Italian fresh tomato cannellini beans

INGREDIENTS

1 Can no sodium cannellini beans in water (drained and rinsed)

3 Cloves garlic roughly chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar

4 Roma tomatoes diced

Fresh basil ribboned

Salt

Pepper

Heat oil over medium low and add beans.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add in half of tomatoes and cook for about 3 minutes.  Add in garlic and vinegar and lower heat.  Cook until tomatoes and garlic are soft, about 3 more minutes.  Taste and adjust salt & pepper seasoning as needed.  Plate and top with remaining fresh tomatoes and fresh sliced basil.  I garnished with toasted sourdough bread for sopping up the juices.

I came home tonight in a hurry and starving. I had fresh tomatoes and basil in my garden so I ran with that.  This makes about 1.5 cups of food.  I served it in a half cup of bean portion.  For one serving it was 239 calories.

Teriyaki baked turkey meatballs (teriyaki glaze recipe included)

I made these delicious teriyaki turkey meatballs for dinner last night with an exceptional Teriyaki glaze to go with it.  I doubled the recipe below so I could make teriyaki burgers for dinner tonight and then used the glaze to coat some roasted mushrooms.  The family approved both meals.  The single recipe makes about 30 1.5-2" meatballs.

INGREDIENTS FOR MEATBALLS

1.5 lbs ground turkey

1 egg

1/4 cup low fat milk

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp chopped garlic

2 Tsp micro-planed fresh ginger

2 Tbsp finely chopped green onions

3 Tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup crushed pineapple (drained, reserve juice for sauce)

Salt & Pepper to taste

FOR THE SAUCE

1/2 Cup soy sauce

1 Cup water

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp fresh chopped garlic

1 Tsp micro-planed fresh ginger plus an extra knob tossed in to boil

1 Tsp fresh lime juice

1.5-2 tsp cornstarch

3 Tbsp water

TO TOP

4 Tbsp thin sliced green onions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Line a deep baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray. (I needed two pans because I made larger meatballs).

In a large bowl combine the panko and milk and set aside to allow the panko to soften as you dice veggies.

Combine remaining ingredients in the bowl with the panko excluding turkey and mix it until all ingredients are combined well.  A habit I picked up as a professional caterer was to always use gloves when mixing the meat.  Once the ingredients are combined using nitrile plastic gloves add in the ground turkey.  Mix until combined.  The mixture will be wet.  Form into 1.5 - 2" balls and place in the lined pan.  You can line them up fairly close to each other, they will separate after they are cooked.  They don't hold the circular shape super well because they are very moist.  Bake for 12 minutes, then flip each meatball and bake for an additional 3 minutes.

While the meatballs are baking add all of the ingredients reserving the cornstarch and water.  Whisk and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 15 minutes while meatballs cook.  At the very end combine cornstarch and water and bring sauce up to boil.  Quickly whisk the cornstarch mixture into the sauce.  Reduce heat and allow to simmer and thicken.  I tasted mine a few times during this and found I wanted to add a little more water. I also found I wanted my glaze a little thicker so I did a second round of cornstarch.

Remove meatballs from the pan and separate.  Place a small portion of your glaze in a bowl and toss meatballs in sauce allowing them to glaze.  Serve over rice or quinoa and drizzle with more sauce to your liking.  Top with sliced green onions.  

These meatballs should come out very juicy and moist.

I doubled the above recipe and reserved half of the unshaped meat for diner tonight.  I made burgers with the teriyaki turkey with a small sauce drizzle.  Then I roasted mushrooms and tossed them in a small amount of the sauce.  It really worked well.

My kids each ate 5 meatballs and then asked for seconds.  My husband also loved them.  This was a winner for sure.

Cheesy baked spaghetti squash

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups cooked spaghetti squash (from 1 small)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 cup minced onion
• 1/8 cup flour (use 2 tbsp corn starch for gluten free)
• 1.5 cups skim milk
• 1.5 cup vegetarian broth
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Recommended add ins

• 2 cups (about 4 oz) baby spinach
• Pasta sauce (to top it with once it's done baking)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise; remove and discard seeds. Place squash on a baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 1.5 hours. Separate the strands of squash with a fork and place in a medium bowl; discard shells. Maintain the oven temperature.

Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook about 2 minutes. Stir in flour. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring continually 3 - 4 minutes. The flour will become lumpy.

Add broth and continue whisking, raising heat to medium and begins to thicken and smooth. Add in milk and continue whisking.  Season with salt and pepper, taste at this point to see if it needs anything else.  If you want to add the spinach now is the time to whisk that in slowly.

Once it becomes thick, remove from heat, add cheddar cheese and mix well until cheese is melted. Add cooked spaghetti squash, and mix with a spoon until well combined.  Pour into a greased baking dish. Bake until bubbly and golden 25 to 30 minutes.

Adapted from this recipe

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

I get these emails all the time from Eat Better America. This last one had a dish that looked so good I e-mailed it right to my mom. Tonight I decided to make it, oddly so did my mom. Here is the recipe as it was intended to be made. I'll tell you my variations at the bottom. Brandon really liked this which says a lot for a four year old, he called it "cheese chicken." The husband had seconds too. The recipe is called "Healthified" Chicken Tortilla Casserole.

1 can (10 3/4 oz) 98% fat free 45% less sodium condensed cream of chicken soup 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chile's 1 container (8 oz) fat-free sour cream ½ cup fat-free (skim) milk 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder ½ teaspoon ground cumin 2 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken breast 8 yellow corn tortillas (6 or 7 inch), torn into bite-size pieces 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup) 1 large tomato, chopped (1 cup) 1 ½ cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend (6 oz) 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix soup, chilies, sour cream, milk, chili powder and cumin until blended. Stir in chicken, tortillas and bell pepper. Stir in tomato and 1 cup of the cheese. Spoon and spread mixture in baking dish. 2. Cover with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes.

