Flo's Chicken & Spaghetti

This is such a nostalgic dish for me. I haven't eaten this for MANY years and I have never cooked it before myself. It's a meal my grandma would make a lot. I always remember as a child, the chicken and sauce simmering in a pan, it would smell up her house and we would always have this meal with buttered bread. My grandpa loved buttered bread. I would often have dinner there or breakfast before school depending on my parents work schedule. They were such great times and I cherish them.

My mother gave me the most information on the recipe she could remember and it's not many ingredients, but the flavor is there. It's a simple dish, but so good. The chicken cooking in the sauce brings this significant taste I remember from many years ago. The recipe may not be exact but the moment I tasted the sauce on the spoon while cooking, I knew my grandma was there helping me make this meal.

The recipe calls for:

chicken thighs or breasts (I used breasts, but my grandma used thighs)
1 large can of tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
variety spices: garlic powder, oregano, chicken seasoning
salt/pepper
1 tbs olive oil
whole grain spaghetti (My grandma would use regular spaghetti)

-- Heat the olive oil in a large pot/pan. Once heated, add the chicken. Add salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder and chicken seasonings to both sides of the chicken and cook the chicken.
-- Add the tomato sauce and paste to the pot/pan. Let this simmer for an hour.
-- Cook the pasta and add it to the pot/pan once the hour of simmering is finished. Stir and serve.

Enjoy this special recipe!

Lasagna Stuffed Peppers

Lasagna with no pasta, super low carb! It's a simple recipe and delicious. The peppers bring a great taste to the dish. I will definitely be making this again. 

The recipe calls for:

4 large peppers (we used red)

2 1/2 cups marinara sauce

ground meat

1 cup part skim ricotta cheese

1 cup part skin mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup parmasean cheese

italian seasoning 

-- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and put foil on a baking pan. 

-- Slice the peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds, etc. Place them on the baking dish and cook for 20 minutes. 

-- Cook and brown up the meat in a pan. We used lean ground turkey. Add the sauce to the pan once the meat is fully cooked. 

-- Layer the peppers with the meat/sauce mixture, then ricotta, more meat sauce and top with mozzarella cheese. 

-- Bake on the middle rack for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and top with parmasean cheese and italian seasoning. 

-- Bake for 5 more minutes on the top rack. 

Quinoa Caprese Casserole

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe before. It's my absolute favorite quinoa recipe and I've made it many times or a family member has made it and we've split the recipe. Have you ever done that before? It is really helpful with food prep and keeps your meals more diverse. 

The recipe calls for:

olive oil

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 onion, chopped

red pepper flakes

8 oz frozen spinach

garlic, minced (I use quite a bit)

4 tomatoes, sliced

1/4 white wine

2 cups cooked quinoa

a bunch of fresh basil

fresh mozzarella, sliced or cubed

parmesan cheese

A substitute for the white wine could be chicken broth, you can also use the broth when cooking the quinoa instead of water for more flavor.

Another option is ground chicken or lean ground beef if you prefer.

-- Preheat over to 400 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13" baking dish or one a similar size with coconut oil.

-- Heat some olive oil in a pan. Add the ground meat, red pepper flakes and onion. Cook fully.

-- Add the garlic, white wine or broth and spinach (cooked/defrosted). Cook for a minute then add the cooked quinoa. Mix it all up.

-- Pour the mixture into your baking dish. Top with sliced tomatoes, slice mozzarella cheese and pieces of basil. Sprinkle some olive oil and parmesan cheese on top.

-- Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.

I like to freeze leftovers into small containers and it's a convinent easy lunch to bring during the week.

Enjoy!

Balsamic Chicken & Veggies

This came out really good, I was surprised I liked it so much. It had a little kick to it which I liked. You can always make it spicer or leave that out if you don't like spicy food though. These type of veggies paired well with this sauce.

It's quick and easy!



The recipe calls for:

1 1/2 lbs chicken tenderloins
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs honey
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup & 2 tbs fat-free italian dressing
2 cups matchstick carrots
1 cup snow peas
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
pepper

-- In a bowl, whisk together the italian dressing, basalamic vinegar, honey and red pepper flakes.
-- Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the chicken. Season with pepper and cook for about 6 minutes, flip chicken after 3 minutes.
-- Add half the dressing mixture to the pan and flip the chicken to fully coat it.
-- Remove the chicken from the pan and put on a plate/serving dish.
-- Add the carrots and snow peas to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes then put the veggies over the chicken. Add the tomoatoes to the plate.
-- Add the remainder of the dressing mixture to the pan and whisk constantly for about a minute until the sauce thickens. Pour the sauce over the chicken and veggies.

