Recipe for Hummus and Cucumber Appetizer Bites with Sesame Seeds

These Hummus and Cucumber Bites are a tasty diet-friendly appetizer.

If you're looking for Super Bowl party nibbles, these hummus and cucumber bites are amazingly easy to make, fun to serve, and I promise that your hummus-loving guests will gobble them up.  And if you happen to have any guests who are trying not to completely abandon their diet on game day, they'll love you for serving a diet-legal finger food like this.  The only part that might be a little tricky to find is the black sesame seeds, but you can use regular white sesame seeds as well if you can't find the black ones.

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Friday Favorites: Five of My Favorite Phase One Recipes for Chicken Breasts

Every year for January lots of people start the South Beach Diet, and to help them with ideas, I post all Phase One recipes on the blog that month.  I did that again this year (with an exception for the Shrimp and Macaroni Salad posted as a tribute to my dad.)   Actually, I usually end up doing phase one a couple of times each year, and often when I'm doing Phase One I want something to eat that really makes me forget I'm on a diet.  The recipes featured in this post are some ideas for using chicken breasts fit that description.  Let's start with Janet's Mustard Chicken shown above, something my sister Janet taught me to make years ago.

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Kalyn's Kitchen Picks: Sweet Mini-Peppers

I'm sure you've heard that there's a big football game coming up.   Even if you're someone like me who has to use Google to find out which teams are playing every year, if you live in the U.S. chances are good you'll be attending some kind of Superbowl party on February 6.  If you're trying to lose weight (or not gain any!) I'd like to recommend you skip the chips and use these crunchy sweet mini-peppers as the perfect vehicle for delivering all kinds of tasty dips to your mouth.  

I've been using these tasty peppers in recipes for about 5 years now, so I decided it's time to officially add them to my list of Kalyn's Kitchen Picks, the list of products I buy over and over again and love enough to recommend them on the blog.  Below are some of my suggestions for using sweet mini-peppers.  If you have other good ideas for using them, please share in the comments!

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Recipe for Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan

Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan is a delicious side dish the whole family will like.

For a few years now I've been completely infatuated with roasted vegetables.  I've experimented with Roasted Asparagus, Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Butternut Squash, Roasted Carrots,  Roasted Cauliflower, Roasted Green Beans, Roasted Mushrooms,  Roasted Vidalia Onions, Roasted Radishes, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Turnips, and Roasted Zucchini!   Winter is the perfect time to make roasted veggies, when you don't mind heating up the house and you might be using the oven to cook other parts of the dinner anyway.  I often toss my roasted vegetables with Parmesan cheese after they're cooked, but this recipe was a happy experiment where I added the cheese before I roasted the cauliflower, and it was crispy and delicious!

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Recipe for Pork with Paprika, Mushrooms, and Sour Cream

A generous amount of Hungarian Paprika makes this pork dish flavorful and slightly spicy.

It's been a bittersweet week for the Denny family, as we paid tribute to our wonderful father and spent time with family members who came from far away for the funeral services.  Thank you to for the many thoughtful messages I've received from readers and friends; they have meant a lot to me during this time.  I thought I'd ease back into regular recipe posting with this comforting dish I made a few weeks ago.  I actually combined two recipe ideas to make a paprika-spiced combination of pork, mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes with sour cream stirred in at the very end.  This is not a stew; the meat is browned and then just warmed in the sauce.  You could serve this over brown rice or whole-wheat noodles, but I just ate it in a bowl as a phase one dish.

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Recipe for Shrimp and Macaroni Salad

Whenever I asked my dad what I should make for a family party, this salad was always his choice.

(In memory of my wonderful father, I'm featuring some of his favorite recipes this week while I spend time with my family.)  This Shrimp and Macaroni Salad is a dish I've made for family parties for more than 20 years, and definitely my father's all-time favorite dish.  I made some Shrimp and Macaroni Salad this week as we gathered to talk about our dad, and I'll be making it again in a few weeks when my brother Mark hosts his annual Superbowl party.  What makes the salad so full of flavor is the idea of using a little of the shrimp "juice" saved from draining the frozen shrimp and adding it to the mayo-based dressing, plus the flavor boost of celery seeds.

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Shrimp Cocktail Recipe with Low-Sugar Cocktail Sauce

My Dad loved shrimp, so when it wasn't the main dish I'd often make shrimp cocktail for him as an appetizer.

