Blackened Salmon Fillets

From allrecipes.com
Serves 4

2 T ground paprika
1 Tground cayenne pepper
1 T onion powder
2 t salt
1/2 t ground white pepper
1/2 t ground black pepper
1/4 t dried thyme
1/4 t dried basil
1/4 t dried oregano
4 salmon filets, skin and bones removed
1/2 C unsalted butter, melted

In a small bowl, mix paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, salt, white pepper, black pepper, thyme, basil and oregano.

Brush salmon filets on both sides with 1/4 cup butter, and sprinkle evenly with the cayenne pepper mixture.  Drizzle one side of each fillet with 1/2 remaining butter.

In a large, heavy skillet over high heat, cook salmon, butter side down, until blackened, 2 to 5 minutes.  Turn fillets, drizzle with remaining butter, and continue cooking until blackened and fish is easily flaked with a fork.

Grilled Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

From fortheloveofcooking.net
serves 6-8

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 ripe avocado, diced
2 ears fresh sweet corn
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
Juice of 1 lime
3 T vegetable oil
1 T honey
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper

Remove husks from corn and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes.  The corn shouldhave some brown spots and be tender and not mushy.  Cut the corn off the cob then scrape the cob with the back of your knife to get the juices.  Set aside and let cool.  Slice the tomatoes in half.  Dice the avocado and chop the cilantro.

Add all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Set aside.

Combine the sliced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and grilled corn and honey lime dressing and mix gently so everything is evenly coated.  Be careful not to mash the avocados.  Let the salad sit for 10-15 minutes to let flavors mingle.  Enjoy.

Lentil Curry

From Martha Stewart
Serves 4

1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 T curry powder
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 head cauliflower, stemmed and separated into florets
1 C brown lentils, pciked over, well rinsed, and drained
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes with juice
Coarse salt
Plain low-fat yogurt, for serving (optional)



In a nonstick Dutch oven (5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid), heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 7 minutes.

Add curry powder, cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in sweet potatoes, cauliflower, lentils, tomatoes and their juice, and 1 1/2 C water; season with salt.

Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until lentils and sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately, with yogurt if desired.

**Notes from Em**
It took more like 45-50 min for my lentils to be done. I also think it needs some garlic. I'll do probably 3-5 cloves next time I make this.

Cuban Black Bean Soup

From familyfun.go.com
Makes 14 Cups

Because it's made with just a handful of basic ingredients, this soup is easy and inexpensive to prepare.  The mild flavor of the soup is pleasing on its own, but traditional add-ins like rice, egg, and onion make it even more appealing and hearty.

1 lb dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
4 C cold water
6 C chicken brother
1/2 t black pepper
2 T olive or canola oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, passed through a garlic press
1/2 t cumin
1 bay leaf
2 t kosher salt
1 t sugar
2 T white vinegar

In a large pot, bring the beans and water to a full boil.  Remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let stand for 1 hour.

Return the pot to the stove and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add 1/2C cold water to stop the rapid boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low.  Stir in the chicken brother and black pepper, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.

While the beans cook, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions, green peppers, and celery, and saute them until they are soft, about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic, cumin, bay leaf, salt, and sugar, and cook for 1 more minute.

Stir the mixture, along with the vinegar, into the beans, cover the pot, and continue cooking for 1 more hour or until the beans are soft.  More water can be added if the soup becomes too thick.

Remove the soup from the heat and allow it to cool for 30 minutes.  Discard the bay leaf and puree the soup, two cups at a time, in a blender or food processor.  (You can skip the cooling period if you use a hand blender for this step)

Return the soup to the pot to reheat it.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve the soup with side bowls of chopped eggs, minced onions, sour cream, rice, and cilantro for add-ins.

Lemon & Rosemary Chicken Bake

Lemon & Rosemary Chicken Bake
Serves 4

8 chicken legs

1 lemon
1 pound potatoes
10 garlic cloves
4 T olive oil
2-3 T fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
Fresh, coarse ground black pepper
1 1/2 t Sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 F

Put chicken legs into a roasting dish. Cut potatoes and lemon into wedges. Add in the wedges and peeled garlic cloves.

