We had waffles the other night and I made this super healthy, low-calorie apple topping for our waffles. I drizzled just a smidgen of real maple syrup over the top, and it was just divine.
It’s also a very frugal recipe, as you can go ahead and use apples that are bruised or just not perfect for serving raw – just cut out the yucky parts and use the rest.
Quick and Easy Microwave Spiced Apples
 Quick and Easy Microwave Spiced Apples 4 Granny Smith apples, cored, and sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger (or 1/4 teaspoon ground)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1. In a medium bowl, toss the apple slices in the lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix the spices and brown sugar together. Add the spice mixture to the apples and toss to coat.
2. Cover the bowl and microwave for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the cover and stir the apples. Re-cover and microwave for another two minutes. Test the apples if they aren’t softened, microwave more in one minute increments.
Servings: 4
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 104 calories, 3 calories from fat, <1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 3.6mg sodium, 171.5mg potassium, 27.5g carbohydrates, 4.1g fiber, 21.2g sugar, <1g protein.
These are really great over ice cream for dessert, or stirred into oatmeal. Yum! Your house smells fantastic after cooking them, too.
Foodie Friday
Food on Fridays
Grocery Cart Challenge
My tomatoes aren’t ripe yet (although they are taking over the sidewalk, so I really need to stake them), but roma tomatoes are crazy cheap right now. Mozzarella was on sale this week, too, and I’ve got basil in the garden. What’s a girl to do, but make Caprese salad?
This differs from the usual in that it’s chopped instead of sliced, I add balsamic vinegar (yum) and I mix it in one of those Ziplock storage jars. So tasty!
Quick and Easy Caprese Salad
 Quick and Easy Caprese Salad 5 roma tomatoes
6 ounces fresh mozzerella cheese
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (break out the good stuff for this one)
salt and pepper to taste
Seed and chop the tomatoes. Chop the mozzarella into similar-sized pieces. Put the tomatoes, the cheese, and the rest of the ingredients into a jar. Put the lid on and shake gently.
Servings: 4
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 159 calories, 91 calories from fat, 10.4g total fat, 27.2mg cholesterol, 269mg sodium, 309.3mg potassium, 5.7g carbohydrates, 1.4g fiber, 3.5g sugar, 11.4g protein.
I made this last weekend when the kids weren’t home, and had it by itself for dinner and then lunch the next day. Then we had it the other night along with Boca burgers and chips. And I’ve got just enough left in the fridge for my lunch today!
A couple months ago, I saw this recipe on Hon, What’s for Dinner? and vowed to make it. Although I’ve never had the PF Chang’s version, I’d had them at a local restaurant and was crazy about them.
For some reason, though, I put it off until a couple of weeks ago, when ground chicken was on a half price sale, and WOW! We have a new favorite in the house! We’ve had it a couple of times since. They are super quick, easy, frugal, healthy, and oh so very tasty!
I’ve made a few minor changes, so here’s my version:
Asian Lettuce Wraps
 Asian Lettuce Wraps 1 pound ground chicken
1/2 white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 4 oz. can water chestnuts, drained and diced
3 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 whole lettuce leaves
1. Heat a skillet over medium heat, with one tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chicken and cook until browned lightly. Add onion, soy sauce, vinegar, crushed red pepper, and cook for two minutes. Add garlic and cook until onions are translucent and soft. Add water chestnuts, hoisin sauce, green onions, and the other tablespoon of oil. Stir and cook just until green onions start to wilt.
2. Fill lettuce leaves with meat mixture and serve.
Servings: 4
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 227 calories, 47 calories from fat, 5.6g total fat, 66.3mg cholesterol, 492.5mg sodium, 626.8mg potassium, 18.1g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 6.6g sugar, 28.5g protein.
I used romaine leaves, because that’s what I had, but this will be a lot better – and easier to eat – when I use rounder leaves.
Linked to:
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Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesdays at the Table
Tuesday Tastes
Delicious Dishes
The kids and I love to watch the show Chopped on Food Network. A couple weeks ago, one of the contestants made a broccoli and lemon couscous, and I loved the idea, so I decided to see if I could figure out how to make it — it sounded simple enough. We loved it!
Broccoli-Lemon Couscous
 Broccoli and Lemon Couscous 3 stalks broccoli
1 lemon
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup couscous
1. Cut the florets from the broccoli, saving the stalk and stems for another purpose. Chop the broccoli into tiny bits. You should have about a cup. Zest and juice the lemon.
2. Bring the water to a boil. Add the salt. Remove from heat and stir in the couscous, broccoli, and lemon zest. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Fluff with a fork and toss with the lemon juice. Fluff again and serve.
Servings: 6
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 115 calories, 2 calories from fat, <1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 202.4mg sodium, 101mg potassium, 24g carbohydrates, 1.6g fiber, <1g sugar, 4.1g protein.
I served it with some pan-seared barramundi. I’ve decided that I’m not overly fond of barramundi, so next time we’ll serve this with cod. It really does make a great accompaniment to fish. Plus, it uses only one pan for both starch and broccoli, and it doesn’t heat up the house much, since it cooks so quickly. All things that make me happy!
Linked to:
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Grocery Cart Challenge
Me from 2007 – Photo copyright Mark Hayes Photography
These tips can save you money on shampoo and conditioner, and if you have fine hair like me, it can also help keep your hair from getting limp halfway through the day. My hairstylist told me this several years ago, and my hair is very much happier for it.
When you wash your hair, just massage shampoo on the 3 inches closest to your scalp. When you rinse your hair, the water will pull just enough
[Continue reading How to Wash Your Hair]
Well, apparently I had a little unplanned blogging break. Last week, we were getting my daughter ready to go off to camp. Between that and the heat, I just wasn’t up to sitting in my roasting office to get on the computer!
Moving on, though… For the week my daughter was home, in between visiting her grandmother and camp, we decided to try to combine two of her favorite things – my no-bake cheesecake, and key lime pie. I thought it was phenomenally good, and so did one of my sons. My other son doesn’t like cheesecake, and my daughter felt
[Continue reading No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake Recipe]
I took a break for awhile in my quest to teach myself to sew. Today, though, I made a shopping/picnic/tote bag out of some fabric I’d bought back when I started this adventure. I’m pretty happy with the results:
Cow print picnic or shopping tote
I did learn a few things, though. I learned that when buying a novelty print fabric like this, I should buy extra so I can decide what shows – there’s an adorable barn under the pockets, and I don’t like how the cows’ heads are
[Continue reading Cow Shopping Bag]
The final recipe from Doodle’s birthday party!
My deviled eggs are really very basic – and that’s the way we like them. None of us are fans of “stuff” in our deviled eggs — no pickle relish, no horseradish, no diced onion — although I’ve tasted perfectly fine eggs with those things added, they aren’t “deviled eggs” to our family. Of course, if your tastes are different than ours, feel free to stir in some relish or whatever. Or share your recipe with me and try to change my mind. 
Deviled Eggs
 [Continue reading Deviled Eggs Recipe]
Linked to: Wordless Wednesday
Yes, another shaving tip! I remember telling this to my younger daughter, and my older daughter exclaiming, “Hey! You never told ME that!”
Razor and shaving gel — ready to shave
When you shave your legs, you shave against the growth of the hair, to get a closer shave. Your underarm hair, however, grows in every direction – so you should shave your underarms in all directions (up, down, left, right, and even diagonal), to get a closer, smoother shave.
Linked to: Works for Me
[Continue reading Shaving Tip]
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July 30th, 2010 | 
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