Cool as ice!

I saw this on Facebook and thought it was a fabulous idea to break the summer heat!

Summer Ice Cubes

In this picture are blueberry, mint, and lemon ice cubes. You can place ice cubes in different glasses for use with sparkling water or lemonade. Or.. you can make your own variety with strawberries, mixed berries, orange slices, etc... Get creative! Personally, I prefer sparkling water with mint cubes and lime cubes. It's my "Lo-cal virgin mojito". 

mint ice cubes: Add several mint leaves in hot water until water gets enough minty flavor (take out the leaves because they turn dark) Add fresh mint leaves to the mint-flavored water once it cools down and freeze

lemon ice cubes: Add lemon juice and lemon slices to water and freeze

blueberry ice cubes: Add fresh blueberries to water and freeze.

http://www.culinarytribune.com/?p=21562

Quick and Healthy Turkey & Garbanzo

I have been quite busy the last couple of months, between moving, changing jobs, and life in general, I have not been blogging much... or for that matter spending much time in the kitchen. Personally, I prefer cooking at home because, when I don't, I have the tendency to eat poorly.

I was so happy because, as my house and life is coming back to order, I finally got back in the kitchen and created a new quick and healthy meal.

Here is my Quick and Healthy Turkey & Garbanzo

2 tbsp olive oil

1 20oz pkg ground turkey

1 can organic garbanzo beans

1-2 packets of Sazón

2 tsp minced garlic
fresh parsley - a small handful
fresh cilantro - a small handful
fresh basil - a small handful
juice from 1 lemon

First, I warmed the olive oil and cooked the garlic. Once it was lightly browned, I added the turkey. After the turkey was almost completely cooked, I added the rest of the ingredients. It took all of about 30 minutes with very little time in the kitchen. 

Paola's Unstuffed Peppers

We were craving stuffed peppers the other day but didn't want to wait to bake them in the oven so we "unstuffed" them. Here is my tasty recipe with the nutritional information. It was oh so good!!

Ingredients	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein
Foster Farms - Fresh Ground Turkey Breast 97% Fat Free, 1 container (20 oz ea.)	800	0	40	110
Peppers - Sweet, green, raw, 1 medium (approx 2-3/4" long, 2-1/2" dia)	24	6	0	1
Peppers - Sweet, yellow, raw, 1 pepper, large (3-3/4" long, 3" dia)	50	12	0	2
Sw Organic Tomatoes - Canned Organic Tomatoes, 1 container (441 g 1/2 cups ea.)	70	11	0	4
Lucerne - Part Skim Ricotta Cheese, 0.5 Cup	180	8	12	12
Spices - Garlic, Minced, Spice World, 4 tsp	20	4	0	0
Spice Islands - Mediterranean Sea Salt, 1 tsp	0	0	0	0
Parsley - Raw, 10 sprigs	4	1	0	0
Coriander (cilantro) leaves - Raw (Cilantro, raw, Chinese parsley, raw), 9 sprigs	5	1	0	0
Yellow Sauteed Onion - Sauteed, 0.5 cup (87g)	58	4	5	1
Add Ingredient

Total:	1211	47	57	130
Per Serving:	151	6	7	16

Directions:

1. Saute onions and brown garlic in a large frying pan on medium heat.

2. Add ground turkey until fully cooked.

3. Add peppers. Cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add tomatoes and spices. Warm for 10-15 minutes.

5. Add ricotta cheese and blend well. Warm for 5 minutes.

Serves 6-8 (Nutritional data was based on 8 servings)

Shrimp Ceviche Stuffed Avocados

1 lb jumbo cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup finely chopped green onion

1/2 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

1 tomato, finely chopped

2 Tbsp cilantro

1/8 cup fresh orange juice

6 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 freshly ground black pepper

2 avocados

Directions
Remove shrimp tails and discard. Cut each shrimp into three or four peices. In a bowl, combine shrimp with al other ingredeints except avocados. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to allow flavors to combine.

Cut avocados in half and remove pits. Using a large spoon, scoo avocados out of their skins. Spoon ceviche into center of each avocado half, allowing it to overflow. Serve immediately. (can use a base of salad greens for added fiber and fullness)

Serving Size: makes 4 1Cup/240ml ceviche and 1/2 avocado per serving

Number of Servings: 4

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 4
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 281.0

• Total Fat: 14.7 g
• Cholesterol: 221.0 mg
• Sodium: 555.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 13.1 g
• Dietary Fiber: 6.9 g
• Protein: 26.2 g

Paola's Red Pepper Chicken

Ingredients:

32 oz Chicken breast - boneless, skinless

1 cup Red sweet pepper, chopped

1 cup Frozen, sweet yellow corn

4 Tbsp Parsley

1 Packet Sazón Goya con Azafron

1/4 tsp Sea salt

1 tsp Olive oil

Directions:

Note: I often pre-cook my chicken for the week. I either crock pot it or bake it plain so I can grab it and heat it up with different seasonings throughout the week. This is great when I'm in a hurry... which is always...

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Cook red peppers on medium heat until slightly tender. Add frozen corn. (You can defrost in the microwave while peppers are cooking to speed things up). Add cooked chicken, parsley, Sazón, and sea salt. Mix all ingredients well, while cooking.

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serving size: 4

Ingredients	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein
Foster Farms - 99% Fat Free Boneless & Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets, 32 oz (112)	880	0	12	184
Peppers - Sweet, red, raw, 1 cup, chopped	39	9	0	1
Corn - Sweet, yellow, frozen, kernels cut off cob, unprepared, 1 cup	144	34	1	5
Parsley - Raw, 4 tbsp	5	1	0	0
Sazon Goya - Con Azafron, 1 packet	0	0	0	0
Spice Islands - Mediterranean Sea Salt, 1/4 tsp	0	0	0	0
Add Ingredient

Total:	1068	44	13	190
Per Serving:	267	11	3	48

*This picture shown with steamed broccoli*