Mama Cucina

Memorial Day weekend marked the official start of summer. We all know what this means: plenty of lazy Saturdays spent in the backyard, drinking beers, playing with kids in the swimming pools and firing up the grill. We all have enough on our plates (ha! pun intended!) to not have to deal with the added stress of making complex side dishes for cookouts and family gatherings. Here are three awesome side dishes I’ve made recently that have been very successful.

Fresh Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella & Avocado Salad

http://www.everythingfab.com/2011/05/food-mozzarella-tomato-and-avocado.html

Life is too short to eat caprese salad without avocados. That was my tag line after making (and quickly devouring) this salad. It’s fresh, light and delicious. The avocado really does add an unexpected flavor and a nice creaminess to the salad.

Smashed Potatoes

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

I love this recipe for several reasons. First, it’s from The Pioneer Woman’s blog; and we all know people named Ree know their way around a kitchen. True story. Second, I’ve made these potatoes several times, and everyone refers to them as, “The best potatoes ever!” And they really are great- they turn out crispy on the outside, but nice and soft on the inside. I recommend making them with rosemary.

Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad

http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/aunt_peggys_cucumber_tomato_and_onion_salad/

When I told the husband this was Paula Deen’s recipe; his first question was, “Where’s the butter?” Not going to lie, I was pretty shocked myself. We received our first cucumbers in our CSA share, and I made this salad yesterday afternoon for lunch. I grew up with my Grammy making creamed cucumbers all the time, and have been craving them. This was an excellent substitute. Although the idea of making creamed cucumbers with Greek yogurt is still floating around in my mind. Hmmm…

I hope this gives you some fresh new ideas for summer cooking, and please let me know how these recipes turn out.

Much Love,

Mama Cucina

To quote my good friend Bridget Jones, “It’s a universally accepted truth that as soon as one area of your life starts to go well, the others fall to shit”. I’ve used this expression at least a million times, because it’s true. I will dive into work, putting in 12 hours a day; and end up eating drive-thru food and not working out. So work will be going well, but my body feels like it’s revolting against me. Or, I’ll make time for an hour workout at the end of the day, only to get back in the car and find my phone battery almost dead because of all the work emails and phone calls I missed. Oh the guilt. But to quote my wise mama, sometimes you need to take off your Wonder Woman cape. And sometimes you need to put the cape back on- which is exactly what I’m doing here. It’s time to get back to something that brings me joy- blogging about food and hopefully introducing some delicious new ingredients and recipes into your kitchens.

CSA season started a few weeks ago, and our fridge has been filled with different salad greens, fresh garlic, radishes, turnips, celeriac and spinach. We pride ourselves on not letting anything go to waste; so we’ve been making big salads or fresh soups every week, stuffing greens into pita pockets or sandwiches, and just focusing on eating as many vegetables as possible. It’s kind of funny, because I’d never agree to a vegetarian diet (homegirl loves her burgers and steaks too much), but we all really look forward to CSA season and a fresh delivery of produce in the house.

We’ve committed ourselves to at least one or two vegetarian dinners a week, and we really have found some delicious new ideas:

Mushroom stuffed eggplant

http://www.familyoven.com/recipe/mushroom-stuffed-eggplant/187030

After a vegetarian meal you still feel hungry. Not the case with this hearty meal. The eggplant and mushrooms combine well and make a very “meaty” dish.

Yield: Approx. 3 servings 345 calories per serving

Tomato Basil Cheddar Soup

http://morefruitplease.net/2012/04/23/tomato-basil-and-cheddar-soup/

Remember my fifty pounds of tomatoes from last fall? We finally used the last of them in this hearty, well seasoned soup. The Greek yogurt is a wonderful addition because it adds a creamy element to the soup without any fat.

Yield: Approx 4 (large) servings 300 calories per serving

I’m sure as the season progresses and we have more produce to work with, our vegetarian recipe suggestions will increase. Hopefully these will keep you busy in the meantime.

Much Love,
Mama Cucina

We tried a new dinner this week that was DELICIOUS! There’s a good chance you have all the ingredients in your kitchen already; so whip up a batch of Bruschetta Chicken and enjoy!

