Chia Seed Pudding #fitnessFriday #foodieFriday

Today’s post both helps you get fit and hopefully has you trying a new food. Chia seeds are one of the hot new super foods! They are packed with fiber, protein, anit-oxidants, omega 3 fatty acids and iron. For more on the benefits of chia seeds, you can visit http://bit.ly/2IRcyVd.

Today’s recipes are for chia seed puddings, but I also sprinkle dry chia seeds on salad for some added texture and taste. I make my chia seed pudding with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and I don’t add sugar or honey because I usually mix it up with fruit and sometimes a little yogurt. The recipes below show you just how versatile you can be with this superfood! Chia seed pudding will last for about 5 days in the fridge so one batch is enough to last you for an entire week of breakfasts or desserts.

Recipes

Chia Seed Pudding Recipes

April 3, 2018

Stuffed Zucchini Squash – #TuesdayTip

The other day I posted a before and after photo of the stuffed squash I made to take to my sister’s house for Easter. Since a number of you wanted a recipe, here goes!

Stuffed Squash

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook farro according to package instructions. I used 1 cup of farro, 2 cups water, and some salt and set the mix to boil. Once boiling, I lowered the heat to have a very low boil. It took roughly 20 minutes for the farro to be cooked. Farro is a great ancient grain similar to barley. It’s slightly more al dente than rice and holds up well in a recipe like this where you are going to cook it again. I would actually leave it more al dente so it doesn’t get mushy. Cool the farro.

Saute the mushrooms, bell pepper, carrots, celery and onions in olive oil. I start with the mushrooms at high heat until they are half-done and then add the bell pepper and cook some more. Finally the carrots and celery for a minute or two before adding the onions. Mushrooms have a lot of water and doing them first at high heat helps avoid you steaming the rest of the veggies. Cook until all the vegetables are starting to brown.

Add vegetables to farro. Then add the ricotta, 1/4 cup of the mozzarella, 1/4 cup of the provolone, and the basil. Mix well.

Cut off the ends of the squash. Slice your squash in half the long way. With a teaspoon, scoop out the center to make a little canoe (leave some meat on the ends to keep the filling from spilling out).

With a teaspoon, spoon about 3 to 4 teaspoons of the farro mixture into the scooped out squash canoes and place in an oiled 9 x 13 pan. Top the filled canoes with the rest of the mozzarella and provolone. Dust with the grated parmesan. Add about 1/4 cup water to the bottom of each pan to prevent burning and provide some steam for the initial cooking.

Cover the pans with aluminum foil and bake covered for 20 minutes. Then remove the covers and bake for another twenty minutes uncovered. If the cheese has not toasted at the end of 40 minutes, give it a quick 2 or 3 minutes under the broiler!

And that’s it! Hope you enjoy today’s Tuesday Tip!
stuffed zucchini

March 27, 2017

#ManCandyMonday Tyler Hoechlin aka Carlo in #3 At the Shore

Tyler caught my eye years ago on Teen Wolf and as I was thinking about who to share for this morning’s Man Candy, it occurred to me that Tyler would be the perfect hero for #3 in the At the Shore Contemporary Romance series. The hero in that book, Carlo Texiera, is a chef and caterer extraordinaire who has to convince wedding planner Emma Grant that there really is a Happily-Ever-After for them. You’ll be seeing more of Carlo in book #2 as well!

January 21, 2014January 21, 2014

Picadillo #Cuban #Recipe

We’re expecting a big snowstorm tomorrow, so it’s time to think about hunkering down and having something hearty and tasty, but also easy-to-make. After all, you’ve spent time shoveling so you don’t want to slave over the stove to fill your belly.

This dish was always a staple in my house and it still is because it’s easy to make and delicious. Think of it as Cuban-Style Sloppy Joe’s.

My favorite way to serve picadillo is over white rice and topped with a fried egg. Yummy!!

Cuban-style Picadillo

1 cup chopped onions
1 cup green peppers (although I prefer red peppers)
3 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped green olives with pimentos (These are your regular olives in a jar!)
1 pound chopped meat
1 small can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tsps cumin
salt and pepper to taste

The above recipe serves 2, so you can double accordingly.

Heat olive oil and then add peppers. Cook until starting to get soft. Then add the onions and saute until starting to get soft. Add the olives, garlic and chopped meat. Cook until chopped meat is starting to get brown. Add cumin, salt, pepper and tomato sauce.

Simmer for about half an hour.

Serve over white rice (or brown if you’re trying to be healthier).

Again, I like to top mine with a fried egg. In TORI GOT LUCKY, two of the friends own a restaurant and I have not doubt they’d have some snazzy version of picadillo on the menu. Maybe they’d add some raisins or capers as some people do. Or possibly serve it over a saffron-flavored rice or ripe plantain nests! This dish is so versatile, it allows you to really experiment with things to add.