Recipe - Roasted Veggie Pasta Salad

This recipe was made on a whim and was so enjoyable hot and cold (leftover for lunch!)

You can roast ant veggies you'd like, but I must say the 3 I used went so well together.

Ingredients

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 cups broccoli florets

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes

1 Vidalia onion, quartered

6-8 oz pasta of your choice

3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Cherry tomato or pearl size mozzarella balls, optional

Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 and place veggies in a shallow baking dish or on a cookie sheet.  Toss with olive oil.  Roast for 30 minutes.

While veggies are roasting cook pasta.  When veggies are done transfer to a big bowl, drain pasta and toss with veggies.  Add salt, pepper, cheeses and a little extra olive oil if desired.

Recipe - Chicken meatballs

I love ground beef, particularly extra lean.  But I'm always up for trying new things with ground chicken.  I was really craving meatballs today, so I thought I'd give it a shot!  Ground chicken tends to be much moister than beef, so I decide to omit the breadcrumbs and egg and see how they turned out...very good!

Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp dried parsley

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and make 12 meatballs.  Cook in a shallow baking dish  at 350 for 30 minutes.  Top with your favorite sauce.

Note, ground chicken is difficult to roll, but unlike ground beef it holds its shape, so just lightly form a ball and that's it.

Recipe - Italian Stuffed Peppers

Hello!  So last Thursday I decided to mix a bunch of stuff together and put it into a pepper and eat it.  When I told my sister what I did she said "oh that's stuffed peppers."  We didn't eat stuffed peppers in my house growing up, so I never knew what was in them.  Yes, I had heard of them, even did a recipe for them with quinoa, but I did not know what the exact criteria were for stuffed peppers.  Apparently my subconscious did though, because I found that what I made on Thursday was almost exactly what the traditional stuffed pepper recipe would be.  So no culinary genius here, but nonetheless I am sharing my recipe because it tasted really good.  And I may be helping anyone out there who was as clueless as me when it came to stuffed peppers!

Ingredients -

Olive Oil Misto Spray
4 Bell Peppers (whatever color you would like)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb of extra lean ground beef, grass-fed ground beef, or organic ground beef
2/3 can organic tomato sauce
1 cup brown rice
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 cup mozzarella
Salt and pepper

Directions -
Preheat over to 400 degrees.  I slice my peppers in half,  lengthwise and remove seeds.  Spray with olive oil spray and put in the oven for 10 minutes.

While the peppers are in the oven, spray olive oil spray into skillet and saute onions over med-high heat.  Once onions are translucent add beef and brown.  Once beef is browned, add tomato sauce, all spices, salt and pepper, and rice and mix well.

Remove peppers from oven and let cool slightly (enough to handle).  Fill peppers with beef mixture, top with mozzarella cheese and cook in 400 degree overn for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Recipe - Chicken Sausage with potatoes and summer vegetables!

Hey guys, I know I haven't blogged in over a week, but I have been adjusting to an increase in my thyroid medication, and lets just say it was not easy.  I felt horrible!!!  Lethargic, massive headaches.  Didn't feel like cooking (say what???!!!!!????).  But I seem to be on the upswing, so instead of uninspired meals and boring lunches, I got back to the kitchen last night for something tasty.
Many have asked what is in the profile picture on my Facebook page, and this is it.  The recipe was inspired by Skinnytaste.com, and it was basically already a clean dish, so I didn't have to clean it up.  The only think I did differently was my sausage .  I used Al Fresco Chicken Sausage with Red Pepper and Asiago.  While pre-cooked and packaged, the ingredients were all pronouncable and real.  I prefer the taste of this sausage, but if you want to cook your own that is absolutely perfect (some like sweet italian, some like hot italian, I prefer a flavorful mild).

Ingredients:

• 1 lb baby red potatoes, cut in half or quartered
• 2 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper
• 12 oz Al Fresco Red Pepper and Asiago chicken sausage, sliced 1-inch thick
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of the knife or 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares 
• 1 red bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary (or other fresh herb such as thyme)
• 2 cups zucchini, 1/2 inch thick and quartered

Directions:
Place oil and potatoes in a large, deep non-stick skillet with a tight fitting lid on high heat; season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. When the skillet gets hot and starts to sizzle, reduce heat to low and cook with a tight lid on for about 20-25 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent the potatoes from burning. Remove from heat and let them sit 5 minutes without removing the lid.  Set potatoes aside on a dish.


Add the sausage to the skillet and saute on medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until browned but not quite cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season chopped vegetables with salt and pepper. Add onions, peppers, garlic and rosemary to the skillet and mix. Continue cooking stirring occasionally until onions and peppers become slightly browned. Add zucchini and cook an additional 5 minutes, mixing as it cooks until cooked through.


