Jalapeno cheddar chicken burgers

We meet again, Monday. I'm not really much of a Monday hater, to be honest. I actually enjoy my routine, and as long as I feel I got everything I wanted to done throughout my weekend (groceries, meal planning, laundry, workouts, house cleanup) I feel pretty good about starting a fresh new week. So no Monday gripes round here. I will say that Friday most definitely trumps Monday though, and that will never change. Just like Spring trumps Winter...some things are just the way they are. Ask me how I feel about Fridays in the Spring!

 

This weekend was a busy one, but I did manage to get my life in order with a couple big grocery trips to Trader Joe's and Wal-Mart, as well as get a couple great sweat seshes on the books to keep up with my new found motivation on MyFitnessPal. By the way, today is day 1 of Tuff Butt April so I just completed the required lunges, squats, and lunge holds to check today off the list. This first week will be fairly simple and take minimal time, but it shall get challenging soon. Who's joining me??

 

As you know, we've been battling Main Man's cholesterol numbers lately and trying to find workarounds for some of his favorite foods. Enter: chicken burgers. They don't necessarily sound all that great when you have a big, juicy burger in mind, but I pinky swear these babies leave you satisfied beyond the normal greasy patty burger world. They weren't tough to throw together either...

 

Start with 1 lb ground chicken (you want to go with breast meat or it won't be as lean)

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 t chopped jalapeno

1 t ground cumin

1 t paprika

1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

 

hamburger buns

guacamole

cheese (I used 2% pepperjack)

lettuce (I used spinach)

tomato

mayo (I used olive oil mayo)

 

Add all ingredients in the first group to a large mixing bowl and....mix. Duh!

 

 

Patty the burgers out. I did 3 patties because a 1/3 pound burger is plenty for this chicky poo. If you feel the need for 1/4 pounders or 1/2 pounders, feel free to make them as large or small as your appetite calls for. Per usual, I made these on a Sunday afternoon to throw in the fridge for a quick grilled weeknight dinner...and they worked splendidly!

 

Throw them on the Griddler or the grill (spray your grill with non fat cooking spray first to avoid stickage) and grill like you would any other burger. Just make sure these are cooked through before eating, rather than rare like you can do bovine burgers. Chicken needs to be cooked, yo. I sliced into mine to make sure it was done, I can't give you cooking times as all grills differ in their temperatures.

I chose a slice of Pepperjack love to melt on top and then added our burgers to their final resting places on a toasted bun layered with spinach and tomato and spread with spicy quacamole and olive oil mayonnaise. To. Die. For.

Drink in a look at that first bite. These will be a Summer staple at the lake without a doubt! Main Man tested, Main Man approved.

I have to give a HUGE shoutout to my good friend Brandy, who got engaged this morning on the beach!! Brandy is one of my oldest friends, she used to keep me out of trouble and I used to do her Geometry tests in high school...we're a good match :)

I know you all thought the "Wedding Schtuff" tag would be forgotten after our recent nuptuals but I'm sure there will be lots more fun projects to share with you in the coming year helping her prepare to become Mrs. Rizer! SO EXCITED!! See what I mean...Mondays can be awesome! :)

Tuna melts

Well, my little poopies (isn't that from The Little Mermaid? If it's not, then I apologize)...we made it. It's officially Friday and I couldn't be happier. I'm not sure the week you get back from vacation and are trying to get back in the swing of your routine and get caught up on sleep and everything else that you put off while you were gone actually feels longer than the week before vacation when you're getting everything ready to go and are so excited about packing and leaving....but it sure feels like it to me. I'm happy to have hit the weekend, and pretty proud of myself for not dropping the ball on my workouts this week or last, even with a 5 day hiatus in the middle. I've still gotten my minimum 3 days in per week and am actually going to hit my normal goal of 4 this week! That's a win in my book...and a needed win after the 3,000 calorie daiquiris I consumed on vacation unknowingly until asking about the health facts. Talk about a blow to the gut! Oh well, that's what vacation is for...back on track!

