Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes

These cheesecakes are a great Valentine's treat, my valentine(s) sure loved them last year! I mean, they're sweet AND red.  Bella loves anything with strawberries. I love cheesecake more than I love most.. things, but at most restaurants its filled with a ton of fat and sugar. Which is fine because it's DESSERT, but what isn't fine is the giant serving sizes that make you up waste your entire day's calories on one item (I'm looking at YOU, cheesecake factory!). These cakes are super sweet yet contain no sugar (I used Baking Splenda) and are cupcake sized so you get to enjoy your treat while still watching portions. Some people are really opposed to using fake sugar (Aspartame) but my valentine who is also a chemist assures me I would have to eat a LOT more Splenda to see any negative effects. I know that I don't normally listen to his scientific ramblings but this one benefits me :) I've also made these cheesecakes with non-fat cream cheese and while they tasted pretty good, the consistency was just terrible. So don't make my mistakes, okay? Learn from me.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. Cream Cheese. (You could use half low-fat cheese here and still be okay)
• 1 C. Splenda for Baking + 1/2 C. for topping. Note: you could use regular sugar here if you so desire, just know the calories will be higher.
• 2 Eggs
• 12 Vanilla Wafers
• 2 Cups Fresh Strawberries
• 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tbs. Orange Juice
• Dash of Salt

To Make Topping:

1. Cut strawberries into bite-size pieces. 

2. Coat with 1/2 C. Baking Splenda (you may not use all of the splenda).

3. Mix 2 tbs. orange juice and 1 tsp. vanilla into strawberry mixture. Add dash of salt.

4. Cover, refrigerate for at least an hour.

To Make Cheesecakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place a muffin cup into each of 12 muffin tins and put a vanilla wafer (flat side down) in each.

3. Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add in 1 C. baking splenda and 1 tsp. vanilla extract, beating well. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each.

4. Spoon into muffin tins. Bake for about 20 minutes.

5. Let cool completely then put in refrigerator for at least an hour.

(note: my cakes were cracked after baking but after putting them in the fridge, they sort of welded back together. Plus, once you put the strawberries on top, you can't tell. stupid high altitude)

Before serving, spoon strawberry topping on the cakes and enjoy! Or give them away as presents so you don't eat them all, which has been my strategy :)

Shrimp Spring Rolls

I've always been hesitant to try any Asian recipes because whenever I look at the ingredient list, I have no idea what they're talking about (just wait for my post on Miso Soup)! I finally decided to get over this fear and try my hand at one of my favorite appetizers/light lunches-- Spring Rolls. Did I mention these are really healthy? These are really healthy.

This all started when I decided on a whim to take a trip to the Asian grocery store. I used Yelp to find one close to me that had good reviews (although I didn't know what to make of the reviews because most people were praising ingredients I had never heard of). If you live in Salt Lake, I highly recommend (based on no other experience whatsoever..) the South East Supermarket on 422 East and 900 South.

In retrospect, I REALLY wish I had taken pictures while at the market. It was completely overwhelming as most of the labels aren't in English (duh) and I didn't know exactly what I was looking for.The good news is that this store had LOTS of help on staff who were very knowledgeable and friendly. I also noticed that the produce was ridiculously cheap, especially the fresh herbs. Score.

I googled some of my favorite sushi restaurant's menus and looked at the ingredients for their spring rolls and then just went to town buying up ingredients.

Recipe: Spring Rolls
Ingredients

• Bell Pepper
• Sprouts
• Mint
• Rice Noodles
• Rice Paper / Wonton Paper
• Shrimp
• Carrots
• Cucumber
• Chives
• Bok Choy

This was also my first time deshelling, deveining, and cooking shrimp. It was no where near as hard as I thought and have no idea why I was so intimidated before.  I used this tutorial and was done in no time. Anyway, start with your raw shrimp. I used a half lb. I recently went wade fishing with my family, and my boyfriend had to put the live shrimp on the hook for me because it was just too gross. So it took a bit of courage for me to work with these shrimp even if they are dead. I think it's the eyes.

Peel and devein. It's kind of gross but just remember the shrimp are already dead and can't feel anything. That helps me, anyway. You should have seen Bella's face when I pulled the heads off. I was like," Listen, don't look at me that way. I am not a monster!"

Next, boil the shrimp until they turn.. shrimpy-colored. Like this:

Now they don't look so awful! Now I want to eat them. I also hear you can boil them with shells ON for maximum flavor. I'll have to try that next time.

Next, it's time to make the rice noodles (aka vermicelli). Follow the instructions for  your noodles and cook. Drain and set aside. Very easy. Here's a picture of mine in case you don't know what to look for.

