8-10-10 Grilled Swordfish W/Shrimp Sauce, Steamed Veggies, & Sourdough Bread

This is gonna be a busy week, so we moved things up to Romantic Tuesday!!! It called for something special, so we decided on Grilled Swordfish (our favorite) with my secret sauce. We threw in some healthy veggies, crusty bread, and a nice Riesling…it was excellent!!!

Here’s the list of stuff you’ll need:
Swordfish loin steaks (schizzle!!!)
Dale’s Steak Seasoning
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Whole mushrooms (finally)
25 – 30 small shrimp peeled and deveined
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
White onion
Pecans (more from Mom’s pecan tree…the best!!!)
½ cup lemon juice
2 tbsp. Land O’ Lakes Reduced Fat Butter
1 tsp of olive oil
4 new red potatoes
Broccoli head
Bay City Sourdough Bread (fresh from Market Street)
A beer (can substitute white wine or white wine vinegar)
Funf 5 German Riesling (how cool is this label???)

Season the swordfish with Mrs. Dash Table Blend. Marinate in two tablespoons of Dales’ Steak Seasoning (they make a reduced sodium version that we have yet to find….good stuff!!!) and a table spoon of olive oil for at least 30 minutes, flipping occasionally. Spray grill with Weber Grillin’ spray….try it and you’ll understand! Cook on medium heat on grill 18 – 20 minutes flipping three times.

Now the secret to the secret sauce. Spray 10” Calphalon skillet with Pam and turn on medium heat. Take one drink of Coors Light and pour remainder into pan (if you have not opened wine, do so now and drink a toast!!!). Add lemon juice, capers, and butter. Chop ½ cup of pecans and ½ cup of white onion and add to mix. Peel shrimp and add to skillet. Slice/chop mushrooms and quarter the artichoke hearts. Add to sauce and finish glass of wine. Reduce sauce by cooking on medium heat for 20 – 25 minutes.

Cut up the new potatoes into small chunks, add to steamer and set for 40 minutes. Cut up the broccoli head into smaller broccolis (what else do you call them?). When 40 minutes is up for potatoes, add broccoli, season with Mrs. Dash Table Blend, and cook for another 15 minutes (adjust to suit your preference on texture). Slice up the Bay City Sourdough bread and brush with either Land O' Lakes Reduced Fat Butter or Smart Squeeze.  Broil at 500 degrees until brown on edges and remove.

To serve, start with the swordfish and top with a bunch of Brian’s Secret Sauce. Add the steamed potatoes and broccoli. Set yourself up with some of this awesome sourdough bread (yes, I am a carbivore!!!!) and top off the wine (we’ll be drinking the Funf 5 again for sure)!!!
Enjoy!!!
BC

8-9-10 BC/Tami Mexican Cobb Salad W/Secret Sauce!!!

It’s Monday and we are struggling with what to cook for dinner. To avoid a trip to the grocery store, we settled on a BC/Tami Mexican Cobb Salad. Not sure what really defines it, but that’s what we call it and it’s easy, tasty, and filling. Tami played a more active role tonight, as she is the salad queen at the Cook household!!!

Stuff you’re gonna need:
4 chicken breasts
Head of iceberg lettuce
Head of green leaf lettuce
Two medium tomatoes (fresh from Karen’s garden)
One can of corn
Once can of Ranch Style Pinto Beans (can substitute black….we were out)
Mezzetta Deli-Sliced Mild Pepper Rings
Fat-free Ranch Dressing
Fat-free Italian Dressing
Lemon Juice
Hot sauce (salsa)
Flour tortilla
Shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese
Tecate beer (in bottle)

Open first Tecate and drink toast!!! Preheat grill to medium heat and spray with Weber Grillin’ Spray. Trim all the fat and any skin off the chicken breasts and season both sides with chili powder and Mrs. Dash Table Blend seasoning. Grill for 16 – 18 minutes, flipping three times. Slice/chop/smash chicken breasts into mouthful-size pieces.

While you are outside doing all the really hard stuff on the grill, have your spouse inside chopping up lettuce, tomatoes, and such to create the base salad (these are not skills that I have or want to learn!!!). Drain canned corn and beans in colander and rinse. Blend all of these in large bowl, cover, and refrigerate. Drink another toast to completed salad, salt rim of beer stein, and pour another Tecate with lime and enjoy!

Pour 1/3 cup of fat-free ranch dressing, 1/3 cup of fat-free Italian dressing, and 1/3 cup of lemon juice in tall jar with lid and shake thoroughly, then refrigerate. This will yield the tangy secret sauce to top your salad with.

Make quesadilla by placing flour tortilla in 10 inch Calphalon skillet on medium heat. Smear on some hot sauce and sprinkle with grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese, fold over, and heat both sides until crispy, then slice into pie shape wedges for garnish in the salad.

To serve, start with chopped iceberg and green-leaf lettuce base in large salad bowls. Mix in corn, beans, chopped tomatoes, and pepper rings. Toss in bowl with hot sauce. Add grilled chicken chunks on the top, sprinkle with grated mozzarella cheese, and drizzle on secret sauce!!! Add quesadilla wedges (tortilla chips are good too) to finish.
Enjoy!!!
BC

8-7-10 Guilt-Free Breakfast Burritos

We went to the lake again this weekend. After a number of comments from our last trip that Mom’s biscuits and gravy were less than healthy, we opted to start things off with some breakfast burritos more in tune with the disciplined palate that are fast, easy, and filling!!! 

You’re gonna need:
Louis Rich Turkey Bacon
Eggs
Low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
Smart Squeeze
Hot sauce (you can call it salsa….at our house it’s still hot sauce!!!)
La Banderita Flour Tortillas (tasty and only one fat gram per tortilla)

Scramble the eggs on medium heat (at the lake so we are using a cast iron skillet). I typically scramble about 5 eggs but remove two of the yolks (5 fat grams per yolk). Stir occasionally to suit texture and remove into bowl.

We nuke our bacon in the microwave because it’s a LOT easier and makes a much smaller mess. They are various iterations of microwave-specific bacon platters; I prefer a round one and bought it at Walmart. Purists can still fry it in the skillet. Word of caution: the turkey bacon is a bit dryer and burns easily in the skillet. Cook in microwave on high setting, cover with paper towel, and cook to desired crispness (about 2 minutes for 4 slices).

To serve, start with a flour tortilla, add eggs, bacon, shredded-cheese, Smart Squeeze, hot sauce (salsa), and microwave for 30 seconds or until cheese is melted. Pour the coffee and juice and chow down looking out over the lake.
Enjoy!!!
BC