(In memory of my wonderful father, I'm featuring some of his favorite recipes this week while I spend time with my family.)  Shrimp with spicy cocktail sauce is one of my favorite foods, but traditional cocktail sauce has a fair amount of sugar for anyone who's trying to pay attention to the glycemic index. Happily, shrimp cocktail is back on my menu, after I was walking through the grocery store recently and spotted a bottle of Heinz new Reduced-Sugar Ketchup. Right away I knew I'd have to apologize to Heinz for all the imaginary hate mail I sent a few years back when my store stopped selling Heinz One-Carb Ketchup.

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Recipe for Spicy Roasted Green Beans (or Broccoli) and Shrimp

My Dad loved these Spicy Roasted Green Beans and Shrimp

(In memory of my wonderful father, I'm featuring some of his favorite recipes this week while I spend time with my family.)  It was months ago when I first started hearing about Roasted Shrimp with Broccoli from Melissa Clark in New York Times. The recipe had good reviews from The Wednesday Chef, Amateur Gourmet, Orangette, Superspark, We Heart Food, Batter Splattered, and probably a bunch of other blogs as well. Then about a month ago I cooked it for my dad (adapting the recipe a bit since I was using a toaster oven) and I was ready to rave about it myself. Of course I hadn't taken photos, and for several weeks I truly intended to make it again and post it before we were careening seriously close to summer and no one wanted to heat up the oven.

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Recipe for Quick and Easy Spicy Broiled Shrimp

My Dad loved anything with shrimp, and this Spicy Broiled Shrimp was something I made for him many times.

(In memory of my wonderful father, I'm featuring some of his favorite recipes this week while I spend time with my family.)  This Spicy Broiled Shrimp is something that will be a hit with anyone who likes shrimp. I'm cooking meals a few times every week for my shrimp-loving dad, so frozen raw shrimp is something I always have in my freezer. After they've thawed in the refrigerator, raw shrimp cook very quickly and they can easily be turned into a number of impressive dishes. After a few experiments, I came up with this ultra-easy recipe for spicy broiled shrimp that cooks in less than ten minutes and makes an impressive dinner, especially if you use little individual casseroles like I did so each person gets their own dish of spicy shrimp.

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Edgar Martell Denny (1925 - 2011)

Photo of Edgar Martell Denny taken by my future nephew-in-law Nick Gilson

My wonderfully loving, compassionate, and intelligent father Edgar Martell Denny died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, January 13.  All who knew him were touched by his deep wisdom and gracious example of unconditional love.  I am grateful to him for many lessons learned, traits passed on, and happy memories.

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Friday Favorites: Five of My Favorite Phase One Soups

If it's soup weather where you are, try this Cannellini Bean and Kale Soup with Ham and Sherry Vinegar.

It's seriously soup weather in Utah, and I know a lot of you are still doing phase one, so here are some of my favorite phase one soups.  You might like to try one or more of these if it's soup weather where you are!  I love soup with greens, and this Cannellini Bean and Kale Soup with Ham and Sherry Vinegar is a great soup recipe I came up with last January.

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Recipe for Green Garbanzo Hummus with Sweet Mini-Pepper Dippers

I loved this Green Garbanzo Hummus, especially when I ate it with the sweet mini-pepper dippers.

Have you tried Green Garbanzo Beans yet?  I wrote about this nutritious product a few months ago when I used them to make Brown Rice and Green Garbanzo Salad with Carrots, Parsley, and Pine Nuts.  This Green Garbanzo Hummus is my second recipe using these tasty little beans, adapted from a recipe on the side of the package.  Thanks to my sister Sandee for bringing the sweet mini-peppers to a party at my house, because they turned out to be a great flavor combination with the Green Garbanzo Hummus and the perfect vehicle for delivering it to my mouth!

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Recipe for Spicy Yellow Split Pea Soup with Italian Sausage and Green Pepper

The love affair with yellow split peas continues with this spicy soup!

(Like many Americans, I've been struggling through the weekend wondering what motivates a human being to commit violent acts against innocent people.  The Arizona shootings got closer to home as I learned that one shooting victim was a fellow Blogger and member of the BlogHer Publishing Network.  If you'd like to join in sending messages of love and support for Ashleigh Burrows, click here to visit her blog.  And please read this beautiful post about how we need to detox ourselves from toxic language.)