This recipe is really as easy as it sounds. I didn't have any shredded chicken just laying around and I didn't plan ahead and have it ready so I will share with you my full proof method of cooking chicken fast. In a baking dish add 1 cup chicken broth and 2 cups of water. Place boneless skinless chicken in and bake it at 550 for about 15 minutes. It should be pretty close to done. This is basically poaching and keeps skinless boneless chicken very moist. I kept mine just under done so it wouldn't dry out during the final bake.

Next. I did not use anything light. I live in a family of underfat men, shit Codi just finally made it to 10% on the weight chart and we celebrated that. I might have also used a tad bit of extra cheese.

I omitted the bell peppers because none of my boys like them.

I combined half regular corn tortillas and half hard ones (they are called tostada shells in the store.) My husband really likes crunchy stuff so I put a few of those closer to the top of the casserole to keep them crisp. I used these tostada shells (the yellow corn ones on the top.)

I think beans would be a nice addition to this. Possibly pinto or red, I don't think black beans would be the right flavor. I also think if I wasn't making it for a kid I would mix in a tiny bit of cayenne pepper or a couple splashes of Tapatio.

Finally, yes I know it looks a little weird when you are first mixing it but it taste so good in the end. SO GOOD!

For a printable version of their recipe click here.

Grilled chicken tacos with roasted sweet peppers

My husband and I have a beautiful plasma TV in our bedroom. It is mounted on the wall and everything. Problem is, it won't turn on. You see, in order for it to turn on my dad had to run electricity to it. I've been begging him to do it, and finally we cut a deal. He would make my TV work if I made him dinner. Cool right? WRONG! My parents like to eat healthy, organic food, which is easy until you start getting into the low calorie and low fat meals. Oy. Oh yeah, my husband also had to like it and find it flavorful, and my son had to eat it too. Shit. Here is what I came up with on a whim.

I picked up some good organic chicken, fresh tomatoes, and all the stuff for a good pico de gallo. Instead of using a jalapeno this time I grabbed a red Fresno so it would have a sweeter flavor. While I was buying the pepper I looked up and saw some gorgeous sweet peppers. I couldn't resist and tossed them in the cart. Then I saw the corn and thought, ooo a nice Spanish rice. I grabbed some black beans for me and away I went. I'll post this in two recipes, the chicken tacos, and then the rice.

Grilled chicken tacos

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken
1 tbsp ground coriander seed
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lemon
1 lime
1 shallot sliced into 1/8" rings
1/2 cup olive oil
fresh cilantro chopped
2 green onions 1/2" diced
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Roasted sweet peppers
8-9 sweet peppers diced into rings
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch salt & pepper
1 tsp ground coriander seed

In large bowl combine all of the above ingredients reserving chicken.
Whisk until fully combined. Place half the marinade in the bottom of a large dish. Add chicken and cover with remaining marinade. Using tongs coat chicken, cover and marinate for at least an hour. I left mine in the fridge for about 5 hours.

Preheat grill to low. Remove chicken from refrigerator and place on grill. Because of the balsamic  you want to grill on low so the chicken doesn't burn. This way the it can get a nice caramel color. So low and slow, and patience grasshopper.

While chicken is cooking, toss together ingredients for sweet peppers. Place them on foil and put them at the back of the grill, or if you have a lid rack place them up there. Allow them to roast until chicken is done.

Flip chicken once and remove when it is cooked through. Allow chicken to rest and then cut it into 1" pieces.

Serve on corn tortillas with fresh salsa and sliced avocado. Top with sweet peppers and enjoy.

My beautiful organic finds. Do you know how much it drives me nuts I didn't take the stickers off the tomatoes first.

I love coriander. It is my most favorite spice. Next time you are feeling sad, go to your spice cabinet, grab some of this and inhale. I shit you not INSTANT HAPPINESS! I took a cooking class this weekend and when the instructor said she sometimes wanted to dab a little behind her ears like perfume I felt like shouting "me too sister ME TOO!"

Cumin is a good spicy scent. I like it, but in small quantities. I like it to be an undertone in a dish not the shining star.

Add in some pepper. No I didn't fresh grind it...call the food cops on me.

Good kosher salt

I only used half the lemon because this one was soooo juicy.
This little fucker had hardly any juice. I would have liked to have two limes but instead I gouged the inside of the lime so I could get as much pulp as I could into it.

This was a pretty large shallot so I only used half of it. I didn't want it to overpower the marinade.

Drizzle in some good olive oil

And add some cilantro. I used to hate cilantro. Then, I started using it more, and lo I love the shit now. I can't be live how much flavor it adds. I can't eat pico de gallo with out it now. It is an acquired taste. Kinda like wine. One day you hate it and the next day you find yourself alone in your room with a bottle of the good stuff.





I like a nice aged balsamic. You don't have to buy anything too pricey but please don't go buy some 1 year old bullshit that is going to be bitter and taste like garbage. I invested in one really nice bottle of balsamic aged 25 years and it doesn't take much to add a bold rich taste to your meals.
The sweetest sweet peppers ever






Yeah so. I got my gorgeous red fresno pepper home for my salsa and look
LOOK
ROTTEN!

Thank Gosh I had a back up pepper. Oh sweet pico de gallo goodness. Bring me some chips and a bowl of this and leave me alone don't talk to me I'm eating.