CEiMB - Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

Even though I'm not officially a CEiMB member anymore, I still check the website on a regular basis and try to cook along when something sounds too good to pass up. This was one of those times.

I love, love, love quesadillas and this is one that I will absolutely make again and again.

Saute onion, garlic, mushrooms and spinach in some canola oil. Toss in some cooked chicken (I used some leftover store-bought rotisserie chicken.) Cook until the spinach has wilted down.

Slap the filling between a couple of tortillas (I used whole wheat) along with some cheese. Saute in a non-stick pan sprayed with some Pam. I like to weight mine down so it all comes together nicely and is easier to flip.

Serve some some salsa, chopped cilantro and sour cream and you've got yourself a delicious and easy meal! Nice, huh?

Here's Ellie's recipe:

Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

Eating Healthy in 2009. Copyright 2007 Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved.

Show: Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger Episode: Time Troubles

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
8 ounces white button mushrooms, (about 3 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked chopped skinless, boneless chicken breast (1 breast half)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups baby spinach leaves, sliced into ribbons
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 (10-inch) whole-grain flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese mix or Cheddar
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the mushroom water is evaporated and they begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken, cumin, chili powder and oregano and stir until all spices are incorporated. Add spinach, salt and pepper and cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Lay 1 tortilla on a flat work surface and sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Spoon 1/2 chicken and vegetable mixture on top of cheese, then top with an additional 1/4 cup cheese. Top with another flour tortilla. Heat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray over medium heat. Carefully place 1 quesadilla in pan and cook 3 minutes. Using a large spatula, gently flip quesadilla and cook an additional 3 minutes until lightly browned and cheese is melted. Repeat with second quesadilla. Slice each quesadilla into quarters. Place 2 quarters on a plate with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 2 tablespoons salsa.

CEiMB - Waldorf Chicken Wraps

Mr. B went back for his two week check up this morning and I'm glad to report that everything is healing nicely. They took the stitches out of his knee and slapped a new cast on and he's good to go back to Michigan next week! Yipee....err, I mean so sad....I'll miss him. We've had a LOT of together time the past couple of weeks. He needs to get back to work!

To celebrate the great doctor's report, I made him Ellie's Waldorf Chicken Salad. (Actually we'll probably celebrate with a nice Bordeaux a little later, but this makes for a better blog post.) I'm not a huge chicken salad girl. It never seems worth all the calories and extra workout time. Enter Ellie's version. The dressing base is fat free Greek Yogurt, which is now a staple in my fridge. I have no idea how I survived before discovering it and I could was poetic for hours about all of the virtues of Greek yogurt, but I'll zip it.

The addition of a small amount of mayo, some horseradish mustard, lemon juice and thyme and you've got yourself a delicious, light dressing. I used Ina's method of roasting bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts which I think produces a really moist and flavorful breast. I liked the addition of the green grapes and toasted walnuts, but since I didn't have an apple in the house, that didn't make it in.

I'd definitely make this again. Hubs and I both loved it. Now I'm off to the cellar for that bottle of Bordeaux!

Here's the recipe....thanks, Jessica, for a great pick.

Waldorf Chicken Wraps

2006, Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved

Show: Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger Episode: 5 Easy Dinners

Ingredients:

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt or 3/4 cups nonfat Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced thyme
1 pound cooked, skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup seedless grapes, sliced in 1/2
1/4 cup toasted, coarsely chopped walnuts
1 medium apple, cored and diced (about 3/4 cup)
Freshly ground black pepper
5 large leaves Romaine lettuce, rinsed and patted dry
5 whole-wheat wraps, about 8 inches in diameter

Directions:

If using regular yogurt place the yogurt in a strainer lined with a paper towel. Put the strainer over a bowl and place in the refrigerator to drain and thicken for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the thickened or Greek-style yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and thyme until smooth. Fold in chicken, grapes, walnuts and apples. Season with pepper.

