Terrific Chili

SO I tried to make my own version of chili but non of them were coming out right. Here is a recipe that I loved but you need to add a can of kidney beans and black beans to the recipe. Not sure why she left it without beans but it is very spicy and delicious and healthy!

Pot Pie done healthy

So I topped my pot pie with corn muffin mix mixed with 1/3 cup buttermilk (low fat). Lots healthier than a pastry pot pie but still had a great taste. To make the vegetable part just boil your favorite veggies (ex: red potatoes, onions, carrots, peas, and corn) in 3 cups of chicken stock for 10 min then drain the liquids into a bowl and mix the stock with 1/4 cup of flour and put back on stove and let thicken. Then mix in veggies and meat that you plan to use and put in pan and top with corn muffin mix and bake at 350 for 30 min.

Menu for Thanksgiving

I had Thanksgiving at my house so I got to pick the menu and it was delicious!
We had turkey, roasted brussel sprouts, roasted acorn squash, mashed red potatoes, cranberry sauce, and rolls. Then for dessert I made my sister a pumpkin cheesecake and some baked apples.

More Spinach...Spinach Enchiladas

I really love this recipe because it is vegetarian and has protein (black beans). I wouldn't change much since it was so great as is. I didn't use low fat cheese just cause I am cheap. If I was trying to make it less healthy I might put cheese inside the rolled up tortilla. Also it could use a bit more sauce. To make a full pan I would double the recipe. ANYWHO I love to fit in spinach in recipes where you can. It does really well in Mexican and also with Italian pasta recipes.

Hearty Mediterranean Salad with Balsamic Chicken

Camille here is my first Mediterranean recipe. This was inspired by a recipe I found in Shape magazine November 2008.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
18 cherry tomatoes
1 summer squash
1 bell pepper
1 small onion
3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs Dijon Mustard
4 Tbs olive oil
1 bag of romaine lettuce or spring mix

Just put all the veggies on skewers. Whisk balsamic, mustard, and olive oil together. Brush over veggies and also chicken and place on nice and hot barbecue. Left over balsamic can be used as a dressing. When all cooked (5 min each side) cut chicken into chunks and place that and veggies on top of greenery. This was so good and the first salad that I really liked that didn't call for cheese of any kind.

Marshmallow Popcorn

This recipe came from my friend Allie and she got it off of another friend and she got it from who knows where. But it is super tasty and a good treat.

On VERY LOW heat

1 1/2 cubes butter, melt then add
1 1/2 cups brown sugar,
completely melt then add
3 cups marshmallows

Pour over 2 (I use 3) bags of popcorn (it's already so rich that I use plain or light so it's not totally overwhelming)

Enjoy!

Spinach Lasagna

Okay this recipe is from several resources. Me, cooks.com and a vegetarian book that I copied a page from but I cant find the title.

Cheese mixture
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese or Mozzarella
1 15 oz (or two cups) container ricotta cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh basil

Spinach mixture
2 (10 oz) packages of spinach thawed
2 tsp minced garlic
1 med sized zucchini chopped and sauteed
1 med sized onion chopped and sauteed
1 package (or 8-10 unsliced) of sliced mushrooms and saute
1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 lb ground beef cooked (optional)

1 package of uncooked wheat lasagna cook according to directions (snap lasagna in half before boiling). You will only need 9.
3 cups spaghetti sauce
1 more cup of cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Combine each mixture in separate bowls. In 9X13 baking dish pour 3/4 cup of sauce then place a single layer of lasagna then cover with another 1/2 cup of sauce. Layer with 1/2 the spinach, 1/2 the cheese and then more noodles. Repeat layers. After final layer top with 1/2 cup sauce and cover with aluminum foil. Cook for 1 hour. Uncover and top with 1 cup of cheese for last 15 min of baking.

Asian Burgers (chicken)

From the July/August 2009 Weight Watchers Magazine

"1 lb ground skinless chicken breast
6 tbsp low-fat Asian Sesame salad dressing
3 tbsp plain dried bread crumbs
2 scallions chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 bag broccoli coleslaw mix
2 tbsp water

Mix the chicken, 3 tbsp of the dressing, bread crumbs, scallions and 1/8 tsp of salt. Form into four burgers" This is where I differed from the recipe I did it on the barbeque but they suggest doing it on a broiler. To make sure they didnt fall apart I put down a flat piece of foil and cooked the burgers on top of that. To paraphrase what you do with the coleslaw is you steam it and then add the remaining salad dressing. This was delicious. I fell in love with Sesame salad dressing it is so good!

