Sylvia's Scenario

Happy Friday, everybody.  It's Lent and how many of you are eating fish on Friday? I grew up eating fish on Friday so it sort of sticks with you this time of year. I've been following Cooking Light where your meal suggestions pop-up everyday in your email, complete with recipes. You can switch around meals for different days, save your favorites, etc. I really like the site. Of course, I'm not losing weight, which is the whole point of it (I'd certainly love to lose weight...it's my on-going saga) but I love the recipes. And I love not trying to figure out what to cook for dinner everyday. (They also give you breakfast and lunch meals, as well) I'm not losing weight because I have too many "off" days. Isn't that how it always goes? Ten days at Mariner's Spring training  didn't help. After we returned, we got ready for our Mariner season ticket party which is actually the highlight of our Spring and it was really a good one this ...

In honor of Fat Tuesday, which is tomorrow, I made a real New Orleans dish for dinner tonight. This is a take on Shrimp and Grits which is one of my favorite Southern dishes. This recipe uses creole seasoning, not cajun seasoning. I didn't know there was a difference but there is. Cajun seasoning consists of many different peppers, such as white and black pepper, bell peppers and cayenne peppers. Cajun cuisine also incorporates paprika, garlic, onion and celery. Creole seasoning primarily relies on herbs like oregano, bay leaf, basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley and paprika. You can probably guess that if your dish has tomatoes in it, the recipe will most likely be asking for creole seasoning. Creole seasoning will result in a well seasoned dish while cajun seasoning will give you something very spicy. This dish has creole seasoning and I can vouch that it was full of flavor. Creole seasoning may be hard to find if you don't live in Louisiana. There is a very common brand...

I'm all about quick and easy meals on an everyday basis.  This is another  Cooking Light Diet Plan  recipe that fit the bill.  I prepared some roasted yellow squash and zucchini with it and once again had another delicious dinner in less than an hour.  The key to this recipe is to let the sauce reduce down to about half the amount.  It would be really good with mashed potatoes or rice to soak up this saucy chicken. Serves 4 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1-1/2 pounds) 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided 1/2 cup dry white wine (I use d Pinot Grigio) 2 Tbsp. capers, drained 4 garlic cloves, crushed 1 fresh thyme sprig 3/4 cup chicken stock 1-1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh, flat-left parsley 1.  Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. 2.  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 Tbsp. oil to p...

Our latest dinner from   Cooking Light was this salmon recipe that I made tonight along with some Swiss chard and rice. The mustard sauce went really well with the chard and rice and the recipe was super simple to make. We eat salmon a lot so it's always nice to find a fast, simple, yet flavorful way of preparing it to change things up a bit. The salmon was on sale this week at our local grocery store as a "buy one and get one free" offer so I knew we would have salmon this week, for sure. If you're not a fish lover, this recipe just might change your mind.    Serves 2 1 pound of skin-on salmon fillet 5 thyme sprigs  2 Tbsp. country style Dijon mustard 1 tablespoons honey 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar 1 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 lemon, thinly 1. Preheat oven to 450°. 2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 3. Arrange thyme sprigs in a long row on parchment.    4...

We had another delicious dinner tonight from  Cooking Light Diet Plan  that won over our taste buds.  This recipe is really filling so you don't need to eat much before you are completely satisfied. I love greens like Swiss chard, spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, etc. with a little vinegar sprinkled on it.  If you like this then you will love this recipe. Tonight, I used Swiss chard for this recipe.  It's a very simple recipe just like yesterday's recipe so you can whip up dinner in less than an hour.  It's a low carb. recipe so once again, Bruce made rice to go with his but I ate mine without rice and was totally satisfied.  The black-eyed peas go really well with the greens and the vinegar making a good combination.  I also love Southern cooking so this is one to add to my list.  It's a Southern tradition to eat black-eyed peas and collard greens in the New Year so now is the time to try this recipe.  Happy New Year...

This week I signed up for an online menu plan by Cooking Light and tonight I made our first dinner with it and it was great! I subscribed to their cooking magazine years ago, back in the day when we would clip out recipes and save them, before the internet. I got a lot of good recipes that way. When I saw their ad promoting their Cooking Light Diet Plan, I remembered how good their recipes were so I signed up for 3 months for around $22. They email me everyday with the day's menu plan. You can also look ahead at all their menu choices, too, and save good ones you like in your "cookbook". You can choose between vegetarian, gluten free or the one I chose called SmartCarb. SmartCarb is minimally processed foods and refined sugar and is overall lower in carbohydrates. That one seemed closest to the way I eat. Bruce does not eat low carbs. and also eats much more than me so then I get tempted to overeat. For example, he wanted more of that granola  I made for our ...