Place 1 lettuce leaf on a wrap. Spoon about 3/4 cup of the chicken filling onto wrap and roll wrap around filling.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving

Calories 420

Total Fat 15g

Saturated Fa t2g

Monounsaturated Fat 1.7g

Polyunsaturate Fat 3.5g

Cholesterol 80mg

Sodium 470mg

Protein 36g

Carbohydrates 35g

Fiber 3.5g

CEiMB - Grilled Thai Beef Salad

I'm writing this from St. Vincent's waiting room which should actually be called the waiting, waiting and more waiting room. Mr. B's having some ankle surgery today and was told to be here at 6:00am, so we were. Only to be sitting here two hours later and STILL not be taken to a room. WTF? Can you tell I'm not a patient person??

Anyhoo, this week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was chosen by Jen of Jen B's Cooking Carveout and Jen chose Ellie's Grilled Thai Beef Salad.

This was a great dinner salad. The marinade for the flank steak also served as the dressing for the salad, so it was super simple to throw together. I loved how the brown sugar in the marinade created a nice caramelized crust on the grilled steak and the cilantro and basil in the salad added some nice extra flavor.

Thanks, Jen for a great choice.

Here's the recipe:

Grilled Thai Beef Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pound top-round London broil or flank steak, about 1 to 1 1/2-inches thick
• 3 tablespoons lime juice, divided
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1 1/4 teaspoons red curry paste or chili-garlic sauce
• 1/2 head red-leaf lettuce, torn (about 6 cups)
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup), divided, for garnish
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, rinsed and dried
• 1 cup basil leaves, sliced into ribbons

Directions

Rinse and pat the meat dry. Place in a sealable plastic bag or small glass dish. In a medium bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red curry paste. Pour half the mixture into the bag with the meat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice to the bag. Seal tightly, and marinate meat in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Reserve the rest of the mixture refrigerated, to dress the salad.

Spray grill or grill pan with cooking spray and preheat. Grill steak until medium-rare, about 5 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness. Let rest until room temperature then slice thinly against the grain.

Combine lettuce, sliced shallot, cilantro, basil and beef in a salad bowl, reserving a few shallots for garnish. Add the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad among 4 plates and garnish with reserved sliced shallots.

Update.....FINALLY made it to pre-op room. Ankle surgery has now become ankle AND knee surgery. I'll keep you posted.

CEiMB - Cobb Salad and Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting

It's a Craving Ellie in My Belly twofer Thursday! I hate not completing my obligations so I'm trying to catch up.

Last week's choice was Cobb Salad and was the choice of The Feast Within. I love Cobb Salad, but like most really good salads, they're loaded with calories. This is Ellie's much lighter/healthier version and it's quite tasty!

The only thing I eliminated was the ham, but just because I'm not a fan. I really enjoyed the dressing for this....a flavorful vinaigrette that would work on just about any simple salad. Homemade dressings are so easy and you can control the sugar and fat content. Really, does anyone ever buy the bottled stuff anymore? If you do, you shouldn't. Just sayin.

Here's the recipe:

Cobb Salad

Eating Healthy in 2009. Ellie Kreiger

Ingredients:

For the Dressing:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

Cooking spray1/4 pound sliced Black Forest or other smoked ham (I eliminated this)
2 hard-boiled eggs
6 cups romaine lettuce (about 6 ounces) coarsely chopped (I used prewashed bagged lettuce....sue me)
2 cups watercress, thick stems removed (Oops, I eliminated this, too)
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced (about 2 cups) (I used grape tomatoes)
1/2 avocado, diced (about 3/4 cup)
1 cup cooked diced chicken breast 1 (6-ounce) breast
1/2 cup crumbled Roquefort or Blue cheese (about 2 ounces)

Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and set aside.

Slice the ham into 1/2-inch strips. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and preheat over a medium-high heat. Add the ham to the skillet and cook over stirring frequently, until the ham is warmed through and crisped, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Remove and discard the yolk from 1 of the hard boiled eggs. Chop the remaining egg white and whole egg and set aside.

In a large bowl toss the romaine and watercress with 2/3 of the dressing. Put the dressed greens onto a large serving dish. Place the tomatoes on top forming a row down the middle. In strips on either side of the tomatoes place the avocado, chicken, cheese, diced egg, and the crisped ham on top of the greens. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve.

