Sarah's Simple Pleasures

Breakfast casserole method

2015-01-02T08:26:00.003-08:00

I like to make a breakfast casserole at least once a week. Pretty much a giant fritatta. We can eat it for a couple days and the babies love to eat them for lunch or dinner. They are a great use up of any meats or veggies you already have. I love to put one diced sweet potato and diced onion in almost every one I make. Some of my favorite ingredient options include: sweet potato, onion, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, kale, bell peppers, tomatoes, bacon, hot links, sausage, (you could do chicken but I'm still not a chicken for breakfast person, maybe one day). I always add some spice to it. Salt and pepper are a must. I also like sage, chili flakes and rosemary depending on the veggie/meat combo.

Here's the basic method with the ingredients I happened to use today but mix it up to what you have on hand.

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato peeled and diced
1 onion diced
2 hot link sausages
1/2 tsp dried sage
8 eggs beaten (When serving this, I like to cut it into 8 slices -Yeah I'm crazy like that and it helps me with serving sizes)
S and P

1. Preheat oven to 350. Saute diced veggie, meats and spices until veggies are just soft and meat is slightly browned. It will all cook a little more in the oven.
2. Grease a 13 x 9 casserole with coconut oil.
3. Place veggie/meat mixture in the greased pan.
4. Pour beaten eggs on top and mix around until everything is evenly distributed and mixed well.
5. Bake in oven at 350 for about 20 minutes or until eggs are set.

Tastes great room temp and reheats well. Do it do it!!!

Whole 30 Round 2

2015-01-01T19:27:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!!!!
We are back at it today! We are going to complete a Whole 30. We are both looking forward to it as we strayed pretty far off plan when we were on vacation in Mexico. Those tortillas were dangerous! If you don't know what Whole 30 is, you should really read the book, It starts with Food. It is an informative, good read and it explains everything. We are basically following a Paleo diet plus no sugar or sweetener of any kind. We eat vegetables, fruits, eggs...lots of eggs...yummm....organic meats and wild caught seafood. We buy almost everything organic and prefer to buy at the farmers market. Costco has some great products now to make clean eating a bit easier. Here is our menu for the first week. I'm going to post links to recipes and post some of my own. I hope this helps you. It really helps me to have a plan written down.

Part or our Costco haul. Organic eggs, beef and chicken. Aidells chicken apple sausage, wild caught canned tuna that is incredible, lettuce, red bell peppers, mushrooms, almond butter, a BIG jar of green chilie!

DAY 1
Dinner: Spaghetti squash and Bolognese sauce. Notes: Make 4 quarts of sauce and freeze.

Lunch: Make veggie soup (I did onions, leeks, carrots, potatoes, 1 can diced tomatoes, kale, garlic, herbs de provance, s and p, a few quarts of chicken stock)

Breakfast: Poached eggs, peppers, and chicken sausage

DAY2
Dinner Perfect Roast Chicken Recipe Notes: Make overnight broth with chicken bones
I use Ina's recipe. Its the best! I usually place thick slices of lemons under the bird and it gives everything such great flavor. I also leave out the fennel...its growing on me but we're not there yet.

Lunch: Veggie soup

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with hot dogs, apple

DAY 3
Dinner: Chicken "tortilla" soup

Lunch: Leftover soup

Breakfast: Mushroom, pepper, onion scramble

DAY 4
Dinner: Cauliflower purée with Pot Roast and roasted butternut squash

Lunch: Tuna lettuce wraps

Breakfast: Gordon's Scrambled eggs with tomatoes
Video of method This method literally changed our lives. I thought I knew how to make them before...I was very wrong.

DAY 5
Dinner: Asian Chicken lettuce wraps

Lunch: Tuna salad

Breakfast: Butternut squash cubes, fried eggs, sausage

DAY 6
Dinner:Green Chilie Chorizo Cauliflower Casserole recipe from Juli of Paleomg and everything she makes is amazing. This is one recipe I havent tried yet. Im excited!

Lunch: Leftover chicken wraps or tuna wraps

Breakfast: Spinach, bacon, sweet potato and egg casserole (There are great recipes for egg casseroles on www.paleomg.com .)

DAY 7
Dinner: Mini beef sliders with guacamole and veggies on sweet pot buns.

Lunch: Leftover casserole

Breakfast: Leftover egg casserole

A few things, yes there are leftovers in there. I have twins and making big batches of food is a must. They will eat everything we eat so we usually make a lot and they are wild, active children so I have to try and save time where I can. I know dinner is fist and breakfast last, but I plan by dinners then work lunch and breakfast around it so there you go. Good luck on any New Year goals or resolutions you may have set. Happy New Year!

A little heat and a little sweet

2014-11-18T19:28:00.001-08:00

Have you seen boyhood? If not, you must. It's so incredible. The film was made over 10? years and you'd think it would be choppy or broken into periods and it's not. It's so seamless and the acting is wonderful!

And now to dinner... I'm trying to follow the motto "cook what you have" I had chicken thighs and cauliflower. I went through different ideas curry or grilled chicken and roasted cauliflower but neither sounded good. Then I remembered the celery root I had in the fridge and that I had seen on some amazing blog to use that in a cauli purée and the meal started to take shape.

Enter...Spicy Chicken Thigh Ragu over Cauli-Celery Root Purée

This purée or mash or whatever you want to call it was the best one yet. The celery root tastes like all the best features of celery, crisp and fresh. I don't really like celery too much. It gets to mushy in soup and I've never really liked it in stir frys but the root is a whole different game. And I used way less water to steam the cauli and celery root so the purée wasn't as wet as it usually is.

The chicken thigh ragu was rich, spicy and savory. It was perfect of top of the kind of sweet purée. Made great leftovers and would be great with an egg on top for breakfast. (What isn't good with an egg on top?)

Cauliflower Celery Root Purée

1 medium head of cauliflower broken in florets
1 celery root or celeriac bulb peeled and chopped in 1 in cubes
1/3 cup of full fat Coconut Milk
3 tablespoons Kerrygold butter (Use Ghee for Whole 30)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt to taste (I used salted butter so I didn't add any salt...mmmmm....salted butter)

In a large pot, combine celery root, cauliflower and about an inch of water. bring to a boil and cover. Cook until tender. Keep an eye on it as you don't want the pan to burn but you do want the water to dry out completely once the food is tender enough. (You can always drain it but this method made the puree really thick. Next, place the veggies in you blender or food processor. Add the butter, coconut milk and spices. Puree until creamy. Add more coconut milk if needed. Add salt if needed.

Spicy Chicken Thigh Ragu

Avocado Oil
1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 carrots, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red or yellow bell pepper , diced (I used half of each because that's what I had)
5 cloves garlic, minced
8 green olives, chopped
1/4 cup red wine (Use broth if you'd like)
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp red chilie flakes
Salt and Pepper

1. Heat a skillet over Med-High (more high than medium). Add some oil to the pan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken on the outside. It doesn't need to be cooked through just browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. If needed, add more oil to the pan. Saute the carrots, onion, peppers for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another minute.
3. Deglaze the pan with wine or broth scraping up all of the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning and red chilie flakes. I added way more chilie because we like it hot. Don't overdo it though, you can always add more later.
5. Add the chicken back to the pan with all of the juices that are on the plate.
6. Let this simmer for 30 minutes until it thickens. Taste it and add more spices if needed.
7. Serve the ragu over the puree and smile because its going to be good!

I'm baaaccckkkkk......

