This Mama Cooks! On a Diet

Mother's Day dishes: Sautéed Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos with Mango and Pineapple Salsa and Spicy Black Beans

Our first dish for Mother’s Day comes from the new Lifetime Television show, Cook Yourself Thin, that premiered today. (Read my review of the premier episode of Cook Yourself Thin.)

Cook Yourself Thin teaches viewers how to take their favorite indulgent meals and turn them into something healthy by cutting the calories and doubling the flavor. The companion cookbook, Cook Yourself Thin: Skinny Meals You Can Make in Minutes would make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift for any mom trying to eat healthier let alone those trying to drop some weight. The cookbook includes all of the recipes featured on the show as well as a calorie guide, a list of calorie offenders, skinny alternatives to your favorite meals, a food personality quiz and more.

My only complaint with the cookbook is that it only lists calories, not fat, fiber, sodium, etc. If you’re doing the Weight Watchers Momentum plan, you’d need to calculate each ingredient’s POINTS, then add them all up and divide by the number of servings to get your POINTS per serving info.

Cooking online with the Olive Garden

I'm not one for chain restaurants, preferring local mom and pop joints. So I was reluctant to endorse anything the Olive Garden has to offer. However, their website is A-O.K. with me. Now you can watch cooking demonstrations of some of Olive Garden's more popular dishes, like their Tuscan Garlic Chicken, Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto, and Braised Short Ribs.

Olive Garden's Chief Executive Chef Paolo Lafata is fun to watch. He's kinda cute in a hobbit sort of way and I love his accent, too. The production values are very nice and it's a unique way to reach out to their customers. Check it out!

Olive Garden’s Shrimp & Asparagus Risotto At-Home Recipe
Serves Six

Ingredients:

• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup white onion, diced
• 2 cups Carnaroli or Arborio rice
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ pound fresh asparagus spears, stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 18 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
• ½ cup butter
• 1½ cups Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• Fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. In a large pot or saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer and leave on low heat until needed.
2. In a separate, large nonstick pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onions and cook for approximately three minutes. Once the onions are translucent, add the rice, stir to coat thoroughly and cook for one minute. Next, add the white wine and stir until completely absorbed.
4. Slowly add ½ cup of broth to the risotto and stir until completely absorbed. Repeat this step until 4 cups of broth have been added.
5. Continue to stir the risotto frequently to avoid sticking.
6. While the risotto is cooking, add the asparagus and shrimp to the remaining broth and cook for approximately two minutes or until the shrimp are pink in color.
7. When finished, remove the asparagus and shrimp from the broth and add them to the pot with risotto.
8. Continue to add ½ cup of broth at a time until desired creaminess is reached.
9. Once the broth is absorbed, add butter, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with chopped tomatoes and parsley to complete.

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What's cooking for Easter?

These days it's rare that I get a chance to watch Food Network. But I had a chance to check out some of the shows today with some wonderful recipes for Easter. (For more Easter ideas from Food Network, click here.)

First on Everyday Italian, there were two fantastic and easy recipes for lentil soup and lamb chops. The lentil soup can be made anytime, though traditionally in Italy it's made for New Year's. And with lamb being cheap for Easter, stock up!

Lentil Soup Recipe
courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Recipe Summary -
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1. 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2. 1 medium onion, chopped
3. 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4. 2 celery stalks, chopped
5. 2 garlic cloves, chopped
6. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
7. 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
8. 1 pound lentils (approximately 1 1/4 cups)
9. 11 cups low-salt chicken broth
10. 4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs
11. 2/3 cup dried elbow pasta
12. 1 cup shredded Parmesan

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
3. Add the lentils and mix to coat.
4. Add the broth and stir.
5. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat.
6. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.
7. Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.
8. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
9. Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

Episode#: EI1C01 Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

Iron Chef America

Iron Chef rocks! When I discovered the shows nearly four years ago, when we finally got the Food Network on satellite, I fell in love. Such entertainment value! Such weird food! Such happy Japanese women talking about liking the feel of something in their mouths! (My husband really enjoyed hearing that.) I even got my mom hooked on the show.

So when I saw that Iron Chef America was coming out, I was thrilled. They've proven to be just as good as the original Japanese series of shows. And even though I'm not such a huge Bobby Flay fan, I do enjoy watching him, Morimoto, and Mario Batali cook. And any show hosted by Alton Brown has to be good. Recently, they added a hottie female chef, Cat Cora. I've watched snippets of the first show she was in, but I've been too busy these days to watch more.

So go ahead and check out the Iron Chef America section of the Cooking Network website featuring downloads, videos and games. Another place to check out Iron Chef America is this site with some fun commercials. My kids got a kick out of the singing catfish and clams. I swear they snuck into my kitchen used my table in the clam video. I have the same grey faux marble pattern on my '50s dinette set.

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