 

This was a meal we had before vacation...something easy that I used to prepare a lot when I was in college. Tuna's cheap, ya'll! And it takes literally 5 minutes to throw these together. Quick and cost-friendly? That's a college student's best friend right there...

 

This mustard makes the sammy, I'm telling you. It's the only mustard we use in our house, I'm not a yellow mustard fan. But recently I discovered that Woeber's also makes a horseradish mustard (in the cupboard, have yet to try) and a jalapeno mustard (holy eff bombs, that stuff is the ish). So if you haven't tried this brand yet, make like the Easter bunny and hop to it. Moving on...

 

2 cans white albacore tuna in water, drained (I like this because it's not oily or ugly and just tastes more fresh than the normal oil in can tuna...costs a little more but it's worth it)

4 slices wheat bread

2 slices 2% pepperjack cheese

1 T mayo (I used to use fat free but now use the olive oil mayo, its great for you even with calories added)

1 T Woeber's hot and spicy mustard

cracked pepper to taste

crushed red pepper to taste

Chalula hot sauce dashes if you likey...and I do likey

 

Mix all but the bread and cheese (obviously) up in a bowl with a fork. Spread the mixture on the bread, split between two sandwiches.

 

I used my Griddler to make those perdy grill marks on the bread this time, but before I lived in Griddler ownership, I would broil them in the oven to get the bread toasted and then heat in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the cheese completely (the broiler WILL burn your bread if you leave it in there too long). Keep an eye on it if you do it that way, these things are known to go from zero to housefire in the span of 30 seconds! The Griddler works perfectly though..worth the investment, friendys.

These sammies are so versatile! We actually layered some banana pepper slices on them this time. You can go less spicy and add tomato slices too, if that's your bag. Either way, these are always filling and satisfying. Main Man had actually requested them because I hadn't made them for him since we started dating. Surprised he remembered the meals we had that far back, but glad he liked them then too! Served with the standard szecuan green beans made with our stock of frozen green beans from the garden last summer and everyone was happy, happy, happy!

In other news...I'm going to try to do an exercise in accountability and have started using MyFitnessPal again in order to knock some of the Winter (and vacation) weight off the scale. If you are a user and want to add me, and comment when I have too many glasses of wine, skip a workout, or throw in a late night popsicle, my username is abbystensland and I will gladly take as many people judging me on as possible! Also, I'm planning to begin April on Sunday with this "Tuff Butt" workout and use it as a boost to my normal routine each day. We'll see how that goes...again with the accountability...ask me if I forget to post about it! And join me if you  would like to have a little booty in your swimsuit this summer rather than a daiquiri booty. Come oooooon, it'll be fun! OK, that's a lie, but misery does love company so...perdy please?! Heading out for a lunch run on this gorgeous Spring Friday...ta-ta for now!

Bison burgers and purple potatoes

Remember when I told you about Main Man's cholesterol issues? By the way, if you haven't tried the chicken phillies in that post, you're doing yourself a severe disservice in life.  Anyway, his cholesterol problems are not something that's going to go away overnight. We've needed to make some changes in everything, including my dude's love for the bovine genre of the food pyramid...namely, steaks. I've been doing some reading and it seems that bison is an extremely lean alternative to beef, and is even lower in calories and fat than chicken or turkey!! Say whaaaaaat?? The drawback is the price...it's perdy expensive. But I figure, if I can give my guy a beefy tasting burger or steak and have it actually helping his cholesterol numbers rather than hurting them, I'll gladly pay a little more for the extra years on his calendar :)

 

I wasn't just going to go buy a half a bison off the bat though...we gotta ease into this stuff. So we grabbed some bison burgers at Whole Foods to see if there was a distinct taste difference or not and we were very pleasantly surprised. Some people said bison has a "gamey" taste to it and I would completely disagree...granted, we ate a burger and not a steak, but I could barely taste a difference besides less grease. My next step is to order some more cuts to try for the upcoming grilling season, so I'll let you know how all that goes too. For now though, I just wanted to pass on the benefits of bison vs. beef as it was something that I had never known existed as a substitute before a little research...