2014-11-12T21:21:00.002-08:00

To say it's been a while would be an understatement. In the past three years since I was posting here, life has changed dramatically! I'm no longer teaching fifth grade, I'm teaching my 14 month old twins how to be little humans. It is the best job I could ever hope for and I am blessed beyond belief to be able to stay at home with them. Needless to say I have been a cooking fool. The twins eat everything and a lot of it. So I've found myself in the kitchen more than ever. That led to some great new recipes and some bad habits of "sampling" the babies food wayyyy too often and not taking time for my health. I have been reading books and articles and watching documentaries on food and the food industry and honestly it's all bullshit. (I am also part sailor...I'm trying to quit I promise!) I'm disgusted with what I'm learning. I seem to learn more everyday. This led to going mostly organic when the Babies were born. Recently, my husband and I gave up all grains, legumes, all forms of sugar and dairy. We started with the idea of completing a Whole 30 but I am not ready to give up my wine yet. Did I mention I have 14 month old twins???!!! I am sure I will complete one at some point because I really enjoyed the book It Starts With Food which is about the program. So we are paleo and it is going really well. We've tried calorie counting, vegetarian, gluten free, and weight watchers before and it was such a challenge. Having strict rules really helps me to set boundaries when I'm out to eat or shopping. I am loving the challenge of cooking with whole, organic delicious foods. We feel better and it eliminates the "sampling" I used to do and some of the other unhealthy relationships we had with food. Our health and food lifestyle is a work in progress but I finally feel like I found something I believe in and can stick with. I will be posting some delicious recipes soon. So stay tuned for some future yum!

Cranberry and goat cheese stuffed chicken breasts

2011-10-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a recipe from a while back that I never got to post. As I have been out of cooking commission for a week now with a slipped disc in my back, I figured I would "back blog" get it??? Back blog? ;)

I adapted this recipe from one found in Food Network Magazine, Sept. issue. I added dried cranberries to the filling and onions and garlic to the sauce.

For the chicken:
5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
10oz crimini mushrooms
1 clove chopped garlic
1 tbs. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper (S and P)
6oz goat cheese, softened
2 tbs. EVOO
1/4 c. chopped Italian parsley
1/2 c dried cranberries

For the sauce:
11/2 c. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp. flour
1/4 c. white wine (Not cooking wine, a wine you would drink)
1/2 c. chicken stock
1/4 c. dried cranberries
1 tbs. cold unsalted butter
S and P

Directions:

1. Prepare the chicken: Lay the chicken breasts on a piece of plastic wrap, place another piece on top of chicken and pound it using a mallet, heavy pan, or rolling pin until the chicken is about 1/4in. thick.

2. Clean and cut off any dry/tough spots on the crimini mushrooms. Chop finely or use a food processor to make the mushrooms finely chopped.
3. Saute the mushrooms and garlic in 1 tbsp. EVOO over med-high heat. Saute until the mushrooms have released their juices and the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 mins.

4. Combine the goat cheese, cooked mushrooms, cranberries, S and P.

5. Put one fifth of the mixture on the end of each chicken breast. Roll up the chicken breasts burrito style and tie with butchers twine.Season the roll ups with S and P.

6. Saute the chicken over med-high heat, turning every few minutes to ensure even cooking.Total cooking time is about 12-15 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before removing the twine and slicing.

7. While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce. Saute the shiitake mushrooms and onions until softened, about 7 minutes.

8. Add flour to the sauce and cook for 2 more minutes. De glaze the pan with the white wine while stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the chicken stock and dried cranberries and simmer for about 5 minutes at a low bubble until thickened. Add S and P to taste.

9. Slice the roll-ups into 4 to 5 pieces on an angle. Top with the mushroom cranberry sauce and enjoy! I served it with the gazpacho quinoa salad.

It was delicious and would be nice during the holidays or cool weather with mashed potatoes.

PS.-I forgot to add the parsley. I would have put half in the cheese mixture and half as a garnish.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

2011-09-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

Still going strong with eating fruits and veggies, limitied dairy, and no meats or gluten. Feeling better than ever!

We have been using Quinoa as our "cheat" food when we feel like we just need something "carb like" in our diet. The best part, it's a great source of protein. I had over some friends the other night and wanted to offer them something new and diet friendly. I made these Greek Style Quinoa Stuffed Peppers. They were great! I used red peppers instead of green because that is my favorite. You could use any color of pepper you like. An assortment is always beautiful. I made four large peppers but there is enough mixture to probably make five regular sized peppers. I took a before pic but forgot to get during and after pics. Ill add them next time I make the dish! Enjoy!

Greek Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa cooked according to package directions and cooled
4 red bell peppers, similar size and shape
1tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 med zuchinni, diced
6-8 kalamata olives, chopped
2 tbsp. Feta cheese
salt and pepper
1tsp dried oregano

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400.
Cut the tops off of the bell peppers. Save the tops. Remove ribs and seeds from inside. You may need to trim a little off of the bottom to make the pepper stable.
Dice the tops of the bell peppers and saute in oil, with the onions and garlic for 4-5 minutes or until soft.
Add the oregano, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until the zucchini are slightly softened and the tomatoes are releasing their juices.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked and cooled Quinoa, cooked vegetable mixture, olives, and feta in a bowl. Add salt and pepper if needed.
Spoon the mixture into the four peppers.
Place in a baking dish and add 2 tbsp. water to the pan to keep the peppers moist. Cover with foil.
Bake for 35-45 mins until the peppers are tender.

We served it with a huge greek salad with feta, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, jicima, and a homemade dressing. For dessert we had a fruit salad with cantaloupe, strawberries, kiwi, some shredded coconut, and lime juice.

It was delicious and healthy!! Win-Win!!!

Fruits and veggies take over the world!!!

2011-08-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

We decided to do a 4 day fruit and vegetable only meal plan. We would have done the 5 day but I was in Sedona and Jeff's birthday was Saturday, so we took the day off. We whined a bit about our carb and cheese cravings, but it really wasn't that bad. We had a combination of fresh made juices, smoothies, soups, salads, and some other meals. All home made, all made with only fruits and veggies (plus a few extras like dressing and spices). The recipes were really good. There was only one juice that I didn't like. (It smelt like dirt and tasted like grass.)

Some of our bounty!

WOW! Veggie town USA! <3

We are following the 5 day Reboot express from jointhereboot.com. Buying the fruits and veggies seemed like it would be really expensive and a lot of work but we went to Sprouts and Wal-Mart and got everything for the 4 days for like $75 total. Thanks, Jeff, for all the shopping help!

Our new juicer!

Here are some of the recipes from the first two days. It was a lot of food! I could barely finish it all.

Meal Plan: Day 1

Breakfast

Cherry Cinnamon Apple Bake
This dish is delicious warm or cool.
Double the recipe for an extra serving.
1 cup Cherries (cut and discard pit)
2 Apples cored and chopped
3 Tbsp. raisins (choose golden variety for a twist)
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
Spray baking dish with expeller pressed canola oil
Place into oven safe baking dish and cover
Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until apples are soft
Cool and enjoy!
Calories: 249
Protein: 2 g
Fiber: 9 g

Mid-Morning Juice-Loved this juice so much. It really freaked my students out though!

Green Juice
6 leaves Kale
2 cups Spinach
1/2 Cucumber
4 stalks Celery
2 Apples
1” Ginger root
Calories: 180
Protein: 12 g
Fiber: 1 g

Lunch

Arugula Spinach Salad + Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing
2 cups Arugula
1 cup Spinach
1/3 Avocado
1/2 cup thinly sliced red Onion
1/2 cup chopped Tomato (heirloom in the summer)
1/2 cup Jicama

Mustard Vinaigrette- I had to have this with honey or it was too acidic.
1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. Grain mustard
2/3 cups Cold Pressed Olive Oil
Sea Salt & fresh ground Pepper to taste
Puree the vinegar and mustard in a blender. With the blender running, slowly pour in the olive oil. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Keeps up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
For Honey Mustard Vinaigrette: Add 3/4 Tbsp. Raw Honey
Makes 8-9 servings
Salad and 2 Tbsp. Mustard Dressing:
Calories: 278
Protein: 3.5 g
Fiber: 9 g

Raw Carrot Ginger Soup-Sooooo good!!
Makes 2, 1 1/2 cup servings – save 1 for dinner
3 cups Carrot Juice
1 ripe Avocado
2 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
1 Tbsp. Ginger, minced
1/4 tsp. ground Cayenne Pepper
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 cup Coconut Meat, optional
2 Tbsp. Avocado or Olive Oil, for garnish
2 Tbsp. Fresh Cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Puree the first seven ingredients in a blender until completely smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Garnish the soup with a drizzle of oil and the chopped cilantro.
Per Serving:
Calories: 234 kcal
Protein: 2 g
Fiber: 7 g

