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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Blog help needed
I'm having major issues with my blog template. If anyone has tips please be kind and send them my way! The interactive format wasn't working well, but when I tried to revert to the original format it snow very very basic. Not really sure what to do!
Turkey Stuffed Baked Peppers
This one was WAY our of our comfort zone, especially for Mark. But he's a good sport and let me try something new. In the end he even declared this a victory, and I promptly fell out of my chair. I think this started as another Biggest Loser inspiration, but to tell you the truth I honestly can't remember. We made it way back in late October (I think), so it's a little spotty. Just to note, the below instructions were for just the two of us.
Ingredients:
1/2lb ground turkey (we had lots left over, which went into the freezer for later)
1/2C chicken stock
1 red pepper
1/2C diced onion
a dash of cayenne pepper
a dash of chili pepper
some season salt
(feel free to add other Mexican inspired seasonings too!)
Cook the meat, onions, and seasoning until browned. Place about 2oz of cooked turkey into each half of pepper and place in a baking dish. Cover peppers with chicken stock and sprinkle additional seasoning on top. Cover with foil and cook for 20 minutes at 300F. Remove and enjoy!
Ingredients:
1/2lb ground turkey (we had lots left over, which went into the freezer for later)
1/2C chicken stock
1 red pepper
1/2C diced onion
a dash of cayenne pepper
a dash of chili pepper
some season salt
(feel free to add other Mexican inspired seasonings too!)
Cook the meat, onions, and seasoning until browned. Place about 2oz of cooked turkey into each half of pepper and place in a baking dish. Cover peppers with chicken stock and sprinkle additional seasoning on top. Cover with foil and cook for 20 minutes at 300F. Remove and enjoy!
Creamy Onion/Chicken soup
I'm warning you, I love soup in the winter so you're going to see a lot of soup recipe variations this winter. If you don't like soup, then we'll see you again next spring.
For dinner the other night I decided to mix things up a little and add a can of low-sodium cream of onion soup to our recipe. It was warm and delicous!
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast (frozen)
1 carrot, skinned and dimed
1/2 C of celery, chopped
1/2C onion
1 can, cream of onion soup
1C egg noodles
Add everything to the crock pot (except the noodles) and cook on low for 8-10 hours. A 1/2 hour before serving, add the egg noodles to cook. Remove the chicken and shred using a fork and steak knife, then add the chicken back to the soup. Serve and enjoy!
For dinner the other night I decided to mix things up a little and add a can of low-sodium cream of onion soup to our recipe. It was warm and delicous!
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast (frozen)
1 carrot, skinned and dimed
1/2 C of celery, chopped
1/2C onion
1 can, cream of onion soup
1C egg noodles
Add everything to the crock pot (except the noodles) and cook on low for 8-10 hours. A 1/2 hour before serving, add the egg noodles to cook. Remove the chicken and shred using a fork and steak knife, then add the chicken back to the soup. Serve and enjoy!
Quinoa
This is going to be a short post because the directions are very similar to my couscous directions. This is another one of those fabulous grains that not only provide a healthy meal, but heat up well for lunch the next day! The main difference is that quinoa has one full serving of protein! It takes slightly longer to make and we don't like the taste quite as well, but it's a nice alternative.
I'll provide general directions, but it's smart to follow the preparation directions outlined on the product packaging. Quinoa is prepared similarly to couscous, although you add the quinoa grains to the water before it boils. You also have to let it steam for 10-15 minutes rather than 5. This also doesn't come with seasoning (although if you find a brand that does, let me know!), so I added some butter and lots of Mrs. Dash to it after it was done steaming. Otherwise my prep instructions are the same as for couscous, and we like to mix it with turkey and add a veggie. It's very filling and made enough for 3 days of lunches in addition to our dinner!
I'll provide general directions, but it's smart to follow the preparation directions outlined on the product packaging. Quinoa is prepared similarly to couscous, although you add the quinoa grains to the water before it boils. You also have to let it steam for 10-15 minutes rather than 5. This also doesn't come with seasoning (although if you find a brand that does, let me know!), so I added some butter and lots of Mrs. Dash to it after it was done steaming. Otherwise my prep instructions are the same as for couscous, and we like to mix it with turkey and add a veggie. It's very filling and made enough for 3 days of lunches in addition to our dinner!
CousCous
My first memory of couscous comes from my sophomore year of college. There was a girl on my floor that freaked out with happiness every time the dining hall served couscous. It reminded me too much of rice (which I loath) so I've never tried couscous. Well, I read an article a while back about how couscous is one of those easy meals that is not only good for you, but is an easy meal for lunch the next day. Then on my first flight to China they served couscous with our meal, so I tried it and it wasn't bad!
I've since come to love couscous, not only for it's simplicity, but for the fact that it DOES truly make a fantastic lunch the next day. It keeps and heats up very well. And it only takes 5 minutes to cook at night for a meal! On our busy schedule this is golden.
