Cheesy Jalapeno Bread

A couple weeks ago I showed you this great recipe for Cheesy Bacon Ranch Bread and it was so yummy but if you know me, the whole time I was thinking about how I was going to change the recipe. My wheels were turning with each bite I shoved in my mouth. So the next week I made three more and considering one member of the house is counting her calories, one doesn't like cheese, that only leaves The Fireman to eat two loaves of french bread. In the next two weeks I will show you the other ones I made. They are perfect for Super Bowl parties. See...I am thinking about you!! This happened to be The Fireman's favorite. I made it for The Tortured Teenager while she was home this Christmas. She agrees, it's a winner. The beauty of this is that there is nothing to this recipe. Literally! So maybe you dont want to share this while I want you to.

Cheesy Jalapeno Bread
recipe adapted from The Country Cook
1 loaf of french bread
1 package pepper jack cheese
1 cube of unsalted butter (ok buy salted but I watch my salt intake)
1 tsp garlic powder

yep thats it!

Take a bread knife and carefully slice the loaf into slices without slicing through the bottom 

then slice lengthwise again without slicing though the bottom. it may look like it is is squished but once you add the cheese it'll pop back to life

This is when I transfer the loaf to a large amount of foil big enough to wrap it in.Now take the pepper jack cheese and stuff into each slice.

 Melt the butter in a bowl and add the garlic powder. Drizzle the butter all over the loaf

 Wrap the bread in foil. Arent you grad you laid out foil before?

 Bake 350 for 20 minutes then uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes

 DIG IN!!!

    

Low Carb Turkey (or Chicken) Enchiladas

So we know I am always late with my posts, I thought about saving this for next Thanksgiving but this screams JANUARY! After Thanksgiving I needed to lighten up my dishes. I had been on a weekend of heavy dishes and if I was going to lose any more weight ever or not gain any of the weight I lost, I needed to get off the Turkey day calorie over load. The beauty of this recipe is that it works for not only turkey but chicken. I happen to be in a house with a child that hates enchiladas. I know...how is this child related to me? I could live off enchiladas every day! But with only two adults eating enchiladas it makes a perfect opportunity to freeze some for a night when I am too busy to cook. The way I developed this recipe 1 enchilada  was 255 calories. If you are counting calories make sure to add up the calories and make sure with the ingredients you buy you get the same calculations. Different brands have different calorie counts.

Low Carb Turkey (or Chicken) Enchiladas
2 cups reduced fat Mexican Cheese
2 cups turkey or chicken meat (rotisserie meat would work great here)
1 small can green enchilada sauce
10 TB fat free sour scream
Low carb tortillas

Put the meat in a bowl. I like the turkey or chicken nice and chopped up small. If you like it larger then go big.

Add the sour cream. Trust me, when counting calories, you want creamy and cheesy.

Add 1 cup of the cheese

Mix well

I have some of these aluminum trays. These are the 8x8 size. I dont toss them after I use them but just scrub them and store for the next time. One is for tonight and one for the freezer.

Normally I would just dip in the pan I am rolling the tortillas in but it is so small that a pie pan is needed. Pour enough sauce to cover the bottom of the 8x8 baking pan and about 1/2 cup in the pie pan. you can always add more if you run out

These are the low carb tortillas I found. I went for the ones with the least amount of calories and sodium.

Now dip both sides of the tortilla

add 1/2 cup of the turkey or chicken mixture to the tortilla

roll it up and move to one side of the pan

repeat the process until the pan is filled

Cover with 1/2 cup of cheese and repeat the process for the second pan. Take whatever remaining sauce is leftover and drizzle over the enchiladas. Bake 350 degrees (preheated) for 30 minutes. Now if you freeze this for another night, bake for 45 minute to an hour

Add a salad with a low calorie dressing and you have a very satisfying meal for low calories

DINNER!!

Grilled Peaches over Baby Greens with Parmesan and Prosciutto

I am ALWAYS behind in posts so bear with me but this recipe screams JANUARY! It's a clean meal with great flavors. The recipe for this calls for goat cheese which if you know me, I LOVE goat cheese. I discovered it a year ago after thinking it was gross. I had never even tasted it before but thought it was gross. I was sooo wrong. It is like cream cheese with a kick. And now I am in love. I have to have it in my house at all times along with feta and Parmesan. But when I made this recipe, I was out of goat cheese. I had gone on a binge eating it on a salad with freshly roasted beets the night before. I was out and had to find an alternative. So rough, right? Parm it was! But you will love this recipe with all the changes, I promise! I loved it so much, I made it twice in one week. That is saying something. A recipe is lucky to be made twice in one year around here.

Grilled Peaches over Baby Greens with Parmesan and Prosciutto
recipe adapted by
Cooking Light
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
3 peaches, pitted and each cut into 6 wedges
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of kosher salt
10 cups baby greens

2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 oz Parmesan shaved

Some of my best recipes come out of recipe books! Cooking Light has some of the best recipes

 Bring vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.

 Reduce heat, and simmer until vinegar is reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 2 minutes).

 Remove from heat

stir in honey. Cool to room temperature

  Get your grill ready and hot. The Fireman just happens to be grilling chicken. Slice up peaches. I sprayed with cooking spray in the house on both sides afraid they would sick. If you are using a grill pan spray the spay on the grill pan.

 Prepare the greens. I put the amount that we were going to use in a bowl so I could dress the greens before putting them on the plate.

 Combine oil, pepper, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add baby greens , tossing gently to coat.

  Arrange baby greens mixture on a platter or bowls.

 Place peach wedges on grill rack coated; grill 30 seconds on each side or until grill marks appear but peaches are still firm. Remove from grill; set aside.

 Louie is not happy about us grilling.

 Lucy is

 They are getting so big so fast

 peaches are getting marks on one side. They look so good.

 I wish you could smell these

 Top with prosciutto.

and then cover the prosciutto with the  peach wedges and then drizzle with balsamic syrup; sprinkle with cheese.

 DINNER!!!

Sweet Roasted Rosemary Acorn Squash Wedges

I originally made this for Thanksgiving. And I have a rule that if I don't post the recipe during Thanksgiving I will save it for next year. But then I made it again two weeks later during the Christmas season proving maybe it was also a Christmas dish. So I thought I would save it for Christmas next year. But then (hang with me) the grocery stores had acorn squashes again last week and again I just had to make them again. I like these maybe just as much if not better than Candied Yams. I know that is saying a lot. It's the sweet and spicy. Although the second and third time I made these I used less butter and brown sugar (a girl has to watch her waist after all)

Sweet Roasted Rosemary Acorn Squash Wedges
2 acorn squash
Salt
1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.


Cut the acorn squash in half from top to bottom using a sharp knife.Use a spoon to scrape out the stuff inside.

Cut each half into 4 equal wedges, and then place the wedges, skin-side down, in a baking dish.

I am making a half batch of this recipe if you didnt notice

and my farm delivered veggies (and herbs) as in Rosemary were left out. They are very dry. Oh well

Combine the butter, brown sugar, salt, rosemary and chili powder in a bowl and mix into a paste.

Smear the paste all over the squash.

Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Then baste with the butter mixture from the bottom of the pan and return to the oven for another 20 minutes.

Serve in the baking dish, drizzling more sauce at the end