Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Wow, as if indulging in Charleston wasn't enough, we then headed south to spend the holidays with our families. Cookies, cake pops, fudge--you name it we ate it (have you ever made cake pops? They are actually pretty easy. Check out the picture below for my finished result. I used this recipe). As soon as we got back home we looked at each other and said "Chicken for dinner EVERY NIGHT!"

The menu this week was simple, and included a lot of old recipes, so I will keep this blog post short and sweet.

Monday--Rotisserie chicken over lettuce with chopped vegetables
Tuesday--Whole wheat rotini with fresh spinach, Martha Stuart's marinara sauce and a side of homemade meatballs
Wednesday--Chicken marinated in Cindy's Kitchen Double Garlic Ginger Lime dressing, grilled and served with brown rice and steamed broccoli and snow peas
Thursday--Pineapple Cilantro-Lime Chicken served with pico de gallo and fiesta rice
Friday--Eggplant parmesan with zucchini marinara

PS--A picture of my cake pops. YUM!

From freezer to table: Making the most out of what is in your house

I know Farm to Table is big right now, but you know what's big in our house? Freezer to Table. As much as I try to incorporate fresh produce into all of our meals, there are nights that I have to just work with what we have in the house. This seems to especially be true the week before we are heading out of town to visit family or go away on vacation.

Last night I had to scrape together what I could with pantry staples and whatever we had in the freezer. I came across some frozen turkey taco meat but really was not in the mood for the 800 dishes that seem to pile up when I put a taco bar together. My husband had just given me a large rectangular Pizza Stone from Williams Sonoma as an early Hanukkah gift and I was eager to use it. That was how my Turkey Taco Pizza came to be.

Turkey Taco Pizza
Ingredients
1 batch Martha Stewart's Cornmeal Pizza Crust
1/2 pound 93% lean ground turkey or soy crumble meat substitute (for my vegetarian friends out there)
1/2 green pepper, finely diced
1/2 small yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 packet taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
2 cups shredded 2% Mexican cheese blend


Directions
-Place pizza stone on bottom rack in oven and preheat to 500 degrees F.
-In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, saute onions and peppers until soft. Add turkey (or soy crumble) and cook until all the pink is gone. Add taco seasoning and 1/2 cup water. Simmer on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all the water has evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool.
-Spread a large amount of cornmeal on your work surface. Roll out pizza dough so that it is a large rectangle. Transfer rolled-out dough onto a well cornmealed pizza peel (if you don't have a pizza stone or pizza peel, you can use a cookie sheet).
-Spread turkey mixture evenly over your dough, leaving a 1/4 inch boarder around the edge to form your crust. 
-Top with cheese.
-Carefully transfer pizza to your pizza stone and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese begins to bubble and turn brown.
-Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
-Top with sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo for an extra treat!

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Gouda and Champagne detox--recovering from a weekend away

After returning from a weekend away with my hubby that included ridiculous amounts of champagne and cheese, I am looking forward to getting back to cooking. In an effort to detox from the Brie and Gouda, this weeks menu is going to be simple and focus on incorporating as many whole foods as possible.

Sunday--Oatmeal-turkey burger and sugar snap peas
Monday--Agave-balsamic marinated turkey tenderloins with patty pan gratin
Tuesday--Alyssa's four-bean vegetarian chili and corn bread
Wednesday--Red onion chicken and mashed potatoes
Thursday--Chicken Caesar salads

Breakfast is also going to be a focus for me this week--I need to start the day out with protein. It's really the only thing that keeps me full until lunch, however, I hate making eggs in the morning just because I am so tired. The solution? Mini-fritatas. I tried these out a few weeks ago when I catered my friend's baby naming and they were a big hit. Also, they freeze amazingly well and their are endless combination that you can make. This week I made Huevos Rancheros fritatas, inspired by my indulgent breakfast at Charleston Place.

Huevos Rancheros Mini Fritatas
2 PointsPlus per serving

Ingredients
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 tomato, diced
1/2 cup 2% shredded Mexican cheese
1 small yellow onion, quartered and sliced
salt/pepper

Directions
-Heat oven 350 degrees and spray a half-dozen muffin tin with PAM.
-Spray a small frying pan with PAM and saute onions over medium heat until they are golden brown.
-In a medium-sized bowl whisk eggs and milk together. Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined.
-Spoon egg mixture evenly into greased muffin tine.
-Bake for 20-25 minutes, until tops look golden brown.
-Remove from oven, let cool, and remove fritatas from muffin tin. Keeps 3-4 days in the fridge, or freeze and defrost as needed.


Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Feast for my Family--Thanksgiving is here

This year my husband's entire family will be joining us for Thanksgiving! I am SO excited that they are here, and that we get to do all of the cooking! I am making a few of my favorites, plus throwing in some new recipes to mix things up. This year I was smart and ordered the gravy and corn bread from Fresh Market (I am just not good at making gravy).

Appetizers: Baked Brie with Apples and Cranberries served with Cupcake prosecco
Starter: Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli
Salad: Spring Mix with Pomegranate Seeds, Goat Cheese and Orange Slices topped with Glazed Pecans
Turkey: Rolled Turkey Breast filled with Apple Fennel Stuffing
Sides: Nannie Anne's Tzimmis, mashed potatoes, green beans with almonds, corn bread, gravy
Dessert: Signe's Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie, lemon filled birthday cake, assorted River Street Sweets (a must-have if you ever come to Savannah)

Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Maddness--Butternut squash, goat cheese and thyme ravioli

So remember that butternut squash sauce I made for the cheese raviolis last week? Well the dilemma ended up being that I did not know what to do with the other 1/2 butternut squash that was sitting in my fridge. Then it hit me--rather than make the butternut squash soup for Thanksgiving that we usually have, I would make butternut squash ravioli and serve it in a brown butter sage sauce with toasted hazelnuts.

