Spaghetti Squash & Cucumber Salad

We brought a meal to our friends who had a baby semi-recently and it was enough to bring them the Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Puerto Rican Lasagna). But I had a leftover spaghetti squash from when I made Spaghetti Squash Primavera. I wanted to try something new with it. So instead of doing a hot dish, I tried out this salad. Once the squash is cooked & the veggies are chopped it's very easy to make. I added some laughing cow cheese to do something different with it. I was also proud that I actually made lemon zest from a lemon rather than just buying it from the spice aisle. This is a refreshing salad and incredibly low in fat & calories if you leave out the oil. 

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash, cut in half & seeded

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 cup black olives, cut in half
2 cucumbers, peeled, sliced, & cut in half
1 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice or juice from a lemon
3 wedges of laughing cow cheese, cut into chunks
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the halves of the squash in a baking dish (cut-side facing down).

Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until it can be cut smoothly.

Scrape out spaghetti squash with fork and let it cool.

Toss the spaghetti squash with olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, cheese & garlic in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, mix the lemon juice & lemon zest in a small bowl.

Pour olive oil into lemon mixture.

Whisk vigorously and add salt & pepper.

Drizzle over the spaghetti squash mixture and toss well.

Refrigerate for about 1 to 2 hours before serving. 

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

I made this incredible salad and was so proud that I was able to make homemade dressing with it as well. The dressing made the salad complete. I didn't even know what a tomatillo was. (Looks like a small green tomato). But they actually had them at Walmart in the produce section. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup light mayo
1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1/4 cup cilantro paste
3 small tomatillos, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, diced
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/8 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt


Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix until smooth.


What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Layered Mexican Shrimp Salad

This is an amazing salad. I take back my BEST SALAD EVER POST...this is really the best salad ever! 


I found this on Gina's Skinny Taste, of course. I love Gina's website. She is one of my favorite bloggers. I haven't met a recipe on her site that isn't amazing. I steal a lot of recipes from her. Yum Yum Yum. I also had to steal the recipe for the dressing as well. I made creamy tomatillo salad dressing to compliment this layered shrimp salad. I was so proud of myself because I've never made salad dressing from scratch before and it turned out to be addicting. 

Ingredients:

16 oz. cooked shrimp, tail shells removed

2 tbsp chipotle seasoning
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp cilantro paste or fresh cilantro

15 oz can of black beans, drained & rinsed

15 oz can of whole kernel corn, drained & rinsed

1 head of lettuce, shredded

1 small red onion, diced

2 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, diced

2 cucumbers, diced

1 cup reduced fat, shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions:

Thaw & rinse shrimp.

Mix shrimp in a small bowl with chipotle seasoning, lime juice, & some salt to taste.

In a separate bowl combine corn, beans, cilantro, & red onion.

Place lettuce in the bottom of large clear bowl or trifle dish.

Layer bean/corn mixture on top. 

Then top with cucumber, then tomato.

Top with avocado. (I ran out of avocados so I just spread out the fresh guacamole I had in the fridge)

Then top with the layer of cheese. 

Finish off with the shrimp on the top.

Serve with dressing! 

BEST SALAD EVER!

I often run out of ideas on what to pack for lunch every day when I'm working. I refuse to eat the cafeteria food (I'm sure it's great, but I'm not in middle school anymore!) and I want something healthy, but easy. So it limits my options. Like I've said before, I used to be the frozen food lean cuisine queen. But I've gotten tired of that. So I'm on a new salad kick. 


I'll buy sliced cucumbers, chick peas, hard boiled eggs (no yoke) & baby corn usually just from the salad bar at Weis or some other grocery store. I like to mix in craisins and fresh avocado. For some more protein I heat up baked breaded chicken breast and cut into pieces. It's the perfect meal and it's super filling!  It's also really pretty to look at. 


Dressing? Depends what I'm in the mood for...sometimes I splurge on low fat ranch or honey mustard. But good ol' italian or balsamic vinaigrette is  staple for me too. I'm always looking for good salad options. So if you have any ideas...send them my way!

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Southwestern Pasta Salad

Perfect for those summer barbecues. Cut down on the pasta, skip on the cheese & oil, and replace with vegetables & beans to keep the calories/fat down.


My husband & I were going to a picnic on Sunday night and I needed to come up with a salad recipe. I wanted to do something besides macaroni salad or Amish pasta salad. I wanted to do something healthy & light so I looked up some ideas on All Recipes and pulled this together. Lots of leftovers to eat throughout the week!

