Almond Ricotta

Beautiful, smooth, creamy ricotta with a little Splenda and a dash of almond extract. Garnish with ground, sliced or slivered almonds for texture. *This is a South Beach recipe. 

And this is my favorite brand of ricotta if you ever come across it. 

Seared Salmon With Asparagus and Roasted Cauliflower

Salmon seasoned (with anything you like), sear each side about 1 minute on a smoking hot cast iron in olive oil and finish in the oven at 425* for about 5 mins. 

***We do this with chicken and steak and they both turn out amazing!  Finish chicken in the oven for 10 mins.  Steak depends on the cut and thickness but I'd say 3 to 7 minutes for medium rare for 3/4"-1 1/2" thickness respectively. Remember, you are only searing the outsides on the stovetop, not cooking.  So, don't over do it up top.  Let the oven take care of the cooking to avoid drying out. 

Roared frozen cauliflower: Bake in 425* oven for about 20 mins. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake an additional 20 mins. Garnish with grated Parmesan. 

Amazing asparagus:  steam, covered, directly in 1/2" water in a large, shallow pot with 1/2 tsp salt for 7 mins. Drizzle with 1 Tbs butter, salt and pepper. 

Simple salad:  I have to have one with every meal. Romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers and purple onion drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. A small shake of Parmesan for texture. 

Sorry I need better lighting. This was a beautiful meal but kind of washed out with the dull lighting. Next time...

My Favorite Tea - Green Iced Tea

I LOVE iced tea, but over the years my tea drinking has changed. I grew up drinking good ole sweet black tea. In my early 20's I had to switch to decaf for medical reasons. I had to cut sugar when I got pregnant. Now, I realize that just like with sugar substitutes and low fat foods something's got to give.  It can't taste like sugar, full fat foods and fully caffeinated drinks and have no negative side effects. There have to be chemical processes and very unnatural things they do to foods to make them "like" the real thing. So, I drink Green Iced Tea. Its much lower in caffeine than black tea and is all natural. It's not decaf but I think it's the healthiest choice out there. 

Roasted Chicken & Veggie Soup With Caesar Salad

We had some roasted chicken and vegetables left from the Cookarika chicken last night. I pulled the chicken off last night so I could boil the bones for broth. 

After I boiled it down for an hour with a little salt, I removed the bones and added the leftover chicken and veggies and brought to a boil.  

For the Caesar: 

4 cloves garlic

1 tsp vinegar

1 lemon juiced 

2-4 Tbs mayo (depending on how creamy/healthy you want it)

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup olive oil 

3-4 Tbs grated Parmesan 

Blend garlic, vinegar and lemon juice into a paste. Add mayo, salt and pepper and blend again. Add 1/4 cup olive oil and blend until whipped. Add the remaining 1/4 cup and whip again. Add Parmesan and blend. Toss dressing with chopped romaine and dust with grated Parmesan and cracked black pepper. 

Scrambled Eggs With Mushrooms And Cheese

Vanilla/Almond Milk

I don't condone the use of artificial sweeteners. However, in the two weeks of Phase 1 I do use it when needed. Otherwise, I use limited amount of sugar, honey, agave or molasses.

Cookarika Chicken

I'm sure I butchered the spelling of this dish but its to die for! 

This is what I use, but you can use a pan with a big lip and an empty, clean aluminum can and it will work just as well.

This bakeware is from NapaStyle. 

Lube up a whole chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper and stick it on the Cookarika/can contraption.  Don't be stingy with the salt and pepper!  Toss chunks of onion, broccoli, zucchini, squash and potato (if you have kids, guests or are not on Phase 1/2) with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place seasoned veggies around base of chicken.  We like garlic so I stuff 3 or 4 whole cloves in the chicken and 5 or 6 down in the veggies.  Bake for 45 mins to 1 hour at 425* stirring once (see pictures above and below to determine how long you want to cook yours).  Toss grape tomatoes in the olive oil bowl from earlier and add to cooked chicken and veggies.  Bake an additional 15 mins.  Remove from oven and let sit 10-15 minutes.  It seriously might be one of the tastiest things I've ever put in my mouth!

The picture at the top of this post was only cooked 45 mins then the 15 additional with the tomatoes. 

These veggies were cooked the full hour at the inital bake time and then an additional 15 mins with tomatoes.  Either way it's amazing!  Thanks to my father-in-law Mike Bruner for this dish.