Grilled Shrimp Pitas

This looks great - got the recipe from a good friend, who is coming into town - not sure if she ever made it, or if she just thought it looked good... anyway, we're giving it a go...hope you enjoy!

1 container (7 oz) Greek yogurt - reduced fat variety
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 seedless cucumber, peeled, halved, and sliced, thinly.
1 tbsp lemon juice

marinade:
3 TBSP  olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano\
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and de-veined.

4 whole wheat pitas
3 cups iceberg salad mic
sliced red onion and plum tomatoes are optional.

in a medium size bowl, mix the yogurt, feta, cucumber and lemon jucie - cover and refrigerate until "later"
combine marinade ingredients in a large resealable plastic bag - add shrimp, seal, shake to coat, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Heat grill to medium or so heat and lighly coat grill basket with non-stick cooking spray.  Place shrimp in grilling basket and grill for 3 minutes -  baste with marinade and heat an additional 3 minutes until shrimp is pink.

divide sauce and shrimp over pitas.  enjoy!

Swedish Pancakes

This recipe comes from one of my BFFs who makes these regularly for her family. Since getting the recipe from her about 6 years ago, I've become a frequent maker as well! They are time consuming, and you don't necessarily get to sit down for that real homey meal feel - BUT, if your family takes pride in making their own meal, and eating it better because of it - then this is a GREAT breakfast for dinner type of meal!

Swedish Pancakes
3 eggs (I usually use 1 egg and 3 egg whites)
1 3/4 cup milk
1 cup flour (sometimes I do 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 white flour)
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tbsp oil

in a blender, mix eggs and milk. Add flour and salt, sugan arn oil, then blend until smooth. Pour about 2 tbsp in preheated pan 7 inch frying pan and cook over medium heat.

Basically, you're making crepes - I use two small 7 or so inch frying pans and cook multiple pancakes at a time

I fill, wait for the pancake to be totally set, then use a silicone scraper to gently loosen the pancake, then flip the pancake in the air (yet another reason my kids LOVE these! flying food!).
We fill our pancakes with the following:
Blueberries and/or Strawberries
Lingonberry Jam and/or Triple berry Jam
Coconut
Whip Cream
Vanilla Yogurt
I've made other fillings, and the kids have enjoyed, but this is our "basic, go to fillings" list. I have the kids fill theirs, then we cut them - much as they might like to pick them up and eat them "taco style", that isn't happening, so it's cut up breakfast for them!

You can see that I have both rolled them (crepe style) and folded them (Swedish Restaurant style). Suite yourself - it kinda depends on what you're serving with them - the Swedish Restaurant style is easier, and goes best with just syrup and a small pile of lingonberry jam (we get our Lingonberry Jam at IKEA).

Brownies with hidden ingredient(Baked Beans)

I did it!! Ive been thinking about making this brownie for years, and I finally did it! OK, truth be told, I didnt make them from scratch, I used a box mix, but none the less, the brownies came out good. I pureed the beans to use in place of the oil, and then used the 2 eggs. So the brownies were loaded with protein, and fiber. I used baked beans and I did rinse off the sweet, gooey brown sugar sauce, because I did not think that flavor would be a good combo with the chocolate. The results were ok. Michael did say, they didnt taste like my regular brownies, but he did eat manage to eat two of them.
Here is the simple recipe:
1 box brownie mix
1 can(10 0z) baked beans
2 eggs

puree the beans in food processor or blender, add brownie mix and eggs
mix until smooth, pour batter into a greased bake pan
bake at 350 for 20 minutes
let cool and cut into squares

summer simple meal planning

July 11 to July 17 ... Now that is summer time!  and time to make some simple dinners on the cheap folks!

Sunday - Swedish Pancakes with fresh fruit
Monday - Fresh Fruit Dip & grilled chicken tenderloins
Tuesday - Grilled Shrimp Pitas
Wednesday - Sausage in Veggies
Thursday - Bean Enchilladas
Friday - Spinach Ravioli with pasta sauce
Saturday - Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

YUM - lots of options for quick cooked dinners or for party faire!

Walgreens Granola

After reading all the benefits of oat a few weeks ago, I am trying to include oats in my diet very often. A great easy and healthy snack is oats and the easiest way to eat oats is in granola. I usually make my granola with brown sugar, but decided to try honey instead, and the granola came out great! Sweet nutty flavor, but not too sugary sweet
The proces is a bit laborsome, but the results are worth it!

Ingredients:
6 cups rolled oats $1.20
1/3 cup oil
3/4 honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon .02
salt .02
1/2 cup walnuts $1.20
1/2 cup cranberries .50
1/2 cup raisins .50

heat oil in honey in a pan or microwave
mix into oats, cinnamon, making sure oats are thoroughly coated
bake at 350 for 45 minutes, tossing in pan every 15 minutes
add walnuts, bake another 15 minutes, remove from oven, pour into another baking pan, and let sit atleast an hour
add fruit and store in a airtight container

Walgreens Scrambled Egg Sandwhich $3.05

Heres a sandwhich that brings me back to my youth. I think it is actually one of the first sandwhiches I learned to make using the stove. Its again, quick and easy, and actually good for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Today it was a breakfast/lunch for us. My son didnt get up til after 9:30(gone are the days of rising with the sun) so he ate a big breakfast late because he was going golfing and would be gone 4 hours. I dressed the sandwhich up a little because I had some leftover ham from last week and shredded cheddar cheese, so the sandwhich was packed with nutrients.

