Monthly Archives: October 2013

Jess’s Not So Secret Sauce

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Being from Pittsburgh you would think that I would always have at least one bottle of Heinz ketchup in my fridge at all times. Not so. My husband hates ketchup. So instead of buying it and letting it go bad, I’ve resorted to stashing the little squeeze packets from restaurants. (I’m really not kidding). One day over the summer while grilling burgers, the unthinkable happened – I had no more squeeze packets! Just use mustard you say? There were three of us and only enough mustard for half a burger. I began rummaging frantically through my fridge to see what I could conjure up. Here’s what came out of it:

  • Equal parts mustard (yellow or dijon) and worcestershire sauce
  • The tiniest pinch of salt and pepper

That’s it.

The sauce is a tangy and subtly sweet mixture that works great on burgers, hot dogs, and even steak. Feel free to experiment with additions to the recipe or on different foods. It’s really versatile!

XO, Happy eating.

Spiffy Spinach Cups

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Ever need a quick and filling side for dinner or have you ever wanted to do homemade appetizers for happy hour? Well, your search can stop here. I have an easy and (drum roll please) LOW CALORIE recipe. These spinach cups are not only yum, but I literally keep the ingredients on hand at all times because they can be whipped up for any occasion. This dish is so versatile, I am thinking of serving under a fried egg this weekend. Obviously easy enough to recite, that is the theme here folks.

  • 1 10 oz. bag or block of frozen spinach (no sub’s: the can stuff is a) gross b) too much liquid packing)
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese (Kraft works, but better quality ingredients like freshly grated do yield better tasting food. I didn’t make the rule, I’m simply sharing it).
  • 1 cup low fat, skim milk ricotta cheese (hint hint, this is where the low cal comes into play).
  • 1 egg (acts as the binder so no need for breadcrumbs aka evil carbs).
  • 1 pinch of red chili flakes and black pepper (Adjust according to your spice tolerance, but definitely use both, they bring different palate pleasers to your taste buds).
  • 1 tbsp. of minced/crushed garlic (use the store bought, pre-crushed kind. No one needs to ruin a manicure with your fingers smelling like garlic. Oh and also up the qty. to 2 tbsp. if you have vampire repelling taste buds like myself, but yeah for the general public stick to just 1).

Ok so now sh*t is about to get crazy hard. Take everything listed above, mix well in a bowl and pour into a muffin pan and bake. Yup that’s all of the “cooking instructions”.

As usual, spray the pan so they don’t stick. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees and leave it in there for 13-15 minutes. Wait till you see the tops getting golden brown. Makes for killer leftovers and each cup is only 160 calories.

Happy eating, XO.

Frank’s Red Hot Wings

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Seeing that we’re deep in to football season, what kind of blog (or fan) would we be if we didn’t make some wings?! Now, I don’t always make wings, but when I do…I use Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (and yes, I do drink Dos Equis with them). This is a quick and easy recipe to throw together during half time.

  • 1 lb of chicken wings (I use the little winglets)
  • 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce – Buffalo (If you want super spicy, use the Original flavor)
  • 1/3 cup butter

Cook wings at 500 degrees for 20-25 minutes. While those are cooking, nuke the sauce and butter together until the butter is melted. When the wings are done, smother them with the sauce, grab a cold one and you’re all set for the 3rd quarter. Go Steelers or [insert your teams’ name here] !

Happy eating, XO.

Franks Red Hot Wings

No Cookin’, Good Lookin’

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These Italian horns = no cooking AND fancy looking. No long winded speech here on how good, easy, or quick they are.

In a bowl mix together:

  • 1 cup of Ricotta cheese (feel free to use the full fat one vs. the skim milk one since it will be a creamier texture & better tasting)
  • 1 jar of store bought olive tapenade (This is my short cut to the original recipe. They actually had you buying and chopping all those ingredients. Um no, open and pour. You’re welcome. Oh and shameless plug, but Trader Joe’s has the tastiest & cheapest. Feel free to use green or black, although the original recipe does call for the black olive)
  • Pinch of red chili flakes & black pepper (NO more salt because the olives & prosciutto are salty enough)
  • 1 tsp of minced garlic (I won’t suggest more than this because the tapenade already has a slight garlicky flavor)
  • Pinch of dried parsley flakes (this is strictly for presentation, so don’t be scared to leave it out)

Then spread a thin (I’m not kidding when I say thin layer, the 1st few times these got to be so messy because I over did it on the cheese mixture) layer of the mixture on a slice of prosciutto and lay a breadstick & celery stick next to each other and roll. Repeat and serve cold. (For a carb friendly version, replace the breadstick with roasted asparagus spears-just note not to roast for longer than 5 minutes so it doesn’t lose its crunch).

Happy eating, XO.

Italian Horns

Crabby Cakes

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For most of us (ok, maybe I’m just speaking about myself here) but I never dare dreamed I could make a crab cake. That was what the yearly vacation to Philips Seafood and Steak house in Ocean City, MD was for. Well, I recently faced my fear and tried it out. And guess what? It wasn’t that hard at all! Most of the ingredients were already on my shelves. I picked up a few extras from the store and I was ready to go.

  • 1 egg (this is a must since you need glue for the crab cake)
  • ¾ cup Panko bread crumbs (if doing Italian breadcrumbs cut down to ½ cup since they are denser)
  • 1lb lump crab meat (make sure there are no remaining shells)
  • 1 large or 2 small stalk of celery finely chopped (make sure they are tiny, the celery is great for the added crunch but you don’t want chunks to overpower the crab)
  • 1 teaspoon old bay (or seasoned salt or tony Caceres seasoning, you get the point)
  • A pinch of crushed chili flakes, if you like more heat do cayenne pepper
  • A pinch of paprika for color is optional
  • Splash or teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (you could technically use ground or yellow but I think Dijon adds a specific tang that I wouldn’t mess with)
  • 2 ½ tablespoon mayo
  • 2 or 2 ½ tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (can’t be substitute for dried, if you don’t have or like just leave it out)

Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hr. (this is so they don’t fall apart when pan searing, realize this is a legit crab cake. Crab being the star of the show with minimal filler so when cold they won’t crumble in pan or when you have to flip them) and then pan sear for 4 min on each side (makes 4 large or 6 appetizer portion crab cakes) serve w parsley leaves & lemon wedges to class it up.

Oh and check out Sauce Boss for an easy, fridge friendly dipping sauce.

Happy eating, XO.

Crab-Cakes