Quick Szechwan Sauce

Trying to make a conscious decision to eat better, I made a stir fry, but wanted a sauce to add some flavor. And I was really happy with this one. Sweet and spicy. Two of my favorite things. Can be used a meat marinade or cooking sauce.
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 red chile peppers, seeded and chopped fine*
- 2 tsps fresh chopped ginger**
- 2 tsps minced garlic
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 5 tbsp vinegar
- 5 tbsp ketchup

Stir together olive oil, chile peppers, ginger and garlic. Mix in sugar, vinegar and ketchup.

* I used red pepper flakes as I didn't have the chile peppers on hand. Adjust amount to your tastes
** Again I used the ginger powder as I didn't have fresh ginger on hand

Makes 6 servings

Calories: 124
Fat: 6.8g
Cholesterol: 0

Asian Grilled Chicken

This is a tasty way to do up chicken breasts. And best of all - they're good for you!
- 1 can campbell's condensed chicken broth
- 2 tbsp soya sauce
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb)

Combine broth, soya sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic and red pepper. Reserve 3/4 cup of mixture for basting; refrigerate.
Pour remaining mixture into shallow non-metallic dish. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Discard marinade.
Grill or broil chicken 20 minutes or until cooked through, turning and brushing often with reserved basting mixture.

Serves 4

I used my indoor grill to cook these. Was a little hazy in the kitchen at times, so I'd probably try the BBQ or oven next time around. Delicious!

Calories: 128
Protein: 26 g
Fat: 2 g
Carb: 1 g

Greek Spinach Pizza

• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 prebaked thin Italian bread shell crust (10 ounces)
• 2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped pitted Greek olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped sweet onion

In a small bowl, toss the spinach, oil and Italian seasoning. Place crust on an ungreased 12-in. pizza pan. Arrange spinach mixture over crust to within 1/2-in. of edge. Place tomatoes on top; sprinkle with the cheeses, olives and onion.

Bake at 450 F for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and edges are lightly browned.

Yield: 6-8 slices

* Instead of the Italian bread shell crust I just used a plain pizza crust. It definitely didn't need the whole 10 minutes until it was browned enough.

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

• 3/4 oz (22g) pkg dried porcini mushrooms
• boiling water

• 1.5 cups (375 ml) medium bow (or other) pasta
• boiling water
• salt

• 1 tbsp Cooking oil
• 3 cups Sliced brown (or white) mushrooms
• 1 cup Chopped low-fat deli ham

• 2 tbsp All-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup low-sodium prepared chicken broth
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp Pepper

• 1 cup Frozen peas
• 1/4 cup Chopped fresh parsley

• 2/3 cup Grated light sharp Cheddar cheese

Put porcini mushrooms into small bowl. Pour boiling water over top until covered. Let stand for about 20 minutes until softened. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Squeeze to remove excess liquid. Discard stems. Thinly slice caps.

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain. Cover to keep warm.

Heat oil in large frying pan on medium-high. Add porcini mushrooms, brown mushrooms and ham. Stir. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms start to brown.

Add flour. Heat and stir for 1 minute. Slowly add milk, broth, mustard and pepper, stirring constantly. Heat and stir for about 5 minutes until boiling and thickened.

Add peas and parsley. Heat and stir for about 5 minutes until peas are heated through. Remove from heat.

Add cheese. Stir until melted. Add to pasta. Stir until coated. Serves 4.

1 serving: 503 Calories, 14.4 g fat, 5 g fibre, 870 mg sodium.

Zucchini Tomato Spaghetti

• 13oz/370g Whole Wheat Spaghetti
• 1 tbsp olive or cooking oil
• 4 medium zucchini, with peel, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 4 Roma tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
• 4.5 oz light feta cheese cubed (about 3/4cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Heat olive oil in large frying pan on medium. Add zucchini and garlic. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is softened.

Add tomato. Heat and stir for about 3 minutes until tomato just starts to soften. Add to spaghetti.

Add remaining 4 ingredients. Toss gently. Serves 6.

1 Serving: 328 cal, 8.2 g fat, 55 g carbs, 3 g fibre, 14 g protein 257 mg sodium.