Breakfast in Bed???

On Sunday, since it was "wash the sheets day", I decided we could have breakfast in bed.
For those of you who know how anal I can be you know this was HUGE! I made a YUMMY
recipe from Cooking Light for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (partially because I had left over Ricotta from the lazagna rolls). Served with Pecans, Bananas and Hot syrup on top they were DELISH!



Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Ingredients
1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
Salad oil


Preparation
1. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg yolks, and lemon peel to blend. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until evenly moistened. Gently stir in ricotta cheese.
2. In a bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. With a flexible spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter just until they are incorporated.
3. Place a nonstick griddle or a 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat (350°); when hot, coat lightly with oil and adjust heat to maintain temperature. Drop batter in 1/2-cup portions onto the griddle and cook until pancakes are browned on the bottom and edges begin to look dry, about 2 minutes; turn cakes with a wide spatula and brown other sides, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Coat pan with more oil as necessary to cook remaining pancakes.
4. Serve pancakes as cooked, or keep warm in a single layer on baking sheets in a 200° oven for up to 15 minutes.
Yield
Makes about 8 pancakes; 4 servings



PS- After I made a huge mess, ate and relaxed in bed until noon I had a dirty house, unproductive anxiety breakdown. Go figure!
PPS- Dirty House Breakdowns in front of significant others can often result in new cleaning supplies... like a microfiber mop and mit. Thanks, Scotty!

Healthy Lasagna????

Is this an oxymoron, you might wonder!?!

Well, on Thursday night I created lasagna that was about 200
calories and 5 grams of fat a serving!



Inspired by one of my many magazines (Shape, Cooking Light, Women's Health)
I constructed Lasagna Rolls with:
Whole wheat noodles
Tomato Sauce
Lowfat parmesean/mozzerella
Fat Free Ricotta
Garlic
Sauteed Spinach, Basil, Peppers, Onions

I cooked the noodles (4) as normal then spread the cheese/garlic mixture
lightly on bottom, followed by veggies and then rolled. After I completed our
four rolls I covered with sauce baked at 350 for 20 minutes.

I served with green salad! It was delish! AND a low calorie, low fat way to have
my favorite comfort food.

Orange you a brownie?

The knitty cat (also known as cupcake cat:))is officially blogging on chaos and chicken. My orange brownies were a hit! With the exception of a few (male) critics who refused to believe that orange brownies were in fact brownies. Are all brownies chocolate? I think not! Before you discriminate against these sugary citrus treats, you must try the recipe yourself!

Here's the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36812,00.html

30 equals 30 ingredients. . .

Why is it that I have to make a big deal over everything. Lauren, Scott's sister turns 30 on Wednesday and she is visiting with us. I want to have all of her favorite things for dinner and of course it is now 4 courses...

Last night I went to the grocery store to retrieve the ingredients and there were like 26... let's just say 30 for the purpose of the story. After 2 hours of prep so tonight will not be hectic and $100 later we have the start of what I hope is the best meal EVER. The bottom line is, Lauren is simple. She would be happy with anything... But, I love it so....

Menu
Mushroom Ginger Soup (I know, I still love it)
Asian Salad with Cabbage and Oranges
Crab Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Roule
Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with Citrus Cream Cheese Icing

Revelation:
Cupcakes taste just as good from a box. SHHH... do not tell
Icing is merely SUGAR :)

I did substitute the eggs and oil with a diet Dr. Pepper. Amy Harris said this was so good and it is!!!! YEAH! Lots of chemicals but less calories.

Also, realized that food processor serves as a wonderful mixer.

Happy 30th, LT. We LOVE you!

Yummy Soup!

Okay... so I just returned from NY where I had a bite of the best brothy mushroom ginger soup. With my mother's amazing ability to taste, smell and decipher ingredients I think I have it.


Stacey's Mushroom Ginger Soup









Ingredients:
Shittake Mushrooms (Chopped)
Carrots
Celery
Green Onion (2)
Spinach
Vegetable Stock
Salt
Pepper
1 inch or so grated Ginger


How to do it:

Chop veggies and saute (Carrot and Celery) for a few in EVOO.

Add entire container of veggie stock, spinach, mushrooms, green onion,
grated ginger, salt and pepper. Allow to simmer on low for 30 minutes.


It's very light and refreshing... With barely any calories I am dubbing it New Weightloss Soup- Spread my Gospel!