I have seen Giada make raviolis 100 times on TV, so I new that if I could just get my hands on some wonton wrappers I would be all set. These were fairly easy to make, the only part that took a little time was filling the wonton wrappers. Make sure not to put too much filling in--it just makes them impossible to seal.

Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese and Thyme Ravioli
Makes 48 raviolis
PointsPlus Value: 1 point per ravioli (does not include sauce)
38 calories, 1g fat, 6 carbs, 1g protein


Ingredients
1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cubed
1 onion, peeled and cubed
2 cloves garlic, smashed
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt/pepper
2 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
1 package wonton wrappers (about 48 wrappers)

Directions
-Pre-heat oven 375
-In a large bowl combine squash, onions, garlic, thyme and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
-Spray a large glass dish with PAM. Spread out squash mixture and roast until all veggies are soft and begin to caramelize--about 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Remove the thyme sprigs (you don't want the woody portion in your mixture--the leave are fine).
-Dump cooled veggies into a food processor. Add goat cheese and process until smooth.
-Lay wonton wrappers out on a large surface. Put a small dollop (about 1/2 tsp) filling in center of wrapper.
-Brush edges with water, fold wrapper in half (making a triangle with the filling in the middle) and press closed, making sure that all the air is out.
-You can either lay them all flat on a sheet and freeze for a later date, or you can boil them in water for 3-4 minutes.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Magic Mystery Tour Knock-Off--Pesto pizza with spinach, goat cheese, mozzarella and sun dired tomatoes

Little Man was invited to a Halloween bash this week with all of his buddies. He was excited to go, and I was even more excited when I saw that their was Mellow Mushroom pizza to be had. Before moving to the South I had never even heard of Mellow Mushroom, but everyone raved about their  topping combinations and the unforgettable taste.

They were right! I fell in love with the Magic Mystery Tour pizza--a pesto-based pizza topped with spinach, portobello mushrooms, mozzarella and goat cheese. I knew it wasn't healthy, but damn it was good. It's high in both points and calories, but worth the occasional splurge for sure!

Pesto pizza with spinach, goat cheese, mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes
PointsPlus value per slice: 8
Calories per slice: 350

Ingredients
1/2 a batch of Kitchen Aid pizza dough
1 bag baby spinach
1/2 onion
1/2 cup pesto
8oz fresh mozarella, sliced
3 oz soft goat cheese
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup baby bella mushrooms

Directions
-Preheat oven to 500 degrees with a round pizza stone placed on the lowest rack.
-While oven is heating up, saute spinach,  mushrooms and onions together over, making sure that all of the liquid from the spinach has evaporated.
-Roll out your pizza dough on a well floured surface. Using a large cutting board, CAREFULLY slide the rolled out pizza dough onto the hot pizza stone. Bake for 4 minutes.
-Remove  pizza dough and top with pesto. Evenly spread out the sauteed spinach mixture and top with both types of cheese.
-Bake pizza for 8 minutes. Pull out rack and sprinkle with sun dried tomatoes. Bake for 3 more minutes.
-Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and enjoying!

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

A Taste of Fall--Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onions over Cheese Raviolis

I can't believe that it is already November 1st. Thankfully it is finally cooling down and some of the leaves are changing color, giving me that touch-of-home that I miss from growing up in New England.

This time of year always flies by, and I often forget to make use of some of the more hearty produce that is available right now at the store. Tonight I decided to go out on a limb and make something new--Butternut squash and caramelized onions over cheese raviolis. I was inspired by a recipe in Woman's Day, but felt their version could use a little "umph"--like caramelized onions and cream (what could be bad).

Here is our line up this week:
Tuesday--Butternut squash and caramelized onions over cheese ravioli*
Wednesday--Jerk-style chicken with mashed sweet potatoes
Thursday--Mushroom beef burgers
Friday--Red onion crusted chicken and mashers (for vegetarians out there, you can substitute eggplant slices for the chicken--comes out great!)
Saturday--Chicken pot pie

*Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onions over Cheese Raviolis
Serves 4
PointsPlus value per serving: 12
250 calories, 10 g fat, 9g protein, 31 carbs

Ingredients
1 pound frozen cheese ravioli
1 Tbs olive oil
1 lb butternut squash (about 1/2 a medium squash), peeled and cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tbs fresh thyme
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt/pepper

Directions
In a large pan, heat 1 tbs olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add butternut squash and saute 5 minutes.
Add onions and saute until squash is soft and onions are translucent.
Add garlic and saute for 2 more minutes and remove pan from heat.
Cook raviolis according to directions on the package. Drain but reserve 1/4 cup of cooking water.
Reduce heat to low. Return squash mixture to heat and add cream and thyme, let simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Add raviolis, Parmesan cheese and a splash of pasta water. Mix well and serve.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

A Walk on the Wild Side--Parsnip Mashers

Wow, can you say slacker? I have not posted a blog entry in over a month! YIKES! Well, in all honesty, life has been a little crazy with volunteer fund-raising, new job, new toddler school schedule and a failed trip up North (damn you Irene). Nevertheless I am back in the cooking game, our schedule has mellowed out a bit, and we are getting back on track with healthy home-cooked meals.

