4th of July Food Ideas

I'm not usually a big rib person, but these Grilled Ribs with Cherry Coke Barbeque Sauce look amazing!

I'll take some of that corn, too, please!

This Watermelon and Cucumber Salad caught my eye. I never would've guessed to use watermelon this way. It looks delicious!!

Paula's Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs remind me of my Nanny's. Yumm....I think I could eat them all!

And how cute is this Patriotic Poke Cake from Kraft foods?!

I love it...and a nice break from the popular flag cake.

What's on your menu for the 4th??

Menu Planning Monday

Monday: (meatless meal) Black-Eyed Peas and Cornbread
Tuesday: Chicken Stew
Wednesday: Bleu Cheese Burgers & Side Salad
Thursday: Abby's birthday! Chicken Tenders, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans
Friday: Chinese Take-Out....I'll be super busy getting the house cleaned and everything ready for Abby's birthday party.

Tasty Tuna Burgers

I had a couple of cans of tuna in my pantry, and I didn't want to go to the store...I know..lazy! Off to the internet I went to find a new recipe using canned tuna. This is the recipe I found, and the best part is I had everything in my pantry (except the red pepper). I was skeptical, but I really enjoyed this sandwich! This recipe is a keeper!

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Here's what you need:

• 
  
  1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained
• 
  
  1 egg
• 
  
  1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 
  
  1/3 cup minced onion
• 
  
  1/4 cup minced celery
• 
  
  1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
• 
  
  1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 
  
  2 tablespoons chili sauce
• 
  
  1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 
  
  1/4 teaspoon salt
• 
  
  1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 
  
  1 dash hot pepper sauce
• 
  
  1 dash Worcestershire sauce
• 
  
  4 hamburger buns
• 
  
  1 tomato, sliced
• 
  
  4 leaves of lettuce (optional)

Here's what you'll do:

1. 
   
   Combine tuna, egg, bread crumbs, onion, celery, red bell pepper, mayonnaise, hot chili sauce, chili sauce, dill, salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well. Shape into 4 patties (mixture will be very soft and delicate). Refrigerate for 30 minutes to make the patties easier to handle, if desired.  
2. 
   
   Coat a non-stick skillet with cooking spray; fry tuna patties for about 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. These are fragile, so be careful when turning them.  
3. 
   
   Serve on buns with tomato slices and lettuce leaves, if desired.

Enjoy!

Eat Better America: "Healthified" Beef Stroganoff

Not the best of pictures, but it was late...I was hungry...you get the idea.

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This is what you'll need:

• 
  
  1 1/2 lb boneless beef sirloin steak  
• 2 teaspoons canola oil  
• 1 cup chopped onion (1 large)  
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic  
• 2 cups Progresso® beef flavored broth (from 32-oz carton)  
• 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce  
• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt  
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper  
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 jar (4.5 oz) Green Giant® sliced mushrooms, drained  
• 1 tablespoon ketchup  
• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream  
• 6 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles

This is what you'll do:

1 Cut the beef with the grain into 2-inch strips, then cut the strips across the grain into 1/8-inch slices. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown. Add onion and garlic to skillet; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2 Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the broth, the Worcestershire sauce, basil, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender. In small bowl, mix flour and remaining 1/2 cup broth with wire whisk until blended. Add to skillet. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.
3 Stir in mushrooms and ketchup; cook until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream until well blended. Serve over noodles.

Nutritional Information

3/4 cup noodles and 2/3 cup beef mixture: Calories 370 (Calories from Fat 90); Total Fat 10g (Saturated Fat 4g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 100mg; Sodium 520mg; Total Carbohydrate 39g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 4g); Protein 29g % Daily Value Vitamin A 4%; Vitamin C 2%; Calcium 6%; Iron 25% Exchanges 2 Starch, 1 Vegetable, 3 Lean Meat, 0 Fat Carbohydrate Choices 2 1/2
 
Our Review:
Me: This was the best beef stroganoff I've ever had. It was oh so creamy...and with the amount of calories in each serving, I didn't feel guilty about having dessert (always a plus!).
Chad: He loved this. I've been sneaky and not told him about my challenge, until last night. He had no clue he was actually eating healthy at supper. He wants to keep this one on our dinner rotation. :o)
Nate: Nate was at a friends house so he missed out....he probably wouldn't have wanted to taste it since it has mushrooms in it.
Abby: wanted nothing to do with this one. She wouldn't even eat the plain noodles. She's getting more teeth in so I'm sure that's what the problem was....