Dinner

Reboot Green Salad
Make it big! Any greens you like such as romaine hearts, baby romaine, baby spinach, baby arugula, add any veggie you like: cucumber, carrot, celery, pepper, tomato, fennel, radish, sprouts (not bean sprouts), onion, fresh herbs. Avocado may also be added for more substance.
Dress with Ginger Honey Soy Dressing
Salad and 2 Tbsp. Dressing:
Calories: 278
Protein: 3.5 g
Fiber: 9 g

Steamed Snow Peas, Broccoli and Green Beans with Ginger Honey Soy Dressing
1/3 lb. Snow Peas, ends trimmed
1/3 lb. Green Beans, ends trimmed
1 head Broccoli, cut into florets
Heat a pot with boiling salted water and cover with a steamer basket. Add the vegetables and steam about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked but still green and crisp. Drizzle with the Ginger Honey Soy Dressing.
Steamed Veggies and Dressing:
Calories: 203
Protein: 3 g
Fiber: 4 g

Ginger Honey Soy Dressing-Freaking amazing!
2 Tbsp. Minced Fresh Ginger
2 Tbsp. Minced Fresh Garlic
2 Tbsp. Raw Honey
4 Tbsp. Nama Shoyu or Tamari
4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Puree the first four ingredients in a blender. With the blender running, slowly add the oil until the dressing is emulsified. Keep up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Meal Plan: Day 2

First thing in the morning

Herbal tea or hot water with lemon

Breakfast

Blackberry Kiwi Blend
1/4 large Pineapple, core removed and roughly cubed
1 cup Blackberries
1 Kiwi Fruit
1 Banana
1/2 Comice Pear
1/2 cup Coconut Water
30 Mint leaves

We pre chopped most fruits and added banana and berries in the am.

1 Tbsp. Flax seed oil, optional
Add all ingredients to blender and liquify.
Calories: 458
Protein: 6 g
Fiber: 18 g

SOOOOOO yummy!

Mid-Morning Juice-This is the one juice that I couldn't drink. Maybe too many beets and radishes for me.

V28
3 large Red Beets
2 medium Carrots
2 stalks Celery
4 Plum Tomatoes
4 cups Parsley, leaves and stems, roughly chopped and packed into the measuring cup
1 Jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed
12 Red Radishes
Calories: 340
Protein: 17 g
Fiber: 2 g

Lunch

Carrot-Dill Salad
3 cups Greens (spinach, arugula, romaine, red leaf, etc.)
Shredded Carrot, Fennel, Radish, Cabbage, Celery Salad with Fresh Dill, Lemon
1/2 of an Avocado
Add Ginger honey soy dressing
Salad and 2 Tbsp. Dressing:
Calories: 278
Protein: 3.5 g
Fiber: 9 g

Dinner

Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Mushroom and Sage
1 medium Acorn Squash
3/4 tsp. plus 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground Black Pepper
6 Tbsp. Olive Oil, plus extra for brushing
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 large Portobello Mushroom, chopped
1 small Onion, chopped
2 tsp. Fresh Sage, finely chopped
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes, optional
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Trim off each end of the squash. Stand the squash upright and halve lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp and the seeds and discard. Brush each squash half with olive oil, and then sprinkle with 3/4 tsp. salt and the black pepper. Arrange cut sides down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast the squash until the flesh is tender and the edges are golden brown, approximately 25-35 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the squash halves over and set aside.
While the squash roasts, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute 2 minutes, or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the mushrooms, sage, 1/4 tsp. salt and the red pepper flakes if using, and saute until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Fill the roasted squash halves with the mushroom mixture and bake again for another 10 minutes.
Makes 4 servings
Per serving:
Calories: 254
Protein: 2 g
Fiber: 2.5 g
Green Vegetable Soup (save a serving for snack Day 3)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Leeks, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 head Broccoli, trimmed to small florets
2 medium Zucchini, cut into half moons
1 head Spinach, roughly chopped
4 leaves Basil
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground Pepper
6 cups water
3 Tbsp. fresh Basil, chopped
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the leeks and garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add the broccoli, zucchini, spinach, basil, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped basil.

Both dishes were good. I added fresh thyme to both and some nutmeg to the squash.

We are going to do it again this week but maybe add in a little protein like fish and beans. I felt better last week than I have in a while. Jeff and I both felt like our heads were more clear, we had a ton more energy, and just felt overall "good".

I'll Post more soon. Still also planning on posting many other recipes of my own making. :)

Gazpacho Quinoa Salad

2011-07-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

I have been experimenting with Quinoa this week. My first time I made it with stock and really didn't like it. It tasted kind of dirty or muddy. It was weird. i tried again with just water and liked it much more. After I got plain Quinoa down, I wanted to make some sort of salad.

Here is an easy one that I have already made twice in two weeks. As Jeff says, "I want to have this constantly in the fridge all summer." He was happy when we ran out because he said, "Well, now you just get to make more." Silly. :) He also came up with the name for it. He said it reminded him of the soup with all of the cucumbers, tomatoes, and basil. You could add any veggies that you want to this dish. I want to
add some protein next time with some Chick Peas or Kidney beans. Enjoy!

Gazpacho Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

1 C uncooked Quinoa
1 Cucumber (diced)
1 C quartered cherry tomatoes
2 T fresh basil, chopped
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
3 T Light Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette
3 T Reduced Fat Feta Cheese

Directions:
1. Cook the Quinoa according to package directions. Most have you rinse the quinoa first. I did this by pouring the cup of Quinoa in the sauce pan and running cold water over it 3-4 times until the water runs clear.
2. Put the cooked Quinoa in the fridge so it can cool before you mix it with the veggies. You dont want to cook the veggies at all.
3. Chop the cucumber. I had half of a store bought cucumber and a small home grown one :). I like to peel some of the skin off of the store bought one as it is too thick and waxy. Quarter it and chop into bite size pieces.

4. Put the chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, and parsley in a bowl.
5. Add the cooled quinoa to the veggies.
6. Pour the balsamic dressing on the top. I use a combination of a creamy balsamic and a regular light balsamic and love it. Really, just use any salad dressing that you like! Mix to combine well.
7. Add the feta to the salad and toss once more. Chill and enjoy!!!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Apple and Sausage

2011-07-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

FYI-This post was from 8/28. The website was down so I couldnt post.
I saw Rachel Ray make a pumpkin and sausage dish today and I decided to make my version. I used butternut squash as it is available and almost interchangeable with fresh pumpkin. It has a short ingredient list and is just a chop, drop, and throw in the oven meal.

Ingredients

1 med to large butternut squash
2 firm red apples (Gala, Braeburn, etc.)
1 med sweet onion'
1/2 lemon or 1 tbls lemon juice
1 lb Sausage or Wurst (I used Sweet Turkey Sausage)
1 tbls Agave Nectar (I would have preferred honey or real maple syrup)
1 tbls Olive Oil
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt and Pepper

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Get out a large baking dish/casserole dish to place the chopped veggies in.
3. Peel the butternut squash and cut in half length wise. Scoop out the seeds. Chop the squash into 1 inch pieces. Place in baking dish.
4. Slice apples into wedges. An easy way to slice apples are to sut them in quarters. Then, slice the core out on an angle. Cut in half to make 8 wedges. Add apples to pan.
5. Squeeze lemon juice over the apples and toss with squash to keep from browning.
6. Slice the onions into wedges and add them to the pan.
7. Add agave nectar, nutmeg, oil, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste, to the pan.
8. Toss everything to combine.
9. Add sausages and toss again.
10. Bake uncovered for 40 mins. Toss all ingredients once during cooking.

*I broiled it at the end because I like extra crispy sausages! I also squeezed a little lemon juice at the end. It needed something to brighten the flavors and it really helped!
I liked it but I would change a few things next time: I over coked it. Ooops! I cooked it for about 53 mins and I think 45 would be perfect. (I wrote the recipe to reflect that.) I would also use a larger pan as the ingredients were crowded.

