February 2013 ~ Colie's Kitchen

Feb 28, 2013

Creamy Sesame Balsamic Salad Dressing

This salad dressing is very impressive! It’s actually my first try at using balsamic vinegar. I hear so many people talk about it all the time, but I didn’t really know what all the hype was all about. Although I don’t get the hype it definitely makes this dressing delicious. It’s easy to make which always gives a recipe high marks in my book and it’s not expensive either!

I found the original recipe online, but I made a lot of changes to it. People complained about it having too much of a vinegar flavor so when I made it I used half the amount of vinegar and to me it was still a little rough on the tongue so I decided to take it down a little with some honey and that seemed to do the trick!

If you are looking for a homemade salad dressing that has a nice balsamic flavor this dressing is the one for you! I think it would be fantastic to marinade chicken breast in!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup tahini (Sesame paste)
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup water

Directions:

Add ingredients to a blender, and then blend for 30 seconds. Refrigerate until needed. If dressing is too thick after refrigeration add more water.

Number of Servings: 8 (2 tbsp. per serving)

Nutritional Information:

77 calories per serving
7 carbs
5 grams of fat
2 protein
6 sugar

*Nutritional information found on www.myfitnesspal.com this information will vary based on the brand of products you use.*

Original Recipe Source

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HEB Fabric Softener Deals!

I found some very sweet deals tonight at my favorite store HEB! If you have an HEB Grocery Store in your neighborhood you might want to check out their laundry isle. Right now they are clearancing out some drying sheets and liquid softener.

I found these great deal!!

$1.44 for 105 count after in-store coupon!!

70 Count box

Pair this with a .50 off printable coupon and get it for $1.23
Coupon

Pair this with a .50 off printable coupon and get it for $1.38

Coupon

40 count box

HEB Coupon POLICY

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Please forgive the finger prints on the netbook

Recently my laptop caught on fire. Yep on fire! It wasn’t funny, yet it was hilarious, I suppose you had to be there! I was sitting on the floor talking to my husband when all the sudden I realized that the keyboard on my laptop was glowing orange!! Needless to say that was the end of my laptop. It burnt the inside to a crisp! Don’t get me wrong it had seen better days, and I got the money I paid for it out of it and more.

I heard a laptop was coming out that had one trilobite of memory on it so instead of buying a new laptop right away I decided to wait for the one I wanted to come out, but that wasn’t going to be for three months! No problem I would wait!

In the mean time I was using my netbook that I take to school every day. I have this for school because our desk are very small and there really isn’t enough room for a full laptop. It’s been an adjustment use the tiny netbook day to day because it’s so small.

I recently got my new laptop in the mail and it’s so big compared to the little netbook that it almost makes me want to puke using the new one. You wouldn’t think 5 inches could make such a difference but it really does!

I have gotten so accustom to everything being so small in 10 inches that going up to 15 inches has been a test. So far I love it and I am starting to adapt…. All in good time right?

We are linking up at:

• Carrie with Children

• Cooking for my Captain

• Twinkle in the Eye

Come Join Us!

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Mushroom and Rice Casserole

This is a really great recipe that is simple and delicious! It’s very mild flavored so you won’t want to serve anything with it that has too much pep or it will make this recipe look bland.

It’s easy and would be great made on a week night when time is already short, at least it is in our house. We never have enough time during the week so I am always looking for easy recipes.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil if desired
6oz chopped onion
2 oz. bell pepper
16 oz. canned mushroom
2/3 cup long grain white rice
½ cup white wine
2 cup vegetable broth
4 cloves roasted garlic (Garlic Roasted Instructions)

Directions:

If you desire to use olive oil to sauté your vegetables heat it until in a saucepan over medium heat; add mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion until tender, if you do not desire to use oil you will want to use a nonstick pan and as your vegetables are beginning to brown a tablespoon of water occasionally to help them along and to prevent them from burning and sticking cook about 5-8 minutes.
Add in vegetable broth, white wine, rice, and roasted garlic. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 14 to 16 minutes.