Clean Eating Baked Ziti

 

This dinner was a hit with this kid. :)  It's a 21 day fix approved recipe, Baked Ziti with ground turkey. YUM!

The recipe calls for:
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound whole wheat penne pasta
1 medium size part-skim ricotta cheese
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 cups organic/natural pasta sauce
1 tbs honey
1/2 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese
1tbs of each of these spices: garlic powder, italian seasoning, oregano, parsley, basil, black pepper

-- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
-- Cook the pasta al-dente.  While cooking, brown up the ground turkey in a pan. Drain any fat from the pan.
-- Mix in a large bowl all ingredients except the pasta and mozzarella cheese.  Combine the mixture with the pasta and put in a baking dish.
-- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese, a little more italian seasoning and parsley on top of the ziti.
-- Bake for 20 minutes.

Turkey Salad

The recipe calls for:

half of an avocado

white turkey meat

olive oil

-- Shred the turkey, splash a dash of olive oil and mash the avocado.  Mix together!

Simple and only 3 ingredients!  I had a side of cut up tomatoes with a little part-skim shredded mozzarella on top.

Bring On 2015, Off Goes the Baby Weight!

I am starting this year off on a great start! Prior to the new year and the typical new year's resolution diet that everyone starts, I lost 5 pounds during the holidays. That is something to be proud of! I have so much motivation to lose this baby weight and have a healthier lifestyle like I used to have in the past. I have some great support and if anyone needs help let me know. I am more than willing to be your motivator and/or help you with recipe ideas. Bring on 2015!

Here are a couple quick and easy dinners I prepared this past week, more recipes to come.

 

This recipe calls for:  whole wheat pasta (portioned out to be 350 calories), 1 can of fire roasted garlic tomatoes, garlic powder, steamed broccoli & parmesean cheese (optional)

-- Cook pasta per directions on the box, steam broccoli, mix the tomatoes, broccoli & garlic powder in a sauce pan & simmer for a little. Add the pasta to the sauce once cooked. Top with parmesean cheese if desired.

 

Side note: Fire roasted tomatoes are to die for! Officially obsessed with them!

 

 

This recipe calls for:  1 pound ground turkey, 1 bag of mixed frozen corn, black beans & peppers, 1 cup of salsa, pepper & minced garlic

-- Cooked the turkey in a non-stick pan, add to the crockpot with all the other ingredients. Cook for about 4 hours on low.

 

Elizabeth Gilbert, a well known writer best known for Eat, Pray, Love posted on Facebook an amazing tradition that I am going to start this year! Check out the link and make your own jar!

 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=751739328241518&substory_index=0&id=227291194019670

I am going to call my jar, "Jar of Happiness". This will be things that make me smile and laugh.  Little surprises. Special moments. Adventures. Memories I want to remember for a lifetime. Motivational and inspirational findings. Anything that just brings happiness to my days in 2015.

 

 

A goal, not a resolution for me this year is to become more crafty and have more of a natural lifestyle!

Sodium Free Seasonings

I have been really cautious of the amount of salt I am consuming because I don't want to retain a lot of water weight during this pregnancy.  I found some salt free seasonings and have used them on steak and chicken this past week.  They have 14 different kinds: spicy, lemon pepper, italian, etc. 

Check out the website to see all the different flavor options:
14 Salt-Free Seasonings

When I grilled steak the other day I used the garlic and herb seasoning and yesterday I used the chicken seasoning for my chicken.  I don't taste a difference with the missing salt in the seasoning.  It worked great for both meats and I will definitely be getting some more kinds to try.  The chicken made great leftovers for a salad today...

Mexican Chicken Salad or Burrito

The recipe calls for:
ground chicken meat
avocado, chopped
black beans, rinsed & drained
shredded lettuce
fat-free greek yogurt
taco sauce
taco seasoning

Optional:
shredded cheese
burrito wrap (whole-wheat is best)

-- Cook the ground chicken meat in a pan.  Mix in the seasoning packet and a little water.  Add the beans to the pan to warm them up.
-- Put chicken and bean mixture on top of shredded lettuce. Add chopped up avocado, a little fat-free greek yogurt and some taco sauce.
-- Mix it all up and enjoy your mexican chicken salad!
-- The other less healthy option is to put all those ingredients into a burrito wrap. If you choose this option use a whole-wheat wrap.


