Broiled Tomato & Goat Cheese Salad

This delicious salad makes a wonderful lunch or light dinner.

I came up with this recipe on a night when my family was enjoying pasta with red sauce and I didn't want to feel completely left out.The roasted tomatoes and slightly strong goat cheese pair wonderfully together. Low carber or not, this salad is sure to please.

Broiled Tomato & Goat Cheese Salad

1 tomato (about the size of a baseball), cut into 4 slices
1/2 c. crumbled goat cheese
olive oil
dried basil (you could definitely use fresh basil but I didn't have any on hand)
1/2 c. cooked and crumbled hot sausage
1 - 1 1/2 c. Italian salad blend lettuce
low carb vinaigrette* - recipe below
grated Parmesan cheese

Wash salad mix and set aside.

To make the low carb vinaigrette:

1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 packet Splenda
1 tsp. grainy brown mustard
1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Pour all ingredients into a salad dressing cup or a container with a tight fitting lid. Shake well. Pour over salad. Toss to mix. Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Lightly drizzle olive oil over the foil. Lay the slices of tomato on top of the olive oil. Lightly sprinkle some dried basil over the tops of the tomatoes. Flip the tomatoes over, drizzle with olive oil and dried basil.

Evenly divide the 1/2 c. of hot sausage over the tomatoes.

Sprinkle the goat cheese evenly over the sausage.

Heat the broiler to 450*  Stick the pan under the broiler until the cheese has slightly browned  - 5 to 8 minutes.

 Serve tomatoes on top of salad greens. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the salad.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Do you love stuffed peppers but hate the hassle of making them? I've taken the hassle out of it by creating a quick and easy stuffed pepper soup. From the start of preparing it ... to serving it up for dinner, it is less than 60 minutes!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

2 tbsp. olive oil 2 lb. ground turkey
3 medium-sized green peppers, diced into small pieces
1- 48 oz can of brand name tomato juice (Use a name brand for better flavor)
2 c. chicken broth
1 - 14.5 can of diced tomatoes
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 dashes of liquid smoke (leave it out if you don't like it)
2 tsp. Montreal steak seasoning (or course ground black pepper)
4 c. cooked rice, set aside

Add 2tbsp. of olive oil to a large (non-stick) stock pot. Brown the ground turkey and green peppers together in the pot. Stir the remaining ingredients (not including the rice) into the turkey and peppers. Cover the pot with a lid; cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring once in a while. Lower heat to medium-low and continue cooking for 15 - 25.

To serve: 

Using an ice cream scoop, place one scoop of rice into a bowl. Ladle the soup over the rice.

Serve with warm cornbread.

***Crockpot Method***

You can also cook this soup in the crockpot. Brown the turkey and green peppers. While these items are browning, pour the remaining ingredients (not including the rice) into a 5 quart crockpot. Stir in the turkey and peppers. Cook on low for 4 -6 hrs.

Serve over cooked rice with cornbread on the side.

Leftover soup may be frozen.

Menu Plan Monday

I'm so happy to see Monday arrive! Here's our menus for the week...... 

Family Menu

M - stuffed pepper soup* - new recipe

T - blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs & turkey bacon

W - chili

H - fajita pizza* & salad - new recipe

F - Chili's southwest egg rolls* - new recipe

A - Asian chicken lettuce wraps & fried rice* - new recipes


My Low Carb Menu

M - low carb stuffed pepper

T - omelet & turkey bacon

W - tuna lettuce wraps

H - cheesy cauliflower bacon soup*  - new recipe

F - taco chicken salad

A - Asian chicken lettuce wraps* - new recipe


Have a wonderful week!

Check out Menu Plan Monday at Org. Junkie .com. (will add link once it's up and running)

Menu Plan

It's been a crazy week here at home but I did manage to get a menu planned for this week. I decided last week that I would start making some of the recipes that I marked in several of the magazines that I've been saving. Once again I'm keeping the menu simple so that dinner time will (hopefully) stay calm.


Family Menu

M- pork tenderloin, pierogies & green beans

T - pasta shells & sauce

W - Mexican tortilla pizza & Spanish rice (recipe from last week. Did not make it)

H - egg mcmuffins, fried potatoes

F - ham & turkey cordon bleu on a bun, cucumber salad & tater tots

A - Kraft quick beef and pasta post


My Low Carb Menu

M - pork tenderloin, zucchini ribbons & green beans

T - broiled tomatoes w/goat cheese & salad

W - Mexi-American burger

H - eggs and ham (not green. lol!)

F - ham & turkey lettuce wraps

A - leftovers


For more inspiration, check out the many other menu plans on Menu Plan Monday. 

Twisted Chicken Salad - Low Carb, Too!

I ended up really stirring things up for my low carb dinner tonight. Some of my best recipes come from throwing together "a little of this and that". That's what happened when I decided that I wasn't in the mood for a "normal" chicken salad. My family was having chicken & cheese enchiladas so a taco salad was the obvious next move....wasn't wanting that either.

On hand I had....
cooked shredded chicken
sour cream
salsa
Monterey Jack cheese
coleslaw mix
lettuce
cucumber
cauliflower

I decided on making a taco salad with a twist - using coleslaw instead of lettuce & sour cream and salsa instead of a salad dressing.

Twisted Chicken Salad
makes 1 -2 servings 

If you are serving 2, you will need
to make an extra cheese crisp bowl.

1 C. shredded cooked chicken
1/4 C. sour cream
1/2 C. salsa
1/2 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 C. coleslaw mix
5 black olives for garnish
1 large cheese crisp bowl* - instructions below

Stir together sour cream and salsa. Stir in chicken, cheese and coleslaw mix. Refrigerate mixture for at least 30 minutes in a container with a tight fitting lid.

While the chicken salad is chilling, make the cheese crisp bowl:

I make my cheese crisps a little differently than a lot of people... I like to use shredded cheese instead of cubed cheese. I also microwave them instead of baking them or cooking them on a stove top. Any way you choose to make them, they are so good!

There are great examples of how to make cheese crisps on Linda's Low Carb Recipes & Menus. She posts instructions, along with many pictures. I have had much success in the past using the microwave to make them.

I doubled the amt. of cheese that Linda uses to make the large crisp in her first picture. I blotted the oils from the cheese using a paper towel after the first minute or so of cooking. It took about 3 minutes to cook this large crisp. Immediately remove the plate from the microwave (use oven mitts!!) and sit on the counter to cool for 30 seconds or until it is still hot but you can handle it. Once you can pick up the crisp, fold the sides of the crisp to create a "dish".

Fill the cheese dish half full of the chicken salad. Garnish with sliced olives.

Delicious!