Roasted Artichoke with Herb Yogurt Dip

This yogurt dip was delicious! I couldn't get enough of it. Very light, refreshing and better for you than most dips!

Roasted Artichoke with Herb Yogurt Dip

1 12 oz bag frozen artichoke hearts
1/2 c nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
1/4 c sour cream
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp chives, chopped
2 tsp parsley, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the artichoke with some salt, pepper, and olive oil. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 30-40 mins.
Meanwhile, mix the yogurt, sour cream, thyme, chives, parsley, and garlic powder together. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill until ready to eat. Serve with the roasted artichoke hearts.

Lemon Thyme Porkchop

You know how I love to throw leftover ingredients together. I hate waste. This dish was one of those occasions. For these 2 bone-in porkchops, I seasoned it with salt, pepper, about a teaspoon of dried thyme, and the juice of half a lemon I had laying around. Then I dunked it in an egg wash bath (comprised of 1 egg and about a teaspoon of milk, beaten). We also had some old, hard French bread that I had processed into breadcrumbs. I combined about 1/4 c of that with about 2 tbsp of grated black pepper parmesan. Sprinkled the seasoned bread crumbs over the porkchops and cooked it over medium heat, 5 mins per side. It was a pretty quick and delicious Milanese!

Orange Thyme Porkchops

I wanted to try something new with a couple of bone-in porkchops. I was gonna use the lemon half I had left over, but thought why not use the orange that's been sitting in my fruit bowl. It could act as the citrus, right? I rubbed the orange zest of one orange, seasoned with some salt and pepper, and added about a teaspoon of thyme to the porkchops. Cooked it for about 5 mins per side over medium heat. When we bit into those chops, I thought, "good thing I didn't add some of that orange juice!" That little bit of orange zest really came through. We were shocked, but it wasn't bad.

Cod Fillet Sandwich with Cilantro Cabbage Slaw

I was going for a light fish sandwich. The store didn't have mahi-mahi like I wanted, so I decided to try the cod. It worked and tasted good, but the cod fillet didn't hold up as well as mahi-mahi could have. The fillet broke apart so I ended up stacking pieces of fish onto the sandwich. But you can try out any other white fish you'd like.

The star of this dish was the slaw. It was so light and refreshing. The Greek yogurt added tang to the slaw, and the cilantro added the flavor. It can even be enjoyed as a side dish.

Cod Fillet Sandwich - with Cilantro Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients

4 cod fillet (or any white fish)
4 buns
1 small savoy cabbage, sliced
1/2 c cilantro, chopped
1/2 lime, juiced
1 c nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
4 tbsp mayo
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
salt and pepper
butter or olive oil

1. Prepare the slaw: Mix the cabbage, cilantro, lime juice, Greek yogurt, mayo, garlic powder, seasoned salt, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper together. Let it chill in the fridge while you prepare the fish. (That way the flavors can develop as well.)

2. Prepare the fish: Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. In a skillet over medium heat, add olive oil. Cook the fish about 3-5 mins on each side.

3. Assemble: Butter and toast the buns. Then top with a fish fillet and some slaw. Enjoy!

Pan-Seared Scallops

At first I was just gonna sear up some large scallops. Then I thought I could make a quick white wine reduction to go with it. Next thing you know I'm whipping up some creamy polenta as well. Our meal went from being a simple dish to a more fancy one in just 30 mins. And the best part was I only had to buy the scallops. I had everything else in the fridge or pantry already. Don't you love it when that happens??

Pan-Seared Scallops
over a bed of creamy polenta, all topped with a decadent white wine reduction

My personal food critic said this was the best thing he's ever eaten, and not just from what I've cooked. But he may be a bit biased since he's my husband :)

Ingredients:
2 c milk
2 c water
4 tbsp butter
1 c yellow cornmeal
1/2 c ricotta
2 tbsp Romano cheese, grated
12 large scallops
1/2 c white wine
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil

1. Prepare the polenta: Bring milk, water, 2 tbsp butter, salt to taste to a boil in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the cornmeal and simmer for about 30 mins, partially uncovered. Add a little bit more water or milk if the polenta looks dry. When finished cooking, stir in both cheeses. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Prepare the scallops: Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper the scallops. Sear the scallops about 2-3 mins on each side. Set aside on a cooling rack while you prepare the sauce. (Setting the cooked scallops on a cooling rack helps keep the crispy sear on the scallops.)