After you have the shrimp and noodles cooked, it's time to start chopping veggies!  Chop 'em up and pull the leaves off the herbs. Make sure to use small portions, you don't want to bite into a big chunk of anything. I didn't have it but you can also use basil instead of/in addition to mint. Doesn't this look beautiful? A rainbow of goodness.

Carrots, Chives, Bell Pepper, Cucumber, Bok Choy, Sprouts, Mint, Shrimp, Rice Noodles.

Now for the fun part! And by that, I mean the intimidating part. I was pretty anxious about rolling up the noodles and working with rice paper, but once again, it was for nothing. Grab a bowl of warm water for dipping the paper into. Make sure you have everything you need readily accessible so you can work quickly. You can buy rice paper frozen or ready to go. Here's what I used:

Submerge the paper in warm water for about a second or two and place on a flat surface (I used a cutting board.) I put down a layer of rice noodles, veggies, and topped with shrimp along one of the edges. Now roll like a burrito! That means you pull the sides in, then roll up. You'll see that the paper is very sticky and pliable. Much easier than a burrito, actually.

Yum! How pretty do these look? Cut in half and dip into some peanut sauce. You can buy it from the store or make your own. The Asian grocery store had SO many kinds. I didn't love the recipe I tried so I won't be posting it. Sorry.

Ta-da! They tasted delish and were fun to make once I got the hang of it. A Spring Roll Rolling Party seems like a great idea to me. Everyone could pick whatever ingredients they want and make their own dinner. Any dinner where the guests cook for themselves is always a good idea, right?

Roasted Asparagus w/ Lemon Dipping Sauce

Almost everyone loves asparagus, especially when it's soaked in butter and smothered with hollandaise sauce. My brother always orders it when we go out for steak. Side note, has anyone seen those GIANT asparagus stalks? Are they on steroids or what's the deal with that?!  That pretty much ruins this side dish as a healthy vegetable. When I was making this dish for  lunch for my dad,  I knew I needed to omit the butter and fat as much as possible. This dish is tasty and the sauce is a much healthier substitute for hollandaise, but as always, don't drench your vegetables in the sauce! Just use it for dipping, okay? That is what sauce is for. Dipping.

Ingredients:

• Asparagus
• Olive Oil
• Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Paprika
• 1/4 C. Low-Fat Mayo made with Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 1 teaspoon White Wine Vinegar

To Make the Asparagus: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Remove the "tough ends" from asparagus by cutting off about an inch from the end.
2. Peel remaining bottom half of asparagus with a peeler.
3. Line asparagus up on a foil-lined baking sheet so that there is no overlap.
4. Brush with olive oil.
5. Sprinkle with salt (I used salt substitute since this was for my dad), garlic, black pepper, and paprika.
6. Bake until tender but still crispy. About 25-30 minutes.

To Make Lemon Dipping Sauce:
1. Mix mayo, lemon juice, white wine vinegar in a bowl.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Turkey Burgers

Sometimes I really want a hamburger, you know? While nothing could ever REALLY be a substitute for a good hamburger, this turkey burger comes pretty close. It's definitely a nice hearty lunch option that actually tastes good. And that's all any of us could really ask for, isn't it? By swapping out turkey for that fatty ground beef and using sandwich thins instead of carb bombs hamburger buns, you get a much healthier version of a hamburger but with much of the same satisfaction-- especially if you make some sweet potato fries to go alongside it.

First, you'll need some patties. Look, mine are on sale!  Now your meal is healthy AND cheap. Win, win. Make sure you look for patties that say lean because, surprisingly, a lot of ground turkey options have a ton of fat, which I didn't even know was possible because I thought turkey was like 98% fat free? Mysteries. 

Now we need some "buns." It's also helpful if you warms these up over a grill or in the oven before serving. Gives it a little somethin' extra.

Now, grab some EVOO and put it in your skillet on medium heat. While that heats up, season your patties with salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, & paprika. You can change any of these or add others if you prefer. I just had a brilliant idea of using actual burger seasoning but it's too late now. Ugh.

Put the patties in the skillet and let cook 12-15 minutes, turning occasionally. It looks like I poked holes in these patties, but I swear that I didn't. They just came that way.

You'll be able to see when they're done. If you're feeling fancy, use your meat thermometer. I don't have one so I can't help you with that. Turn heat to low and add a slice of provolone cheese on top till melty. My spell check is saying saying "melty" isn't a word but there's just no other way to describe it.

Garnish with 1 tbsp Light Mayo made with Olive Oil, spinach, pickles, sweet onions, & whatever other veggies you like! Some people don't like Mayo (how?) so feel free to use mustard or whatever your little heart desires. Toast the sandwich thins if you want to make them extra yummy. These go great with baked sweet potato fries, recipe coming up next!

Nutritional info: 395 calories, 30g protein.