Add in olive oil, coarsely chopped rosemary, salt and pepper, and toss until all ingredients are evenly coated.

Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes until tender, fragrant, and beautifully browned.

**Notes from Em**
This recipe was AMAZING and so super easy. Next time I make it I think I'll throw in some cubed butternut squash, and maybe some green beans. I served it with a super simple side salad that had a Tuscan herb vinaigrette on it.

Grilled Tuna Kebabs

From Simply Recipes
Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds tuna, swordfish or sturgeon steaks
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 small onion
6-10 large button mushrooms
2 lemons, cut into wedges
1/2 C olive oil
2 T chopped onion
1 T chopped fresh rosemary
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
2 garlic cloves

Cut all the fish and veggies into similar-sized pieces.

To make the marinade, puree the onion, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil while pureeing, continue to puree until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Coat the fish and veggies in the marinade. Set in the fridge for at least an hour and up to overnight.

When skewing the fish and vegetables, pierce the fish against the grain, and select pieces of veggies that are close to the same size as your fish. This is important because if the pieces are different widths, some things will be charred and others undercooked.

Alternate pieces of fish with pieces of various veggies, leaving a little space between everything. Don't crowd the skewer, or the parts that are touching will cook too slowly.

Prepare the grill for high, direct heat. Clean the grates and wipe them down with a paper towel that has been dipped in vegetable oil. Lay the skewers on the grill. Don't move them until the fish pieces are well browned on one side, about 3-6 minutes. Then using tongs, carefully turn the skewers over and cook them until they are seared on the other side.

Serve hot or at room temperature. Drizzle with lemon juice or serve with lemon wedges.

Foil Packet Chicken with Snow Peas and Carrots

Makes 4 packets
Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

18-24 baby carrots
2 C sugar snap peas
1 (1-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt and pepper
4 small chicken breasts
2 T hoisin sauce
soy sauce

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut 4 pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil about 12 inches square (if you don’t have heavy-duty aluminum foil, use two pieces of regular aluminum foil for each packet). In a small bowl, combine garlic and ginger.

Arrange the carrots and peas on the aluminum foil. Sprinkle with the ginger/garlic mixture, and salt and pepper to taste. Brush the chicken on both sides with the hoisin sauce. Top each portion of vegetables with a piece of chicken. Salt lightly. Add 1-2 teaspoons of soy sauce on top of the chicken.

Bring opposite sides of the foil up to meet over the chicken. Fold the edges together in a ¼-inch fold, and then fold over 3 more times. Fold the open edges at either end of the packet together in a ¼-inch fold, and then fold over twice again to seal.

Put the foil packets on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes. Transfer the contents of each packet to a dinner plate and serve.

Grilled Chicken Tuscan Style

Serves 2
From Eating for Life

2 portions chicken breast
1 T olive oil
2 tomatoes, diced
2 T capers, drained and rinsed
1/2 t Mrs. Dash Tomato-Basil-Garlic seasoning
1/4 C fresh basil, sliced, divided
2 portions whole-wheat bread

Preheat grill to high

Place chicken on hot grill and cook for about 6 minutes, turnand grill for about 6 more minutes, until no longer pink in the center.

Whilte the chicken is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add tomatoes and capers; saute until soft, about 10 minutes.

Stir in Mrs. Dash seasoning and half of the sliced basil; saute for 2 more minutes.

Place a portion of chicken on two separate plates on top each with half the tomato and caper mixture; sprinkle with the remaining fresh basil.

Place a portion of whole-wheat bread on each plate. Serve and enjoy!

**Notes from Em**
I didn't have the correct Mrs. Dash seasoning on hand, so I just seasoned the tomatoes with a bit of sun-dried tomato, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion. It was fantastically good.

Baked Apples - No Added Sugar

Serves 5

5 apples
1 C unsweetened applesauce
2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 C water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Peel the apple from the stem out about 1 inch. Scoop out the core from the top of the apple, leaving a well, without cutting through the bottom. Sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon in each apple's well, then fill with applesauce.