The meat mixture makes for great leftovers, I am eating it as we speak for lunch.

Crock Pot Chicken

Anytime we are able to use the crock pot is a good thing because it's just so easy.  Well, Shoprite keeps sending us super coupons and this was one of them, a free chicken!  How could we pass that up?  It's healthy, protein and the way we made it was delicious.

The recipe calls for:

a whole chicken

2 tbs + 2 tsp of jamaican spice

1 tbs brown sugar

a few dashes of lime juice

 

-- Skin the chicken, put it in the crock pot and put the above ingredients on the chicken.  It's that easy!

-- Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

 

I was so pleased with how it came out and the gravy it made was really good.  Nothing else needs to be added to it, ton of flavor.  Use any spice you like doesn't need to be jamaican.

 

 

Grilling Burgers In The Winter

Who says you can't grill a good burger during the cold months?  Not me!  Instead of freezing outside in the snow, use a grilling pan.  We have a cast iron grill pan that works great for this.

I try to stay away from beef and red meat so grilling chicken burgers is usually my go to.  Simply by adding a great spice to the chicken patty makes it more enjoyable and not bland.  Just add some to each side of the patty and grill it.  Here are some of the favorite spices used in my house:

 Healthier Options:  Skip the bun or the cheese, or both! :)

Stuffed Peppers

The recipe calls for:

4 peppers

1/2 lb ground turkey, cooked

2 cups rice

1 can black beans

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 cup onion, chopped/cooked

1 tbs taco seasoning

1 15 oz jar of salsa

cooking spray

-- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

-- Cut the peppers in half and cut out the insides.  Disregard.  Spray cooking oil on both sides of the peppers, place in a baking dish and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

-- In a large bowl mix together the turkey meat, rice, black beans, corn, onion, taco seasoning and the salsa.

-- Spoon the mixture into each pepper halve.

-- Bake in the oven for another 15 minutes.

The toppings I used were avocado and light sour cream, but cheddar cheese, cilantro and even some shredded lettuce are other good choices.  In you want to sprinkle some cheese on them bake the peppers for a little longer until the cheese melts.

These stuffed peppers are very healthy, filling and a good source of fiber, protein and vegetables.  I had some mixture left so I made some healthy whole wheat tortilla tacos.  Great leftovers for the next day!

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad

The recipe calls for:
1 thick chicken breast
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 cup cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
salt
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles, plus some for garnish
4 green onions, chopped

-- Cook the chicken however you like.  You can cut it up into cubes and cook it in a pan or you can do what I did.  I boiled the chicken for 30 mins and then shredded it.
-- Bring the water and quinoa to a boil then put it on low, cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes.
-- Whisk together the hot sauce, olive oil and some salt to make a sauce.
-- Cook the broccoli in pan with some olive oil for about 5 minutes.  You want the broccoli to soften a little, but still have some crunch to it.  Add the shredded chicken to the pan with 1/2 of the sauce.  Let the chicken soak up the sauce.
-- In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the quinoa with the chicken, broccoli and sauce mixture.  Add the carrots, cabbage, most of the onion, blue cheese and the rest of the sauce together.
-- Sprinkle the top of the dish with some onion and blue cheese crumbled.

Seriously, UH-MAZING!!!

Pretzel Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders

These chicken tenders are so delicious and healthy!  Four of them is only about 350 calories.  To make them a little bit lighter you could also use fat free pretzels, I just used what we had.

They are a must try, great for everyone!

The recipe calls for:
10 oz skinless boneless chicken breast
20 regular sized pretzels
1/4 cup & 2 tbs honey mustard
1/4 cup egg beaters
1 tbs stevia
salt & pepper
cooking spray

-- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
-- Cut the chicken breasts in half and season with salt/pepper.
-- Combine the honey mustard and egg beats, whisk well.  Put all the chicken stripes in the mixture and marinate it for about 20 minutes.
-- Finely crush the pretzels, add the stevia and mix them together.  Put the mixture on a large plate and spread it evenly.
-- Put foil on a baking pan and spray it with cooking oil.
-- Transfer the chicken stripes into the pretzel mixture, flip and coat both side evenly.  Place them on the baking pan and spray the tops of the stripes with cooking oil.
-- Bake the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes, flip them after 10 minutes.

