*Tuna with a kick o' spice*

I love tuna fish for several reasons.  A few of those reasons being it is inexpensive, easy to make & easy to take to work, & of course I love it b/c it is high in protein :-)  I would have never thought to make tuna fish this way, especially making it spicy.  But, now that I've tried it, I will definitely use it as a staple go to recipe to make ahead for the work week.  I recommend you try it, too! 

1/3 - 1 cup of fat free yogurt (depends on your preference)                              
2 large cans tuna packed in water (or use 1 in water, 1 in oil)
cherry tomatoes, halved
2 red or green bell peppers, diced
2 hot peppers, minced (I used a Serrano)
1 bunch of fresh cilantro chopped
kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp hot sauce

Drain tuna.  Now get to dicing, mincing, chopping, and juicing ... then simply combine all ingredients!  It's THAT easy. 

I served mine on a bed of lettuce and used a few dashes of light Italian Dressing to help mix it in well with the lettuce.

*Spicy Korean-Style Meatballs*

This was my first time trying out meatball’s …  I know, I find it very weird considering how often I cook that I have NEVER made meatball’s.  I guess I am just not a huge Italian food fan & when I think of meatballs I always think of the typical spaghetti & meatballs with a big ole’ loaf of French bread.  This recipe, however, has a good twist on meatballs giving them a little kick and they’re considered to have a Korean flair to them.  And, not to mention SRIRACHA SAUCE IS MY FAV EVER!!!  You can find it at any of your local grocery stores or markets.  It is the big bottle with the red chili sauce inside, a green top, and a big honkin’ rooster on the front.  You can’t miss it, but I'll include a picture just in case ;)  

Meatballs

3 green onions                                                  

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 pound ground round beef or ground turkey

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons Sriracha Sauce

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

2 tablespoons canola oil, for pan-frying

Glaze

1/3 cup apricot preserves (reduced sugar or regular)

2 tablespoons Sriracha Sauce

1-1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white vinegar                             

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Garnish (optional)

Sliced green onion

Toasted sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 350°. In large bowl, combine all meatball ingredients (make sure to thinly slice green onion) except oil. The key to good meatballs is not to over mix them. Just gently combine the ingredients until everything is evenly distributed. Form the mixture into golf-ball sized meatballs.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown the meatballs on all sides. Transfer meatballs to rimmed baking pan and transfer to oven. Bake ~12 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160°.

Meanwhile, in small saucepan, combine all glaze ingredients. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened (I doubled my sauce … we didn’t use quite all of it but I wanted to make sure we had enough left over for another meal the next day!)

To serve, brush meatballs with glaze and sprinkle with green onion and sesame seeds. 

I served mine over whole wheat noodles w/a side salad :)

*Crab & Celery Salad*

This salad is great to prepare ahead for lunch because you don’t have to worry about the lettuce wilting.  It is very refreshing so it will be a great Spring go-to salad.  I am kicking myself though, because I had a fresh container of crab from the seafood market section in Kroger … & surely enough once I was walking down the nasty canned fish isle I decided to be a cheapo & go with the basic canned crab.  Bummer.  I will say the salad was still good, but it would have been worth the extra $4.00.  I will definitely purchase the fresh crab next time and recommend you do, too!                                              
 

What it took for 1 large salad:                                                                            

2 eggs, hard-boiled and roughly chopped

4 stalks celery, diced

1(6.5 oz) can jumbo lump crab, drained

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup freshly chopped parsley

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the eggs through the parsley.

In a small bowl whisk together the oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and pepper.

Drizzle the dressing over the crab and celery salad. Toss & serve! 

How easy is that?!

*Zucchini Lasagna - hold the noodles*

I got this recipe from Skinny Taste (my fav).  This recipe only has 345 Calories per serving & makes 8 servings.  And, I ended up cutting mine into 9 servings and it was plenty!  I did, however, prepare my zucchini a little differently than Skinny Taste & used a method I found on another website that was a little less time consuming & it turned out perfectly.  Well … maybe not perfectly, but close.  I am definitely not an expert at slicing zuchinni into 1/8” slices, but I did my best :-)

Ingredients:                                                       

1 lb. 93% lean beef

3 cloves garlic

1/2 onion

1 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
3 medium-large zucchini, sliced  1/8" thick
15 oz. part-skim ricotta
16 oz. part-skim shredded mozzarella 

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

1 large egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  

In a medium sauce pan, brown meat and season with salt. When cooked, drain in colander to remove any fat. Add olive oil to the pan and sauté garlic and onions about 2 minutes. 

Return the meat to the pan, add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer on low for at least 30-40minutes, covered. Do not add extra water, the sauce should be thick.

Meanwhile, slice zucchini into 1/8" thick slices, place on cookie sheet.  Bake @ 425 degrees for 5 minutes on one side, then flip zucchini slices and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

After removing the zucchini, lower the oven temperature to 375°.  Set the zucchini aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and egg. Stir well.

In a 9x12 casserole dish, spread a layer of sauce on the bottom and layer the zucchini to cover. Then spread a layer of the ricotta cheese mixture, then top with the mozzarella cheese and repeat the process until all your ingredients are used up. Top with sauce and mozzarella and cover with foil.

Bake 45 minutes covered at 375°, then uncovered 15 minutes. Let stand about 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

I served mine with a side salad.

It was delish & you won’t even miss the noodles!

*Lite but Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Soup*

So … it is the end of March and it is slightly frigid outside and I think Little Rock is trying to take over Chicago’s nickname the Windy City.  I don’t see much of a point in putting effort into any fixings of the hair this week and I definitely do not plan to go find a Spring-like dress for Easter this weekend.  As of now there is a chance of thunderstorms and the high is in the mid 60’s for Sunday. All I know is that SCREAMS humidity.  Who knows, maybe the forecast will change 10x between now and then like it usually does.  Only time will tell!

On a positive note, this weather can allow us to still pull off a good (and easy) cup o’ soup for an entree this week when we get home from work.  This is VERY low cal and VERY delish.  I recommend you try this before it’s too late!

You will need:                                                       

6 cups water

3 Tbsp. flour

1 celery stalk, cut in half

5 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced

8 oz. baby bella, sliced

3 Containers Knorr Homestyle Chicken Stock (comes in 4 small packs)– click here to see what it looks like.

2 tsp. unsalted butter

7 oz. skinless chicken breast

1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Place cold water and flour in a blender and blend until smooth; pour into a medium pot and set heat to medium.

Add celery, mushrooms, Knorr’s chicken stock and butter and bring to a boil. Add chicken and a few dashes of salt & pepper, cover and simmer on low 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken and set aside; continue to cook the remaining soup an additional 5 minutes, until vegetables are soft.  

Place celery and 1 cup of soup into the blender; blend until smooth, then return to the pot and simmer a few minutes. Shred or cut the chicken into small pieces and add back to the soup, garnish with fresh parsley.

I served mine as an entree with a slice of whole wheat bread on the side.