Potato Leek Soup

This recipe is from the May/June 2009 Weight Watchers Magazine

"4 Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and diced
4 large Leeks, cleaned and chopped, white and green parts only
1 large Onion
5 c low sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp chopped chives"

To paraphrase everything except the chives goes in the pot and needs to boil for 25min. Then when a little cooled put in blender and puree. Need to do in batches. Top with chives. I thought this was super yummy and easy. I made it less healthy by adding some chopped ham and topped with cheese.

Lime Chicken Fajitas

This recipe is by me Brittany Cornett. I love to make this dish since it is fairly simple and very yummy.

For Marinade:
Zest and juice from 2 limes
2 cloves of garlic
A dash of hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp of chili powder

You will also need:
2-3 skinless boneless chicken breast cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper sliced
1 green bell peppers sliced
1/2 onion sliced
1/2 cup of frozen corn
1 can of black beans (optional)
Avocado
Sour Cream
Tortillas

After marinating chicken for five minutes or longer if you have the time, cook chicken thoroughly on stove with some olive oil. When chicken is no longer pink take chicken out of plan but leave the juices add sliced bell peppers, onion, and corn. When veggies are softer add black beans and chicken. When heated thoroughly you can remove from heat. Place mixture in tortillas and top with sour cream, and avocado.

Carmel Apple Pork Chops and Sweet Potato Carrot Mash

Okay so I made this last night. I loved the Sweet Potato- Carrot mash and I liked the Pork Chops. This meal has a real comfort food feel. And pork chops are on sale lately because of the fall. The changes I would make to the pork chops are to add some cornstarch to the sauce to thicken it also put it a little extra brown sugar on top when it is warming in the oven. The Mash I thought was awesome and really healthy so has an added bonus. The recipe had you boil the carrots and the potatoes at the same time I would probably put the carrots in 5 min earlier and then add the potatoes. Also I added some extra pumpkin pie seasoning to the mix. I definitely will make the mash again and I think it would make great homemade baby food minus the raisins.

Moroccan Beef Lettuce Wraps

This came from yet another Weight Watcher Magazine recipe (the WWM September/October 2009 issue).

"1 eggplant, diced

1large onion, diced

3 garlic cloves chopped

6 dried apricots, chopped

3/4 lb. ground lean beef or ground lamb

1 (14 1/2-oz.) can diced fire roasted tomatoes with garlic

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp cinnamon

12 large Boston lettuce leaves"

So to paraphrase first saute the first 4 ingredients about 3 min then add the beef and let brown. After the beef is browned you can add the rest of the ingredients and let simmer for about 4 min. I wouldn't make a lot of adjustments to this recipe, it was very tasty. I think ground turkey would taste just as good or better because it has kind of a sweet taste to it. Also we added a bit more cinnamon and I liked that, and the last thing is we used iceberg lettuce not sure what Boston lettuce leaves are?

Denise's Peanut Chicken

This is sort of a stir-fry. I found this recipe on Allrecipes as well. I did a 1/2 cup of peanut butter instead of peanuts because that is what everyone suggested. I also added carrots and broccoli to add more vegetables.

Basil Chicken over Angel Hair

So a friend of mine blogged about this recipe and I tried it as well. Really good. You can do it with shrimp as well. I used whole wheat pasta and fresh basil.

Corn Bake

This was also found in the Weight Watchers Magazine July/August 2009

"Preheat oven to 400*. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.

Mix 2c fresh corn kernels, 1 can cream style corn, 1box of corn muffin mix, 1cup low fat buttermilk, and 2 tbsp light stick butter (melted)

It says to "bake for 40 min" but I thought it needed more like 50. This is great with barbecue chicken.

Chicken on the Barbecue

Here are two marinades for the barbecue that I loved. One my husband kind of invented so that is cool.

Garlic and Seasoned Rice Vinegar Marinade by Justin Cornett
3 garlic cloves minced or crushed
3 Tbls olive oil
3 Tbls Seasoned Rice Vinegar
This is great to do with boneless skinless chicken. It doesn't need to sit long.


Mustard Chicken by Weight Watchers Magazine (July/August 2009)
"1/4 c honey mustard, grated zest and juice of 1 lime, and 1 Tbls each soy sauce and minced garlic."
This is good as more of a brush on technique rather that a marinade. I used Dijon mustard and added some honey in because that is what we had. This is so good.

New Recipe Blog

So I wanted somewhere to keep all the recipes that I like in one place so I can go back to them later and a blog is a great place for that so here it is! Most of the recipes I use are packed with veggies and come from allrecipe, weight watchers magazine, Rachel Ray, and various other resources. As I don't come up with these recipes myself I will probably just place a link to the recipe as not to plagiarize. My next blog will be pretty crazy cause I need to catch up on all the recipes I have done in the past couple weeks. So enjoy!