Ingredients:
1 box Near East couscous (pick any flavor you like)
4oz shredded turkey or chicken
2C veggies of your choice (broccoli works well)
Over the weekend I will toss either a few chicken breasts or turkey fillets in the crock pot with some seasoning (usually Mrs. Dash sodium free garlic and herb) and about 1/4C Swanson's organic chicken stock. I'll cook it on high for a few hours until it's ready to shred. Then I'll stock the freezer for the week, making meals super fast during our hectic work week. This shredded meat is perfect to mix with couscous (or quinoa - bet you can't wait to hear about that one!)
Couscous takes 6 minutes to make. You boil 1 1/4C of water mixed with the seasoning packet and a tiny bit of butter. Once it boils (approx. 1min) you add the couscous, stir, and cover for 5 minutes. Don't forget to turn the heat off! While it's steaming, I heat up the turkey (1min on high) and steam the veggies (2 min on high) in the microwave. Voila - a quick and easy 6 minute meal, that is not only healthy but provides left-overs!
I've since come to love couscous, not only for it's simplicity, but for the fact that it DOES truly make a fantastic lunch the next day. It keeps and heats up very well. And it only takes 5 minutes to cook at night for a meal! On our busy schedule this is golden.
Ingredients:
1 box Near East couscous (pick any flavor you like)
4oz shredded turkey or chicken
2C veggies of your choice (broccoli works well)
Over the weekend I will toss either a few chicken breasts or turkey fillets in the crock pot with some seasoning (usually Mrs. Dash sodium free garlic and herb) and about 1/4C Swanson's organic chicken stock. I'll cook it on high for a few hours until it's ready to shred. Then I'll stock the freezer for the week, making meals super fast during our hectic work week. This shredded meat is perfect to mix with couscous (or quinoa - bet you can't wait to hear about that one!)
Couscous takes 6 minutes to make. You boil 1 1/4C of water mixed with the seasoning packet and a tiny bit of butter. Once it boils (approx. 1min) you add the couscous, stir, and cover for 5 minutes. Don't forget to turn the heat off! While it's steaming, I heat up the turkey (1min on high) and steam the veggies (2 min on high) in the microwave. Voila - a quick and easy 6 minute meal, that is not only healthy but provides left-overs!
Pomegranate
My co-worker introduced me to eating pomegranates recently. I've always loved the flavor, but have never had the actual fruit. After a quick tutorial from her, I tried it on my own. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but this fruit makes a great addition to your breakfast AND is full of antioxidants.
First, you cut the fruit in half then score the edges of each half about 4 times. Fill a large bowl with water and submerge one half of the fruit, gently pulling apart the seeds. The white part will float to the top and the seeds will sink to the bottom. Use your hand to scoop the white stuff off the top. I'll usually remove the large pieces as I got and set them aside to compost.
After repeating this with the 2nd half, turn the bowl over into a strainer to remove the water. I'll then separate the seeds into several containers for the week and take them for my breakfast. It takes a bit of time to get used to eating the seeds because some can be a bit crunchy, but they are juicy and delicious.
First, you cut the fruit in half then score the edges of each half about 4 times. Fill a large bowl with water and submerge one half of the fruit, gently pulling apart the seeds. The white part will float to the top and the seeds will sink to the bottom. Use your hand to scoop the white stuff off the top. I'll usually remove the large pieces as I got and set them aside to compost.
After repeating this with the 2nd half, turn the bowl over into a strainer to remove the water. I'll then separate the seeds into several containers for the week and take them for my breakfast. It takes a bit of time to get used to eating the seeds because some can be a bit crunchy, but they are juicy and delicious.
Veggie Chicken Soup
Well, we finally got around to moving all my pictures off my computer so I can upload new ones and post about all the concoctions I've been coming up with. The old lady (aka my computer) just can't take too much anymore and fills up quickly! Here is another yummy soup recipe that we tossed together a few weeks ago. Our goal is to add more veggies into our meals, and adding multiple veggies to soup does the trick without your palate even knowing! Doesn't soup just hit the spot in the winter? It's an added bonus when you come home to a hot meal in your crock pot and don't have to do any dinner prep!
Veggie Chicken Soup
1 chicken breast - frozen
1C frozen corn
1C diced tomato (I used the frozen blanched ones I made this fall)
1/2C chopped celery
1/2C diced red pepper
one box Swanson's organic chicken soup broth (equal to about 4C, I think)
seasoning of your choice (I tend to use Mrs. Dash sodium free garlic and herb seasoning in a lot of our recipes)
*Note: I like to use frozen components because we tend to set our crock pot to start a few hours after we leave for the day. This helps preserve them and ensure we don't get food poisoning.
Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Before serving, remove chicken and shred. I've found it works best to use a fork and steak knife. Re-add the chicken to the soup before serving.
Veggie Chicken Soup
1 chicken breast - frozen
1C frozen corn
1C diced tomato (I used the frozen blanched ones I made this fall)
1/2C chopped celery
1/2C diced red pepper
one box Swanson's organic chicken soup broth (equal to about 4C, I think)
seasoning of your choice (I tend to use Mrs. Dash sodium free garlic and herb seasoning in a lot of our recipes)
*Note: I like to use frozen components because we tend to set our crock pot to start a few hours after we leave for the day. This helps preserve them and ensure we don't get food poisoning.
Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Before serving, remove chicken and shred. I've found it works best to use a fork and steak knife. Re-add the chicken to the soup before serving.
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