 

NUTRITION

	Fat (grams )	Calories (kcal)	Cholesterol (mg)	Iron (mg)	Vitamin B12 (mcg)
Bison	2.42	143	82	3.42	2.86
Beef (choice)	10.15	219	86	2.99	2.65
Beef (select)	8.09	201	86	2.99	2.64
Pork	9.66	212	86	1.1	0.75
Chicken (skinless)	7.41	190	89	1.21	0.33
Sockeye Salmon	10.97	216	87	0.55	5.80
Source: USDA

 

I realize Lance isn't the most popular dude on the playground these days, but I do use the Livestrong site alot for calorie estimations, etc...head over there if you want a little more detail on the differences between beef and bison.

 

Now about those purple things on the plate there...yes, those are taters. Purple taters. Purple taters that lower your blood pressure. Yes, sirree. I've been trying to read about substitutions for other things as well...starches being one important one. Whole wheat is recommended for all breads and pastas when you have high cholesterol, but there's no such thing as a wheat potato. At least not yet, but it's only 2013. It turns out though, that these little gems can actually lower your blood pressure. Plus, they taste mighty nice when they're tossed in a little olive oil, fresh cracked salt and pepper, and rosemary and then roasted till you can stick a fork through them. Rosemary is to potatoes what mac is to cheese. One of those couples that is just meant to be together. That marriage will last, folks. Just like mine and Main Man's :)

 

So all in all, what tasted and looked like a super hearty cheat meal actually turned out to be a cheating skinnier version of a hearty not really cheating meal. Get it? Then go get it. Your meat and tater loving husband will thank you! Maybe he'll even go to hot yoga with you like mine did last weekend?? He's my favorite feller...

Chicken philly sandwiches

Can I tell you how lucky a gal I am that I snagged Main Man for a hubby? I mean, I've always known that, but certain moments in time make me feel it even more...like when he pushes snow all night and day and has been up since 1 am with no sleep, and I come home from yoga at 7:30 pm to have dinner all done, with him asleep on the counter waiting for me to get home so we can eat together. Makes my heart smile (and my tummy as well) just remembering that sight. Unfortunately for you, he woke up when I shut the door so I couldn't get to my camera to capture the peaceful kitchen slumber, but I'm sure you can imagine the love that was there.

 

This dinner was no accident though. We had seen a commercial a couple nights before for a new restaurant that had amazing looking philly sandwiches sizzling bigger than life on the 50 inch tv right in our faces. He was staring with his mouth agape and asked if he could have those. That's a standard question around our hood lately, since the results came back from his physical and we realized his cholesterol was high. We're trying to eat leaner, low cholesterol meals and he's joined the local gym (and actually has been going!) as well as adding fiber to his diet. We'll kick those results to the curb next time we go in for his checkup! Anyway, I was sad to inform him that we really shouldn't be eating sizzling, greasy beef BUT that we could healthify it by making chicken phillies if he really had a craving. He was in. Locked and loaded. Ready to go. Pumped.

 

He didn't use a recipe, but I'm telling you guys this is the best thing he's ever made me. He has standards he's perfected that I don't ever get to make, like his goulash and his stroganoff but I would put this up against any dish he's ever made me. It really hit the spot, I was super impressed with his culinary prowess....

 

2 large chicken breasts, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 small white onion, sliced

banana peppers to taste

2 T olive oil, we love 'em so there were plenty on ours

2 t Tony C's creole seasoning (or to taste)

2 t garlic powder (or to taste)

fresh wheat hoagie buns

2% pepperjack cheese slices

 

Heat the olive oil in a skillet to medium heat, add chicken and veggies and stir to saute. Add Tony C's and garlic powder to the mixture, and continue to stir until everything is cooked through. Put cheese on each hoagie, layer the meat and veggie mixture on top, and add to a pan to put in the oven on broil. Broil the sandwiches for 2-3 minutes, until the bread is toasty and the cheese is melted. Serve to your sweaty wife before you fall asleep on the table!  

