Healthy cooking tips, recipes, food facts and more from a Registered Dietitian!
e. Rice & Pasta
Sides with Rice & Pasta
Wild Rice & Cranberry Salad
Sep 9th
1 pkg long grain and wild rice (Uncle Ben’s is good)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup broccoli flowerettes, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
3 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 2-oz. jar pimento
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
Prepare rice according to directions, cool completely. Combine rice and next 5 ingredients. Add dressing and chill at least 2 hours. Mix in peanuts just before serving.
SWEET AND SOUR DRESSING
1/3 cup sugar
2-1/2 Tbsp vinegar
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use less about 1/3 cup)
Mix all in a jar and shake, pour over rice mixture.
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Loading ...Chicken Spectacular
May 13th
3 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 package Wild and White Rice (I use Uncle Ben’s), cooked
1 can fat-free cream of celery soup
1 medium jar sliced pimento
1 medium onion, chopped and sautéed
2 cans French style green beans, drained
1 cup fat-free mayonnaise
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 small can sliced water chestnuts
Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased 9″X13″ casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Nutrition Info (per 1/8 casserole): 195 calories, 2 grams fat, 652 mg sodium, 27 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams sugar, 3 grams fiber, 25 grams protein
NOTE: To decrease the sodium in this recipe, use regular brown rice or a low-sodium variety of the White & Wild Rice mixture, and use no added salt green beans instead of regular.
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Lemon Fettuccine with Smoked Salmon
Apr 1st
This week’s recipe comes from a dear friend of mine, Mrs. Linda Ratliff. Mrs. Linda sent me this Salmon and pasta recipe and claims that it is a family favorite. It looks delicious to me and I hope you will enjoy it as well!
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and julienne cut (rehydrated in hot water)
1/3 cup cold butter, cut in small pieces
Zest and juice from 2 lemons
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 (3-ounce) pouch Chicken of the Sea Smoked Pacific Salmon, flaked into bite size pieces
1/2 pound fettuccine, cooked
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (I used toasted pecans or walnut pieces, if I don’t have pine nuts)
Grated parmesan cheese
Chopped fresh basil
In large skillet, in hot oil, sauté garlic, add tomatoes and lemon juice; sauté one minute longer. Add cold butter, lemon zest, parsley and oregano. Stir until butter has melted and mixture has thickened slightly, remove from heat. Gently fold in salmon. Pour salmon lemon mixture over fettuccine, gently toss until covered. Sprinkle with nuts, parmesan cheese and basil.
(If I don’t have sundried tomatoes, I have tried chopped fresh tomatoes and they work ok. Also, you can use dried herbs if you don’t have fresh.)
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Confetti Pasta
Feb 25th
May be served hot or cold!
A good friend, Mrs. Kelly Hutto, sent this recipe to me a few months ago and somehow I let it get lost in my inbox. So, after recently “finding” it, I decided that it is definitely one to remember! This recipe is a simple one-dish meal that can be served hot or cold, with directions for each provided below.
1 package (16 ounces) linguine (or your favorite pasta)
Any combination of the below vegetables to equal 2-3 cups:
- Chopped sweet red pepper
- Chopped green pepper
- Chopped onion (sweet onion, or green onions)
- Chopped seeded tomato — or cherry tomatoes (quartered)
- Chopped raw, fresh broccoli
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup of your favorite fat-free Zesty Italian Salad Dressing (not creamy)
2-3 cups cooked and peeled shrimp OR 2-3 cups of Chopped Chicken (cooked)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (shredded works better than the finely ground Parmesan)
To Make HOT PASTA:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, sauté the chopped vegetables that you chose with the garlic and dressing until vegetables are tender.
Add the shrimp; cook and stir 2-3 minutes longer or until heated through. Drain linguine; toss with shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
To Make COLD PASTA:
Cook pasta — drain and rinse with very cold water (until pasta is cold) – Drain. Mix vegetables (without cooking) into pasta. Instead of using fresh garlic, use bottled chopped garlic to taste. Toss in the shrimp or chicken and mix well. Refrigerate until 5 minutes before you are ready to serve. Remove from refrigerator and coat mixture with Italian dressing and toss to coat Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and lightly toss.
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Pasta & Easy Italian Meat Sauce
Jan 28th
This recipe came from my sister, Amanda Easley Criss, from Slate Spring, Mississippi. Amanda sent me this recipe and said that she and her husband, Jody, really enjoyed it for dinner the other night. She originally got the recipe from the Martha Stewart Living website, then cut back on the fat to make it a little lighter.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 carrot, grated (about 1/2 cup)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 pound ground beef
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes
1/2 cup milk
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (Amanda said that she substituted oregano & basil for the thyme)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound fettuccine
Grated Parmesan, for serving
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Stir in carrot, onion, and garlic. Add ground beef, and cook until it turns from pink to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes and their liquid, crushing them with the back of a large spoon. Stir in milk, bay leaf, thyme, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Simmer 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook fettuccine until al dente according to package instructions, about 12 minutes. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water; drain fettuccine, and return to the warm pot. Add meat sauce, and toss. Add pasta water as needed if the sauce seems dry. To serve, sprinkle with Parmesan.
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...
