Karyn Cooks: Shrimp Rolls

I recently purchased a new cookbook. If all of the recipes are as good as the first one I tried, then Cook This, Not That is going to be my new favorite. The authors take a lot of everyone's favorite restaurant meals and create a tasty, healthier version you can make at home. I decided to try the Shrimp Roll. This is a cheaper and healthier version of Uno Chicago Grill's Lobster Sliders. Pricey lobster and fatty butter are replaced with more economical shrimp and a little bit of Olive Oil Mayo. The recipe is simple and the results is amazing.

You'll Need:
1 lb cooked shrimp
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 Tbsp minced chives
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp hot sauce (we like sriracha)
Salt to taste
4 hot dog buns (top-loading buns from Pepperidge Farm are best)

How to Make It:
*Mix the shrimp, celery, onion, chives, mayo, lemon juice, hot sauce, and salt together in a bowl, stirring to carefully incorporate.

*Heat a cast-iron skillet or saute pan over medium heat. Add the hot dog buns and toast until the sides are nicely browned.

*Divide the shrimp mixture among the rolls. Garnish with chopped chives, if desired.

Makes 4 servings
Cost per serving: $2.96
300 calories
9 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
470 mg sodium

Karyn Cooks: Red Velvet Cheeecake

I'm a huge fan of Red Velvet Cake. I'm also a huge fan of cheesecake. So when I volunteered to bring a dessert to the office potluck, I set out to find a recipe that would combine my two favorites. The result was positively yummy!

Most of the time, I post quick, easy and healthy recipes here. This one is relatively easy, not quick and definitely not healthy. What the heck, though. It is the holiday season. Besides, the end result is worth it. Plus at Christmas time the red, Red Velvet and the white cream cheese topping make this look absolutely festive!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup whole buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 2 (1-ounce) bottles red food coloring
• 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Preparation

Stir together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

Beat 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar at medium-low speed with an electric mixer 1 minute. Add eggs and next 6 ingredients, mixing on low speed just until fully combined. Pour batter into prepared crust.

Bake at 325° for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300°, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until center is firm. Run knife along outer edge of cheesecake. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven; cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Beat 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth; gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth. Spread evenly over top of cheesecake. Remove sides of springform pan. Garnish, if desired.

Recipe courtesy of MyRecipes.com

Karyn Cooks: BBQ Chicken Salad

Back in the spring, I challenged myself to make some delicious salads. I haven't been much of a salad fan because when making salads on my own I always ended up with the boring standby of lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Needless to say, it was a hard salad to get excited about. So I thought about the kinds of salads I order when I go out. You know the salads that sound good and taste any better. I mastered three salads so far: BBQ Chicken, Chinese Chicken and a Popcorn Chicken Salad. To change it up even more, this next go-round I'm going to go for salmon, steak and shrimp salads. What can I say, I'm a carnivore! Anyway, I love the BBQ chicken salad. And with summer here, I thought this would be a great recipe to share because you probably have some barbeque chicken breast around and this would be good to use with leftover BBQ Chicken. Here are the ingredients. I'm not putting any measurements on this recipe because you can determine how much to add according to your own taste.

• Chopped BBQ chicken (tossed lightly in your favorite BBQ sauce)


• Green Onions


• Diced tomatoes


• Diced cucumber (or jicama)


• Black beans (drained)


• corn (if using frozen, thaw it. You could also roast it if you like)


• Ranch dressing

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Delicious!

Karyn Cooks: Shrimp and Creamy Spinach Feta Rice

A big part of the holidays are all of the classic food traditions: turkey, stuffing, ham, Christmas cookies. Growing up, Christmas dinner was pretty much a repeat of Thanksgiving dinner. It was fine with me because those were the two times of the year, we were treated to use a sumptuous feast (where every item was a favorite).

However, after the holidays, it is time for something a little different ... and that's what this dish is. It's healthy. It's easy. It is a complete departure from most traditional holiday fare. So when you are tried of trying to find ways to work with turkey and ham leftovers, try this.

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup julienne strips red bell pepper
1 6-ounce package fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound cooked, peeled, deveined medium shrimp, thawed if frozen
3 cups hot cooked medium or long grain white rice
1 cup crumbled feta cheese with basil & tomato (or plain)
Toasted pine nuts or sliced almonds (optional) *

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add raisins and bell pepper; sauté 1 minute. Add spinach, salt and pepper; toss until spinach is just wilted. Add shrimp; sauté 30 seconds. Add hot rice and feta cheese. Toss all ingredients until heated through and cheese is soft and creamy. Top with toasted nuts, if desired.

* Feta cheese comes in some tasty varieties, so if you are feeling adventurous, change up the cheese for a slightly different taste.

Karyn Cooks: Smoked Salmon and Spinach Pizza

It's a new year and almost all of us have resolved to eat healthier and/or lose weight (I'm doing both!). In that spirit, I've included a recipe for Smoked Salmon and Spinach Pizza from a free cookbook, I recently downloaded. I plan on making it this evening, but I figure I like smoked salmon, I like spinach and I like pizza. How can it be wrong???