Homemade Turkey Burgers

These burgers are so easy and quick to make.  It has very little ingredients which makes it a cheap meal to make for the family.  They are extremely healthy, a great source of protein and only about 140 calories each.  Skip those greasy 1,000 burgers at the restaurants and go home and make these just as tasty burgers.  I ate this for dinner with no bun tonight, but a great way to have that still would be to toast a multi-grain english muffin.  I used salsa as the condiment, but you can use whatever you prefer.  For example:  Ketchup, BBQ sauce, pickles, etc., all which don't contain many calories.  Or instead of garlic powder add your favorite spice.

The recipe calls for:

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup salsa

1 tsp garlic powder

1 lb fat-free ground turkey

-- Mix all the above ingredients in a large bowl.  Separate the mixture into four patties.

-- Spray cooking oil into a large pan.  Place the patties in the pan and cook on each side until the patties are cooked all the way through.  Approximately 10 minutes on medium for each side.

-- Top the burger with some salsa and ENJOY!

Turkey Chili

A simple "use what you have" recipe by Bethenny Frankel.  It's a great recipe to use substitutes with either by using what you like better or what you have on hand at the time.  It's a very healthy recipe with a little kick to it!  It freezes well so you can enjoy it on any chilly fall or winter day this season!

The recipe calls for:

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup each:  red, yellow & green peppers, chopped

1/2 lb ground turkey

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can (24-27oz) tomato puree

1 can beans of your choice, drained & rinsed

1 or 2 zucchinis or yellow squash (or both), cut in small pieces

-- Saute onion in a little oil in a pot.  Then add the chili powder, cumin & salt/pepper to taste.  

-- Stir in garlic & peppers followed by the tomato puree, zucchini/squash.  Simmer until soft.

-- Add turkey meat & beans, let simmer for 30 minutes.

Healthy Baked Chicken Parm

This baked chicken parm recipe is a great way to enjoy a classic favorite of many, but with a healthy twist that still manages to make it taste completely delicious!  If you follow the original Weight Watchers, each piece is 5.5 points if you cut a full breast in half, less points if you use the thin chicken cutlets.  The cutlets I used were only 100 calories each piece.

The recipe calls for:

4 chicken breasts (sliced in half) or thin chicken cutlets (which I used)

3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

2 tbs of melted butter or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (which I used, less calories) 

3/4 cup of shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

1 cup of marinara sauce

-- Preheat the oven to 450, spray the baking dish with cooking oil.

-- Combine breadcrumbs & parmesan cheese in a bowl.

-- Lightly brush or spray the chicken with butter then dip them into the breadcrumb mixture.  Place the chicken in the baking dish & repeat with the rest of the chicken.

-- Lightly spray the top of the chicken with cooking spray & put it in the oven for 20 minutes. (or less for the thin chicken cutlets)  After the time is up, turn the chicken over & bake for another 5-10 minutes.

-- When time is up, take the chicken out of the oven, spoon a little marinara sauce on each piece of chicken & top it with a little bit of the mozzarella cheese.

-- Put the chicken back in the oven until the cheese is melted & then it's ready!  Serve it with a vegetable on the side to keep the meal healthy.

What's For Dinner Tonight?

Peanut Chicken

If you want the recipe, just ask!

Homemade Chili

Between the cold weather and wanting to use the crock pot again I decided to make some homemade chili.  I looked at tons of recipes for the crock pot and none of them were exactly what I wanted so instead I just winged it.  I put everything I liked from the different recipes into this recipe.  No real measurements were used.  Jeff & I both tasted it a few times to see if anything else needed to be added.

All the ingredients added to the crock pot, pre-cooked.

The recipe calls for:

lean ground turkey meat

kidney & black beans

frozen corn

jalapeno peppers

onion

garlic cloves

garlic powder

chili powder

cayenne pepper

salt & pepper 

tomato paste

tomato sauce

mini diced tomatoes

chicken broth

cheddar cheese (optional)

sour cream (optional)

tortilla chips (optional)