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Tiny Garlic Potatoes

I found these cute little potatoes at Trader Joe’s called Teeny Tiny Potatoes. I thought they were so cute that I had to buy them, but then I couldn’t decide how to make them. I did a search online and found a Trader Joe’s own recipe for Teeny Tiny Potatoes.

These potatoes are delicious and the recipe is fantastic. I am in love with these little beauties! They are so good! I can’t wait to go back to Trader Joe’s and get more! So good!!

Ingredients:

1 pound TJ's Teeny Tiny Potatoes
4 cloves TJ's Peeled Garlic (or more, if you like)
Sea Salt, freshly ground, to taste
Black Peppercorn, freshly ground, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°.
Wrap garlic in a piece of foil with 1 tbsp of olive oil and roast in the oven until soft; about 30 minutes. At the same time, place potatoes on a baking sheet and into the oven - bake until tender, about 30 minutes.
Remove garlic from oven, mash and mix with remainder of olive oil; place in a mixing dish and set aside.
Remove potatoes from oven and add to bowl and gently toss with mashed garlic mixture. Toss salt and pepper over potatoes to taste. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Serves: 3 - 4

Original Recipe Source

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Strawberry Green Tea

I have been working hard to incorporate as many fruits, vegetables, and green tea in our diets as possible. Green tea as so many wonderful benefits that it’s hard to ignore it. I have been on a major smoothie kick and read someplace that you could use green tea in place of milk, yogurt and so on in a smoothie.

I was getting a little hungry a few days ago in between lunch and dinner, but I didn’t want to eat anything too heavy or anything at all in truth. I decided to make a strawberry green tea smoothie.

Wow I have no idea what made me to come up with this idea but I am sure happy I did. This drink is ubber refreshing and delicious. It’s something I can see myself drinking all summer long. Healthy and Yummy!

Ingredients:

4oz. frozen strawberries
12 oz. cold green tea
Stevia to taste

Directions:

Place in a blender for 30 seconds and serve!

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5 Can Mexican Soup

This soup has so many wonderful things going for it. It’s delicious! It’s easy, it’s inexpensive, and it takes about five minutes to put together. Oh yeah I must mention that it’s also very low in calories and Vegan if you are looking of a vegan recipe.

I placed everything in a pot, turned on the heat, mixed everything together and brought it to a boil then let it simmer for a few minutes and served.

My husband’s reaction… It’s ALREADY done? WOW that’s great!! This is a new go to for something quick and easy! The only thing I changed was I added a can of garbanzo beans verses a can of black beans because that’s what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

1 can chipotle diced tomatoes
1 can vegetable broth
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can black beans (drained and washed)
1 can corn (drained)

Directions:

Drain black beans and run water over them until water runs clear.
Place all ingredients into a large pot, and bring to a boil.
Once it begins to boil lower the heat to a medium simmer and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Makes approximately 12 cups and it less than 100 calories per cup.

Original Recipe Source

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These are delicious! The flavor is incredible, they are inexpensive to make, and talk about easy. I stuck everything in the mixer and let it go. In under a half hour we had super delicious muffins!

The best part of these muffins is the fact that they are under 100 calories each! Holy Cow! You feel like you are getting away with something naughty eating these! Nope under 100 calories no matter what! Delicious!

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix (Any flavor will work) 15 oz (Pillsbury 1600 Calories)
1 can of pure pumpkin (175 calories)
1 tsp. cinnamon,
1/4 tsp. nutmeg,
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp ginger.
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (Hersheys 560)

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a mixer or a bowl. Mix until everything is well mixed together. Fill 24 cupcake tins with fill. Follow the cake mix box baking directions.

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Berry Blast Smoothie (Low Calorie)

This smoothie takes the cake if you ask me! It’s heavenly! Creamy and full of flavor oh yeah and did I mention about 120 calories OH YEAH! That’s the good stuff. I have gotten to where I have smoothies daily. At one time I was buying them from the Smoothie King, but why buy something from them that you can make at home for a percentage of the price, and a percentage of the calories! This size smoothie would be at least $5 at Smoothie King Ouch!