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/bruschetta-chicken-bake-65546.aspx

The only variation we made was using fresh tomatoes instead of canned. I don’t think it made a difference; the dish was still moist and flavorful.

Yield: 4 servings (the recipe claims 6, but that’s 6 super small servings. I like to be realistic). 450 calories per serving

We all know my one true love is my slow cooker; because of how easy and versatile it is. Well, my secret love is becoming soup… pretty much for exactly the same reasons. Since the husband and I are calorie counting; soup is the perfect meal- it fills you up, it’s low in calories and I tend to pack my soups full of vegetables. Here are two delicious soup recipes we’ve tried in the past few weeks:

Creamy Tomato Soup

http://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/2009/03/day-56-tomato-basil-parmesan-soup.html

Yields 6 servings, 312 calories per serving

This is delicious paired with one of my Grilled Cheese Florentine Sandwiches…

1 wedge Laughing Cow cheese

1 Thomas 100 calorie sandwich roll

Handful of spinach

Fat-free cooking spray

Turn the bread inside out (so the inside of the bread is on the outside, and vice-versa). Spread the wedge of cheese and spinach inside the sandwich. Lightly spray the outside of the bread with fat free cooking spray. Cook in a frying pan until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is warmed through. Best dunked in a bowl of the creamy tomato soup.

Yield: 1 sandwich, 140 calories

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

http://www.mangiodasola.com/2009/11/broccoli-cheddar-soup.html

This soup claims to be better than Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup; and I’d have to agree- mostly because it has half as many calories per serving. I used Velveeta instead of the colby-jack cheese and I think this helped add to the richness of the soup.

Yield: 4 servings, 450 calories per serving

Even though we’ve seen our first taste of spring here in Wisconsin today, I’m sure there will be plenty of rainy days perfect for a bowl of soup and a sandwich. Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Much Love,

Mama Cucina

I love weekends; because it’s the only time of week my entire family can have breakfast together. And by breakfast I mean a real meal- not just a carton of yogurt or an Eggo waffle. This past Saturday morning we all woke up starving; and we needed some quality fuel before attempting to shovel the three or four inches of snow outside.

I raided the fridge and found two eggs, a package of crescent roll dough, lunch meat and other assorted goodies. I immediately scrapped the eggs since there were not enough of them to feed three hungry Schweis; and instead focused on the crescent roll dough. I ended up stuffing the dough with a bunch of delicious low-calorie goodies and ended up with a hearty breakfast that weighed in at 132 calories per serving. Not too shabby!

Turkey Breakfast Roll-Ups

1 package reduced-fat crescent roll dough

4 slices reduced-fat lunch meat (I used turkey but ham would be delicious as well)

4 wedges Laughing Cow cheese

handful of fresh spinach leaves

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Open the crescent roll dough, use a rolling pin to slightly roll out each segment of dough. Spread each segment with half a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese. Fill with half a slice of lunch meat and a few leaves of spinach. Roll up and place in a muffin tin (you could place them on a cookie sheet if you prefer, but I was worried about the ingredients leaking out. The muffin tins helped to secure the roll-ups a little better).

Bake for 15 minutes or until dough is cooked all the way through.

These roll-ups are awesome! They are hearty and filling and are a nice alternative to fatty breakfast sandwiches. They also re-heat really well, so they are an easy option for a fast breakfast.

Much Love,

Mama Cucina

Papa Cucina and I have recently started counting calories. Both of us are working towards different fitness goals, and one of the best ways we’ve decided to meet these goals is by being more aware of how many calories we consume on a daily basis.

To say the first week was an adjustment would be an understatement. For example: did anyone else know that a patty melt and fries at Red Robin has over 1600 calories? Not great when you’re only allotted 1200 calories a day. Or, the salads at BW3s have more calories than an order of chicken wings? Eating has become something of a mine field for us. So, I’ve been on a mission to find healthier dinners with reasonable calorie counts.

