Showing posts with label points. Show all posts
Showing posts with label points. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Awesome Asparagus Risotto


Ingredients:
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (for water)
  • 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
  • 3 small shallots- minced
  • 1 cup (uncooked) arborio rice
  • 4 Cups of Chicken Broth
  • 1 lb of uncooked asparagus, cleaned  and cut into bite sized pieces
  • Cooking Spray
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • Salt and Pepper to tast
  • 1/3 cup of grated Parmigianno-Reggiano Cheese
Makes 6 Servings

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Blanch asparagus for 2 minutes.  Remove and place in bowl of ice water.  This will stop the cooking process and make sure that your asparagus don't turn to mush!  They will also stay a very pretty green color.  Set them aside.

Bring Broth to a simmer and keep warm.  Spray a medium pot with cooking spray (to prevent rice from sticking)- melt butter.  Add shallots and cook until translucent about 5 minutes or so.  Add in the rice and mix with butter/shallot mixture- cook for about 2 minutes.
Add lemon juice and cook (about 1 minute) until all juice has been absorbed.  Make sure to stir continuously so rice doesn't stick to the sides of the pot.  Add broth to rice 1/2 cup at a time.  Continuously stir until all liquid is absorbed.

Repeat 1/2 cup at a time until all broth has been absorbed.  This process will seem like it is taking forever, but really its about 20 minutes.  When rice consistancy turns creamy and the rice is slightly chewy but not mushy remove from heat, add cheese, and stir.  Add in asparagus.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

Making risotto is very time consuming, but the result is a very tastey addition to any dinner.


This recipe was featured on the Marvelous May Menu, be sure to check out the rest of the May Menu.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Frozen Blueberry Bites

Frozen Blueberry Bites are a perfect hot weather treat!  They taste like blueberry cheesecake!  Only with A LOT LESS fat and calories.  You can substitute other types of berries like raspberries or strawberries.  You can pick them up with your fingers or put a few in a bowl and eat them with a spoon.  Either way it is a yummy guilt free treat!

Ingredients:
  • 1 Cup Fat Free Cool Whip
  • 3 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar
  • 2 oz 1/3 less fat Cream Cheese
  • 1 Cup of Blueberries
Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, blueberries in food processor or blender.
 Place in bowl and hand stir in cool whip.
 Place in silicone baking tray (or ice cube tray) place in freezer for at least two hours.


Deep Dish Portabello {Pizza}

Pizza is a favorite at our house.  I try to only order pizza delivery when I am really in a pinch.  Traditional deep dish pizza is loaded with fat and calories.  By using a mushroom as the crust you eliminate a lot of the calories but still get your pizza fix.  To keep this even healthier I suggest only filling it with veggies, but you could also add in turkey pepperoni or sausage.  I like to cook mine on the grill but this can easily be cooked in the oven.  My favorite part of the pizza is the toppings so eating this makes me very happy!
Ingredients:
  • Large Portabello Mushrooms
  • Pizza Sauce (I use my homemade marinara sauce)
  • Tomatoes
  • Sauteed Onions
  • Fresh Spinach
  • Mozzarella
  • Peppers
  • Any of you favorite pizza toppings
Make sure all veggies are clean.  To fit more toppings in your mushroom you can remove the stem or just leave it there.  Put a layer of sauce on mushroom and then pile on the toppings saving the cheese for last or next to last.  Grill for 10-15 minutes