPING. And, it will serve as a fantastic breakfast on the go for me all week long.

BLT Salad with Buttermilk Chive Dressing

I’ve had bad cravings for a BLT sandwich lately. You know the kind. Toasted, crusty white semolina bread, big slather of mayonnaise, crispy bacon, juicy fresh tomatoes, and crisp romaine lettuce. Gah, I die. Well, this is my summertime (aka lighter) version of the classic BLT. This salad makes a super easy and fast first course and it manages to accomplish the oh-so-rare combination of satisfying, yet still light. And it has bacon.

Broccoli, Ham, and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Portability. This is the exact thing I need during a busy workweek to keep me from hitting the dreaded drive-thru on my hour+ commute to work. Something I can grab on my way out the door and know that when I finally reach my office, I can zap a piece of this casserole and enjoy a legitimate breakfast on the fly. This casserole is perfect for this – AND, it’s low-carb and only about 250 calories per serving. I’ve made it twice in as many weeks an I can see it as a regular in our menu plan. Eggs, cubed ham steak, broccoli, cheese – easy peasy. Make a big dish of this on Sunday, cut into 8 squares, and you’ve got breakfast for you and your mate for 80% of the workweek. I might get drive-thru crap on the 5th day when we run out, but that’s harm reduction at its best. Right?

Mashed Unpotatoes / Cheesy Cauliflower Puree

Soooo, I’ve been taking a little break from the blog, if you haven’t noticed. And I’m sure you’re thrilled that in my reappearance I give you cauliflower. It’s not the most popular vegetable, I know, but I’ve been making this a ton and it’s awesome! Considering cauliflower is among Brian’s top 3 hated foods (along with mushrooms and olives – he doesn’t know what he’s missing!), that’s saying a lot. I’ve tried my hand at faux mashed potatoes before, and those are good, but there’s just something about the consistency which screams I’M NOT A POTATO. This recipe, however, only whispers “I’m not a potato, but I’m the next closest thing if not better!” For real. It’s amazing what a little cheese does to making the cauliflower thick and creamy. Make this, I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Bruschetta Chicken with Avocado and Balsamic Drizzle

OMG was this good. This is a perfect example of how the right combination of super simple ingredients can produce something 100% fabulous. Brian and I loved this dish – a keeper!

Roasted Romaine: Caesar Style

I’m not sure where this craving came from, but I really wanted some sort of warm salad. Hot lettuce may sound like an odd choice, but I tell you, it was delicious. It may be my go-to salad from now on.

Spaghetti Squash and Meatball Boats

So we’ve been doing the low-carb thing for a couple weeks now. It’s recipes like these that keep me keepin’ on. I love so many things about eating limited carbs, except for the obvious lack of pasta. BUT, to the defense of this diet/lifestyle, there’s no shortage of cheese (hello, lover), meats, eggs, and veg – also many of my favorite foods. I actually feel a lot more energetic and “lighter” eating this way, so it’s all good.

Oh, and by the way, this dish is AMAZING. Tender (but still with a little bite) spaghetti squash with perfect meatballs, tomato sauce, and melted cheese? How bad could that be. It’s the first time spaghetti squash hasn’t pissed me off – that’s saying a lot since I’ve given it a lot of chances subbing for pasta. I used Mario Batali’s tomato sauce recipe which is my go-to recipe for quick-cooking tomato sauce. I also used my favorite meatball recipe for the meatballs (I subbed almond meal for the bread crumbs), but use whichever is your favorite. Same goes with the sauce. For this dish, instead of frying the meatballs, I just dropped them in the tomato sauce to cook for about 35-40 minutes. I did this, along with cutting and de-seeding the spaghetti squash, ahead of time on the weekend, so come weeknight, it was a very easy dinner to put together. Perfection.

Lighter Chili Rellenos

So you’re probably thinking, “this thing is covered in cheese, how is it ‘lighter’?” Well, friends, this thing is usually sans veggies, deep-fried AND covered in cheese. This is actually a vegetarian meal you can feel pretty good about. Yes, there’s cheese. But cheese makes the world go ’round. And it’s covering loads of corn and veg. Now, I will warn you, poblano peppers can be a little inconsistent in their heat levels. I’ve had them when they’re very spicy or very mild – tonight we sure got some spicy ones! But just dollop some greek yogurt or sour cream on top and all is mellowed out.

Tomato-Almond Pesto over Seared Chicken

I saw Lidia Bastianich make this pesto with basil, tomatoes, almonds, and grated cheese and knew I had to make it. I loved that she served it over chicken instead of the typical pasta, so that’s what I did too. It is a fantastic way to fancy-up a simple piece of chicken!  Delicious!

Healthier Buffalo Chicken

This dish was inspired by a recipe I yanked out of Brian’s Men’s Health mag (i love this mag, too). It was written as a sandwich, but we decided to cut out the roll. I have to say, this was so good and so easy! It’s nice to not over-complicate dinner every once in a while. 🙂

Shrimp with Feta and Tomatoes

Another recipe that I loved from our greek cooking class. Shrimp with Feta and Tomatoes — also known as “Shrimp Scorpio”. Love.

Mustard Chicken

Everyone needs a new chicken recipe from time to time — and this one is yum. This recipe is all about the sauce. Mustard is one of my favorite things ever, and I love anything involving a sauce. Try it when you’re in a chicken rut!

Broccoli & Cheddar Crustless Mini Quiches

I’m on a bit of a mini kick lately. And a breakfast kick.  And a yummy things that make my morning happier kick.

These mini quiches are not only adorable, but are a perfect idea for breakfast as it allows you to squeak some veg in the morning hours, which I’m always trying to do.

Mini Frittatas

After realizing that I have 238 recipes saved (from blogs alone!) that I want to make, I decided it was time to start chipping away at the list. This endeavor started with breakfast this morning. These were super easy, pretty darn healthy (using egg beaters), and overall a great go-to breakfast. I look forward to grabbing a couple of these little guys on my way out the door to go to work this week.