Per Serving:
Calories 360; Total Fat 24 g; (Sat Fat 7 g, Mono Fat 13 g, Poly Fat 3 g) ; Protein 28 g; Carb 11 g; Fiber 4 g; Cholesterol 115 mg; Sodium 770 mg

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Now on to this weeks Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting. Can you say "YUM"? Of course, cream cheese frosting will make feet taste delicious, so this was a no brainer. I have to say that the frosting was not quite as good as, say, Dorie's cream cheese frosting, however, it tasted a lot better knowing I could spend a few less hours in the gym by eating Ellie's version! I know you like that!

I highly recommend these if you're a carrot cake/cream cheese frosting fan. A nice alternative to the higher calorie recipes.

Here's how it's done:

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2005, Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup natural applesauce (I didn't have any applesauce so I substituted 1/2 cup fat free yogurt)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
4 ounces 1/3 fat cream cheese (recommended: Neufchatel)
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift together the first 6 ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar and eggs until well combined. Whisk in the applesauce, vanilla and carrots. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in 1/4 cup of the chopped walnuts.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

With an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and lemon zest until smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts. The cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator.

Per Serving:

Calories: 236, Total Fat: 10 grams, Saturated Fat: 2 grams, Protein: 4 grams, Carbohydrates: 34 grams, Fiber:2 grams

CEiMB - Baked Onion Rings

I know this is actually last week's Craving Ellie in My Belly asignment. I got so wrapped up in baby shower preparations last week that I never got to make these onion rings. I could have just skipped it and made this week's Cobb Salad, but I really wanted to try these.

Other than being a tad dry, I really liked these. Nice and crispy on the outside with a perfectly cooked sweet onion in the middle.

I substituted panko breadcrumbs for the called for crushed up potato chips. I also used a tablespoon of southwestern seasoning mix and a teaspoon of ground chipotle to season the panko.

I'd definitely make these again.

Here's the recipe.

Oven Baked Onion Rings

Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
4 cups baked potato chips (I used panko breadcrumbs)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (I used a combination of southwestern seasoning mix and ground chipotle pepper)
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 to 2 large Vidalia onions, peeled

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Spray a baking sheet slightly with oil and set aside. (I skipped this step and instead used a baking sheet lined with a silpat) Place potato chips in the bowl of a food processor and process into crumbs, about 20 seconds. (Since I used panko, I skipped this step.) Transfer to a shallow bowl, add cayenne, and set aside. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of flour, salt and pepper and set aside. Slice onions into 1/2-inch circles and separate into rings, keeping only large, whole rings (reserve rest of onions for other uses). You should come out with about 12 to 14 rings.

Place the remaining flour in a sealable plastic bag, then add onions, and shake to coat. Dip onions 1 at a time into the buttermilk mixture, then dip into potato chip crumbs and place on baking sheet. Spray canola oil evenly over rings (I did not do this) and bake for 20 minutes, or until coating is crisp. Season with salt, to taste, and serve immediately.

A lot of the members said they had trouble with the coating coming off the onions during the baking process and suggested putting the coated rings into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before baking. I did not do this and the coating stuck to the onions beautifully, so it may have had something to do with the potato chips, I don't know.

CEiMB - Lobster Rolls

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly was chosen by MacDuff of Lonely Sidecar.  This is one of my favorite blogs mainly because she always makes me laugh out loud.  She's from Boston, so I wasn't surprised at her choice of Ellie's Lobster Rolls.  No better place to get lobster than the Northeast coast.

Since I was home by myself, I tried to scale the recipe down to just a sandwich.  I didn't quite get the proportions right, because it was a little "saucy" for my taste.  I liked the taste, but would have preferred a little less sauce.

I made a few substitutions including eliminating the mayonnaise and using horseradish mustard instead.  I'd definitely do that again.  It added just the right amount of spice.  I couldn't find any whole wheat hot dog buns, so I just toasted some regular hoagie rolls.

