This dish is so light and refreshing. It is one of my favorites by far. The balance of flavors is just perfect. There are many different ways to make this wonderful traditional Italian dish. The main components are fresh mozzarella cheese, tomato, and basil seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper. My particular variation was a nice drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette. This dish is also very versatile. You can serve it by itself or turn it into a sandwich or a margarita pizza, the possibilities with this flavor combination are limitless. I found these wonderful peal sized fresh mozzarella balls for my rendition of this tasty dish.

Ingredients:
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Basil
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Salt and Pepper

Place the Mozzarella in a bowl making sure all cheese pearls are separated. Take the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half and add them to the bowl. You can also cut them in quarters if your tomatoes are bigger. Chop the basil and add to the mix. Next add just enough olive oil to lightly coat the cheese and tomatoes. Season with the salt and pepper and toss until mixed. I served mine as is, but you could easily serve this on a bed of arugula or mixed baby greens. Lastly drizzle the balsamic vinaigrette gently over the top of the salad. Garnish with whole basil leaves and enjoy.

Here is another easy and fast meal for those nights when you don’t have a lot of time to spend preparing meal.  I chose to stew my chicken in a wonderful chipotle flavored broth until it was “fall apart” tender. I let it simmer for about 2 hours on the stove top. You could very easily put this in the slow cooker on low all day too. I brought a salted pot of water to a boil and added the chicken breasts and seasoning packet. I brought the pot down to a simmer and just let it go until most of the liquid was gone and the chicken fell apart. It took about 2 hours.

Ingredients:
1 package of boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 packet or 1/4 cup of your favorite taco seasoning (I used Ortega’s chipotle seasoning)
lettuce of your choice
tomatoes
grated cheese
sour cream
guacamole

You can assemble your taco salad as you wish, there is no wrong way to do this. This dish is so delicious and low maintenance. It will serve 4 people. According  to myfitnesspal.com it has 321 calories, 10g of carb, 13g of fat, and 41g of protein per serving. I am sure this can very wildly depending on your toppings and the size of your salad. This count was based on 1/4 of the finished chicken, 1 1/2 cups of fresh express sweet butter lettuce, 1 small chopped roma tomato, 1/2 cup of grated market pantry chipotle cheddar cheese,  2 tbs of guacamole, and 2 tbs of sour cream.  

This is absolutely one of my favorite dishes of all time. It tastes so bad for you in a really good way, but in fact is really low in calories and carbs. When you think of carbonara your brain automatically turns to pasta, I used spaghetti squash instead to lighten the dish. I think it actually makes it better than with pasta because it’s not so heavy and rich.

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash
1/2 cup of frozen peas
5 slices of prosciutto chopped into small pieces ( you could also use bacon or ham)
4 tablespoons of butter
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of  grated parmasan cheese
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper

I start with cooking the spaghetti squash until tender. There are many ways to do this, my favorite way is to roast it in the oven at 375 for 1 hour. I have been really fancy with this dish before and after scooping out the squash carefully I save the shells to refill with the mixture and use as a baking vessel. This will really impress anyone you serve it to! While the squash is roasting I make the sauce. Start with the butter and heavy cream, bring just to a boil. Make sure you watch this closely because it will happen very fast. Reduce the heat and reduce until thickened ( the sauce should just coat the back of a spoon) add the nutmeg, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Next while whisking constantly add the parmasan cheese a little at a time to make sure it gets incorporated properly and doesn’t get lumpy. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and lightly toss. Transfer mixture into either the squash shells or baking vessel of your choice, this time I used small ramekins. Sprinkle with some parmasan cheese and bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes or until brown and bubbly. This will make 4 servings. According to Myfitnesspal.com this recipe has 430 calories, 8g of carbs, 38g of fat, and 10g of protein per serving. Enjoy!