Paper Salmon

Bond and I participate in Foyer Groups at our church.  It is a small dinner group that changes members twice a year so you get to meet and socialize with new people.  Each person or couple takes a turn hosting.

A new group just started and we hosted the first dinner over the weekend.  The host makes the main dish and then the other people bring sides, salads, and dessert.  I made a delicious and healthy Salmon baked in parchment paper.

Ingredients per serving @ 170 calories
4 oz. Salmon Filet
Fresh Green Beans
1 Tablespoon Capers
Lemon zest
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Square of parchment paper

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Place salmon filet in the center of parchment paper, add green beans, capers, lemon zest.  Drizzle olive oil over fish.

Fold the parchment paper in on the sids and twist the ends like a piece of candy.  Place the pouches on a tray and bake for about 20 minutes.  They go in like this....

And come out like this....

You can serve directly in the pouches!

It was great with the potatoes and caesar salad brought by out guests.  The fourth couple couldn't make it so I put together a dessert too, a Chocolate Banana treat!

Ingredients for 8 servings @ 290 calories per serving
4 bananas halved
1 jar of Hot Fudge topping
1 cup of granola
8 craft sticks

Peel the bananas and slice in half.  Insert a craft stick into each banana half and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Place into the freezer for 2 hours or until hard.

Place granola into ziplock back and roll with rolling pin to crush granola.  Then place granola on a shallow plate.  Heat the chocolate jar until liquid and place on a second shallow plate.  Roll the banana in the chocolate topping using a spatula to completely cover, then roll in the granola and place back on pan.

Freeze for another 2 hours or until hard.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.  These were a big hit!

What would you add to the Salmon? Or Chocolate Bananas to make it your own??

Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Bond and I enjoy hosting friends and family.  We recently had a small dinner party, 8 people and one of our guests was a vegetarian.   Most of my recipes have meat so I searched recipe websites, books, and some of my favorite blogs for a recipe.   I found the winning recipe on www.HealthyTippingPoint.com, one of my favorite blogs.  I made a few small changes for my own personal likes and it was a big hit, everyone wanted the recipe so here it is...

Ingredients and Nutrition info:
4 cups cubed sweet potatoes @ 180 calories per cup
Black beans rinsed and drained 1/2 cup @ 105 calories
Pinto beans rinsed and drained 1/2 cup @ 80 calories
Fresh baby spinach about 1/2 cup per tortilla @ 10 calories
1 jar salsa verde (1 tablespoon @ 5 calories)
5 large whole wheat tortillas @ 200 calories each

Serves 5 enchiladas @ about 450 calories (3/4 cup potato, 1/4 cup of each bean, 1 tortilla, about 3 tablespoons salsa, and 1/2 cup spinach)

Boil the cubed sweet potato for about 15 minutes or until tender.  Then drain and place in food processor.  Process until smooth.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Put about 1/5 of the sweet potatoes into a tortilla and top with desired amount of black and pinto beans, and spinach.  Roll the tortilla and place in to pan.  Repeat until pan is full (should hold about 5 enchiladas).  Top the pan with the jar of salsa verde and bake in oven for 15 minutes.   Remove and serve with any desired toppings.  I like to add an ounce or two of shredded cheese and 1-2 tablespoons of sour cream.

Bond takes his with extra salsa.

The original recipe I found processed spinach and pinto beans with the potatoes.  I added black beans and decided not to process them.  What would you add?

Mango Sangria Anyone

When Bond became a vestry member at our church we also took on the task of revamping the young adults group. On Friday night we hosted our first event for the group. It's was just a simple get together at our home to meet interest people and get some feed back on the shape the group should take.

I planned a simple menu. Starting with a veggie tray, black bean salsa, chips, and crackers. Then Bond grilled turkey dogs and chicken sausages. Ending with white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. But the best thing I made was the drinks!







Ingredients
1.5 of white wine (riesling)
1 cup of absolute mango
2 cans of Jumex mango nectar
2 oz. Of strawberry pucker
1/2 bottle of champagne
Mangos
Strawberries
Cumquats

The night before you serve dice up all the fruit and toss it in a large pitcher. Then add the first 4 ingredients and let it soak over night in the refrigerator. Before serving add the champagne!







It's a great summer time cocktail! Share your favorite cocktail recipe or ideas on what fruits to try for this one?

- Posted using my iPad 2

Cheese 101

Let me start by saying I love cheese!  In February took my Grandmother-in-law to a cheese class for her birthday.  It was hosted by a local (I think) chain, Forward Foods.  We got to try 8 different cheeses ranging from soft to hard, and light to stinky.  They also provided things to pair with the cheeses to enhance the flavor.  There were several things I had never thought to pair with cheese that turned out to be delicious.  My favorite new pairings are honey, fruit preserves, and dried apricot.  They offer additional cheese classes including one that teaches how to pair cheese with wine.  I will definitely do this again and highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity for something similar!

Ladies Book Club

I currently participate in 2 book clubs.  Last Friday I hosted one of them.  I hosted the, not so originally titled, “Ladies Book Club” which has between 10 and 15 members at any given time.  On average 3 to 8 members make it to a single meeting.  A total of 9 women were in attendance, so I deem it a great turn out, especially since most of them had even read the book! 

We had three new people join which always livens up the conversation. The ladies book club turned 2 in December 2010, and reads a variety of genres, lengths, and authors.  The only real criteria are that the books will lead to discussion and is available in paperback. 

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For this most recent meeting we read The Secret Lives of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.  The book chronicles the journey of a young white girl as she runs away from home and her father, in hopes of discovering the truth about her deceased mother.  She is accompanied on her journey by a fugitive black woman that served as a care taker for her after her mother died.  The book provided some good discussion topics including the queen bee mother figure and what that represented to the narrator,  The volatile relationship between the narrator and her father and how it developed to that point, issues about race relations in the deep south during the 1960’s, and more.  The book is relatively short, an easy read, and has lots to discuss.  If you are in a book club or thinking of starting one, this is a great choice.  Also, as the host I got to serve honey with everything.  I like it when the book lends itself to a theme and the honey was a smash hit!

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This book club meets again at the end of April and we will be reading The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb…Stay tuned for details.