 

It was seriously tough but I saved half my sandwich for lunch the next day and it even heated up well under the broiler. Roasted brussel sprouts are my faaaaavorite veggie these days (closely racing asparagus to the top). A little glass of vino and this made for a perfect Friday night dinner before hitting the couch for a movie...and a nap for him of course. Main Man hopes you enjoy it as much as I did! :)

Roasted jalapeno grilled cheese

Happy Monday, all! Oh, I know I'm a bit late today. It literally took all the strength I could muster to pull myself out from under the warm covers in my blackout blind darkened bedroom this morning when my alarm went off...let's be real, it was after the third time the alarm went off. The sleep function got a lot of exercise today...gotta make sure it works properly, ya know.

 

I honestly think I have a food hangover. I ate so much naughty food this weekend that I can literally feel it coursing through my veins. Chili, cornbread, hot wings, pizza, cheesecake, cheeseburger, french fries...omg, that list is making me convulse in shock. We had a surprise birthday party for a friend and hosted a chili cookoff, which meant I had to try all 11 types of chili (I made jalapeno popper chicken chili which I will share with you soon) to see which was the best...I rose to the challenge. The superbowl is always a battle, and one I didn't win this year. I was too hungry by game time to be counting any calories...a healthy snack beforehand would've been useful to curb that growling pizza monster inside of me, but I was blinded by the piles of cheese and went face first in the pie the second I saw it. Oh well, you only live once, right?

 

I won't be making this adult style grilled cheese this week, as my stomach needs a break from all foods spicy, but I will be making it again and that's a fact! Main Man loves my Griddler, and is so excited when he sees it pulled out...I didn't think the smile could get bigger but then I said "jalapeno grilled cheese" and his face almost broke in half. These don't really pack too much heat because the peppers are roasted, which tames them a bit. I went with just cheese and peppers on mine but Main Man wanted one with just cheese and peppers and one with turkey as well as the cheese and peppers so we did a little experiment. I had some asiago bread leftover so we used that but you can use whatever bread calls to your pretty little jalapeno loving heart!

 

bread

fontina cheese

smoked cheddar cheese

jalapeno peppers

mayo (I use fat free)

 

First you roast your whole jalapeno peppers for about 10 minutes in an oven that's preheated to 400 degrees. Once they have the pretty black marks on them and they look a little shriveled, they're done. Take them out of the oven and dice them up to be layered on top of your bread and cheese. Spread the empty side of the bread with mayo and put your sammies together for their final performance...in the Griddler!

 

I luuuurve making paninis (check out the Griddler tab for more recipes) because they're so simple and hands off once you throw them on the grill...and they come out looking like deli style sammies! the grill marks just get me salivating every time.  Shut the Griddler and leave it on medium heat for 10 minutes or so (depending how done you like your paninis).

 

Pull the sandwiches off and serve while piping hot cheese is still juicing out the sides. These were faaaaaabulous, you guys! Not too much heat, but some smoky flavor in there that is mighty impressive. It's neat that the flavor of a jalapeno changes when it gets cooked. I want to say it adds a sweetness factor to the peppers, maybe it's the sugars being broken down in the heat or something? I don't need to know why...I just need to know that it happens and I sleep just fine at night.

I hope you're all crawling out of your food hangover today and having something a little more fresh than the fare I devoured this weekend. Main Man is out of town this evening so I will make something pretty light to much on and hope to feel a little less weighted down tomorrow morning when my alarm goes off...maybe I'll even hop up after the first time!? One can only hope...

Pretzel paninis

I have to admit something to you. I am a full fledged, card toting, flag flying member of the Trader Joe's fan club since it's come to Des Moines. I mean, I love me some Whole Foods, but TJ's is just more affordable and easier to navigate in my world. They have such fun little surprises for me when I walk the aisles too. Like these mini loaves of pretzel bread....say whaaaaaaat!? How absolutely, disgustingly adorable enough to make you go "awwwww" in the middle of the store and put them in your basket with no clue how you plan to use them, just that it's going to happen.

