California Citrus Salad

This yummy recipe will give you a break from the average lettuce leaf salads and brighten up any plate.


Ingredients
4 oranges (mix it up by adding a few blood oranges in)
Half of a fennel bulb, core removed and discarded, thinly sliced
1 avocado, sliced into 1-inch chunks
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pits removed, cut in half
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed orange juice
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

To prepare the oranges, slice the top and bottom off of each one. Rotate the orange and slice off the entire peel on each orange. 

In a large bowl, gently toss the orange rounds with the fennel, avocado, and olives.

In a small jar, combine the vinegar, orange juice, oil, salt, and pepper. Shake well to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetable mixture. Toss gently to combine. Enjoy immediately.
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Side Dish in a Snap

Quick Herb Roasted Red Potatoes

 This dish calls for a few basic ingredients:

Red Potatoes (about 1/2 of a small bag)
Olive Oil
Rosemary
Thyme
Oregano
Salt & Pepper

(I used fresh herbs, but feel free to use the dried herbs you have on hand, it works just as well).

Quarter the red potatoes and coat in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Chop up herbs, or sprinkle dry herbs on the potatoes, as much or as little as you'd like, and toss.

Transfer the potatoes to a rimmed, foil covered baking sheet.

Cook @ 350 for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy and Yummy Side Dish

Pumpkin Spiced Carrots with Raisins

This is one of my favorite recipes for carrots and it's also ridiculously easy!

 Chop and steam 1 bunch of carrots (or steam a bag of baby carrots).

Steam time usually takes about 15-20 minutes on medium heat, depending on how many carrots you are making.

Once you have steamed the carrots, place them in a serving bowl and mix in 2 tablespoons of Pumpkin Butter (you can find it at Trader Joe's) and 1/2 cup of golden raisins.

If you are feeling really adventurous you can mix in some toasted chopped pecans. 

 Voila! That's seriously it, and it's seriously yummy!

Not Your Sushi Joint Sake

Most of us are familiar with Sake only when it's being "bombed" into a beer, or being served warm with your California roll, but Sake is reinventing itself!

The ancient drink is showing up more and more in posh restaurants and night clubs, and is taking on a new flare! TY KU sake brand serves up a variety of sake based liqueurs, all of which have fewer calories per serving then traditional vodka and rum and range from 40-50 proof.

The TY KU liqueur (the green bottle above) combines soft citrus, fresh melon, tea, botanicals and a hint of ginger. YUM!

Here are a few options I found that sound delicious and are all 100 calories or under! That being said, if you are looking for a wild night out on the town you will have to drink more of this stuff to get that loving feeling, which will wind up balancing out those calories you saved. If you're in the mood for just a few cocktails however, this is definitely the better way to go.

Using unsweetened green tea this Tokyo Tea cocktail is 69 calories!











Another great way to use Sake is as a substitute for wine in your next sangria. Pour Sake over fruits like green apples and fresh pears, then mash up the fruit and strain the liquid and fruit mixture into a pitcher or glass, voila!

For more info on TY KU and their award winning Sake visit their site. A bottle of this stuff runs you about$25 and up.

100 calories of YUM!

MOCHI!!! Little balls of ice cream (about golf ball size) all wrapped up in a Japanese manju coating.

Manju are Japanese confections with a sweet filling and a sort of glutinous outer layer made from mochi, or pounded rice cakes. This same outer layer is what surrounds the ice cream. They're dusted with rice flour so they don't stick to things.

These are amazingly good! Trader Joe's has them in chocolate, strawberry, green tea, and mango flavors. The green tea and mango ones are excellent, I'm literally eating a green tea one right now, seriosuly.

Mochi
100 calories per ball (6 in a box) 3.5 grams of fat
12 grams of sugar
2 grams of protein 

Not bad for a completely satisfying treat, not to mention only $3.49 a box @ your local TJ's.

Guilt Free Starbucks

It's hard not to be tempted by the specialty holiday drinks that Starbucks has this time of year. If you are looking for a guilt free version there are a few options, and if not, feel free to indulge in the real deal because after all, these drinks are only around once a year!

Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte (90 calories in a tall)

Espresso, sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup and nonfat steamed milk, topped with foamed milk and cinnamon.

Skinny Vanilla Latte Creme (90 calories in a tall)
Espresso, sugar-free vanilla syrup and nonfat steamed milk, topped with foamed milk.
 

Skinny Peppermint Mocha (100 calories in a tall)
sugar-free mocha sauce, sugar-free peppermint flavored syrup, espresso and nonfat milk.