Jeff loved it and said he wouldn’t change a thing. I felt like I wanted it to be sweeter but I LOVE the combo of sweet and savory. I’ll make it again but please let me know if you make it and what changes you made to make it even BETTER! :)

One of our favorite meals!!!!

2011-06-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

Jeff was so excited when I told him what was for dinner tonight. It includes two of his favorite dishes. The first one I have been making for years and every person that I make it for wants the recipe. Because of that, it is one of two recipes that I already have pre-typed up. (The other one is my Green Chilie Chicken Enchiladas)

Chipotle Spinach Mini Meatloaves are super healthy. They are low fat, low cholesterol, and high in lean protein and fiber. I use old fashioned oats instead of bread crumbs and they melt away and make a great binder. That being said, they are my favorite meatloaf, and yes, I do have many meatloaf recipes. We had it with a favorite side dish. Mashed Cauliflower (really its pureed cauliflower.) A great substitute for mashed potatoes that if made of veggies! This meal is super healthy and comforting at the same time. Served with a side salad, it will please all!

Chipotle Spinach Meatloaves

Ingredients:

Chipotle Peppers

1/4 cup egg substitute

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme or basil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp Worscherstire Sauce (Plus more for later)

3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped

2 tsp adobo sauce (Omit if you don't like it too spicy!)

1-12oz box frozen chopped spinach

1-lb lean ground turkey

2 tsp chopped garlic

1/4 small yellow onion

1 tbls Parmesan Cheese (optional)

4 tsp Ketchup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 365.

1. In a large bowl, mix the first 9 ingredients (eggs through adobo sauce) in a bowl and set aside.

2. Defrost the spinach on defrost mode until it is warm or nuke it for 2-3 minutes on high. Drain by placing in a clean kitchen towel and squeezing out all of the excess water.

3. Combine the turkey with the oats mixture and drained spinach. Add the garlic.

4. Over the bowl, use a microplane or cheese grater, and grate 1/4 of a small onion directly in to the mixture. This keeps it moist. Add the cheese if using. did not use cheese this time and I didnt miss it! I think I will leave it out in the future.

5. Mix the mixture until everything is well combined. Do not over mix it.

6. Place meat mixture in 4 individual meatloaf pans (This is what I always do but you could do it just as easily in a large pan, muffin tins,or with no pan at all! Adjust times accordingly.)
7. Top each meatloaf with 1 tsp of Worscherstire sauce followed by 1 tsp of ketchup on each. Evenly distribute over meatloaf.

8. Bake mini meatloaves for 25 minutes at 365 degrees.

Here is a play by play:

1. In a large bowl, mix the first 9 ingredients (eggs through adobo sauce) and set aside. I added the peppers at the next step this time. Oops! :)

2. Defrost the spinach on defrost mode until it is warm or nuke it for 2-3 minutes on high. Drain by placing in a clean kitchen towel and squeezing out all of the excess water.

Place defrosted spinach in towel and squeeze!

3. Combine the turkey with the oats mixture and drained spinach. Add the garlic.

4. Over the bowl, use a microplane or cheese grater, and grate 1/4 of a small onion directly in to the mixture. This keeps it moist.

5. Mix the mixture until everything is well combined. Do not over mix it.

6. Place meat mixture in pans of choice. My mother in law got me these awesome JUMBO muffin tins so I used them today! Love them!

7. Top each meatloaf with 1 tsp of Worscherstire sauce followed by 1 tsp of ketchup on each. Evenly distribute over meatloaf.

8. Bake mini meatloaves for 25 minutes at 365 degrees.


Caramelized and Crunchy on the top.

"Mashed Cauliflower"

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets

1 cup chicken stock/water

Salt and pepper

1 tbls. Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano

1 tbls. Butter

1. Place the Cauliflower and stock or water in a sauce pan and cover. Bring to a boil over med high heat.
2. Simmer until very tender. Watch this! You may need to add more liquid as it cooks.

3. Once tender, place cooked cauliflower and 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid in a blender. Add butter, cheese, salt, pepper, and oregano.
4. Blend until mixture is completely pureed. Try to not add too much liquid as you don't want it to be runny. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and make sure everything is combined.

I will often change this recipe up. I like it best with Parmesean. You can use to milk or cream to make it more creamy. I made everything as low fat as possible tonight. It was still delicious and guilt free!

So for desert-I had some over ripe bananas and whipped up a batch of my favorite Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies! I used all Agave nectar (no sugar) this time and we both really loved them.

Now to finish Jericho! Been hooked!

The Boyce Thompson Arboretum

2011-06-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

I have gone to a few cool places over the past few weeks. They are all completely different in nature but each were very fun! For my birthday, Jeff and I went to The Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior, AZ. It took only 45 minutes to get there from Chandler and the drive was beautiful. The dogs really enjoyed it!

Misty and Stanley Paul feeling the breeze.

When walking in to the arboretum you can go into the many greenhouses and purchase plants that you will see on the walk. There were some really unique cacti and succulents that I might be purchasing next time. There are tons of trails to choose from. We chose the main trail and went off on a few side excursions. It was probably about 2 miles total. The wild flowers were amazing! You might think that a cactus garden is dull and colorless but it was really vibrant and different.

There was a beautiful statue and fountain near the entry. A nice place to listen to the water flow and have a seat.

Jeff and Mist

The Arboretum was soooo dog friendly. They have dog water bowls next to every drinking fountain. It was nice as it is a very open place and it was a warm day. During summer, I would go here early as it will be very hot.

A 20 ft Agave flower.

Take a look at these different types of cactus. There must have been a garden of 30 barrel cacti. The one with the arms was so cool. It looked fake!

There were benches all over the park with dedications inscribed on them. This was the one that we loved! So sweet! There were a few older couples walking around. The entire place is very romantic in a naturalistic way.

There is a small lake here. It is called Ayers Lake. It is a nice water feature that brakes up the dry climate. It has 2 ramadas and is surrounded by grasses and other bright green foliage. You walk around it and then hike up behind the lake to follow the main trail.

On the top of the hill is the Picket Post Mansion. It is available for tours at certain times. It was built into the side of the cliff and had amazing detail. These large rocks were to cool to not shoot a pic.

A view of the Pickett Post Mansions after descending into the canyon below beautiful Magma Ridge.

Tired after the hike.

Overall, it was a beautiful day. The dogs loved it and Jeff and I want to bring people there. I know my mom would love all of the unique gardens. My favorite garden (that I didn't get a picture of...) was the legume garden. A garden made up entirely of beans, lentils, peas, and other pod shaped vegetation. It was beautiful and now I want a legume garden in my back yard. It costs 7.50 per person to go there. We're actually thinking about getting a yearly pass for 45.00 for 2 people and that comes with 2 guest passes and you get 10% off of plants. Could be worth it!

Go to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum and take your dogs! Call me if you need company!!!

The death of a giant

2011-05-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

Our Agave plant is on its last leg. It has been pretty spectacular to watch it flower, seed, and now die. Here are a few pics of it throughout the process.

March 27. Before it flowered.

May 4


May 28

Garden Update

2011-05-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

The garden has undergone many changes this year as I needed to find a balance of size and water usage. While I loved the potted garden with the plants in the soil bags, it was getting too hot! The plants were drying out too quickly and needed more room for their roots.

The potted garden. 3-27

Squash, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs

Zucchini , cukes, broccoli, peppers, and an Heirloom tomato.

I love what we now have. I bought two 4ft square raised beds. I was going to build them myself but, they were a great deal so I couldn't pass them up!

First day planted 4-17

Here it is now! The tomatoes are taking over, the peppers are small but producing fruits. The zucchini is in the front bed along with radishes. I added the plastic over the tomatoes and that really helped with the hot AZ sun!

In the back bed are cucumbers climbing up the trellis, yellow squash, thyme, and a wimpy little lettuce.

Now if I can only get the dogs to stop stealing our food. They have enjoyed more tomatoes than we have. I think we are going to put up a short fence. They even steal hot peppers!!!

Some leftover plants including basil, artichoke, parsley, tomato.