What I love about these recipes is that they include all the nutritional info at the bottom so you know exactly how much you are eating. And for you Weight Watchers, each pizza is 4 points.

Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup tomato pasta sauce
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain
• 1/4 lb smoked salmon, cut into pieces
• 4 small baked cheese pizza crusts
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• 1-1/3 tbsp capers, drained
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Cooking Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread sauce evenly over cheese crusts and place on
oven tray. Divide next 4 ingredients over pizzas. Sprinkle each with dill and top
with shredded cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until heated through. Serve with
sour cream.

Per Serving: calories 160, fat 11g, calories from fat 55% protein 15g, cholesterol 35mg,
dietary fiber 2.7g

For this recipe and others, click here!

Karyn Cooks: Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies always remind me of Christmas. I have not made this recipe yet, but it sounds yummy and since it is the season, I will be making them soon. Tins of cookies also make great gifts!

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

3 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 cup butter or margarine

1 cup sugar 1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

additional sugar

Microwave chocolate and margarine in large microwavable bowl on high 2 minutes or until margarine is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir 1 cup sugar into melted chocolate mixture until well blended.

Stir in egg and vanilla until completely blended. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 375'F.

Shape dough into 1" balls; roll in additional sugar.

Alternately, roll out to 1/4" thick and cut with cookie cutters.

Place, 2" apart, on ungreased cookie sheets. (If flatter, crisper cookies are desired, flatten balls with bottom of drinking glass.)

Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Karyn Cooks! Chicken and Pomegranate Salad

This recipe is courtesy of my cousin Donna. She made this for me once and I immediately fell in love. The mixture of flavors makes it just pop. It's healthy. It's tasty. And, it's perfect for the holidays. With the red pomegranates, it looks beautiful on a table. I've taken it several times as my contribution at a holiday potluck. It looks positively festive.

Now is the time to make it because pomegranates are in season now and will be out of season shortly after the holidays end.

Pomegranate Chicken Salad


2 Pomegranates
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 pound cooked chicken breast meat, cut into 1" chunks
1/3 cup toasted almonds
1 chopped apple
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder (optional, but I use 1/2 teaspoon)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl, combine the pomegranate seeds, raisins, chicken, almonds, apple, celery, parsley, green onion, and curry powder.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vinegar. Pour into the chicken mixture, and mix well.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

If you want to save time, you can sometimes find the pomegranate already seeded in the produce section.

This recipe was originally on the POM Wonderful site. They currently have an updated version of it on this site but this was the original.

Karyn Cooks - Sausage and Black Bean Soup

My favorite recipes that are good for your health, good on your wallet and tastes good to boot.

My all-time favorite cookbook is Weight Watchers 5 Ingredients, 15 Minutes. All the recipes have five ingredients or less, or they can be prepared in 15 minutes or less. Weight Watchers released a new 5 Ingredient, 15 Minutes but the original is still the best.

Even if you don’t need to lose weight, this recipe creates a pretty hearty soup. It’s heartly enough to pass the husband test … he won’t even know it’s healthy!

Ingredients:
Cooking Spray
6 oz turkey kielbasa sausage, sliced
1 cup diced green, sweet red, or yellow pepper
1 (14.5oz) can fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 (15oz) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup picante sauce or salsa
Chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:
Coat a medium saucepan with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot.
Add sausage, and saute 1 minute or until sausage begins to brown.
Add pepper; saute 1 minute.
Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; add beans and picante sauce, and simmer, covered, 5 minutes.
Top with cilantro, if desired.

I find this recipe to be a little thick for soup, so don’t be afraid to add some extra broth and some extra salsa. I pass on the cilantro too.

You can also alter the taste of this recipe by using different salsas.

(P.S. When I make it, I don't use the cilantro so mine doesn't look quite like the picture)

Karyn Cooks - Tilapia and Fresh Spinach

Everybody is busy and everyone’s on a budget. So I’m launching this series called Karyn Cooks to share with you some of my favorite recipes you can make when you are short on time and cash. They are all quick, healthy and absolutely yummy!

Tilapia is a great light fish. I came across this recipe by doing a simple Google search on tilapia recipes. I ended up at Southern Food at About.com. This recipe scored high with me because it was: quick, easy, healthy, and tasty and a quick clean-up to boot. It is suggested that you pair it with baked potato or rice pilaf. I used some regular long-grain rice and it was very good!

Ingredients:
4 to 6 tilapia filets
cooking spray
8 to 12 ounces baby spinach, cleaned
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper
Creole seasoning blend
1 small tomato, chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Preparation:
Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and add the spinach. If necessary to make the spinach fit it into the baking dish, steam or sauté the spinach for a minute or two to wilt slightly.
Sprinkle spinach with salt and pepper and onion powder; add the chicken broth. Sprinkle tilapia filets lightly with salt, pepper, and Creole seasonings. Arrange the filets over the spinach and sprinkle with chopped tomato and sliced green onion. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.Serves 4.