This week's line up:
Tuesday: Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam
Wednesday: Red onion crusted chicken with parsnip mashers* and sauteed spinach
Thursday: Tamale pie
Friday: Roasted turkey breast and challah
Saturday: Cilantro-lime chicken and home-made guacamole
Sunday: Mah Jong with the girls, boys must fend for themselves!

Parsnip mashers are a new addition to our side rotation. I was inspired by Tyler Florence's Parsnip Puree recipe, but almost died at the though of using 2 cups of heavy cream and 1/2 a stick of butter in any of my cooking (yummy, yet heart-stopping and butt-fattening). I substituted skim milk and added a potato to create a creamy yet lower-in-fat texture on the dish.

Parsnip Mashers
Serves 6
111 calories per serving, 2 grams fat
PointsPlus value per serving: 3

Ingredients
1 pound parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 potato, peeled and cubed
1 tsp salt
1 cup skim milk
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cloves sliced garlic
1 Tbs butter
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

-Put parsnips and potato cubes in pot and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender, approximately 12-15 minutes.

-In a medium saucepan place the milk, thyme sprigs and sliced garlic over low heat and bring to a simmer.
-Remove milk from heat and discard garlic and thyme.
-Drain parsnips and potatoes.
-Place parsnips and potatoes in a food processor with butter, salt, pepper and half of the milk mixture. Process until very smooth.
-Continue to add milk until you have desired consistency.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Mommy What's For Lunch?

While browsing Facebook this week one of my old co-workers asked the age-old question: "What do you serve your kids for lunch?" Seems like such a simple question, but when you are dealing with a 2 year old--who can be super picky--this question seems more like a complex math equation.

Since I am not really cooking anything "new" this week, I thought it might be fun to list the kid friendly foods we reach for in our house--both homemade and prepackaged.  I am the Queen of freezing, so I usually make huge batches of the homemade items listed below, freeze them, and store them in small Ziplocks so I can nuke and serve.

Please feel free to add your favorite go-to lunches in the comments section!

Homemade Lunch List
Italian Meatballs
Swedish Meatballs
Bisquick Chicken Fingers
Spinach Artichoke Mac-and-Cheese
Turkey-Hummus Sliders
Alphabet Pasta and Meat Sauce
Mini Spinach and Turkey Meatloaves 
Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Store-Bought Lunch List
Kraft Easy Mac with pureed cauliflower mixed in
Dr. Preager's Pizza Bagels
Dr. Preager's Fish Sticks
Progresso Low-Sodium Chicken and Rice Soup
Thomas' Whole Wheat Bagel Thins topped with marinara and shredded mozzarella
Thomas' Whole Wheat Bagel Thins topped with peanut butter
Earth's Best Frozen Whole Grain Pizza's
Grilled cheese on whole grain bread
Scrambled eggs and whole grain toast

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Morning Treat--Cinnamon-Pecan Waffles

I have always been a breakfast person, but I tend to go for the same things over and over: cereal, bagels or eggs. My son, on the other hand, only wants one thing in the morning: WAFFLES. There are mornings when at 3am he approaches my room whimpering “Mommy? Waffles, I need waffles…” and I need to gently guide him back to bed reminding him that it is just too early, we can only have waffles once the sun comes up.

I was short on Bisquick this past weekend and needed something to bulk up my waffle batter so it wouldn’t be too soupy for the waffles iron. Ever since moving to GA pecans seem to be very abundant, so I chopped some up, threw them into the batter with some cinnamon, and created this morning goodness that I have been eating every morning since.

This photo does not do this dish justice--you'll just have to believe me that these are delicious!

 Cinnamon-Pecan Waffles

Servings: 6 (1 serving = ½ a waffle)

PointsPlus Value per serving: 5

130 calories, 6g fat, 4g protein

Ingredients

1 cup Bisquick Original Baking Mix

1/2 cup chopped pecans   

1 Tbs vegetable oil     

1 egg     

1 cup fat-free skim milk   

1 Tbs cinnamon

Directions

-Spray a cold waffle iron with PAM. Set to highest setting and wait for waffle iron to heat up (mine has a green light that goes on that tells you it is ready, yours may be different).

-While the waffle iron is heating up, mix together all of the ingredients. Let batter sit for 3-5 minutes to thicken.

-In three batches, pour batter into the waffle iron and let it do its magic.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

July 4th celebration featuring Summer Salads

Happy July 4th! We have been celebrating this holiday weekend by doing one of my favorite things--cook-outs with friends. Last night we went over to our good friend's house to enjoy some good old fashion burgers and hot dogs. I think that one of my favorite things about grilling is that you can basically grill the same things every week (in my book that would be chicken breasts or burgers) but you get a totally different meal based on the side salads you serve with the meal.

Last night I brought my Pesto Potato Salad and Greek Pasta Salad (recipe below) with us to the BBQ, and we will be having left-overs of them tonight with some easy balsamic chicken. Other suggestions for BBQ sides include:

-Swedish Potato Salad with Cucumbers and Red Onions
-Green Bean Salad with Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Red Onion
-Mediterranean Orzo Salad

This week is going to be a pretty low-key cooking week, especially since it is a short holiday week and the upcoming weekend is filled with kid's birthday parties and dinners out. As it turns out, we will only be home for three dinners.