We enjoyed our first meal from the garden last week. I wanted to make it really simple.

Garden Squash Pasta
1 tbsp. Olive oil
3 small to medium yellow squash, diced
3 lg or 5 small fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 vidalia onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp dried oregano
Salt and Pepper
12 oz whole wheat penne
Basil and Parmesean for topping

Directions
Cook the pasta according to directions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water to add to the sauce later.

Over med-high heat, saute the onions for 3-5 mins in olive oil, add the squash and garlic and saute for 5 mins. Add tomatoes, dried oregano, and Salt and Pepper to taste. Saute for 5 mins until veggies are cooked through and tomatoes have broken down. Drain pasta. Add pasta to saute pan with veggies while over medium heat. Top pasta directly with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Add in about 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water to the pan and stir to create a sauce.

Top with Fresh torn basil and extra Parmesan and dig in! So simple and delicious!!! Cant wait until we have more squash as I used all of ours to make this.

Italian Wedding Soup

2011-05-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

I got to do some cooking this Saturday and by some cooking I mean a lot. But it was all pretty quick stuff. I made Rachel Rays Hot and Cold Sesame Noodles but I added a ton of veggies. At the last step, I added sauteed red bell pepper, mushrooms, and onion. I also added raw long peels of carrot and chopped butter lettuce. It is so filling and has a strong nutty flavor. I topped it with some chopped mint! I will be making this again this summer!!!

I made this for my friends Courtney, Kenny, and Kirby who are driving up to the Havasupai reservation tonight to hike into the Havasupai Falls area tomorrow. It is one of the most amazing places on earth.

Here's a picture we took of Havasu Falls in 2007.

I also made some cookies for them. I made my weekly usual of Low fat banana bread cookies. This week I added dried cherries and walnuts. Wow! They are unbelievable!!! The chocolate and cherry combination is fabulous!

Ok so now for the soup... Oh yeah. It is something special.

I always thought it was called wedding soup because of the ring shaped pasta or tortellini in it but after a little research I sound that it's Italian name, minestra maritata, literally means "married soup", refers to the fact that the flavors of meat and greens married, or went well with each other. This has been mistranslated to "wedding soup". By the way, this soup in not traditionally used in wedding ceremonies.

Meatballs-Make first while the pasta water is coming to a boil.
Combine the following:
1/4 cup egg beaters

1 tbsp Worschstire Sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Salt and Papper to taste
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/2 yellow onion-grated directly into bowl.

Add in 1 lb. lean ground turkey
and 1/4 c Parmesan cheese.

Combine well. Let mixture sit in fridge while you chop the veggies.

For the soup:
Saute the following until just tender.
2 med. zuchinni, large diced
1 large onion, diced

2 carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped

Add in a 15oz can of tomatoes and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Add 12 cups of either water, chicken stock, veggie stock, or a combo. (Yes! 12 cups. I know it's a lot. But you need it.) I did a combination of about 5 cups chicken stock and 7 water. Add 2 bay leaves as well.

Bring to a low boil and add one bunch of kale, stems removed, chopped. Simmer for 5 minutes and roll the meatballs. I made them as small as possible. I got about 45 from the mixture.

After the kale has simmered for 5 minutes, bring the temperature up to med-high so that there is a constant boil. Add the 7oz box of dried ravioli. They are adorable, miniature ravioli filled with just Parmesan cheese. Simple and perfect for this soup. Cook the raviolis on a low boil for 8 minutes. If you need to add even more liquid at this point, do so.

Add all of the meatballs by placing them all around the pan. Make sure that they are all submerged by liquid. Put a lid on the pan and continue to simmer for 7-9 minutes.

Add Salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Here is the finished product. Super light and healthy and packed with veggies! We had it with some crusty bread rubbed with raw garlic. It was fabulous!

It seems like a lot of work but it didn't take me that long. Maybe an hour?? It was so worth it! I will be making it again! Night all!

Here is the easy to read version of this recipe for you to print!

Complete Recipe:

For the meatballs:

1/4 cup egg beaters

1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 tsp Oregano

1/2 yellow onion-grated directly into bowl.

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1/4 c Parmesan cheese.

For the soup:

2 med. zucchini, large diced

1 large onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

15oz can of tomatoes (No salt added)

2 bay leaves

1 bunch of kale, stems removed, chopped

7oz box of dried Parmesan ravioli

Directions:

1. Make the Meatball mixture first while the pasta water is coming to a boil. Combine all ingredients for the meatballs. Let mixture sit in fridge while you chop the veggies.

2. Sauté the veggies until just tender.

3. Add the can of tomatoes and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add 12 cups of either water, chicken stock, veggie stock, or a combo. (Yes! 12 cups. I know it's a lot. But you need it.) I did a combination of about 5 cups chicken stock and 7 water.

5. Add the bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste.

6. Bring to a low boil and add the kale. Simmer for 5 minutes.

7. While kale is cooking, roll the meatballs. I made them as small as possible. I got about 45 from the mixture.

8. Bring the temperature up to med-high so that there is a constant boil. Add the 7oz box of dried ravioli. Cook the raviolis on a low boil for 8 minutes. If you need to add more liquid at this point, do so.

9. Add all of the meatballs to the boiling broth by placing them around the pan. Make sure that they are completely submerged by liquid. Put a lid on the pan and continue to simmer for 7-9 minutes.

Add Salt and pepper to taste before serving. Top with Parmesan Cheese.

Not so simple anymore...

2011-05-01T23:07:00.000-07:00

So I kind of lost sight of the simple things the past two weeks. It was a crazy week and I became overwhelmed by all of the demands at work, home, and with friends/family. I am trying to learn to not care so much. It is a weird thing to be working at but I really need to let other people's drama not effect me and focus on the positives in my life.

Easter was amazing. My mom and brother came to town and we had an amazing time!!! We relaxed, swam, and ate amazing food. In addition to all else my camera broke which has made it hard to blog as I like to include photos.

Here is our Easter menu. We had a Quiche-Off between Courtney and Jeff. Courtney ended up winning but all of the food was delicious!

Stuffed French Toast Strata, Biscuits with maple butter, Crab and Gruyere Quiche (Jeff), Crab, broccoli, and Cheddar quiche (Courtney), Candied Bacon (WHICH WAS UNBELIEVABLE!), fresh fruit salad(from Kate, Deviled eggs from Dara, Lots of Champagne and OJ/Grapefruit/Cranberry, Courtney's Carrott Cake, and I cant remember what else but it was all amazing!!! We played washers and it was great fun to hang and talk with everyone!

Here is the recipe for my favorite contribution. It was a hit and with real maple syrup...yum yum!! I'd recommend it to anyone for any occasion, especially because you can make it the day before.

Stuffed French Toast Strata (Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole)

INGREDIENTS:

1 (1 lb) loaf unsliced French Bread (I used an artisan loaf)
1 (8-ounce) pkg. Cream cheese, cubed
2 1/2 cups Combo of milk, half and half, or heavy cream
8 eggs (I use Egg Beaters)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Extra Maple Syrup for serving

Cut French bread loaf into 1 inch cubes (About 12 cups bread cubes) Grease a 13×9 inch baking pan.
To Assemble: In the prepared pan place half of the bread cubes. Top with the cream cheese cubes and then the remaining bread cubes.
With a blender or mixing bowl with a rotary beater, mix together the eggs, milk, melted butter, maple syrup and cinnamon until well combined. Pour the egg mixture evenly over bread and cheese cubes. Using a spatula, slightly press layers down to moisten.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours. Remove plastic wrap and bake in a 325 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until the center appears to be set and the eggs are golden. Let stand for 10 minutes. Makes 6-8 servings.

And because I could not leave you hanging, here is the recipe I used for candied bacon. There are so many recipes for this. I used thick cut maple smoked bacon from Costco. Delicious!!!

Candied Bacon

Ingredients

1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound thick sliced bacon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil, and position broiler rack/cooling rack on top of pan. Combine the brown sugar and cayenne in a shallow dish, stirring to mix well. Press the bacon firmly into the spiced sugar to coat well. Arrange the slices of bacon on top of the broiler rack in a single layer. If there is any sugar remaining in the dish, sprinkle it on top of the bacon slices evenly. Bake until the bacon is crisp and the sugar is bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain briefly, then to a plate or serving dish to cool. (Can be made several hours ahead) Serve warm or at room temperature.

