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Sea Scallops with Lemon Pepper Pasta

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Pasta, Posts, Recipes, Seafood

 

I have not abandoned Measuring cups, Optional.

I know it’s been over a week since I’ve posted new recipes – but all for good reason. It’s been a hectic two weeks around here. I started a new job with tons of new responsibilities. With a background in communications and public relations, I wanted to branch out of the agency world and move to an in-house position where I can focus all my efforts on one client – rather than seven, or more, at a time. Week one went great (for those of you interested)! With the earlier hours, I now have time to go to the gym (something I’ve been slacking on) and make dinner, with time to see my family, watch TV or blog.

I have been living on a combination of eating out, and quick meals. But I was able to make this light pasta dish with sea scallops – a seafood I’ve been wanting to experiment with.

Sea Scallops with Lemon Pepper Pasta Recipe

Ingredients

10 large frozen Sea Scallops
1/2 package Spaghetti Noodles
4-5 tablespoons I can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light
Lemon Pepper spice, to taste
Sea Salt, to taste
Olive Oil Cooking Spray
 

Directions

Defrost sea scallops in the microwave.
Meanwhile, boil spaghetti noodles, as directed on the package.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and spray with olive oil cooking spray.
Sprinkle salt on the sea scallops, then pan sear 3 minutes on each side.
Remove from heat.
Drain the spaghetti noodles, then mix in I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light and Lemon Pepper to taste. 
Serve the sea scallops on top of the pasta – or mix them in (but be careful not to break the scallops).
 

 

Servings: 2

Nutrition Information: Cals 370. Carbs 36g. Fat 12g. Protein 28g. Sodium 386mg.

 

 

 

 

 

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Nutella Crescent Rolls

categories: Breakfast, Desserts, Posts, Recipes

 

A few weeks ago I wanted to make chocolate-filled crescent rolls so I bought Hersheys chocolate squares and rolled them up. Those didn’t turn out so well. I didn’t melt the chocolate ahead of time so they turned into breaded chocolate disasters. This time, I tried out my favorite sweet treat, Nutella, and the crescent rolls turned out perfectly. They’re so easy to whip up.

Nutella Crescent Rolls

Ingredients

1 package Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls
8 teaspoons Nutella
 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Lay each crescent triangle on a flat surface, place 1 teaspoon of nutella on the widest part of the triangle and roll into a crescent.
Place on a baking sheet seem down. 
Repeat with the rest of the crescent rolls.
Bake for 12 minutes.
 

 

Servings: 8

Nutrition Information: Cals 123. Carbs 16. Fat 6g. Sodium 223mg. Sugar 6g.

 

 

Egg Cups – Two Ways

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Breakfast, Posts, Recipes

 

I love spending quality time with my mom. It’s amazing how much closer my mom and I have gotten as I’ve gotten older. It must be that once you’re done with trying to get away with things, you have something in common with her that all of sudden makes you understand why she thinks the way she does. That’s just my theory.

So my mom and I spent the weekend on a staycation together. And what better way to bond than over breakfast. I wanted to try out these egg cups but I decided to make them two ways with turkey bacon and without.

Turkey Bacon Egg Cups

Ingredients

3 slices Pepperidge Farm Very Thin Whole Wheat Bread
3 large Eggs
3 slices Turkey Bacon
Cooking Spray
Sea Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray a 6-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
Using a round cup or cookie cutter, cut circles into each piece of bread.
Place the bread rounds at the bottom of each muffin cup.
Toast in the oven for 5 minutes.
Place one slice of turkey bacon inside of each cup with the scalloped side up.
Crack one egg into each breaded, bacon-lined cup.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 20 minutes (less if you want the yolks runny).
 

Toast Egg Cups

Ingredients

3 slices Pepperidge Farm Very Thin Whole Wheat Bread
3 large Eggs
3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan Cheese (or any cheese)
Cooking Spray
Sea Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray a 6-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
Cut the crusts off of each piece of bread.
Place each piece of bread into the muffin cups.
Sprinkle cheese in each cup.
Crack one egg into each cup.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 20 minutes (less if you want the yolks runny).
 

 

Nutrition Information: (Serving size, 1 cup)

Turkey Bacon Egg Cups – Cals 125. Carbs 4. Fat 8g. Protein 9g. Sodium 276mg.

Toast Egg Cups – Cals 131. Carbs 7, Fat 7g. Protein 9g. Sodium 21mg.

Fish Enchiladas

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Posts, Recipes, Seafood

 

I have seriously been craving enchiladas since we went to Uncle Julio’s two months ago. I love enchiladas and my personal favorite are the cheese ones, only because they over salt the chicken enchiladas. I was planning to make chicken enchiladas this week, but I need a change from chicken. Enter fish enchiladas.

