Fruit salad taco boat

Serves: 4

3/4 c. + 2 tsp. Strawberries, cleaned and sliced
6 oz. Seedless grapes, halved
1 1/4 c. Kiwis, peeled and sliced
1 1/4 c. Bananas, sliced
1 1/4 c. Cherries, halved
1 1/4 c. Blueberries
1 1/4 c. Raisins
1 1/4 c. Shredded coconut
4 Waffle cone taco shells
1- 2 Tbsp. Cottage cheese
Chocolate syrup (the finisher, drizzle)

 Directions:

 1. In a medium sized bowl, blend together the strawberries, grapes, kiwis, and bananas, cherries, blueberries plus raisins, shredded coconut. Allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

2. Adding a little bit of cottage cheese at the bottom of your waffle shell, apply fruit salad and add more cheese topping it off with the finisher.

Crab salad stuffed mushrooms

serves: 4

4 whole mushrooms
3/8 sm. onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
11 oz. Imitation crab meat, flaked
2/3 c. plain low fat Greek yogurt
2/3 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. old bay seasoning
2 med carrots, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spraying a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully breaking off the stems. Chopping stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems. bake for at least 20 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, combine crab, celery, onion, plain yogurt, Cheddar cheese,carrots and pepper. Mix together well and once mushrooms have completely cooled, begin adding the crab salad.

~Health Benefits:

Mushrooms:
They are naturally low in sodium, fat, cholesterol, and calories and have often been referred to as "functional foods." In addition to providing basic nutrition, they help prevent chronic disease due to the presence of antioxidants and beneficial dietary fibers such as chitin and beta-glucans.

As they are rich in B vitamins such as riboflavin, folate, thiamine, pantothenic acid, and niacin. Mushrooms also provide several minerals that may be difficult to obtain in the diet, such as selenium, potassium, copper, iron, and phosphorus.

Mushrooms are great wonders for:

* Diabetes
* Cancer
* Heart Health
* Immunity
* Weight management and satiety

*Note: Potential health risks of consuming mushrooms:
Mushrooms have the capability of stimulating immune function, this may be a risk for those with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, asthma, and multiple sclerosis.

BLT salad

Serves: 4

11 oz. Turkey bacon
5/8 Romaine lettuce - rinsed, dried and shredded
1 1/4 lg. Tomatoes, chopped
1 1/3 c. Croutons
1 1/3 c. Crumbled feta cheese
1 1/3 c. Raisins
1 1/3 c. Olives, slice in halves

Directions:

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat, turning frequently, until evenly browned. Drain, crumble and set aside.

2. Combine lettuce, tomatoes, bacon and croutons, Raisins, olives in a medium sized salad bowl. Toss with Orange Chia dressing.

Orange chia dressing
Adapted from: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/low-fat-sesame-orange-dressing.html

Serves: 4

1/3 c. Orange juice
1/3 c. Rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. Grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. Chia seeds
1 tsp. Reduced sodium soy sauce (Tamari)
1/4 tsp. Freshly grated orange peels

Directions:

1. In a medium sized glass bowl, whisk together orange juice, vinegar, ginger, chia seeds, soy sauce and orange peel.

Liver tacos

Serves: 4

2 lbs. Sliced beef liver, cut into bite size pieces
2 c. All purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. lime juice
3/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. Garlic powder
1/4 tsp. Onion powder
1/4 tsp. Old bay seasoning
1/2 (12 ounce) pkg. corn tortillas
1/2 head lettuce, shredded
1 lg. Tomatoes, chopped
1/2 (8 oz.) pkg. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 (8 oz.) jar salsa
1/2 (8 oz.) container sour cream

Directions:

1. In a medium sized glass bowl blend together lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder plus old bay seasoning for marinade. Pour the marinade over the liver and allow to soak for 1 hour.

2. In a medium sized skillet fry liver over medium heat, for 2 minutes on the first side, 1/2 minutes on the other side.

3. Warm tortilla wrappers in oven until desirable temperature, then apply cut liver into bite size pieces. Adding the rest of the ingredients to create a taco.

Hot out the oven... Cast iron

*Note: Please continue to read this blog article.
Living Better Cafe is bring you Fresh out of the oven news that you're going to love.
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When it comes to cooking my mom would always grab for the Dutch oven (B.K.A) Cast iron cookware. When your younger you really don't think why, you just know ooh food, but as the years progress the cooking property in cooking has changed. Cast iron has been used for cooking for over two thousand years.
The American Dietetic Association study found that cast iron cookware can leach significant amounts of dietary iron into food. People with hemochromatosis (iron overload, bronze disease) should avoid using cast iron cookware altogether because of the iron leaching effect into the food. Now that I have covered the basics, now let's get straight into proper caring for your cast iron. Cast iron like I have told you has been used over thousands of years. So your cast iron can last for plenty more years with the proper care. Seasoning is a process by which a layer of coconut oil or vegetable oil is applied and cooked onto cast iron or carbon steel cookware. A lightly coat of oil is applied and the cookware is placed upside down in the oven on a layer of newspaper leaving ( to drain for at least an hour). The newspaper is then removed, then the oven is set to 350 and baked for 30 minutes. As some cookware is already preseasoned. Cleaning techniques like scouring or washing in the dishwasher can remove or damage the seasoning on Cast iron cookware, these pans should not be cleaned like any other cookware. Never clean cast iron pans at all. Just simply wipe them out after use, or just washing them with hot water and washing with mild dishwashing liquid, and water then reapplying a thin layer of oil ( you can also use nonstick cooking spray). Here is another approach which is scrubbing with coarse salt and a clean dish cloth.

Garlic butter grits

Serves: 4

1c. Grits
4 c. Water
1 stick butter, melt
1 1/2 tsp. Freshly minced garlic
1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium sized pot add butter, and minced garlic. Allow the butter to melt. Once butter is melted remove from the burner.
2. Slowly stir grits plus garlic butter into boiling water.
3.Reducing down the heat to medium-low; cover. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until desirable texture.

Chicken Pineapple fusion burger

Pineapple Sriracha Marinade

Serves: 4 - 6

1 c. Pineapple juice (Reserved)
1/2 c. Dark brown sugar, packed
1/3 c. Sriracha sauce
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. In a medium sized sauce pans heat the juice, brown sugar. Removing from heat just before it boils. Let it cool a 5-10 minutes, adding Sriracha sauce, and Worcestershire sauce once completely cooled.

2. Place chicken patties in a bowl, and cover with marinade and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Burgers

Serves: 4

1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 c. Crushed pineapple, (save juice for marinade)
1 tsp. Freshly minced garlic
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2c. Fresh mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tsp. Freshly grated ginger root
1 carrot, chopped
1-2 stalks celery, finely chopped (depends on size)
1 Jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 egg
1/4 c. Bread crumbs
1-1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
Cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Lightly coat a saute pan with oil over medium heat. Saute the onion with the garlic first, then the bell peppers, then the mushrooms, celery and carrots, all til desirable tenderness. Set off to side and allow all vegetables to cool completely.

2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the chicken and vegetables. Add the egg, bread crumbs and seasonings to taste. Mix all together well and form into 4 patties.

3. Heat cast iron fry pan, and wait til it gets good before adding oil to the pan. Cook until completely done, and serve.