Monday: Balsamic Chicken Breast with Pesto Potato Salad and Greek Pasta Salad*

Tuesday: Vegetable Lasagna with homemade bread sticks from epicurious.com

Wednesday: Grilled Pesto Pizza (replace the bruschetta topping with my simple perfect pesto, and top with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes for the last 3 minutes of grilling) with a large Italian Side Salad

Greek Pasta Salad
Serves: 10
PointsPlus per serving: 6
240 calories, 10 grams fat

Ingredients
1/2 box Barilla Plus Rotini pasta, cooked and drained
1 cup canned chickpeas 
2 carrots, diced
10 kalamata olives, sliced
1/2 cup Athenos Feta cheese with tomato & basil   
1/2 cup cherry tomato , sliced
1/4 cup diced celery  
1/4 cup diced cucumber  
1/4 cup diced red onion  

Dressing
1/3 cup olive oil  
2 Tbs cup red wine vinegar  
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs fresh chopped oregano
2 Tbs fresh chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbs honey
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions
-Mix dressing together in a small bowl. For best results, blend dressing in a small food processor.
-Set dressing aside.
-Mix cooled pasta with all ingredients EXCEPT for the feta cheese.
-Top pasta/veggie mixture with dressing and stir well.
-Add feta cheese last, mixing until just combined so that it doesn't get too crumbly.
-Refrigerate for 2+ hours so that flavors get a chance to infuse pasta.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Pesto Potato Salad and Other Easy Week-Night Meals

Another week, another menu line-up. It's a FarmBox weeks, so hopefully we will get some great produce. My herb garden has been growing out of control, so I had to trim back my basil, giving me the perfect opportunity to make some pesto. Dinner out 2 nights this week, again. I am really looking forward to next week where we will be home every night. I think it is so much easier to make healthy eating choices at home! I can't take credit for all of my meals this week, since 2 of the recipes are borrowed from other sites, but I hope you will enjoy them nonetheless!

Sunday: Italian Chicken Burgers with Pesto Potato Salad (recipe below)

Monday: Melting Pot with the girls (try my Date-Night Fondue recipe for your at-home Melting Pot experience! Not so good for you, but oh so delicious!)

Tuesday: Chipotle Tamale Pie from Food Network's Ingrid Hoffman

Wednesday: Dinner out

Thursday: Pasta Primavera (we never ended up eating this last week, so I froze the mixture for this week)

Friday: Catalina Chicken (made with cranberry sauce instead of apricot jam) with wild rice and challah

Saturday: Philly Cheese Steaks with peppers, onions and provolone (just swapping out some leftover frozen Flank steak in my Chicken Special  recipe and melting some provolone cheese over it. The leftover flank steak has already been grilled so I will just slice it super thin when it is half-way thawed)

Pesto Potato Salad
Serves 4
PointsPlus per serving: 5
 225 calories, 7g fat

Ingredients
4 medium sized red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1/4 cup Perfect Pesto
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup diced tomatoes
1/8 cup red onion, sliced thin

Directions
-In a medium pot, boil diced potatoes until just tender. Drain.
-Stir in Perfect Pesto and balsamic vinegar until all of the potatoes are covered.
-Gently fold in diced tomatoes and sliced red onion
-Allow to cool, then refrigerate over night prior to serving, allowing flavors to intensify.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Eating out is hard to do. OK, maybe not.

I have an easy cooking week ahead of me, especially since we are going out Tuesday, Thursday and Friday night for dinner! Not our usual, but we have a kids concert tonight that would only be compete with a pre-party pizza, Thursday night we have a committee meeting so we are grabbing a quick bite afterward, and Friday we have been invited out to dinner. My goal for this week was to keep our budget tight at the grocery store, and since we had 1 frozen chicken breast in the freezer, I was able to get away with buying fresh produce and ground turkey to complete all of our meals this week, putting us at a $40 grocery bill--not bad for 3 people!

Here's our line-up:

Sunday: Italian Turkey Burgers with sweet potato fries (I use the Alexia's frozen ones, they are very tasty and fairly healthy)

Monday: Betty Crocker's Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps with leftover Lo Mein (have you ever frozen lo mein? It actually freezes really well. I always freeze whatever we have left over and then just heat it up on the stove-top and toss in extra veggies and a little soy sauce)

Tuesday: Pizza from Screamin' Mimi's

Wednesday: Pasta Primavera

Thursday: Dinner out

Friday: Out again ;-)

Saturday: Chicken Enchiladas with Goya Black Beans and Rice

The Italian Turkey Burgers were very tasty and juicy--plus they were simple to make!

