garlic

Party Loaf and a Taste of Switzerland

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

 

Party Loaf_3

 

Party Loaf

In December 2010, my mom and I took a mother-daughter vacation in Europe. We took advantage of Christmas break to tour four European countries in the span of two weeks.

We started our adventure in Italy, starting in historic Rome and made our way to Venice and Florence, where we splurged on Italian leather, gelato and espresso. Then we spent some time in Switzerland, mainly Lugano, and Lucerne where we spent Christmas Eve and reveled in Swiss breads, cheese and chocolates. We made our way through the snowy Swiss Alps to Paris, where we spent magical nights at the Eiffel Tower and the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. From Paris, we took the Eurostar to London. We extended our stay to spend New Year’s Eve in Westminster to watch the fireworks on the Thames with the backdrop of the London Eye. It was one of the best vacations I’ve taken. Aside from the historic wonders of each location, we were given the opportunity to try specialty foods in each of the four countries. (more…)

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Grilled Garlic Hassleback Potatoes

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Posts, Recipes, Vegetables & Sides

Grilled Garlic HassleBack Potatoes

There are a few times a year when it seems almost obligatory to BBQ – either BBQ yourself or attend one. And those times are Memorial Day weekend, July 4, and Labor Day weekend. That’s not to say you can’t BBQ all summer long, if you so desire. But it’s around those holidays that you see the grocery stores pull all their grilling items to the front of the store so you can’t miss the charcoal, the sodas and the chips and dip. (more…)

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Garlic Almond Green Beans

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Posts, Recipes, Vegetables & Sides

Garlic Almond Green Beans

 

Because I’m always on a diet (or so it seems), I’m constantly trying to find ways to make veggie sides more interesting. Sure, I could steam broccoli and asparagus, and sauté spinach until is comes out of my ears. But in reality, how appealing do steamed veggies sound? That’s what I thought. I’ve recently starting grilling veggies. Yes, it’s winter and it’s too cold to be outside using a grill. That’s where my stovetop grill comes in handy. I’m telling you, I’ve becoming a grilling fanatic, minus the smell of food that lingers in the house long after we’ve devoured dinner. (more…)

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Lemon Garlic Chicken

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

Lemon-Garlic-Skillet-Chicken

It was my mom’s birthday last week! Who doesn’t love celebrating birthdays?

The best part about birthdays, no matter how old you get, is that it’s the one day a year you can be selfish and expect everything to be about you. Between demanding workdays, short weekends, busy families (especially those with kids), it’s the day you can put everyone else on the back-burner and say “Today, it’s all about me for a change.” That does not go away with age. (more…)

Lamb Kabob Patties with Skinny Garlic Aioli

categories: Lamb, Posts, Recipes

 

I’m not sure why I was craving Ground Lamb Kabobs, but I took the meat out of the freezer the day and put it in the fridge in anticipation that I was going to use the meat for something delicious. So I decided to make “Lebanese style” ground lamb patties for lunch today.

Unless I’m lying around the house with no plans to leave, I usually put my contacts in first thing in the morning. Well, this week I’m on “Winter Break” so, I wasn’t planning to put my contacts in until I planned the leave the house later this afternoon. (I use the quotes because since the beginning of my winter break I’ve been doing at least four hours of work daily. Some vacation.) Contact-less, I got working on my ground lamb patties. First, I diced the onion. Bad idea. My eyes instantly became sore and started tearing. I didn’t realize that my contacts shielded my eyes from onion-cutting irritation – until today.

Minus the eye irritation, the lamb patties turned out well and my Skinny Garlic Aioli was de-licious!

Lamb Kabob Patties with Skinny Garlic Aioli Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Lamb
½ Bunch Parsley finely chopped
1 Medium Onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Seven Spice (can be found at your local Middle Eastern Grocery)
 

Directions

Mix together ground lamb, seven spice, parsley and onion.
Form into round patties.
Grill in a grill pan or a cuisineart Panini grill.
Serve in Arabic Bread with Skinny Garlic Aioli

To make the Skinny Garlic Aioli, mix together 6oz plain fat-free greek yogurt, ¼ cup light mayo and 5 cloves garlic, minced.

Servings: 8-10 patties

 Nutrition Information: Cals 123. Carbs 2g. Fat 9g. Protein 8g. Sodium 34mg. Sugar 1g.

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