Jeff says he fixed my camera so I will be back to blogging soon. :)

Night all!

Pumpkin Sage Pasta

2011-04-16T22:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made a favorite comfort food dish. It is still a healthy one though!! We have both been feeling under the weather this week so I wanted something warm and comforting. Pumpkin Pasta with Sweet Sausage, and Sage fit the bill!!!

It is adapted from a Rachel Ray Recipe that can be found here. I changed a few things to lower fat and out of necessity as I simply didn't have any white wine on hand tonight. I have made this a few times with either cauliflower or sausage. This time, I made it with BOTH! It was a great way to bulk up the pasta. I make more sauce than the original recipe as I always felt like it needed more.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound bulk sweet Italian Turkey sausage
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
6 or more sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade
1/4 cup vermouth
1 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup Fat Free Evaporated Milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 small head Cauliflower, sectioned into "big-bite sized" florets
12 oz. whole wheat penne rigate
Parmigiano, for grating

Directions

Sauteing onions

Break up cauliflower in florets.

Cook the pasta according to the directions BUT cook the cauliflower florets in the boiling water for the last 5 minutes. Hey, It's one less dish to clean! Drain and set aside. :) Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. I used sausage in casing so I just removed the casing and broke up the sausage. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet, leaving enough fat to saute the onions. Saute the garlic and onion 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

Pasta cooked with Cauliflower

Such a great orange color!

Add sage, and vermouth to the pan. Reduce vermouth by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in evaporated milk. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce. Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta and cauliflower. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Enjoy!!!!

Oh New Mexican food. How I love thee...

2011-04-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

let me count the ways...

I love the green chile chicken or veggie enchiladas made with your Hatch Roasted green chile.
I love your Posole, Tortillas, and Sweet Rolls from Frontier that Jeff brought to me this week.
I love your Red Chilie Powder that is cooking with a beef roast right now with tomatoes and beer in the crock pot for tacos.
I love much more but, these are my current food favs.

Here are my two recipes for enchiladas. One for chicken and one with veggies. Change up the ingredients as you see fit. I usually add more chile or cheese depending on heat levels. Almost every New Mexican Green Chile Chicken Enchilada casserole style dish is some sort of adaptation of this recipe.

Cooks Note: This time, I used fat free cream of mushroom soup and it tasted delicious. I did not have spinach so I used one extra zucchini. I was delicious!!!

Try to get the best green chile possible. If you cant bring it home by the bushel like we do yearly, then most grocery stores in the Southwest sell Bueno Green Chile. It is delicious. This recipe is actually an adaption of the one on the Bueno container.

Green Chilie Veggie Enchiladas

• 1 box frozen spinach

• 2 med zucchini, large diced

• 1 pkg white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 3 Tbsp. Oil or Butter
• 2 10 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup (I use low-sodium)
• 1 ¾ (or more) cups frozen Chopped Green Chile
• ½-1 cups milk, water, or veggie stock

• Salt and Pepper
• 12-20 Corn Tortillas
• 1-1½ lb. cheese, grated (Cheddar, Jack or mixture)

Preheat oven to 325º F.

1. Defrost spinach in microwave and drain using a clean kitchen towel. Get all of the water

out. Separate with fingers.

2. In a large sauce pan or stock pot, sauté mushrooms, zucchini, onion, and garlic in oil until slightly soft. (Optional: add 1 cup frozen or fresh corn sauté with veggies)
3. Combine veggies with soup, spinach, green chile, just enough water/milk/stock and stir. You want it soupy but not too runny. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cover the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan with a layer of tortillas. Spread 1/3 of the sauce and

veggie mixture over the tortilla pieces, and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat layers.

(At this stage, you can refrigerate the dish up to one night or freeze for up to one month)
5. Bake 30-40 minutes, until very hot, bubbly and slightly browned.

Serve with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream.

I did a little extra touch with "lattice"
style tortilla strips across the top.

I top it with a ton
of lettuce. Then,
it fills you up!!!

Here is there recipe for the chicken version. Same steps, different ingredients. Eihter one is always a hit at a pot luck or party!!!

Green Chilie Chicken Enchiladas

• 4-5 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 3 Tbsp. Oil or Butter
• 2 10 oz. cans cream of chicken soup (I use low-sodium or fat free)
• 1 ¾ (or more) cups frozen Chopped Green Chile, drained
• ½-¾ cups milk, water, or chicken stock

• Salt and Pepper
• 12-20 Corn Tortillas
• 1-1½ lb. cheese, grated (Cheddar, Jack or mixture)

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper and broil, grill, or saute chicken, cool and shred.
2. Preheat oven to 350º F.
3. Saute onion and garlic in oil until slightly soft. Combine onion with soups, chile,
    water and stir. You want it soupy but not too runny. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cover the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan with a layer of tortillas.
    Spread ½ the chicken over the tortilla pieces, then ½ the sauce, and ½
    the cheese. Repeat layers. Sometimes you will have 3 layers.

(At this stage, you can refrigerate the dish up to one night or freeze for up to one month)
5. Bake 30-40 minutes, until very hot, bubbly and slightly browned.

Serve with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream.

Two Breakfast Cups

2011-04-02T23:02:00.000-07:00

I just made these again! I wanted to have breakfast made for the week as I have to be at work early every day. Jeff is driving to New Mexcio tomorrow and I wanted to have some snacks for him.

Here is the recipe for these. I got tired of searching the web for it each time. I figured I'd save it with my few changes.

Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Cups (Adapted from Little Green Bites cookbook.)

3 mashed bananas (the more ripe the better!)
1 cup vanilla Almond milk
1/2 cup egg beaters
1 tbsp Baking powder
3 cups (240g) Old Fashion or Rolled Oats
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1. Mix all ingredients except the chocolate chips together, and let sit while you prepare the muffin pans.
2. Spray a muffin pan and/or liners with with non-stick spray.
3. Stir the chocolate chips into the oatmeal batter.
4. Divide batter into 15 muffin cups. They should be just about filled.
5. Bake 20-30 minutes, you’ll see the edges just starting to brown and they will be firm to the touch. The muffins may stick when hot but are removed easily when cooled for a bit.

The other muffin cups that I will be making tomorrow morning are an adaptation of the Biggest Loser Jennie O Taco Muffin Cups. These are Jeff's absolute favorite. I am going to use Morning Star link sausage to make them instead of the turkey sausage links. The veggie links are cholesterol free. :) Here is what I did:

Ingredients
3 (6-inch) stone-ground corn tortillas
12 Jennie-O Turkey Store® Turkey Breakfast Sausage Links, cooked according to package instructions and cut in half widthwise
1/2 cup tomato salsa
2-1/4 cups liquid egg white or egg substitute
1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Stack tortillas and cut into quarters. Cut quarters in half so you will have
8 wedges for each tortilla (and a total of 24 wedges). Spray each muffin
cup with olive oil cooking spray.
3. To assemble: place one tortilla wedge in each muffin cup, with the widest side at the bottom of the cup. Place a second tortilla wedge on the opposite side of the muffin cup so that the wide edges will be overlapping in the bottom of the cup, by about 1/2 inch. The tortilla wedge points will extend outside of the cup, about 1/2 inch straight up. Repeat for the other muffin cups.
4. Place two sausage halves (from one whole link) in each muffin cup, on top of the tortilla wedges.
5. Place a tablespoon of salsa on top of the sausage.
6. Measure 3 tablespoons of egg substitute into each muffin cup.
7. Bake 10 minutes or until eggs are just set and no longer wiggle. They will be slightly puffed. .
8. Working quickly, sprinkle each "muffin" with one teaspoon of cheese.

These saved well and are perfect when you reheat them in the microwave for one minute. I made them in paper cups the first time. Tomorrow, I am going to make them directly into the muffin tin pan as they stuck to the paper.