Arrange apples in a 9x9 pan and put the water in the bottom of the pan, just enough to cover it. Cover loosely with tinfoil and bake about 30 min. Remove tinfoil and bake another 15 min, or until apples are soft and tender.

Re-vamped Spicy Chicken Sandwiches with Cilantro-Lime Mayo

I made THIS recipe again tonight, but seeing as how we're on a strict diet, I had to find a lower carb/calorie way of doing it. Here's what needs to be changed:

-Don't marinate or bread the chicken, just season with salt and pepper
-Use fat free mayo. Seriously you won't notice the difference
- Add a few drops of Tobasco to the mayo to get a bite of a kick still. 5 drops or so
- Ditch the bun. It's a little messier, but still FANTASTICALLY good
Oh and just for good measure I now add 1t or so of soy sauce to the mayo. Very tasty

Italian Breaded Pork Chops

From Allrecipes.com
Serves 4

3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 T milk
1 1/2 C Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
2 T dried parsley
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 pork chops

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. In a separate bowl mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook until lightly browned. Remove garlic, reserving for other uses.

Dip each pork chop into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating evenly. Place coated pork chops in the skillet, and brown about 5 minutes on each side.

Place the skillet and pork chops in the preheated oven, and cook 25 minutes, or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Italian-style Shrimp with Lemon and Garlic

From Cooking Light

Serves 4

2 t dried Italian seasoning
2 t Hungarian sweet paprika
2 t grated lemon rind
1/2 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 C hot cooked angle hair pasta
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T chopped fresh parsley
Lemon zest (optional)

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bow; stir well. Add shrimp; toss well to coat. Thread shrimp evenly onto each of 4 (8-inch) skewers.

Place kebabs on broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 2 minutes on each side. Remove shrimp from skewers; arrange over pasta. Drizzle with juice; sprinkle with parsley. Garnish with zest, if desired.

**Notes from Em**
Really yummy really EASY shrimp dish. I didn't do this on pasta, I did it with a side of Rice-a-Roni's rice pilaf, which I'll admit I have a slight addiction to.

Lemon Chicken

From AllRecipes.com
Serves 6

3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 T dry sherry
1 T soy sauce
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
2 C vegetable oil
1/4 C cornstarch
1/2 t baking powder
1/3 C white sugar
1 T cornstarch
1 C chicken broth
1 T lemon juice
1 t salt
1 lemon, sliced
2 T vegetable oil

In a large bowl combine the chicken, sherry, soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix together, cover and refrigerate. Let marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, 1/4 cup cornstarch and baking powder to form a batter. In a work, heat 2 cups oil to 350 degrees F. Coat chicken with batter an fry in wok until browned. cut into bite sized pieces and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, 1 T cornstarch, broth, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix together and add lemon slices. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in wok and slowly stir in lemon sauce mixture. Cook, stirring until sauce is clear. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

**Notes from Em**
I've never bothered to do the marinating part of this recipe, and it has always been really tasty.

Cooking the sauce in the hot oil is somewhat unnecessary. I usually just combine it all in a sauce pan, bring to boil stirring regularly, and it makes a pleasant, thick sauce.

Thai Chicken Salad

From Cooking Light
Makes 4 servings

6 cups torn romaine lettuce
2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
1 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup sliced celery
2/3 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
4 lime wedges (optional)

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine coconut milk and next 5 ingredients (through red pepper) in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and cool for 2 minutes. Pour warm coconut milk mixture over lettuce mixture. Sprinkle with peanuts; serve with lime wedges, if desired. Serve immediately.

~*Veg*n Options*~
I left the chicken off but still felt the need for something 'meaty'. I didn't have any tofu handy, and honestly I'm still afraid of cooking it, so I threw some canellini beans on there, and it was really tasty.

Three Envelope Pot Roast

From Real Mom Kitchen via Steph's Kitchen

3 pound beef roast (such as chuck roast)
1 envelope of dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 envelope of dry ranch salad dressing mix
1 envelope of dry brown gravy mix
2 cups water

Put the water in a measuring cup that is larger then the amount of water you are using. Now add and mix all three envelopes of dry salad dressings to the water. Mix until blended completely. Brown the roast (if desired). Add the meat to your cooker. Pour the water, salad dressing mixture over the roast. In the slow cooker cook it on high for about 4 hours on low about 8 hours. Remember to make gravy from the drippings in the crock pot by adding water, beef bullion and thickening using water and cornstarch! It's the best gravy I have ever had and I love love love gravy!