Italian Turkey Burgers
Serves 2
PointsPlus per serving: 9
400 calories per serving for patty and light hamburger bun

Ingredients:
3/4 pounds ground 93% lean turkey
1/2 packet Lipton Savory Herb and Garlic recipe, soup and dip mix
1/4 cup uncooked quick oats
2 tbs diced red onion
1 tbs fresh chopped parsley
2 light hamburger buns

Directions:
-Mix all ingredients together and form into 2 patties.
-Refrigerate for 1 hour
-Grill over medium flame from 8-10 minutes per side, or until juices run clear.
-Serve on light hamburger roll with ketchup, tomato and lettuce.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Cooking ahead for a stressfull week

For the past two weeks my part-time job has been taking over my life. The start of Camp is here and I am super stressed--months of planning and organizing and the big day is this week! Knowing that this week will be nuts with parent inquiries and camper changes, I prepped as many of our meals as I could Sunday morning. Here is our line-up:

Monday--Teriyaki Chicken Stir-Fry (Marinated chicken on Sunday and purchased a pre-packaged veggie-stir-fry mix to quickly throw this meal together)

Tuesday--Eggplant Lasagna (Prepped on Sunday and in the fridge waiting to be baked! I just use my Eggplant Rollatini recipe, but rather than make individual rolls I layer the eggplant and cheese like a lasagna)

Wednesday--Vegetarian Taco Salads (Made the beans Sunday morning (recipe to follow), all I have to do is shred some lettuce and top with fresh veggies, salsa, sour cream and cheese)

Thursday--Dinner with friends--OUT :-)

Friday--Tuscan Brick Chicken from Barefoot Contessa with homemade Challah

Saturday--Beer-Marinated Flank Steak from Epicurious.com

Its a FarmBox week, so I made sure we were having something saucy on Tuesday to dip the to-die-for bread in that we will be getting.

So back to the Vegetarian Taco Salad. This dish is inspired by my UMass days when my roommate Sue and I would get super excited when we saw Veggie Tacos featured at the DC. It wasn't until I graduated that I realized how simple these beans were to make.

Veggie Taco Beans
Servings: 4
WW PointsPlus Per Serving: 7
285 calories, 1g fat, 11g fiber, 15g protein, 55g carbs


Ingredients
1 15oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup bbq sauce
1 Tbs chili powder
1/4 cup water

Directions
-In a small pot, stir together all ingredients and bring to a boil.
-Reduce to low heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until sauce is thick.
-Serve over shredded lettuce with your favorite taco toppings.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

My first big cooking gig--Chicken with Fruit and Olives + Swedish Almond Torte=success!

The crowd

Tonight was kinda a big night for me--I sort of "catered" my first big event. Sure, I have done small showers and parties, but nothing like this. I was asked to cook for our synagogue's annual fundraiser, and although I have a million things going on this week, it was an opportunity I could not pass up. I decided to bring it back to basics by making my Chicken with Olives and Fruit, knowing that I could prep most of the dish on Friday and simply cook off the recipe on the day of the event. Being that is was a kosher event, I faced the challenge of finding a dessert that did not contain any dairy products. I opted for a Swedish favorite of mine, Mazarinetorta, or Almond Torte, that can be made with margarine and non-dairy pie crust. Healthy? No. Delicious? Yes!

Chicken and Fruit for 150+ people!

The Chicken with Olives and Fruit has made an appearance on my blog a few times. And although I try to focus on healthy meals on my blog, I am making an exception and sharing my recipe for Mazarinetorta. It is surprisingly easy to make. Don't believe me? I made 9 of them in just about an hour!

Mazarinetorta

Mazarinetorta
Calories per serving: You don't want to know.
1 frozen pie crust
225 grams melted margarine or butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
2/3 cups almond slivers
3 eggs

Garnish
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3-4 strawberries, sliced


Directions:
-Pre-heat oven to 325.
-In a large bowl, beat eggs until slightly frothy. Add sugar, melted margarine and almond extract.
-In a food processor, pulse the almonds until they have a fine, flour like texture. Add to the egg mixture. Stir until well combined.
-Pour mixture into the pie crust.
-Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and center is firm.
-Remove from oven and let cool completely.
-Top with powdered sugar and sliced strawberries.

Not so healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Grilled Buschetta Pizza--Put your BBQ Skills To The Test

It is really getting HOT here in GA. Time to fire up the BBQ and enjoy some late summer nights where the cool breeze from the bluff is your only hope for relief. Tonight we grilling up something a little different--pizza. I was really craving it, but when I mentioned pizza to my husband he said "It's just way to hot." Solution: Grill up some pizza dough on the BBQ, let it cool, then top with refreshing summer ingredients guaranteed to cool you down and satisfy that pizza craving all at once. Tonight, I used my basic pizza dough recipe, griled it up, and topped it with one of my favorite Italian starters: bruschetta. Serve this pizza with a nice side salad and dinner is done! Just a slight tip--make the bruschette a few hours before you grill your dough, so that the flavors can all meld together.

Grilled Bruschetta Pizza 
Serves 4
300 calories per serving

Bruschetta Topping
1 tbs olive oil
1 large tomato, chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
-Mix ingredients in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Pizza dough
(Makes two 12-inch pizzas--you will only use one for this recipe)
1 1/2 cups warm water (not HOT)
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs olive oil, divided
3 cups white flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt

-In a small bowl mix yeast, warm water and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes until it gets frothy looking.
-Add 1 tbs oil to yeast mixture and put aside.
-In a separate bowl mix flours and salt.
-Slowly mix yeast mixture into flour mixture. Dough should form a smooth ball (add extra flour if it is too sticky--you may need to use your hand)
-Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
-Punch down dough and kneed for 3 minutes.
-Divide dough in half. Toss one crust into a zip lock bag and freeze.
-On a floured surface, roll out your dough until it is about 1/8th inch thick. Using a pastry brush, smooth 1/2 tbs oil on the side that is facing up (this will be the side you place facing down on the grill).
-Pre-heat grill. Place dough on the grill oiled-side down. Let cook for 1 minute. After the minute is up, brush the remaining 1/2 tbs oil on the side of the pizza facing up. Once the dough starts to bubble on top, kinda like a pancake, it is time to flip it.
-Cook for about 1 minute more and them remove, placing on a large cutting board or pizza wheel to cool.