Ingredients (serves 12+):

• 1 package of colored rotini pasta 
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 15 oz. cans of whole kernel corn
• 2 15 oz. cans of black beans, drained & rinsed
• 2 green bell peppers, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro paste (goya)
• 4 roma tomatoes, chopped

Directions:

• Cook pasta according to box directions.
• Meanwhile, chop of peppers & tomatoes.  
• In a large bowl combine lime juice, chili powder, cumin, cilantro paste, salt, & garlic. Stir in pasta.
• Mix in veggies, corn, & beans. 
• Stir well, use hands if necessary.
• Chill in fridge until ready to serve.

 Serve in this awesome Mickey Mouse bowl if you have one :-) 

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Taco Salads

This recipe is from my mother, which she got from an article years ago and put in one of my cookbooks. I love it!


Taco salad is my all-time favorite meal. But I always eat them at restaurants, usually not at home. What I love about this recipe is it shows you how to make a real taco salad bowl out of a tortilla shell.


Ingredients:

• 8 inch tortillas (I used wheat)
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can of red kidney beans
• 1 can of corn
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 1 head of lettuce
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Lightly brush one side of tortillas with nonstick olive oil spray (or water).
2. Spray coating into oven safe bowls and press tortillas, coated side up, into bowls.
3. Bake in 350 oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown & crispy
4. Meanwhile, in a skillet brown ground beef, onion, and garlic.
5. Stir in beans, corn, taco sauce.
6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Combine lettuce, tomatoes, & cheese in a large bowl.
8. Take tortillas out of bowl. Add lettuce mixture, top with meat mixture.

Other great additions to this recipe would be avocado or guacamole, salsa, peppers, chili seasoning if you want it spicey. Other types of beans. 

I would love to know that you visited my blog or tried out a recipe. Leave me some love & encouragement!

Chicken Piccata & Ravioli Salad

This was such a hit! (and pretty easy) I had cooked the raviolis earlier in the week and kept them in the fridge. I had spinach, almonds, red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes (!!!) & ranch dressing all in the fridge and I threw them together (with the cold raviolis0 to make a salad to go with the chicken. Tasted great -- all the different flavors and textures and looked very colorful!

The chicken piccata was inspired from "Point-Less" Meals which has a TON of great recipes. But I changed the recipe around to just serve 2 (husband & I), no leftovers. Also, I took out a lot of the oil & butter. I've been trying to use very little of those fatty items, but still go for great taste & great texture. This chicken was great & easy-to-do.

Ingredients:

• 4 ( 4 oz. ) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (i got mine from Costco)
• 1/2 c. egg beaters
• packet of chicken buillon
• 2 cups of water
• 3 T. lemon juice
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. Tobasco sauce
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 T. dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp oil
• olive oil spray

Directions:

1. Boil chicken buillon packet in water
2. In a dish, combine egg beaters, 2 tablespoons of chicken broth, 2 T. lemon juice, garlic, and Tobasco.
3. In another dish combine flour, Parmesan, parsley and salt.
4. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, then in egg mixture, then again in flour mixture.
5. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, heat 1 tsp. oil. Cook chicken until browned and cooked through.  Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.

I would love to know that you visited my blog or tried out a recipe. Leave me some love & encouragement!

Easy Taco Salad

 +  = Taco Salad!

Chicken Ropa Vieja Burrito Bowl

My favorite blog to look at is Gina's Skinny Recipes. She posts unique, healthy, and delicious meals. Plus she shares the weight watcher's point values so I can know if I should be making the meal or not. I've tried several of her recipes so far, but this here is one of my favorites: Chicken Ropa Vieja.

Finished Product

Ingredients For Chicken:

• 3 chicken breast halves
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 2 - 4 cloves garlic, peeled 

• 1 tbsp olive oil or olive oil spray
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup white whine (dry, and not sweet)
• 3/4 cup chicken broth (or just use the reserved chicken broth from crock pot)
• 1 tsp cumin
• garlic powder or garlic salt
• salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for Salad:

• 1 15.5 oz can of black beans or pinto beans
• 1 can of corn, or 1 cup of fresh corn, or 10 oz of frozen corn
• 2 - 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 lime, juice of
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 1 cup of shredded cheese
• 1 head of lettuce

Directions:

1. Place chicken & tomato into crock pot. Add water until covered.
2. Set to high for 4 hours until the chicken is tender. 
3. Separately chop lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and avacado. Mix into large salad bowl.
4. Top with beans, corn, cilantro, lime juice, and shredded cheese.
5. In a large deep skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic & onions. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Stir in chicken, tomato sauce, white wine, and about 3/4 cup of the reserved broth to create a nice sauce. Season with cumin, garlic salt, and pepper. 
7. Cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes more adding more broth and seasoning if needed. Shred chicken using two forks if needed. 
8. Top salad bowl with chicken. Enjoy!

Fresh corn & fresh avacados really make the salad!