Return the potatoes back to the skillet and mix well. Adjust salt and pepper as needed; cover and cook 5 more minutes.

Delicious!!!  It's one of my favorite dishes, because the veggies make it light, but the potatoes are filling.

Super Easy Chicken Recipe

Hey gang, so I had chicken cutlets defrosted, but no idea what to do with them.  I looked in my pantry and found some dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes, which led me to thinking about rehydrating them in chicken stock.  I knew I was making quinoa, so wanted to make the chicken flavorful, so went to my spice rack...oregano and rosemary!  Of course with those seasonings I wanted to also add some garlic.  Wanted the chicken stock to be saucy, so a little whole wheat flour and boom, this came together! 
Mind you, if you don't like sun-dried tomatoes, or have everything else on hand but them, you can still make this.  You can even add whatever veggie you do have on hand, broccoli, onion, mushrooms, you decide.  But it's something different and healthy to do with chicken!

Ingredients -
1 pound chicken cutlets, or chicken breasts pounded out a bit
1/4 cup whole wheat flour (you won't use all over it, but you want to dredge the chicken)
1 and 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tsp minced garlic (or 2 cloves minced)
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
12 sundried tomatoes
salt and pepper

Directions -
Put flour, salt and pepper into a quart side ziploc bag.  Add chicken cutlets one at a time and shake until coated.  Use either EVOO or your Olive Oil Sprayer to lightly coat a pan.  Add chicken and cook about 2-3 minutes on each side until browned (if using full breasts, cook a little longer).  Meanwhile add the rosemary, oregano and garlic to 3/4 cup of broth and pour over the chicken.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes (or veggie of your preference) and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the liquid reduces by half.  Add the remaining 3/4 cup of broth, reduce the heat to med-low, cover and cook another 5-7 minutes.  If the sauce is too thin after 5 min, add 2 tsp of flour and whisk and cook 2 more minutes.

Serve with a grain and veggie!  I put mine over quinoa :)

Super Easy Chicken Fajitas (and easy guacamole)

I love fajitas!!  What's better than Chicken with sauteed onions and peppers in a smoking seasoning?  Adding easy guacamole to it, that's what!!!!  This is a super easy, clean eating meal that the whole family can enjoy.  Feel free to add tortilla shells (I don't because I prefer to just eat the extra filling), also, it's very difficult to find clean eating flour tortillas, but I know Trader Joe's has clean eating corn tortillas.  You can also add toppings like tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, cheese.  Be creative.  For me, I so love the onions and peppers with the guacamole that I don't even add anything else!
The other night I just paired a few Garden of Eatin clean tortilla chips for some crunch and I was full and happy!!

Ingredients -
1 lb chicken breast (fat removed and cut into slices while still raw)
2 tbsp coconut oil (divided)
2 large onions
2 large bell peppers (use whatever color you like, you may notice I never use green, and it's not that they are not as delicious as red or yellow or orange, but green peppers don't like me and I end up burping them for 2 days!)
3 tsp cumin (divided)
dash of garlic powder
dash of onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions -
In a large skillet heat 1 tsbp of coconut oil over med-high heat.  Season your chicken with salt, pepper and 2 tsp of cumin.  Brown chicken until cooked through.  Remove from skillet and set aside.  Add the remaining tbsp of coconut oil.  Add onions and peppers.  Season with salt and pepper and the remaining tsp of cumin, along with some garlic and onion powders.  Reduce heat to medium and cover skillet.  Keep skillet covered for 10-15 minutes depending on how soft you like your veggies (stir occasionally).  Remove cover, add chicken and stir.  Heat for about another 2 minutes and you are done!!

Top with Easy Guacamole
2 ripe avocados, mashed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together!  Remember, this is just an easy version, you can add onions, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, etc

Product Find - Olive Oil Sprayer

I mentioned in my recipe for the eggplant pizzas that I use an olive oil sprayer.  It is a little miracle bottle, because it cuts down on the amount of olive oil I use, saving me money, and keeps me from having to use a store bought bottle full of harmful chemicals.  You fill it half way with olive oil, pump it and spray.  Olive oil is very good for you, but sometimes we use too much in recipes, it's wasteful.  I like it for making eggs and especially my roasted veggies.  I spray them liberally, rather than dumping a lot on the veggies to make sure I cover them.  It's perfect.  Don't fall for the "calorie-free," "low-fat" sprays they sell in the store, they are nothing but chemicals!  Also, while a large jar of olive oil may be $10, and the can $1, you will get FAR more use out of that jar when using the misto!! 

These are the two brands I recommend:

I am currently using the first brand, and it works great.  I originally had the other brand, but lost it somehow in my move into my new house (???) 

http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-646526/food-network-oil-sprayer.jsp

http://www.amazon.com/kitchen-dining/dp/B00004SPZV