Easy Chicken Salad

Abby and I had a playdate with some friends from out of town on Saturday. Since it was sooo hot, we invited them over to swim. I decided to make my chicken salad since I knew I could make it quickly. Perfect for a hot summer day!

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Here's what you'll need:

• low fat mayonaise
• celery
• grapes
• lemon juice
• salt & pepper
• chicken breasts

Here's what you'll do:

In a large mixing bowl add two heaping tablespoons of mayo and salt & pepper (to taste).

Next, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Stir to combine.

Add 1/2 cup chopped celery and 1 cup diced grapes

                                     

 

and 2 cups cooked shredded chicken.

 

Stir to combine all ingredients. Refridgerate until ready to serve.

I like to serve on these rolls:

With this side:

Enjoy!

Eat Better America: Two-Mustard Chicken

I don't have any pictures of this meal.  After I got home from work and prepared supper, the lighting was too bad for good pictures. So...I'll just use the one from the website. :)

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Here's what you will need: 

• 
  
  1/4 cup Dijon mustard  
• 2 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard  
• 2 tablespoons honey  
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb)

This is what you will do:

 1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.

2. In small bowl, mix mustards and honey; spread on both sides of chicken. Place in pan.

3. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F).

My Family's Review:

Me: I loved this chicken. It was moist...more so than I thought it would be since it was cooked uncovered. I wish I would've served this with rice to make the meal just a little more filling.

Chad: He went on and on about this chicken. VERY surprising as he usually doesn't like anything that is good for you. ;o) He couldn't believe how 'juicy' it was and didn't even add more sauce (he's usually funny about having plenty to dip in).

Nate: spent the night with a friend so he missed out!

Abby: Ate all of her chicken. Not as enthusiastically as the pasta (see post below), but ate it none the less.

Eat Better America: "Healthified" Fettuccine Alfredo

My first dish in my new challenge and let me just say, this dish didn't disappoint. I decided to make our first 'healthy' dish, our meatless meal for the week. I'm not very creative at coming up with vegetarian meals, but I got a lot of great ideas from the site.

DISCLAIMER: I realize I'm not the best photographer, and food is even more of a challenge for me. Bear with me. I'm working on it.

Here is what you'll need:

• 1 lb uncooked fettuccine  
• 2 cups whole milk  
• 1 tablespoon Gold Medal® all-purpose flour  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt  
• Dash freshly ground black pepper  
• Dash ground red pepper (cayenne)  
• 2 tablespoons butter  
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic  
• 2 oz 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel)  
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

I also added:

• 1 can of sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup of frozen broccoli

This is what you'll do:

1. Cook fettuccine as directed on package, omitting salt. Drain; return to saucepan. Cover to keep warm; set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir milk, flour, salt, black pepper and red pepper with wire whisk until smooth. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly (do not burn). With wire whisk, stir milk mixture into butter mixture in saucepan. (This is where I added my broccoli and mushrooms.) Cook and stir over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes or until mixture thickens and boils.

3. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Stir in Parmesan cheese until melted. Pour over fettuccine; toss to coat. Sprinkle with parsley.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Cook and stir over medium heat 7 to 9 minutes.

Nutritional Information:
1 Serving: Calories 330 (Calories from Fat 110); Total Fat 12g (Saturated Fat 6g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 70mg; Sodium 310mg; Total Carbohydrate 42g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 4g); Protein 13g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 8%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 20%; Iron 15% Exchanges: 3 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 3
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
 

 Pasta with only 330 calories a serving?! You can't beat that!

Here's our family's review:

Me: I loved it. It was filling and easy to put together after work (always a plus in my book). I think it would also be great with grilled chicken or shrimp added in. Definitely keeping this one on my list!

Chad: Liked it. Wouldn't say he loved it, but didn't complain (again, always a plus).

Nate: Not a fan. I think it was the broccoli and mushrooms. He ate it, but didn't like the 'looks' of it.

Abby: To say Abby was a fan is an understatement! She had two helpings and while these pictures aren't the best due to lighting, I think they speak for themselves.