This recipe yields 4 sandwhiches

8 eggs .80
1/3 cup milk .20
1/4 cup ham .35
1/3 cup shredded cheddar .60
pinch o salt
1 tablespoon olive oil .30
8 slices bread .80

total:$ 3.05

crack eggs in bowl and beat until a smooth consistant color
add milk, ham, cheese, salt
Heat skillet with oil, slowly pour in egg mixture and stir in pan evenly, making sure to lift sides constantly so eggs dont burn
as the eggs begin to cook, lower heat and fold eggs over slowly until eggs are light and flufy and cheese is fully melted

shopping list July 4-10,

These are grocery items that can be found at almost any convenient store. I dont fret if I dont have fresh herbs or vegetables, dried seasoning can work just as well, and can save money. I dont usually give up on a recipe if I dont have every ingredient, I just try to work around what I am missing. I always remember the stories about my grandmother in Italy who was an amazing cook and made pasta with just flour and water because she had no eggs. Her sauce was tomatos, olive oil and salt.
grocery list:

2 cans pink salmon
maynoaise
3 cans diced tomatos
2 cans pork and beans
red pepper
black pepper
hot sauce
eggs
whole wheat bread
shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans tunafish
1 lb pasta
walnuts
1 can black olives
olive oil
canola oil
garlic powder
garlic salt
tortilla chips
can corn
oats
honey
dried cranberries
raisins
can pinapple
can peaches
milk

Salmon Salad $ 4.99

Heres a twist on the classic "Tuna Salad", made with pink chunk salmon. I have made this salad many times because I love salmon and all the health benefits salmon provides, including 3X the amount of Omega 3's as tuna and tons of vitamin E. Best of all, my son loves it, he does think it is tuna and I never really correct him, because he allready thinks he doesnt like "fish", so I will have to ease him into the reality that he has been eating fish for years. The salad is quick and easy and can be eaten with or without bread.
Ingredients:
2 Cans Pink Salmon $3.00
1/4 cup mayonaise .20
2 tsp dried onion .10
1/2 cup diced tomato(drain tomatos from sauce)$1..69

$4.99

salt and pepper to taste

mix together in a bowl, chopping up salmon slightly

Week of July 4-10

So this is an insane week for me as far as dinners go, atleast 4 nights this week we are at baseball until 8 30 at night. I am not a big fan of eating after 9 at night, but Michael is starving after games so its been a bit tricky the month of June to stick to the blog and have him fed as well. What I have done a lot is make the blog meal for lunch, infact lastweek Michael like the ham and cheese omlette so much, he ate it once for lunch and twice for breakfast. Im going to do another Walgreens week again the because I really do need simple this week, and the sales are great this week, and really for Michael in terms of what he likes and nutrients, Walgreens has everything I need. Anyway, Kim is out of town this week with her brood visiting Joes family in Michigan, and as she knows I rely on her grocery list(Im just not that organized) so shopping Walgreens just simplifies my life.
I am blessed enough to live in an area where I do have choices, ,there are lots of stores within a 1 mile radius. I can walk or drive, and just by having a car, I know I am very lucky. There are 23 million people that Michele Obama has coined as living in "Food Deserts". and what that is, is areas of this country that dont have access to a grccery store, because the closest one is miles and miles away, and they ususally dont have a car as well. Michele Obama is trying to wipe out this astounding number, by building more grocery stores and starting more farmers markets. Her ambitions are great and it so great to have someone in the White House that puts such a premium on the feed we put in our mouths, however, it is a huge task, and will takes years to be a reality. The existence of convenient stores is abundant and shouldnt be discounted in terms of healthy eating. They usually offer enough of a selection to give people/families many of the nutrients they need. Here is my oh so convenient menu for the week:

Salmon Salad
Baked Beans
Tortilla Soup
Scrammbled Egg Sandwhich
Tuna Melt
Pasta with Walnut Pesto
Granola and fruit smooties

Fourth of July Tri Color Bruscetta

Back by popular demand is my famoso Bruscetta. I even got a request from a friend of my sons to make my Tomato Bruscetta for our 4th of July pre firework celebration. As I have said the true secret of Bruscetta is the bread. A French or Italian bread should be used, and the slices of bread should be evenly coated with olive oil, and garlic. Fresh garlic the best, but garlic powder, or garlic salt will do. I will say, if French or Italian bread is impossible, any other sliced bread could work. Its just a matter of flavoring the bread and toasting it. I would have loved to do a red, white and blue selection of Bruscetta tonight, but I just couldnt wrap myself around some blue food(blueberries?) so we will settle for red, whte and green. (that works, Im Italian)

Loaf of Italian, or French Bread
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced

slice bread 1/2 inch thick, mix garlic in olive oil
with a pastry brush, brush olive oil on bread slices
bake at 300 for 15 minutes until bread is crisp

Now for toppings:
I have selected three for the 4th July festivities
Tomato Basil
White Bean
and Spinach

Tomato Basil
2 Tomatos diced in small peices
1/8 cup diced basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
mix together and top crisp baked bread

Spinach
1/2 lb frozen spinach thawed
1/4 c olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper
heat skillet with olive oil and garlic on medium, add spinach, cook 10 minutes at salt and pepper to taste, top bread

White Bean
1 can, 10 oz white bean
1/4 c olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper

in food processor or blender, or with fork place drained beans, olive oil, garlic, pulse till mixed, ad rosemary for 30 seconds, pulse, add salt and pepper
top on bread slices