 

Then you go home and show off your glorious bounty to your Main Man and he states (very unexcitedly compared to your current level of energy) that he can't eat pretzel bread. Got sick off those warm, salty pretzels one time when he was younger and can't stomach them anymore. Way to rain on my parade, duder....

 

Luckily, I had some ciabatta bread on hand for his panini and that meant that I got two pretzel paninis to myself...when I realized his hatred meant a lunch date for me with an adorable sandwich the next day, I stopped arguing with him about his crazy and offensive dislike for the cutest loaves I've ever seen. I should feel lucky that the only things I have to worry about omitting from recipes include coconut, sloppy joes, peas, and now pretzels. I hate two of the four anyway, so it all works out. I shall eat my pretzel bread all by my lonesome. Everyone's got their cross to bear....

 

Down to business! I had all the other ingredients on hand and threw these babies together in no time flat. I'm a huge fan of grilled apples since my friend Mrs. Mohr introduced me to them on the salmon apple blt's (which I need to make again soon, judging by the way my mouth started foaming when I saw those pictures) and I haven't looked back since. I also have a certain loyalty to the garlic pepper mayo from the ham asparagus panini. You should be beginning to see how this pretzel panini was born. Here's what you need:

2 pretzel loaves
1 large apple (we keep honeycrisp on hand)
2-4 large slices of pepperjack cheese, depending on how cheesy you like it
6-8 slices black pepper turkey breast
4 T mayo
1 large garlic clove, minced
cracked pepper to taste

Mix the cracked pepper, minced garlic, and mayo together and spread evenly onto your sammies. Turn your Griddler (or grill pan) on and use some Pam to prevent stickage. Slice your apple in thin slices and lay the slices onto the Griddler to get little grill marks on them.

Layer half your cheese on the bottoms, them layer your apples, then your turkey, then the other half of your cheese, and top the sammy with your garlic mayo infused pretzel top (how yummy does "garlic mayo infused pretzel top" sound??). Now you're in business!

Throw those things on the Griddler on medium-high for 20 minutes or so, keeping an eye on them when the cheese starts melting out...

And serve. And love your life. And wish you didn't have another one in the fridge tempting you to take bites of it every time you walk by.

Happy Tuesday, all! I'm actually adapting very well to my routine after vacation last week, I think I was ready to get back in the swing of things. Hot yoga last night was life changing, I needed to sweat out a couple of the cruise buffets something awful! I'm pretty excited about lighter dinners this week too! I made the spinach artichoke chicken quinoa that I had frozen for dinner last night, and it was lovely (although Brudder Ben wasn't a fan), and tonight we're trying buffalo chicken lettuce wraps out for size! I'll report back...enjoy your week!

**I was kindly told by Main Man that I've embarrassed myself immensely by misspelling "pretzel" throughout the whole post (I thought "pretzal" looked funny) so I've not edited this entry. Then I found the spellcheck button. Lifechanging.**

Turkey apple panini

Soup and sammy, anyone? It's pretty much officially Fall here in Iowa....I heard 30 degrees tomorrow morning with a chance of frost tonight, we have leaves falling in the pool, it cools down to an awesome windows open sleeping temp in the evenings, and of course, football season is here (GO STATE, we're 3-0)!!

 

I love Fall...it's kinda like Sundays though. I adore Sundays, it's probably my favorite day of the week because I always get to spend the whole day with Main Man no matter what (usually). We don't tend to leave the house on Sundays to do much...we've been known to be very productive or very lazy, depending on what the activities were for the previous part of the weekend. But Sundays always have that ominous, you better get your shit together, this week is comin' atcha feeling. Or is that just me?  Well, Fall has that same feeling for me...I love it while it's here but it also signifies to the Winter-hatin' section of my brain that my days are numbered before I have to start wearing a heavy coat, dealing with icy roads and 10 ft snowdrifts, and seeing my breath. Blech.