Tonight I made Southwest Chicken in the slow cooker- chicken, fat free cream cheese, Rotel, black beans and corn. It turned out delicious, and it’s excellent stuffed inside a La Tortilla Factory 100 calorie tortilla. Seriously, I’m eating it right now.

Now, the recipe warns NOT to use fat free cream cheese. But I’m a rebel like that, and tried it anyway. It melted perfectly and still added a slight hint of creamy goodness to the recipe without all the extra fat and calories.

The recipe yields about 6 generous servings at 402 calories each.

http://thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com/2011/05/easiest-dinner-ever.html

This is a perfect weeknight meal- hope your family loves it as much as we did.

Much Love,
Mama Cucina

Up until this point I’ve tried to post (relatively) healthy, easy to prepare meals that require a minimal amount of ingredients, and a whole lot of flavor. I think meal time is one of the most important things a family can share; and a love of good quality food will help to set healthy habits for the rest of a child’s life.

In posting recipes lately, I realized I have been doing my readers a diservice by not posting nutritional information. It’s a pet peeve of mine when restaurants don’t post calorie counts; and I don’t want to be a hypocrite. Please know that going forward, all my recipes will include calorie counts (at the bare minimum). I want people to know what exactly they are eating.

Please feel free to let me know any other suggestions or ideas for the blog- I want this to be a tool families feel comfortable using for meal planning. Again, I appreciate all of you that stop by the blog and comment or prepare one of my meals, it’s like sharing a piece of your family with me.

Much Love,

Mama Cucina

I refused to think Rachael Ray knew how to make an authentic dish like sopa de lima. This is a woman who made her career out of shortening already short words. COME ON! But once again, that bitch proved me wrong.

It’s a little known fact I minored in Spanish in college, and I have had the good fortune to experience quality Latin food first-hand. Last week I was craving something spicy and authentic. Mexican chicken lime soup fit the bill.

This recipe is beyond easy and will infuse a lot of spice and flavor into any meal. Warning: do not serve this soup to children. It’s too spicy for most little palates. And don’t try to substitute the chipotle peppers and adobo- it just won’t be the same.

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/mucho-gusto-latin-recipes/mexican-chicken-lime-soup

Much Love,

Mama Cucina

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law gave birth to their first little bundle of joy almost a month ago. He’s adorable and already my favorite nephew (btw: he’s my only nephew too). In addition to getting to stop over and love on him a little bit, I’ve also been making meals for them too. They are meat-and-potatoes people; so this was the perfect excuse to try mashed potatoes in the slow cooker.

I love mashed potatoes, but the amount of work that goes into them can be a bit much sometimes. This was such a great way to make them- peel the potatoes, throw all the ingredients in the slow cooker and let them cook all day. This would be an awesome week day meal- make the meatloaf the night before, let the potatoes cook all day, and pop the meatloaf in the oven right before dinner. Bam- instant meal.

Here’s the link for the recipe; I used fat-free cream cheese and sour cream in the recipe and it didn’t make any difference to the taste or texture. Hope you enjoy them as much as we all did!

http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/01/ultimate-crock-pot-mashed-potatoes/

Much Love,
Mama Cucina

Cream of mushroom soup is the ultimate in comfort food for me (and no, I’m not referring to the gelatinous mess that comes out of a Campbell’s soup can). Growing up my Grandma used to take me to a Serbian restaurant for lunch, where the owner would make cream of mushroom soup to order. Lunch usually took a while, but the food was incredible. I have yet to find cream of mushroom soup to rival hers. And trust me, I’ve tried. I scour every farmers market and soup restaurant in the hopes of finding something that transports me back to being nine years old and eating creamy, delicious soup with homemade breadcrumbs.

I found a recipe on Pinterest for Cream of Artichoke & Mushroom soup and HAD to try it. I had recently tried cream of artichoke soup and loved the delicate flavor. I thought it would be delicious combined with the earthy, umami flavor of mushrooms. While this soup still isn’t as good as the one I remember from childhood, it’s still delicious and super easy to make. We paired it with a loaf of beer bread, and it made for a very satisfying meal.

http://www.food.com/recipe/cream-of-artichoke-and-mushroom-soup-91990

Much Love,

Mama Cucina