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I felt like eating the really unhealthy Chinese dishes like the orange chicken. The amount of fat, salt and all the other bad stuff turned me off- plus who can afford the calories??

I decided to make my own. I got some boneless, skinless chicken breast; cut it in small pieces and marinated them in tamari. I then sprinkled them with corn starch and sauteed them- instead of deep frying. I saved loads of calories by simply sauteing the chicken pieces.

I then assembled the sauce with fresh navel oranges, rice wine vinegar, tamari, garlic and honey. With the help of some more cornstarch, I had a delicious, thick sauce- perfect for orange chicken.

While shopping for the chicken, I found Chinese broccoli (at Whole Foods). My husband and I usually buy the greens in Chinatown in NYC and love eating it as often as we can. So, when I saw it in the market, I was super excited. I simply sauteed it with garlic and served it with the chicken and brown rice.

It was a delicious meal- my daughter and husband loved it.
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This is what I came up with the leftovers from last night’s dinner. I had some shrimp- not too many, so I chopped them up into small pieces so a little goes a long way.

My husband loves paella, especially the kind with lots of red sauce- he is crazy about anything with red sauce.

I made this paella with arborio rice since it is creamier than the regular one. I cooked it like a risotto but didn’t stand in front of the stove, stirring constantly. Instead I added most of the broth at once and let it cook. It resulted in a very delicious and perfectly cooked paella.

To start the process, I crumbled up the leftover chorizo and cooked it with the onions and garlic. I added rose wine because that is what I was drinking. Tomato sauce and chicken broth later, I had a yummy dish. By adding the frozen peas, I had a one pot meal.

A neighbor and my daughter’s friend stopped by and joined up for dinner. They both ate up the paella and complemented on the taste.

Next time you have leftovers- make a paella!
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This meal is kind of like a surf and turf- well, I guess not really since there is no steak… but there is delicious sausage! This dinner/lunch is an ideal summer meal since it does not require too much prepping or cooking time. Everything cooks on the grill while I sit on my deck enjoying a glass of wine.

My favorite kind of sausage is the chorizo which has tons of flavor and a bit of a kick. It is a pork sausage with paprika and garlic and it is absolutely delicious. If health was not a consideration, I would eat chorizo everyday!

I bought some fresh chorizo and a pound of shrimp. I decided to make a simple cilantro garlic sauce to marinate and baste the shrimp and the chorizo with. That is all there is to this meal.

I made some garlic bread and a salad and I was done! We enjoyed everything on the deck and were not able to finish everything- perfect leftovers for another meal tomorrow!!!
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This is a perfect summer cake. There are so many mangoes around and as I have mentioned many times before, we usually have quite a few on hand all the time. My daughter takes one cut up for camp everyday with a slice of cheddar cheese. She enjoys them for her morning snack right after a swim. I am quite happy giving her a healthy fruit and some low fat protein.

Anyway, since there were so many mangoes around, I decided to make a cake- well, it is more like a tea bread.

I blended enough mangoes to equal one cup and made a super fast and easy bread. I love making these kinds of treats that are relatively healthy. I usually pack a slice as dessert for my daughter and give some to my husband as a snack during the day with tea.

To give the cake an extra boost of flavor and a surprise, I added some cardamom. I love mango and floral cardamom together- it makes me want to drink masala tea, lounging in a comfortable chair on my deck…

Make the mango cardamom cake this season…
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These are a one of a kind of tikkas I came up with the other day. I asked my husband what he wanted to eat for dinner. He thought about it and suggested I make something with south Indian flavors. I knew I wanted grill some chicken- so I decided to come up with a recipe for chicken tikkas but not with the usual suspects. I added some south Indian flavors to it.  Instead of the lemon juice, I used tamarind. It provides the same tanginess but also adds an earthy flavor lemons don’t have.

For the spices, I used a combination of cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. I roasted them with curry leaves and ground everything up. Everything was mixed with the greek yogurt and marinated for several hours. It resulted in a super flavorful chicken. Everyone loved it, especially my husband.

I think this chicken will be part of the summer meals repertoire- it is perfect to serve with grilled corn and other vegetables. Try it- you will love it.
Click here for the recipe… »