Grilled Pineapple

Summertime is grilling time but we rarely think about grilling fruit. It really is a wonderful way to take advantage of all the amazing fruit in season as well as a healthy treat. One of my favorite fruits to grill is pineapple. It goes with almost anything and also makes a nice spread! Now, I don't personally have a barbecue since, well, I don't have a yard, so I prepare this in my handy stove top grill pan. However you do this, it's easy and delicious.


Ingredients

• 1 large pineapple
• 1 lime
• Vegetable oil to coat grill
• Honey
• Toasted Sesame Seeds

Instructions

1. Cut ends off the pineapple and reserve stems.
2. Stand pineapple upright and cut off the skin in strips.
3. Quarter the pineapple lengthwise and cut out the core.
4. Cut each quarter into 3 spears.
5. Zest the lime and reserve.
6. Cut the zested lime in half and squeeze the juice over the spears.
7. Brush the grill pan or outdoor grill with vegetable oil or spray lightly with cooking spray.
8. Grill pineapple until evenly marked all over, 5 minutes.
9. Garnish spears with lime zest, drizzled honey and sesame seeds.
10. Arrange with stems on platter.

Carrots and Onions

I have suddenly become frugal. I don't know when this happened, but it did and I am glad! I am finally no longer wasting food and am stretching my cooking skills to use what I have on hand at the moment. I not only save money, but I get to create something new and sometimes it's yummy!

The other day Joey brought home a seasoned pork tenderloin from Costco. They are so yummy, so if you see them on sale and eat pork, pick one up! Anyway, I wanted to make something to go with it and found that I had carrots and an onion. Well, that should be easy. This recipe is really just a spur of the moment thing, but it's so good and worked so well I have to share it. Feel free to totally improvise on this one. I did!

Ingredients

• 3 cups coarsely chopped carrots
• 1 small to medium onion
• Olive Oil
• Fresh or dry parsley
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

• Chop carrots and onions
• Heat a skillet over medium heat
• Add two or three swirls of olive oil
• Add onions and saute for 2 - 3 minutes
• Add carrots and saute for about a minute
• Cover tightly and cook until tender, about 6 - 8 minutes
• Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste
• Serve to your teddy bear and watch him smile

Notes

My friend Carla taught me to make this with fresh parsley and if you have it use it. If you need to use dry, it works just fine. You could also use fresh or dry dill and that would also be yummy. In face, this is a great recipe to use up just about any herb you have left over. Just remember that something like rosemary should be steamed along with the carrots and onions.

Sean's Healthy Tuna Noodle Casserole

Sometimes Joey and I have a really busy weekend and I don't have time to cook. We both still need lunches for the week, so this casserole is one of my go-to meals that I can make ahead and know it's going to be delicious for the following week. It's not only great the night you make it, but it's amazing leftover. It's also quite healthy and hearty.

This recipe was based on a Weight Watchers recipe, but I have changed it so much I can now call it my own. There is very little left of the original recipe beside the non-fat sour cream. What makes this tuna casserole unique is the use of whole wheat noodles, onions and caraway seeds. The caraway seeds is an ingredient I added on a whim, and they are tasty!

One thing I do want to say in advance - do take the time to saute the onions and mushrooms. As my dear Carla told me, you should never just throw vegetables in a casserole and she is right. If you don't have time to saute, then I would leave out the onions.

Ingredients

12 oz uncooked whole-wheat "egg" noodles
12 oz water-packed tuna fish, drained
2 turns olive oil (about two Tablespoons)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cup button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
16 oz fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup low-fat or regular mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, or more to taste
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese, or Swiss cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Heat large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, with 2 turns of olive oil.
3. Cook noodles according to directions and transfer to a bowl.
4. While noodles are cooking saute onions for one or two minutes then add mushrooms. Saute until tender then transfer to a bowl.
5. When noodles are done, drain and transfer to a bowl. Fold in tuna, onions, mushrooms and peas.
6. Whisk sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, caraway seeds, salt and pepper in a bowl then fold into noodle mixture.
7. Transfer to a 3 quart casserole dish and top with cheese.
8. Bake for about 40 minutes or until top is golden and bubbly.

Notes

If you don't particularly like caraway seeds then dried parsley works very well in this recipe. Also, you can completely omit the onions, but if you saute them, they are very mild and quite tasty. This really is a great make-ahead meal. If you find you have time one night and might be busy later in the week, make this in advance and reheat it. It's very good reheated.