 

Don't get me wrong...there are fun parts of Winter. Sitting by a fire with a glass of wine and book on a weekend afternoon is up there with  my favorite pastimes, but it will never trump sitting by the pool with a cold beer and a book.  Sorry, Charlie.  Soooooo, with Fall in full force, the only thing to do is embrace and enjoy it rather than think about the coming craptastical months.  We decided to embrace this soup and sammy combo to prove our love for Fall...and you should too, if you're not a total party pooper. I shared this tomato basil soup with you a couple weeks ago, and as I mentioned then, we ate this a couple nights and then I froze a bunch of it for the aforementioned cold season coming up. There's nothing that raises my spirits on a cold Winter night than coming home to hot, homemade soup on the stove...I can't wait to thaw this out in a couple months!

 

The sammy was a spur of the moment creation with stuff I had laying around. Throwing the apple on there was inspired by the salmon apple BLT's, if you've never added grilled apple to a sandwich, it's like you haven't even experienced love. There's no going back. I also used my fave sandwich spread, the garlic pepper mayo from the ham asparagus panini, because the flavor it gives is like elves dancing on your tongue to the beat of your favorite song...perfection. From there, I looked in the fridge...I had deli turkey, fresh spinach, and american cheese slices...so I sent them an invitation to the elf dance party. They accepted!

 

For 2 sandwiches:

4 slices wheat bread

fresh spinach

1 clove minced garlic

2 T olive oil mayo

1 t cracked pepper

8 slices deli turkey

2 slice american cheese

1 apple (green delicious is great but all I had was red delicious)

 

I used my Griddler for this, but you could use a grill pan, or an actual grill if you like. You could even do it in a normal pan on the stove so it's like a grilled cheese. The grill marks from the Griddler are fun, but they are not required dress code for the invite list to this party. Slice the apple into thin slices, and grill them on each side until warmed throughout.

 

Mix the garlic, pepper, and mayo together. Spread it on two pieces of bread. Layer the turkey, grilled apple slices, spinach, and cheese and top with your other piece of bread. Throw that baby on the Griddler for about 5-8 minutes on medium until it's all melty and perdy. Now hurry and go get your party pants on, and serve!

 

 

Turkey rollups

Perfect. Lake. Food.

I'm not sure where I got this idea but I've been obsessed lately with the Weight Watchers/Skinny Cow cheese wedges. Weight Watchers has a jalapeno cheese that I used on the pizza sammiches I made a few weeks ago...it's got enough bite to let you know it's there but no burn to worry about with people who don't like the heat. The stuff is phenom...oh, and it's only 35 calories per ginormous wedge of creamy cheese. Beat that!

I wanted something simple all made up for people to grab when they needed a snacky poo that didn't include me having to drag a bunch of stuff out...so I grabbed my cheese wedges and got started!

We have cucumbers up the tuckas from the garden lately so I thought a little crunch with the rollups would be nice, and diced one up to add. Spread one wedge on each small tortilla, layer with turkey, and diced cucumbers....and roll, baby, roll!

A little tip: be sure to leave a little cheese bare on the end of the tortilla (don't cover it with turkey) as it works as sort of a glue to hold the rollups together. I cut them in half and packed them all nice and neat in my deviled egg carrier (seriously one of the best things I've ever bought from Amazon...check it out HERE if you're interested) and we were on our way. Easy. That's my favorite word. I didn't come home with any of these rollups, so I believe that constitutes a hit!

Pizza sammich

I have a friend who has had awesome results from Weight Watchers, so naturally I wanted the low down on the program. I'm too cheap to pay for it, especially when I pay my monthly dues to Kosama workouts, but I figured if she could just tell me how many "points" I'm supposed to have each day, then I can google and figure out what everything has in it. Plus, I follow a couple blogs that strictly feature WW recipes, and I already eat Smart Ones meals at work (they are a WW product so they list their points on the box). This can be that hard, can it!?

