Day #7

My doctor is either a total whack job, or a underground drug fairy.

Before filling my prescription for muscle relaxers for the new jaw clinching habit, I decided to research exactly what these muscle relaxers are. Come to find out, I was not prescribed muscle relaxers at all. Instead, my doctor tricked me with anti-anxiety drugs.

The jury is still out as to whether or not this was a good or bad thing.

So, in result of taking my new prescription today, I cannot stop thinking about how awesome the movie "Where the Wild Things Are" is going to be. How did they make those creatures look so damn real? Is it animation? I wonder if I could imagine up a world like this. I really hope I don't get stuck in this imaginary world. That would really suck. Hmm...I wonder if my creatures would look like P. Diddy...last night I had the most realistic dream about P. Diddy. And he was missing a LOT of teeth. Freaky.

This is why I stick to alcohol.

Oh and by the way, this cheesecake recipe below is damn good. I may not be great at making things look good (i.e the cheesecake is noticeable lopsided) but, I can make things taste good. Plus, I am really glad I wrote this recipe before my new drug experimentation, cause I might have accidentally given you a recipe for orange creature p. diddy cheesecake.

Benihana: Mandarin Orange Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Cake -
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tbsp I Can't Believe It's Not Butter - Light
4 tbsp splenda
2 tbsp Almond Breeze (unsweetened)
2 tbsp egg substitute
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Cream Cheese Layer -
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup splenda
1 cup boiling water
1/2 envelope Dream Whip
1/4 cup low fat milk
3 8-ounce pkgs low fat cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
5 drops yellow food coloring
1 drop red food coloring

Topping -
1 cup canned mandarin oranges, in light syrup
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

Nut Crust-
1 tbsp water
2 tbsp splenda
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

Icing -
1/4 cup I Can't Believe It's Not Butter - Light
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp Almond Breeze
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. For the cake crust, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Mix. Add in butter and sugar. Mix. Add milk, vanilla, and egg substitute. Mix. Pour into greased (with pam) 9-inch cake pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12 -15 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. For cream cheese layer, combine gelatin with 1/3 cup splenda and 1/3 cup sugar. Add 1 cup boiling water. Mix well.
3. In another bowl, combine half envelope of Dream Whip with 1/4 cup low fat milk. Whip until it becomes stiff.
4. In a large bowl, whip cream cheese with vanilla, orange extract, lemon juice and food coloring. Add gelatin mixture and beat well. Add Dream Whip mix. Whip well.
5. Pour mixture over the cake layer and chill for 2 hours or until firm.
6. Drain liquid from mandarin orange cans. Heat 1/2 cup of liquid in microwave for 1 minute. Mix in 1 teaspoon of gelatin and 1 cup of mandarins. Mix well. Pour on top of cheese cake and chill for 2 more hours.
7. For nut crust, combine 1 tbsp of water, 2tbsp of splenda, and hazelnuts into small saucepan over medium heat. Stir often and let water dissolve. Let sugar caramelize the hazelnuts. Let cool down, then place into blender or food processor and chip them until it becomes crumbs.
8. In small bowl, mix all icing ingredients. Once cheesecake has firmed, remove from pan. *I flipped the cheesecake upside down into a plate, then repeated this again. May not be the best way to do this, but its the only thing I could come up with!*
9. Spread icing to the side of the cheesecake. Then press hazelnut crumbs into the icing to make a crust. Chill for another hour.

Serving Size: 12
Nutritional Info: 174 cals, 5g fat, 24g carbs, 12g protein
Benihana Original Nutritional Info: 429 cals, 30g fat, 35g carbs, 12g protein

Day #6

I went to the doctors today because I've had a headache and ear pains everyday for the last month and a half. I was prescribed anti-inflammatories to relieve the pressure in my ears, which will help the pain in my head, which is caused by my fun, new habit of clinching my jaw all day, which is caused by stress, in which the doctor prescribed me muscle relaxers for.

I thought I might be dying. But I guess I'm just stressed. So typical.

Admittedly I did not enjoy cooking last night. I was grumpy and wanted Denny's nachos. I'll even apologize for the pictures I took: boring, lackluster, lazy.

In the end I was quite happy with how everything turned out. However, I still want my Denny's nachos.

Applebee's: Honey Grilled Salmon

Ingredients:

Honey Pepper Sauce -
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
pinch of salt
pinch of garlic

4 4oz salmon fillets

Directions.
1. Mix all ingredients for the honey sauce in medium bowl. Cook over medium/low heat in saucepan for 15 - 20 minutes, or until sauce thickens.
2. While sauce cooks, add a small amount of salt and pepper to salmon and cook in oven on broil for 10 - 12 minutes, or until fully cooked. When ready to serve, pour honey sauce over salmon.

Servings: 4
Nutritional Info Per Serving: 301 cals, 6g fat, 32g carbs, 31g protein
Applebee's Original Nutritional Info Per Serving: 632 cals, 13g fat, 70g carbs, 60g protein





I am finally done with Applebees' recipes. Off to Benihana for a few days...

Benihana Ginger Salad Dressing:

1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp diced ginger
2 tbsp diced celery
1 tbsp ketchup (reduced sugar is best)
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
3 packets splenda
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of salt
punch of pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until thoroughly pureed, approximately 20 - 20 seconds. Chill, then pour over iceberg lettuce.

Servings: 8
Nutritional Info Per Serving: 81cals, 7g fat, 5g carbs, 0g protein
Benihana's Original Nutritional Info Per Serving: 140 cals, 14g fat, 5g carbs, 0g protein





Benihana: Japanese Onion Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1/3 white onion
1/2 carrot, chopped
1/3 celery stalk, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
6 mushrooms, sliced
4 green onions
6 tbsp French's Fried Onion Pieces
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Directions:

1. In large sauce pan, cook all ingredients (other than fried onions, mushrooms and green onions) on high heat. Bring to a boil. Then simmer over medium/low heat for 10 minutes.
2. Strain out all veggies from the broth. Ladle out broth into small serving bowls, then add 1 tbsp of fried onions, 2 tbsp of green onions, and several mushroom slices into to each bowl.

Servings: 6
Nutritional Info Per Serving: 31 cals, 1g fat, 6g carbs, 2g protein