Sweet dreams!

Yummy Maui Food and Recipes

2011-03-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

First off, let me mention our favorite cocktail! We loved POG Passion-Orange-Guava Juice with vodka or rum and a splash of Ginger Ale. Jeff always served it with a garnish of pineapple. It was resort-style cocktails on home living prices!

We ate so much pineapple! It was perfect every time. We bought it from the farmers market in Kihei.

One of our favorite beers was this Coconut Porter. We loved all of the Maui Brewing company's beers. Some other favorites were the Big Swell IPA and the Bikini Blonde Ale. Yummo! But I couldnt believe how expensive not only beer was but food also. Of course we took advantage of the offerings of the island and cooked up a storm. Here are a few of our favorite meals.

Super Quick Veggie Alfredo Pasta

Saute 2 sliced small zucchini, 1 small Maui onion, with any spices you can find in your condo. :) We used a mixed seasoning (Like McCormick's steak seasoning). We stirred in the leftover Classico Alfredo sauce (about 1/2 the jar) from the first night and tossed it all with about 1/2 lb. cooked fettuccine. Served it with the last of our sourdough bread! Sad time for us! We loved that bread! Great 20 min meal!!!

This was our breakfast daily! Birds in a nest. Jeff made it for us and he mastered it perfectly!!!
Directions: Take a piece of bread (any type will work) and cut a small hole in it and remove the bread from the center leaving a hole. (About 2 inches across). Heat a small amount of margarine (its what we had) in a skillet. Toast the bread for a bit. Flip it and crack one egg in the center if the hole you created. Cover and cook until almost set, flip and cook until preferred doneness. We like it runny so you can dip the crusts in the middle. Yummy! With pineapple of course!

Here is one lunch that we packed for ourselves but they were all pretty much the same. Turkey and Cheese sandwich on sourdough, Maui sugar animal cookies, pineapple, mango salsa and chips, and water and Gatorade. Delicious every time when you are eating it in Maui!

So this was the best candy in the word!!! We pulled over South of Wailea and bought it on the side of the road! It was 8 dollars so I was skeptical. When walked away he said that we would be addicted and wouldn't stop at one.

Well he was right! It was the most amazing candy I've ever had. It tasted like coconut covered with praline. It was creamy and buttery and only had three ingredients. Gosh! I want some now!

We went to Mama's Fish House for our "fancy" dinner. It was one of the best meals that I have ever had. The entire restaurant is open to the ocean. The walls open and it would be amazing for a sunset. Now I know why they get booked up a few weeks in advance for the sunset times. The hostess stand was literally outside. The bar was super cool. Here is my mai-tai. They were delicious!

Now to the meal. The chef served us a small cup of chilled ginger-asparagus soup that was such a refreshing combo! I want to try and replicate it! We had crab cakes as an appetizer. Pretty good but nothing to write home about. My meal though...that was something special. Macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi topped with a small lobster tail. the Mahi was stuffed with crab and lobster. It was served with rice and asparagus. I didn't eat the corn. It didn't seem to fit for me. It had a macadamia nut puree sauce around it and it was really unforgettable! I will be making this some day!

Jeff had a traditional Hawaiian luau feast. It included Mahi Mahi with coconut sauce (with extra sauce in the coconut). Kalua pork which is buried over hot coals and slow roasted for a day. The entire thing tasted like bacon. A Hana banana, sweet potato, Poi (the only food neither of us liked-sorry islanders-it's rough!). Lomi Lomi Salmon-Raw and delicious! Overall, the meal was sensational and well worth the steep $$$. I highly recommend it!

And now for the first phase of the best home cooked meal of all. We started it off with Poke. It is fresh sushi grade Ahi Tuna marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil with some green onions. It is really fresh and good. We bought it from Safeway...imagine that?! Jeff put it in leftover lettuce cups and we had it as an appetizer. I could only eat one. I dont know it was a texture or spice thing I had trouble with. It needed to have some siracaha or wasabi on it.

So for the main course we had sweet potatoes, bbq chicken, red bell pepper rice, and grilled pineapple. Arent these sweet potatoes the biggest ever??? They were so good. We poked them, wrapped them in a wet paper towel, and microwaved them until the were soft. Sliced them open and put some butter, sugar, and cinnamon on them. So good!!!!

We got thin sliced chicken breast. As we only bought margarine for our week long stay Jeff melted some, basted the chicken with it, and then grilled it. Genius! He added some hickory and Brown Sugar BBQ sauce towards the end. It was awesome using the grills at the condo. It was filled with drunk Canadians and listening to them was a hoot. (Maui was filled with Canadians.)

For the rice, we sauteed 1 Maui sweet onion, 1 red bell pepper in some margarine. Added 1 cup of long grain white rice and toasted it for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and cook for 20-25 minutes. The red pepper made all of the rice taste so strong of peppers. It was delicious. I don't know if it is because it was fresh and not covered in that waxy stuff but it was GOOD!

We sliced this pineapple into long wedges and grilled it wth the chicken it was great with the rice and with the chicken!

And Success!!! A dinner fit for a king...or 2! :)

LEFT OVER MANIA: On the last day we had to use up all of our food. (And drink up all of our liquor.) Needless to say it was a rough day. :) So we used our leftovers from the bbq chicken meal and our fridge to make: Chicken Fried Rice.

We had some left over snow peas from the farmers market that we had been snacking on all week. We chopped them in half and sauteed them with the bell pepper rice, 2 diced BBQ chicken breasts. Saute until everything is warmed through. While that is cooking scramble one egg and one egg white in a pan. Remove from pan. We added some pineapple juice to the rice at the end to give it an island flair. I wish we had more pineapple but it was not to be. Combine the chicken and rice mixture with the egg and serve! It was light and delicious!!!

Chicken, Snow Pea, and Red Pepper Fried Rice

I cant wait to relive our trip through all of the meals and flavors that we enjoyed while there! I will be including Mahi-Mahi, macadamias, fried rice, and pineapple in my future recipes!!!!

Maui Continued!!!

2011-03-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

I will make this one short and sweet. I want to get to posting recipes! I wish the pictures could do the island justice. It really was the best trip of my life. We were busy every second unless we didn't want to be.

We took the road to Hana which was an 8 hour drive through the rain forest to the desert on the back side of a volcano. Here is a shot from the road. You could see down into the taro fields and little towns. We just pulled over at random spots and explored.

This is the most amazing waterfall we found. I spotted it from the road and we pulled over and found a way in. I was a short but tricky hike because everything is so moist and slippery there. We jumped in the second pool. It was so refreshing. After this we were starving so we stopped on the side of the road literally in someone's front yard for a mixed plate lunch. We each got the Teriyaki Chicken. It was the best teriyaki sauce I've ever had! All mixed plates come with 2 scoops of white rice and 1 scoop of macaroni salad...carb. overload! It was so much food we could have shared one plate and still had leftovers. But we didn't. :)

We continued on and found the black sand beaches at Wainapanapa State Park. It was a beautiful area. Great for picnics!

These are the "Seven Sacred Pools" now called the Pools of O'heo. We didnt think that they were too sacred. Swimming in a pool not much bigger than my diving pool didn't look to relaxing. We preferred our little secret pools much more.

A beautiful tree on the South side of Maui. We took the full loop around instead of taking hwy 36 back though Hana. Its about the same distance both ways. This drive was so geographically different from the other. Fun fact for ya: This side of the island has the most recent lava flow from about 300 years ago.

The back of Haleakala volcano was a sight to see! We felt like we were in another country!

Toward the end of our drive we found a winery and vineyard. It was perfect timing as it was about 4pm pm. on St. Patrick's day and we hadn't had a drink yet! I know, bad! So we tried 4 different types of wine and fell in love with the wines that were made from pineapple instead of grapes. Wow! The Maui Blanc was our favorite. We bought two bottles and ended up buying more at the grocery store a few days later to bring home with us! We still have some! I eye it nightly....

Another beautiful sunset enjoying a cocktail from our condo. Postcard views nightly.