Here's the recipe:

Lobster Roll

2008, Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved

Show: Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger Episode: Treat Yourself Good

Ingredients

1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt or 2/3 cup regular, plain nonfat yogurt
3 tablespoons mayonnaise (I substituted horseradish mustard)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped scallion greens (about 1 scallion) (didn't have any so didn't use)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 pound cooked lobster meat or cooked shrimp, cut into 1/3-inch pieces (about 2 1/2 cups)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 whole-wheat hot dog buns
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

If using regular yogurt, place it in a strainer lined with paper towel and set the strainer over a bowl. Let the yogurt drain and thicken for 20 minutes.

In a bowl, stir together the thickened or Greek-style yogurt, mayonnaise, celery, scallion and lemon juice. Fold in the lobster meat and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to use. Just before serving, open the hot dog buns and brush the inside with olive oil. Heat a grill pan over moderately high heat and grill the bread, cut side down, until toasted, about 3 minutes. Fill each with 3/4 cup of the lobster mixture and serve immediately.

Per Serving:

Calories 340; Total Fat 14 g; (Sat Fat 2g, Mono Fat 5 g, Poly Fat 6 g) ; Protein 29 g; Carb 25 g; Fiber 3 g; Cholesterol 85 mg; Sodium 720 mg

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On a side note, I'd like to congratulate my dear friends Jill and Melvin on the arrival of their son, Bram.   Isn't he beautiful?

These guys have waited a long time to be parents and I couldn't be happier for them.  No one deserves it more.

Plus, I can't wait to spoil him!

CEiMB - Breakfast Cookies

Sorry for being so late on this post.  I'm in Hilton Head, SC for the wedding of these two....Nate and Erica....and have been all wrapped up in the pre-wedding festivities.  The actual wedding is this afternoon, but we've all been doing our share of pre-gaming, so to speak!

I made these cookies the day before we left and have been eating them ever since.  I love them.  My only complaint is that they didn't hold together very well.  I'm not sure if it's the original recipe's fault or my substitutions??

Doesn't matter...even all broken up, they're delish.

Here's the recipe:

Breakfast Cookies

2007 Ellie Krieger

Serves:

12 cookies, serving size 1 cookie

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour  (I used all whole-wheat pastry flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar (I substituted Agave nectar)
1 egg
1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food (I used 1/4 cup non-fat yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes (I used all oats)
1/3 cup raisins (substituted dried cranberries)
1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped (I eliminated the nuts)

Directions

Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I'll absolutely be making these again.  A relatively healthy breakfast on the go option.

Happy Fourth of July everyone.  I'll be watching two great kids tie the knot this afternoon, then some reception dancing, then Hilton Head's famous fireworks.  Y'all be safe!

CEiMB - Vegetable Cheese Strata

This week's Craving Ellie in my Belly recipe is Vegetable Cheese Strata and was chosen by Jenn at A Mid-Life Culinary Adventure.  The generic title of this recipe is so appropriate because it's basically a "clean out your fridge" type of dish.  Throw in any random veggies and cheese you need to get rid of and you've got yourself a strata!

I'm so proud of myself for not adding anything fattening this time....like spicy sausage (but that would have been really good!)  I did substitute roasted asparagus because I'm not a fan of broccoli and since I didn't have any mozzarella in the house, I used goat cheese.  Like I said, throw in anything that suits your fancy.

This is one of those make-ahead dishes that needs to sit in the fridge for at least eight hours, so plan accordingly.  I can see making this for brunch when the family is all visiting.  So easy to throw together the night before and pop in the oven in the morning.  

I was the only one here to try this today but I'll definitely make this again.  I think Mr. B would really like it.

Here's the recipe:

Vegetable Cheese Strata

The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups (8 ounces) sliced mushrooms
Cooking spray
1 whole wheat baguette, crusts removed, cubed (about 5 cups)
8 eggs and 8 egg whites (I used the egg whites from the carton so I didn't have to figure out what to do with eight yolks!)
2 cups lowfat milk (I used fat free)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
10 ounces broccoli, steamed, cooled and chopped (or frozen, thawed) (I substituted roasted asparagus)
1-ounce (1/3 cup) grated Parmesan
4-ounce (1 cup) part-skim mozzarella cheese (I used goat cheese)
1/2 cup thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes, reconstituted
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another 1 minute. Transfer the onion mixture to a medium bowl and allow to cool. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in the skillet and saute the mushrooms until they release all of their water, about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. Spray an oval baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the bread cubes in the dish. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, egg whites, milk and mustard until incorporated. Add mushrooms, onion-garlic mixture, broccoli, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, sun-dried tomatoes, thyme, and salt and pepper and stir to incorporate. Pour mixture over bread, making sure liquid saturates bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap from strata and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until top forms a light brown crust.