To complete your pizza, top cooled pizza crust with bruschetta topping. For added flavor (and calories, so don't forget to add them in), drizzle with balsamic vinegar and fresh Parmesan shavings.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Herb-Inspired Dinners

Recently, my summer herb garden has really been a huge inspiration for my cooking. I find that I am constantly running out to grab a sprig of thyme or a few leaves or basil to add flavor to whatever meal I am making. This week, I used a lot of basil, cilantro and rosemary to make our dinners healthy and full of flavor.
Here's our line-up:
Monday: Mom's Meat Sauce with homemade Parmesan-herb bread sticks (I used olive oil as my fat, and a mixture of dried herbs, fresh rosemary and Parmesan cheese to spice up this easy recipe from Epicurious.com)
Tuesday: Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Elexia's Guacamole
Wednesday: Asian Chicken Wraps with cold sesame noodles (I used left over peanut sauce from last weeks Thai-style chicken and tossed it with cold noodles and sesame seeds for a quick and easy side-dish)
Thursday: Falafel with Greek Salad (This is my favorite recipe from MediterrAsian.com--the dressing for this salad, combined with the cheese, can be very high in fat and calories--a teaspoon of dressing goes a long way!)
Friday: Chicken and Rice with homemade Challah 

Chicken and Rice

Chicken and Rice is one of my husband's favorite dinners. It is super easy--here is what you will need:
Ingredients:
1 box of Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice prepared according to the directions on the box
4 Chicken Cutlets
1 Packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix
4 tsp reduced fat margarine spread (I use I Can't Believe it's Not Butter Light)

Directions:
-Line an 8x8 baking dish with foil and spray with PAM.
-Spread the cooked rice on the foil.
-Lay the 4 chicken cutlets on top of the rice.
-Top each cutlet with 1 tsp of margarine and 1/4 packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix.
-Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

It's a FarmBox week this week, so I am hoping for some amazing veggies to spruce up our Thursday and Friday night dinners.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Fresh from the Farmer's Market

I think one of my favorite things about summer is the amazing selection of local produce available to me. Now that we have moved to the South, I have really been trying to incorporate more organic fruits and vegetables into our weekly meal plan. Although I am now only getting FarmBox every other week, I am finding that I am able to stretch my vegetable budget by supplementing with the amazing selection at the local Farmer's Market. Oaktree Farms is by far one of my favorite vendors, and their vegetables are appearing in almost every meal I make this week.

Here is our line-up:
Monday: Turkey Picadillo
Tuesday: Spinach Manicotti
Wednesday: Garlic-Chipotle Beef Kebabs Kebabs from the June issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food and Grilled Broccoli and Bread Salad from Food and Wine
Thursday: Stir Fry with snow peas and chicken (courtesy of hubby since I have to work late)
Friday: Shabbat Dinner--Chicken and Rice with Challah
Saturday: Thai-Style Chicken with Peanut Dipping Sauce
Sunday: Friend's BBQ, where I will be bringing Swedish Potato Salad with Cucumber and Red Onion

I love that all of these meals can be made ahead of time, leaving me more time during the week to get the 1 million other things I have to do done. Monday and Tuesday night's dinners are already prepared and sitting in the fridge ready to be heated up, meaning I won't really have to cook again until Wednesday. It's nice knowing that even though I am a busy mom, with a little planning I can provide healthy meals to my family while supporting local farmers and their efforts.

Healthy Meals to Nourish Your Mind.

So what do you make on a weekly basis?

A lot of people have been asking me "So what types of things do you cook?" I know that going through my blog week after week can be time consuming, so I figured I would just put it all out there--a menu of what meals I make for our family on a daily basis. Sure, I mix it up based on what's in season and what's on sale, but these menu items are our staples, our go-to items if you will. See something that catches your eye that is not on my blog? Shoot me a note in the comments section and I will be happy to share the recipe with you!

 

Poultry

Balsamic Chicken

-Grilled chicken cutlets marinated in a balsamic-Dijon dressing.

Cilantro-lime Chicken

-Grilled chicken cutlets marinated in a sweet honey-cilantro lime citrus dressing.

Grapefruit Chicken

-Baked bone-in chicken breasts simmered in a grapefruit-Dijon glaze.

Chicken Parmesan

-Chicken cutlets breaded in a Parmesan cheese-blend topped with marinara sauce and cheese.

Red Onion Crusted Chicken

-Chicken crusted in breadcrumbs and red onion, then lightly pan-fried to a crisp crust.

Chicken with Peppers and Onion

-Sautéed chicken breast, onions and peppers in a light white wine sauce.

Chicken with Olives and Fruit

-Thinly sliced chicken oven roasted with olives, apricots and dried plums in a white wine sauce.

Brick Chicken

-Skin-on chicken pieces, rubbed with olive oil and fresh herbs, seared to a crisp skin and slow-finished in the oven.

Chicken and White Bean Chili

-Pulled white-meat chicken, sautéed green peppers and navy beans in a thick chicken-broth base.

Chicken Marsala

-Pan-seared chicken cutlets topped in a mushroom-marsala wine sauce.

Chicken Cacciatori

-Chicken cutlets seasoned with oregano and basil simmered in a thick tomato sauce with onions, peppers and mushrooms.