3. Prepare the sauce: Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add the garlic. Let it reduce by half. Then stir in the remaining butter and the parsley.

4. Prepare for eating: On your serving dish, add some polenta. Then top with scallops and the sauce. Enjoy!

Artichoke-Ricotta Chicken

I wasn't sure what to call this dish. Basically, I took some chicken breasts, topped  it with a ricotta and artichoke mixture, and broiled it in the oven until golden brown. I loved this dish so much. The ricotta gave the dish an overall light texture. But the star was the artichoke. It gave a bit of tang to the dish and you're left wanting more. You can always lighten this dish up more by using less ricotta or even low-fat. I didn't want any leftover ricotta to go bad so I used the entire small container.

Artichoke-Ricotta Chicken

Ingredients
2 large boneless chicken breasts
15 oz ricotta cheese
14.75 oz marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

My chicken breasts were pretty thick, so I sliced them in half to get 4 thinner chicken breasts. (This way, you can reduce the cooking time on the chicken as well.) Place a chicken breast in between saran wrap and gently pound out with a mallet. (I just wanted to increase the surface area a bit and tenderize the chicken. Don't pound it to mush.) Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and cook the chicken, about 10 mins on each side.
In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, artichoke hearts, parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.
Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Lay the cooked chicken breasts in the baking dish. Then evenly top the artichoke-ricotta mixture on each chicken. Broil in the oven until golden brown, about 10 more mins. Enjoy!

Mini Rolo Cupcakes

Rolo in the center, Rolo in the buttercream. What's not to love? And if that wasn't enough, a bit of salt was added to the buttercream giving it that slightly salted caramel taste.

This recipe made about 4 dozen mini cupcakes. We didn't know how we were gonna eat all of them so we sent my parents home with a dozen. But by the time we reached our last cupcake, we had wished we didn't give that last dozen away. It was that good...

Mini Rolo Cupcakes

For the cupcakes you’ll need:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 c. sugar + 1 c. vanilla sugar (or 2 c. sugar)
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
1 c. flour

48 Rolos (2  12-oz. bags of Rolos will suffice for the cupcakes and buttercream)

For the buttercream you’ll need:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

20 Rolos
2 T. heavy cream
2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. + 1/8 t. salt

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees (F).

To make the cupcakes, melt together the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl on high heat for 90 seconds. Remove it from the microwave and stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Add in the sugar, and stir until it is well combined. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla and salt. Finally, stir in the flour.

Put a teaspoon of the batter into paper-lined mini cupcake tins. They should be about half full. Put one Rolo in each tin, then cover with another teaspoon of batter so the tins are about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cupcakes have set. They will give a little when you gently press your finger into the top of them, but they should not be too soft.

Allow to cool, then make the buttercream!

First, melt the Rolos with the heavy cream. You can pop it in the microwave for 30 second increments, until the caramel is smooth. Allow it to cool in the fridge for a few minutes.

Whip the butter for about 30 seconds on med-high speed, so it gets fluffy. Add in about one cup of powdered sugar, and mix until it's all combined. Once the caramel is cool to the touch, turn the mixer on medium speed and then drizzle the caramel into the frosting. If it's too hot, it'll melt the buttercream, so be patient.

Beat until fluffy. Then add in the other cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 t. of the salt. Mix and taste to see if the last 1/8 t. of salt is needed. A little goes a long way with the salt and everyone's taste preference differs, but I added the last salt addition. Lastly, frost the cupcakes and grate a few chocolate shavings over the top.

A little note: The batter is dense like a brownie, so some of the cupcakes stuck to the cupcake liners. Next time, and there will be a next time, I would try using non-stick cooking spray instead of paper liners. Update: If u do, bake them for a little less about 15 mins. It seems to bake more without the wrapper. 

recipe adapted from Bake It in a Cake