We took a boat to Molokini crater and on the way saw whales and dolphins. It was amazing to be so close to them. I couldn't get a good pic. They just wouldn't hold still for the camera. It was a good adventure but we found better snorkeling at the random spots that we stopped at on Maui.

Stop one on our beach exploration adventure: a beautiful beach with amazing snorkeling. The reefs here were so colorful.

On this day we went to four beaches (including the previous one) that we read about to snorkel, body surf, hike, relax, and swim. It was a great day. This is Kapalua Beach. We sat on the beach for a while but it turned into a sand storm. I think I still have sand in my ears.

This is Honolua Bay. It was beautiful with some crazy waves. When the waves were receding they would crash with the incoming wave and it was wild! It was great body surfing! Some wonderful old, bald dudes were body surfing like 10 year olds. It was awesome!

Overlooking where the Nakalele Blowhole is located. We never made it to the blowhole and were happy with the cliff views. And...I almost fell off the side one time so we were out! The beaches and adventures were amazing. We felt as though we got to accomplish everything we wanted to. I feel so lucky to have had this experience! Now, we want to go back with friends! Who's in?

Next up, the amazing foods we ate in Maui!

Maui or Bust!

2011-03-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

We are back and recovered from our trip to Maui. It was as amazing. It was everything we expected and more. We got to do everything that we wanted including snorkeling, hiking, eating amazing food, and relaxing on the beach. I will post the different adventures and meals by day as there is so much that I want to have to remember the trip by.

Our condo was in Kihei, a low key town on the South side of the island. We were so glad to stay her after visiting Lahaina. It was local, friendly, and had everything that we needed. We stayed at teh Sugar Beach resort at the North end of Kihei. Our condo was right on the beach and felt like our own little house.

The sunset from our lanai.

Our two favorite chairs!!!

Love this! We can share a suitcase!

Our comfy bed.

It had a full kitchen, bedroom, living room with TV and DVD, and lanai (patio) 15ft from the beach. It had all of the amenities we could ever need including beach towels, a cooler to take on excursions (complete with cold packs in the freezer), all of the cooking utensils one could need, a washer and dryer, safe and more.

This is a view of Lanai.

View from the kitchen

We folded out the couch.

Our living room.

I read the book I am Number Four which was a quick and entertaining read. I began to read Bram Stoker's Dracula which was great but thank god my Kindle has a built in dictionary. Jeff read In the Heart of the Sea a great lost at sea story.

On the first night we were tired from travel and decided to go grocery shopping and stock up for the week ahead. Wow, groceries are expensive in Hawaii! We picked up the necessities and a a ton of pineapple. It was our favorite snack we ate it with almost every meal. We made Shrimp Alfredo pasta that night using a jarred Alfredo sauce to make our lives easy. It was delicious. Our favorite cocktail mixer was POG Passion-Orange Guava Juice. Amazing!!!

Our shrimp alfredo pasta!!! Yummo!

I will continue to retell our adventures. It was truly a magical vacation!

Day one of spring break...

2011-03-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

And what a beautiful day it is. It's already 80 degrees and a slight breeze. I love spring. This is WHY I live in Arizona! I just received a long over due hair cut and am going to the Scottsdale Art Festival with a friend. Too much fun for one day! I am sure we will make our way to lunch and perhaps a cocktail. First, I must water the garden and plant some hibiscus flowers! Everything is growing strong so far!

I just found this recipe on an awesome food blog that I might make tonight. Especially, with the spaghetti squash!

Click on the link below:

Baked Chicken Parm

Yu-um!!!

DInner with Little D

2011-03-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Spring Break baby! I am so excited to be on vacation that all I wanted to do tonight was to go out to eat. I had some self restraint and cooked instead. A good friend, Little D, came over and we had some definite comfort food. I made a simple but super yummy spicy turkey sausage pasta. Here's the scoop:

I didint have any onions...Luckily, I have a steady supply of green onions growing in the back, so I used those. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the delicious Trader Joes penne pasta that has such great texture. I usually go for whole wheat but this was a splurge.

In a large saute pan, on medium, saute 4 sliced green onions (using the white and the fresh part of the greens), with 2 tbls chopped garlic (I likea lot of garlic!), 1 tsp red chili pepper flakes, in cooking spray or enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Once they are soft, add 1 lb. of spicy lean turkey sausage (either ground or taken out of the casings). Cook until meat is brown. At this time start to cook pasta to your preference.

Add 1-14.5 oz can no salt added diced tomatoes, 1-14.5 oz can no salt added crushed tomatoes, and 1 small can no salt added tomato sauce. I used 2 bay leaves, 2 tsp dried oregano, and 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp pepper, and salt to taste. Simmer for 25 minutes on med low.

Once pasta is cooked and sauce has cooked for 25 minutes, combine in sauce pan. Top with a combination of fresh basil and parsley. Serve in bowls and top with fresh Parmesan cheese.

We had it with TJ's broccoli slaw mixed with spinach and low fat Honey-Dijon dressing. It was awesome!!!

It was a delicious dinner but we had a sweet tooth. I made us a batch of oatmeal cookies with mini chocolate chips....Yeah....magical! I also added raisins per Jeff's request to a few cookies for him. (Not my cup of tea.)

Finishing up the Limoncello. Will post tomorrow. Night all. :)

Garden is complete!

2011-03-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

Hello there! Not too much cooking yet this week as we were able to celebrate sweet Kenny's birthday last night and tonight were invited to dinner at a friends. (Where we had an amazing blood orange olive oil that I want to replicate.) I have to admit I do love the nights off from cooking but I am excited to actually get in the kitchen tomorrow.

So today we finished the vegetable garden. I had the pleasure of spending time with my glorious husband after work today. We went to Home Depot and picked up the last of our plants for the veggie garden. We added zucchini and cucumbers, both planted directly in Miracle Grow bags, four pots of brocolli, and a heirloom tomato called "Mr. Stripey" planted in a Trader Joe's shopping bag. Awesome!

How cute is the TJ's bag? Best pot ever!

DONT be tricked! I saw that Miracle Grow now sells "Gro Bags" which is basically a bag of $4.79 Miracle Grow soil that has three holes cut in it. It sells for about ten dollars. Save your money or I will gladly cut the holes for you at a discounted rate. :)

And here are some pics of our new cacti as our previous ones were destroyed by frost. Love the tall one!

Night all!

First Post!!!

2011-03-06T21:38:00.000-08:00

So here goes! This begins my new journey documenting my favorite parts of life. I am looking to spend more time focusing on the simple things that I love: cooking, traveling, gardening, and being outdoors. This weekend was the perfect platform to jump from. The weather in Arizona was a beautiful 75 degrees. I spent today gardening and cooking...I feel so relaxed.

Last year, my husband, Jeff, and I had a 400 square foot garden. Lets just say it was too big for two people. This year, we didn't want to commit to as much water, weeding, work, and yield. I decided to do a container garden as we wil be remodeling the back yeard this summer so I cant do anything permanent. Well...I love it. It was so much less work. I already had the pots so I just had to buy plants and soil.

Here is phase one. (In the pots-Tomatoes with onions, artichoke, bell pepper, hot pepper, basil, thyme, parsley, and carrots(well future carrots). In the bags of soil-squash)

I am planning on adding zucchini and lettuce to the garden. Maybe some more carrots and radishes. Working in the yard the past few days really revitalized my energy. I cant wait to keep the beautification process going.

After a long day of gardening I had to be rewarded right? Dinner was an amazing new favorite. I made Ginger Lime Ahi Tuna and Veggie Kabobs with Garam Masala Sweet Potatoes. It was something special.

For a sweet treat I made these amazing healthy "MUFFINS". They have no sugar, flour, or oil/butter. They are amazing!!! I cant wait for breakfast.

Because I wasn't feeling productive enough...I made a batch of limoncello. Today, I peeled the rinds from 20 lemons and left that to soak in a 1.75 L bottle of vodka...cheap vodka!

The lemons before.

The lemons after.

This will be my second batch. The first one came out great so I changed it up a bit. I added the rind of two grapefruits to the batch. We'll see if you can tell. After 4 days of soaking I will strain it and add a simple syrup to complete the liqueur!