Last week I was gushing like a schoolgirl over a bowl of Lemony Yellow Split Peas.  My love affair with  the yellow split peas continues with this spicy soup with yellow split peas, hot turkey Italian sausage, and green bell peppers.  This isn't the most photogenic soup I've made, but it was delicious, warm, and comforting.  I added a touch of red pepper flakes to spice it up a little, but you could skip that if you'd like a milder soup.  Please don't skip the ground fennel seed though; it adds a wonderful flavor to this soup.

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Friday Favorites: Five of My Favorite South Beach Diet Phase One Breakfasts

These Egg "Muffins" are one of my very favorite Phase One breakfasts.

I can tell by how the number of people looking at the Index of South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes that a lot of you out there are doing Phase One right now.  I'm posting only Phase One recipes during January, just like I've done for the last five years, and I thought I'd spotlight some of my favorite Phase One Recipes during the month too.  First up, I'm sharing five of my favorite Phase One breakfasts. My breakfast habits have changed a bit since I've been working at home, but pictured above are the Egg Muffins that were my favorite "grab and go" breakfast to eat in the car on the way to work when I was still teaching school.  There are endless varieties of this recipe, and they're all good!

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Kalyn's Kitchen Picks: Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Spreadable Cheese

I vividly remember the first time I tried Laughing Cow cheese when a man named Rex Turner brought it to my house for a party many years ago.  I thought it was a little strange at the time as a pot luck dish (sorry Rex!) but now I absolutely love this low-fat and low calorie spreadable cheese as a snack.  Lately I've been buying it over and over and eating it so often that I decided it's time to officially make it one of my Kalyn's Kitchen Picks.

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Recipe for Lemony Yellow Split Pea Side Dish with Garlic and Ginger (with or without Cilantro)

I loved the combination of flavors in this side dish of lemony yellow split peas with garlic and ginger.

I am now officially in love with this side dish of lemony yellow split peas flavored with minced garlic, ginger, and I cilantro.  Even for those who insist on leaving out the cilantro, this is one of the most interesting flavor combinations I've tasted in a long time.  And in this month when so many people are looking for Phase One recipes, this is a Phase One side dish!  True, you need to limit portion sizes for this to 1/2 cup serving for phase one, but a small amount of this sharing the plate with a nice piece of fish or meat and a salad would make a lovely phase one meal.

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Recipe for Shrimp with Mustard-Horseradish Sauce

If you're starting a diet this week, you won't feel deprived with this Shrimp in Mustard-Horseradish Sauce.

The Monday after New Year's is the day more people start a diet than any other day of the year.  I know lots of folks are starting Phase One of the South Beach Diet on Monday, and already I notice people are checking my archives category of South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes.  I've already started Phase One myself, and I'll be posting Phase One recipes all during January like I do every year.  To show how delicious Phase One can be, I'm starting with this shrimp dish that I took this to a party during the holidays.  Everyone  raved over the shrimp with no idea it was a "diet" recipe, so even if you're not on a diet don't out on miss making this.

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Hopping John Soup Recipe for Luck in the New Year (Black-Eyed Pea, Ham, and Collard Greens Soup)

Hopping John Soup is my favorite thing to make for good luck in the New Year!

(This soup is one of my Recipe Favorites, updated with step-by-step photos January 2011)  For several years now I've been making this tasty soup with black-eyed peas, ham, and collard greens for good luck in the New Year, and this year when I made a double batch I remembered and took some step-by-step photos.  Not only does this soup have all the luck-bringing properties of Hopping John, it's also a South Beach Diet phase one recipe for those who are starting out the year with phase one, like I always do!  Hopping John is traditionally made on New Year's Day, but truly this tasty soup is great to make all during the cold months, whenever you need a little dose of good luck.

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South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-Up for December 2010 (Low-Glycemic Recipes)

Kalyn's favorite Phase One Recipe for December 2010 is
Shredded Chicken Salad with Green Olives, Celery, and Green Onion.

If there was ever a time for new beginnings, it's the first day of a brand new decade.  Of course, New Year's Day every year is when many people decide to get more serious about losing weight.  If you just started a diet and found my blog by googling South Beach Diet Recipes, welcome to Kalyn's Kitchen, and good luck with your weight loss journey.  Anyone who's starting phase one today might want to check out the index of Phase One Recipes from Kalyn's Kitchen, and the archive page for monthly Phase One recipe round-ups, both part of the recipe archives in the left sidebar.  On the first day of every month I  do a post like this to spotlight Phase One Recipes I've posted that month or noticed on other food blogs.  My goal with these round-ups is to show that Phase One really is do-able, and even though December isn't exactly the best month for dieting, there are plenty of tasty ideas that I found this month.

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