Ellie (CEiMB) and some brutally HOT tennis

I'm going to try to make this a somewhat coherent post, but tennis in 110 degree heat is literally frying my brain.  The good news is that we won our morning match 4-1 and our afternoon match 5-0 so we're off to a REALLY good start.  The morning win was huge, because it was over another Birmingham team that had beaten us three times during local league play.  The afternoon match was against a pretty good Dothan team, so we're feeling really good about ourselves at this point, but we have to do it all over again tomorrow.  I think this is my sixth year to come to Mobile for the state tournament and I don't ever remember it being this brutally hot.

Anywho....this post is supposed to be about Ellie's Jambalaya as chosen by Anonymous New York.  

(Jambalaya is not very photogenic)

This is my first Ellie post and I was excited to try the recipe.  Unfortunately I made some changes that probably added a few extra calories.  Not exactly the point, eh?

Whatevs.

After reading the reviews of the recipe on the Food Network site, I decided to make some changes to add a bit more flavor.  I'm not a ham lover so I substituted Chorizo.  I started by browning the chorizo in the olive oil, removing it from the pan but leaving in the rendered fat and sauteeing the onions, bell peppers and garlic.

I also substituted some of the spices as noted below.

I have to say that I really liked this and would probably make it again.  I'm going to have to work harder at keeping the recipe as written and not adding additional calories.  I'm not saying I will, but I'm gonna try!!

Here's the recipe and my changes:

Jambalaya with Shrimp and Ham

from Ellie Krieger on the Food Network

1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more, to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more, to taste
1 teaspoon paprika (I used hot pimenton, a Spanish smoked paprika)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (I used fresh)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I used fresh)
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 tsp)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 ounces diced, smoked ham (I substituted chorizo)
2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can no-salt added diced tomatoes (Mine had added chipotle)
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
Hot pepper sauce

Directions

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over a medium heat. Add the onion, peppers and garlic and saute until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in the next 11 ingredients, salt through the diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until rice is done and most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the shrimp and cook, covered, for 5 minutes more, or until shrimp is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with hot pepper sauce.

Craving Ellie in my Belly (CEimB) but first some of Martha's Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes!

Let's get the business part of the post out of the way first.  I joined another cooking group.....Craving Ellie in my Belly.  If you're not familiar with Ellie Krieger, she is a renowned registered dietician and the host of The Food Network's "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger".  The group prepares recipes from her book "The Food You Crave:  Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life".

I love Ellie's show and felt like I needed to be cooking something healthy to try to counteract all of the calories consumed from Tuesdays with Dorie!  I'll be jumping in with this week's recipe, "Jambalaya with Shrimp and Ham" so check back on Thursday!

But before we get all healthy check out these awesome Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes from Martha Stewart's new "Cupcakes" book.  I'm loving this book.  So many great ideas, but this one got me the most excited!

Who doesn't love Oreos???

Mr. B lurves Oreos.  Early in our marriage, it was not uncommon for him to sit down at night with a tall glass of milk and polish of an entire sleeve.  Mr. B does not, however, lurve cheesecake, but I was hoping these might change his mind.

Well, I can't say that I totally converted him, but he did manage to force down about 30 of them!  Not really, but he definitely went back for seconds.  Everyone else who tried them thought they were fabulous.

These are really simple.  The crust is made but dropping an Oreo into the bottom of a paper muffin liner.  How easy is that?  

Here's the rest of the recipe:

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

(I halved the recipe and still got 24 cupcakes)

42 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreo's), 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped

2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Place 1 whole sandwich cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Gradually add sugar and beat until combined  Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a but at a time beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in sour cream and salt.  Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely.  Refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours (or up to overnight).  Remove from tins just before serving.

I really recommend you pick up this book.  There are so many fun ideas, and really, does Martha ever disappoint?