Chicken Enchiladas

-Tortillas filled with chicken, peppers, onions and cheese baked in a tomato enchilada sauce.

Tex-Mex Pie

-Sautéed ground turkey, peppers, and onions, seasoned with cumin and chili powder, layered with cheese and kidney beans in a flour tortilla pie.

Stuffed Peppers

-Green peppers stuffed with ground turkey, orzo and onions, baked in a tomato sauce

Beef

Swedish Meatballs

-Ground beef seasoned with onion and potato, pan fried and served with a light cream sauce.

Italian Meatballs

-Ground beef seasoned with Parmesan cheese and Italian spices, served in a marinara sauce.

Rosemary-Merlot Flank Steak

-Marinated Flank steak grilled and served with a rosemary-merlot reduction.

BBQ Meatloaf

-A mixture of sautéed onions and ground beef seasoned with BBQ sauce and baked with a ketchup glaze.

Beef Burgundy

-Braised chuck beef sautéed with onions and mushrooms in a beef-burgundy sauce.

Beef Hash

-Finely diced onions, potatoes and steak pan-fried together.

Cabbage and Beef Stew

-Ground beef, shredded cabbage, rice and potatoes simmered in a hearty tomato-beef broth.

Shepherds Pie

-Ground beef, peas, corn, carrots and onions sautéed together and topped with mashed potatoes.

Meat Sauce

-Ground beef sautéed with onions and basil-infused tomato puree.

Vegetarian

Eggplant Parmesan

-Eggplant crusted in Parmesan cheese, pan-fried and topped with marinara sauce.

Eggplant Rollatini

-Eggplant crusted in Parmesan cheese, pan-fried, stuffed with a spinach- ricotta cheese mixture, and baked with marinara sauce.

Vodka sauce with peas and mushrooms

-Tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, onions, basil and a hint of cayenne pepper, simmered until thick and then mixed with sautéed mushrooms and peas.

Marinara Sauce

-San Marzano tomatoes simmered with garlic, onions and basil.

Vegetarian Chili

-Black, garbanzo, kidney and navy beans simmered with chili seasoning and sautéed onions and peppers.

Falafel

-Chickpea patties seasoned with red onion and cumin, lightly pan-fried and served on mini-pitas with a tomato-cucumber sauce.

Vegetable Quesadillas

-Caramelized onions sautéed with peppers, black beans and corn, topped with cheddar cheese and pan-seared into a crispy crust.

Spinach Pie

-Spinach and feta blended with dill, lemon juice and scallions, layered between crisp sheets of phyllo dough.  

Hopefully this basic overview will help you create menus of your own--ones that your family will love, and you will love serving them.

 Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Applesauce and Oatmeal Mini-Muffins

I am kinda in an overdrive spring-cleaning mode. Not only do I want my house to be sparkly and organized, but I want to clean out my pantry as well.  I have been trying to come up with meals that use a lot of the pantry staples we have, like oatmeal and applesauce, so that I can re-stock with  fresh items. I came up with these mini-muffins after browsing the web and combining a few recipes that I liked. They are really quick (only took half of a nap-time) and my son gobbles them up. Best of all they are pretty low in calories and almost fat-free. You could add protein powder or flax seeds to beef them up, but I like them just the way they are.

Applesauce and Oatmeal Mini-Muffins

Servings: 40 mini-muffins

PointPlus Value: 1 point per muffin

35 calories, .2 g fat, 7g carb

Ingredients

1 cup skim milk   

1 cup uncooked quick oats (not instant) 

1 tsp vanilla extract   

2 tsp ground cinnamon   

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 egg   

1/2 cup packed brown sugar     

1 tsp baking powder   

1/2 tsp baking soda   

1 cup whole wheat flour

 Topping

 2 Tbsp sugar    

Directions

-Mix together milk, oats, vanilla and 1 tsp cinnamon. Let sit 20 minutes.
-In a separate bowl mix together flour, brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
-After 20 minutes, add egg and applesauce to the soaked oats. Stir until just combined.
-Pre-heat oven 400.

-Fill a sprayed mini-muffin tin with batter so that you have 40 muffins.
-Sprinkle lightly with sugar (I use pearl sugar, but regular sugar will work too).
-Bake 8 minutes.
-Remove from oven, cool 1 minute and then transfer to cooling rack.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind. 

Meatballs Make It All Better

I am a true believer in the thought that cooking for someone in a time of need is a great way to show that you care. My friend's son recently had tubes put in, and I knew that I wanted to do something to make the day as easy as possible for her. My son has had tubes twice, and I remembered how drained I was after the surgery. What could be better after a long, trying day than a fresh bowl of spaghetti and meatballs (or a Meatball Parmesan sub). Thankfully her son is doing just fine after his surgery, and hopefully his mommy and daddy have nice full bellies!

Easy Italian Meatballs

Ingredients
Sauce
Makes 20 Servings
PointsPlus value per serving: 1
1 28oz cans crushed tomatoes
2 14oz cans stewed tomatoes
1/2 can tomato paste
1 bunch fresh basil
1 Tbs fresh rosemary
1 onion, chopped
salt/pepper

Directions
Dump first 5 ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. Saute onion in a very large pot and add tomato mixture. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Remember you are going to cook your meatballs in this sauce, so make sure your pot is very big!