Fish Enchiladas Recipe

Ingredients

1 pkg. McCormick® Enchilada Sauce Mix
1 ½ cups water
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 lb. Fish (Tilapia)
8 corn tortillas or flour tortillas (6-inch)
Cooking Spray
1 cup shredded Part Skim Mozzarella cheese
¼ cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 small Onion, chopped
1 can low sodium Black beans (1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon Olive oil
 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small saucepan, stir Sauce Mix, water and tomato sauce. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
In a large skillet, cook onion with olive oil until translucent. Add tilapia and cook until the fish cooked through. Stir in ¾ cup of the sauce.
Grease a baking dish with cooking spray.
Spoon the fish mix into the tortillas, wrap and lay seam down.
Pour sauce over the tortillas, top with black beans and top with cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.
 

 

Servings: 8

Nutrition Information: Cals 275. Carbs 22g. Fat 8g. Protein 24g. Sodium 660mg. Sugar 7g.

 

 

Chicken with Pepperoni-Marinara Sauce

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Chicken, Posts, Recipes

 

Right before Thanksgiving, my mom gave me a box of all her old Cooking Light and Bon Appetit magazines. She’s been hanging onto these magazines since 1998 and probably even earlier. It was seriously the sweetest gift. She was probably thinking that if I took the time to try out the recipes, I’d actually get better. Well, the box of magazines is sitting pretty in my garage at the moment – I’ll get to them eventually. I did, however, start paying more attention to Cooking Light and Bon Appetit online. That’s where I found this super easy and flavorful chicken recipe. Seriously, who doesn’t love pepperoni and marinara.

I had to make a few changes, namely melting the cheese on the stovetop and using turkey pepperoni. Adapted from Cooking Light.

Chicken with Pepperoni-Marinara Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 slices Turkey Pepperoni, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 cups lower-sodium marinara sauce or regular marinara sauce
1 tablespoons Dried Basil
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 Chicken Breasts
Black Pepper, to taste
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
 

Directions

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Spray with cooking spray, then add the garlic and pepperoni. Cook 2 minutes.
Add oregano.
Then add marinara sauce and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in basil, and remove from heat.
In a large skillet, add olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add chicken and brown on each side for about five minutes.
Pour the sauce over the chicken, bring to a boil. And simmer for 15 minutes.
Add mozzarella cheese, cover and cook on low until the cheese melts.
 

Servings: 4

Nutrition Information: Cals 320. Carbs 12g. Fat 11g. Protein 41g. Sodium 775mg. Sugar 9g.

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Arabic Food Made Easy Series: Mjaddara [Brown Lentils and Rice]

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Arabic Food Made Easy, Posts, Recipes, Rice & Grains

Mjaddara

Let’s face it, Arabic food takes forever to make. There are lots of steps and long cooking times, time I don’t have when I’m working full time and trying to conserve my culture simultaneously. That’s why I’ve decided to start a recipe series featuring traditional Arabic dishes, made much easier for those of us that have full time jobs and prefer to keep weekday cooking to 30 minutes or less. This is the third installment of the series. Don’t forget to check out previous posts in the Arabic Food Made Easy Series.

Mjaddara pronounced EM-JADARA isn’t really a hard dish to make. It’s quite simple, actually and is perfect for those “vegetarian days.” You know, at least once or twice a week when you have dinner sans meat. The last time I made mjaddara it turned out great, despite my issues cooking rice. I had a small problem though, mjaddara is usually served with plain yogurt. The last time, I had picked up nonfat vanilla yogurt instead of nonfat plain yogurt. It was a small disaster — but now I pay extra attention at the grocery store.

Mjaddara  

Mjaddara

Mjaddara Recipe

 

Ingredients

1 cup Brown Lentils
2 cups Basmati Rice
1 medium Onion
Salt, to taste
1 tablespoon Cumin
1 tablespoon Cardamom
1 tablespoon Seven Spice
Vegetable Oil
 

Directions

Go through the brown lentils, picking out any stones or dirt then wash them and boil them in a pot until they are soft and edible (15 minutes on medium heat.)
Wash the rice three times, then soak in hot water until the lentils are done.
Cut the onion into long strips and fry in vegetable oil until golden brown. Remove half with a slotted spoon.
Drain the water from the lentils and from the rice as well. Place the rice on top of the lentils in the pot and mix together.
Add a teaspoon of vegetable oil, and mix the ingredients together over medium heat for two minutes.
Add salt, pepper, cumin, and cardamom and seven spice.
Cover with hot water (1 cm above the mixture). Once it boils, cover and let simmer on low heat until the water evaporates (about 25 minutes).
Turn over (like a cake) in a big plate, and cover the top with the fried onion stripes.
Serve with plain yogurt. 
 

Servings: 4

Nutrition Information: Cals 352. Carbs 46g. Fat 14g. Protein 12g.