Saltimbocca

Saltimbocca is short for salta in bocca—jump-in-mouth—which this dish, Romans say, all but does! Some recipes use white wine but i swear by Marsala..and lots of FRESH sage!

Ingredients:

8 veal cutlets (½ pound)

8 slices of prosciutto,

8 leaves of fresh sage

olive oil and butter for sauteing in a pan

1/2 cup Marsala

wooden toothpicks

Method:

Flatten the cutlets by pressing them with a wide-blade knife or using a mallet ( I prefer the mallet! A couple of good whacks and the veal is paper thin!).

Place a slice of prosciutto and a sage leaf on each cutlet.

Pin these to the veal with a toothpick. Attach securely as they need to remain all stuck together while cooking

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, add the cutlets, season with salt and pepper, and saute for about one minute on each side.

Remove the meat and keep warm.

Add some butter and the Marsala to the pan and saute at higher heat until the sauce starts reducing. Pour the sauce over the cutlets, and dig in.

Serves 4 -YUM

Slow Cooker Recipes in the Summertime?

Slow Cooker Recipes in the Summertime?

    Summer is almost here, but that’s no reason to put away the slow cooker. Sure,
they’re great in the fall and winter for spicy chili and delicious stews, but let’s not
overlook some great summer recipes, as well as the advantages associated with slow cooking. 
Armed with the right recipes, slow cooking throughout the sweltering summer months can
actually improve your summer in a variety of ways.

    If you’re like many of us, you become extremely weight-conscious once spring rolls
around. Switching to leaner meats is ideal; however, once they hit that grill, they shrivel
up under the extreme heat and, well, summer is about big meats and feasts and leaner meats
are not as much fun. The slow cooker cooks meat at a much lower temperature and because of
this, leaner meat becomes more tender and shrinks a lot less.

    Chances are you’ll be attending or throwing a party this summer. Not many of us can
afford fancy catering, so we ask our friends to bring a dish to go around the table. While
everyone’s bringing their cold casseroles and mac and cheese dishes, you can bring your dish
in a slow cooker. All you have to do is plug it in and it’s hot and ready to serve. There are
quite literally thousands of  easy slow cooker recipes that you can prepare to wow your guests and friends.
Plus, you can serve right out of the slow cooker, so no lugging around multiple Tupperware
containers.

    You’re probably going to have that AC cranked up throughout these summer months, and
as energy prices continue to rise, we’re always looking for ways to cut back on costs. Using
a slow cooker, according to the Southern Maryland
Electric Cooperative, is wildly cheaper than using a standard convection oven. Not only
that, but a convection oven will quickly turn your kitchen into a sauna. If you are utilizing
your slow cooker, on the other hand, which again produces much less heat, your kitchen will
be cool and comfortable.

    Once you throw together a delightful seafood pasta pesto, some summery teriyaki
chicken wings, and even a scrumptious cheesecake  in your slow cooker, you’ll definitely be glad
that you didn’t shove it into the back of the pantry. With these tips and tricks, you can not
only save energy and stay lean, but have a much more enjoyable summer this year.

Yogurt Dessert with Probiotic Benefits

Yogurt Dessert with Probiotic Benefits

    The market has many probiotic supplements. We all know that the bacteria in yogurt can be beneficial to our digestive system, and even help to alleviate the symptoms of Crohn’s disease or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).  The benefits of  probiotics can also be added to your diet for a fraction of the cost.
    Eating a small container of yogurt a day for the probiotic benefits can become dull and repetitive. Sure, yogurt is delicious and good for you, but most of us want a bit of variety. It’s much easier to stick to a diet when there’s a range of selections to choose from. Believe it or not, you can hold on to the benefits of yogurt by adding it to some easy and delicious recipes. We should mention that when heat is applied to yogurt, you will lose the probiotic benefits. If you want to retain them, be sure to find and use recipes that do not require heat. The very same goes for freezing and dehydrating yogurt, so keep that in mind when you’re hunting the web for excellent recipes.
    One very simple and tasty recipe is the No-Bake Yogurt Cheesecake. Here’s what you’ll need:

What You’ll Need:

Large strainer
Paper towels
Large mixing bowl
8”-9” Springform pan





Ingredients:

Crust

    •    3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
    •    2 tbsp. melted butter
    •    1 tbsp. sugar

Filling

    •    2 (32 oz.) of your favorite probiotic vanilla yogurt
    •    1 c. 10 x sugar

Topping

    •    2 ripe peaches, thinly sliced
    •    Apricot preserves
    •    1/2 pt. fresh strawberries or raspberries

Directions:

    •    With 3 layers of paper towels, line the large strainer.

    •    Place over large mixing bowl and scrape the vanilla yogurt in. Cover and let stand in refrigerator for 24 hours. The yogurt will be very thick.

    •    Mix crust ingredients together and press evenly over the bottom of the 8”-9” inch Springform pan. Cover and chill until firm for 1 hour.

    •    Mix drained yogurt with 10x sugar and spoon into chilled crust. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours, but overnight would be best.

    •    Remove sides of pan and arrange peaches around edges. Melt the apricot preserves and brush over peaches. Mound raspberries or strawberries in center.

This tasty dessert, again with your favorite yogurt, serves 8 and is only around 360 calories and 7 grams of fat. This is one very delicious recipe that allows you to enjoy your yogurt and still receive the benefits of a healthy diet.