Gingerbread Latte (150 calories for a tall) 
Espresso with steamed milk and gingerbread flavored syrup (no sugar-free option), topped with nutmeg.

Pumpkin Spice Latte (200 calories for a tall) 
Espresso, pumpkin spice syrup (no sugar-free option), steamed non-fat milk.
 

Baked Pearfection

This is a fancy looking dessert that is actually easy to prePEAR and includes basic ingredients, all of which can be found at Trader Joe's of course!

Recipe

2 pears (pears in season will work)
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp Drambuie (a spiced brandy like liquor, brandy will work as well)

1/4 cup Candied Pecans or Candied Walnuts (optional)

1.    Preheat oven to 375˚ F
2.    Peel and halve pears.  Use a spoon to remove cores.  Arrange pear halves, cut side up, on an oven safe dish.
3.    In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, honey, vanilla, and Drambuie. When mixture is warm and butter has melted, remove from heat.  Brush mixture onto all sides of each pear half, and then pour mixture onto the pears, letting excess liquid run off the sides into baking dish.  Set saucepan aside for further use.  Drape baking dish with foil and bake pears for 20 minutes.
4.    Plate pears, leaving any liquid in baking dish.  Pour liquid into the same saucepan and reduce over medium-low heat for 5 minutes until liquid is syrupy.
5.    When serving, sprinkle with a few pecans and spoon syrup over each pear.

Serves 4

Pigs-in-a-Duvet

All ingredients in this recipe can be found at Trader Joe's, which offers healthier and more organic options then a major supermarket.

 Recipe

1 (8 oz) tube refrigerated crescent rolls

8 asparagus spears, trimmed and cut in half
1 (4 or 5 oz) pkg prosciutto, or 8 pieces prosciutto, sliced in half

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Separate crescent dough into 8 pieces along dotted lines.  Cut each triangle in half to form long, narrow triangles of dough.
3. Wrap each piece of prosciutto around asparagus.  Wrap each bundle with dough, rolling from widest end to the triangular tip.  Place onto baking sheet that is lightly oiled or lined (Silpat baking mats work well).
4. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Hands-off cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 8 (2 rolls per serving)

Find this recipe and more in Cooking with Trader Joe's, a must have for any savvy TJ's chef!

Wine Poached Pears

Try this easy and elegant treat...

photos: cupcakes and cashmere

This dessert looks fancy and may just give you a little after dinner buzz! Click here to get the full recipie! Enjoy!

Shrimply Delicious Shrimp Salad

• 1 pound large peeled and deveined cooked shrimp
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 large carrot, shredded and squeezed to drain extra moisture
• 1/2 cup (or less) chopped green onion
• 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• salt and pepper and to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, gently toss the shrimp, celery, carrot, onion, eggs, and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve. 
2. If you are using frozen shrimp make sure the shrimp is fully thawed and pat to dry.
3. You can add cayenne pepper for a kick!

Dinner is Done!

Easy Marmalade Chicken for Two

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon orange marmalade
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch (or flour)
• 8 ounces chicken tenders
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 large shallot, minced (any onion on hand will do)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest (optional)

Preparation

1. Whisk broth, vinegar, marmalade, mustard and cornstarch (or flour) in a medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
3. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and shallot (or any onion) to the pan and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 30 seconds. Whisk the broth mixture and add it to the pan. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer; cook until the sauce is slightly reduced and thickened, 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Add the chicken; return to a simmer. Cook, turning once, until the chicken is heated through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in orange zest (optional).

Nutrition

Per serving: 213 calories; 8 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 68 mg cholesterol; 10 g carbohydrates; 27 g protein; 0 g fiber; 246 mg sodium; 55 mg potassium.

Wine Wednesday...just what you need to get over the hump!

These 2 top picks from Trader Joes have been given the thumbs up in recent wine reviews.

Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Santini Fine Wines

Per the bottle “Trentatre in Italian means: Thirty-three. We came up with this belnd of three exciting varietals, blending an equal amount of these three varietals, barrel aged for six months and bada-bing you get 33!

  

Price: $4.99 @ Trader Joe’s


Rabbit Ridge Allure de Robles is an excellent sipping wine, wonderful with strong cheeses and a natural with roasted meats like our Prime Rib Roast or Frenched Pork Chops.

Get more suggestions on great TJ'S wines by visiting Jason's Wine Blog » Trader Joe’s Wines – Top 10 Wine List