So for my weekly shopping trip, I picked up some WW cheese spread to see how it was. OMG, you guys. They're not fooling around with this stuff. I could eat it on anything....like even just my finger. I haven't tried the other flavors besides the jalapeno pepper yet, but don't worry I have some in the fridge. Anyway, I will admit this was not a planned meal...I just looked in the fridge, saw what I had, and threw it together. And then ate the same thing the next night, and the same thing the next night, until my good loaf of bread was gone. Yeah....that good.

This is very similar to my recent posting of pizza paninis, except with way less prep, and no need for a Griddler...plus this newfound cheese love of mine just takes the whole thing up a few notches!

Toast your bread (gotta be the good stuff, this is Everything bread from Wal-Mart, who surprisingly has an awesome bakery) and spread a cheese wedge on top of one side.  Layer some turkey pepperonis, canadian bacon, and a little pizza sauce before closing up shop to devour your creation.

I threw it in the microwave for a quick 20 seconds to heat the insides up even though the bread was toasted, and then we were in business! A hearty meal in literally the time it takes you toast a couple slices of bread and not too damaging on your waistline (under 300 calories), although it seems like a cheat meal! You really can't beat something like that...

Ham asparagus panini with garlic pepper mayo

Did you read that last part? Garlic pepper mayo? Read it again. You want this in your life....rather, you want this in your mouth. The original recipe called for prosciutto, but I didn't have any on hand and it's a little pricey to be honest. Ham does juuuuuust fine, I tell you!

I'm always on the lookout for fun panini recipes since I got my Griddler for Christmas. If you are in the same boat, check out the proscuitto caprese panini and the pizza panini that I've done in the past...both will knocks your flip flops off!  But neither of those has garlic pepper mayo on them...so I'm torn as to picking a favorite which means you'll have to try them all and let me know how you feel about life afterwards.

1 package of fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed and pieces cut in half lengthwise
2 T olive oil mayo (I used to use fat free on everything but have recently been reading about the health benefits of the olive oil kind so I'm switching it up)
1 clove fresh minced garlic
4 slices good bread (ciabatta, italian, or whatever...I used "everything" bread from Wal Mart that turned out great)
ham (however little or lot you want on each sandwich
2 slices low fat swiss cheese
1 cup baby arugula/spinach mix
fresh cracked pepper to taste
Olive oil spray (misto)

Preaheat panini grill and lightly spritz asparagus with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. When the grill is hot, shut the Griddler and grill the asparagus on both sides simultaneously for about 5 minutes until tender-crisp.

While this is happening, mix your mayo, minced garlic, and cracked pepper together to make the lovely garlic pepper mayo spread I spoke of earlier.

If you don't have a garlic press...get one. It's life changing. I use fresh garlic in everything and it makes a world of difference! I can't even stand the taste of the minced garlic in olive oil they sell at the store anymore...blech! This is an OXO and I got it HERE if you're interested. Moving on...

Spread it on your bread slices, and layer the cheese, ham, arugula/spinach, and finally the asparagus when it's done. Spray the outside of your sandwiches with the olive oil and throw them on the Griddler until cheese is melted and bread is toasted. As usual, if you don't have a Griddler, you can improvise with a grill pan or an actual grill as well!

Oh me, oh my...tell me that hint of garlic and spice of pepper doesn't need to go on every sandwich made in the world! Main Man was not thrilled with the idea of the asparagus ON the sandwich originally (even though he loves the stuff and we ate the leftover asparagus as a side to the sandwich because we cooked the whole bunch at once) but once he tasted it, he was no longer opposed.

This recipe came from Gina's Skinny Taste which means it included Weight Watchers nutritional value for those of you who are on the program...I love when blogs post the nutrition info (I'm working on it over here, people) so I'm always on top of her posts!