Ingredients
Meatballs
Makes 20 meatballs
PointsPlus value per meatball: 2
18oz 90% lean ground beef
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tbs Parmesan cheese
1 whole egg plus 1 egg white
2 Tbs cup water
1 tsp garlic powder
salt/pepper

Directions
-Mix the bread crumbs with the Parmesan cheese. Stir in eggs and water. You should have a really mushy mixture. If it clumps together, add a little more water.
-Add garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well.
-Add in the ground beef. Mix until just blended (you should not have any clumps of bread mixture, but you do not want to over-mix). This is best done with your hands.
-Wet your hands and roll small balls of the meat into golf-ball sized meatballs. You should get 20 meatballs.
-Drop meatballs into simmering sauce. DO NOT COVER. Make sure the heat is on low.
-Stir every 10-15 minutes, scooping up from the bottom to make sure that the meatballs are not sticking.
-Let meatballs cook for 1 hour.

**Make ahead:
-To freeze meatballs, scoop them out of the sauce with a spoon and drain them on the side of the pot so they are pretty much sauce-free.
-Lay them out on a cookie sheet sprayed with PAM.
-Place entire cookie sheet in the freezer for 2 hours. Remove and transfer meatballs into a ziplock back. Return to freezer and use meatballs as needed.
-You can also freeze the sauce in ziplock freezer bags for delicious pasta sauce. Lay them flat in the freezer to save space.

Healthy Meals to Nourish Your Mind.

Sweet and Sour Grapefruit Chicken

I would say in the past year or so I have begun to experiment with using fruit in my cooking. For Thanksgiving this year I used apples and cranberries in my stuffing, and for Shabbat I always enjoy when I make Chicken with Olives and Fruit. Citrus, however, is not a fruit that I have cooked with, um, ever. I came across this recipe while going through my cooking scrapbook. It was given to me by an old co-worker that I lost touch with, but I am happy to have this memory of our mornings spent chatting about food and "what's for dinner". I served this dish with a side of Fruited Rice Pilaf, of which you can find many versions on the web. The dried fruit in the pilaf really played off the tartness of the grapefruit marinade.

Sweet and Sour Grapefruit Chicken

Servings: 4

PointsPlus Value per serving: 5

200 calories, 7 grams fat

Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp Ketchup

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp Mustard

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp black pepper

16 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast

1/2 cup grapefruit sections

Directions

-In a medium sized bowl, mix together all ingredients except for grapefruit sections and chicken.
-Transfer marinade to a zip-lock bag. Add chicken and let sit overnight.
-Pre-heat oven to 375.
-Place chicken and marinade in a shallow baking dish and bake for 30-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

-Cool slightly, plate and top with grapefruit sections.

Healthy Meals to Nourish Your Mind.

Mushroom-Beef Burgers

I love a good burger. It was one of my pre-requisites while dating: If a guy didn’t like a good hamburger, I knew it wasn’t going to work out. While turkey burgers are great (I love my Cowboy Burger recipe) sometimes I crave real ground beef. By combining mushrooms and ground beef, this recipe allows me to bulk up my burger, so I get a pretty large patty using a minimal amount of meat. Top with low fat cheese, shredded lettuce and tomatoes and you will be in heaven!

Mushroom-Beef Burgers
PointsPlus Value: 4 per patty
Servings: 4
145 calories, 4 grams fat

Ingredients
8 oz 90% lean ground beef
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 egg white
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions
-In a food processor, pulse mushrooms and onion together until it is finely chopped, almost like a paste.
-Sauté mushroom-onion mixture in a pan sprayed with PAM until most of the liquid dissolves. Let cool.
-In a mixing bowl, mix together Panko breadcrumbs and egg white. Add parsley, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Mix well.
-Stir in ground beef and mushroom-onion mixture.
-Form into 4 patties and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. They fall apart really easily, so handle with care.
-Heat up a large skillet sprayed with PAM. Cook patties 5 minutes each side, or until juices run clear. Do not grill, they will fall apart!

Healthy Meals to Nourish Your Mind.

Challah Back Y’all!

OK, so I have been waiting 8 months to say that and tonight felt appropriate. We have decided that we need to get better at doing Shabbat as a family, and what better way to observe than to bake your own Challah. I have tried a million times and ended up with doughy, burnt, tasteless loaves of bread. I finally Googled “No fail easy challah” and this is what I came up with. I cut the recipe in half since I didn’t want 4 loaves of bread especially if they ended up cummy (no pun intended). These look promising, and smell delicious.

So Shabbat Shalom Y’all (ok, I’ll stop…)

Challah
Makes 2 Challahs, 8 slices per loaf, or 4 mini Challahs, 4 large slices per loaf.
PointsPlus Value per slice: 4
170 calories per slice, 3 grams of fat

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2  eggs
1 1/2 tsp table salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
-In a small bowl, mix yeast and warm water (not hot) and let stand for 5 minutes.
-In a large bowl, beat together honey, oil, 1 egg and salt. Slowly add yeast mixture to the honey mixture.
-Add the 4 cups of flour, one cup at a time, beating after each addition, graduating to kneading with hands as dough thickens. Use the remaining ½ cup of flour for kneading the dough. Knead until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky.
-Spray a large mixing bowl with PAM. Place dough in bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.
-Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board.
-Divide in half and knead each half for five minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting sticky.
-Divide each half into thirds and roll into long snake about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
-Pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid from middle.
-Grease two baking trays and place finished braids on each.
-Cover with towel and let rise about one hour.
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-Beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each braid.
-Bake for about 25 minutes. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.
-Cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.