**Notes From Em**
For some reason I really struggled to get a good, moist, crock-pot pot roast, until I found this recipe. It's AMAZING every time, and so ridiculously simple. If you want to add potatoes, carrots and onion to your pot roast, and I recommend you do, just cut them up into fairly large pieces, and toss them in about 2 hours before you are ready to eat. You can use a turkey baster to get some of the gravy on your veggies when you put them in. It's impractical to try and 'stir' a pot roast.

Frosted Key Lime Pie (Protein smoothie)

12 oz cold water
1 serving vanilla protein powder
3 T frozen limeade concentrate
6 ice cubes

Pour cold water in blender, then add protein powder and blend on medium speed for 15 seconds.

Add frozen limeade concentrate; blend for 30 more seconds. Add ice cubes and blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 more seconds.

Pour into a tall glass, serve and enjoy.

Sparkling Orange (Protein Smoothie)

From Eating for Life
Makes 1 smoothie

12/ oz diet orange soda
6 oz light, fat-free orange-flavored yogurt
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 orange, peeled
6 ice cubes

Pour orange soda in blender. Then add yogurt and protein powder; blend on medium speed for 15 seconds.

Add peeled orange and blend for 30 more seconds. Add ice cubes and blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 more seconds.

Pour into a tall glass, serve and enjoy.

Pina Colada (Protein Shake)

From Eating for Life
Makes 1 smoothie

12 oz cold water
1 serving vanilla protein powder
1/2 C unsweetened pineapple chunks
1/4 t coconut extract
6 ice cubes

Pour cold water in blender. Then add protein powder and blend on medium speed for 15 seconds.

Add pineapple chunks and coconut extract; blend for 30 more seconds. Add ice cubes and blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 more seconds.

Pour into a tall glass, serve and enjoy!

Pao de Queijo

These are like the little bread/cheese roll things that you can find at the Brazilian restaurants in the area like Tucanos and Rodizio Grill. They're amazing, and once you start eating them, you'll keep eating!

From Our Best Bites
Makes 22-24 mini muffin sized

1 large egg
1/2 C milk
1/4 C canola oil
1 C tapioca flour (no substitutions!!!)
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 C grated cheddar cheese
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender an dblend until smooth. Add the cheese and pulse 2 times. The batter will be VERY runny. Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin, filling each well about 3/4 full, or just slightly less.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing rolls from pan. Serve warm as they do not reheat well.
**Notes from Em**
Tapioca flour was kind of a pain for me to find. I looked at all the grocery stores, and eventually found it at a natural foods type store. (Good Earth for those in the area) You CANNOT use any other kind of flour. It won't turn out right at all.

Super Easy Roast Chicken

The more pregnant I get (I'm 38 weeks right now) the less motivation I have to make spectacular dinners. It's just too much effort to stand up for that long. My desire for really tasty dinners however, has no decreased. So I decided to try my hand at a roast chicken. It's one of those meals that has always been intimidating to me for some reason, but this was really simple, super tasty, pretty healthy, and involved about 10 minutes total prep time for the entire meal.

1 whole chicken
2 T butter
Salt
Pepper
Marjoram
Savory
Stuffing mix - chicken flavored
Canned green beans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using several paper towels, pat the chicken until it is dry. With your hands rub the chicken with butter, then sprinkle generously with all of the seasonings. Put in a roasting pan (or 9x13) and place in oven. Cook 20-25 minutes per pound of chicken until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 180F.

Once the chicken is done, cook the stuffing according to its package direction, and heat the green beans.

**The 'official' pattern for carving a chicken is as follows: First remove the back legs and thighs. Next remove the wings. Finally remove the breast, and slice as desired. Once you've done that, you'll have to essentially 'clean' the rest of the chicken by hand. These small pieces are really good in soups etc.