Fat Stats:
Serving size: 1 panini (this recipe makes 2)
WW points: 7
Points+: 9
Calories: 337.2
Fat: 9.2 g
Carbs: 45.9
Protein: 18.5 g

Crockpot pulled pork sandwiches

Sometimes a recipe is good enough where it deserves to cut in line in front of the other recipes that are waiting to be posted to the blog. This was one of them! I headed to the Nobiling home last night to hang with their little bundle of love, Keltyn, and meet up with the Hofers and their little lover, Greyson.  Both mamas asked for the recipe after dinner, and I pretty much almost ate the plate while inhaling the sandwich, so I had to bump this recipe right up to the top of the queue.

I usually think of Winter food when I think of the crockpot...like crockpot ranch roasts or crockpot beef stroganoff, but what screams Summer more than BBQ sauce!?  This was a Weight Watchers approved recipe too, so it's basically a home run before it's even hit out of the park. Easier than pie and yummy to boot, plus very portable to bring to a friend's house to have baby time and a nice dinner that tastes like a lot of work but really only needed a few ingredients thrown in a crockpot all day.

2.5 lb boneless pork loin roast

2 t red wine vinegar

2 t Hickory liquid smoke (I didn't have any of this so I used Worchestershire sauce)

1 t garlic powder

1 t sea salt

1 cup your fave BBQ sauce (I usually like Famous Dave's Devil's Spit sauce but I know some people can't stand the heat so I went with the Rich and Sassy this time)

Mix all your ingredients up in a bowl, put the pork loin roast into a lined crockpot, and pour the sauce on top. Cook on low for 6 hours (shred the meat after 4 hours) so you have to smell the stuff while it cooks in your office all day and makes your tummy rumble.

Throw it on some wheat sandwich rolls, and you're in business! The crockpot was literally scraped clean...and it people weren't watching me clean up, I may have licked it. Don't look at me like that, you know you've thought of doing it before...oh, you haven't? Me either.

In other, cuter news....the reason for this dinner was to get a little baby boy fix from Keltyn and Greyson. Look how grown up and mature Keltyn's facial features are, he looks like a mini-adult...so flipping adorable!

Greyson getting a little love from the bottle so mommy could have a couple beers with the ladies :) His eyes are going to make girls melt one day!

Don't judge the slimy hair, I came straight from Kosama plyo day...and then I had to go play softball after that! Mondays really rock my energy level, I'll tell you. Keltyn likes to be snuggled all up into your body...pretty comfy to be hugged up to that little man, I'll tell you! We have to plan another night like this again soon, ladies....

Grilled BTC

I tell you what, when I get on a kick, there's no stopping it.  After making the pizza paninis last week, I've been wanting to continue grilling sandwiches each and every chance I get.  I still had some yummy italian bread in the fridge, just waiting to get those perdy grill marks on them, so I dug around to make another fresh sammy for lunch this weekend. From there, the grilled BTC was born...

I wanted to do a mix between a grilled cheese and a BLT, and I knew I had some freaky cheese (from the freaky cheese section in the grocery store...you know, the stuff you're always scared to try) in the fridge that would melt amazingly as a grilled cheese. Fontina and Gruyere are both very mild and melt fantastically...so I piled on some turkey bacon and roma tomatoes to give the grilled cheeses a little BT action. Main Man has had a thing with cooked tomatoes lately, he just loves them, so I figured this would be right up his alley.

Here's what you need:

Turkey bacon

Roma tomatoes, sliced

Gruyere and Fontina cheese (or any other melty and mild cheese)

italian bread

Griddler or grill pan

spray butter to make sure the sandwiches don't stick to the grill

Cook your bacon up and slice your cheeses...

Throw them on the Griddler and give them about 15 minutes to meld and become one...

Take them off and admire your perfectly grilled marks on the bread (and the yummy cheese seeping out the sides)...

Cut them in half and dig. on. in.

I have a small obsession with turkey bacon, I love that it's not greasy and gives me a bacon fix without all the artery clogging grease that comes with normal bacon. Not that I don't have love for the real thing...I just want to fit in my wedding dress this Fall :)

I guess Main Man liked these, considering he took down 2.5 of them and needed a small nap afterwards...