The coconut milk doesn’t add any coconut flavor to the smoothie, but what it does add is the creaminess for a fraction of the calories of milk or yogurt. Who can resist that beautiful color anyway? I also like to add a 1/2 tablespoon of flax seeds to mine, but that will certainly increase the calorie count on the smoothie.

Before someone asks me about the foam cups. I drink smoothies so much now especially on the way to school that I invested about $30 on 500 cups and lids at Sam's Club. The upfront investment is a lot for cups but it's a great way to take things with you and you get a lot for your money. It beats the $5 at Smoothie King!

Delicious!

Ingredients:

2 ½ ounces of frozen blueberries
6 ounces of frozen strawberries sliced
4 ounces of unsweetened coconut milk (I used So Delicious Brand)
4 ounces cold water
1-2 packs of stevia
*optional* -1 ounces of baby spinach

Directions:

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. If it’s too thick add more water to thin.

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Avocado Orange Salad Dressing

I was looking for a salad dressing that involved fresh ingredients and no oils or vinegars. This salad dressing hit the spot. It’s actually not too sweet but has a nice orange and avocado flavor. It’s smooth and silk and it’s super easy to make. I really like this salad dressing. It’s great on just about any kind of salad and low in calories too you can’t beat that!!

Ingredients:

6 ounces Fresh Avocado
10 ounces Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice (don’t use anything other than fresh or it will be too sweet)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth if it’s too thick add more orange juice to thin.

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Stir Fry Sauce

I purchased a bag of stir fry veggies that claimed to already have the sauce in the bag of course just my luck as I start to make dinner I realized the packs of sauce are missing from the bag! Ugh! A meal that was purchased to be quick and easy didn’t turn out to be so quick and easy. At the last minute I was scrambling for a stir fry sauce recipe.

I came across this recipe and I am sure happy I did. Not only did it come together quick and easy but it’s really tasty too. The only thing I would change the next time I made this sauce is to use about half the suggested amount of sugar. Don’t get me wrong it was still good I would just prefer it to be a little less sweet. This makes enough for 4-5lbs of vegetables.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup rice wine
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Directions:

In a bowl, combine soy sauce, broth, rice wine, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper.
Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup water.
Heat a pan over high heat; add the cooking oil, swirling to coat; add the garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
Add the soy sauce mixture; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 minute.
Add the cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens.

Original Recipe Source

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Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

This is really an exceptional recipe. I love how easy it is to make, and better yet it’s bursting with flavor. It’s one of those bowls of soup that you can keep eating until you pop. The carrots take a nice role in this soup not only visually for the color affect but they seem to meld well with everything else in the bowl. I noticed they gave the soup a nice earthy flavor.

I had this entire pot of soup on the stove cooking in about 30 minutes which is great considering all of the distractions around me. As weird as is sounds I never think soup is going to be very flavorful unless it’s a lot of work and it takes a long time cooking on the stove. Personally I prefer chowders or stews, but I really loved this soup!

Ingredients:

1 tsp. of olive oil
1/2 sweet yellow onion
3 carrots, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
5 cups of chicken stock
1 tsp. chicken bouillon (Try to use MSG free)
1/2 tsp. dried basil
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup of frozen sweet yellow corn
2 tbsp. corn starch
2 cups milk

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery once hot. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
Add the minced garlic and stir constantly for 60 seconds.
Add the chicken stock, diced chicken, rice, bouillon, basil, sea salt, black pepper and bay leaf. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes.
Turn the soup up until it boils. Mix the corn starch and milk thoroughly in a bowl. Add the milk mixture to the boiling soup and stir.
Lower the heat and add the corn. Mix thoroughly and simmer for a few more minutes or until the rice and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf and discard.

Original Recipe Source

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